Maradona vs Pele – who was better?
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele as he would later be known around the world) was often rated as the best player in the world. Only he and fellow legend Diego Armando Maradona, have received the honours by FIFA with the awards of officially being dubbed the greatest players in the history of the game. An ongoing debate among football fans to this day remains, who was better?
Pele is hailed in Brazil as a national hero and is an instrumental ambassador of the game. After scoring his 1,000th career goal he dedicated it to the poor children in the slums of Brazil. Maradona, despite his controversies, was one of the most skillful players to ever play the game and he won several trophies with Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli. For his country he won 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Most notably one of the best ever was against England in a dazzling solo run (voted as Goal of the Century in an online debate conducted by FIFA in 2002), plus one of the most controversial in the same game now famously named as the “Hand of God”.
Pele on the other hand is the record all-time top scorer for his country (77 goals in 92 caps – amazing!), and is the only player in history to be part of three World Cup winning teams. He began smashing records at an early age though making his debut for Santos Futebol Clube at just 15, then making his debut for Brazil at 16 and winning his first World Cup at 17. Despite all the many offers he was given during his club career to join rich European clubs he remained loyal to Santos, playing for them for two decades. He did finally leave however in 1975 when he joined the all star squad of the New York Cosmos. He made 64 appearances for them and scored 37 times. In case you’re wondering he played 1,345 games for Santos and scored 1,265 goals (again amazing – the guy’s a machine!).
Maradona played in four World Cups for Argentina steering them to success in 1986 where he also collected the Golden Ball award as the tournaments best player. Despite his praises though he has faced some troubles during his life. He was banned from the game for 15 months in 1991 after he failed a drugs test for cocaine abuse in Italy. He was banned again during the 1994 World Cup, where he was sent home, this time for ephedrine. After he retired from the game in 1997 his weight ballooned and he suffered ill health. Again he was back on the cocaine. Since giving up drugs though he has become a television host in Argentina. Both men fathered children with women who have been left to raise them single-handedly, with little support from the leading figures of football.
Maradona did however achieve similar goal-scoring feats to Pele: 28 goals in 40 games (during his first spell at Boca Juniors, his second spell he scored 7 goals in 31 matches); 38 goals in 58 games (Barcelona); 115 goals in 259 games (Napoli). Despite his small size (1.65 m, 5 ft 5 in) Maradona had strength, could run with the ball and could withstand challenges, unlike some of today’s players who can’t even withstand challenges where there’s not even any contact! These main attributes of his are highlighted by his unbelievable goal in the 1986 World Cup. If you haven’t seen it, shame on you, but anyway think Lionel Messi but the original. Not only could he score goals with his unstoppable runs where he could take out a whole defence on his own but he was a team player too. With his strength and control he could often hold up the ball against a defender whilst a team-mate made the run through where he would thread it through to them.
Pele had an incredible eye for goal with deadly strike force and always glowed with confidence, even at such an early age. He was good in the air and was also a good team player, often laying on assists for his team-mates. Pele’s original technique and athleticism were highly praised whilst his dribbling ability and acute passing molded him into an all-round forward and natural goalscorer.
Who do you think was better between the two? Let me know by adding your comments below.
Also See: My friend who played with Pele.
First, it is hard to define the differences from both players , since they pretty much played different positions. Pele was a striker and Maradona, an attacking playmaking midfielder. However, I think Maradona is a better overall footballer than Pele. However, not by much. Pele only played in Santos and in a starful, yet talentless NASL. Maradona played in the best teams against the best. Pele was only loyal to Santos, as the article suggests, because he was always in debt due to fiancial blunders and Santos would pay his debt as long as he played. I think he even came out of retirement twice to pay his debt. Playing in Brazil, is not the same as playing in Europe, even then. Having said that, Brazil always has competitive teams even when playing against European teams. Brazilian teams have won the last two FIFA CLub World Cups, so that speaks volumes there. Another thing that makes it difficult is the eras they played in. When Pele first played they played with 2-3-5 scheme, that means 5 forwards. People need to look at these things before making rash assumptions. Also, Maradona was a one man show. He made everyone around him better. He took an Argentina team in 1986 with very few stars and won everything. Also, with Napoli, in 1986, nobody on his team and won a league title. Pele played in 1970, with probably the greatest Brazilian team ever assembled.
Anyway, they are both outstanding players and rightly so deserve everything they have both been given. Any argument will win as long as they are 1 and 2, interchangeably.
James:
Interesting article, and a debate for the ages.
Pele’ remained loyal to Santos FC because the Brazilian government declared him a non-exportable national treasure. Until, of course, the Cosmos (Warner Communications) came calling for his services to grow the sport in North America.
