Classic Players

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."

Brazilian soccer legend Pele's cancer has advanced and he requires care related to renal and cardiac dysfunction, according to a medical report, and his family said he would remain in a Sao Paulo hospital over Christmas.

Widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, the 82-year-old has been hospitalized in the Albert Einstein hospital since late November as doctors reevaluate his treatment and tend to a respiratory infection.

Pele has received regular medical treatment since a tumor was removed from his colon in September last year.