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Brazilians bid farewell to King Pelé, and to pay homage to him, what more symbolic enclosure than that of the Santos stadium in the state of São Paulo, where Pelé played from 1956 to 1974 and gradually forged his legend. The icon’s body arrived in the city on Monday morning before being placed in the center of the lawn for a 24-hour public vigil.
The sun is already very hot above the Vila Belmiro district, but the queues are getting longer in front of entrance number 2 of the Santos club, the one reserved for people who want to personally pay their last respects to Pelé, noted our special envoys Annie Gasnier et Richard Riffoneau.
Some have been waiting since Sunday evening at the gates of the stadium which has seen this footballer and his legend grow. At the door reserved for personalities, a crowd of Brazilian and foreign reporters watching the comings and goings. We expect the president of Brazil, Lula, but also the president of the International Football Federation, Fifa, Gianni Infantino.
The coffin of the only football player to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970) will rest in the center of the Vila Belmiro pitch which will open its doors at 10 a.m. (1:00 p.m. UT), according to FC Santos, his lifelong club. . Entrance to the stadium will be allowed without interruption until Tuesday at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. UT) local then a procession will run through the streets of Santos, a town 75 kilometers south-east of Sao Paulo, before the funeral, reserved for the family.
Three giant banners were placed in the stands of the 16,000-seat enclosure: one showing Pelé from behind with the “10” jersey that the ex-striker immortalized, while the other two read “Long live the king” and “Pelé 82 years old”.
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« We arrived home »
Pelé’s body arrived in the middle of the night from São Paulo in a funeral vehicle. Santos supporters and onlookers were in the street to welcome the procession, greeted by applause and firecrackers. Relatives of King Pelé accompanied the coffin, such as his son Edinho, who wrote on social networks: “ We arrived home ».
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, spent a month in Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo until his death on December 29 from kidney and heart failure, bronchopneumonia and adenocarcinoma. colon, according to the death certificate published by several local media.
► Read also: Brazilians bid farewell to legendary footballer Pelé
