Football “Historically Bad Night”
Pelé club FC Santos is relegated for the first time in 111 years
As of: 2:19 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Historically bad: FC Santos was relegated for the first time in its more than 100-year history
Those: picture alliance/Sipa USA/AGIF
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Pelé spent almost his entire career at FC Santos. A year after his death, the two-time World Cup winner has to go to Serie B after a dramatic season finale. The fans are angry, former player Neymar offers consolation.
A year after the death of football legend Pelé, his favorite club, FC Santos, is second-class for the first time in the club’s 111-year history. With a 1-2 defeat in front of their home crowd on the last matchday against Fortaleza EC, the two-time World Cup winners from the Brazilian port city slipped into a relegation zone and were thus relegated to Serie B.
“We will return to laughter,” wrote Neymar, who trained at FC Santos, on social networks. The Brazilian international, who moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in the summer, watched the game on television as he is currently out due to a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee.
Pelé had spent his entire professional career – with the exception of the last few years with Cosmos New York – at FC Santos. The club was founded on April 14, 1912. The footballer of the century helped the club achieve worldwide fame, particularly with the victories of the Copa Libertadores and the World Cup in 1962 and 1963. Pelé died on December 29th last year at the age of 82 after a long battle with cancer.
Angry Santos fans
Palmeiras SE secured the title for the twelfth time in the season named in honor of three-time world champion “Rei (King) Pelé”. The record champions from São Paulo also benefited from an unprecedented fall from the first round leaders Botafogo FR. The traditional club from Rio de Janeiro lost a 13-point lead in the second half of the season and ultimately only ended up in fifth place after eleven games without a win.
FC Santos in Saarland: In 1968, Pelé and his club competed against a local team
Source: dpa/Heinz Wieseler
While Palmeiras celebrated, FC Santos fans expressed anger and disappointment after their first relegation. “It was a historically bad night,” admitted technical director Alexandre Gallo. “The first thing we have to do is humbly apologize.”
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