Pele - was he that good? And why ?

[roypaulknewmyfather]

On a cold February night in 1972 I, along with 3 mates went down to Villa Park to watch them play Santos. Santos came to this country to play “friendlies” for a set price to earn money. The playing surface wasn’t bad for the era, only about 4 inches deep in mud. Pele played a deep role (whoa merging thread on deep lying forwards) he sprayed passes all round the place, exceptional, even had Villa fans applauding. Went on some great runs, going past defenders like they weren’t there In the second half. Glad I saw him, even if it was a non competitive game. A great of the game, every era has them. Pleased I’ve seen a few.

 

[unicorn]

I always wondered if he was that good, and my old PE teacher used to bang on about that time he dummied a through ball to let it go past the keeper, but he missed then, didn't he ?

But then I remember this;


Still Maradona for me, though.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

He was brilliant - only on Bluemoon!!
In other threads
Was Pavarotti a good Singer?
Could Rembrandt paint?
Was Beethoven any good at music?

Yes he played with good players but he stood out as head and shoulders above them too. The converse of that argument would suggest that Eusebio must be the most underrated player ever then.

 

[Maly]

Following on from the Peter Doherty thread, was Pele that good?
Before my time but where as you see countless reels of maradonna, best, messi etc , all lauded as being the best at the time, you only see bits of Pele.

So .. for those that saw him play, was he the best and if so why?

Used to have The Boys from Brazil, WC 1970 video

Well worth a watch if you can find it online. Perhaps the most entertaining national team ever?

 

[baggy]

maradona, messi, ronaldinho, (The real) Ronaldo and many others vastly superior to Pele imo.

 

[Fiftyyearsandcounting]

A cousin worked at Ringway airport and was on duty in 1966 when Brazil flew to Manchester. My cousin got several autographs and passed then to me. For some reason, Pele signed his full name, I didn't recognise "Do Nascimento" as Pele, I didn't keep his autograph.

 

[bennyboy]

He was brilliant - only on Bluemoon!!
In other threads
Was Pavarotti a good Singer?
Could Rembrandt paint?
Was Beethoven any good at music?

Yes he played with good players but he stood out as head and shoulders above them too. The converse of that argument would suggest that Eusebio must be the most underrated player ever then.

Gerd Muller for me

 

[bennyboy]

maradona, messi, ronaldinho, (The real) Ronaldo and many others vastly superior to Pele imo.

Only one in that list comes close.Your first one.

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

Thry say garinncha was better and but for injury would have outshone Pele.

Pele was obvioulsy one of the best, how good he was I couldn't say as I wasn't born.

Garrincha never had the professionalism so that's quite a hard sell from whoever is claiming it.

I'd put Rivelino as having more to his game than Garrincha from the clips I have seen online.

 

[bennyboy]

Garrincha never had the professionalism so that's quite a hard sell from whoever is claiming it.

I'd put Rivelino as having more to his game than Garrincha from the clips I have seen online.

Rivelino was poor in the 74 world cup.
Same with Jairzinho as well.
Scotland should have beat them in the 74 World Cup.