Having seen both of them play, I can’t objectively state who was better. Pele’ was a naturally left-footed player, but could use both legs equally well. Maradona was heavily dependent on his left, but what magic he performed with it. Maradona might have had a slightly better touch on the ball than Pele’. But that was more like comparing Beethoven to Mozart. They had technical gifts that few have had before or since.
In my opinion, Pele’ was a more powerful presence on the pitch. Even though like Maradona, he was not a tall or physically imposing man. He had an incredible vertical jump. For me, Maradona passed the ball more precisely. They both had incredible football-sense and vision on the pitch.
I would like to add a few videos for comparative purposes:
Pele’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFgkzOSBA2s
Maradona:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hHhaHSaTlQ
pele is the best striker the game will ever see….maradona is the best midfielder the game will ever see. two very different positions — two incredible players
I’am not going to comment on their personal life but in my opinion Pele was better than Maradona in every aspect in and off the pitch,and i think he was better by far.It’s just something that i fell every time i watch them at work.I player is as good as the trophies he won and by his performances.Stats are very important to determine who was best.Look at the tehnique absolutlly amaizing they both introduced us to real football and how it should be played.Non belivers say pele had an army of the gratest players ever to play the game ,but i ask you who was the star of those teams.And as you probablly know pele’s brazilaian team is the best ever to play the game.Sure Pele played most of his career in brazil at Santos and i must disagree with those who say europian football is better than thg south american one.We invest more money but trought the time the best players came from there even in these days if you put every team in europe against a south american team you might be suprised.The passion of the players,their native talent and also the way football is regarded by suporters makes them the best. The best player ever to play the game cannot by argentinian,italian,french,spanish,german,dutch,english or from any other country it has to be from the country of modern time football,he has to be brazilian.Pele is the best and it would be hard to find someone match his grandeour,not even Maradona.
Ahhh… the great Maradona vs Pele debate. I don’t think this matter can ever be solved by using any form of evidence or debate. This is a matter of the heart. And for me, in my heart, I’m a Maradona man.
I totally agree with you Kenny, this age-old debate will keep on going and going…
But, im a Pele kid; I love the way he was so loyal to Santos and he truely was a better player, maybe a little less dazzly than Maradona and less solo-runs be he had the class and was a true gentleman of the game.
Also, Does anyone see that Maradona looks a little bit like Carlos Tevez?
Especially in this post’s pic at the top, he looks a lot like him!
I cannot comment because I have not seen either of these players play. However, reading about them Pele was a humble player who stood head and shoulders above everyone else in a team which had more start than the sky, while Maradona – the biggest dickhead footbal has ever seen – made crappy player dance to his tune to turn a shitty team into Calcio champions (again, this is what I hear. I have never seen any of these play live). My vote goes to the Humble One.
There is another reason these two cannot be compared: they played in different eras. In Pele’s time football was pretty clean; in Maradona’s era it had already become corrupted by bucketloads of money.
NB why not throw Cruyff into the picture? I have seen some games with him retrospectiveley and he was a pure genius. How he made everybody play with him for Holland… it was amazing.
NB2 did you know that Tevez’ first two names are Carlos and Alberto? He, Carlos Alberto, is also considered to be one of the greatest all time players… Looks like Maradona and has the name of one nearly as good as Pele: looks like Man Utd really have a legend in the making on their hands.
I think they both suck and that Kaka is the best of all time.
I believe you cannot compare the 2 because they are different players, playing in different positions.
I have never seen Pele play, only Maradonna, therefore I cannot truly judge the better player. But, on an emotional level I’m also a Maradonna boy and will therefore say Mardonna.
I think that it is very hard to say who the best player in the history of soccer is but as for the most successfull player in history it would have to be Pele, with maradona just trailing my friend will explain later
EDSON ARANTES DO NACIMENTO
PLAYED PROFESSIONALY : 1976-1997=21 X2= +420
WORLD CUP PLAY: Played in 4 wc +200 played 14 matches with
12 goals(3 with his head, 6 with right foot,3 with left foot)8 assits
12×2=24 +8 =32×10= +320
Youth WC: No youth world cup at the time.
