Every sport has its legends, can you imagine soccer (football or fußball) without Pelé? This presentation is based on a speech that I gave at my Toastmasters club for a "Word Cup Fever" themed meeting that we held on June 11th. Enjoy the World Cup and why not share the magic of Pelé.
2. This presentation is based on a speech that
I did about Pelé at my Toastmasters club.
It was part of a “World Cup Fever” themed
evening.
I thought that I’d share it with you
3. What would soccer (or football) be without Pelé?
Before people would bend it
…like Beckham
or people were crazy
about Ronaldo…
there was Pelé.
4. Some people call Pelé the greatest player of all time
Others look at his wizardry on the field and all that he has
accomplished as a way that might take them our of poverty
And into greatness
Still other see him as a soccer ambassador
Pelé is one of those athletes the world had turned into a hero,
And our world needs more heroes today!
5. Imagine…
• winning the World Cup THREE TIMES!
1958, 1962, & 1970! (and playing in a 4th)
• Scoring 12 goals in the World Cup
• Scoring 77 with the Brazilian national team
• *Scoring more that 1200 goals in 1300+ games
• Imagine the excitement of playing on the national team at 16
Pelé had done all these things. Pelé is so much more than
Number and statistics!
6. German soccer great, Franz Beckenbauer thought that,
Pelé is the greatest player of all time.
7. Henry Kissinger said, "Performance at a
high level in any sport is to exceed the
ordinary human scale. But Pelé's
performance transcended that of the
ordinary star by as much as the star
exceeds ordinary performance."
8. Don’t we all just love watching someone doing something they were
born to do? Something that they put their heart and soul into!
Every sport has its legends, there is no doubt that Pelé is one in
soccer. He is also one of those athletes that the world knows by a
single name.
9. Former Brazilian Ambassador
to the U.N. Pinheiro said
"Pelé played football for 22 years,
and in that time he did more to
promote world friendship and fraternity
than any other ambassador anywhere.”
10. Pelé played for the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League
(NASL) in the 70s and did quite a bit to promote soccer in America.
In fact, being born too late to watch his performances in the World Cup, I
knew who he was (even living in America)
11. Imagine going to the White House, this man
introduces himself as says “you don’t need to
introduce yourself, because everyone knows
who Pelé is.”
12. Andy Warhol said thought that Pelé
was one of the few people that
contradicted his “famous for 15
minutes theory” that he will be
famous for 15 centuries.
13. How cool is it to have a stamp issued
in your home country!
14. How many boys and girls started playing soccer
Or were motivated to play because Pelé played?
Children from around the world, many growing
up in awful conditions, saw Pelé as a hero and a
way of breaking free from
their lives.
You can’t put a price on this kind of admiration
and inspiration!
15. When Pelé played, anything was possible.
Imagine watching him play.
Imagine him shooting, and the announcer
yells. Goooooooaaaallll!
People like Pelé makes sports fun for the
casual fan and for the people that are
looking for something positive to lift their
spirits.
For 90 minutes, we forgot our troubles and believed that anything
was possible. At a time when so much is wrong, we can user more
heroes like Pelé today working their magic to motivate our kids and
us adults too. Why not share the motivation and inspiration with
someone in need of it! Share the magic.