Shortly after Christmas, probably the greatest soccer player of all time died: Edson Arantes do Nascimento aka Pelé was 82 years old. Now his body is back in his hometown, the funeral procession will also pass the house of his 100-year-old mother.
The body of Brazilian soccer legend Pelé has arrived at Santos FC stadium for the wake. The motorcade with the coffin of the world-famous footballer arrived at around 4 a.m. (local time) at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira in the Vila Belmiro district, local media reported. Numerous fans were already waiting in front of the entrance to the arena with waving flags, as could be seen on videos on social networks. The caravan, escorted by the police and fire brigade, had started about two hours earlier from the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, about 80 kilometers away, where Pelé died on Thursday at the age of 82 after a long illness.
The body of the three-time world champion is to be laid out in the center of the stadium from 10 a.m. (local time), according to Pelé’s long-time club FC Santos. At the age of 15, Pelé joined the club in 1956, with which he won 26 national and international titles over the next 17 years. Pelé’s coffin will be under a gazebo. 80 chairs were set up there for family members and friends. The fans will walk past the coffin on a catwalk about five meters away.
Brazil’s new President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is also expected at the wake. This should last 24 hours. On Tuesday, a funeral procession will take the body through the neighborhood where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother still lives to the Memorial Necropole Ecumênica high-rise cemetery. Pelé is to be buried there with his family.
Pelé’s final resting place is in the Guinness Book of World Records as well: while Brazil’s deceased legend is listed as the only three-time soccer world champion, the high-rise building in Santos holds the title of the world’s tallest cemetery.
The footballer of the century bought his grave 19 years ago. “A place that exudes spiritual peace and tranquility where no one feels depressed,” Pele said at the time. The ninth floor is a reference to his father Joao Ramos, who stormed with the number 9. The crypt overlooks the Estadio Urbano Caldeira, where Pelé scored many of his 1,281 goals for FC Santos between 1956 and 1974.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, as the striker was called by his full name, shaped football like no other. He was already a legend in his lifetime. With 77 goals in 92 international matches, Pelé is still the record goalscorer for the Seleção of the Brazilian national football team. However, his 30-year-old compatriot Neymar also scored 77 goals.