What makes pele the best

His most memorable World Cup goals came in the same game - a quarter-final showdown with England. The infamous 'Hand of God' was followed by an outrageous solo goal which was hailed as the 'Goal of the Century'. Pele also has 10 Campeonato Paulista titles and four Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo titles which are not included in the above table. There is very little between Pele and Maradona when it comes to individual awards. France Football conferred each player with an honorary Ballon d'Or, but Pele was retrospectively deemed the 'alternative winner' of seven Ballons d'Or in , whereas Maradona was the 'alternative winner' twice.

Maradona was twice named the South American Footballer of the Year and Pele never had the honour because the award only began in the s. Both players have been awarded a host of unofficial individual awards and magazine accolades over the years. The debate about who was better between Pele and Maradona has been ongoing for decades and the pair have even traded barbs on the subject. Gary Lineker now views Lionel Messi as the best of all time, but prior to that it was Maradona who was "the greatest player of all time, by a long way".

That view has also been expressed by former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs, who believes that Maradona is "the best of all time". He said: "Today there are so many strong players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the things I have seen Maradona do I have never seen anyone else achieve in football history". Advances in sporting equipment have supposedly made the game easier, notably in relation to the ball. Nowadays balls are far lighter, making them considerably easier to head.

To ease the burden further, the extra swerve one can inflict on the ball makes a goalkeeper's job that much harder. The introduction of yellow and red cards, which only came into mainstream use during the World Cup, have made the life of a skilful goal threat more comfortable. During Pele's era, a defender could unleash his frustration on an opponent's shins without fear of serious retribution. Then there is the argument of titles won. Pele won three World Cups , in , and , although his participation in was minimal after collecting an injury in the first game that ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.

Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have yet lifted the greatest prize in the game. There are arguments against Pele too.

The physical side of the sport and the preparation that goes into each game have reached levels of incredible intensity.

One only has to look at the way in which Cristiano Ronaldo's body has developed since the gangly teenager that arrived at Old Trafford in The Real Madrid player now boasts a physique not dissimilar to Johnny Bravo. Pele was part of a golden generation in Brazil. His team-mates included Nilton Santos, Didi, Garrincha and Jairzinho, all of whom could be considered some of the best players of the era. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pele was better;.

Messi is quite a weapon for Barca. He used both feet on the pitch. He was as dangerous with his right as he was with his left. He was strong in the air as well, and created a lot of chances;. But now he Messi is the best player in the world and of his time.

However, the best ever is Pele. He is just ahead of Messi. I played with him at the New York Cosmos and you would give him the ball and just not see him again because he was too fast. Pele was all instinct. You tell me God, If it is madness…if it is the truth So much horror below the skies?! In those dark and scary days, a young Black Brazilian man was praised in stadiums all over Europe, North America and the whole world as the true King of Soccer.

An unbelievable, fantastic and revolutionary feat. Actually, it was up to Pele to change the status of the black player. Differently from the great black players from the past, Pele was not ashamed of his skin color, he was proud of being black.

He liked being called the Negro, The black man. That behavior from the best Brazilian player was an example for the other players who still felt inferior because of their skin color. The black man was free, but felt the curse of color. Like Cristiano Ronaldo today, he was clearly physical ahead of his opponents; he took that part very seriously, unlike other footballers from his time. He combined that with his incredible innovations in technical ability, creating and improving dribbling moves still used today, like we can see in the amazing video below:.

An excellent article and you made several great points. In my opinion he is not only the greatest player and champion in soccer history, but the greatest athlete in any sport.