Brazil declares three-day mourning for star footballer Pele
Sports
Brazil declares three days of mourning for legendary footballer Pele
(AP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declared three days of national mourning for Pele after the legendary footballer died at the age of 82.
The measure was announced in a decree published in an extra edition of the government gazette and signed by the outgoing president who is set to leave office on Sunday.
The magical Brazilian soccer star who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday. He had been in and out of hospital in recent months after a tumor was found on his colon.
Pele, whose given name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, scored a world record 1,281 goals, and is the only player ever to win the World Cup three times. With sublime skills and a winning smile, he helped make soccer the world’s most popular sport and he charmed popes, presidents and Hollywood stars in a seven-decade career as player and ambassador for the sport.
Born on Oct 23, 1940, in the small Minas Gerais town of Tres Coracoes, or "Three Hearts", Edson Arantes do Nascimento learned the game from his father, a semi-professional player whose promising career was derailed by a knee injury.
