{"id":1179,"date":"2016-07-14T09:36:54","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T12:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/?p=1179"},"modified":"2025-02-04T13:10:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T16:10:33","slug":"pele-10-formation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/14\/pele-10-formation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pel\u00e9 was a true number 10: his position on field and the formations from the golden age of Brazilian football"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_counters\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/lang\/pt\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:2px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_c=new Array(\"twitter\",\"facebook_like\",\"facebook_send\",\"pinterest\",\"email\",\"print\",\"linkedin\");var hupso_counters_lang = \"pt_BR\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"blogdootavio\";var hupso_url_c=\"\";var hupso_title_c=\"Pel%C3%A9%20was%20a%20true%20number%2010%3A%20his%20position%20on%20field%20and%20the%20formations%20from%20the%20golden%20age%20of%20Brazilian%20football\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/counters.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In order to understand Pel\u00e9&#8217;s position on field, it is necessary to explain the tactical formation of Brazilian football during his reign. Almost every Brazilian team played in a 4-2-4, organized like this (adapted, not literal translation): <em>goleiro<\/em> (goalkeeper); lateral direito (right-back), <em>quarto-zagueiro<\/em> (centre-back on the left), <em>zagueiro central<\/em> (centre-back on the right) and <em>lateral esquerdo<\/em> (left-back); <em>m\u00e9dio-volante <\/em>(defensive midfielder) and\u00a0<em>meia-armador<\/em> (midfield\u00a0playmaker; also called <i>meia-direita<\/i>); <em>ponta-direita <\/em>(right winger), <em>centroavante <\/em>(centre forward), <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em> (literally &#8220;spearhead&#8221;, to be explained later) and\u00a0<em>ponta-esquerda <\/em>(left winger)\u00a0\u2014 about the origin of such terms, I recommend reading <a href=\"http:\/\/copa2010.ig.com.br\/infografico+inovacao+tatica+em+tempos+de+copa\/n1237557521058.html\">an article in Portuguese written by experienced Brazilian journalist Alberto Helena J\u00fanior<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The most traditional number assignment from midfield to attack was this: 5, <em>volante<\/em>; 8, <em>meia-armador<\/em>; 7,<em> ponta-direita<\/em>; 9, <em>centroavante<\/em>; 10, <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em>; and 11, <em>ponta-esquerda<\/em>. About the number 10, it is important to inform that it only became a synonym of the <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a\u00a0<\/em>after Pel\u00e9 wore it in 1958 (Brazil&#8217;s numbers were determined\u00a0randomly).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Botafogo, Brazilian Champions in 1968, and the Santos, that won basically everything in 1962, strictly followed that criteria (none the less, some teams, like Cruzeiro, used to invert numbers 8 and 10: Tost\u00e3o, <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em>, played with the 8, Dirceu Lopes,\u00a0<em>meia-armador<\/em>, \u00a0wore \u00a0the 10):<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-62-botafogo-68.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1189\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-62-botafogo-68.jpg\" alt=\"santos-62-botafogo-68\" width=\"851\" height=\"59\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-62-botafogo-68.jpg 851w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-62-botafogo-68-300x21.jpg 300w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-62-botafogo-68-816x57.jpg 816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this classical formation, the team&#8217;s main organizer\u00a0was the\u00a0<em>meia-armador<\/em>\u00a0 (responsible mainly for playmaking; usually did not score much). However, the <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a <\/em>(regularly the team&#8217;s leading scorer), besides going forward to make plays with the <em>centroavante, <\/em>had a double job, because he also went back to help the meia-armador in making plays; that was the famous &#8220;8 and 10&#8221; duo in the midfield.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To illustrate what was explained above, Santos formation in 1962 (very nice work done by the excellent webpage &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/imortaisdofutebol.com\/2012\/04\/13\/esquadrao-imortal-santos-1960-1969\/\">Imortais do futebol<\/a>&#8220;; personally, I would add an yellow arrow going back for Pel\u00e9, showing his retreating to midfield during parts of the game):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-1962.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1141\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-1962.jpg\" alt=\"santos-1962\" width=\"800\" height=\"579\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-1962.jpg 800w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/santos-1962-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One can notice that, during a significant part of the game, the\u00a0<em>ponta de lan\u00e7a\u00a0<\/em>played behind\u00a0three other forwards (<em>pontas<\/em> and <em>centroavante<\/em>), specially when coming back to make plays. When he went on to the attack, he would make a duo with the most advanced player, the <em>centroavante.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Few Brazilians know that this division of roles remained predominantly in Brazilian football until the end of the 80&#8217;s. In 1988 it was still used for the &#8220;Bola de Prata&#8221;, awarded by &#8220;Revista Placar&#8221; (the most famous football magazine in the country) to best players (by position) of the national league (notice that the great Zico is in the list as a\u00a0<em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em>; pay attention, those are only the preliminary results from that year):<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1143\" style=\"width: 603px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata88n962data11111988.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1143\" class=\"wp-image-1143 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata88n962data11111988.jpg\" alt=\"boladeprata88n962data11111988\" width=\"593\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata88n962data11111988.jpg 593w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata88n962data11111988-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 593px) 100vw, 593px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Revista Placar, n. 962, 11\/11\/1988.<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Only in 1989, (picture below), the magazine went on to make a team with: two &#8220;Meias&#8221; (attacking midfielders), putting both <em>meia armador<\/em> and <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em> into the same position (for example, Cuca and Toninho, <em>pontas de lan\u00e7a<\/em> in 88, were placed as &#8220;Meias&#8221; in 89); and three <em>atacantes<\/em>\u00a0 (forwards), placing both wingers and centre-forwards in the same spot. \u00a0From 1996 on, another defensive midfielder was added in place of a forward in the final team of the year \u2014 both remaining forwards were usually a duo of a second striker and centre-forward).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1144\" style=\"width: 523px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata1989n1007data29091989.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1144\" class=\"wp-image-1144 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata1989n1007data29091989.jpg\" alt=\"boladeprata1989n1007data29091989\" width=\"513\" height=\"668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata1989n1007data29091989.jpg 513w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/boladeprata1989n1007data29091989-230x300.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 513px) 100vw, 513px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Revista Placar, n. 1007, 09\/29\/1989.<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>1958 and 1970 Brazil\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That foundation was kept throughout the 60&#8217;s, 70&#8217;s and 80&#8217;s, but, we still saw changes, innovations\u00a0and adaptations in the period, mostly in the Brazilian National Team in World Cups.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 1958, Zagallo, <em>ponta esquerda <\/em>(left winger), was brought to the midfield, and Brazil played in a 4-3-3.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1147\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/d4996e95-111b-3b82-8de4-6b6dc6fe8fc2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1147\" class=\"wp-image-1147 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/d4996e95-111b-3b82-8de4-6b6dc6fe8fc2.jpg\" alt=\"Brasil-58\" width=\"610\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/d4996e95-111b-3b82-8de4-6b6dc6fe8fc2.jpg 610w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/d4996e95-111b-3b82-8de4-6b6dc6fe8fc2-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1147\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/380871_especial-a-aula-e-o-alento-de-zagallo-o-homem-de-duas-revolucoes-taticas\">1958 Brazil by Andr\u00e9 Rocha.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brazil in the 1970 World Cup, as explained by the competent Brazilian journalist, Andr\u00e9 Rocha (free translation here and everywhere else):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/487745_brasil-x-alemanha-em-copas-do-mundo-e-uma-reflexao-sobre-futebol-coletivo-para-ver-se-a-gente-aprende\">The magical national team of the &#8220;number 10&#8217;s&#8221;, chosen as the best of all time did not dominate solely on talent.\u00a0\u00a0Prior to that, there was a good execution of the 4-3-3 that, seen today, was a perfect 4-2-3-1 with only Tost\u00e3o upfront, without the ball and with great mobility. Also speed in counter attacks, deciding most games in the second half because of the team&#8217;s great psychical training <\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_1142\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1142\" class=\"wp-image-1142 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4.jpg\" alt=\"Brasil70\" width=\"610\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4.jpg 610w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/487745_brasil-x-alemanha-em-copas-do-mundo-e-uma-reflexao-sobre-futebol-coletivo-para-ver-se-a-gente-aprende\">1970 Brazil by Andr\u00e9 Rocha.