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Thousands of fans and personalities from politics and sports say their last goodbye in Brazil to who is considered by many to be the best player in the history of foot ball. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known worldwide as Pelé, passed away on December 29 at the age of 82 after suffering from cancer. This Monday, January 2, he began a 24-hour funeral, which will be followed by a procession before burial in a private ceremony on Tuesday, in the highest cemetery on the planet.
Santos, Brazil, the coastal city in the east of the Latin American giant, where ‘O Rei’ established his successful soccer career, is today the scene where thousands gather to say their last goodbyes.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known worldwide as Pelé, is fired at a 24-hour funeral and on the pitch of the stadium that witnessed the outstanding plays of the striker who won the World Cup three times, the only one to achieve so far that feat.
Now, on that playing field lies the body of what is considered by many to be the best player in history. Two tents have been installed there, one to preserve the privacy of their relatives and close friends and another for senior representatives of politics and soccer, such as the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.
Fans enter through a side door of Vila Belmiro and approach through a walkway located a few meters from the main tent where the coffin is located, while at times a samba song called “Eu sou Pelé” or “I am Pelé”, which was interpreted at the time by the star of the foot ball.
“Pele left millions of Santos fans all over our country. He was the creator of Brazilian soccer,” fan Antonio da Paz said as he waited outside the stadium.
Several authorities are expected to attend the wake, including Brazil’s newly sworn-in president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and vice president Geraldo Alckmin, a Santos supporter.
The local military police said in a statement that they prepared a special device called “Operation King Pelé” to guarantee public order.
Pelé, “the only one to stop a war”
Santos represents an emblem for the deceased athlete. Although he was born in the state of Minas Gerais, he moved to the city belonging to the state of Sao Paulo during his adolescence. From there he spent most of his sports career and in each of his participation in the World Cup he dazzled the planet.
“I will be here all day, 24 hours a day, from 10 am to 10 am (…) Pele deserves it,” said fan Roberto Santos, at the stadium where messages such as “Long live the King” and “the only man That Stopped a War”, referring to the ceasefire sparked by his tour of Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo in 1969.
In this 16,000-seat stadium, located on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Pelé scored some of his best goals.
His body arrived at the scene under fireworks, after being transferred at dawn this Monday from the Albert Einstein Hospital, in the same state.
“The expectation is enormous, everyone will be here (…) Pelé needs no introduction. Pelé is everything to us,” stressed another of his followers.
Pelé, who died on December 29 at the age of 82 after a long battle against colon cancer, will also be fired with a parade through the streets of the city, on Tuesday, January 3, on a route that includes the front of the one that was the house of his mother, who a few weeks ago turned 100 years old.
The procession will culminate in the Ecumenical Memorial Necropolis, the highest vertical cemetery in the world, chosen by Pelé himself 19 years ago as the place of his last resting place, with another particularity: the view of Vila Belmiro, where he scored many of the best goals of his sports history.
With Reuters, AP and local media
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