Dondinho biography of michael

In recognition of Father’s Day as celebrated in the U.S., Bringing Back the Beautiful Game presents the following reflection on Pele’s relationship with his father:

One of the remarkable things about Pele’s biography is the clarity with which he articulates the closeness of his relationship to his father, Dondinho, an attacking center forward that played closer to goal than Pele preferred to play.

Dondinho was a classic number 9 whereas Pele, as number 10, opted for a deeper role where he could orchestrate attacks as well as come forward. In his autobiography, Pele recounts his father’s support of his childhood ambition to become a professional pilot.

Instead of pouring cold water over his son’s excitement, Dondinho nurtures Pele’s ambition and reminds him of all of the skills he would need to acquire to realize that dream as illustrated in the passage below:

“I remember talking about it and being surprised that he thought it was a good e