The first day without
football star Pelé has begun in Brazil.
The three-time World
Cup champion known as “The King,” who was largely regarded as the
best player of all time, passed away on Thursday in So Paulo at the age of 82.
Overnight, landmarks
in South America were illuminated in honor of Pelé, and his visage shined on
buildings around the country. Fans showed up on the streets wearing his recognizable
number 10 shirt.
Three days have been
set aside for national mourning in Brazil by the government.
On Friday, Pelé
dominated all of the top pages in Brazil. Due to the fact that for Brazilians,
Pelé is their everlasting King, one read “Pelé died, if indeed Pelé can
die.”
When Queen Elizabeth
II passed away, it was the final occasion that a state of mourning was
declared. Pelé has been compared frequently to royalty since he was the closest
thing Brazil had.
When they learned of
Pele’s passing the previous day, fans began to assemble outside the Albert
Einstein hospital in So Paulo.
Since 2021, Pelé has
been receiving therapy for colon cancer. Brazilians have been considering his
life and legacy for weeks since they were aware of his deteriorating condition.
Many people are glad
his suffering is done, but he was a legendary athlete and will be sorely
missed.
His death was
confirmed by the hospital in a statement attributing it to multiple organ
failure brought on by his disease.
However, the hospital
stated that it shared the family’s and the public’s sorrow over the passing of
“our beloved King of football” as a reflection of his prominence.
One man described the
depth of feeling for Pelé when he was outside the Fiesp building in So Paulo,
which was displaying a colorful homage.
Widisley Guimares
told the Reuters news agency, “It is incomprehensible to explain at this
point what we are going through here; the loss.
The late athlete has
received several tributes, including one from Brazil’s Neymar, who stated:
“Before Pelé, football was just a sport.
Everything was
altered by Pelé. He made football into entertainment and art. He provided the
underprivileged and black people a voice.
Kylian Mbappé, a
striker for France and Neymar’s teammate at Paris St. Germain, adding,
“His legacy will never be forgotten.”
Over the course of a
21-year career, Pelé set a global record with 1,281 goals in 1,363 games,
including 77 goals in 92 international games.
Pelé, who lifted the
cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970, is the only player to have won the World Cup three
times. In 2000, Fifa honored Pelé its Player of the Century.
He was also a
cultural icon.
In a nation with a
long history of slavery and a heritage of persistent discrimination, Pelé
achieved the status of national treasure despite being a man of color.
On the field, he
frequently heard “monkey chants” and received various derogatory nick
names. Pelé, though, famously remarked that he would have had to halt all of
the games if he had halted each one after a monkey insult.
According to his
biographer Angelica Basthi, Pelé was instrumental in helping black people in
Brazilian football find a place and earn respect, but he never actively
participated in the struggle against racism.
Authorities in the
state of So Paulo have announced that their period of grief would stretch for a
week, compared to the three days of national mourning. Brazilians will actually
mourn for a lot longer.
The wake for Pelé
will take place on Monday at the Santos Football club, which served as his
longtime home field.
His casket will be
transported through Santos, a seaside city, the next day, before a private
burial.
As Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva assumes the president on Sunday, 20 years after the beginning of his
first term, this weekend was anticipated to be historic in Brazil.
Instead, Brazilians
will remember a guy who stood in for the entire footballing nation and transcended
politics.