Pelé made Brazilian football, still unknown at that time, become global and brought joy to a country that was going through one of its worst times, in the middle of a dictatorship. Although some criticize the footballer for phrases such as “the Brazilian people are not ready to vote” and his absence in the anti-racist struggle, personalities from all over have said goodbye to the player, mourning his death. The former president of the United States, Barack Obama, has said goodbye to him in a tweet in which he emphasized his ability to understand “the power of sports to bring people together”.
Even NASA has shared an image of a galaxy in the colors of the Brazilian flag in honor of Pelé.
In his native country, Pelé is an unquestionable icon. No player in all history has managed to win three World Cups. He did it in 1958 (Sweden), 1962 (Chile) and 1970 (Mexico). The Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, said goodbye to the former Santos striker. By age, he had the great privilege of seeing him play live.
Although he never played in Europe, Pelé has received dozens of messages of remembrance from most clubs in the Old Continent. This is the case of Barça, which remembers the striker’s three visits to the Camp Nou (1959, 1960 and 1963) to play friendlies against the Barça first team with Santos. In the first, Pelé was the protagonist with two goals in a very strong thrashing (1-5).
Espanyol also played against the Tres Coraçoes ram in 1974 as part of a Ramón de Carranza Trophy, in Cádiz. In that match, the parrots prevailed by 2 to 0. Pelé, aged 33, played the full 90 minutes and had a rather discreet role.
In terms of players, one with whom I had a very special relationship is Neymar Junior. They shared precocity and also affiliation with Brazil, as they both grew up as footballers at Santos. The current PSG striker dedicates an emotional message on his Instagram account to the three-time World Cup champion. “Before Pelé, 10 was just a number […] He transformed football into art and gave voice to blacks and the poor,” he writes.
The stadium where Neymar and Pelé used to score goals, the famous Vila Belmiro de Santos, will these days host a massive burning chapel on the same lawn. The funeral will be held there. Brazil has decreed three days of official mourning.