position: Forward +50
Prime time: the 60’s x 2= +120
Awards: 2 world cup champion medals(58,70)+400 Player of the Century by FIFA respectively +200
Brazilain league champions x3 +150 world club chamionship( 61, 62) 150 x2= +300
Copa libertadores x2 +200
Copa America 2nd place top scorer(6 goals)+100
Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) +200
South American Player of the year (58,59,61,70,73) +250
Plus so many other things with santos. +++(use above reference, on January 30)
Competitive goals 647 goals( Career tally was 1284 goals) x2 =+1294
senior forward +500
Competiion
History: In world cup play Pele had world class players around him and when
all brazilian stars were present on the pitch they completely outscore any team
in the world Pele making all the difference with assits and goals. Brazil without Pele in 58 the quaterfinal against wales would have resulted in a
draw even if they had managed to beat wales in a replay, the semifinal against france with Pele not there to score his hat trick and assit, Brazil would not have reached the final. In 1970 Pele scored 4 times (including 1 goal and 2 assits in the final against Italy as they won 4-1) and assited 5 times he also hit the post twice, almost scored from
more than half field and almost scored against gordan banks(regarded the best save banks ever saved), almost scored against
Uruguay. without his important plays against England, Italy, Peru, Czechoslovakia. Brazil would probably not won. Because Pele was the KEY Player (Jairzinho, Rivelino, were helpless in 1974 without Pele)
Brazil without Pele
Rating: 9/10
with Pele 10.1/10
Pele turned a very good Brazilian team (Gerson, Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino Carlos Alberto) into an legendary championship team good Job edson +1000
Pele is a kind a honest man who encourages everything positive But we are talking about soccer. .
Once Pele was red carded unfairly and the ref had to put him back in because the whole stadium
had gotten upset. Pele also had a stadium built after him ( O rei Pele stadio) its capacity
is 100,000 people.
TOTAL: 5904 PTS.
DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA
PLAYED PROFESSIONALY 1976-1997=21 X2= +420
WORLD CUP PLAY: Played in 4 wc +200
YOUTH WC: the under 20 wc in Japan (79) +100
Played 22 wc matches with 8 goals(1 with his hand,and 7 with left foot) and 4 assits(1 against Germany, 1 against Brazil {86, 90})
8×2=16+4= 20 x 10 = +200
Position: Midfielder +100
Prime time: the 80’s x 2=+160
Awards 1 world cup champion medal (86)+200
Player of the Century by FIFA respectively +200
Argentine league champions x2 +100
Italian Serie A championship x 2 +200
Copa Libertadores +100
Copa America 3rd place goals 0 +50
Goal of the century +100
South American Player of the year(79,86,89,90,92) +250
Goals in
competitive 311 goals(career tally 311 goals) +622
senior Midfielder +1000
competiion
History:
In world cup play Maradona had Professionaly skilled players around him. with a very good defense that held off much of the attack of the top attacking nations in the world, not to mention an outstanding coach in Bilardo. Argentina barely wins world cup
Argentina without Maradona . Without Maradona Argentiana would problaly would have made it to the second round, maybe even the quarterfinal but with Maradona not there, England would have
won 1-0. Vecause Diego was the KEY Player
In 1990, Maradona was not key player(He did not score a single goal due to a nagging injury not serious enough to keep him from playing) Argentina, with is physical rough play would have reached the final anyway.
Argentina without maradona Rating: about 7.9/10
with maradona 9/10
Maradona Made an average (players like:Valdona, Burruchaga, Brown, Enrique,not a bad bunch) Argentine team in to world cup championship squad good job Diego +1500
Maradona was drug addict (he also struggled with weight problems)who who also used doping to enhance his performance in 1994 usa. plus he used his hands twice in world cup play (both worthy of red card) against England and . USSR in WC 86, 90. No good Diego!
Maradona got red carded in a match against brazil for kick this guy with his cleats the entire world sighed with relief. Maradona had a church built after him ( La Iglesia de Maradona) with a capacity of 387 People.
TOTAL: 5502 PTS
I think you have ended this debate, dude
different era’s, different soccer, but pele played in Cosmos… come on… come on.. when maradone played in only Barcelona, mmm … no more talking about this.
Maradona does all the work and Pele all he does is wait for the ball to score (cherry picker)So clearly to everyone Maradona is the best in the world next messi dont be jealous of Argentina woot
Yeah what Stefano said.Totally…. =D
hi bocaj_91 i really hope u read this…
maradona is GOD and pele was his bitch…
maradona is by far the greatest ever he took 3 weak teams and made em into champions ..he won 3 titles in europe and faced the best opposition ever.. he scored the greatest goal ever and won boca 4 times interclubs]
maradona is the greatest player ever to set foot on a pitch. sure run him down for his drug abuse which has nothing to do with football and skill as ur a jelous turd.. maradona is GOD of football and thats why the world voted hi m as the greatest player ever at the 2000 millenium awards . pele got the plastic award.
maradona got the real award voted by the world
maradoa was a genius and god and the greatest player ever
Maradonna and Pele both voted by FIFA as the greatest players however if youlook for personal skills and ability in dribbling nothing like Diego.Diego is a genius and He got 2000 millenium awards like Zobondo said. He played with underdog team and yet could raise them to the top.
