#trending: Singaporeans pay tribute to football’s ‘King’ Pele, recount meeting him in person

SINGAPORE — Self-professed football enthusiast Andrew Koh may not be able to recall exactly the words he exchanged with football icon Pele 11 years ago but he certainly remembers how kind the star, who passed away on Thursday (Dec 29), was to his fans.

Speaking to TODAY on Friday (Dec 30), Mr Koh reminisced about the day he was given the enviable opportunity to sit next to the Brazilian legend for an autograph in March 2011.

Mr Koh had been invited to attend a meet-and-greet session featuring Pele, France's Eric Cantona and the United State's Cobi Jones at Jalan Besar Stadium that was organised by retailer Courts. 

The sports stars were in town as part of a promotional tour with American soccer club, the New York Cosmos.

“I think one of the things that struck me was that he (Pele) was very obliging. A lot of people wanted his autograph and to take pictures with him and he didn’t seem to mind at all,” Mr Koh said.

The visit in 2011 was Pele’s fifth and last trip to Singapore. 

Mr Koh is amongst several Singaporean fans who paid tribute to the iconic star, following news of his death on Thursday.

Calling the day a “sad day for football”, the 56-year-old posted a photo taken with Pele during the meet-and-greet session on Facebook.

Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died at 3.27 pm at Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil “due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition”, according to reports.

He was 82.

Calling Pele an “icon” of the beautiful game, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin paid homage to the man for his indelible contributions to the sport.

Posting on Instagram and Facebook, Mr Tan wrote: “He electrified the world with his skills and guile, he inspired generations of great footballers with his magic and joy, and he made us all fall in love with this beautiful game.”

Mr Tan also thanked Pele for being part of the “journeys” of many fans and players.

Former television host Benedict Goh also shared an old photo of himself together with the football star on Instagram on Friday.

“Such a humble man when we hosted him in 2011 at Guy Savoy restaurant at Marina Bay Sands,” he recalled.

“(Pele) will be remembered as one of the greatest football players of all time and labelled ‘the greatest’ by Fifa. You will be dearly missed.”

SPORTING, POLITICAL FIGURES AROUND THE WORLD PAY TRIBUTE

Tributes have also poured in from prominent sporting and political figures around the world.

Referring to Pele as “one of the greatest” football players ever, former US President Barack Obama wrote: “(As) one of the most recognisable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him.”

The football greats of this generation also took to social media to mourn the loss of a giant.

Argentina’s World Cup captain Lionel Messi bid Pele farewell with photos of the two taken in happier times.

“Rest in peace, Pele,” Messi wrote following the announcement of “The King”’s death.

Fellow Brazilian and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar claimed that his country’s greatest sporting icon “transformed football into an art”. 

"Before Pele, '10' was just a number. But that beautiful sentence is incomplete. I would say that before Pele, football was just a sport. He transformed football into an art, into entertainment,” wrote Neymar, who inherited Pele’s jersey number.

“Football and Brazil gained status thanks to the King. He has gone, but his magic will remain. Pele is eternal!”

Sharing a photo from when he received the Three Hearts Award from The Pele Foundation, Portugeese star Cristiano Ronaldo said Pele was an inspiration to millions who will never be forgotten.

"A mere 'goodbye' to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that the entire football world is currently embracing,” Ronaldo wrote.

“An inspiration to so many millions, a reference yesterday, today and forever. The love you always showed me was reciprocated in every moment we shared even from a distance."

Widely considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, Pele is the only man to have won the World Cup on three occasions. He is also believed to have scored between 1,281 and 1,283 goals throughout his 21-year long illustrious career.

The Brazilian government declared three days of mourning and said in a statement that Pele was "a great citizen and patriot, raising the name of Brazil wherever he went".

A 24-hour wake will be held for Pele next Monday in the field at the stadium of Santos where he started playing as a teenager and quickly rose to fame.

A procession carrying his casket will pass through the streets of Santos the next day, passing the neighborhood where his 100-year-old mother resides before ending at the Ecumenical Memorial Necropolis cemetery where he will be buried in a private ceremony.