Edson Arantes do Nascimento (known as Pelé) died on December 29, 2022 at the age of 82 from colon cancer at the Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo. He was born in Três Corações (Brazil) on October 23, 1940. Historical player of Santos Club (1956-1974), then in the New York Cosmos (1975-1977), ace of the Brazilian national soccer team (1957-1971), with which he won three world championships (1958, 1962, 1970).
His name, Edson, was chosen by his father, the soccer player João Ramos do Nascimento (called Dondinho), because in those days electricity had arrived in the town of Três Corações (Three Hearts) in south-eastern Brazil, and therefore it was to honor Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the light bulb.
On the origin of the nickname “Pele” there are several versions. Originally they called him “Dico,” then “Gasolina,” and finally “Pelé” due to the fact…
