SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥 Brazilian soccer stars past and present are under fire from fans for skipping Pel茅's funeral and opting to pay their respects on social media.
The three-time World Cup champion was buried in his hometown Tuesday after more than 230,000 mourners at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos. last Thursday after a battle with cancer.
Fans expected former Santos players like Neymar, Rodrygo and Giovanni to attend. They also hoped retired greats like Zico, Romario, Ronaldo, Kak谩 and Ronaldinho Gaucho would show up at the beach city 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of S茫o Paulo.
Their social media accounts were flooded with comments by angry fans after .
None of the players from Brazil鈥檚 2002 World Cup winning squad attended. One of them 鈥 former star midfielder Kak谩 鈥 was criticized because he had complained during an interview in December that Brazilians do not honor their sports heroes as much as foreigners.
鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 even show up for the funeral of the man who paved the way for you to have the life that you have,鈥 said Joao Vitor Custodio on Kak谩鈥檚 Instagram post about Pel茅 that drew more than 5,000 comments, including many about his decision not to come for the tributes.
In Neymar鈥檚 Instagram post mourning Pel茅鈥檚 death, one fan wrote: 鈥淚t is easy to say, but you sent your father and did not come.鈥 The Brazil striker later limited comments in that post to people he knows.
No foreign footballers came to Brazil for Pel茅鈥檚 tributes, funeral and burial.
Former midfielder Mauro Silva was the lone representative of the 1994 team that won the World Cup in the United States. He is currently an executive at the S茫o Paulo state soccer federation.
Some of Pel茅's surviving Brazil teammates from the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cup titles were unfit to attend, like 91-year-old M谩rio Zagallo, and others like Roberto Rivellino were reportedly too upset.
Fans didn鈥檛 seem to believe those who said they tried but could not get to Santos in time, like Cafu.
鈥淯nfortunately and with a lot of sorrow I could not attend Pel茅鈥檚 funeral, I was on the other side of the globe and at work. My flights to return to Brazil started only in the early hours of Wednesday, I can only get to Brazil tomorrow,鈥 he said. 鈥淒oes that change what I feel for Pel茅, or what he represents to me and to soccer in general? Never!鈥
Rivaldo, who lives in the United States, took a similar path.
鈥淓ven if I were in Brazil I am not sure I would have attended the funeral,鈥 Rivaldo said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to pay tributes at that time, I am not against those who do. I met Pel茅, I was with him many times and I had the opportunity to honor him during his life.鈥
Among the distinguished former Brazilian players who did come for the tributes were Bayern Munich's Z茅 Roberto, Manchester City's Elano and Roma's Paulo Roberto Falcao. Those three have a connection with Santos.
Except for Santos, few active players and executives of Brazilian clubs attended the funeral. All top flight clubs are in pre-season.
To add to the shock of many fans, Flamengo chose to introduce its new coach Vitor Pereira at the same time as the nationally televised procession of Pel茅's casket through the city of Santos before the burial.
Local soccer executives did not suspend play of the Copa S茫o Paulo de Futebol J煤nior, a tournament for youngsters that attracts a lot of media attention in the South American nation.
The funeral of two-time World Cup winner Man茅 Garrincha at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 1983 was also poorly attended by Brazilian footballers.
Pel茅 repeatedly said he was too shaken to attend any funeral of family or friends. He was buried in the same cemetery of his father Dondinho and his brother Jair Arantes do Nascimento. The Brazilian soccer great did not attend their funerals either.
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