Eleonora Daniele and the moving announcement to Storie Italiane. Photo: Rai-newsby
Eleonora Daniele wanted to remember during the last episode of Storie Italiane the great person who was Pelé, the iconic footballer who passed away just a few days ago.
Daniele opened the January 3 episode by recalling the greatness of the Brazilian footballer Pelé, considered one of the greatest of all time. To pay him the utmost respect, the Storie Italiane program wanted to dedicate much of its space to the funeral of the great champion, a choice undoubtedly appreciated by most of the public.
Storie Italiane’s tribute to Pelé
At the beginning of the episode, Daniele introduced the hot topic of the day by remembering Pelé through a series of very moving images dating back to the golden age of the great football champion, who has become a true Brazilian icon all over the world. “Last December 29 was a very sad day for all of us because after a long illness Pelé left us”, said the presenter, shortly before the images were broadcast.
In the studio with Daniele there is also the journalist, sports expert, Roberto Alessi, who described Pelé as a “infinite character”not only from a football point of view but also from a human point of view. In fact, after retiring from football, Pelé dedicated the rest of his life to helping others, activating himself in various humanitarian campaigns that made him even more appreciated from one end of the world to the other.
Pele’s funeral, an event of world proportions
“He was also extraordinary minister for sport in Brazil and then there’s the Pelé law, against corruption in football,” Alessi asserted. The football legend’s funeral was celebrated privately, but was followed by 230,000 people. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself wanted to remember him with a speech given in Vila Belmirothe stadium where Pele played many matches during his long career.
The footballer’s coffin was carried to the cemetery accompanied by a band playing the team’s official song and a Catholic hymn. Those present also sang some samba songs that Pele liked very much. One of the most emotional moments, however, was the passage of the coffin from Pelé’s mother’s housewho is currently 100 years old and in difficult health conditions.
Precisely for this reason, the elderly lady was unable to look out from the balcony, but in her place was Pelé’s sister, Maria Lucia, who tearfully thanked the crowd who had come to pay their last respects to her beloved brother. Well-known faces from world football also attended the funeral, but they were there too great absentees like Ronaldo and Neymar.
Paulo Roberto Falcao, one of the managers of Santos, the team that belonged to Pelé, wanted to remember the great footballer with a speech full of emotion. “Now I can’t think of Rei Pelé with sadness,” Falcao told Vila Belmiro, adding that he sees him as a genius with a “big smile.” “It is very difficult to give a definition of Pelé, he was everything, and this word has no explanation… it is everything”.