Pele was in the different time and also greatest player like you know they both has got their own ability.Pele was a goal getter.Do not look at their personal behaviour just their skills.
As a big football fanatic. I have taken the time to search very old videos of Pele and compared them to Maradona’s in every single detail. It is vital to consider (1) Pele’s era – Slower football – Very limited Brazilian goalkeepers=easier to score – Very limited defensers=easier to score – Easier football than Europe=Easier to score – Diffrent position. Pele’s position allowed him to score more. I strongly doubt Pele would have scored that much if he had gone around Europe like Maradona. Remember all the great names there were when Maradona started to play in Europe (e.g. Platini)…Well, Maradona was the king and made clear he was the number 1 all over the world because he won against these big names by playing against them. Moreover Maradona was more complete, though Pele was more powerful and faster, but Maradona’s touch, class, fantasy, and accuracy were something we will probably never see again. I consider myself very honored because in my life I saw Maradona playing. He did not have to score to entertain you. He was simply magic, and he still is when he touches the ball even today. Therefore, I have no doubts: Maradona!
I would like to add, that I agree with Zobondo.
Drugs don’t make you play better, and do not allow you to gain any special touch. I have always felt sorry for Maradona and his fragility. But only Pele knows what he has done in his life. I know this has nothing to do with football, but maybe Pele was much smarter in that sense, and he could hide better + media, and paparazzi were not that aggressive like in Maradona’s or todays time.
Remember: When Maradona was almost dying the paparazzi almost got in the operation room….Simply disgusting. Just think about all the pressure there was on Maradona. Pele did not face that, and this is a fact too.
There is no comparison – Mardonna full stop. I would go so far as to say there will never ever be another player who would come close to him.
I think that MARADONA was better than PELE because MARADONA was more successful than PELE
Maradona was the greatest if you look at it simply in football terms and not what position they were maradona had a better touch he beat players with skill and class rather than pele who was a lot faster but didnt have the same first touch as maradona maradona was far more entertaining and he has got apersonality all pele ever does nbow is make predictions that alwys turn out to compoletely wide of the mark, pele is like beckenbauer they are both involved with fifa and all that wre as maradona is simple considered as the best because all he done was play footballl he didnt suck up the arses of fifa unlike pele and beckenbauer
KEVIN PANI
I think that MARADONA was better than PELE because MARADONA was more successful than PELE
————————————————————
Pele is universally acknowledged as the Greatest player ever.
Interanational 77 goals in 92 matches. 4 world cup appearances and won 3 of them. Infact truth be told if he was not hacked down and had to retire from the competition, I doubt England would have won that 1966 world cup.
So Kevin Pani how you you came to the conclusion Maradona won more than Pele is quite amusing and incredibly stupid.
Exactly my thoughts Gerard Onochie, How did this idiot come to the conclusion Maradona was more successful than Pele? More than a 1000 professional goals, 3 world cups, greatest football icon ever. Football Ambassador, Sports Minister… HOW HIS HE LESS SUCCESSFUL THAN MARADONA
BEFORE 1986, PELE WAS UNCONTROVERSIALLY THE ONLY MEGASTAR.
AFTER 1986, PELE HAD A COMPETITOR WHO HAD SNATCHED AWAY 60% OF HIS FANS.
FRIENDS, THIS WAS NOT EASY AND THIS SIMPLE FACT SHOWS MARADONA WAS BETTER.
pele is the best of all times.he has three world cups he didnot take drugs and never scored with his hand,he is no cheat.I think he is a good example of a footballer.
if u study moore about pele then u ‘ll know that he is overrated. was he made 1000 goals? no. was he won 3 world cup? no. that just myth! in wc 58 he came from bench, didi or vava was the player of tournament. in wc 62 he just play one match then garrincha lead brazil to final. in wc 70 brazil hav the greatest team ever and pele just made 4 goals while jairzinho made 8 goals from deepper position. PELE NEVER BE No.1 STAR IN SELECAO, there were always someone better than him, but just pele constantly exist between 58 and 70. in other hand, maradona singlehandedly drag average argentina team to final in 86 and 90, when in 86 he made 5 goals and 5 assist. he lead napoli conquer serie a, while in that day milan hav legendary holland trio, baresi, ancelotti, tassotti, donadoni, massaro, young maldini, young costacurta, inter hav germany trio, bergomi, zenga, aldo serena, juve hav platini, cabrini, scirea, schillacchi. a player like him will never born again.
