Brazil prepares to bury Pelé in city he made soccer mecca

SANTOS, Brazil — Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it’s hard to imagine modern soccer, or Brazil, without him.

Geovana Sarmento, 17, waited in the three-hour line to view his body as it lay in repose at the stadium where he played for most his career. She came with her father, who was wearing a Brazil shirt with Pelé’s name.

“I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father. But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honor him,” she said.

Pelé will be buried today in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make into a global capital of soccer. A Catholic Mass will be celebrated at the Vila Belmiro stadium before his casket is ushered through the streets of Santos to a nearby cemetery.

Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in for a third term Sunday after a comeback victory, is expected to come to Vila Belmiro shortly before the coffin is removed from the stadium.

The soccer great died Thursday at age 82 after a battle with cancer. He was the only player ever to win three World Cups.

Thousands of mourners, including high school students and supreme court justices, filed Monday past the body of Pelé on the century-old field where he made his hometown team one of Brazil’s best. Pelé’s coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed on the midfield area of Vila Belmiro.

The storied 16,000-seat stadium was surrounded by mourning fans, and covered with Pelé-themed decorations inside. Fans coming out of the stadium said they’d waited three hours in line, standing under a blazing sun.

Caio Zalke, 35, an engineer, wore a Brazil shirt as he waited in line. “Pelé is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made soccer important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” he said.

In the 1960s and 70s, Pelé was perhaps the world’s most famous athlete. He met presidents and queens, and in Nigeria a civil war was put on hold to watch him play. Many Brazilians credit him with putting the country on the world stage for the first time.