Pelé statue has been in a studio for nine years awaiting installation at Maracanã

For nine years, a statue of Pelé has rested in a studio in Jardim Botânico, in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, which should have been inaugurated in the Maracanã stadium in the presence of the idol, who died this Thursday (29).

The order was placed by the Government of Rio de Janeiro during preparations for the 2014 World Cup, held in Brazil. The initial intention was for the statue to be inaugurated as soon as the renovation of the Maracanã was concluded, in 2013, for the Confederations Cup.

It would be installed in front of the monumental ramp, close to the Maracanã train and subway stations, the main access for fans to the stadium. On the other ramp is the iconic statue of Bellini, defender captain of the Brazilian team that won the world in 1958.

The author of the work is the cartoonist and artist Victor Henrique Woitschach, known as Ique. He began making the statue before the government contract was signed, and with delays that turned into oblivion, he kept the image in his studio.

“The intention was to do it for Maracanã, but the deal didn’t work out. I anticipated a request from the Secretary of Sports at the time [Márcia Lins] and there was no government contract. Changed secretary, they did not open and did not pay. I took the loss and the sculpture,” said Ique.

Unlike the Bellini sculpture, the Pelé statue would be installed directly on the ground. The tribute represents him giving the famous “punch in the air”, inspired by the celebration of the goal scored against Czechoslovakia in the 1970 World Cup.

Three inaugurations were unmarked. The first was on November 19, 2012, on the 43rd anniversary of Pelé’s 1,000th goal, scored at the stadium.

An idol surgery and delay in the works caused the postponement, which was repeated twice. Soon afterwards, the arena was under the responsibility of FIFA for the Confederations Cup and the ceremony was never scheduled again.

The secretariat changed command, the state entered a financial crisis and the contract was never signed, keeping the statue of Pelé four walls in a studio in the Botanical Garden.

Since the postponement of the inaugurations, Ique has been “licking the calf”, as he refers to the improvements to the statue. Initially, he placed the ingrown steel beard on the king’s face. Over time, he decided to dismantle it and change the entire structure to bronze, a more resistant metal.

“It’s my best work, because no other work has taken almost ten years of dedication. And, without false modesty, it’s the best statue of Pelé ever made. It looks like it was made to be like that, to take ten years to complete”, says the plastic artist.

The piece is currently dismantled, which is why Ique didn’t want to show its updated version. He claims he can complete it in about 40 days, in case anyone is interested. The artist did not want to set a price for the sale.

He claims that he received “two or three” proposals for the statue, one of which, according to the artist, was from a sheikh from Qatar, the host country of this year’s World Cup. None won.

“I’ll study any proposal for an installation. I’m an artist and I make a living from it. It’s another one that’s in my portfolio. I have a very strong connection with it. I was very frustrated [por não ter sido instalada]. I relieved my frustrations by remaking the piece”, says Ique, author of several statues displayed in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, including Michael Jackson and Martinho da Vila.