Sports
Pelé: Brazil says final goodbye to footballing legend on his last journey
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, led the tributes Tuesday as Brazil said its final farewell to football legend Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.
A flood of fans, politicians and football dignitaries have flocked to pay their respects to the player known as “The King” in the southeastern city of Santos, home to the club where he spent most of his storied career.
Santos FC said more than 230,000 people had attended his 24-hour wake in the Vila Belmiro stadium, where a steady stream of mourners continued straight through the night.
The coffin of the late Brazilian football star Pele is transported outside the Urbano Caldeira stadium to a firetruck in order to begin a funeral procession to the Santos’ Memorial Cemetery in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on January 3, 2023. – The funeral procession through Santos will go past the house of Pele’s mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes, who is still alive. It will end at Santos’s Memorial Cemetery, where a Catholic funeral service will be held before Pele is interred in a special mausoleum. (Photo by CAIO GUATELLI / AFP)
Lula, who took office Sunday in a ceremony that started with a minute’s silence for Pele, flew in by helicopter for the wake, greeting Pele’s widow, Marcia Cibele Aoki, who was in tears.
Visibly moved, the president and First Lady Rosangela “Janja” da Silva paused before Pele’s coffin and embraced Aoki and other family members.
“Goodbye to the King. Rest in peace, Pele,” the president later wrote on Twitter.
Pele, the only player in history to win three World Cups, scored a world record 1,281 goals during his more than two-decade career with Santos (1956-74), the Brazilian national team and the New York Cosmos (1975-77).
He died Thursday at age 82 after a battle with cancer.
His wake ended with a brief Catholic service, after which 10 state police guards in dress uniform placed the lid on his black casket.
Draped in the flags of Santos and Brazil, the coffin was then hoisted to the top of a bright red fire truck for a massive funeral procession through the streets of Santos, including past the house of Pele’s mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes.
The funeral cortege will end at the port city’s Memorial Cemetery, where a Catholic funeral service will be held before Pele is interred in a 10-storey mausoleum that holds the Guinness World Record as the tallest cemetery on Earth.
– ‘Pele was everything’ –
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele exploded onto the scene at age 15, when he made his professional debut with Santos.
He went on to win the World Cup three times with Brazil, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
Tributes have poured in from around the world since his death, with a Who’s Who of current and former football greats hailing his genius for the “beautiful game.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who attended the wake Monday, called Pele “a global icon of football” and said the sport’s governing body would ask all member countries to name a stadium in the player’s honor.
Life-long Santos fan Katia Cruz, 58, who lives a block from the stadium, said she had stood in line for four hours to get into the Vila Belmiro at 1:30 am, attending the wake without her husband because he was “inconsolable.”
“Pele was everything. He was the King. He deserves this tribute,” she said.
She recalled Pele as a “very good, down-to-Earth person” who would always autograph the memorabilia people brought to his house.
“He was humble, a humility today’s players don’t have,” she told AFP.
– Last parade –
Other tributes have come in from around Brazil, which held three days of national mourning.
At the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio, a giant poster with Pele’s image bears the word “eternal.”
Pele had been in fragile health, suffering from kidney problems and then colon cancer.
But he remained active on social media, cheering on Brazil from his hospital bed in Sao Paulo during the World Cup in Qatar and consoling the pre-tournament favorites when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals, three weeks before his death.
AFP
The Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has officially unveiled Finidi George as the new head coach of the Nigerian men national team, the Super Eagles.
The Minister unveiled the former Super Eagles forward at an event in Abuja attended by the leaders of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) at the Media Centre of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Monday morning.
“Any country I find an indigenous coach sitting on the bench, I always feel very proud and I am glad that we have an opportunity that have a Nigerian coach, Finidi George, as football men national team coach,” Enoh said during the unveiling.
The former Real Betis winger was appointed permanently after the departure of the Portuguese gaffer Jose Peseiro. He an assistant to Peseiro at the last African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast where the team finished second place.
George’s appointment was announced a few weeks ago after he took charge of the team on an interim basis for the doubleheader international friendly against Ghana and Mali.
His first assignment as the substantive Head Coach will be the 2026 World Cup qualifier against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in June.
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League and ensured the title race will go to the final day with victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Gunners delivered an unconvincing display against a severely depleted United side but did enough to secure the win that puts them one point ahead of Manchester City having played a game more.
Leandro Trossard struck after 20 minutes when lazy defending from struggling veteran Casemiro played Kai Havertz onside and his cross was turned in by the Belgian at the near post.
United showed plenty of endeavour but suffered from a glaring lack of quality and never seriously tested Arsenal keeper David Raya, as their own hopes of European football next season faded further.
Arsenal must now hope north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur do them a favour by getting a result at home to Manchester City on Tuesday.
The Gunners host Everton in their final game of the season next Sunday, while City are at home to West Ham.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe chose to cast another eye over Erik ten Hag’s struggling side rather than travel to Wembley to watch United win the Women’s FA Cup for the first time.
It is hard to work out what Ratcliffe would have learned from watching another home defeat – other than it simply re-affirming the size of the job he has on his hands lifting this fallen football giant.
United’s squad, hardly fit for purpose when all players are available, was stripped of key assets such as captain Bruno Fernandes, who watched from the directors’ box with a pained expression.
Ten Hag, his smart suit soaked by a torrential downpour amid a thunderstorm that hit Old Trafford late on, will point to his lack of resources – and rightly so on this occasion.
But the fact United were unable to cause Arsenal keeper Raya any serious problems was a sobering lesson in the current state of the Red Devils.
Kobbie Mainoo tried to galvanise the hosts’ midfield while Alejandro Garnacho ran tirelessly out wide, but it was a tough afternoon for young striker Rasmus Hojlund, who got very little change out of Arsenal defensive duo William Saliba and Gabriel.
United are a club that needs a reboot and re-invigoration and – while this was not the day to make judgements on Ten Hag – it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how the Dutchman can be part of the new era and structure under Ratcliffe.
The elation of Arsenal’s fans at this vital win was not dampened by the storm that arrived in Manchester just before the final whistle as skies darkened and lightning flashed around the stadium.
Arsenal know Manchester City’s fate still lies in the champions’ own hands and two wins against Spurs and West Ham will take a fourth successive title to Etihad Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side, however, have done all they can and two hazardous-looking fixtures – away to Spurs in the north London derby and here at United, where they have suffered before – have been safely negotiated.
No matter that this was an Arsenal display lacking their usual fluency – at this stage of the season the only currency that counts is wins and the visitors did the job.
Once again Trossard made the difference with a trademark swoop at the near post ahead of Casemiro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the decisive moment.
Arsenal will now hope Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is as good as his word and they can somehow raise themselves to upset City.
The Gunners still have a chance of their first title in 20 years going into the final game of the season – and they would have happily settled for that in August.
BBC
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