Football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly known as Pelé, was on Tuesday, buried in the port city where he began his career nearly 70 years ago.
Pelé, who died last week at the age of 82, was interred at a cemetery near the team’s Vila Belmiro stadium after an emotional three-hour procession through town.
Brazillian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, flew in to join theeight-mile funeral cortege through Santos, which attracted thousands of grieving residents on to the streets.
Earlier, there was a 24-hour public wake at the ground where he had made his name as a teenager in the 1950s. More than 230,000 mourners from across Brazil filed past Pelé’s coffin after the wake began at 10am Monday, voicing adoration and regret over the passing of a sporting legend who won three World Cups and became the country’s most famous international calling card.
After the wake ended at 10am on Tuesday, Pelé’s body was placed on a red fire engine by police guards and driven south towards the seafront. From there the cortege moved slowly east along the coast, towards the home of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, news helicopters buzzing overhead.
Finally, the footballer’s body was transported to Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, a “vertical” cemetery near the Santos stadium, for a private burial, which began at shortly after 2pm local time.
