TEHRAN – Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele, died Thursday with cancer at a hospital in Sao Paulo at the age of 82. But death is not the end.

He was a legendary player who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history.

How many time Pele was on target is a matter of debate, with most statisticians agreeing the number is between 1,281 and 1,283.

Pele traveled to Iran on May 5, 1972 and scored a hat-trick against Iran's B team at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, where Santos won the match 5-1.

Many Iranian football fans had fallen in love with the wizard, who had won FIFA World Cup three times in 1958, 1962, 1970.  

As a child, I met Pele in the 80’s at a cinema in Tehran. He became my hero after he found back of the net with an overhead kick in the ‘Escape to Victory’.

The plot involves prisoners of war preparing to face a German team in Paris amid their attempt to escape. Pele had the chance play with very different teammates - actors Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine.

Pele will always remain in football fans' hearts.