Where he spent most of his life and his sports career, the Brazilian football legend Pele, who died last Thursday at the age of 82 after a long struggle with cancer, is receiving a

great popular Honor in the city of Santos (southeast of the country), and fans can say goodbye to their hero and take a last look at the body of the "king" at the City Stadium where his coffin was placed, before the rich man is buried Tuesday in a funeral limited to the presence of his family.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the so-called and better known as Pele. He gained fame in his country at the age of 17, when he led the "selesau" national team to the first of his five World Cup titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002) and is to this day the only player to have won the Cup three times.

Pele turned into a World star in a quick time, and completed his legendary heroic career with the national team on June 21 of 1970 as part of the Brazilian "dream team" that won the Jules Rimet Cup after a fabulous final against Italy (4-1) at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.

In light of these data, the features of Pele's stature and fame are clear, among Brazilians and in particular among his compatriots in the city of Santos, where he spent a large part of his football career (1956-1975) and his life. He raised his official statistics record in terms of the number of goals to 1281 during 1362 matches, including more than 1000 goals in a Santos club shirt.

In the light of this information, it is also possible to understand the meaning of the great popular Honor that the "player of the twentieth century" (according to FIFA) receives on Monday in his city located about 70 kilometers from Sao Paulo, on the southeastern coast of Brazil. This "funeral night" and in addition to the arrivals, hundreds of millions take part remotely across the country and the whole world.

The stadium "Villa belmeiro", which seats 16 thousand people in Santos, the favorite tourist destination of the residents of the state of Sao Paulo, turns into a national kiss with the arrival of Pele's body on Monday, where the coffin is placed in the center of the field and the tribute continues in order to allow it to be said goodbye to those who have it easy. "The tribute will be fabulous, it is unprecedented, but unfortunately not everyone will be able to see the body,"one of the local journalists told FRANCE 24 before the start of this farewell.

The activity began in the vicinity of the stadium immediately after the announcement of Pele's death, and the movement will continue until his burial on Tuesday in the presence of his family

A monument was erected in the center of the city and banners were hung with the inscription: "Thank you, King."