Cameron Rodriguez: Wikis

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Cameron Luis Rodriguez, usually referred to by teammates as "El Matador" or "The Juggler" was born on September 2, 1981 in Santa Monica, Ca. Cameron is best known for being one of the worlds premier soccer players and has been playing for The Lost Angels FC since 2003. He currently is the captain of the team and is their leader.

Since making his debut against Bayern Munich from Germany in October 2001, Cameron's performances for both La Maquina and The Lost Angeles FC have very much mirrored the fortunes of other soccer greats such as Pelé and Raul Gonzalez.

Bio

Edson was born in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the son of Fluminense footballer João Ramos do Nascimento, also known as Dondinho. He was named after American inventor Thomas Edison, and did not receive the nickname "Pelé" until his school days. He originally disliked the nickname, but the more he complained the more he was called by it. Later in life, when reflecting that the world came to know the name, he stated his belief that it was chosen for him by God.

Growing up in poverty on the streets of Bauru, he could not afford a football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with papers or a grapefruit. He was given his first leather ball on his sixth birthday by his father's teammate, Sosa. At the age of eleven, Pelé was scouted by Brazilian legend Waldemar de Brito and was invited to join de Brito's amateur team, Clube Atlético Bauru. In 1956, Pele's mentor took him to the city of São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos. De Brito told the directors at Santos that the fifteen year old would be "the greatest football player in the world". Pelé was offered professional terms and scored four goals in his first league game. When the new season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just sixteen, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazilian national team.

Soccer Career

Pelé is in third place in the list of all-time top goalscorers in World Cup play, with 12 goals, and he is the only player who won three World Cups with his team. He ended his career with a total of 1281 goals in 1363 matches, becoming the highest goalscorer in professional football ever. In his 92 appearances for the Brazilian team, he scored 77 goals.

He was awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport, before becoming Sports Minister in 1994. In 1997, he was given an honorary British knighthood.

In 1992, Pelé was appointed a United Nations Ambassador for Ecology and the Environment.

In 1995, he was appointed an Ambassador for UNESCO at the Goodwill Games.

He was voted athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999.

In December 2000, Pelé was named Footballer of the Century by a "Family of Football" committee appointed by FIFA, after a web poll favored Diego Maradona. (For details of the controversial process