1.
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
Pele
Achieving excellence is not a fluke. It requires diligence, determination, instruction, researching, self-denial and above all else, fondness for what you are doing or learning to do.
2.
Success isn't determined by how many times you win, but by how you play the week after you lose.
Pele
Triumph is not determined by the number of victories you attain, but by the manner in which you persist after defeats.
3.
Football is the only sport where you put people together, it doesn't matter if you are rich, or poor, or black, or white. It is one nation. This is the beauty of football.
Pele
Soccer is the only game that unites people, regardless of wealth, ethnicity, or background. This is its greatest appeal.
4.
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.
Pele
The greater the challenge, the more profound the satisfaction of success.
5.
There is always someone out there getting better than you by training harder than you.
Pele
'There is always someone putting in more effort than you to improve themselves.'
6.
A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, 'He's a great player', because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders.
Pele
7.
A team is not made up of isolated individuals. Always stay in the game. Don't be passive. Football is a team game. No one plays alone. Success depends on your whole team being a single unit.
Pele
A collective is not comprised of disparate persons. Remain engaged. Don't be inert. Soccer is a squad sport. Nobody performs solo. Triumph hinges on your whole squad being a unified entity.
8.
Great teams are not made up of many well-rounded players. Great teams are made up of a variety of players, each having their own strengths.
Pele
'Successful squads are not crafted from numerous all-encompassing players. Proficient teams are composed of a diversity of players, each boasting their own specialties.'
9.
Everything is practice.
Pele
10.
Football is like a religion to me. I worship the ball, and I treat it like a god. Too many players think of a football as something to kick. They should be taught to caress it and to treat it like a precious gem.
Pele
11.
The head talks to the heart and the heart talks to the feet.
Pele
12.
Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.
Pele
13.
I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint.
Pele
14.
No individual can win a game by himself.
Pele
15.
Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man.
Pele
16.
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.
Pele
17.
I think the kids always they look forward to be always the big stars. Not only football, any profession. They want to be the best, singer, they want to be the best political, only the stars. But I think sometime the life give you opportunity, and long to be a big star, but you don't need to be a big star, you need to be beautiful, excellent man. Human being. This is the first.
Pele
18.
Everything on earth is a game. A passing thing. We all end up dead. We all end up the same, don't we?
Pele
19.
Considerable research on successful soccer players and their developmental history, affirms that a good percentage of them have spent time in isolation, working on soccer skills.
Pele
20.
If you don't give education to people, it is easy to manipulate them.
Pele
21.
Wherever you go, there are three icons that everyone knows: Jesus Christ, Pele and Coca-Cola.
Pele
22.
If you ever want to be a decent player, you have to be able to use both feet without stopping to think about it.
Pele
23.
I played futsal growing up in Baurd. In futsal you need to think quick and play quick so its easier for you when you move to normal football.
Pele
24.
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.
Pele
25.
Ronaldo has come through for the past two or three years and is the best in Europe. I think at the moment no doubt Ronaldo is the best player.
Pele
26.
When you control the ball you control the score
Pele
27.
A penalty is a cowardly way to score.
Pele
28.
Nelson Mandela was one of the most influential people in my life. He was my hero, my friend, and also a companion to me in our fight for the people and for world peace. Let us all continue his legacy with purpose and passion.
Pele
29.
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.
Pele
30.
Great genetics are not necessarily a precursor for success in the game. Brazilian Legend Pelé has often said that soccer stars are not born. Without proper soccer training a player will never reach his full potential. It is true that great speed would benefit someone who plays as a winger but would not be as useful for a goalkeeper. The greatest advantage of soccer is that it is not as discriminating as basketball or volleyball. There are no limitations when it comes to physique and it all comes down to individual soccer skills.
Pele
31.
I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'born' soccer player. Perhaps you are born with certain skills and talents, but quite frankly it seems impossible to me that one is actually born to be an ace soccer player
Pele
32.
How much soccer training is it needed to become a top player? It depends on the efficiency of your training routine. Setting long and short-term goals is a must. When planning out a soccer training regime, one must strive for realistic and consistent program that will diminish specific weaknesses. Broad versatility of soccer skills is the Nirvana of every dedicated trainee.
Pele
33.
Brazil eats, sleeps and drinks football. It lives football!
Pele
34.
I want to do my best to make the people happy. I play with my heart for the sport.
Pele
35.
When you play against dirty players or very tough players, it's easy to escape because you know what they're going to do. But when the player is tough but intelligent, it's much more difficult.
Pele
36.
I don't think I'm a very good businessman. I act too much with my heart.
Pele
37.
I've come to accept that the life of a frontrunner is a hard one, that he will suffer more injuries than most men and that many of these injuries will not be accidental.
Pele
38.
Love is more important than what we can take...Please say with me three times-Love! Love! Love!
Pele
39.
George Best was the greatest player in the world.
Pele
40.
If I pass away one day, I am happy because I tried to do my best. My sport allowed me to do so much because it's the biggest sport in the world.
Pele
41.
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.'
Pele
42.
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.
Pele
43.
Most important is be a good man.
Pele
44.
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.
Pele
45.
His left foot is fantastic. It's like Mozart. God gave Freddy the gift to play soccer. If he is prepared mentally and physically, nobody will stop him.
(on Freddy Adu)
Pele
46.
People always ask me: 'When is the new Pele going to be born?' Never. My father and mother have closed the factory.
Pele
47.
Everybody knows my life. I won a lot of tournaments and scored more than 1,000 goals, won three World Cups but I could not play in Olympic Games.
Pele
48.
Always when I come to the field, I try to do my best for other people.
Pele
49.
When football stars disappear, so do the teams, and that is a very curious phenomenon. It is like in the theatre, in a play, where there is a great star. If the star is not well, the whole cast suffers.
Pele
50.
Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people.
Pele