[Auto] The story of Pelé and his close relationship with Volkswagen

[FNX Magokiler]

After a long fight against colon cancer, which was detected in September 2012, Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento "Pelé", also known as O'Rei, has died at the age of 82 for having obtained three World Cups for national teams, two for clubs and 1,283 goals throughout his career, which began in 1956 with Santos and ended in 1977 with the New York Cosmos. Without a doubt, Pelé is a great icon of world soccer, since, for many, he will always be the best player in history.

Being a world figure, it is not surprising that throughout his career he was sought after to promote different products such as Puma, Viagra, Pepsi, Atari, Nokia, Santander, Fly Emirates, Mastercard, among many others. And of course, cars are no exception, since he received several vehicles as part of sponsorships. But if there is a brand that was impregnated in the life of the Brazilian star, it was precisely Volkswagen since his relationship went beyond business and transcended his personal life.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento's first contact with Volkswagen was at the beginning of his professional career, since shortly after signing with Santos Futebol Clube, and at just 16 years old, he was given a gift by the owner of a local dealer named Walter Hebert, a Beetle, this due to the great sports performance he had presented in his first season. It is worth mentioning that this car was manufactured at the São Bernardo do Campo (São Paulo) plant.

 

 

This good relationship between Santos and Volkswagen made possible one of the most curious passages in soccer history, since the Brazilian team toured Europe in which they played 19 games in 49 days. But one of them drew attention, since on June 3 of that year, Pelé and the rest of his team visited the Wolfsburg, Germany plant, where, in addition to taking a tour, they held a meeting with the then amateur team of the same name, made up of workers from the same plant. The result was 6-3 in favor of the Brazilians. But most of all, O'Rei and the Beetle were meeting again.

Upon returning to Brazil after winning the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, a great controversy arose, since Paulo Maluf, then mayor of São Paulo, bought 25 green Volkswagen Beetles, which would be delivered to the Brazilian delegation. However, these cars were purchased with the public purse, which led to a lawsuit that lasted 36 years. The players were unaware of this situation, so some did receive their car, while others were left without their Beetle. It is not known if Pelé received the gift from him.

Several decades passed and after his retirement, the relationship between the Volkswagen Group and Edson Arantes do Nascimento was resumed at various times. For example, in 2006, Pelé became SEAT's ambassador in Mexico, which gave the Spanish firm a great boost in that country.

However, it was in 2014, when Pelé was named Volkswagen ambassador for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, as well as to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the brand in the South American giant, where he was part of an advertising campaign that mixes the history of the brand, with some technological innovations and of course soccer.

 

https://noticias.autocosmos.cl/2022/12/30/la-historia-de-pele-y-su-estrecha-relacion-con-volkswagen