December 04, (THEWILL) – Tite, the current coach of Brazil, has sent wishes of good health and swift recovery to Pele while recalling how he was “shaking” when he first met the three-time World Cup champion.
As THEWILL reported, the Brazilian legend was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, but his daughter later reported that there had been “no surprise or emergency” regarding his condition.
However, the 82-year-old was later said to have been transferred to palliative care since he was no longer responding to chemotherapy. The Brazilian record scorer’s status was characterised as “stable” by the hospital, and Pele said in a statement that he was still “strong, with a lot of hope”.
Tite recalled his first encounter with Pele during a press conference before the Selecao’s World Cup round of 16 match against South Korea: “He’s probably the only person where I was shaking when I greeted him. Speaking from the bottom of my heart, it was a very emotional moment for me… I didn’t even know what was going on… Someone said, ‘go and hug Pele’.
“I stopped, started shaking, hands sweating, heartbeat racing. I said, ‘wow, I’m going to have opportunity to greet Pele.’ He is the person who represents the human aspect. Health, Pele, health. That’s all I can give you. It’s a difficult moment.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
