FRISCO, Texas – Josh Nascimento’s father is one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Now, he’s working with the best prospects in North Texas, helping them try to be a little bit like Pelé.
FOX 4’s Jeff Kolb caught up with Nascimento to talk about Pelé’s legacy ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Helping the youth
Nascimento is the Head of Performance for the FC Dallas Academy. He works with some of the best prospects in North Texas and the United States.
“I think once you teach them one thing, and then it sticks, and when it sticks you’re like, yes, you know?” Nascimento told Kolb on his favorite thing about teaching.
Josh went through academy life as a player, but unlike these kids, he used to go home to the most legendary soccer dad imaginable. His father is Ayton Arantes do Nascimento, better known to the world as Pelé.
Growing up with a famous soccer father certainly had its moments. When Josh was playing soccer in Florida as a 12-year-old, Pelé showed up to the match as only he could.
“I just see him walking, but instead of him walking and just staying where the parents were, I don’t know what he was thinking, he came to the bench, and he just stood there,” Josh remembered. “And then all the kids on the bench just looked up, and my dad was there, and even the coach was like, what? And I was in the middle of the game, I was like, what the heck is my dad doing on the bench, you know?”
Setting the standard
To this day, the Brazilian icon remains the only man ever to win three World Cup titles.
Pelé was also the first soccer superstar to bring his talent here to the United States. Long before Lionel Messi and David Beckham took Major League Soccer by storm, Pelé joined the North American Soccer League in 1975 with the New York Cosmos.
“I think he paved the way for these guys to come in. He loved to teach. He loved it, especially the young kids. And I think you found that he saw an opportunity to do that here and to grow this sport and to just create a legacy,” Nascimento told Kolb.
Josh realized at an early age he had to step out of his father’s shadow. When Josh chose to play soccer, he aspired to play for Santos F.C., the same club his father starred for.
“I remember I just went out to play like I normally did in the field that we had. I had just gotten a Santos kit that was brand new. All of a sudden, I see him coming out in a Santos kit as well to play with me, and I was just like, what? I was blown away with it. I was like, no way, my dad’s in the Santos kit,” Nascimento remembered.
Pelé helped Josh grow his game as any father would.
“We had like a corridor between our rooms, playing him the ball or him just throwing the ball for me to kick it a little bit,” Nascimento continued.
A different kind of World Cup
This summer will be the first World Cup for Josh without his dad. Pelé passed away in 2022, not long after the last World Cup.
“Yeah, just not being able to, you know, even just call and be like, hey, did you watch the game? What do you think? He embodies the World Cup in a way. It’s gonna be different,” Nascimento said of watching this year’s event without his father around.
But on the pitch in Frisco, Pelé is still impacting the next generation every time Josh gets to tell these players about his dad.
“I think that, for me, it’s also a big win because they’re like, wow, if Pelé actually went through that too, like, Wow, okay, like I can get through this.”
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 4 reporting.
