Pele - was he that good? And why ?

jimharri said:
He was brilliant. in his era. Problem is, it's human nature to wonder how he'd do in the modern era, judging how he'd do NOW, using his peak form as a guide. Defences are generally better now.
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Defences are far better today but back then you didn't need to be that good, you could just kick the shit out of the opposition's star player and get away with it, that's how Pele was stopped in 1966.
 
jimharri said:
I was only 3 at the time, so I don't recall too much from personal memory. But I thought I read somewhere that Eusebio came in for some harsh treatment. Though not to the same extent as Pele.
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Never forgive him for shiting it big time against the rags in 68.
 
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Pele must have been good 70+ hatricks and over 1000 goals - you don't do that if you are not of a certain level.

In my lifetime the best I've seen since watching football late 80's is Zidane - that guy was masterful, his touch and technique out of this world. Maradona obviously also gets a mention but for me I preferred Zidane overall.
 
unicorn said:
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.
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Brilliant awareness, even down to the fact he hit it the opposite side of the goal knowing the covering defender was heading to the near post .
 
Footba11 Guy said:
Pele must have been good 70+ hatricks and over 1000 goals - you don't do that if you are not of a certain level.

In my lifetime the best I've seen since watching football late 80's is Zidane - that guy was masterful, his touch and technique out of this world. Maradona obviously also gets a mention but for me I preferred Zidane overall.
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I have never understood the love in with Zidane. Sure he looked great for France at times but at club level he was very inconsistant. Didn't assist or score much.

Maradona the best player of all time. He proved it in 86. Never seen a player who was as unplayable.
 
Radiohead1981 said:
I have never understood the love in with Zidane. Sure he looked great for France at times but at club level he was very inconsistant. Didn't assist or score much.

Maradona the best player of all time. He proved it in 86. Never seen a player who was as unplayable.
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Platini was the best French player I have seen.
 
bennyboy said:
Platini was the best French player I have seen.
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Exactly way ahead of Zidane. The amount of goals he scored for France as a midfielder was insane. I think he won the ballon dor three times.

If he was playing today he would head and shoulders be the best player in the world. It wouldn't even be close.
 
Fode N The Hole said:
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.
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My father saw both of them, rates Pele as the best ever but Garrincha was magic, use to leave defenders on their arse and the crowd laughing.

In relation to Pele, the way it was put to me when I was arguing about who was the best was; Pele was the first player he saw who could run through players with strength/power, beat them with footwork, head, strike the ball with force and still play a pass. Like seeing a Jonah Loma in rugby, one guy doing things that didn't seem possible but with Pele no one has been that complete since. He had his hopes up when the young Brazilian Ronaldo burst on the scene that he could be it, but that didn't happen.
 
Only caught the trail end of Peles career as a youngster but what I saw was pretty impressive .
Best players I can properly remember have been Messi and Maradona. They've been a step above anyone else since Pele.
 
Barcon said:
I have only ever had one football shirt other than a City shirt and that was a Brazil shirt with no.10 on the back in 1970
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Same here.
When you see that shirt you know who it belongs to.
Very few shirts are as popular, even to this day, when you consider he was starring in a world cup 63 years ago.
That dummy against Uruguay, the lay up for Carlos Alberto, the Banks save, the shot from the half way line.
All great footballing moments played at World cups, the highest level.
 
Cruff is probably the best I've witnessed. A style thing probably - prefer the understated, cool and composed, intelligent way he played to the dynanamic bustling, busy style of the Maradona and Messi types.
Pele is perhaps a halfway house.
 
Dirty Harry said:
Oddly, an ex’s Dad always said this, he had the pleasure of watching ‘Little Bird’ at Goodson in 66 in the flesh as well, he knew his football and coached at a decent level (back then anyway) and certainly wasn’t prone to hyperbole, so I’d tend to take his word on it.

Pele, my memories, incredible player, didn’t have that beautiful fluidity and grace of Maradona, but every bit as effective and knew where the net was.

My favourite Brazilian though, Socrates.
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Socrates was Greek
 
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