On Sunday, the former Brazilian legend Pele, who played football for Brazil and won three World Cups throughout his career and was widely considered to be the best footballer of all time, passed away. He was 82 years old at the time.
In a post on Instagram, daughter Kely Nascimento wrote a message to her late father: “We thank you with all our hearts and love you endlessly. May you rest in peace.”
Pele, known as El Rey (Spanish: el Rey/ O Rei) del futbol, was admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo on November 29 for a series of chemotherapy treatments following surgery for colon cancer in September 2021. Covid had also infected him. His wife, Nomi Aoki, and seven children survive him.
He will be buried in the world’s highest vertical cemetery, located in the municipality of Santos. This was revealed by the newspaper ‘O’ Globo,’ which notes that the Brazilian champion purchased niches for himself and his family at the Memorial of the Ecumenical Necropolis years ago. The cemetery overlooks the Estádio Urbano Caldeira, the temple of Santos, where O Rei made his professional debut and became a legend, and where the cemetery is located. When acquiring the niche on the ninth level of the building, Pelé remarked, “It doesn’t look like a cemetery,” adding that it “radiates peace and spiritual tranquilly.”
On Monday, the wake for Pele will be held. His previous club, Santos, made the announcement, adding that the funeral would take place the following day, on Tuesday, January 3, in Santos. As confirmed by the club, the Urbano Caldeira stadium, also known as Vila Belmiro, would be open for the vigil, “there where Pele enchanted the world.” The coffin of Pelè will then be taken through the streets of the city in a funeral parade, followed by a private religious ceremony.
On suburban lawns, courtyards, and football fields, generations of children have attempted Pelé’s champion shot. He was a champion at everything: with his right foot, his left foot, his dribbling, and his headers. For him, the hyperbole was wasted. He was given honours ‘ Athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and ‘footballer of the century’ (ex aequo with Maradona). O Rei was with Muhammad Ali, the most famous athlete in history, who was renowned in the most remote corners of the globe as well as the world’s main capitals.
The Sha’ of Persia waited three hours in an airport to take a picture with him; guards at the Chinese border deserted their positions and moved to Hong Kong, earning the ire of the authorities, all because they knew the Black Pearl was in the colony-city on that day. Pele was sent off during a match in Colombia, causing the fans to swarm the pitch and force the referee to flee. The match did not resume until the great Brazilian came to the field, at which point the spectators returned to their seats in an orderly manner. When he was 20 years old in Brazil, he was deemed a “national treasure,” and his transfer outside was therefore prohibited: the president of Inter, Angelo Moratti, who had made him extremely serious proposals to join the Nerazzurri, was disappointed.
