There are a few athletes who stand so far above the rest in their sport that they become mythic. Think Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth. Guys like that.
When you think about athletes like that, Pelé comes to mind rather quickly. He completely redefined his sport - soccer here in America but football everywhere else - and was largely responsible for Brazil developing the concept of The Beautiful Game.
Pelé, who was born into deep poverty, was not beloved at first because much of what he did was considered foolish, out of bounds. It took some time for people to realize that it wasn’t just flashiness but also very difficult to defend.