When an eight-year-old Pele was first called by this moniker by a little boy in the street, he was so incensed that he punched him and eventually got suspended from school for three days.
“Hey, my name is Edson, so why you call me Pele,” the Brazilian asked, as noticed in a video that is doing the rounds on social media. “What’s Pele? I don’t like this ugly name. ”
Pele’s birth name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento.
His parents were inspired by the fact that he was born in the morning, and as Pele explained in one of his interviews, “The light arrived in the same moment I was born. ” He was soon named after American inventor Thomas Edison, famous for his light bulb theory that paved the way for home illumination.
The Brazilian, winner of a record three World Cups and arguably the world’s greatest footballer, died last week, aged 82.He had many nicknames.
For his family, he was ‘Dico’. At Santos, he was called ‘Gasolina’, after a Brazilian singer. But whatever he may have been called, Pele, ugly at first by his own admission, turnedinto the most beautiful and recognisable four-letter word.
“You can’t have a name more famous and beautiful than Pele,” says Pele Gomes from Benaulim. “My father was a big football fan and I was born in 1970, the year Pele won a third World Cup for Brazil. ”
Gomes isn’t the only one. For kids born in the 60s, 70s and even 80s in Goa, it wasn’t unusual to be named after the Brazilian great. “Not just because I have his name, but I think there is no debate that Pele remains the best footballer of all time. Just look at the videos. Everything that appears unique and astounding today, Pele did it during his time,” says Gomes.
On the South Goa coastal belt, Francisco Fernandes is quite popular, but nobody knows him by his real name. To everyone, he’s Pele, a name that has stuck with Join the Times Special Readers’ Club. Scan the QR code tohim since he was a child.
His video instructing cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar the intricacies of fishing went viral recently. Guess what his boats are named--all of them, Pele.
“Goa’s love affair with Brazil started with Pele,” says Padma Shri awardee Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, a lifelong fan of the footballer and the country that has won five FIFA World Cups, more than any other nation. “In the 60s and 70s, you could only tune in to the commentary or read snippets about great footballers. When television made an appearance in India (in the 80s), Pele had retired. But despite the lack of media coverage, his exploits were so great that it still reached every corner of the world. ”
Football in Goa is more than just a sport, and the greatest footballer of all time occupies a pride of place.
When Pele was inching towards international retirement in the early 70s, the Goa Football Association (GFA), the governing body for football in the state, quickly convened a meeting and decided to do something special in his honour. The result--a knockout pre-season tournament called ‘Pele Cup’, where only the top division teams could take part.
For the opening game, players of Panvel Sports Club and Goa Shipyard walked onto the field with a huge portrait of the Brazilian footballer while spectators applauded.
“From a name to remember, Pele became a name that no one will ever forget,” says Brahmanand, Goa’s greatest of all time. “Pele has died but he will always be alive, marked in memory as the Brazilian who made football the world’s most-loved sport. ”
Pele’s popularity is not limited to the football field.
In Goa’s bullfight arena, the honour of being named Pele is reserved only for those with enormous potential or someone who has proven himself early on in his career.
The most popular of them was Pele, owned by the Caiado Bros in Zuari, Goa Velha. He is reported to have lost just one bout in his entire career. The bull was so good that he soon came to be known as ‘King Pele’, unlike any other footballer, even if it goes by the name of Messi, Ronaldo or Zidane.
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