Pele scored in his Santos debut. He was called up to the national team, known as A Selecao, within a year of being professional, and he made his international debut by scoring in a 2-1 loss to Argentina. At 16 years and 9 months, he is still Brazil’s youngest goal scorer, a mark that is not expected to be surpassed.
Pele Aesthetic: Nobody contributed more than Pele to the false impression that Brazilian football plays in an idyllic perpetual summer. At a time when physical power and cynicism constrained the possibility of manifestations of talent in the sport, he popularised the phrase “the beautiful game” and served as its embodiment.
The first international football superstar was Pele. Sunlight, samba, and style will always conjure up images of him.
Athletes benefit from having chiselled physique, which gives them an upper hand when it comes to dressing well. Soccer players are the most fashion-friendly athletes, as seen by Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham’s blockbuster-style performances in recent games. The Brazilian sensation Pelé was strutting the globe in crisp suits, vibrant track jackets, fitted polos, and this season’s must-have knitwear—turtlenecks—before Beck’s was teaching us how to bend it. The soccer player reportedly only wore shorts till the age of 15. We appreciate that he expanded.
Aside from the goals, the trophies, the personal honours, and the enduring impact he has had on one of the most popular sports in the world, what sets him apart from other players is his own sense of style, which is almost as idiosyncratic as the way he played the beautiful game. Pelé’s off-the-field clothing oozed flair and sophistication in spades, two characteristics that are practically unheard of when discussing players playing today’s game, in contrast to the cliché of the modern footballer (loud luxury pieces where the price tag takes precedence over the design).
His fashion choices ranged from short-shorts and polo shirts to red leather outfits, Hawaiian shirts, and a variety of three-piece suits with a distinctive (and distinctly 1970s) oversized collar. His look didn’t conform to any stereotypes and lacked any rhyme or reason; it simply worked. In reality, seamlessly.
There will always be discussions about whether Pelé is the greatest player to ever play the game and if he would have been successful in the present day, but there’s no denying that no other footballer will ever come close to having Pelé’s inherent and progressive sense of flair.
Aldemir Martins, the artist, who is most renowned for his work from the 1940s to the 1980s, became well-known for his portrayals of the local flora and animals in his native state, which is tucked away in Brazil’s northeast. Martins, like most Brazilians, had another obsession, though: soccer. A Fera, one of his most well-known pieces, was created in 1969 and features Pelé, the Santos FC striker who popularised the term “beautiful game,” mid-kick, with the soccer ball rolling out in front and his number 10 shirt flowing behind him. The painting, which was full of dynamic motion and became one of Martins’s most well-known pieces ever in part due to its theme, gained popularity.
Also read: Krishna Aesthetic | Holi Aesthetic | Moonlight Aesthetic