Brazil - Pacaembu, from Latin America's largest stadium to field hospital

From Latin America's largest stadium to a field hospital to combat the coronavirus epidemic. It is the parable of the Pacaembu, which today celebrates 80 years: the stadium was in fact inaugurated on April 27, 1940 in San Paolo with a capacity of 70 thousand spectators, which at the time earned him the most capacious stadium record in the subcontinent, and which has now been transformed into an emergency facility in the fight against the pandemic of the century. Inaugurated two years before Brazil's entry into the Second World War, Pacaembu immediately became one of the greatest monumental works of the time, a symbol of the modernization of the country where football is almost a religion.
    After decades of hosting the major Brazilian teams, the stadium was quickly converted to host a field hospital capable of accommodating about 200 Covid-19 patients and thus easing the pressure on city hospitals. Pacaembu lost the record after about twenty years, when the most modern Morumbi stadium was built. But it has remained one of the symbols of the city, maintaining a bond of love with the Paulistans even for extra-football events. Like that of Silvio Moredo, mascot of the Portuguesa, who at the end of a victorious game against Santos di Pele ', ran to ask the strongest footballer in the world for the shirt. Pele 'ignored him' but the Portuguesa goalkeeper, Miguel, intervened and had the prestigious shirt delivered by O Rei and ran to bring it to the boy, who was already heading dejected towards the house with his sister. Miguel gave Pele's '10' to little Silvio and two years later he married his sister.