Quotes from Pele

When you are young, you do a lot of stupid things.

Brazil eats, sleeps and drinks football. It lives football!

The bicycle kick is not easy to do. I scored 1,283 goals, and only two or three were bicycle kicks.

Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people.

I have to trust something that gives me power; I have to believe in something, but in my career I have a lot of moments I cannot explain with God.

Of course, my father was a soccer player. He used to play very good. Then, when I was young, eight or nine years old, ten years old, I just want to be like my father.

When I was minister of sport in Brazil, I tried to bring in a law that would make the chairmen of clubs reveal their accounts like other businesses. It was turned down, but I think it is an important story that will make a good film.

Over the years I've learnt to live with two persons in my heart. One is Edson, who has fun with his friends and family; the other is the football player Pele. I didn't want the name. 'Pele' sounds like baby-talk in Portuguese.

When I retired, at that time I had a lot of proposals to play in Europe, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico. But I said no, after 18 years I want to rest, because I want to retire.

It was with a homosexual, I was barely 14 years old. But let's be fair, I wasn't the only one who did it. He was a man in Bauru that all our team visited.

Most important is be a good man.

When I was playing, they said soccer was a man's world and women should remain on the sidelines, all I can say is I'm glad I never had to go up against Mia Hamm

You must respect people and work hard to be in shape. And I used to train very hard. When the others players went to the beach after training, I was there kicking the ball.

All my life I thank God. My family was very religious.

I always had a philosophy which I got from my father. He used to say, 'Listen. God gave to you the gift to play football. This is your gift from God. If you take care of your health, if you are in good shape all the time, with your gift from God no one will stop you, but you must be prepared.'

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.

Yes, I have a lot of business interests. But I don't work for just anyone, and I choose the companies very carefully.

The biggest family in the world is football, because football has more associate - and FIFA, for example - has more associates than UNESCO.

The first World Cup I remember was in the 1950 when I was 9 or 10 years old. My father was a soccer player, and there was a big party, and when Brazil lost to Uruguay, I saw my father crying.

Everyone talks about the forwards, the players when they are scoring goals. But sometimes I look for the complete player not just the players who score but those who can pass.

A penalty is a cowardly way to score.

People argue between Pele or Maradona. Di Stéfano is the best, much more complete.

The ambition should always be to play an elegant game.

Besides the headers, there were two skills in particular that Dondinho wanted me to focus on: 1) Keeping the ball as close to my body as possible while dribbling, and 2) being able to do everything equally well with both feet.