"Few Brazilians have taken the name of our country so far," says Lula about Pelé.
The president-elect said that Pelé went to "play a one-two in heaven with Coutinho, his great partner at Santos."
BRASILIA (Reuters) - President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that few Brazilians have taken the name of our country as far as Pelé, a football legend who died at age 82 on Thursday.
"Few Brazilians have taken the name of our country as far as he did. No matter how different the language was from Portuguese, foreigners from all corners of the planet would quickly find a way to pronounce the magic word: 'Pelé'," Lula said on Twitter, posting photos with the former player.
The Workers' Party member said that Pelé went to "play a one-two in heaven with Coutinho, his great partner at Santos." "He now has the company of so many eternal stars: Didi, Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Sócrates, Maradona... He left one certainty: there has never been a number 10 like him. Thank you, Pelé," he paid tribute.
Lula, who will be sworn in on Sunday, stated that he had the privilege, not shared by younger Brazilians, of seeing him play live at the Pacaembu and Morumbi stadiums. "Play, no. I saw Pelé put on a show. Because when he got the ball, he always did something special, which often ended in a goal," he said.
"I confess I used to hate Pelé because he always crushed my Corinthians. But, above all, I admired him. And the anger soon gave way to the passion of watching him play wearing the number 10 jersey for the Brazilian national team," he stated.
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