In a few hours, the Albert Einstein hospital center has become a place of pilgrimage.

Located at the top of a hill in Sao Paulo, in the wealthy district of Morumbi, the hospital where Pelé died continues to receive patients and visitors.

But outside there are crowds.

Fans held up a banner that read: “Eternal King Pelé”.

“It was Pelé who made me fall in love with football,” said Alipio Bedaque, 66, one of the many admirers of the “King” who came to pay homage to him.

Faced with the shock of the disappearance of the only footballer to have won the World Cup three times (1958, 1962 and 1970), some fans hugged.

"I was not yet born when he played for Santos, but the first name I knew was Pelé, the best player of all time", says, visibly moved, Luis Eduardo, 12, dressed of a jersey of the Spanish club Barcelona.

"What was happening was that you weren't seeing the other players, you were only looking at Pelé"

"It's very sad," he said.

After learning of the legendary Brazilian's death on social media, young Louis Eduardo ran with his father Antonio to the hospital whose doors were, as they had been for several days, locked and watched by private guards.

“Imagine, he is the biggest idol, the best player of all time, an international reference,” says Antonio, a 46-year-old businessman.

With his son, he had gone to the hospital center in recent days because another of his sons had been operated on there.

He hoped with his children to have the chance to see the Brazilian star.

"I always wanted to be near him and have my picture taken," says Luis Eduardo.



Hearing the news, Alipio Bedaque, a 66-year-old consultant, rushed to the hospital, not without having first put on special clothing: a replica of the jersey of Pelé's historic team, Santos FC, striped black and white and dating from 1956, the year of its debut.

The man vividly remembers the times he saw him on the pitch at Santos.

"What happened was that you didn't see the other players, you only looked at Pelé and what he was doing," Alipio Bedaque recalls, attributing "responsibility" to the star for his passion for football. soccer.


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