Soccer mourns the passing of Pelé

The passing of soccer legend Pelé at the age of 82 triggered a massive outpouring of love and respect for the greatest of all time.

The GOAT debate is spirited in soccer, as in every sport. The international expanse of soccer and the nationalist fervor it stirs makes the discourse especially passionate.

But Pelé has long remained above that fray, up on a higher plain. Perhaps other greats could rival his skill and his achievements, but nobody could match his far-reaching impact marketing the sport and his decades-long standing as its global ambassador.

St. Louis, a soccer hotbed in the U.S., relished its opportunity to host him at Busch Stadium in 1977.

And he embraced his standing. "In music, there is Beethoven and the rest," Pelé said in 2000. "In football, there is Pelé and the rest."

Here is a sampling of what other soccer greats had to say about him over the years:

* Johan Cruyff: "Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic."

* Cristiano Ronaldo: "Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé in the world."

* Ferenc Puskás: "I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that."

* Bobby Charlton: "I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player."

* Alfredo Di Stéfano: "The best player ever? Pelé. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better."

* Franz Beckenbauer: "He is the most complete player I ever saw."

Here is what folks have been writing about Pelé:

Steven Goff, Washington Post: "Long before Prince, Shakira and Beyoncé, there was soccer's one-name wonder, Pelé. It was not an intentional marketing ploy; Brazilians often go by one name. But more than 40 years after his last competitive game, he remained one of the most recognizable names on the planet. He will go down in history as one of the sport's greatest players, if not the best. Vigorous dissent will rise from Argentina, which claims Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. Who is best? Who cares? Each offered enormous happiness . . . Pelé's legacy remains at work in America. His name has resonated for decades, in particular for those who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s. For a younger generation, he is a mythical being, reduced to grainy videos that provide evidence of his brilliance as a goal scorer, creator and innovator. His greatest contribution here was igniting the soccer boom and introducing a sport that had not even reached niche status. In suburban parks, soccer became fertile ground for a sport that did not require exceptional height or strength. Long before playground basketball hopefuls wanted to be like Mike, the soccer brigade wanted to be like Pelé."

Gabriele Marcotti, ESPN.com: "Pelé. Four letters, two syllables. And a universal code word. A concept understood by everyone, regardless of proximity — or distance — from the beautiful game. Pelé — the word — meant something not just to fans, but also to folks who had never watched a football game, as well as to those who had but hated the sport. In that sense, he was David Beckham before David Beckham. Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan. He was the game's first globalized superstar by whatever metric you choose: commercial, media presence, wages. Oh, and he won three World Cups as well, which didn't hurt. He was the reference point for the entire world and for its biggest sport. He at once defined the sport and transcended it. He meant something to the obsessives who traveled hundreds of miles to see him train — let alone play — with Santos or the national team, and he meant something to those who have only a vague awareness of the sport. "

Mike Freeman, USA Today: "Pelé's reach went beyond Brazil. It crossed oceans and mindsets and generations, and if you were Black and played soccer in America, he moved you, in ways few other athletes did. Pelé wasn't American but for a lot of young Black soccer players it didn't matter. He was still one of us. He will always be one of us. He was Ali, Althea Gibson, Jesse Owens, Bill Russell, Jack Johnson, Serena Williams, Simone Biles and a handful of other Black athletes who reached heights that few people who looked like us ever did. He did it with grace, style and class. He stared down racism while growing up Afro-Brazilian, a racial minority. He would address issues of race even if it wasn't always as much as some people liked."