Santos, Brazil ¨C Emotional crowds bid Brazil soccer legend Pele a final farewell on Tuesday, lining the streets of Santos to watch his coffin taken to its final resting place from the city¡¯s stadium where 230,000 mourners had filed past his open casket.
Young and old embraced as the funeral procession wound its way through the costal city¡¯s streets for hours, with some fans in tears and others cheering and drumming for a national hero who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history.
¡°It¡¯s an irreparable loss for Brazil,¡± said Brazil¡¯s newly sworn-in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. ¡°Pele, in addition to being the best soccer player in the world, was a humble, simple man.¡±
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