Was Pele that good?

I don't think he was.

Look at the players he played with on them Brazil teams!

Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Djalmo Santos, Vava, Didi, Zito, Gerson, Tostoa, Revilino, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho.

Class players.

Who did Maradona ever play with?

Passarella and Valdano?

Alright players but hardly in the league of Revilino and Tostoa and the likes. In 1986, Argentina did not win the World Cup, Maradona did.

Maradona was better than Pele.

Ah loyal, you're a man after my own heart. Pele was an overhyped poster boy. Maradonna was where it was at. Diego is King.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:I don't think he was.

Look at the players he played with on them Brazil teams!

Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Djalmo Santos, Vava, Didi, Zito, Gerson, Tostoa, Revilino, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho.

Class players.

Who did Maradona ever play with?

Passarella and Valdano?

Alright players but hardly in the league of Revilino and Tostoa and the likes. In 1986, Argentina did not win the World Cup, Maradona did.

Maradona was better than Pele.

Maradona was great but Pele the greatest. From the time that he burst on the scene in 1958 world cup as a 17 year old, scoring two great goals in the final.Had the legs kicked off him in 1966 (no subs) then when all the refs were from europe only. 1970 yes he played with a great team but his touches and awareness were awesome. But I know every Brazilian team is great although not in results. Pele,Maradona,Beckanbauer,Cryuff,Zidane and Best, all geniuses in their own right.

Pele was good for 3 decades
Maradona was untouchable for 3-4 years.

At their respective peaks Maradona by a mile.

Maradona took it to a new level in '86!

The goals of fame and infamy against England, scoring twice in the semis to knock the Belgians out - his second was good enough to rival his second against England in the match previous!

And then the final against the Beckenbaur managed West Germans. Maradona was at the centre of Argentina's first two goals, brought down by Lothar Mattheus on the edge of the box in which the resulting freekick saw Jose Brown head home and then the pass to Hector Enrique who put Jorge Valdano through for the second. That left the Argentians coasting until the last fifteen minutes, Rummeniege gave the West Germans a lifeline and then five minutes later, a Voller header finds the net.

Now the Argentian's are on the backfoot, they are looking at each other and they see the World Cup slipping from their grasp. The West Germans are in control. Only one man could have rescued the Argentians and he who made the World Cup his own gets the ball in his own half, the West Germans probably sensing the fear of Maradona with the ball at his toe rush towards him, three of them, Maradona lets it bounce once and then with the outside of his left foot slips it though to Jorge Burruchaga - and in that one stroke, he took out the whole West German defence. Burruchaga was through and only Schumacher to beat and so he did. It was the most famous pass ever.

Maradona owned that World Cup. Socrates of Brazil, Sanchez of Mexico, Lineker of England, Platini of France and Rummeniege all went to Mexico in '86 but Maradona stole the show. He won the World Cup on his own.

my friend marked pele when he played in america he has a blown up photo of him tackling him it takes pride of place in his house , pele is one of the best but my favourite would be maradonna but you cant compare players and maradonna did play in the 70s 80s and 90s not just 3or 4 years

Ironically enough, the 1970 World Cup Final was also held at the Estadio Azteca.

And in the 86th minute of that game, Pele got the ball on the edge of the Italian box, Brazil were 3-1 up, and he just stops completely. The Italian defenders were afraid to commit. Pele holds the whole game up for five to ten seconds and rushing down the right wing goes Carlos Alberto. It was as if Pele summoned him and then just waited for him to arrive. When he did, the perfectly weighted pass was played and Carlos Alberto rifled home. To do what he did, Pele must have had eyes in the back of his head. It was some pass.

Anyway, sixteen years on, and in the very same stadium, Maradona took the whole thing to a new level with his pass. In one stroke of the ball, he took at least five West Germans out of the game and effectively won Argentina the World Cup.

If Pele was so great he wouldn't be advertising drugs for the sexually impotent....

Maradonna flopped at Barcelona,


In no particular order I would rate:
Zlatan
Zidane
Cryuff
Neeskens
David Batty
Puskas
Hagi
Ronaldo(the fat one)

The Puke wrote:If Pele was so great he wouldn't be advertising drugs for the sexually impotent....

Maradonna flopped at Barcelona,


In no particular order I would rate:
Zlatan
Zidane
Cryuff
Neeskens
David Batty
Puskas
Hagi
Ronaldo(the fat one)

Obviously a wind up.

clash-of-da-ash wrote:

The Puke wrote:If Pele was so great he wouldn't be advertising drugs for the sexually impotent....

Maradonna flopped at Barcelona,


In no particular order I would rate:
Zlatan
Zidane
Cryuff
Neeskens
David Batty
Puskas
Hagi
Ronaldo(the fat one)

Obviously a wind up.

Zlatan is currently the best out and out centre forward in world football, of that there is littl doubt....He has everything in his locker, close to 70% of inter goals last season were scored by him or directly created by him, pretty much every team he has played for have won their domestic league with him to the fore


David Batty was mastering the Claude Makelele role before Makelele even knew about it, he was absolutely superb at mastering the space

I don't what it is about Ibrahimovic that I don't like, I just think he is over-rated. Peter Crouch is just as good as him. In my opinion the best center forward in the world is David Villa, Rooney, Torres or Higuin

clash-of-da-ash wrote:I don't what it is about Ibrahimovic that I don't like, I just think he is over-rated. Peter Crouch is just as good as him. In my opinion the best center forward in the world is David Villa, Rooney, Torres or Higuin

Ah seriously lad, Crouch is a useful but limited footballer, some people mightn't be fans of Zlatan and that is fair enough but he is a super footballer in terms of his technique and vision.....For a big man he is deceptively quick, good in the air and is well able to lead the line, take on defenders and drop deep and dictate play

The Puke wrote:

clash-of-da-ash wrote:I don't what it is about Ibrahimovic that I don't like, I just think he is over-rated. Peter Crouch is just as good as him. In my opinion the best center forward in the world is David Villa, Rooney, Torres or Higuin

Ah seriously lad, Crouch is a useful but limited footballer, some people mightn't be fans of Zlatan and that is fair enough but he is a super footballer in terms of his technique and vision.....For a big man he is deceptively quick, good in the air and is well able to lead the line, take on defenders and drop deep and dictate play

There is no doubt he has loads of technique and ability but doesn't seem to have the right temperment or attitude.

