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Pelé: The man behind the stardom

Brazilian soccer legend Edson Arantes Do Nascimiento better known as 'Pele', gestures during a photocall. (Luca Bruno/AP)
Brazilian soccer legend Edson Arantes Do Nascimiento better known as 'Pele', gestures during a photocall. (Luca Bruno/AP)

Pelé, the Brazilian soccer legend who won three World Cups, died at the age of 82. He was an icon to many in Brazil and across the globe, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. But what was Pelé the person like?

One person who knows some of the story is award-winning American filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist, who directed the movie “Pelé: Birth of a Legend” about Pele’s early rise to stardom at the 1958 world cup. He joins Here & Now‘s Scott Tong to talk about the man he knew.

Watch on YouTube.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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