Brazil prepares the last farewell to Pelé, Dona Celeste doesn't know

With the new President Lula in office, Brazil is preparing to pay a final farewell to its King. Today and tomorrow will be two days dedicated to Pelé, for whose death three days of national mourning have been decreed, which in Santos, therefore at citizen, will be extended to seven, by decision of the local authorities.

Today, starting at 10 local time, there will be the funeral wake which, respecting O Rei's will, will take place in the Vila Belmiro stadium (which is actually called Urbano Caldeira), that of the club of his life, Santos that his n.10 made known all over the world.

And by the way, the black and white club for which Paulo Roberto Falcao, the ex idol of the Romanists, works as manager, has made it known through its president Andrés Rueda that it has decided not to withdraw the No. 10 shirt.

Rueda explained the decision with a 2017 interview with Pelé, in which the former star answered with a resounding "No" when asked if he was in favor of the idea that no one at Santos wore that number anymore.

Meanwhile, it seems confirmed that Lula will also be there to say goodbye to Pele.

President,

great football fan and Corinthians fan has repeated several times that "he was lucky enough to see Pelé play live, even if he caused a lot of disappointments to my favorite team", and tomorrow should be, unless the last one is prevented moment, among the tens of thousands of people who, it is foreseeable, will be on the lawn of Vila Belmiro, to 'greet' O Rei.

Two tensile structures were set up on the field.

In one, in the center of the field, O Rei's coffin will be placed near which 80 chairs have been placed.

Only family members of the three-time world champion, and idols of proven saintly faith, and former companions of Pelé, such as Pepe and Mengalvio, will be able to enter.

In one, in the center of the field, O Rei's coffin will be placed near which 80 chairs have been placed.

Only family members of the three-time world champion, and idols of proven saintly faith, and former companions of Pelé, such as Pepe and Mengalvio, will be able to enter.

In one, in the center of the field, O Rei's coffin will be placed near which 80 chairs have been placed.

Only family members of the three-time world champion, and idols of proven saintly faith, and former companions of Pelé, such as Pepe and Mengalvio, will be able to enter.

The presence of Jairzinho is also probable, who with Pelé played and won in the national team.

The other structure will host authorities and various VIPs, among which there should be, according to local media reports, other great champions such as Ronaldo Fenomeno, Ronaldinho, Cafu, Romario and Falcao.

The public made up of ordinary fans will instead access from entrances 2 and 3 of the stadium, and will parade on a catwalk five meters from Pelé's coffin.

Before all this, O Rei's body will leave from the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo (where fans gathered today too, bringing flowers and candles) and during the journey towards the coast, in the direction of Santos, it will be escorted by a vehicle of the firefighters and those of an assault corps, the 'Batalhao de Choque'.

Tuesday will be the day of the procession through the city streets, with a stop, as a sign of sharing the pain and respect, in front of the house where Pelé's centenary mother lives, Maria Celeste Arantes, commonly referred to as Dona Celeste, who to this day has not yet he knows of his son's death.

O Rei's sister, Lela, revealed this to ESPN: "we talk a lot with her, but she doesn't know it yet. She's fine, but she lives in her own world. Sometimes she's not conscious but when she opens her eyes I tell her 'let's pray for him'".

Given her fragile condition, Dona Celeste is kept under constant medical supervision and her family fears her reaction to the news of O Rei's death.

That's why no one has yet felt like informing her of what happened.