In memoriam: Pelé's visit to Nigeria and other things he will be remembered for

The late soccer legend Pelé, believed to have engineered a ceasefire during the 1967–1970 Nigerian civil war, passed away on Thursday after a battle with cancer and multiple death rumours.

The legend, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, travelled to Nigeria in January 1969 to play friendly matches with the Super Eagles, who were then known as the Green Eagles, alongside his Brazilian club Santos.

Due to the great footballer’s charisma, the warring parties — Nigeria and Biafra — decided to put a 48-hour halt to hostilities so they could watch the friendly matches, which were played in Lagos and Benin, respectively.

Apart from his peace-brokering visit to Nigeria, here are other things the great Pelé will be remembered for.

Goals scoring prowess

First, on the list is his prolificity when it comes to goals scoring. Pelé played with Santos from 1956 until 1974, making 605 matches and scoring 589 goals. He played with the New York Cosmos from 1975 to 1977, making 64 games and scoring 37 goals. He played for XI Classic from 1978 to 1980 before retiring.

Three World Cup wins

In addition to that, the late Brazilian sensation lifted three World Cup trophies. Pele played in four World Cups with Brazil’s Seleço Canarinho (1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970) and won three of them (1958, 1962, and 1970), making him the player with the most trophies.