The beautiful game

This article is about the term. For the sport itself, see Association football. For other uses, see The Beautiful Game (disambiguation).

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Pelé

Brazil professional footballer

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The beautiful game (Portuguese: o jogo bonito) is a nickname for association football. It was popularised by Brazilian footballer Pelé, who played from 1957 to 1971. It was a term widely used in Brazil, though some think the exact origin of the phrase is disputed. Stuart Hall, an English football commentator, used it in 1958. Hall admired Peter Doherty when he went to see Manchester City play at Maine Road and used the term the beautiful game to describe football as a whole.[1] During his career, the Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho was an exponent of the jogo bonito ('beautiful game') style of play.[2] Although made famous around the world, the phrase jogo bonito in Brazil has been replaced with futebol-arte ("Art Football") which means the same.

  1. ^ Harper, Nick (2 May 2003). "Stuart Hall". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2011. The player I fell in love with and who inspired me to coin the phrase 'the beautiful game' was Peter Doherty, an inside forward, my first hero.
  2. ^ "Ronaldinho's Biography".