“Your name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. We know Brazilian players often have nicknames. Where did “Pele” come from?
I was seven when I “met” Pele. I was born in a place called Tres Coracoes. Then when I was seven we came to Bauru. It was a small town but it was bigger than Tres Coracoes and the people thought they were a little more fancy. They started to tease us and the kids called me “Pele.” I didn’t know if I’d done something wrong but I didn’t like the name so I started to fight the other boys. I told them: “My name is Edson.” I was suspended from school for two days. My father had to go down to the school. They asked me: “Why were you fighting?” I said: “Because they call me
