Doha, Qatar – Thousands of Brazilian singers and dancers have been cheering on their team at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but in their hearts they have been saying a brief prayer for their “king”, Pele.
When Brazil cruised past South Korea to reach the final, these fans had a simple request for the team: Win the Pele World Cup.
Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, has been battling colon cancer, and was hospitalized last week after suffering a respiratory infection. He was part of Brazil’s World Cup winning teams in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
“For us, Pele is the king,” said Arlem, a Brazil fan from Rio de Janeiro, as he pointed to an imaginary crown atop his head. “We love him. We adore him and wish him a long and healthy life to see Brazil win the World Cup. “
While many of the fans in attendance in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup grew up hearing tales of Pele’s greatness and watching old videos of his goal-scoring prowess, others were lucky enough to see him play.
Everything you see your favorite player doing, Pelé did it first.
King of football 🤴🏿pic.twitter.com/RqJPc4EJby
— ⋆Neymoleque 𝗾que 🇧🇷 (@Neymoleque) December 3, 2022
Flamenco, a Colombian soccer fan, saw Pele play in Mexico City when Brazil beat Italy in the 1970 World Cup final. “Pele will always be the best soccer player of all time,” he told Al Jazeera.
Flamenco said that what Pele has done makes him stand out among all those who came before and after. “Diego Maradona was great, and Lionel Messi is a great player but Pele? He won three World Cups, how can anyone compare to him?”
Ronnie and Mary Portillo, a Colombian couple who grew up watching Pele weave his magic, agreed. Mary said: “As he got older, he started exercising.
Pele is Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 77 goals in 92 games. Mary credited Pele and his Brazilian side of the 1960s for introducing the concept of “jogo bonito” (the beautiful game) to the world, and said, “Brazilians are very good players, they always play jogo bonito.”
There was plenty of jogo bonito on display on Monday night as Brazil scored four goals in their first World Cup knockout game, and looked set to score more.
Before the team took to the field at Stadium 974, they were sent an encouraging message by the legend. In a statement posted on his Instagram account on Monday, Pele told the Brazilian team that he would follow the game from his hospital bed.
“I will be watching the game from here in the hospital and I will be taking care of each and every one of you,” he wrote.
The 82-year-old inspired Brazil to add to their World Cup trophy record by winning another one in Qatar.
Brazilian fans are sending their support to Pele 🙏 pic.twitter.com/f8aPFSRchd
– GOAL (@goli) December 5, 2022
The team, carried a large Pele flag as they celebrated their victory with the fans. Afterwards, the players dedicated their victory to Pele, and said they wanted to lift the trophy for him. “He needs a lot of energy from us and this win is for him, to get out of this situation and we can be champions for him,” said Vinícius Júnior, who scored the first goal for Brazil.
At the stadium, Selecao fans wearing yellow shirts – as the Brazilian team is called – celebrated their team’s victory and left with joy. But the mere mention of Pele’s name evoked mixed feelings among them. Renato Pelaquim, from Sao Paulo, struggled to explain what Pele means to several generations of Brazilians.
“He put Brazil on the international map with his football, and he brought many years of hope and happiness to the Brazilian people,” Pelaquim said. “By bringing three World Cup titles to Brazil, he (Pele) gave unspeakable joy to people who had seen years of hardship and sorrow.”
Now, Pelaquim said, it’s time for the current generation of Brazilian stars to support their hero.
“Our country is also going through economic and political crisis, so we want this team to do the same and make people forget their pain, and give Pele his last wish,” he said.
