Edson arantes do nascimento biography sample

Pele is the most iconic footballer of the Twentieth Century.

Edson arantes do nascimento biography sample

He epitomised the flair, joy and passion the Brazilians bought to the game.

“I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music.” – Pele

Early life

Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison (his parents removed the i). In his childhood, he gained a nickname ‘Pele’ – after he mispronounced the name of a goalkeeper ‘Bile’ – Initially Pele disliked it and complained, but the more he complained, the more it stuck.

Pele has no meaning and was intended as an insult, though later it was found that the word Bilé is Hebrew for “miracle.”

Pele grew up in poverty in São Paulo. He was taught to play football by his father (who used to play football), but often he had to practise with a sock stuffed with newspapers because he could not afford