Fans lined up outside the 106-year-old Vila Belmiro ground in Santos - the city in south-eastern Brazil where Pelé first made his name as a star goal-scorer in the 1950s - overnight and at about 10am mourners began filing past the coffin that had been placed under a shaded tent in the middle of the field.
Family members, including Pelé's widow, Marcia Aoki, and sons, Edinho and Joshua, as well as dozens of friends and former teammates, stood over the open coffin, some of them weeping.
The world's media watched on from the main stand as, a few metres to one side of the coffin, fans - most of them wearing shorts and many of them dressed in Santos shirts walked by in silent tribute.
Three sides of the 16,000-capacity stadium were draped with Santos flags celebrating the life of the city's favourite son, and the public address system occasionally played some of the songs Pelé recorded during a parallel career as a singer and songwriter.
"LONG LIVE THE KING," said one massive banner alongside others depicting his face and famous number 10 jersey. "I had to come and pay tribute," said Roberto Morais, a 67-year-old who had travelled 50 miles to see Pelé for one last time. "I had to say goodbye. He was the king - he taught the whole world."
Pelé died at São Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital on Thursday afternoon after a long illness. The former Brazil, Santos and New York Cosmos star was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2021 and was in and out of hospital for a year. His cancer stopped responding to treatment in November and doctors said his death came as a consequence of "multiple organ failure".
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin January 03, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin January 03, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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