Brazil legend Pele’s funeral will be held today at the home of his former club, Santos, after the World Cup winner died aged 82, with president Jair Bolsonaro declaring three days of mourning following the news.
Pele, world champion in 1958, 1962 and 1970, has been treated for colon cancer in recent years. He died on Thursday at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, and tributes have been pouring in from around the world of football.
The forward played most of his career with Santos in his homeland, scoring over 600 goals for the Brazilian side. That’s where fans will be able to pay their respects to Brazil’s top goalscorer.
“The body of the greatest footballer of all time will be buried in the Estádio Urbano Caldeira, in Vila Belmiro, where he dazzled the world,” a statement from Santos read.
“The body will go directly from the Albert Einstein Hospital to the Stadium on Monday morning (today) and the coffin will be placed in the middle of the lawn. The public wake will start at 10 o’clock.
The club shared details of how the public and the press can pay tribute, while also sharing information about private funerals, which are being held for members of Pele’s family. The ceremony is expected to continue until tomorrow morning, with a parade through the streets of Santos.
“Santos FC deeply regrets the death of the best football player of all time, the man who took the name of Alvinegro Praiano to the world, our biggest idol, who immortalized the shirt number 10 and became a work of art. the club has previously announced there.
“Any small tribute compared to the greatness of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the eternal King of Pelé.”
Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil — died on December 29, 2022, São Paolo, Brazil). Brazilian football (soccer) players were, in their day, perhaps the most famous and perhaps the highest paid athletes in the world. He was part of the Brazilian national team that won three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970).
After playing for a minor league club in Bauru, São Paulo state, Pelé (whose nickname is not important) was rejected by the main club team in the city of São Paulo.
However, in 1956, he joined Santos Football Club, which, with Pelé at left back, won nine São Paulo league titles and, in 1962 and 1963, the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Club Cup. Sometimes called “Pérola Negra” (“Black Pearl”), she is a national hero of Brazil. He combines power and accuracy of kicking with an uncanny ability to anticipate the movements of other players.
After the 1958 World Cup, Pelé was declared a national treasure by the Brazilian government to reject big offers from European clubs and ensure that he would stay in Brazil. On 19 November 1969, in his 909th first-class match, he scored his 1,000th goal.
Pelé made his international debut in 1957 at the age of 16 and the following year played his first game in the World Cup final in Sweden. The Brazilian manager was initially hesitant to play the young star. When Pelé finally got on the field, he made an immediate impact, hitting the post with one shot and collecting an assist.
He had a hat-trick in the semi-final against France and two goals in the championship match, where Brazil beat Sweden 5-2. In the 1962 World Cup final, Pelé tore a hamstring in the second match and had to sit out the rest of the tournament.
However, Brazil went on to win their second World Cup title. Rough matches and injuries made the 1966 World Cup a disaster for Brazil and Pelé, as the team was eliminated in the first round, and he considered retiring from the World Cup.
Returning in 1970 for one more World Cup tournament, he teamed up with young stars Jairzinho and Rivelino to claim Brazil’s third title and permanent possession of the Jules Rimet Trophy. Pelé finished his World Cup career scoring 12 goals in 14 games.