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zagallo, Brazil&#8217;s coach in that World Cup, stated another characteristic of that unforgettable team: &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/380871_especial-a-aula-e-o-alento-de-zagallo-o-homem-de-duas-revolucoes-taticas\">We defended in a 4-5-1. Only Tost\u00e3o stayed upfront. But even he went back, if needed<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is usually claimed that the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o in 1970 played with five &#8220;number 10&#8217;s&#8221;. In their teams, Rivellino, G\u00e9rson (at S\u00e3o Paulo FC in that year), Jairzinho and Pele, played with that number. \u00a0However, in regards to what really meant to be a &#8220;10&#8221;, Brazil had four of such players (since G\u00e9rson was a <em>meia armador<\/em>): Rivellino (who also could play as a <em>meia-armador<\/em>, but he won his only &#8220;Bola de Prata&#8221; as a <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em>), Tost\u00e3o (although he wore the 8 for Cruzeiro), Pel\u00e9 and Jairzinho (<a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120819122727\/http:\/\/pt.fifa.com\/classicfootball\/players\/player=63879\/index.html\">&#8220;I was a &#8216;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8217; a number 10&#8221;<\/a>; Rog\u00e9rio was the right-winger for Botafogo).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>PELE&#8217;S POSITION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some journalists and football fans, when discussing a &#8220;true number 10&#8221;, usually mention Maradona, Zidane, Zico, Platini, among others. A few of them define Pele like that. However, from the information reported here and later on, I believe it&#8217;s possible to state that Pele was a &#8220;true\u00a0number 10&#8221;, like Zico, Platini and Maradona. The more careful reader notices that I did not mention Zidane. Yes, in my opinion, Zizou, in the Brazilian tradition, was closer to the old number 8, the <em>meia armador<\/em>. Let&#8217;s see, the main playmaker of his teams, the French player did not use to enter much the opponent area and scored very few goals (0.19 career average). On the other hand, players in the mold of Zico, Pel\u00e9, Platini and Maradona, helped in making plays, but were also great scorers with goal averages considerably superior to Zidane&#8217;s in official games: Platini and Maradona with a little more than 0.5 per game; Zico, approximately 0.7; and Pel\u00e9, 0.93. Because of that, I consider a mistake to talk about a &#8220;true number 10&#8221;, as someone supposed to be &#8220;the brain of the team&#8221; (the main playmaker), because that was the role of &#8220;the true number 8&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1207\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Flamengo-tatica-1981-Zico.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1207\" class=\"wp-image-1207 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Flamengo-tatica-1981-Zico.jpg\" alt=\"Flamengo-tatica-1981-Zico\" width=\"610\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Flamengo-tatica-1981-Zico.jpg 610w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Flamengo-tatica-1981-Zico-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1207\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/292034_especial-o-gibi-a-bola-e-a-tatica\">1981 Flamengo by Andr\u00e9 Rocha<\/a>Notice how the traditional tactical base (with small variations) is still there: : <em>volante<\/em> (Andrade), <em>meia-armador<\/em> (Ad\u00edlio), <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em> (Zico), <em>ponta-direita<\/em> (Tita), <em>centroavante<\/em> (Nunes) and <em>ponta-esquerda<\/em> (Lico).<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, other evidences suggests Pele played in the same position as Zico and Maradona. Both 80&#8217;s legends were called &#8220;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8221; in Brazil. Regarding\u00a0Zico, check again the picture of the 1988 &#8220;Bola de Prata&#8221; and Flamengo&#8217;s tactical formation above . As for Maradona,\u00a0C\u00e9sar Luis Menotti, who coached Argentina in the their 1978 World Cup victory, said the following words, reported by &#8220;Placar Magazine&#8221; in the end of that year (image below \u2014 in the article, the 18 year old Diego is called a <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em>): &#8220;In the current stage of world football, Maradona is Pel\u00e9. There is a difference in physical structure, but a lot of similarities in the space in which he plays, in the kind of long passes he makes. And he is a goal scorer&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1152\" style=\"width: 524px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1152\" class=\"wp-image-1152 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Maradona-novo-Pel\u00e9.jpg\" alt=\"Maradona-novo-Pel\u00e9\" width=\"514\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Maradona-novo-Pel\u00e9.jpg 514w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Maradona-novo-Pel\u00e9-229x300.jpg 229w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1152\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Revista Placar, n. 449, 1\/12\/1978<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In their teams, Maradona and Zico always played in advanced roles, behind only one or two forwards. The Argentine, for example, in the 1986 World Cup, highlight of his career, only had Valdano in front of him; and for Napoli, there were two forwards, Careca and Carnevale. Likewise, Zico and Maradona were capable of playing as second-strikers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">See below how similar were the positions of the three legends on field:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1142\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1142\" class=\"wp-image-1142 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4.jpg\" alt=\"Brasil70\" width=\"610\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4.jpg 610w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13d34935-8198-3179-b656-300c1e1f39b4-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/487745_brasil-x-alemanha-em-copas-do-mundo-e-uma-reflexao-sobre-futebol-coletivo-para-ver-se-a-gente-aprende\">1970 Brazil by Andr\u00e9 Rocha<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_1150\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/70bcf81f-7814-3e9e-b1e1-5a56dc8a8eec.