By Bill Nichols

Being the highest paid and most revered athlete in the world is not all peaches and cream for Edson Arantes De Nasciemento, somewhat better known as Pele, the Brazilian soccer great. He'll be at the Stadium Wednesday night as Santos meets the Stokers.

The price of fame has been brutal.

Defenses around the world are determined to stop him by any means.

Two years ago in England Pele was hacked to the ground by the Portuguese as Brazil crashed to its first World Cup defeat in 12 years. A nation went into mourning and Pele's blazing anger led him to talk of retirement.

THAT RETIREMENT, he knows says, was just from the World Cup.

"I am still undecided whether I will take part in 1970. It is not so much the rough play, but the preparations are so severe," he recently explained.

"We spent five months in isolation before the last one, living like monks, training very hard. Now I am a family man (he has an 18-month-old daughter) and I do not want to spend so long away from home."

FULL RETIREMENT would come in another five years. "Up to 32 you can run well. After that it is just showmanship," he said.

The Stokers will have to be at their best Wednesday night.

Take it from the Kansas City Spurs, also of the North American Soccer League. Pele and his Santos club are every bit as good as their awesome reputation.

"THEY CAN READ each other's minds," said Ernie Winchester of the Spurs. "They don't even need to look before they pass. They know exactly where a man is going to be and then -- poof," Winchester added.

Kansas City's Gerd Wiedemeir, who stuck with Pele during the first half of the 4-1 Santos victory Thursday night, said, "He is the best I've ever seen. His speed. His technique. . ." he turned his palms up in search of words that never came.

Tickets to see Pele and Santos face the Stokers are on sale at the Stadium and Richman Brothers Euclid Avenue store.