A Name to Remember: Pele

When you share a name with a legendary football player, you either need to be pretty good or you should consider not playing the sport all together. By all accounts, Southampton defender Pedro Miguel Cardoso Monteiro – simply known as Pele – does not embarrass the name in the least.

The 28-year-old joined Southampton this summer after cutting his stripes with Belenenses in Portugal. He attracted interest from West Ham, Portsmouth and Newcastle, among others, before electing to sign a three-year contract with the Saints.

Born in Albufeira, Portugal, this week Pele finally gave up hope of representing Portugal on the international level and agreed to a call up to play for Cape Verde Islands in its African Nations Cup qualifier against Guinea on Saturday.

While he shares a name with one of the greatest goal scorers of all time, this Pele is simply a solid defender whose physical style fits in nicely with the English game.

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Category: World Football