There is a neighborhood in Santos called Canal 6. It takes its name from a ravine of stagnant water, choked with plastic bags, cans and squares of old carpet.
It runs down the middle of Avenida Coronel Joaquim Montenegro where, at number 25, behind a large sliding door, Dona Celeste, Pele’s 100-year-old mother, is cared for by her family and friends.
The street was quiet yesterday morning. A few locals slowly made their way to the beach in shorts and flip flops. A lady wearing an Argentinian shirt with Lionel Messi’s name on the back walked her dog and cafe owners hosed down the sidewalks in front of their businesses.
The only sign of the chaos that was about to ensue was a banner hung in front of number 25. “Obrigado Rei,” she said. “Thank you, king.
There is a neighborhood in Santos called Canal 6. It takes its name from a ravine of stagnant water, choked with plastic bags, cans and squares of old carpet.
It runs down the middle of Avenida Coronel Joaquim Montenegro where, at number 25, behind a large sliding door, Dona Celeste, Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, is cared for by her family and friends.
But at noon, Canal 6 had become the focal point of the funeral procession of the greatest footballer of all time.
Where once there had been peace, there was now a barely controlled chaos of thousands of supporters thronging the doors of Dona Celeste’s house, waving flags, saying prayers, crying and cheering and waiting for the arrival of the fire truck carrying Pelé’s coffin.
More than 230,000 mourners filed past Pelé’s open coffin in Vila Belmiro, the stadium a few miles from where he played for Santos for 18 years and made the team, and the city, synonymous with his greatness.
Among the latest to pay tribute to him was newly elected Brazilian President Lula. Once he left, Pelé’s coffin was carried from the stadium and loaded onto a fire truck, to take him on his final journey.
The truck weaved its way through tens of thousands of fans lining the streets and headed for the beachfront beaches of Santos before turning left along Canal 6.
At number 25, family members had appeared on the balcony. Some thought they had spotted Dona Celeste among them, but it became clear that it was Pelé’s sister, Maria Lucia, who had led the crowd in a moving rendition of the Lord’s Prayer.
The street was quiet yesterday morning. A few locals slowly made their way to the beach in shorts and flip flops
The only sign of the chaos that was about to ensue was a banner hung in front of number 25. “Obrigado Rei,” she said. ‘Thank you, King’
Brazilians were saddened by the news that Dona Celeste, who is thought to have dementia, does not realize that her son is dead and did not appear on the balcony as a fire truck, preceded by hordes of Santos fans waving giant flags. and police bikers, slowly made its way across channel 6, then turned to stop in front of number 25.
He stood there for a few minutes as Pele’s family and friends stood on the balcony and waved from upstairs windows and wept and consoled each other.
This part of the funeral procession was a reminder that Brazil rested a son, a father and a grandfather, and not just a man who had won three World Cups for his country and had become the personification of the beautiful game.
Soon the fire truck left. He returned to the waterfront and then to the Memorial Necropolis Ecumenica, a vertical cemetery within sight of Vila Belmiro, where he was interred in a family tomb on the ninth floor.
And in some ways it marked the end of the period of mourning for the man who brought so much joy to so many football fans around the world.
In other ways, the mourning for him continued. He was present, most immediately, in fierce media criticism of former Brazilian greats, particularly the 1994 and 2002 World Cup-winning teams.
But at noon, Canal 6 had become the focal point of the funeral procession of the greatest footballer of all time.
While other internationals such as Clodoaldo, Falcao, Mauro Silva and Ze Roberto were able to pay their respects – those conspicuously absent from the two-day funeral ceremonies at Santos and did not visit Vila Belmiro included superstars Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Romario and Kaca.
Many Brazilians were outraged and saddened by their decision not to attend.
The unseemly row has laid bare some of the divisions that exist between different generations of Brazilian greats and the resentment many former players of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning squad feel about the way they were ignored and forgotten by the country’s authorities. in recent years.
It has been pointed out in Brazilian media that a museum celebrating Pelé at Rio’s Maracana stadium has been closed.
Current Brazilian striker Neymar, another former Santos player, was also criticized for not attending Pele’s funeral when his Paris Saint-Germain teammates Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi found time to turn up on Monday. at the Barclays Center in New York to watch the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the San Antonio Spurs.
Brazil are full of disenchantment with their current crop of players following their surprise exit from last month’s World Cup in the quarter-finals.
That disenchantment collided with the grief that swept the country when Pelé died in hospital in Sao Paulo last Thursday at the age of 82.
The pride in him and his three World Cup victories was in stark contrast to the dismay the Brazilians feel at the direction their football has taken and how far he has strayed from the style that has brought them so much success. during the heyday of Pelé.
Where once there had been peace, there was now a barely controlled chaos of thousands of supporters thronging the doors of Dona Celeste’s house, waving flags, saying prayers, crying and cheering and waiting for the arrival of the fire truck carrying Pelé’s coffin.
More than 230,000 mourners filed past Pelé’s open coffin in Vila Belmiro, the stadium a few miles from where he played for Santos for 18 years and made the team, and the city, synonymous with his greatness.
When he played, Brazilian stars played for Brazilian clubs. Now they are leaving for Europe earlier and earlier in their careers. Their latest domestic wonderkid, Endrick, was not even 16 and hadn’t played a first-team game for his club, Palmeiras, when courted by Real Madrid.
He has since agreed to sign for the Spanish giants and will be lost to Brazilian club football when he turns 18 in July next year.
It’s another symbol of how the strength of Brazilian football is being eroded by the financial might of European clubs. And as disillusionment with the situation grows, so does the reputation of Pelé and his 1970 teammates.
I spoke to one of those teammates, Paulo Cezar Caju, who played against England in that World Cup, at a cafe in Rio recently.
“One of my biggest disappointments was the way Brazil played in 1994,” Caju said.
“It was the beginning of the downfall of Brazilian football, art and the beautiful game. Their style was very pragmatic and defensive, but because we won it impacted what happened next. We attached great importance to winning but not to performing, not to playing magnificently.
“Brazil played in the 1982 World Cup and they lost but whatever, it was fantastic. Nobody talks about the 1994 side. We don’t celebrate that. Brazilian football has paid a high price so far for what happened in ’94 in terms of the quality of the football played. The beautiful football is gone. It’s very sad.’
Those feelings of nostalgia for a lost era followed the fire truck carrying Pele’s coffin away from Canal 6 and family members waving from the balcony and Dona Celeste lying inside.
He walked along the beaches again as he finally prepared to put Pelé to rest and there, on the golden sands of Santos, circles of children stood in circles playing goalie, laughing, dancing and juggling soccer balls. football in the sun. In them at least, the beautiful game continues.
