Headlines
Pele asks not to compare his son, grandson to him
Sao Paulo, April 6
Iconic soccer star Pele
asked that his son Joshua, who plays for the Santos Sub-20 team, and
his grandson Octavio Felinto, who at age 16 has just turned pro for
Guarani de Divinopolis, not be compared with him, media reported on
Sunday.
"I'm proud of them all and for my son Joshua and my
grandson Octavio I hope that they have the same good fortune I had and
that they continue representing the family," said Edson Arantes do
Nascimento, known worldwide as Pele, in an interview with Sao Paulo
daily O Estado.
Joshua, who lived with his mother and twin sister
in the US for several years, has not played much on the Santos youth
team due to frequent injuries.
Octavio Felinto, meanwhile, after
being unable to garner much note on several Brazilian kids' soccer
squads, like Sao Paulo, finished this season by signing with the modest
Divinopolis-based Guarani, a team that is playing in the Mineiro
Championship, the regional tourney in Minsas Gerais state, but he has
not taken the field yet.
Octavio is the son of Sandra Regina, the
daughter Pele had to acknowledge in 1966 after a paternity test and who
died of cancer in 2006 at age 42.
"I've already seen Joshua play
several times and train with the boys his age. My advice is not to want
Joshua to be a new Pele. Dodinho and Doña Celeste -- his parents --
made Pele and threw out the mold," Pele said.
Pele said that it
all boils down to a "question of genes", that "only God can explain" and
he noted that his father Dondinho was a well-known striker who "holds
the record of making five header goals in a single game".
"Zoca,
my brother, was also a professional player for Del Santos. So it's
something genetic. In some way, the boys are going to carry forward what
Pele did in soccer for years, both at Santos and on the Brazilian team.
I'm proud of them all," he added.