Monday January 2, the coffin of the former footballer was placed in the stadium of FC Santos, his former club, for twenty-four hours. The event attracts thousands of people sometimes from afar for a last tribute to their idol.
by Jean-Claude Gerez (Santos, Brazil, Special Envoy)
Jucilene and Francielson took less than a minute to decide. “We were on the road, towards Brasilia, explains the young woman with a round face barred with a luminous smile. We were going to attend Lula’s inauguration. For us, it was a dream to be able to accompany the return to power of this man who changed the lives of millions of people. “
Leaving behind Arcoved, agricultural village of 70,000 inhabitants lost in the heart of the state of Alagoas, in the Brazilian Nordeste, the couple learned, Thursday, December 29, 2022, the news of death, at 82, de Pelé when they were halfway.
Francielson continues. “We knew that Pelé was very sick and that these days were counted. But at the time, it was difficult to believe. My wife said to me:” We are going Santos [Pelé has long worn the colors of the club of Football of this city of the state of Sao Paulo]? “I said to him, okay. Lula is still alive.
Two thousand six hundred kilometers later, Jucilene and Francielson meet, Monday, January 2 in the morning, in the queue of the funeral vigil. Along the metal barriers, hundreds of people have been waiting since the day before that the doors of the stadium open to be able, for a few seconds, to see the “king” in his coffin.
“Pelé n ‘ was not a footballer, he was a magician “
After annoying discussions on the course of the funeral, local authorities, FC Santos officials and Pelé’s family reached an agreement. A funeral vigil of twenty-four hours with the coffin placed in the center of the lawn where the genius striker scored hundreds of goals. Tuesday, a procession will cross the city and mark a stop in front of Dona Celeste’s house, the centenary mother of Pelé. Then will take place the burial, in the privacy of the family.
Santo Duarte Soares finds the perfect organization. No doubt because he will be the fifth to enter the lawn. FC Santos jersey on the back, this retiree is all the happier since his journey since the depths of the State of the Parana, further south, was endless. “I took three buses and it took me eighteen hours to get here,” he says, between pride and annoyance. He especially spent a good part of his meager mechanic retirement.
“I have no more money, he blows. But it does not matter. To eat, I go in front of a house and I type in my hands by asking for a dish of beans and rice In the name of Pelé! “Santo does not have the impression of having made a madness. “Pelé was not a footballer, he was a magician who had only one trick: he scored goals. So I just say goodbye and thank you for everything he did for me and for all Those you see here. “
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