Brazil prepares to bury Pelé in city he made football mecca

SANTOS, Brazil (AP) — Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it's hard to imagine modern football, or Brazil, without him.

Geovana Sarmento, 17, waited in the three-hour line to view his body as it lay in repose at the stadium where he played for most of his career.

She came with her father, who was wearing a Brazil shirt with Pelé's name.

“I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father. But this guy invented Brazil's national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honour him,” she said.

Pelé will be buried Tuesday in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make into a global capital of football.

A Catholic Mass will be celebrated at the Vila Belmiro stadium before his casket is ushered through the streets of Santos to a nearby cemetery.

Brazil's newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in for a third term Sunday after a comeback victory, paid his respects at Vila Belmiro.

The football great died Thursday at age 82 after a battle with cancer. He was the only player ever to win three World Cups.

Thousands of mourners, including high school students and supreme court justices, filed Monday past the body of Pelé on the century-old field where he made his hometown team one of Brazil's best.

Pelé's coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed on the midfield area of Vila Belmiro.

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