The coffin of legendary football maestro Pelé was placed on the pitch at the stadium of his former club Santos. The coffin carrying the three-time World Cup champion left Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo early on Monday and was taken to Vila Belmiro stadium. The Santos soccer club said in a statement that the public would be able to pay their final respects at the stadium.
Football fans lined up in front of the Vila Belmiro stadium and chanted “Pelé, Pelé!”, waiting to enter the field, where the open coffin was placed surrounded by wreaths of white flowers. Through tears, his third wife, Marcia Cibele Aoki, was one of the first to reach out. Dressed in black, she passed her hand over the head of the star, whom she married in 2016. At least three -Edinho, Kely and Flavia- of the six living children of the unforgettable 10 were also present.
Neymar’s father, who emerged from the Peixe youth academy, attended dressed in a blue suit on behalf of the family of the new 10 of the select who will not travel to Brazil.
“Pelé inspired all generations, he has always been a benchmark,” said Ney’s father, who in Qatar 2022 matched o rei as the top scorer of the five-time champions (77 goals).
Several flags of different sizes decorated the stands of Santos: one with oh king from behind, showing the Number 10 shirt that he immortalized, and others with the messages “Long live the king” or “Pelé, 82 years old”. Entry will be allowed “uninterrupted” until today, at 10:00 a.m. locals, after which a procession will begin through the streets of Santos, 75 kilometres from Sao Paulo.
It will end in a mausoleum in the city with a religious ceremony and a burial reserved for the family, the same cemetery rests the remains of Pelé’s father, brother and aunt.
The funeral caravan will pass by the house of the mother of the legendary ex-soccer player, Doña Celeste, 100 years old, who does not know of the death of her son. Thousands endured hours of waiting under a hot sun to bid farewell to the man who made Brazil famous.
Some even entered more than once, in an act held in a solemn atmosphere, with fewer displays of passion than those exhibited at the wake of Argentine star Diego Maradona in November 2020.
Other tributes took place in Brazil, mainly during the inauguration ceremony on Sunday of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in Brasilia, which began with a minute’s silence in his memory.
Meanwhile, FIFA will ask every country IN THE WORLD to name a stadium after Pele- a way to pay their respects to the Football Icon, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, best known as Pelé, Hotfmghana.com learns.
Images At the Event:
