Thousands of fans of Brazilian football bid farewell on Tuesday to the body of the late legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento "Pelé", in a grand funeral in the Brazilian city of "Santos". The legend Pelé passed away last Thursday at the age of 82, having enriched football with his achievements and records both locally with Santos and internationally with the Brazilian national team.
Pelé's coffin arrived at the "Urbano Caldeira" stadium, famously known as "Vila Belmiro," in Santos on Monday from the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, allowing Santos fans and the Brazilian national team supporters to pay their respects. His body remained at the Santos club stadium until 10 am on Tuesday for the final farewell before being taken to his final resting place.
The funeral procession for the legend Pelé began at the "Urbano Caldeira" stadium, passing through a neighborhood in Santos where his mother, Dona Celeste, resides, unaware that her son had passed after battling colon cancer. The coffin then proceeded to its final destination, a cemetery located half a mile from the Santos stadium.
Following the funeral, Brazil entered a three-day mourning period for the player who brought the country its first three World Cup titles in history in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Pelé was buried in a place that he tried to express gratitude to his father, who inspired him to enter the world of football. He requested to be buried on the ninth floor of a vertical cemetery, half a mile from the "Santos" stadium, in honor of his father, the former football player "Dondinho," who played for the Brazilian team Fluminense and wore the number 9.
Santos fans believe that Pelé was buried in a cemetery that is half a mile from the Santos stadium, on the ninth floor, so he could watch over the team's stadium. The vertical cemetery consists of 32 floors and overlooks the "Vila Belmiro" stadium, the former home of Santos. It is also considered a famous tourist attraction and is listed in the "Guinness" Book as the tallest vertical cemetery in the world.