Now, now, now…a good question as this is asked and the least you expect is a onjective answer. FIFA created the award and it was irrespective of the position on the pitch. When players of the month or year are picked even goalkeepers have a chance. Who is it that said Pele only waited for others to create the chance and only slot the goal? Very unfair and thank goodness you are not a writer of history. Miles apart these two are/were. Pele a clear winner for what he started to achieve from the age e started to achieve and all never falling foul either in terms of performance enhacement (not Viagra of course) or inspiring the young. Watch the videos posted above. every single player I have known, younger Ronaldo inclusive close their eyes to head the ball Pele always watched where he was heading and a lot more he could do. A natura left footer that used both feet the same, how many in the world to date can do that? We should acknowledge ’shooting stars’ in our world when they appear. PELE IS THE GREATEST EVER!!!
Recommended viewing http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=icbntQJ351k
I am the resident of Pakistan, and my age is just 23, and my enterest with football increased due to the controversal discussion between my father who favoured pele and my uncle who always on Maradona’s side….
As i read all the comments and i concluded that when any thing reaches to the end limit of his domain then they might not be compared…They both will be alive in the hearts of the lovers untill this game is alive…
quotes on maradona the list of players and infinity
Zidane: the greatest ever
2: Careca: admiteas was far better than pele
3: Bobby Charlton: the greatest footballer
4: Gullit: he was from another world
5: Marco van Basten: The Greatest footballer ever
6: Former manager of england bobby robson: hate him or love him he was the greatest player of all time.
7: Zola: he was the god of football
8: Ronaldhino: hes was my idol and greatest
9: won player of the century at fifa 2000 awards
10: C. Ronaldo the greatest
11: Ze Roberto and R. Carlos: Maradona was without doubt the greatest
12: Bearzot: Maradona is football
13: Sacchi on sky: Maradona is the best player in the world
14: Baggio: Maradona all players dream
15: gentile: Maradona better than Pelè
16: Boscov: Maradona can not be compared
17: Sivori: maradona the best in the world
18: Cantona: Maradona is greatest art.The
19: Eusebio: Maradona was the greatest
20: Maldini: Maradona is Maradona
Pele is the best! world champion without using his hands or drugs!!! Pele is a winner and Maradonna is a cheater! He came close to Pele by cheating!
Football was naive on the days Pele . Now it has become more complicated . Strategies have appeared . Maradonna faced greater teams than Pele . Unlike Pele , who was nat the only star in his team ,Maradonna was the only star in the team and Napoli . Besides ,the dribbing and passing abilities Maradona has , Pele did not have . I think if Pele played today ,he would not create the row he created in the fifties. Also records are sometimes stupid .Pele was injured in one of World Cups and did not continue .Yet , it is mentioned as one of his ahcievements. No doubt ,Maradona is the best of all times .
Maradona ha sido un ejemplo, pero una de las pocas personas a salir del túnel y Carl Lewis Mike tayson estrellas es mucho más malo que tienen los que no tienen vergüenza escala de la primera piedra
Go and watch videos of both pele and maradona
now compare
After every video of Pele i have watched three words come into my head,is that it.Pele was hugely overrated he weren’t as nearly as skillful or as good a passer as maradona.Lots of other players have also surpassed him such as Garrincha,Zico,luiz Ronaldo,zidane etc
As for the three world cups
1958 – Pele come from the bench
1962 – played one game
1970 – Played in greatest team ever and still only scored 4 while jairzinho scored 8 from a deeper position.
BRAZIL WOULD HAVE WON ALL 3 WITHOUT HIM
His goal record is a hoax because he includes goals from his youth team and even when he played in the army.He also counts goals in that shitty talentless USA league.
Impressive goal record for Santos but keep in mind that in the Brazilian league in Peles era teams played a 2-3-5 formation(5 forwards)which as you would imagine made it alot easier to score.
As well as that the defenders and goalkeepers were very limited in terms of tactics,skill and fitness compared to modern day professionals in italian,spanish,french,german or English leagues.Just watch his videos and you will see that Peles opposition didnt know how to defend.
Pele = myth
pele 32 team trophies
pele 32 team trophies
———————————————————————————
his santos club teamate pepe 40 trophies!!!
pele was only a team player, there were too many brazil nationl players in santos club:
Gilmar （58，62),
Zito (58,62) ,
Mengálvio (62) ,
Coutinho (62)
Pepe (58,62)
Mauro （58, 62）
Dorval
Lima （66）
Carlos Alberto （70）
Joel Camargo （74）
Clodoaldo (70)
Edu (66,70,74)
Da silva
Toninho (66,70,72 state league top scorer)
+1 menotti(argentina national team player)
besides, pele played in army league, low level state league and friendly matches.
