Brazil prepares to bury legend Pelé in city he made famous

Brazilian sports legend Pelé was buried on Tuesday, with his country of more than 200 million people and the world watching.

Newly inaugurated president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid the tribute at Vila Belmiro, the stadium where Pelé played for most of his career.

Pelé is buried in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make it the global sports capital. Mass was celebrated at the Vila Belmiro stadium before the coffin was carried through the streets of Santos to the nearby cemetery.

Brazil’s newly installed president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in for a third term on Sunday after a landslide victory, paid tribute at Vila Belmiro. Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it’s hard to imagine the sport, or Brazil, without him.

Geovana Sarmento, 17, waited in line for three hours to see her body while she was resting. He came with his father, who wore a Brazilian shirt with the name Pelé.

“I am not a fan of Santos, neither is my father. But this man created the Brazilian national team. He made Santos stronger, he became great, how can you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people, we must respect him,” he said.

Caio Zalke, 35, an engineer, wears a Brazilian shirt while waiting in line. “Pelé is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made sport important to Brazil and he made Brazil important to the world,” he said.

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In the 1960s and 70s, Pelé was perhaps the most famous athlete in the world. He met the president and the queen, and in Nigeria the civil war was put on hold to watch him play. Many Brazilians consider him to have put the country on the world stage for the first time.

Pelé’s number 10 shirt was placed behind one of the goals, waving in the city’s summer breeze. The stands were filled with bouquets of flowers placed by mourners and sent by clubs and star players – Neymar and Ronaldo among them – from around the world while loudspeakers played a song called “Eu sou Pelé” (“I am Pelé”) recorded by Brazilians themselves.

Most of the crowd is local, although some come from far away. Many people cry that they are too young to see Pelé play. The atmosphere was light, as people filtered out of the stadium to local bars, wearing Santos FC and Brazil shirts.

Claudio Carranca, 32, a salesman, said: “I have never seen him play, but the love of Pelé is a tradition from father to son at Santos. I study his history, see his goals, and I see how important Santos FC is because He is important. I know some Santos fans have children who support other teams. But only because they never saw Pele in action. If they had, they would have felt the gratitude I feel now.”

Among those in the stadium was Pelé’s best friend Manoel Maria, also a former Santos player.

“If I had all the wealth in the world, I would never be able to repay what this man did to me and my family,” said Maria. “He was as great a man as he was a player; the best of all time. His legacy will live on forever.

‘He gave us a lot of smiles’

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told reporters that every country should name a stadium after Pelé.

“I’m here with emotions, with sadness, but also with a smile because he smiles so much,” Infantino said. “As FIFA, we will pay our respects to the ‘King’ and we ask the whole world to observe a minute’s silence.”

Another fan and friend in line was Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes.

“It’s a very sad moment, but now we see the true meaning of this legendary player for our country,” Mendes told reporters. “My office has a shirt signed by Pelé, a picture of him as a goalkeeper, also signed by him. DVDs, photos, his big collection.”

Pelé has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he was hospitalized said he died of multiple organ failure caused by the cancer.

Pelé led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s top scorers with 77 goals. Neymar equaled Pele’s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

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