10 interesting facts you may not know about late Brazilian legend, Pele

1. His father was a footballer

His father was also a footballer nicknamed Dondinho, whose claim to fame was scoring five headed goals in a match. Pelé came close with four headed goals against Botafogo but his father managed at least one footballing feat that his son couldn’t emulate.

2. He’s named after Thomas Edison

Pelé was named after the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison. The young Edson “Pelé” Arantes do Nascimento certainly showed plenty of invention in his career and lit up many a football pitch with his skills.

3. A promise to his father

When Brazil lost the World Cup final to Uruguay in 1950, Pelé saw his father crying. “Don’t worry,” he told him. “One day I’ll win it.” Now that’s confidence!

Pelé signed for Santos at the tender age of 15 and proceeded to score four goals on his debut against FC Corinthians. That’s one way to reward the scout’s faith.

5. Goals

The Brazil and Santos star wasn’t someone who was happy scoring just one goal. He scored 92 hat tricks, four goals on 31 occasions, five goals on six occasions and he once scored eight in a single match. If only Fantasy Football was around in those days.

6. He’s the only player to win three World Cups

Pelé is the only footballer to have been on three World Cup winning teams. Coincidence? We think not.

7. He’s a national treasure

8. What’s in a name?

Pelé got his nickname after his mispronunciation of the name of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Bilé, as Pelé. One of his classmates started to call him “Pelé” to tease him and the name stuck. We’re pretty sure his classmate hasn’t won three World Cups so it’s safe to say that Pelé had the last laugh.

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9. 19 November is Pelé Day

Pelé scored his 1000^th goal on 19 November 1969, causing the day to be simply known as Pelé Day in Santos. We wouldn’t begrudge the legend a day of his own, in fairness.

10. From the pitch to the government

Pelé served as Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister of Sport between 1995 and 1998. He also served as a United Nations ambassador for Ecology and the Environment. We’re not sure what his qualifications were but we’d give him the job without a second thought. He is Pelé, after all.