MARADONA BEST OF ALL TIME!!! NO DOUBT
NOT EVERYONE CAN BE LIKE MARADONA BUT SOMEONE WHO IS THE BEST PLAYER OF THE WORLD NOW,SOMEONE WHO IS A GREAT PLAYER ,SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO WIN.THIS PERSON IS LIONEL MESSI THE SUPER STAR OF FC BARCELONA.HE BECOMES A MAGICIAN WHEN HE HAS A BALL IN THE FOOTBALL FIELD!
MARADONA!!!!
CATALAN -4- EVER.FC BARCELONA!I’M CATALAN AND I LOVE U!
I’ve read quite a lot of the comments which seem to be swinging either very far one way or very far the other as the debate unfolds. Both without a doubt are two of the top 5 greatest players based upon skill and influence. A few things swing the argument in Maradona’s favour though:-
1) Close control was unparalleled.
2) 1986 World Cup – in every game Maradona made the difference and was always at the fulcrum of Argentinas best moments. The best single player performance over a single tournament.
3) Success with Napoli – to lift an average team to the pinnacle of the game in what was then not only the best league but also the tightest and most defensive.
4) His legacy – every new Argentinian star is dubbed the new Maradona but all (Ortega, Aimar etc) have so far failed to live up to the standard. Messi is the new hope and could possibly come close.
5) Teammates – Pele had the luxury of some of the best teammates, some who individually rank in the top ten of all time – Garrincha, Didi etc. Maradona had some good international teammates but not of the quality Pele had.
6) Having watch live football and video footage of old games during the course of my life, nobody has ever controlled a ball, moved, jinked, been more aware of where he is on the pitch and what to do in a flash then Diego Maradona.
leaving Pele a close second
Is a petty that we didn’t see Pele at his best; the guy was a combination of midfielder and striker. He scored in final world cup tow times at the age of 17 and one of those goals was amazing for guy at that age, he made 12 goals, in 16 games in four different World Cups. Pele played 1,366 games, 503 of those where international games, 92 games played with Brazilian National Team scoring 77 goals, 363 games played with Santos scoring 367 goals and 48 games with Cosmos and other teams scoring 24 goals.
A lot of people thought Pele was not the best player ever, because he didn’t play in Europe, but he played a lot of time against the best European teams, making a lot of incredible goals. Pele played 184 games against European teams scoring 193 goals, 1.05 goals per game, 43 of those games he played with Brazilian National Team versus the best European National Teams, scoring 39 goals, almost one goal per game. He played with Santos 131 games against the best European clubs scoring 143 goals, 1.09 goals per game, he played with Cosmos 6 games, scoring 7 goals, 1.17 goals per game and he played with combined teams 4 games, scoring 4 goals, one goal per game.
Maradona played 324 against European teams, playing with Barcelona, Napoli and Seville and he scored 144 goals, 50 goals less than Pele against European teams.
As you can see, Pele played at his best against European players and if he had played in Europe, probably he had scored as many goals as he did in his career. No doubt, Pele is the best player ever.
SIMPLE, in fact VERY SIMPLE.
PELE – The team always served him. Back on his days, Midfield and Defense players were…
…Gentle, very Gentle (in comparision), therefore never had it as hard from the opponents.
MARADONA (El pibe D’oro) – Played for the Team. Back on his days Midfield and Defense players were already Much Much fierce(just remember his career almost came to an end when he broke an ankle by a tackle from the “Butcher of Bilbao” Andoni Goicoechea.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpcBkpOf4z8)
TO ME : Maradona was and will always be the GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER of ALL times ( please note Player and nothing else).
OK CHk this out…When One things about the “10″ in Football who comes to mind? Pele or Maradona. So who is the “Copy Cat” and who is the “Original Don”
listen every i just want to end this maradona was,is and there ever will be the best.only one good reazon pele play whit the best brasileans players of all the time baba,didi,tostao,rivellino and the best of all mane garrincha (la alegria del pueblo) better than pele and remenber he had one leg bigger than the other one. whit all this players anyone can be the best. so get over end………….
they are both great, but I think ronaldhino from Brasil is the best ever….he is amazing!!!
Alot of people who dont follow or watch football will always say Pele, those who follow the game and love it will always say Maradona. Antoer fact african nationa were asked who was the greatest now many of these people have no TV’s or radio nearly 60% went for Maradona, only 12% voted for Pele. Anther fact pele on played one game in the 1958, in 1962 he was injured after one game so garrincha took over in 1970 Revalinho scored more than Pele. Many of Pele’s goals are contributions from minor leagues and the army, and fact in Argentina junior player records start from a fresh once turing professional Maradona has scored as many goals. I’ve watched many videos witch pele and maradona, Pele’s videos show some good run but mainly scoring easy goals you wont see any real close control and magical dribbling, flahs and run or mad skills. My dad is from the Pele eara and he only talks about Maradona!
