Dondinho

João Ramos do Nascimento (2 October 1917 – 16 November 1996) was a Brazilian football attacking centre forward player nicknamed Dondinho, and was the father, mentor and trainer of Brazil legend Pelé.^[1] During his own playing career, Dondinho played for a number of small clubs including and had an opportunity to play for Atlético Mineiro,^[2] but did not make an impression. He managed to become a prolific scorer for Bauru, with whom he won the Campeonato do Interior in 1946.

He had to retire due to cokdamage, then took the job of hospital cleaner where Pelé gave as much help as he could. While they were working in the ward, Dondinho would reminisce about the famous players he had faced, and talk about his own older brother, who had shown extraordinary promise as a footballer but died at 25. Much of his career is incomplete, lost to time, however we do know that in roughly twelve years on the dirt football pitches of Brazil Dondinho managed 893 goals in 775 games. An impressive record irrespective of any era. Upon seeing Dondinho’s inhuman numbers one may put it down simply down to the competition he played against. As one would expect the level of football was considerably lower during the 1940’s in Brazil especially considering that Dondinho played only once with a team in the national league. However, strip away the pessimism and peer only at his achievements in pure footballing terms, and you will find value in this lost Brazilian forward. The legend goes that Dondinho once managed to score five goals with his head alone in a single game. A feat that Pele himself could hardly believe once saying “Only god can explain that.” That’s not to say that Dondinho’s brilliance can only be expressed in legend, after all, he is officially attributed with 19 goals in 6 games for the Seleção Brasileira in the 40s. ^[3] Dondinho died on 16 November 1996 in São Paulo.^{[4] [5]}

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