Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born in Três Corações, a city in the south of Minas Gerais state in Brazil, on 23 October 1940. His childhood was typical by Brazilian standards, living in relative hardship with his family struggling to make ends meet. Yet this was no ordinary child. Under the watchful eye of his father "Dondinho", whose football career ended prematurely through injury, the boy who would become known simply as "Pelé" began to demonstrate his own aptitude with a round ball. Despite the protests of his mother Dona Celeste, who feared her son would suffer the same fate as Dondinho, Pelé would cultivate his talent with friends on the street outside his family home.
