Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
Ok, I don't want to flog a horse that's probably long dead about who has been the greatest footballer of all time. It's good to debate, but impossible to resolve. Pitches have changed. Radically. Football has changed, radically. There's also a question of perception. Just about every one of Messi's matches, whether for Barca or Argentina, over the last twelve years or so, are documented and available for perusal. Frame by frame, if you want to do it that way. Less true for Maradona, but there's still a mass of footage available for him. Both wonderful players, arguably the GOAT, for different reasons.
But for those who don't really understand why those of my generation, by and large, will always consider Pelé the most astounding footballer they've seen, the one in whom the beautiful game is incarnated, you might do well to get a look at the documentary on Netflix.
Set aside what he did for Santos. It's pretty staggering — more than 1000 goals? say that again? and Brazil was not a joke league at the time — but let that go. Leave aside the stuff in the States. It was exhibition football. I'll concede that.
To have delivered in two World Cups, to have dominated them in fact, at a distance of twelve years is astonishing. The World Cup puts a pressure on a player that's hardly imaginable. The weight of an entire nation is on his shoulders. No one more so than Pelé, a messiah for Brazil at a time when it was going through a shitty time in its history (as now). He had to win the World Cup in 1970. And he did. He didn't have to in 1958. But he did, as a teenager, and the unquestioned star of the tournament. He played a small role in the 62 World Cup, but he still has a winner's medal for it. Wonderful players around him, of course. No player wins anything on his own in a team sport. He is the first to say that.
Garrincha is possibly the brightest shooting star in the firmament of football. Some would argue that. My stepfather used to. But he is exactly that — a shooting star. And we really don't have much documentary evidence on him.
Messi, Maradona, Péle. Natural skills, the skills you're either born with or not? I wouldn't want to call it, frankly. Sheer athleticism? For me, it's the Brazilian, all the way. Longevity? Close between Messi and Pelé, but for me the Brazilian edges it.
Anyway, if you love football, watch the documentary, just for the pleasure of it. You will see a few things you will not find easy to believe.
Disclaimer: I don't have shares in Netflix and I'm not on commission.
But for those who don't really understand why those of my generation, by and large, will always consider Pelé the most astounding footballer they've seen, the one in whom the beautiful game is incarnated, you might do well to get a look at the documentary on Netflix.
Set aside what he did for Santos. It's pretty staggering — more than 1000 goals? say that again? and Brazil was not a joke league at the time — but let that go. Leave aside the stuff in the States. It was exhibition football. I'll concede that.
To have delivered in two World Cups, to have dominated them in fact, at a distance of twelve years is astonishing. The World Cup puts a pressure on a player that's hardly imaginable. The weight of an entire nation is on his shoulders. No one more so than Pelé, a messiah for Brazil at a time when it was going through a shitty time in its history (as now). He had to win the World Cup in 1970. And he did. He didn't have to in 1958. But he did, as a teenager, and the unquestioned star of the tournament. He played a small role in the 62 World Cup, but he still has a winner's medal for it. Wonderful players around him, of course. No player wins anything on his own in a team sport. He is the first to say that.
Garrincha is possibly the brightest shooting star in the firmament of football. Some would argue that. My stepfather used to. But he is exactly that — a shooting star. And we really don't have much documentary evidence on him.
Messi, Maradona, Péle. Natural skills, the skills you're either born with or not? I wouldn't want to call it, frankly. Sheer athleticism? For me, it's the Brazilian, all the way. Longevity? Close between Messi and Pelé, but for me the Brazilian edges it.
Anyway, if you love football, watch the documentary, just for the pleasure of it. You will see a few things you will not find easy to believe.
Disclaimer: I don't have shares in Netflix and I'm not on commission.
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