SANTOS, Brazil: On Tuesday, Brazil bid goodbye to Pele, a legend that helped unite a country after being bitterly divided.
Pelé died last week at the age of 82 and was laid to rest in Santos, where he rose to prominence after moving there at the age of 15 to play for Santos FC. The team's hosted a funeral Mass before his black casket was driven through the streets of Santos in a firetruck.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the new President also visited Vila Belmiro stadium to pay his respects to the legend.
His casket was carried into the cemetery while bands played the team's anthem and a Roman Catholic hymn. Attendees sang samba songs that Pelé liked before the golden-wrapped casket arrived.
There was dissent among the fans of the late footballer as some Brazilian soccer legends did not attend the ceremony.
"Where has Ronaldo Nazario gone? "Where are Kaká and Neymar?" inquired Claudionor Alves, 67, who works at a bakery near the stadium. "Do they believe they will be remembered like Pelé? The issue was that these guys didn't want to stop their vacations."
Geovana Sarmento, 17, who waited in a three-hour line to view Pelé’s body said she came to pay respects to the person who invented Brazil’s national team.
Caio Zalke, 35, an engineer, said, "Pele is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made sport important for Brazil, he made Brazil important for the world."
Pele was probably the most famous athlete in the world from the 1960s to he was the 1970s. He met presidents and queens, the civil war in Nigeria was put on hold, and people got to see him play.
Many Brazilians believe that Pele was the first to put the country on the world stage. Some of the stands with mourning people presenting flowers from clubs and stars around the world, including Neymar and Ronaldo, sang "Eu sou Pelé" ("I am Pelé") from his speakers. The crowd was mostly local, although some came from far away, and many mourners were too young ever to have seen Pelé play.
Among those present at the stadium was Pele's best friend, Manoel Maria, a former Santos player.
“Even if I had all the wealth in the world, I could never give back what this man did for me and my family. Yes, it was the best ever. His legacy lives on for all of us, and you can see it in the long lines of people of all ages here."
FIFA president Gianni Infantino told journalists that all countries should name their stadiums after Pele. Infantino said, "I'm here with a lot of emotions, a lot of sadness, but he gave us a lot of smiles, so there's a lot of smiles." I ask the whole world to observe a minute of silence.”
Another fan and friend was Brazilian Supreme Court, Justice Gilmar Mendez.
Pele has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical centre where he was admitted said he died of multiple organ failure due to cancer.
Pele led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of its all-time top scorers with 77 goals. Neymar equalled Pele's record at this year's World Cup in Qatar, however Pele only played 92 matches, while Neymar has played 122 games so far.
Pele also remains as the only player ever to win three World Cups in history.