Pele - was he that good? And why ?

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

Oh mate, don’t get me wrong, wasn’t comparing at all in that way, what he said was just something that’s always stuck in my mind when he mentioned about going to those games at Goodison, he went for the exact same reasons as most went, to watch a great Brazil side and especially Pele.

Now I’m not old enough to make any comment on it, but like you say, really FOC’s would be better placed, but he said it was Garrincha that stood out for him in those Brazil teams, reckons he was the best player he’s ever seen, safe to say they were both probably up there in an all time World 11.

My stepfather was about fifteen years older than me, and he said the same thing. He'd seen clips of Garrincha from the ’58 tournament. He said nobody could touch him.
But he was a shooting star, has to be said. Didn't he have bandy legs, as well, or something like that, from having had rickets as a child? Came from a background of grinding poverty, that is certain. From the favelas, I think.