Well, there is not much more to say, Most people in here and in 2000 around the world voted for Maradona, the matter of the fact is that, most people defend Pele with the same argument, the 3 world cups and the 1000 goals, both things obviously fake, did not really participate in the world cups as mentioned and you can’t count minor leagues, because if you do I scored more than him in my life and I am 24. Another thing people are saying here is that he was a gentleman, as someone mentioned before, the media was not as big back in the day, and still it came to light that he was always surrounded by hookers,(xuxa a famous brazilian who was a former hooker was with him before becoming famous, he made her famous) and he also had sex with a 14 year old boy, so there goes the gentleman for you, just for those idiots who can’t seem to understand footbal is played on the field, not in life, but still in life I rather have a drug addict as a friend than a rapist. I was forgetting, in my experience people who do drugs are usually impaired when they do them, they don’t get better at something, they actually get to a point of semi retardation..
I would like to make clear that maradona never took drugs to improve his game. He did however, abuse cocaine, but that was his personal problem as manny other people may have. He was only caught in wc 1994 with the use of illegal substance but only because when he came back to the fields he was taking argentine legal vitamins. When they came to the US, the doctors baught a bottle that look the same but it had the illegal substance. (Pretty much what baseball players take in the US). So that was a mistake made by his doctors…
Maradona a truly natrual Footbal Player… Very Skillfull, fast, and great field vission…
Mardona is by far the greatest football player ever to grace the game.The skill which he has shown in the game against England in 1986 world cup exceeds many times that of what Pele has ever produced in his life time.Its fool hardy to compare the genius of maradona to the ordinary skills of ordinary mortal like Pele.The very presence of Maradona on the feild had electrifying effect on the other players. his very presence used to install so much confidence on the average players like garincha and buruchaga to become match winners. Football can never be the same again after the retirement of the genius.maradona was god of Football.Pele ordinary mortal . Comparison my foot.
Well,one thing is for sure.Pele didn’t have the same amount of ball control as Maradona.I have seen at least 7-8 full matches of Pele and he lost the ball much more easily than Maradona.Maradona had a stronger influence in the games he played.Both his dribbling,passing and vision were better.Maradona was the best ever.
Pele was born for futbol like Beethoven for music; at 16 he gave life to the golden years of football, when there was no technology and the ball was 3 times heavier than Maradonas.
World champion at 16, 1283 goals in 1367 games and 90 hat tricks, this visionary of the game stunned the world and was chosen by “all” as the king. In 1958 football legend Just Fointaine said, “When I saw Pele play I just wanted to hang up my boots” as he had taken Brasil to become world champion just been a teen.
Then in 1970 already being the king, he took the best football team the world has ever seen and by the hand of Garrincha, Zagallo, Amarildo, Didi, Pepe, Jair he won his 3rd world title and stunned the world creaming the so greatly mentioned Italian defense having Tarciso Burgnich declaring after the game “I told my self, he is flesh and blood, just like me. I was wrong”.
The comparison between Pele and Maradona is just a silly Argentinean passionate rivalry, Pele is in every way, shape and form the king of all, Andy Warhol a modern intellectual mentioned once, “Pele has dared and rubbished my theory: instead of fifteen minutes of fame, he will have fifteen centuries”
Pele’ remained loyal to Santos FC because the Brazilian government declared him a non-exportable national treasure.
Pele is and will always be the king, and legendary players like Cruyff, Maradona, Bekenbahuer, Puskas, Best, Zidane, Di Stefano, Garrincha, Eusebio, Ronaldo, Maldini will always belong to a different zip code.
Maradona was drug addict (he also struggled with weight problems) also used doping to enhance his performance in 1994 usa. plus he used his hands twice in world cup play (both worthy of red card) against England and . USSR in WC 86, 90. No good Diego!
