The current state of the Brazilian national team would have made Pele sad, according to the legendary footballers’ son Edinho.
Speaking to AFP in an interview, days before the first anniversary of his father’s death, Edinho said that the problems are mounting for the Brazilian team.
Brazil find themselves in a tight spot during the qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and are currently in sixth place in the South American table, the last spot that gets direct qualification.
The Selecao have also found life difficult without their biggest star, Neymar, who is out for a long period of time after tearing knee ligaments.
"This crisis didn't appear overnight, there are big and complex problems," said Edinho, 53, who is one of Pele's seven children.
"We are experiencing a decline... we still have great players but in previous times we had more high-level players than we do today."
Edinho, who was raised by his mother as Pele and her separated shortly after they shifted to New York when he joined New York Cosmos in 1975 but the father-son duo grew closer later.
"There is no doubt, if (Pele) had been there this year, he would have been very sad,” he said.
Santos, the Brazilian club where Pele played for majority of his career, are also going through a rough patch after they were relegated to the second division for the first time in its 111-year history. The club is hampered by financial problems and boardroom rifts.
"Unfortunately, this is no surprise. Anyone who has followed the daily life of the club could have anticipated such a scenario, and it has ended up happening," said Edinho, who was Santos' goalkeeper for many seasons.
The first anniversary of Pele, who died from cancer at the age of 82, on Friday is likely to be low-key. The six surviving children of Pele will hold a virtual meeting to mark the moment as most of them now live in the United States, while a ceremony is set to take place at the mausoleum in Santos that was opened to the public in May.
Edinho, who has served time for money laundering and drug trafficking, said the loss of his father had left a huge hole in the family's life.
"He was exceptional, we miss him a lot," Edinho said. "He carried our country's name through football, which we are very proud of."
