Pelé trailer: The Netflix doc on the greatest footballer to ever play the game

Brazilian soccer player Pelé in Netflix documentary.
(Image credit: Netflix)

You don't have to be a football fan — that's soccer in some places — to know this one name.

Pelé.

The greatest footballer to ever play the game gets his own documentary on Netflix on Feb. 23. And now we have a trailer. It's not just a story about sports — it's also about politics, and what it's like to be a national hero in one of your country's toughest times.

And it's also about being able to do things with a soccer ball that don't seem physically possible.

Here's the official line from Netflix:

This documentary feature tells the story of iconic footballer Pelé, his quest for perfection and the mythical status he attained. As well as unprecedented interview access to Pelé, the film includes astounding archive footage and interviews with legendary former team-mates including Zagallo, Jairzinho and Rivellino. The story looks back at the extraordinary 12-year period in which Pelé, the only man to win three World Cup titles, went from young superstar in 1958 to national hero in 1970; a radical yet turbulent era in Brazil’s history.

The documentary is directed by David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas.

Get ready for subtitles, of course, because there's going to be a lot of Portuguese spoken in this one. But it's absolutely going to be worth it.

Phil Nickinson

Phil spent his 20s in the newsroom of the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, his 30s on the road for AndroidCentral.com and Mobile Nations and is the Dad part of Modern Dad.