FIFA World Cup History: The world saw the ‘Miracle of Bern’ in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. On football’s biggest stage, West Germany defeated the great Hungary in one of the most unexpected victories in history. But the World Cup to be held in Sweden four years later was not going to be remembered only for the victory of any team. This was going to be the story of the birth of a player who was later considered synonymous with football. It was the World Cup that immortalized a teenager. This was the World Cup that made Brazil more than just a successful team. But rather transformed it into football’s most attractive force.
Brazil, which suffered the tragedy of Maracana in 1950, had still not completely forgotten that wound. The defeat at the hands of Uruguay shocked the entire nation. Millions of people did not defeat him only in the game. Rather it was considered a national insult. In the following years, Brazil underwent a comprehensive restructuring of its football structure. More attention than ever was given to player selection, training, fitness, psychology and tactics. For the first time, an attempt was made to prepare the team from a scientific point of view. The Brazilian Football Association had sent a psychologist with the team. They wanted to see whether the players were mentally prepared to bear the pressure or not.
The greatest characteristic of Brazilian football was its creativity. This style, which developed while playing on the streets, beaches and open fields, was more free and artistic than European football. But by the 1950s, it was also alleged that Brazilian players were talented but crumbled under pressure. The 1958 team was about to change this perception forever. This unique Brazilian style was called ‘Ginga’. It was a beautiful blend of martial arts and dance. European defenders could not understand this style.
The Sweden World Cup is considered in many ways to be the beginning of modern football. For the first time, the World Cup was broadcast on such a wide scale that millions of people in Europe and other regions watched the matches regularly. Television began to give players global recognition. Football is no longer just a game of local heroes. It started giving birth to international stars. The Soviet Union team also entered this World Cup for the first time. They had great goalkeepers like Lev Yashin. He was called ‘Black Spider’.
Sixteen teams participated in the competition. Brazil, West Germany, France, Argentina and hosts Sweden were considered the main contenders. But in the initial days, no one had a special eye on that thin seventeen-year-old boy, who was included in the Brazilian team. His full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. The world would later know him as ‘Pele’. Pelé received jersey number 10 due to an interesting administrative error. Brazilian officials sent FIFA a list of players without numbers. FIFA randomly gave Pele the number 10. Later this number became the most iconic number in football.
Pele’s childhood was spent in poverty. His father was also a footballer. But could not achieve great success. Little Pelé once played with a ball made from old pieces of clothing. Sometimes ran barefoot in the field. The talent was so extraordinary that as a teenager he started playing for Brazil’s leading club Santos. Still, before the World Cup, very few people had any idea that this boy was going to change history.
Pelé was struggling with injury at the start of the tournament and did not play in the opening matches. But Brazil had no shortage of talent. The team included players like Garincha, Diddy, Wawa, Nilton Santos and Zagallo. Those who watched Garrincha in particular often said that the ball stuck to his feet. His dribbling was a nightmare for opposing defenders. In the third match against the Soviet Union, coach Vicente Feola took a big risk. He fielded both Pele and Garrincha together. This proved to be the most dangerous pair in football history.
Brazil gradually found its rhythm. He performed brilliantly in the group stage. Then came the match against Wales in the quarter-finals. This match remained goalless for a long time. The pressure was increasing. Then seventeen year old Pelé created the opportunity and scored the decisive goal. This was his first goal in the World Cup. With this goal, Pele became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the World Cup. Then his age was only 17 years 239 days.
Perhaps at that moment world football entered a new era. Brazil faced France in the semi-finals. The French team was very strong. He had the great striker of that time, Just Fontaine. Fontaine was scoring goal after goal in this World Cup. But Pele grabbed all the headlines in this match.
He scored a hat-trick. Pelé scored three goals in just 23 minutes in the second half. The French defense looked helpless in front of the speed of this young player. Brazil defeated France 5–2 to reach the final.
On the other hand, host Sweden also performed brilliantly. The support of the home audience was with him. Experienced players and an organized team were making them a dangerous opponent. Sweden and Brazil were face to face in the final.
The final was played in Stockholm on June 29, 1958. Before the start of the match, Sweden’s King Gustav VI Adolf himself came onto the field. He shook hands with the players of both the teams and encouraged them.
The start of the match was excellent for Sweden. He took the lead by scoring the opening goal. There was a wave of enthusiasm among the Swedish spectators sitting in the stadium. But Brazil did not panic. He soon equalized and then took the lead.
What happened next is counted among the most beautiful moments in football history.
Pelé controlled a high ball with his chest, dribbled it over a defender and then scored with a spectacular volley. This goal was not just an example of technical excellence. It was a scene of meeting of art and sports. Sweden defender Sige Parling later admitted that when Pelé scored that goal, he himself wanted to clap in his honour.
Brazil eventually won 5–2. Seventeen-year-old Pelé was overcome with emotion at the final whistle. He cried on the field itself. Fellow players lifted him on their shoulders. The world saw the birth of a new superstar. Brazil had become world champion for the first time. This was the first time in history that a South American country had achieved the feat of winning the World Cup on European soil.
This victory was not just an event of winning the trophy. It was an answer to the pain of the 1950s. It was an escape from the tragedy of the Maracana. It was the victory of a nation that had learned from its failure and reorganized itself.
Pelé instantly became a global hero. His game had speed, power, technique, imagination and above all fun. He didn’t just score goals, he made football beautiful. In the coming years, his name was to reach every corner of the world.
The 1958 World Cup brought another important change. It showed that football is not just a game of results. Style is also important. Brazil combined beauty with victory. His playing had a rhythm like music. For this reason, Brazil later came to be considered a symbol of ‘Jogo Bonito’ i.e. ‘Beautiful Game’.
France’s Just Fontaine scored thirteen goals in this World Cup. Even today, the record of most goals scored in a single World Cup is in his name. But despite his great achievements, the brightest light in history fell on Pele and Brazil.
The 1958 World Cup is special because it gave birth to football’s first global superstar. There were great players before him, but Pelé became a global cultural icon. He is no longer just a player. He became representative of the universal language of hope, talent and sport.
If 1954 was the ‘Miracle of Bern’, 1958 was the ‘Explosion of Genius’. If Germany taught the world the importance of courage, Brazil taught it the meaning of beauty. And at the center of that beauty stood a seventeen-year-old boy who told the world that greatness knows no age.
World football had now completely changed. But Pele’s story was just beginning. He will return to the World Cup again after four years. Brazil will be back again. And the world will see whether a team can become world champion for the second consecutive time.
