Sometimes a single person really can change the world. Pele not only captured the planet’s heart with his Midas touch, he made football the world’s top spectator sport, acting as the graceful ambassador for the beautiful game. The king also put Brazil on the map. As a nation mourns, we’ll ask about the black shoeshine boy from the favela who made a point - like the recently departed Queen Elizabeth - of staying out of his country’s politics, both through dictatorship and democracy.
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