1973, the day Pele met Pele...
Having a ball, British boy and legend who gave him his name
MILLIONS of Brazilians may be mourning the greatest footballer who ever lived – but Pele the Englishman lives on.
Pele Johnson made headlines as a baby more than half a century ago when his father named him after the three-time World Cup winner.
He was in the news again as a toddler, when the Brazilian superstar, who died last week, met him for a kick-about.
Now 52, Mr Johnson, the owner of a successful fishing bait business, is in mourning for his namesake. But he has no regrets about sharing his name.
‘I did shed a tear when I heard Pele had died,’ he said. ‘I know when we met it wasn’t as a family friend, it was a photo opportunity. But my whole life has been shaped by the fact that I’m called Pele. Everywhere I’ve gone, it’s always been about my name first.
‘It’s never hindered me, it’s a wonderful thing. My dad was English and my mum Dutch – but there’s a part of me that’s always Brazilian.’
The English Pele was born in west London in September 1970. His father Anthony wanted to name him after all the forwards and midfield of the Brazilian team, in tribute to them winning the World Cup in Mexico three months earlier. It would have made him Pele Jairzinho Tostao Rivellino Clodoaldo Gerson Johnson.
But his mother Tineke, an artist, blew the whistle on that plan and they compromised on using two players’ names, meaning he was christened Pele Jairzinho Johnson. That was enough to get baby Pele in the papers.
Two and a half years later, a journalist friend of the Johnsons arranged for Pele himself – then aged 32 and in London for an exhibition match between his club Santos and Fulham – to meet his toddler namesake. The two Peles played with a football for the cameras at a hotel in Kensington.
His father, a phone engineer who died a decade ago at 86, said at the time: ‘Little Pele didn’t quite rise to the big occasion but his namesake was absolutely marvellous. The sight of the world’s greatest footballer walking along the hotel corridor hand in hand with the boy is one we’ll always treasure.’
Mr Johnson, now a father of four, lives with his wife Katie, 43, in a detached house in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire. He said: ‘I was too young really when I met Pele – but I can remember playing football with him, and being given the ball and not giving it back.
‘He gave us lots of signed stuff, and my family always said he was very humble and happy to talk and give us his time. And even though I wasn’t given all the players’ names my dad planned, when I was in trouble my mum – who’s now 94 and lives nearby – would always call me by all six.’
His distinctive name has only rarely been a problem, such as during games while he was at boarding school on a scholarship.
‘Playing football was really hard,’ said Mr Johnson. ‘Being called Pele was a huge shadow over me on the pitch. A teammate would call out “Pele” and the visiting team would just stop.
‘At one game there was a massive hoo-ha when no one would start playing again because they didn’t believe I was called Pele.
‘ Then they thought it was because of my amazing skills. In fact I was probably very average.’
His name did him no harm in the Army Air Corps after he left school, or his career in banking.
He then established a successful fish bait business, Spotted Fin, which operates internationally.
‘It’s probably wrong to say being called Pele has opened doors,’ said Mr Johnson. ‘But in any interview, or a meeting, it’s always an easy “in”. I spend ten minutes telling the story of my name.
‘There’s been a few occasions I’ve had to pull out my driving licence to prove I am Pele. I’ve never been to Brazil though. I felt me being called Pele there, where he’s revered, wouldn’t be the right thing. Only now am I thinking I might visit, to see his memorial.’