Fans of the late Brazilian football star Pele observe from the house of Pele's mother as a firetruck transports Pele's coffin to the Santos' Memorial Cemetery in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on January 3, 2023. (Photo: AFP)
January 3, 2023
Brazil says final farewell to ‘King’ Pele
SANTOS, Brazil (AFP) — Crying, waving flags, and chanting “1,000 goals!”, Brazilians flooded the streets Tuesday to say a final farewell to late football legend Pele, widely considered the greatest player in history.
After three days of national mourning, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva led the tributes as streams of fans, politicians and football dignitaries descended on the south-eastern city of Santos for the wake and funeral procession of the player known as “The King” who died last week at age 82.
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Santos FC, the club with which Pele spent most of his storied career, said some 250,000 people had attended his 24-hour wake in the Vila Belmiro stadium, where mourners continued arriving straight through the night.
Lula, who took office Sunday in a ceremony that started with a minute’s silence for Pele, was visibly moved as he and First Lady Rosangela “Janja” da Silva attended the wake, embracing the player’s widow, Marcia Cibele Aoki, who was in tears.
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“Goodbye to The King. Rest in peace, Pele,” Lula wrote on Twitter.
The wake ended with a brief Catholic ceremony after which 10 State police guards in dress uniform closed Pele’s black casket.
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Draped in the black-and-white flag of Santos FC and the green-and-yellow one of Brazil, the coffin was then placed atop a firetruck and given a massive funeral procession through the city.
Huge crowds of fans, some in tears, lined the streets and gathered on balconies to say a last goodbye, chanting “1,000 goals; only Pele!”
The procession included an emotional stop at the house where Pele’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, still lives.
“Dona Celeste,” as she is known, has cognitive difficulties and is unaware her world-famous son has died, according to the family. But Pele’s sister, Maria Lucia, who lives with her, appeared on the beige house’s balcony surrounded by family.
The 78-year-old clasped her hands and tearfully bowed her head to the massive crowd in gratitude.
The procession ended at the port city’s Memorial Cemetery, near the stadium, where a private funeral was held.
Pele was then interred in a 10-storry mausoleum that holds the Guinness World Record as the tallest cemetery on Earth.
