Thousands of mourners have queued to file past the body of football legend Pele, as his coffin lay at the stadium where he made his hometown team one of Brazil’s best.
A solemn 2km queue, made up of everyone from secondary school pupils to Supreme Court justices, formed on Monday as grieving fans waited to pay their final respects.
The Brazilian football great – the only player ever to win three World Cups – died on Thursday at the age of 82, following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Pele’s coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed in the midfield area of Vila Belmiro, the century-old stadium outside Sao Paulo that was his home for most of his career.
A Catholic mass was due to be celebrated there on Tuesday morning before his burial at a nearby cemetery.
Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was also due to visit Vila Belmiro shortly before Pele‘s coffin was removed from the stadium.
The storied 16,000-seat stadium was surrounded by mourning fans on Monday and Tuesday, and covered with Pele-themed decorations inside.
Fans coming out of the stadium said they had waited in line for three hours.
Geovana Sarmento, 17, came with her father wearing a Brazil shirt with Pele‘s name.
“I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father,” she said. “But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honour him.”
Caio Zalke, 35, an engineer, also wore a Brazil shirt as he waited in line. “Pele is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made soccer important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” he said.
Rows of shirts with Pele‘s number 10 were placed behind one of the goals.
A section of the stands was filling up with bouquets of flowers placed by mourners and sent by clubs and star players – Neymar and Ronaldo among them – from around the world as loudspeakers played a song named Eu sou Pele (I am Pele) that was recorded by the Brazilian himself.
Claudio Carranca, 32, a salesman, said: “I never saw him play, but loving Pele is a tradition that goes from father to son in Santos. I learned his history, saw his goals, and I see how Santos FC is important because he is important. I know some Santos fans have children supporting other teams. But that’s just because they never saw Pele in action. If they had, they would feel this gratitude I feel now.”
Pele‘s casket will be ushered through the streets of Santos before his burial on Tuesday.
A funeral was held at the stadium on Monday morning.
Santos FC said that more than 1,100 journalists from 23 countries were at the service, where dignitaries and friends of Pele spoke,
Among them was Pele‘s best friend Manoel Maria, also a former Santos player. “If I had all the wealth in the world I would never be able to repay what this man did for me and my family. He was as great a man as he was as a player; the best of all time. His legacy will outlive us all. And that can be seen in this long line with people of all ages here.”
Fifa president Gianni Infantino told journalists that every country should name a stadium after Pele.
“I am here with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he gave us so many smiles,” Infantino said. “As Fifa, we will pay a tribute to the ‘King’ and we ask the whole world to observe a minute of silence.”
Another fan and friend in line was Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes.
“It is a very sad moment, but we are now seeing the real meaning of this legendary player to our country,” he told journalists. “My office has shirts signed by Pele, a picture of him as a goalkeeper, also signed by him. DVDs, photos, a big collection of him.”
Pele had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical centre where he had been treated said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.
Pele led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pele‘s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
