A sad moment for football all over the world, Fousek said of Pelé’s death. However, representatives of the FAČR will not attend his funeral

Brazilian hero Pelé died on 29 December at the age of 82. The football legend will have his funeral on Tuesday 3 January, but according to the latest reports, the funeral will have to be held without a Czech delegation. Representatives of the FAČR have sent their condolences to Brazil and have also already expressed their condolences to Pelé.

Twenty-ninth December is simply not a nice day. In the past, Czech goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek died on this very day, Michael Schumacher was seriously injured on skis and this year, 29th December was another negative day – the death of the legendary Pelé (82).

The Brazilian star will have his funeral on Tuesday, January 3, and of course in Santos on the ninth floor of the Memorial Necrópole Ecumenica cemetery. Needless to say, this is the officially confirmed highest cemetery in the world.

The Czech delegation will not attend the funeral, but the FAČR representatives have sent their condolences. The official statement was made by the spokesman of this football organization Petr Halaburda, whose words were quoted by Sport.cz.

“A representative of the FAČR will not attend the funeral, but we have already sent condolences to the Brazilian federation (CFB), FIFA (International Football Federation) and CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation),” Halaburda said.

Statement from the FAČR representatives

In any case, representatives of Czech football have commented on Pelé and his death for the federation’s website. Specifically, the president of the FAČR Petr Fousek, the coach of the Czech national team Jaroslav Šilhavý and its captain Tomáš Souček.

“This is a sad moment for football all over the world. For many generations, Pelé was an unsurpassed legend, the king of our sport. According to the latest news coming from Brazil, it was obvious that he was in poor health, now the whole football world will mourn. After the recent celebration of football in Qatar, a sad moment is coming,” said President Fousek.

“I have great admiration and respect for what he has done and what he has done for world football. The news of his death must make every fan sad because football has lost an extraordinary personality and, without exaggeration, its symbol,” says coach Šilhavy.

Souček then added that it is truly unbelievable what Pelé accomplished in his life and career. He noted that he was a legend not only in his time, but also for this generation, and will rightfully remain so forever.

It should be added that Josef Masopust, the 1962 Ballon d’Or winner, also once commented on Pelé.

“Pelé was a king. I admired him because he was a complex footballer. What he did at the age of seventeen in Sweden 1958 made a big impression on me. He could play with both feet, he could handle tackles, he was quick, he had no problem with long passes, shots or headers.”

An icon of Brazil and world football

Pelé left a truly significant mark on the world of football. For example, he was the only player to win the World Cup three times. At the age of just 17, he scored in the 1958 World Cup final in Sweden when he flicked the ball over a defender and volleyed the ball into the net.

He played a total of 92 matches for the Brazilian national team and scored a total of 77 goals. Pelé spent most of his club career at Santos before moving to the American side NY Cosmos for two years in the summer of 1975. It was here that he subsequently retired from football.

Sources