Santos, Brazil – An emotional Brazil began paying its final respects Monday to soccer legend Pele with a wake at the stadium where he first took the world’s breath away with his dazzling skill.
Thousands of fans and football dignitaries slowly filed through Vila Belmiro, home to Pele’s longtime club, Santos, where the coffin bearing the remains of “O Rei” (The King) was displayed in the center of the field.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s office said he would attend the 24-hour wake on Tuesday at 9 am to “pay his respects and tribute,” before a funeral procession and burial later in the day.
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