The Christ statue in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro was illuminated with a bright yellow Brazil jersey of the football legend on the one-year anniversary of Pelé’s death. The projection on the monument is a tribute to the player “who enchanted the whole world during his lifetime and will always be a great inspiration for all Brazilians,” wrote the Pelé Foundation on Instagram and shared a corresponding image of the statue.
Pelé died of cancer on December 29, 2022 at the age of 82. After three days of national mourning and a 24-hour wake at the stadium of his long-time club FC Santos, the three-time world champion was buried on January 3rd. Clubs, organizations and athletes also commemorated the death of the football icon. The world association FIFA shared a video with excerpts from his national team career on the X platform, formerly Twitter, and wrote: “Pelé’s legacy will always live on.”
Pope Francis also paid tribute to the “King of Football” in a statement and wrote that he would remain in the memory of many. In a recent interview, when asked whether Messi and Maradona were better, the Argentine answered Pelé.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, as the striker’s full name was, shaped football like no other and was already a legend during his lifetime. The world association FIFA named the Brazilian – just like the Argentinian Diego Maradona – “Player of the 20th Century”. In 92 international matches, Pelé scored 77 goals for the Brazilian national team.
This article is part of an automated service from the German Press Agency (dpa). It will not be edited or checked by the idowa editorial team.
2023-12-30 22:23:04
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