Pelé. Santos, Brazil.
Over decades, adoring fans around the world mailed thousands of letters, postcards and packages to the sports legend without his address or full name.
Only after a 15-year-old sensation started scoring goals for the city's team did Santos, a city of about 430,000 residents today, become a household name. The Brazilian great, who died Thursday at 82 after fighting cancer, played there from 1956 to 1974. “Santos is not in a metropolis like Sao Paulo, we have to work with less money. And Pelé made this club gigantic since he started playing," Chulapa said. “Santos had its peak with him.”
“It is my first time in Santos. And I only came in this cruise because my husband wanted to see the city of Pelé," Claudia said. Santos FC is also home to other renowned players, most of them coming from its academy long after Pelé had retired. The list includes Rodrygo, Elano, Zé Roberto, Giovanni, Robinho, Diego and Gabriel Barbosa.