“Pele” was stuck on him by a classmate at school – in fact, this was the reason for little Edson to be punished with a three-day suspension
Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in the city of Tres Corasos, Brazil, and as a child he lived in poverty, even playing ball without shoes but with his socks filled with cardboard.
On December 29, 2022, football legend Pele passed away at the age of 82, plunging Brazil into mourning and causing worldwide emotion.
The nickname ‘Pele’ was given to him by a classmate at school – in fact, this was the reason for young Edson to be punished with a three-day suspension, as he got into a fight with the boy who gave him the nickname.
According to Wikipedia, there are two versions of what Pele actually means.
The first version is that one day he was playing football, in the fields of Tres Corasos with his friends, with an improvised ball made of cloth and paper, at one point he found an old, deflated, damaged, but leather ball thrown near a train station. . Since then, pele has also emerged which meant skin in many Latin languages.
The other version is that this name “stuck” to him when he mistakenly called his favorite player “Bile” – Vasco da Gama’s goalkeeper – as “Pile”.
The “king” of football himself has stated that the name Pele was not to his liking and does not indicate anything in the Portuguese language.
However, much later a theologian told him that this word is in the Bible and in Hebrew it means miracle, which changed his opinion about the name
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
