President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will lead the tributes Tuesday as Brazil says a final farewell to football legend Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.
After holding three days of national mourning, Brazil has been paying its last respects to the player known as “The King,” who died Thursday at age 82 after a battle with cancer.
Lula, who took office Sunday in a ceremony that started with a minute’s silence for Pele, will travel to the southeastern city of Santos to “pay his respects and tribute” as the 24-hour wake for the late icon draws to a close at 9:00 am (1200 GMT), his office said.
Thousands of fans and football dignitaries, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino, have already filed past Pele’s black coffin at the stadium where he first dazzled the world, the Vila Belmiro, home to his longtime club, Santos FC.
“Pele is eternal. He’s a global icon of football,” Infantino told journalists on Monday, saying football’s governing body would ask all member countries to name a stadium in the player’s honor.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele exploded onto the scene at age 15, when he made his professional debut with Santos.
He went on to win the World Cup three times with Brazil, in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player in history to achieve the feat.
Tributes have poured in from around the world since his death, with a Who’s Who of current and former football greats hailing his genius for the “beautiful game.”
A stream of athletes, politicians, dignitaries and fans have traveled to Santos for the ceremony, though turnout may be dented somewhat by the New Year’s holiday weekend.
Pele’s coffin was carried into the stadium Monday morning by pallbearers dressed in black, led by his son Edinho.
The late icon’s widow, Marcia Cibele Aoki, his third wife, whom he married in 2016, cried before his open casket as she reached out to touch his head. She also placed a rosary in his coffin.
The casket was draped in the flags of Santos and Brazil and was surrounded by white flowers, including bouquets from the likes of Real Madrid or current Brazil star Neymar, whose father was in attendance.
Published on: 30 Dec 2022
Pele, the magical Brazilian soccer star who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday.
He had been in and out of hospital in recent months after a tumor was found on his colon.
Pele, whose given name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, scored a world record 1,281 goals, and is the only player ever to win the World Cup three times.
With sublime skills and a winning smile, he helped make soccer the world’s most popular sport and he charmed popes, presidents and Hollywood stars in a seven-decade career as player and ambassador for the sport.
Born on October 23, 1940, in the small Minas Gerais town of Tres Corações, or “Three Hearts”, Edson Arantes do Nascimento learned the game from his father, a semi-professional player whose promising career was derailed by a knee injury.
Several aspects of his youth are obscured by myth, including the origin of his famous nickname. As Pele (sometimes) told it, he often played as a goalkeeper in neighbourhood games, and kids began comparing him to a local player named “Bile” — and the letters got twisted over the years.
Whatever the truth, he was soon dazzling scouts not as a goalkeeper but as an attacking forward — a prototype number 10.
He was respected for his range of talents, and more so than any player since, he could do it all: He was two-footed, had tremendous pace and stamina, he could head, pass, tackle — and of course, he could score goals.
He joined Santos at the age of 15 and turned the small coastal club into one of the most famous names in football.
Over a glittering 18-year spell at the club, he won every honour in Brazilian football as well as two Copa Libertadores — the South American equivalent of the Champions League — and two Intercontinental Cups, the annual tournament held between the best teams in Europe and South America.
His talent was soon recognized by the national team and he was chosen for the Brazil squad heading to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden – although a team psychologist called the 17-year-old “obviously infantile” and advised against playing him.
Pele went on to score a hat-trick within one half of the semi-final against France, and another two goals in the final against the host Swedish team — helping Brazil to its first-ever championship.
