Brazilians grieving as King laid to rest

“LONG live the King”.

The sentiments of a nation in mourning sprawled across the southern stand at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium in Santos, where Pele’s legend was born when he debuted in 1956.

Beneath it were 50 floral wreaths from global football federations expressing their grief. To the left were hundreds of black and white flags with the number 10. To the right, a banner reading “camisa 10 do Santos” a reminder that the number 10 became iconic around the world thanks to this man.

On the eastern stand another banner read: “The only one to stop a war”, referring

to the moment in 1969 when Pele achieved a momentary ceasefire in the Nigerian Civil War. He convinced both sides to down arms as Santos played a match against the national side. Pele scored twice for Santos in a 2-1 win.

All around the Santos Stadium there are reminders of the immortal status afforded to a legend of the game.

There was no more fitting location for Pele to be farewelled than on the turf he made famous with 618 goals in 636 appearances. Debuting as a 15-year-old, it was here that he began an incomparable career that would change his life. And it was here, before his family, friends, icons of the football world, political figures and thousands of mourners, that he made his final appearance.

His open casket, draped in the flags of club and country, lay in state on the Urbano Caldeira pitch for 24 hours as a nation mourned. Brazil observed three days of national mourning, a period extended to seven in Santos.

Dressed in a blue shirt, Pele held rosary beads placed in his hands by his widow Marcia Aoki. His face was covered by a thin piece of material and there were white rose petals around him.

An informal 10-minute blessing was carried out by a priest who paid homage to the work of “O Rei Pele”, which he said he would now continue eternally with “the king of kings”.

Tens of thousands queued over a 24-hour period to catch a glimpse of Pele’s coffin. In total an estimated 230,000 mourners filed past after a 2km queue.

Outside the stadium fans chanted “1000 goals of Pele” over and over, while others stood in subdued silence taking in the magnitude of what was happening in this small coastal city of 430,000 people.

A nation’s heart is utterly shattered. No athlete’s death has caused such grief since Ayrton Senna in 1994.

As the ceremony ended, Pele’s coffin was closed and escorted to a fire truck that was driven through the streets of the town he put on the map. His coffin was carried by ex-Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto as well as Pele’s son Edinho.

Incredible scenes saw the fire truck surrounded by tens of thousands of people wanting to get close to Pele. So much so it was almost brought to a standstill as armed police and bulletproof vehicles worked to keep things under control.

A private service for close family and friends followed before Pele arrived at his final resting place at the vertical cemetery Memorial Necropole Ecumenica just a few streets from the stadium.

His position on the ninth floor means he will forever overlook the pitch where he and his father Dodinho played.