Pele was a fabulous footballer, who could do almost anything. Scored goals for fun, could pass, head, had vision and incredible touch. By any criteria, he has to be considered one of the top 10 footballers of all time.

However, for me he would be behind both Maradona & Cruyff, and at level similar to DiStefano, Best, Beckenbauer, Garrincha and Zidane. Maradona was a one off talent, so far ahead of his nearest competition. Cruyff too was exceptional, so fast and skillful, and one of the games greatest thinkers and leaders.

Yup TC would be going there but would be putting Pele in Top 5. Maradona was awesome but the drug s**t bugs me about him tbh ...

Drugs are bad mmmmmmmmmkay?

Maradona was a prince, pele was a pauper.

darragh wrote:Drugs are bad mmmmmmmmmkay?

Maradona was a prince, pele was a pauper.

As in cycling Darragh .... I prefer a level playing field, thats all.

Nowt wrong with a few lines of charlie, shur Pele has been on the blue pills for a while now.

By 1970 Pele was doing what Henry Sheflin now does for Kilkenny, orchestrating the team, and doing a wee bit extra when necessary, such as the 1970 semi against Uruguay.

At his peak he was wonderful.

Maradona won the world cup on his own in 1986, and nearly repeated the trick full of cocaine in 1990. Cocaine is hardly performance enhancing, but could add longevity as seen by certain Man United wingers with hairy chests.Allegedly he quickly and legally added.

However, I particularly like Diego's story about the 1994 tournament.

FIFA in a panic, sold no tickets, send out the PR boys in the USA to ask people what they know about soccer. 98% say "Maradona".

So he has to be there but Argentina are struggling, and Diego is not playing. FIFA supply him with what he needs, he comes back and leads Argentina to the finals.

Every poster, beer mat, all adverts for that feature Diego.

However suddenly Diego looks like pulling off the impossible and winning it again.

So FIFA pull the plug, and dismiss him for taking the drugs they supplied.

That is his story. Rings true.

A great player, as was George by the way, and George was plying his trade with two bad teams.

So who was better Patrique?

And where do Beckenbaur, Cryuff, Puskas, Zico and Garrincha fit in?

Greatest Soccer XI

Yashin

Baresi Stam Matthaus Maldini

Best Zidane Maradona Cruijff

Pele Muller

Greatest Soccer XI

Schmiechel

Baresi, Beckenbauer Maldini, Lizarazu
Garincha,Zidane,Maradona,Cryuff

Pele - Van Basten

At the end of the day OI would go for Diego.

Then Pele.

Then take your pick of Cruff, Di stefano, puskas, Zidane, Platini, Best, and all the others.


My best ever team?

Surprisingly two people from Ireland/Britain in Jennings is a must for goals, and Greaves is a must as striker.

The others can wait.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:So who was better Patrique?

And where do Beckenbaur, Cryuff, Puskas, Zico and Garrincha fit in?

Pretty much all of those would make any Top 20 list, with probably only Zico missing out.

Zico was a phenomenal player, my favourite growing up, but sadly didn't get the job done in any of his 3 World Cups when it really mattered. Again, a superb footballer, but wouldn't rate quite as highly as those others for me. His high point was probably leading Flamengo to the World Club title against Liverpool, but then he made a poor career move to Udinese, and wasn't able to have the impact on Europe that, for instance, Platini did at Juventus.

Puskas was as good a goal-scorer as ever lived, and had a thunderous left foot. Like Cruyff and Pele (1970), he was the undisputed leader of an exceptionally talented group of Hungarian footballers, one of the top 5-6 sides ever to play the game, which perhaps says as mch about his ability as anything.

Garrincha is generally acknowledged as the best player Brazil produced pre-Pele, and many older people in Brazil would say the best ever. Devastating dribbler on the right wing, who thrived in an era when defenders game them space in which to play.

Beckenbauer was pure class, first as a midfield playmaker and more famously in the Sweeper role he perfected. A fine athlete with technique, vision and a great leader.

Cruyff was a lot like George Best, although Johnny Giles rates Best higher as he felt he had 'more heart' than Cruyff. Cruyff though had lots of heart too, and was t the top for much longer. Blisteringly fast for a centre forward, he scored plenty, and he controlled the game in a similar way to Beckenbauer, albeit from the other end of the field. Very strong personalily who is stil the reason that Barcelona play in the fashion they do today.

Others you might want to consider are Best, who shone so briefly but so memorably. DiStefano, the hard running forward who eclipsed even Puskas & Gento at Real Madrid and is rated by many as the greatest ever. Zidane, Platini & Ronaldo (Brazil) from the modern era would be high on most lists, and Marco Van Basten and Romario were outstanding in their day.

Pre-1960 greats would also have Stanley Matthews, Juan Schiaffino of Uruguay, and the tragic Matthias Sindelar of Austria's 1930s 'Wunderteam'.