O Rei Goes Home in Blazing Glory Today
*Pele to be buried on the 9th floor of cemetery overlooking Santos Stadium
Brazil’s football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (a.k.a. Pelé), will be buried today at the 9th floor of the Memorial Necropole Ecumenical, a vertical cemetery in Santos with only his family present today.
Yesterday, a public farewell held where dignitaries and fans gather to pay “The King” last respects held at the Municipality, São Paulo, Brazil, where Pelé played some of the best matches of his career.
The coffin that carrying Pelé’s body was placed in the middle of the Stadium early hours of Monday morning so that the fans can take a last look at the football legend.
The farewell started at 10:00am Brazil time and lasted for 24 hours with the burial scheduled to take place this morning, according to information from Brazilian sporting press.
Pelé passed away last Thursday, at the age of 82, after battling cancer of the colon since 2021. His death was announced by his agent, Joe Fraga.
According to the burial programme released in Brazil, Pelé’s final abode is the 9th floor of Necropole Ecumenical Memorial Cemetery so he can ‘see’ Santos football stadium which made him legendary.
This unique vertical cemetery is a 14-story building in Santos, Brazil with 14.000 vaults, a waterfalls and a car museum building. It also contains a chapel, lagoon, peacock garden, waterfalls, an aviary full of parrots and toucans and even a small restaurant.
Pelé spent a lot of time selecting his final ‘burial’ spot, his final wish was to be buried in his beloved hometown, Santos.
He chose floor 9 to pay homage to his dear dad who always wore the Number 9 shirt as a player. From where Pelé’s coffin will lay forever.
His devoted fans believe that Pelé will always be able to “see” his favourite football pitch for eternity.
Before the funeral ceremony began yesterday, the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) had raised a huge poster of Pelé on its headquarters building in Rio de Janeiro, with the message ‘Eterno’, Portuguese for ‘Eternal’ written above it.
Pelé, throughout his career, from 1956 to 1974 scored more than 1279 goals. Pelé scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches and is the only three-time World Champion, winning titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
He became one of the most commanding sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by both the IOC and FIFA.
His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, are recognised as a Guinness World Record.
Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. He was nicknamed O Rei (The King) following the 1958 World Cup.
….Gusau: Pele’s Contributions to Football Are Ineffable
Ahead of today’s burial of football’s indisputable King, Edson Arantes dos Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has described the potentate’s contributions to football as ineffable.
King Pele, who won three FIFA World Cup titles and scored a total of 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, died on Thursday in a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil and his remains will be interred this morning in Santos, Brazil.
“I have read so many condolence messages and tributes to the man since he left us, but the truth is that Pele’s contributions to the game of football are ineffable. He did so many things to raise the profile and scale of the game and each and everyone of us can only say a little of what he did.
“I remember that he came to Nigeria five times and identified strongly with black people all over the world. He was a universal figure yet he remained humble, likeable and approachable. With his skill and talent, he took the game of football to a totally different level, captivated global audiences and gave joy to billions. May his soul rest in peace.”
Pele’s first visit to Nigeria was in January 1969, during which his Brazilian club Santos FC played a friendly with a Nigeria XI that ended 2-2, and then returned in February 1969 for a Santos FC Vs Midwestern XI friendly courtesy of then Military Administrator of Midwestern State, Colonel Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, who sponsored the return of the club from a tour of East Africa to the tune of £6,000. The match at then Ogbe Stadium ended in a 2-1 win for Santos.
‘The Greatest’ made another stop in Nigeria in 1976 on a tour sponsored by Pepsi Cola, and again in 1978 on another sponsored tour that included another Brazilian club, Fluminense. His last trip to Nigeria was in October 2000, when he met with then Nigeria Minister of Sports, Damishi Tonson Sango.
Gusau admonished that Pele’s life, his humility and humanity should serve as lessons to football players and football leaders worldwide. “Pele was a universal billboard for magnificence, yet that did not make him arrogant. One can be a stellar talent without looking down on others, and one can accomplish so much without any of these getting into your head.”
Named after the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison, Pele himself can be credited with ‘inventing’ what he called ‘the beautiful game’ and served several humanitarian causes including as Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO and UNICEF Ambassador. In 1997, King Pele received a honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II (also of blessed memory).
