Pelé's coffin arrives in Santos to be veiled

SANTOS (BRASIL), 2 Ene. (dpa/EP) -

The body of former Brazilian player Edson Arantes do Nascimento 'Pelé' arrived this Monday at Santos FC's Estádio Urbano Caldeira to be watched over by fans who want to say their last goodbye to 'O Rei'.

The funeral procession carrying the coffin of the former soccer player, considered by many to be the best player in history, arrived at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira, in the Vila Belmiro district, at around 4 in the morning (local time) on Monday.

Numerous fans were waiting at the entrance to the stadium, as could be seen in videos posted on social networks. The caravan, escorted by police officers and firefighters, had left about two hours earlier from the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, about 80 kilometers away, where Pelé died on Thursday at the age of 82.

The body of the three-time world champion will be deposited in the stadium's midfield starting at 10:00 (local time), as confirmed by Santos FC, and can be visited for the next 24 hours.

The coffin will be placed under a canopy. For family and friends, 80 chairs have been placed. Fans will pass by the coffin on a walkway at a distance of about five meters. The new president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is also expected to attend the wake.

On Tuesday, a funeral procession will carry the body through the neighborhood where Pelé's hundred-year-old mother still lives to the tower of the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery. There, Pelé will be buried in his family's niche.