Mourning Pele’s death in Kolkata, ‘Pele Gate’ to be built at Mohun Bagan Club
Kolkata. The death of Pele, one of the world’s best footballers and who played a match in Kolkata 45 years ago, sent shockwaves across the football-crazy metropolis. Pele died in a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil after battling cancer. It was a black day for Mohun Bagan as it is the only club in the country against whom three-time World Cup winner Pele featured in an exhibition match.
Due to the death of Pele, not only Mohun Bagan but its arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting also lowered their flags to half-mast. Mohun Bagan secretary Devashish Dutta announced that his club will soon have a Pele gate. Dutta said that we have already announced it and work on it will start soon. It is expected that soon it will be opened for the general public.
Dutta also recalled the day when Mohun Bagan were in a position to win 2-1 at the Eden Gardens but the Cosmos were awarded a last-minute penalty which they scored to draw the match. He said that 25 September 1977 was a historic day in the history of the club. We represented the country in the match against New York Cosmos. People then knew of only one football club in India and that club was Mohun Bagan. West Bengal Sports Minister Arup Biswas, along with former Kolkata players and administrators of the top three clubs, paid tribute to the king of football on Friday evening at the historic Salt Lake Stadium.
A picture of Pele was kept in the stadium complex where people paid tribute to the legendary footballer by offering flowers. East Bengal president Pranab Dasgupta told reporters that Pele was the king of sports in the world. All of us and sports lovers around the world are saddened by his demise. It does not seem likely that his place will ever be filled. Meanwhile, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) declared seven days of mourning, remembering Pele’s achievements. AIFF general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran said that we are all deeply saddened by the passing away of football legend Pele and remember his achievements. We will mourn his death for seven days. Meanwhile, the AIFF flag will fly at half mast.
