It is a long tribute that this Thursday Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, pays to Pelé. The President of Brazil, elected at the end of October, spoke of his admiration, his “passion to see him play with the number 10 shirt”, while “the King” died at the age of 82. year.
“I had the privilege that young Brazilians didn’t have: I saw Pelé play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi. Play, no. I saw Pelé put on a show, began the head of state on Twitter. Because when he took the ball he always did something special, which often ended in a goal”.
“I admired him”
Supporter of the rival club Corinthians, while Pelé played for Santos, Lula also admits having sometimes resented the player. “I admit that I was angry with Pelé, because he always massacred my Corinthians. But, first of all, I admired him. And the anger quickly gave way to the passion to see him playing with the number 10 shirt of the Brazilian national team. »
It is also the aura and the unifying role of the player that Lula celebrates this Thursday. He adds: “Few Brazilians have carried the name of our country as high as he does. As different as the Portuguese language is, foreigners from all corners of the planet soon found a way to pronounce the magic word: Skin. »
“Pele left us today. He went to play together in heaven with Coutinho, his great partner at Santos. He now has the company of so many eternal stars: Didi, Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Sócrates, Maradona… He left one certainty: there has never been a number 10 like him. Thank you, Pelé,” concludes Lula.
His election last fall, which pitted him against outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro, was largely marked by the rapprochement between football and politics. Rarely have the stars of the national team, a few weeks before the World Cup, been so recovered, in particular Neymar who had affirmed frank and massive support for the far-right leader.