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.
PeleRead
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.
Interpretation
Teamwork is essential for success, as no one can achieve greatness alone.
This quote emphasizes the importance of teamwork, particularly in football, where collective effort is crucial for success. Pele highlights that individuals within a team must actively engage and work together, as the success of the whole depends on the unity and collaboration of all members, rather than on individual efforts alone.
In practice
In a motivational speech to encourage teamwork among colleagues.
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.
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.
No individual can win a game by himself.
I played for Santos at 16, and we had an excellent team, so it helped a lot. And then I played for Brazil at the Maracana against Argentina. So I get more experience. This was one year before the World Cup, and it made a lot of difference.
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.
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.
To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.
I felt like when we came back from the All-Star break we needed everybody to feel like they were part of the team, ... I'm just trying to do whatever the team needs at any given time.
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
We took pride in representing where we came from, took pride in being from small places, and places all around the world and being able to come together and make ourselves into a team, into a group of guys with one goal and get that done.
Once you look up, and it's Week 14 or 15, and it's crunch time, you can't all of a sudden turn on a switch and say, 'Hey guys, we have to step up and be brothers, be family.' That's stuff that is developed in the offseason, training camp, or throughout the season.
My teammates have put me in all different kinds of positions to score goals, and I can't say it enough, and I really through and through believe it in my heart that I'm only as good as my teammates allow me to be.
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