The rites of passage of the globally-acclaimed football icon, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, was concluded on Tuesday, January 3, this year, with his remains being laid to rest in a cemetery in Santos, Brazil.

The funeral commenced on Monday, January 2, at Pele’s former club, Santos, with people from different walks of life filing past the body of the football legend to pay their last respects and continued with a funeral procession. Pele returned to His Maker on Thursday, December 29 at the age of 82, after losing a long battle to colon cancer at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The announcement of his transition was followed with the declaration of three days of national mourning. New Telegraph sympathises and empathises with Pele’s family, the government and people of Brazil on the occasion of their bereavement while praying to God to comfort them.

Born on October 23 1940 in Tres Coracoes, Brazil, Pele started his football career while playing for a minor league club at Bauru, having been rejected by big clubs, due to his incredibly young age.

His breakthrough eventually came when he joined Santos Football Club of Santos in1956. Playing at the inside left position, Pele, who was also known as Perola Negra, meaning Black Pearl, helped Santos win nine league championships. He also helped his club win the Intercontinental Club and Libertadores Cups in1962 and 1963.

Pele was a member of the Brazilian team that won the three World Cups in 1958 (Sweden), 1962 (Chile) and 1970 (Mexico). It was after playing in the1958 World Cup before he turned 18 that a law was passed by the Government of Brazil, declaring Pele a national treasure.

The law was aimed at discouraging foreign clubs from poaching him. It was only after his retirement from active football that Pele was eventually permitted to leave to play for New York Cosmos in a bid to help promote the ‘beautiful game’ in the United States of America (USA). On November 19, 1969, while playing in his 909th first-class match, the football legend scored his 1,000th goal. .

Pele was a complete player. Both feet were packed with dynamite quite unlike some players, who were effective and efficient in the use of only one foot. Despite his average height (he stood 1.73 m (5 ft. 8 in)), he exhibited legendary aerial and sprinting prowess as well as amazing dribbling skills. It should be acknowledged that the only player to have won three World Cups provided not only entertainment through football but also love, unity and peace.

We recall with nostalgia the whittling down of the acts of war among the combatant soldiers of the two belligerent parties at the height of the Civil War, simply because Pele was in Nigeria to play a friendly in Lagos in 1968. Many people longed to go to the King George V Stadium (now called Mobolaji Johnson Sports Arena,) Onikan, Lagos to watch the international friendly match between Santos and Nigeria’s senior football team. According to reports the truce lasted until Santos left the country.

The football legend visited Africa’s most populous nation two other times during his lifetime. New Telegraph wishes to point out that humanity was eager to constantly embrace Pele thereby resulting in his recurring invitations to various parts of the world.

Pele, indeed, visited a total of 88 countries during which he was hosted by 72 Presidents, 15 Kings, six Emperors and 40 other Heads of State. Pele remained an honorary citizen of more cities and nations than any human being in the world.

While hosting the Black Pearl, a former US President, Mr. Ronald Reagan was reported to have introduced himself while asking the football icon not to bother introducing himself saying: “Everybody knows Pele”. His name has featured in about 90 songs. Pele was a recipient of many honours/ awards.

They included the Athlete of the Century the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999, the World Player of the Century conferred on Pele in 2000 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics and. his inclusion in the Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most of Important Personalities of the Century.

New Telegraph observes with pleasure that in spite of the zenith attained by Pele through football, he was surprisingly humble. No wonder, that reputable sports and non-sports organisations across the world found him fit and proper to work for them as their ambassador, during his active playing days and while in retirement.

The speed and modesty of Pele’s funeral spoke volumes about his detachment from flamboyance while on earth. Pele, a polyglot, who spoke English, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish, drew the world to himself with a combination of discipline, hard work, focus, purposefulness and humility. These are positive qualities worthy of emulation by all human beings including footballers.

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