Xinhua News Agency, Santos, Brazil, January 2 Feature: Pele will not die
Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Haoquan Zhao Yan
On 2 January outside the Villa Belmiro stadium there was a sea of black and white stripes.
People wore black and white vertically striped shirts with the number 10 on them, or waved black and white flags, and had been standing outside Brazilian club Santos’ home stadium since early morning, waiting to say hello to an old friend.
66 years ago, a talented young man from a poor background became a blockbuster in this green field. During the 18 years he played for the Santos team, he led the team to defeat countless powerful enemies at the Villa Belle Miro stadium. He used his own name—Pele, an era of football was named.
Today, the Villa Belmiro stadium welcomes its legend: 82-year-old Pele will always be frozen. Youngest goalscorer in World Cup history, youngest World Cup champion, three World Cup champions, 1281 goals… The world remembers Pelé through various records. But for Brazilians Pele is much more.
“I am luckier than the younger generation in Brazil because I saw Pele’s match with my own eyes,” wrote Brazilian President Lula on social media.
As Lula said, most of the new generation of fans today watched Pele’s “artistic football” only on vague videos, heard about the legend of “Ball King” only from the mouths of the elders, and saw it in photos hearty laugh only after scoring goals.
The “Era Pelé” on the green field is long over, but the “Era Pelé” in Brazil may never be over.
“In 1970, Pelé’s performance at the World Cup captivated me when I was 12. To this day he is the idol of all children with football dreams,” said fan Jose.
“He made Brazilians fall in love with him playing football, and since then the world has seen the Brazilian’s footballing talent,” said the fan Eduardo.
Some people say that before Pele, the number 10 was just a number. Some even say that before Pele, football was just a sport.
“Pelé changed everything. Since then, football has given a voice to the poor and black people and allowed the world to see Brazil.” Brazilian star Neymar said: ‘Pelé has left us, but the magic in him will remain.’
“As a player he is fantastic, as a person he is also fantastic. He has taken football to the world and has brought joy to generations. He is a legend and is always the ‘king’.” mourning article for Bailey.
Pelé will make his way through the chorus of fans one last time to his final resting place after a day at Villa Belmiro.
When he was alive, the “king of the ball”, eager to break records on the field, chose a resting place that also broke records: the Puerto Memorial Cemetery, which is less than 1 km from the Villabel Miro stadium. building on the coast won the title of “the highest cemetery in the world”.
To make it easier for fans to mourn, Pele’s family chose to bury him on the first floor, but the king of the ball initially chose the ninth floor, he said was to commemorate his father who wore jersey no. the game, and also to be able to look forever The green field where I swayed my youth.
Bailey was over sixty when she bought the cemetery, but she always spoke of death casually. “I am not afraid of death because only Edson (Pele’s original name) will die, and Pele will never die, he will never be buried,” she said.
Bailey is often ridiculed by fans for predicting the outcome of the match incorrectly, but this time he was right.
On December 29, 2022, Edson Arantes do Nascimento died of multiple organ failure caused by colon cancer. That night FIFA typed the words on the headquarters building: “Pele, forever king, 1940-forever.”
Ederson is dead, but Bailey is not.
“Pelé in 1958, Garrincha in 1962, ‘Dream Team’ in 1970, Brazil’s first ‘Triple Crown’. Romario in 1994, Ronaldo in 2002, Brazil’s first ‘four crown’ A, the only ‘five crown’ in the World Cup…”
This is the song that the Brazilian fans will sing together every time during the World Cup. The second half of this song was purposely left blank to accommodate the glory created by Brazilian soccer in the future.
But no matter how the song continues to be written, Brazilians will always remember who wrote the first lyrics, who started the glory of Samba football, and who made Brazilians fall in love with football, “1958 was Pelé”.
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责编：刘希尧 ]
