Edinho classifies Londrina in Copinha and traces the path refused by Pelé

In the darkness of the Baetão stadium, in São Bernardo do Campo (ABC region), a policeman approaches Edinho and shows a photo of a person on his cell phone screen. Londrina’s coach recognizes her, and a video call takes place.

“I’m here doing what I love,” says Pelé’s son to his friend, who apparently hasn’t seen him for a long time.

If the Copa São Paulo is a showcase for players up to 21 years old, the same goes for the coach of the under-20 team from Paraná. Since 2007, the former Santos goalkeeper and son of Pelé seeks to establish himself in the profession in a bumpy journey and from different clubs. The biggest opportunity may be in the grassroots tournament.

This Tuesday (11), Londrina thrashed EC São Bernardo 4-1 and qualified for the first phase of the knockout stage. This Thursday (13), at 11 am, they face São Caetano. If he wins, he will advance to the round of 16.

“It’s been a dedication of mine for many years. I’ve been in the technical area since 2007. I spent eight years on Santos’ permanent commission, then I coached Mogi Mirim, Água Santa, Atlético Tricordiano. I’ve been doing this job for a long time. and conquer my space. [A Copinha] It’s a great opportunity”, he says.

In no time he celebrated a ranking that left his players euphoric. They even threw themselves into the pool next to the locker room, something Edinho didn’t want to imitate. The team would qualify with a win by any result. The rout made them finish first in Group 22.

For those who like to play ball and play at speed, playing at Baetão was an extra challenge.
Synthetic turf is worn out in many places. The dimensions of the field, which are narrow, do not seem made for an 11-on-11 football match. The match started at 7:15 pm, and the lighting system was precarious.

In the first round it was even worse: the storm made the act of exchanging passes almost impossible in the defeat to Aster. There was no way to postpone the confrontation because of the lack of dates.

In Tuesday’s rout, Edinho spent almost the entire 90 minutes on his feet, arms crossed or hands in his pockets, without showing emotion. He didn’t even get excited about Londrina’s four goals or when goalkeeper Neneca saved a penalty during the second half. When giving instructions to his athletes, he signaled little. He seemed to pass the messages as calmly as possible.

“The classification is deserved, but I told them that we are here to fight for the title, so I don’t celebrate much,” he explains.

Keeping calm is a considerable change for those who, in the past, said they were fulfilled with the adrenaline of sport. The emotion of being a goalkeeper and of always being involved in capital shots was part of his life. He also participated in motocross competitions, with an electrical discharge in his body that he considered similar to that of a parachute jump.

But it is at the edge of the field that he claims to have met. The first phase of Copinha, in a small stadium and without big clubs as opponents (EC São Bernardo, Aster and São Bento were also in the group) kept him out of the spotlight, discreet. The coach knows that this will change in case of victory over São Caetano and classification for the higher stages of the knockout stage.

After all, he is Edinho, son of King Pelé.

“My father suffers because I am here, but he is very happy and proud, above all because of the moment I am, to be at peace with life, doing what I love and working with football”, he believes.

In recovery from surgery to remove a tumor in the colon, Pelé followed the Londrina games as far as he could, but none of them were broadcast on TV. In the past, when he was a goalkeeper, Edinho was annoyed that his performance on the field was linked to that of his famous family member. He even asked the narrator Silvio Luiz to stop using the catchphrase “daddy liked it” every time he made a good save. That’s in the past.

In an interview with leaf in October 2020, he recognized that football had become the link that united him to the greatest player in history. None of that has changed since then, even if Edinho follows a path that Pele has always considered dangerous. After retiring in 1977, the ace never wanted to be a coach. When asked why, he defined the “ball world as a very unfair environment with little memory.”

“He always realized that everything he did as an athlete could be tarnished. He would feel vulnerable. I think he already made his contribution in football, right?”, sums up the son.

Edinho hopes that his turn has also come to make his most important contribution. As a goalkeeper, he had his peak at Santos in 1995, defeated in one of the most controversial finals in the history of the Brazilian Championship because of the arbitration of Marcio Rezende de Freitas. If he is to dream, he aims for the top.

“Now he [Pelé] have a son who donated himself for football, and who knows, maybe this is my destiny, to be one of the great coaches in the country?”, he asks, imposing himself a challenge in which the first step may be in Copinha.