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Sports
 Brazilian
fondness for sports in general is shown by the existence of some 8,000
sports clubs throughout the country.
No other sport in Brazil can compare in popularity to
football (a.k.a.soccer). The Brazilian passion for football is confirmed by
the number and size of soccer stadiums all over the country. The
Maracanã Stadium, built in Rio de Janeiro for the 1950 World Cup, is
the largest in the world with a capacity of 150,000 people. The Brazilian
team was the first to win the World Cup for five times - in 1958, 1962,
1970, 1994 and 2002. There are at least five other stadiums in the country
that can accommodate over 100,000 people.
Even those not particularly keen on soccer know
the Brazilian player Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento),
internationally acclaimed as the greatest soccer player of all times.
During his 18-year career in Brazil, Pelé scored more than 1,200 goals.
Upon retiring from professional soccer in Brazil, Pelé made the
sport more popular in the U.S. where he played for a few years with the
Cosmos Soccer Club in New York.
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