Greek soccer remembers Pele, the sport’s “king” who passed away on Thursday at Sao Paulo in Brazil at the age of 82 years, with some fond memories, respect and admiration for arguably the best player the world has ever seen.
Pele graced Greece with several visits after his illustrious career, but also during its course, when he played friendly games with his club Santos against Greek teams AEK, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos in Athens in the summer of 1961.
The three-time world champion with Brazil (in 1958, 1962 and 1970) returned to Greece several times after the end of his career, and in one of them, in 2005, he was hosted by Olympiakos in Piraeus and given an honorary membership of the club.
Upon hearing the news of Pele’s death, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted: “He was and will be the King of Soccer. Farewell Pele.”
Greek clubs also issued statements in honor of the deceased “King.”
