Fans and commentators questioned why several of Brazil’s most famous footballers were absent from Pelé’s goodbye ceremony.
Monday, hundreds of thousands of individuals gathered for hours under a scorching sun. To view the recently deceased soccer legend’s casket at the Santos Vila Belmiro stadium.
Ricardo Kaká, Neymar da Silva Santos Jnior, and Ronaldo Nazario were among those criticized for not making the trek 50 miles down the coast from So Paulo to pay their respects.
“Pelé is a world citizen on par with Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, but Brazilians don’t know how to recognize that”. Said José Ferreira Neto, a former midfielder for Brazil and now one of the country’s most outspoken TV hosts.
“What can I say if they were World Cup champions and didn’t come to meet Pelé? At the very least, it demonstrates a lack of regard.”
Neto, who played for Santos’ bitter rivals Corinthians, appeared at the 24-hour wake on Tuesday morning. Preceded by several dignitaries, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Alejandro Domnguez, head of the South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL, and So Paulo governor Tarcsio de Freitas.
Less than 48 hours after being inaugurated for a third term as president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled in from Brasilia.
Many of Pelé’s colleagues from the 1960s’ unbeatable Santos teams have passed away. While others are well into their 80s and in terrible health.
However, many of his teammates were present, including Clodoaldo Tavares de Santana. The sole member of the renowned 1970 Brazil team to be present. Tosto (Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade), Jairzinho (Jair Ventura Filho), Roberto Rivellino, Gérson de Oliveira Nunes, and Wilson Piazza were absent.
Only Mauro Silva, the vice-president of the So Paulo football federation, was present from the 1994 team that won the World Cup. None of the players from the 2002 team that won Brazil’s fifth and most recent World Cup were present.
Kaká was one of the most controversial absentees
The 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year stated in December that Brazilians do not honor their national icons sufficiently. Citing Neymar and Ronaldo’s frequent criticism.
Kaká was absent from Santos, and his absence was observed.
Who said Brazilians do not recognize their heroes? The outspoken Brazilian columnist Walter Casagrande Jnior stated. “Well, Kaká, based on what we witnessed at Pelé’s funeral, it is apparent that you do not recognize significant heroes.”
Neymar, who rose through the ranks at Santos before departing for Barcelona. And became the most expensive footballer in the world in 2017, did not show. His father stated that his son had requested him to represent him.
Casagrande implied that Kaká and other multimillionaire footballers were accustomed to being compensated for public appearances. And he also suggested that Brazil’s World Cup winners did not attend because Pelé, who occasionally worked as a TV analyst, had criticized some of their previous performances.
Whatever the cause, the absence of star power was jarring. One observer noticed that David Beckham waited in line for hours to see the queen. Whereas Brazilian footballers did not take advantage of special access through Santos’ historic marble salon to meet the man commonly referred to as the King.
The contrast was especially discordant in light of the tremendous outpouring of public support for the local celebrity.
Tuesday morning, Pelé’s casket was driven through Santos, from the stadium to the mausoleum where he was buried. And massive crowds accompanied the procession.
None of us will ever forget this,” Neto stated in a message to the absent celebrities.
“Anyone can post a picture of Pelé to Instagram,” he remarked of a simple homage. “How much would it have cost you to forego two days of vacation?”
