Pachuca’s eye-catching tribute to Pelé

Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, better known around the world as Pelé, sadly left us right at the end of 2022, with tributes flooding in from all corners of the globe ever since. One of the latest – and indeed most eye-catching – has come from Apertura 2022 winners Pachuca, who revealed before their Clausura 2023 victory over Puebla that O Rei will have his own ‘throne’ at Estadio Hidalgo.

Jesús Martínez, president of Grupo Pachuca, joined the club’s players in opening the space dedicated to the three-time World Cup winner, which sits just below the directors’ box at Los Tuzos home ground.

Pachuca’s other tributes to Pelé

That was just one a of a number of the club’s tributes to Pelé. Before the game against Puebla, drones lit up Estadio Hidalgo, casting memorable images from the Brazilian’s career onto the field, as well as his name and iconic number 10, while the players lined up for their pre-match photo sporting Brazil shirts with the number 10 on the front. On social media, meanwhile, Grupo Pachuca posted a special video on Twitter in tribute to the former Santos legend. “A space for #ElTronoDelRey (#TheKingsThrone), for the greatest of all-time,” it reads.

Cape Verde become first country to name a stadium after Pelé

Earlier this month, FIFA President Gianni Infantino urged every country in the world to name one stadium after Pelé, something which has yet to happen in Mexico. Cape Verde became the first nation to follow Infantino’s lead last week, with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva confirming that their Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde, which hosts national team matches, would become the Pele Stadium.

After convincingly defeating Puebla by five goals to one, Pachuca sit top of the Liga MX table after matchday one and are looking to become the second club in succession to win back-to-back league titles (Atlas won both the Apertura 2021 and Clausura 2022 tournaments).