{{Short description|Brazilian footballer (1917–1996)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Portuguese name|Ramos|Nascimento}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Dondinho | image = Dondinho circa 1944.jpg | image_size = 220px | caption = Dondinho playing for Atletico Mineiro, c. 1941 | fullname = João Ramos do Nascimento | birth_date = 2 October 1917 | birth_place = Campos Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil | death_date = 16 November 1996 (aged 79) | death_place = São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil | height = {{Height|ft=6|in=0}} | position = Striker | youthyears1 = 1933–1935 | youthclubs1 = Atlético Mineiro | years1 = | clubs1 = Yuracan-MG | caps1 = | goals1 = | years2 = | clubs2 = {{Interlanguage link|Hepacaré|pt|3=Esporte Clube Hepacaré}} | caps2 = | goals2 = | years3 = 1940 | clubs3 = Atlético Mineiro | caps3 = | goals3 = | years4 = 1940–1942 | clubs4 = {{Interlanguage link|Atlético Três Corações|pt|3=Atlético Clube Três Corações}} | caps4 = | goals4 = | years5 = 1942–1944 | clubs5 = Fluminense-MG | caps5 = | goals5 = | years6 = 1944 | clubs6 = Sport São Lourenço-MG | caps6 = | goals6 = | years7 = 1944–1946 | clubs7 = Fluminense-MG | caps7 = | goals7 = | years8 = 1946–1952 | clubs8 = Bauru | caps8 = | goals8 = }}

'''João Ramos do Nascimento''' (2 October 1917 – 16 November 1996), nicknamed '''Dondinho''', was a Brazilian footballer who played as a centre forward. He was the father, mentor and trainer of Pelé.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://expertfootball.com/players/pele/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707231908/http://expertfootball.com/players/pele/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2012|title=Pelé|accessdate=25 June 2008|publisher=Expert Football}}</ref> During his own playing career, Dondinho played for a number of clubs, including Atlético Mineiro.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100anosgalo.blogspot.com/2008/06/joo-ramos-do-nascimento-dondinho.html|title=João Ramos do Nasciment"DONDINHO"|accessdate=25 June 2008|date=6 June 2008|publisher=O Canto do Galo|language=Portuguese|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120707084900/http://100anosgalo.blogspot.de/2008/06/joo-ramos-do-nascimento-dondinho.html|archive-date=7 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> He became known as "Maleável" due to his ability to score headers.

==Club career == In 1933 Dondinho joined Atletico Mineiro playing for its youth section until 1935. He then started his senior career with Yuracan in the Itajuba championship. In 1940 he returned to Atletico Mineiro, but did not play a lot after suffering a serious knee injury.

===Record=== In 1938 Dondinho scored 5 goals with headers in Yuracan's 6–2 win against their arch-rivals Smart Futebol Clube in the 1939 regional Interior Championship of Itajubá, Minas Gerais.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yuracan: Dondinho marcou 5 gols cabeça|date=19 October 2012|url= https://ge.globo.com/bau-do-esporte/noticia/2012/10/historias-incriveis-dondinho-pai-de-pele-fez-5-gols-de-cabeca-num-jogo.html|publisher=ge.globo.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Dondinho marcou 5 gols cabeça em 1939|date=29 December 2022|url= https://ge.globo.com/mg/sul-de-minas/futebol/noticia/2022/12/29/pai-de-pele-eternizou-no-sul-de-mg-unico-recorde-de-gols-nao-alcancado-pelo-rei-do-futebol.ghtml|publisher=ge.globo.com}}</ref> He became the second player to a achieve this feat, after Fred Roberts did it 7 years before.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cricket score at Oval| newspaper=Ireland's Saturday Night |location=Belfast |date=24 September 1932 |page=3 |url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004162/19320924/026/0003 |via=British Newspaper Archive |access-date=5 May 2026 |url-access=subscription |quote=The game was a personal triumph for Freddie Roberts who scored six (five with his head and the other with his foot).}}</ref> Later in 1972, Dušan Bajević also scored five headed goals for Yugoslavia against Venezuela.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brazil Independence Cup|date=1972|url=https://k.top4top.io/p_36639fm2p0.jpg}}</ref>

== Death and tributes == He died of heart failure at the age of 79, on November 16, 1996.

On September 15, 2012, the statue "Monumento ao Dondinho" was erected in the '' João Ramos do Nascimento Municipal Park'' in Bauru. The approximately 5 meter statue depicts Dondinho and Pelé as children. The artist used cement, plaster and iron and created the work in less than 2 months.

==Honors== *1939 Itajubense Football Championship (Sociedade Desportiva Yuracan Futebol Clube) *1941 Guaraína Cup (Atlético Clube Três Corações) *1946 Amateur Champion of the state of São Paulo (Bauru Atlético Clube)

==In popular culture == ===Filmography=== *1965: O Rei Pelé *2004: Pelé Eterno *2016: Pelé: Birth of a Legend

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Pelé}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dondinho}} Category:1917 births Category:1996 deaths Category:Brazilian men's footballers Category:Clube Atlético Mineiro players Category:Fluminense FC players Category:Men's association football forwards Category:Afro-Brazilian sportspeople Category:20th-century Brazilian sportsmen

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