Antonio da Paz from Bahia, 69, Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino, 52, Emílio Carmo from São Paulo, 58, Paraguayan Alejandro Domínguez, 50, Adriana Bonfim from Brasilia, 53 and Santa Catarina Paulo Roberto Falcão, 69.
People from different parts of the world. From the most diverse areas. From different generations, religions and beliefs. From the street vendor’s assistant, to the president of FIFA. Political authorities, past and present players. Santos fans or not.
Everyone who passed through Vila Belmiro this Monday (2) had the same difficulty: defining the importance of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé.
The mere presence of each of them at the wake of the King of football is one way of expressing the grandeur of the only player in history to win three World Cups.
Since the early hours of the morning, queues began to form around the Vila, where Pelé’s body is laid to rest. During the day, even under a sun of almost 30°C, queues reached more than 1.5 km, occupying streets around the stadium.
Some took up to three hours just to get inside. According to Santos, more than 27,000 people passed through the pitch to pay their last respects until early Monday evening.
On the 29th, at the age of 82, the former player died of kidney failure, heart failure, bronchopneumonia and colon adenocarcinoma. He had been hospitalized for a month at the Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo.
The news caused a stir around the world. Tributes emerged in the most diverse ways. At the King’s wake, many sought the chance to approach his body for the last time, nod, stare and be present at the farewell ceremony.
In an open coffin, covered by a flag of Brazil and another of Santos Futebol Clube, Pelé occupied the lawn of the club that gave him international recognition for the last time. Another flag from the Minas Gerais town of Três Corações, where the star was born, was taken by the mayor to also be placed on the coffin.
The space was under the guard of the Burning Chamber Guard, made up of senior cadets from the Barro Branco Military Police Academy, responsible for guarding the body of authorities and personalities.
Covered by a tent, the place was divided into two areas, an external one, where admirers and onlookers circulated in an uninterrupted line, and another, more reserved, interior part, where the King’s family received condolences from friends, authorities, former -players, among others.
In the last days of his life, Pelé was also surrounded by his family, including his grandsons Octávio Felinto Neto, 24, and Gabriel Arantes do Nascimento, 22, sons of Sandra Regina Arantes do Nascimento Felinto. Only after a legal battle, in 1996, was she only recognized as Pelé’s daughter and heir.
Upon arriving at their grandfather’s wake, they claimed to have forgiven him moments before his death.
“The last moments were very good, although sad,” said Gabriel. “This is the legacy that must be left. Forgiveness and love conquer all things”, added Octávio.
In addition to them, Pelé’s son Edinho, and his sister, Maria Lúcia, as well as other family members, went to Vila together.
Márcia Aoki, widow of the former player, whom he married in 2016, arrived at the scene in the early hours of the morning, but preferred to remain silent. Beside the body, she cried.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino passed through the same entrance, at gate 15 of the Vila, shortly after Márcia arrived. And he tried to define the King. “Pelé was a legend and he was a gift from the gods to give people emotions.”
The director, who went to the stadium accompanied by the presidents of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), Ednaldo Rodrigues, and of Conmebol, Alejandro Domínguez, also said that he will “ask that all countries in the world have at least one stadium with the name of Pele”.
In another corner of the stadium, in the sector dedicated to the fans, the painter Emílio Carmo, resident of Casa Verde, in São Paulo, remembered a Santos game that he watched at the old Palestra Itália, Palmeiras stadium. “Santos drew 1-1 with Palmeiras, with goals from Pelé and Ademir da Guia, look what a privilege I had.”
Recently sworn in, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), and the mayor of the capital, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), said upon arriving in Vila Belmiro that all the tributes to the idol will be insufficient to describe his importance for the Brazilians.
The two, as well as the mayor of Três Corações, João Roberto de Paiva Gomes (PSD), also stated that they are studying new ways to honor the King, but did not mention any concrete project.
Even for them it was difficult to measure the representation of the world idol, who got used to attracting crowds wherever he went.
Many will still have the opportunity to take a risk in the search for the most appropriate adjective, since the wake will last until 10 am this Tuesday (3), when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is expected to be present.
On the other hand, some absences will be felt, like Neymar. The former Santos player and current Paris Saint-Germain number 10 asked his father to represent him.
After the wake, the body will follow in procession to the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial vertical cemetery. On the way, you’ll pass by channel 6, where Pelé’s mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.
The flamenco singer Adriana Bonfim, who lives in Brasília, came to Santos to follow the entire ceremony. “I came for everything he meant to the country.”
Paulo Roberto Falcão, the last coach of the former number 10’s career, in the game between Brazil and a team from all over the world, in October 1990, was the one who came closest to defining a star.
“Pelé is everything. That’s how he defines himself.”
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