It is a day of meditation. Mourning, national homage and tears. Four days after the disappearance, at the age of 82, of Pelé, the Brazilians say goodbye this Monday to their idol, to their God of the round ball. From 10 a.m. (2 p.m. in France) – a time that was probably not chosen at random and recalls the legendary number of the player – and for 24 hours the Vila Belmiro stadium, the stadium of the city of Santos, where he dazzled the world from the age of 16 and where he forged much of his legend, is the heart of Brazil. The site of a 24-hour public vigil.
Entrance to the stadium is authorized “without interruption” until Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, then a procession will run through the streets of Santos before the funeral, which will be reserved for the family. The procession will pass in particular in front of the house of Dona Celeste, the centenary mother of the ex-footballer, who “does not know” that her son is dead, according to Maria Lucia do Nascimento, one of the sisters of the deceased.
The day of meditation began with the transfer of Pelé’s body in the middle of the night. It was around 3:40 a.m. in Brazil when the motorcade carrying Edson Arantes do Nascimento – his real name -, escorted by the National Guard, left Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo – where he died after struggling for more than a year. against colon cancer – to reach the Santos stadium, located about 80 kilometers away. Despite the early hour, thousands of Brazilians were present along the route.
A few kilometers away, in Santos, others are already waiting. Some slept there to be sure to attend the ceremony and greet “O Rei”. Shortly before 10 a.m., 8 men, including Edinho, one of Pelé’s sons, and former international Auriverde Ze Roberto, who wore Pele’s number 10 shirt at Santos in 2006 and 2007, carries the coffin to the middle of the stadium.
On the stadium lawn were set up two white tents. One of the tents, located in the center of the field, houses the coffin with the mortal remains of the Brazilian and the chairs where his relatives will sit. The other tent is reserved for the authorities. Since the day before, Sunday, three giant banners have been visible in the stands of the 16,000-seat enclosure: one showing Pelé from behind with the legendary flocked jersey number “10” that the ex-striker immortalized, while that on the other two one could read “Long live the king” and “Pelé 82 years old”.
Among the personalities present the president Gianni Infantino. The boss of FIFA (the International Football Federation) arrived on site three quarters of an hour before the start of the ceremony. “I arrive with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he also gave us a smile. At Fifa, we will pay tribute to the “King” and we ask the whole world to respect a minute of silence, Infantino told the press. Pelé is eternal. Pelé is a global football icon. Pele first did a lot of things in football that 99% can only dream of doing and the remaining 1% did it after Pele. That is why we are here with enormous sadness, but also with joy, the joy of Pelé. He also announced that he wanted to see a stadium renamed in honor of Pelé in every country around the world.
Many federations or institutions and clubs from all over the world have sent funeral wreaths. Real Madrid even dispatched the former Spanish international, and now leader of the White House, Emilio Butragueno. Former Seleçao striker Romario was also present. On the other hand players like Neymar, who had initially announced that he would be there for the ceremony before reviewing his plans, or Vinícius Junior sent flowers.
Shortly before 10 a.m., after the relatives of the only player to have won 3 World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970) presented themselves in front of the coffin, the thousands of anonymous people could finally appear in front of the body of their idol.