Brazilians on Friday paid several tributes to Pele, one year after the three-time FIFA World Cup winner’s death at age 82 due to colon cancer.
A ceremony at Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, one of the South American nation’s most famous postcard locations, featured a projection of a Brazil shirt with Pele’s name and No. 10 on the statue, and a message from Pope Francis.
Pele was a Catholic.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Pele, as Mr Edson Arantes do Nascimento became globally known, was undoubtedly an athlete who showed in his life all positive traits of a sportsman,” the pontiff said in a letter as a local orchestra played. “The memory of ‘the King of Soccer’ remains indelible in the minds of many, and it stimulates new generations to seek in sport a means to strengthen the bonds of unity among us.”
Other religious ceremonies were held at the Museu Pele in Santos, the port city he put on the map with his goals and success for the team named for the city, and in the small city of Tres Coracoes, where he was born in 1940.
The Santos club also held a tribute at its Vila Belmiro Stadium, where Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, one of Pele’s sons, released 10 white balloons from the center circle.
Pele’s funeral was held at the stadium.
FIFA also paid its respects with a video of highlights of the Brazilian great with a message: “Pele’s legacy will always live on.”
Earlier this year, a Brazilian dictionary paid a tribute to Pele by adding his name as an adjective to use when describing someone who is “exceptional, incomparable, unique.”
Pele spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Santos and the Brazil national team.
In the conversation about soccer’s greatest, only Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi of Argentina, and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside him.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS