Pelé and Brazil 1970: the King of the Mexico World Cup

On 21 June 1970, under the blazing sun of the Estadio Azteca, a football team stopped being a mere champion and became a legend. Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final of the Mexico World Cup and sealed what many still consider the coronation of the greatest team in the history of the game. At the heart of it stood Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the man the planet simply calls Pelé: O Rei, the King.

The day at the Azteca: 4-1 and a work of art

The final was a clash of giants. Italy, masters of a rigid catenaccio, drew level through Roberto Boninsegna after a defensive mix-up. But by then Pelé had already opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a majestic header, hanging in the air after a Rivelino cross. That leap became one of the eternal images of the tournament.

In the second half, Brazil unleashed their carnival. Gérson drilled in a left-footed shot from outside the box, Jairzinho bundled in the third, and in the 86th minute came the final symphony. Clodoaldo dribbled past half of Italy in his own half, the ball travelled across the pitch through a series of first-time touches, Pelé stopped it and, without even looking, rolled it into space to his right for captain Carlos Alberto Torres to arrive at full speed and hammer it home. For many, it is the most beautiful goal ever scored in a World Cup final.

"“That Brazil did not play football: they danced it.” The 1970 side turned the jogo bonito into a form of art."

The King: three-time world champion, unique in history

No other footballer has ever won three World Cups. Pelé did: 1958, 1962 and 1970. In Sweden 1958, aged just 17, he became the youngest World Cup winner in history and scored twice in the final. In Chile 1962 he was champion again, though injury ruled him out after the opening games. And in Mexico 1970 he completed the circle, this time as the spiritual leader of an irreplaceable team.

That third star carried a double prize: by winning the tournament for a third time, Brazil kept the Jules Rimet trophy forever. The poor boy from Três Corações had become the greatest player on the planet.

Zagallo's mythical squad

Coached by Mário Zagallo, that Brazil gathered a constellation of attacking talent that looked impossible to contain. Several of its players effectively wore the number 10 at their clubs; Zagallo made them coexist on the same pitch.

• Félix, goalkeeper and last man of a daring defence.
• Carlos Alberto Torres, captain and scorer of the final's fourth goal.
• Brito, Wilson Piazza and Everaldo, the defensive backbone.
• Clodoaldo and Gérson, the brain and the lungs of midfield.
• Jairzinho, Tostão, Rivelino and Pelé, the most feared attack of all time.

On the road to the final, Brazil won all six matches they played. Along the way they left unforgettable snapshots: Gordon Banks's impossible save from a Pelé header against England, Pelé's outrageous dummy on Uruguay goalkeeper Mazurkiewicz in the semifinal, and that audacious shot from the halfway line against Czechoslovakia that drifted just wide.

Jairzinho, the hurricane who scored in every game

If Pelé was the king, Jairzinho was the storm. The Botafogo winger achieved a feat unique to the knockout era of the World Cup: he scored in each of the six matches of the tournament, seven goals in all, including the third in the final. No other footballer has repeated it since.

His unstoppable running symbolised the essence of that Brazil: pace, dribbling and goals. Jairzinho embodied the idea that the best team in the world did not depend on a single man, but on a collective in which every star shone with its own light.

The 1000th goal: the magical night at the Maracanã

On 19 November 1969, eight months before Mexico, Pelé had already written another immortal page. At the Maracanã, wearing the Santos shirt and facing Vasco da Gama, he converted his 1000th goal from the penalty spot. The stadium came to a halt: journalists invaded the pitch, his teammates carried him shoulder-high, and even the rival supporters gave him a standing ovation.

Pelé, who admitted he was nervous over the responsibility of that penalty, used the moment to send a message that transcended sport: he asked the country to look after Brazil's poor children. He was the king not only for his goals, but for what he represented.

"“After the 1000th goal, all I could think of were the children. Let us take care of the children,” Pelé said on that night at the Maracanã."

From Santos to the New York Cosmos

Pelé played for Santos between 1956 and 1974, appearing in hundreds of matches and carrying the São Paulo club to titles around the world thanks to its famous international tours. With Santos, football became a global spectacle long before the modern television era.

In 1975 he accepted one last challenge: he crossed to the northern hemisphere to play for the New York Cosmos in the NASL and plant the seed of the game in the United States. There he won the 1977 title and said farewell on 1 October that year, in a gala match between the Cosmos and Santos, scoring what is regarded as the last great goal of his career, the 1281st.

The debate over 1281 goals

The most quoted figure about Pelé is astonishing: around 1281 goals in more than 1300 matches. Yet the number fuels an eternal debate, because it includes hundreds of strikes in friendlies and exhibition tours alongside the official games.

Specialists agree that his official record is also colossal: 77 goals in 92 matches for Brazil and hundreds more in official competitions with Santos. The exact count may be disputed, but the conclusion is not: Pelé was, and remains, an absolute benchmark for goalscoring.

Relive that Brazil of 1970 in Fut Simulator

Half a century later, the Brazil of 1970 is still the yardstick by which excellence is measured. Would they have won by more if Banks had not flown? What would have happened in an imaginary clash against other champion nations? In Fut Simulator you can bring together that team of Pelé, Jairzinho, Gérson, Tostão, Rivelino and Carlos Alberto and simulate full matches and tournaments to relive the magic of the 1970 Mexico World Cup. Pick your eleven, simulate the final against Italy and find out whether the jogo bonito is crowned once more.