Brazilian giant Flamengo played their first game of 2023 on Thursday night and took the chance to honor the memory of Pelé, who died on Dec. 29. Sadly, not everybody at the Maracanã Stadium showed due respect to O Rei, with a group of fans chanting and calling him a "pothead" during a customary minute of silence.
SANTOS, Brazil - Emotional crowds bid Brazil soccer legend Pelé a final farewell on Tuesday, lining the streets of Santos to watch his coffin taken to its final resting place from the city's stadium where 230,000 mourners had filed past his open casket.
Young and old embraced as the funeral procession wound its way through the costal city's streets for hours, with some fans in tears and others cheering and drumming for a national hero who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history.
SANTOS, Brazil - The Brazilian coastal city of Santos, which sporting giant Pelé turned into a byword for soccer brilliance during a glittering club career, prepared to bid goodbye to its hero on Monday with a 24-hour wake.
A memorial will be held for Pelé, who died on Thursday at the age of 82 after battling colon cancer, at the Vila Belmiro stadium, the home of Santos Football Club.
"The expectation is huge, the whole world will be here," said local fan Roberto Santos. "Pelé needs no presentation. Pelé for us is everything."
El fútbol y el mundo está de luto después del fallecimiento del irrepetible Edson Arantes do Nascimento, mejor conocido como Pelé.
REI PELÉ pic.twitter.com/epP8zZHRYr
While the world mourns Pelé's death, there is a question that people are constantly asking: How many goals did Pelé score throughout his career?
The answer is not easy and will depend on who is answering it.
Since his irruption in the game in the 1958 World Cup, Pelé promptly showed the globe he was a goal-scoring machine and the image of him jumping with a fist into the air became iconic. The problem? Stats at the time were not as developed as today, so the counting was not as precise as today.
Una vez que la muerte de Pelé fuera confirmada por una de sus hijas, el mundo del fútbol se volcó a las redes sociales para rendir tributo a O Rei, para muchos el mejor futbolista de todos los tiempos.
La selección brasileña fue uno de los entes que lideró los homenajes, tiñiendo de negro – en señal de luto – sus colores institucionales y un mensaje con tres coronas, en honor a los tres títulos del mundo que consiguió de la mano de Pelé.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé, ha muerto hoy a los 82 años.
Para muchos, O Rei fue el mejor jugador en la historia del fútbol, por lo que su partida deja un legado difícil de borrar entre quienes aman el deporte.
Pelé alcanzó la fama apenas con 17 años, al convertirse en una de las estrellas con que Brasil obtuvo el Mundial de 1958. Y de ahí en adelante seguiría escribiendo historia con letras doradas.
Pelé, the magical Brazilian soccer star who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday.
He had been in and out of hospital in recent months after a tumor was found on his colon.
Pelé.
The mere mention of the name conjures grainy, black-and-white footage of a bright-eyed young man announcing his arrival on the world stage in Sweden. Of a triumphant, shirtless star carried off the pitch at the Azteca. Of a smiling veteran bringing the beautiful game to a new audience. Of a septuagenarian snacking on a Subway sandwich with swimming stud Michael Phelps.
Of the greatest footballer to ever walk the earth.
Pelé.