Pel?: Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Pelé was born on October 23, 1940. He was born in the small Brazilian town of Três Coracones (Tres Coratsoin, translated it means ‘Three Hearts’) in the state of São Paulo. His birth name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. His father was Dondinho, another excellent soccer player. His birth name João Ramos do Nascimento.

Pelé’s father had been a great soccer player before Pelé was born. Pelé’s father had to retire prematurely. During a game, he was slide tackled and sustained serious career-ending injury to the knee. Instead of playing the sport he loved, he had to resort to scrubbing floors to support his family. As a result, Pelé’s mother was greatly opposed to Pelé playing soccer.

However, after Pelé was born, the family moved to Bauru, another city in São Paulo. He played soccer in the field behind his house. He used Coca-Cola cans to mark the sidelines and goalposts. The ball was made of rags and socks. His father gave him valuable tips during these sessions. After a while, as he played more and more, Pelé was starting to master the sport.

While these sessions were going on, Pelé’s career was off to a running start. He played for the local youth team, Bauru AC. His coach was a man named Waldemar de Brito. He had been another great player in Brazilian soccer history. Brito taught Pelé the bicycle kick. That is a trick that Pelé would use very many times to score many goals. When the ball was in the air, he would turn his back, then jump into the air horizontally, then kick the ball.

Pelé played for Bauru AC until 1956. He was fifteen years old. He left home to play for Santos FC in the city of São Paulo. He ended up playing for Santos for most of his career. Santos was the most successful and widely recognized team worldwide.

When he was seventeen, in 1958, he was selected to play in the World Cup for Brazil. He played for the Brazilian national team, in competitions and exhibitions, from 1958 until 1974. In Sweden in World Cup 1958, he scored six goals. These included a hat trick in the semi finals, and two in the final. Brazil easily took the Cup home.

Pelé had his quietest years in 1959, 1960, and 1961. In 1962, Brazil won their second World Cup in a row. Santos won a club championship under the guidance the best soccer player ever, Pelé.