8 Pelé’s Triumphs Continue

CHAPTER 8 Pelé's Triumphs Continue During the entire span of Pelé's career in Brazil, soccer had not been very popular in the United States. Some immigrant Americans followed the teams from their native countries. But even though there was a national team, very few Americans played. In 1968, a new professional league was formed, hoping to bring "the world's sport" to the United States. The North American Soccer League (NASL) wanted to attract attention, so it recruited soccer stars from around the world. In 1975, after he left Santos, Pelé was asked to join the New York Cosmos. He was thirty-four years old and his best playing days were behind him. But he still loved the game, and he was

佩莱尔在巴西的整个职业生涯中，足球在美国并不是很受欢迎。 一些移民美国人跟随来自他们祖国的球队。 尽管美国有国家队，但很少有美国人参加比赛。 1968年，一个新的职业联盟成立了，希望把“世界运动”带到美国。 北美足球联盟（NASL）想要吸引人们的注意，所以它从世界各地招募足球明星。 1975年，佩洛伊离开桑托斯后，被邀请加入纽约宇宙队。 他已经34岁了，他最好的球员时代已经过去了。 但他仍然热爱这项运动，他确实是

willing to try something new. And the Cosmos understood that world-famous Pelé could attract new fans to the sport. But first, Brazil had to let him go! US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, a soccer fan, persuaded Brazil's president to allow Pelé, the "national treasure," to play in the United States. The Cosmos gave Pelé a contract that paid him almost four times more than the highest-paid American baseball player at the time. It was more money than Pelé had earned in all his years with Santos combined—more than $4 million! The great star arrived to a mixed reaction. Soccer fans were thrilled. Many American sportswriters, however, didn't understand all the fuss. How could you love a sport where you can't use your hands? they joked. Surprisingly, the Cosmos' early games with Pelé were not sellouts, and the team lost more games than it won. It had been a huge risk for the Cosmos to bring Pelé to New York.

愿意尝试新事物。 《宇宙》也明白，世界闻名的pelpele可以吸引新的体育迷。 但首先，巴西必须让他离开！美国国务卿基辛格是一名足球迷，他说服巴西总统允许“国宝”佩莱埃尔来美国踢球。 宇宙队给pelpele的合同几乎是当时收入最高的美国棒球运动员的四倍。 这比佩洛埃尔在桑托斯工作这么多年挣的钱加起来还多——超过一百万！这位巨星的到来引起了各种各样的反应。 足球迷们激动不已。 然而，许多美国体育记者并不理解这些大惊小怪的事情。 你怎么会喜欢一项不能用手的运动呢？ 他们开玩笑说。令人惊讶的是，宇宙队与佩洛埃尔的早期比赛并没有爆满，球队输的比赛比赢的比赛要多。 对宇宙队来说，把佩莱尔带到纽约是一个巨大的风险。

By 1977, however, the gamble had paid off. The Cosmos had become a huge hit everywhere they played. The games were all televised. Huge crowds packed stadiums across the country. Other great stars joined Pelé on the team, including Germany's Franz Beckenbauer and Italy's Giorgio Chinaglia. During Pelé's third season, the Cosmos won the Soccer Bowl, the NASL championship game.

然而，到1977年，这场赌博得到了回报。 宇宙乐队在他们所到之处都大受欢迎。 所有比赛都进行了电视转播。 大批人群挤满了全国各地的体育场。 其他伟大的球星也加入了pelpele的队伍，包括德国的Franz Beckenbauer和意大利的Giorgio Chinaglia。 在佩尔佩尔的第三个赛季，宇宙队赢得了美式足球联赛的冠军。

When Pelé decided to end his career in America, a special farewell match was held at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. On October 1, 1977, the Cosmos arranged a game against Santos, Pelé's old club from Brazil. The biggest crowd in American soccer history up to that time (75,616) filled every seat. In the first half, Pelé played for the Cosmos and scored a goal. In the second half, he switched sides and played one more time for Santos. He ended his career

当佩莱尔决定结束他在美国的职业生涯时，在新泽西的巨人体育场举行了一场特别的告别赛。 1977年10月1日，宇宙队安排了一场对阵桑托斯队的比赛，桑托斯队是佩莱埃尔的老东家。 这是当时美国足球史上人数最多的一次（75,616人），座无虚席。 在上半场，佩尔佩尔为宇宙队效力并打进一球。 下半场，他换了位置，再次为桑托斯效力。 他结束了自己的职业生涯

with a total of 1,281 goals. He was thirty-six years old.

总共有1281个进球。 他36岁。

Before the game, Pelé spoke to the fans. He thanked them for supporting him. Then he called on the people in the stands to repeat one word, over and over. Expressing his feelings for his fans, for the game, and for people everywhere, he called out, "Love! Love! Love!" The fans roared back all the "Love" to Pelé! At halftime, he gave his Cosmos jersey to Dondinho to thank him for getting him started in soccer, and he hugged Rosemeri. After the

比赛开始前，佩尔佩尔向球迷发表了讲话。 他感谢他们对他的支持。 然后他叫看台上的人一遍又一遍地重复一个词。 为了表达他对球迷、对比赛、对世界各地的人们的感情，他大声喊道：“爱！爱!爱!”球迷们高呼着对pelpele的“爱”！中场休息时，他把自己的宇宙队球衣送给了东迪尼奥，感谢他让自己开始了足球生涯，他还拥抱了罗斯梅里。 后