An emotional Brazil began paying its last respects Monday to football legend Pelé with a 24-hour wake at the stadium where he first took the world's breath away with his exploits, IGBERETV reports.

Hundreds of fans began filing Monday morning into the Vila Belmiro, home to Pelé's longtime club, Santos, where the coffin bearing the remains of "O Rei" (The King) was displayed in the centre of the field, before a funeral procession and private burial scheduled for Tuesday.

Pele died on December 29 after a battle with cancer.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento will be regarded by many as the first and the greatest. When the argument of who was the game’s finest is conducted almost always in a World Cup context – Brazil’s great rivals Argentina will make the case for the late Diego Maradona..

Argentines will even offer up Maradona’s successor Lionel Messi as another rival to Pele’s greatness in an argument that will never be fully settled to the satisfaction of either of these great South American adversaries.

aylive02:
We will also pay last respect to APC after losing the election.

aylive02:
We will also pay last respect to APC after losing the election.