ARE YOU PPL MAD????!!!!! HOW CUD MARADONA EVER BE THE BEST??!!!! SILLY!!!! I HEAR YOU PPL TLKN ABOUT HOW THEY HAD DIFFERENT POSITIONS AND IT WUD BE DIFFICULT TO DECIDE WHO IS BETTER, WRONG!!!! SKILL, SPEED, GOAL SCORING HUNGER, VISUALITY—-> PELE HAD IT ALL!!!! YOU PPL MUST BE CRAZY TO SAY MARADONA WAS THE BEST!! HEAR YOU TLKN BOUT THAT SOLO RUN AGAINST ENGLAND IN THAT WORL CUP…..PLZ!!!!! PELE DIDNT EVEN HAD TO RUN IF HE WANTED TO, HE WAS SCORING FROM HALF LINES!!!!! YOU PPL NEED TO WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!! NO FOOTBALLER CUD EVER BE COMPARED AND HAVE THE CLASS AS PELE DID….. HE WAS SIMPLY THE PERFECT FOOTBALLER…. HE CUD HAVE USED HIS 2 FEET EQUALLY, WHILST MARADONA VERY DEPENDANT ON HIS LEFT FEET AND PELE STILL CAN KICK A BALL BETTER WITH HIS RIGHT FOOT BETTER THAN MARADONA’S LEFT (AND PELE WAS A LEFT FOOTED PLAYER)…..PEOPLE PLEASE ITS OFFICIAL PELE IS THE GREATEST FOOTBALLER SOCCER HAS EVER SEEN!!!! CMON GET WITH IT…..PELE IS JUST THE BEST!!!!!!!!
Pele is the king. Let me tell you why.
During Pele’s time, there was limited tv coverage. Many teams and players (including Boca Juniors against Santos during the Libertadors finals in La Bombonera) tried to break Pele’s legs many times. To say that things were easier during Pele’s time;it is a joke. When Maradona played the TV was there to protect him and to make sure that other players did not break his legs. When Pele played, there was no mercy even during the 1966 World Cup when the entire world was watching. If you had the same kind of pressure/violence applied to Maradona, he would not had survived and his performance would had been significantly impacted. Now, tell Maradona to try to score hundreds of goals when he has defenders trying to break his legs specially when they are comming from behind. Pele played many times with his back against the defense. Maradona neve did that he always carried the ball and then faced the defenders.
If Pele and Maradona were to play today, Pele would have won every competition with Santos and Brazil. By the way, Pele did not score nearly fourteen hundred goals and won the World Cup three times and the Libertadores Cups twice because Pele had very good players around him. He made average players to become great players. Who do you remember that played with Maradona? unless if you a Maradona and Argentina fan. Now ask those that knew Pele, they also new Garrincha, Edu, Zito, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostao, Rivelino etc… The list goes on and on
PELE!PELE!!PELE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!of cause, d greatest ever
pls dont compare a drug addict with d KING.Maradona chit alot but i think i if is also engade in hard drug he may score over 5,000 goals think about it.
I’m only 20 years old and actually never got the privilege to see either of them play. But I have researched on them extensively and we could drag this debate for decades. In my point of view Pele is the better of the two but not by much. The thing is why are we still debating this if it has already been decided by FIFA officials, journalists and coaches that have lived through both eras and know what they are talking about, unfortunately for all those Maradona fans out there and sorry to burst your bubble, Pele won the award voted by FIFA. The good news is that Maradona won a similar award voted by the fans on FIFA’s website. Now since I’m younger I actually liked Maradona more but have gradually changed my vote. Pele is the official player of the century Maradona isn’t…
Ohh and on the solo run that Maradona did when he took on the whole English team was brilliant but did you know that Pele took on a whole team and scored too only it was deleted from the archives decades ago, the good news is that it is still in the records so it is a known fact. But still none of this matters the official FIFA award for player of the century was given to Pele so this debate was actually over before it started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW2Rwpqwh1U
Pele the Great
truly the best……
PELE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lets keep things simple…
Who singlehandedly led his country to World Cup Glory?
Who scored the greatest goal the world has witnessed at the business end of a World Cup (for the record he repeated the feat in the Semi as well just to prove it was no fluke)!
Who was a success and won trophies at 3 major clubs on 2 different continents?
In doing so, who didn`t have the luxury of playing in a team full of a generation of naturally talented footballers of which there is unlikely to be another?
Who played some of the most sublime football that modern day Ronaldo`s can only dream about even with so much referee protection whilst he did it whilst being kicked from post to post by the likes of Claudio Gentile and the Butcher of Bilbao to name a couple?
This is not my opinion….they are facts!
After all the debate the answer is quite simple……Diego, Diego, Diego !!!
I’m going to base my vote on skill of the player ,and my vote goes to……………………………………….MARADONA!Pele is the king simply because he was the first one to make an impact but MARADONA made a revolution on soccer. MaRADONA is the inspiration of many so I base my vote on the ability of the player. MARADONA is better than the KING.
pele is incredbile maradonas a cheat
To quote Jimmy Greaves-Brazil with the teams that they had would have won the World Cup without Pele, Argentina would never have won the World Cup in 1986 without Maradona.
The greatest player to have ever walked the earth..
El Diego-Legend!!!!!!