SANTOS – Pele. Santos, Brazil.
For decades, adoring fans around the world sent thousands of letters, postcards and packages to the sports legend without his address or full name.
Almost without exception, they reached Edson Arantes do Nascimento’s office in the port city he had made famous.
Santos was founded by the Portuguese in January 1546. It houses the largest port in Latin America, serving the Sao Paulo area and exporting the country’s agricultural commodities around the world.
It wasn’t until a 15-year sensation started scoring goals for the city team that Santos, a city of about 430,000 today, became a household name. The great Brazilian who died Thursday at the age of 82 After battling cancer, he played there from 1956 to 1974.
“There’s a Santos before Pele and one after him,” said Serginho Chulapa, Brazil’s 1982 World Cup striker and local hero with more than 100 goals for the club. “He made both the city and the club well-known. Before him, people came to work in the port and on the beach.”
Chulapa made four appearances as a Santos FC player in the 1980s. Since retiring, he has worked for the club in various capacities, some alongside Pelé.
“Santos is not in a metropolis like Sao Paulo, so we have to make do with less money. And Pelé has made this club gigantic since he started playing,” said Chulapa. “Santos peaked with him.”
Pelé gave Santos two Copa Libertadores titles and two Intercontinental Cup titles against Benfica and AC Milan as he defeated some of the world’s best rivals. The Brazilian won 26 titles at the club.
Some of Brazil’s leaders, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have lived in the coastal city. But one of the main tourist attractions of Santos is the Pelé Museum. It is located in the renovated area of Casaroes do Valongo, near the city port. It opened in 2014 and hosts tens of thousands of tourists. Many are like Gisela Claudia, 65, who arrived on a cruise ship to spend New Year’s Eve in the city.
“It’s my first time in Santos. And I only came on this cruise because my husband wanted to see the city of Pele,” said Claudia.
“It’s lost somewhere in the museum,” she said. “There are other beaches on this trip that are more beautiful than this one. But none of them have that history of the greatest player.”
The museum displays some of Pelé’s remaining memorabilia: boots, trophies, medals, shirts.
Santos has become a popular destination for New Year’s Eve, especially among Sao Paulo residents who have come to love the clubs, beaches and some private islands that host parties. But the local club’s Vila Belmiro Stadium, where Pelé’s funeral will be held on Monday, remains one of the city’s top tourist attractions.
The last time Santos consistently filled the 16,000-seat arena was between 2009 and 2013 when forward Neymar played there.
Santos FC is also home to other renowned players, most of whom come out of the academy long after Pelé retired. The list includes Rodrygo, Elano, Zé Roberto, Giovanni, Robinho, Diego and Gabriel Barbosa.
Pelé’s death is expected to change many names around Santos. The first should be the port, which will be renamed King Pelé Port, the upcoming federal administration has decided.
Architect Maria Tereza Myre Dores, one of Pelé’s closest friends and his neighbor in the final years of his life in the neighboring town of Guaruja, says Santos the club and Santos the city will never be the same.
“He was Santos. He loved the city, loved the club. And he’s made both better and bigger,” said Myre Dores.
“I still remember the afternoons he would spend in his office signing letters and T-shirts for people everywhere. One by one and send them back, even those who came with just those three words; Pelé, Santos, Brazil,” said the architect. “Without him, Santos is less Santos.”
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