No player of Brazil’s Santos team will wear the No. 10 jersey made globally famous by the late Pele as long as the club plays in the country’s second division, the new club president said.
Marcelo Teixeira, elected president of Santos on Saturday, said he made the decision as a tribute to the club’s biggest star, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 81 after a war with colon cancer.
“As long as Santos returns to Serie A, which is their standard, we will play in the number 10 shirt,” said Teixeira, who has been president of Santos twice.
“This year the Brazilian league is named after King Pelé. We will continue on this mission. We will return to the first division, but until then we may not be wearing our shirt of maximum excellence.
Every Brazilian league match this year celebrated Pelé in the 10th minute of play, in reference to the number on the shirt he wore for Santos and Brazil.
Teixeira, a businessman, beat four rivals and ended with 53 per cent of the vote to return to the presidency at Santos on January 1. Years ago, he suggested the club should retire the “10”, but the three-time World Cup winner himself said he didn’t want that to happen.
“It has been a celebration of democracy, but this moment is not conducive to celebrations,” Teixeira told members of the Santos club after the vote. “Now we will have to be united to have the opportunity to take Santos to their level. “
The president of Santos, Andrés Rueda, who did not vote due to fans’ concerns, published an apology video on social networks on Friday.
Santos have endured a difficult week since their 2-1 home defeat to Fortaleza on Wednesday, which led to their first relegation. Fans set cars and buses on fire that night, broke into the Vila Belmiro stadium the next day and, the previous Saturday, caused fights at the club while the president’s election was taking place.
Santos is now in debt, politically divided, on the hunt for new heroes and bleak about its long-term cashier right now as Brazilian soccer becomes competitive and expensive.
When Pelé started betting on Santos, the number 10 shirt was just one among many, without any concrete meaning. After starting to shine at club and in the Brazilian national team, the most productive players from all over the world started to make this number. his own, adding Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.