James Buckley Jr. - Who Is Pelé?

In the summer of 1956, Pel was homesick.

Pel (say: PEH-lay) had arrived in the city of Santos, Brazil, just weeks earlier. He had grown up in Bauru, a tiny town to the west, but his incredible skills on the soccer field got him noticed by a team called Santos. He was only fifteen, and moving to the city had been a major decision for Pel.

Without soccer, he might still be shining shoes or working in a field. Most of his friends on his hometown team could never dream of leaving Bauru. Now, on the Santos team, Pel would earn enough money to support his family. And he could make his dream of becoming a soccer star come true.

At just over five feet tall, Pel was small for his age. He was an amazing player who could dribble well, and he was very quick. On his new team, though, he was playing against older, larger adults. He was worried he would not succeed. He was also living away from home for the first time. And Santos was a strange place. Then he missed an easy penalty shot during a game that cost his team a victory. He was embarrassed and sad. Pel had had enough of life in the big city. Thats it, he thought, Im quitting.

Early in the morning, he packed his bag and tiptoed out of his room. He had just enough money for a bus ticket back to Bauru. But as he walked quietly through the players dormitory, he was stopped by a man who worked for the team. Big Sabu helped the players with their gear and watched over the young players. In his many years with Santos, he had seen other teens like Pel. They were young, scared, and often thought of quitting. So Big Sabu stopped Pel and told him he could not leave without permission. He wanted to keep Pel on team Santos. Pel listened and made an important decision. He headed back to his room. He would keep aiming for his dream.

And it turned out to be the right decision. Pel had arrived at Santos as a very good player, but that was not enough. Pel worked hard and soon learned to do more than just dribble. He worked on shooting and passing and being in the right position to help his teammates. He ate more, exercised, and grew stronger and more confident.

In a few months, he was one of the teams stars, scoring goal after goal. With Pels help, Santos became one of the top teams in the country. When Pel was only seventeen, he was named to the national team for Brazil and helped his country win its first World Cup championship!

In the years that followed, Pel became the best, and most famous, soccer player in the world. He helped Brazil win three World Cup titles and scored more than 1,200 goals for his teams and his country. He also traveled to the United States in 1975 and helped the sport of soccer become popular among Americans. As the best player in the worlds favorite sport, Pel became an ambassador for soccer and a symbol for the sport itself.

CHAPTER 1
The Boy Who Loved Soccer

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940, in the tiny village of Trs Coraes (say: TRACE kor-ah-SOYS), Brazil. Even in 1940, there were many parts of the world that did not have electricity. Most of southeastern Brazil was one of those areas. In honor of their village finally getting electricity, Edsons parents named their first son after the American inventor Thomas Edison.

Edsons father was named Joo Ramos but went by the nickname Dondinho. Most Brazilian men are known by a nickname. He was a soccer player for the towns team. Edsons mother was named Celeste. Two years later, his mother had another son, Jair. Edson had not yet been nicknamed Pel.

Like all Brazilians, the Nascimento family spoke Portuguese. Brazil had been a colony of Portugal until 1822, when it gained independence. In the 1700s and 1800s, millions of Africans had been brought to Brazil as slaves to work for the Portuguese. The Nascimento family had ancestors among those African people, so Edson had very dark skin.

Dondinho loved playing soccer and hoped that his sons would follow him. But playing professional soccer was not an easy life. In Brazil at this time, every village and town had a team. But only the very top players on the biggest teams earned the best salaries. The smaller teams, like the one in Trs Coraes and nearby towns, could not pay their players well. And that made life hard for Edsons family. They lived in a brick house that was nearly falling down in places. And Edson didnt own a pair of shoes until he was seven years old.

In 1943, Edsons sister was born. She was named Maria Lcia.

When Edson was four, Dondinho was asked to play for a team in Bauru, a larger town to the south. He was also promised a second job for when he was not playing soccer. This was good news for the family. On the way to Bauru, Edson was excited to ride a train for the first time. He was thrilled to see the country of Brazil rush by the open window. He nearly fell out of one before being caught by Dondinho!

Life in Bauru was not easy. The familys house was also very crowded. Edsons grandmother and his uncle Jorge had also moved to Bauru so the family could stay together. The house had only a small backyard, and it was often muddy. They had no air conditioning in the steamy summers. And they heated the house during the winters with a woodstove, which they also used for cooking. It was Edsons job to stack the wood that was delivered to the house each week.