Edson Arantes Do Nascimento (Pele)

There are a lot of definitions of a hero, everyone has there own definition. Some people think of a hero as an actor or actress or someone famous. Other people think of a hero as a person who did a good deed or something that saved someone else's life kind of like a super hero. But i think of a hero as a person who is a leader, committed to something, a good role model, and someone you could always look up to.

Pele is a great known soccer player. He was born October 23rd 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. His name that he was given at birth was Edson Arantes Do Nascimento. Pele was not always called "Pele." He received the name from going to school. He did not like the name when people first started calling him that, but after a while he got used to it. Pele's family wasn't a very wealthy family. While Pele was growing up he really enjoyed playing soccer. But his family didn't have enough money to buy him a soccer ball. So instead of a soccer ball he used a grapefruit. On his 6th birthday he got from his parents a soccer ball. He was still dedicated to soccer even when he had to kick around a grapefruit. Pele dropped out of the 4th grade for soccer.

Pele was only 11 when he was noticed for his great talent. Waldemar de Brito a former soccer player was one of the people who noticed Pele's talent and he invited him to play amateur team named Clube Atletico Bauru. In 1956, Pele was taken to Sao Paulo to try out for a professional team named Santos Futebol Clube. Waldemar de Brito told the professional team that he would be "the greatest player ever." In Pele's first game for the Santos Futebol Clube team he scored 4 goals. After only 10 months in playing for the professional team Pele was called up to the Brazil National Team. Pele became the youngest soccer player in the world to score in a World Cup Final.

On October 2nd, 1974 Pele retired. Pele came out of retirement to play for the New York Cosmos of the Northern American Soccer League for seven million dollars. Pele's contract with the Cosmos made him the highest-paid athlete in the world at that time. He was MVP of 1976 and was visited by three popes. In 1995, he became Sports Minister In Brazil. He became the Ambassador for UNESCO, working to promote peace and understanding through friendly athletic competition with the Goodwill Games and he is in the United States Soccer Hall of Fame. In 1997 Pele was knighted in England. He donates to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

I chose Pele as my hero because he has all the traits that I thought a hero should have. He is very committed to what he has been doing. Pele is giving, because he has supported children's rights and the UNICEF. When Pele's family needed him to work for money he didn't argue, he went and got a job. Didn't get him a lot of money but at least it was more than he ever got when he was younger. He got a job as a shoe shiner, earning only pennies. Pele has shown that he is a leader. He lead his team to many world cups. Pele grew up with hardly any money. He had to work hard for what he got. That is a good role model right there. If you don't work hard for what you get then it's not worth it. To me, Pele is one of those guys I can always look up to because he followed his dream. Even when Pele was juggling a grapefruit instead of a soccer ball he never complained as long as he was doing what he wanted it was fine with him. He fits my definition of a hero perfectly. Anyone who can be committed to something, a leader, a good role model, and a person that anyone can look up to.