Pele - was he that good? And why ?

[bennyboy]

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.

Platini was the best French player I have seen.

 

[Radiohead1981]

Platini was the best French player I have seen.

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.

 

[Marlo]

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.

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.

 

[Brodymcfc]

Messi 2009 to 2020 the best in the world

 

[Xhavenjoe]

Messi 2009 to 2020 the best in the world

He was from 2009 to 2020.
Pele was way over the hill from 2009 to 2020.

 

[Cityfan]

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]

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.

 

[Xhavenjoe]

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

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.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

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.

 

[Gingers Dad]

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.

Socrates was Greek