You read a lot on these forums about who people think the best player in the world is now or the best player in the world of all time. But, one name I have never seen pop up is Pele. Before I started following football, some 10 years ago. Pele was one of the few football players in the world I recognized. He was the best, in the opinion of everybody who didn’t follow football. But, once you fall in love with a football club and you get engrossed in the world of football as it is today, you find yourself liking a player, deciding upon your favourite player and forming an opinion of who the best players in the world is, etc. etc. But, my point is, when people bring up names from the past like Matthaus and players like Messi from the present footballing world, whilst discussing who the best player is of all time, not once have I seen Pele brought up on these forums. Is it because you believe he is ‘over-rated’ or because his time wasn’t documented well or simply because you have subconsciously chosen not like him because only the ‘newbies’ rate him?
Another absolutely ridiculous criticism I have found over the internet regarding him is that defenders during his day were slow and lazy. You can only beat what’s in front of you and that’s exactly what Pele did. Having watched highlights of 10 or so matches of him playing, I can say that he is an absolute wizard on the ball and those who criticize him for not having pace, etc. he more than makes up with it for his brain. To say that he couldn’t beat a defender in today’s world is simply idiocy. The way he glides on the ball reminds me a bit of the way Suarez does although this point could be a slightly biased opinion :p Yes, Franz "The Kaiser" Beckenbauer, Burgnich (5 times European Champion, 2 times FIFA Wold Cup champion), goalkeepers like Gordon Banks, players like Stanley Matthews and Puskas and other were useless, isn't it?
While I haven’t seen him play, his career stats are immense. Just looking at the statistics proves beyond doubt that he is a true legend and ‘over-rated’ if used here, wouldn’t go one bit with the player that he was.
He managed to win 3 world cups with Brazil and 10 Brazilian Championships with Santos.
He started playing football (professionally) just at the age of 15 and went on to play for the Brazilian national side within two years of playing. He also went on to win the World Cup when he was just 17, becoming the youngest player (up to date even, if I’m not wrong) to win the world cup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQ_lV3Qnsg (Performance in his first world cup)
After he was given the number 10 jersey by Brazil, the rest is history.
To people who claim they don’t like him because he’s arrogant. Everybody has their views. It’s just that he has some really strong views regarding some players that some people may not approve of. But, to label that as arrogance is hardly justified.
Scoring a total of a mind-boggling 1283 goals in 1360 odd games, he went on to dedicate his 1000th league for the poor children in Brazil, from where he arose himself.
Knighted by the British in 1997, he remains the 5th all time leading scorer in World Cup history for Brazil with 77 goals to his name in his international career. (It was the record of scoring most number of national by a player. The record has stood for over 40 years.)
‘WTF’ Trivia:
When he scored his 1000th goal on the 19th of November, 1969, it took over 30 minutes to resume the game because of fans storming into the field to celebrate the goal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8BGZna_VaA (Pele’s 1000th goal).
In 1967, a 48 hour ceasefire was declared in war torn Nigeria so that both the Federal and Rebel troops could watch him play.
He once stated “A penalty is a cowardly means to score”
The Brazilian government declared Pele an official national treasure to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.
Though I haven’t seen him play, from what I read he was a midfield number 10 who had a tendency to get into goal scoring positions. That just makes all his goal scoring stats that much more astounding.
As he prepared to kick off in a game during Mexico '70, Pele gestured to the referee that he needed to tie his laces. The cameras panned in to reveal the forward's Puma boots. Puma experienced a huge sales boost after that.
Cristiano Ronaldo once said “Pele is the greatest footballer in football history and there shall only be one Pele.”
As a boy, Pele used to play with a sock stuffed with paper as he could not afford to buy a football.
All in all he has scored 92 hat-tricks and Brazil have never lost a match when he and Garrincha have played together, much like (Suarez and Sturridge)
Videos:
His dribbling skills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=953rOfQ8Y0wDocumentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZc9q3tg5Ughttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqAM4hKVtE4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jzlc4KVlw0The point of this topic is not just to remind people of the greatness he achieved. But also the determination and passion that went with it. Just goes to show what a little bit of will and desire can add to your game. Hope you enjoyed the read.
YNWA!!