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1150\" class=\"wp-image-1150 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/70bcf81f-7814-3e9e-b1e1-5a56dc8a8eec.jpg\" alt=\"Brasil-82\" width=\"610\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/70bcf81f-7814-3e9e-b1e1-5a56dc8a8eec.jpg 610w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/70bcf81f-7814-3e9e-b1e1-5a56dc8a8eec-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1150\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/post\/292034_especial-o-gibi-a-bola-e-a-tatica\">1982 Brazil, by Andr\u00e9 Rocha<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_1175\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/napoli-1989.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1175\" class=\"wp-image-1175 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/napoli-1989.jpg\" alt=\"napoli-1989\" width=\"800\" height=\"579\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/napoli-1989.jpg 800w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/napoli-1989-300x217.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1175\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imortaisdofutebol.com\/2012\/06\/04\/esquadrao-imortal-napoli-1986-1990\/\">1989 Napoli by &#8220;Imortais do futebol&#8221;.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also relevant to reinforce the comparison of Pele to Zico and Maradona, the opinion of the legendary Tost\u00e3o, &#8220;O Rei&#8221; teammate in 1970 and, currently, a brilliant columnist:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/fsp\/esporte\/fk0903200336.htm\">In the old terminology, Zico was a &#8216;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8217;, a forward that retreated to the midfield to get the ball, dribbled, made give and go&#8217;s, put his teammates in front of the goalkeeper and scored spectacular goals, of all types. It was the 10. The King Pel\u00e9 and the super great players Maradona, Di Stefano, Cruyff and Platini, also played in this position . \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/fsp\/esporte\/fk0903200336.htm\">The &#8216;ponta-de-lan\u00e7a&#8217; was similar to the current playmaker or attacking\u00a0midfielder, the player who made the link between midfield and attack, like Kak\u00e1, Alex and Zidane and others. The &#8216;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8217; was more of a forward than a playmaker. The current attacking midfielder is more of a playmaker than a forward. Rivaldo and Kak\u00e1 have more characteristics of a &#8216;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8217;, forward. Zidane, Alex and Ronaldinho are more like playmakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As we can see, Tost\u00e3o calls Pel\u00e9, Maradona and Zico as \u00a0&#8216;Pontas de Lan\u00e7a&#8221;. Although he used the word &#8220;forward&#8221; to describe such position, it is clear, by his explanation, that those players had similar roles to current and recent attacking midfielders like Kak\u00e1 and Rivaldo.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moreover, it is important to read the words of Jairzinho, leading scorer for Brazil in the 1970 World Cup:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120819122727\/http:\/\/pt.fifa.com\/classicfootball\/players\/player=63879\/index.html\">\u201cI was a &#8216;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8217;, a number 10 (&#8230;) Botafogo from that time had Roberto Miranda as the centre-forward. Pel\u00e9, at Santos, had Coutinho. Evaldo for Cruzeiro. And so on. None of us was really a forward&#8221;. \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Well, we have seen that Pele was a <em>ponta de lan\u00e7a<\/em>, with similar roles as Zico and Maradona. All those three great footballers made plays and scored lots of goals. Hence, I think it is possible to\u00a0state that the most proper\u00a0contemporary term for Pele&#8217;s position is \u00a0attacking midfielder, an active player in both midfield and attack, like recently were Kak\u00e1 and Rivaldo. \u00a0To corroborate those arguments, it is essential to inform that Pel\u00e9 himself called himself in his autobiography &#8220;an attacking midfielder&#8221; (London: Simon &amp; Schuster UK Ltd. 2006. p. 41) and that he talked in an interview about his similarities with Kak\u00e1:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gazetadopovo.com.br\/esportes\/pele-compara-parceria-kaka-cristiano-ronaldo-com-a-sua-e-a-de-tostao-bnws0s5domgnqqdqsr065se32\">Cristiano Ronaldo and Kak\u00e1 will work playing together. They have different roles and can be played in the same team. Ronaldo is an explosive player who plays more upfront. Kak\u00e1, on the other hand, comes from behind. It&#8217;s like Pel\u00e9 and Tost\u00e3o. Pel\u00e9 would be Kak\u00e1.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Still in that perspective, Cl\u00e1udio Ad\u00e3o, great centre-forward from the 70&#8217;s and 80&#8217;s, who played with Pel\u00e9 in the early 70&#8217;s, recently explained, in an interview for &#8220;ESPN Brasil&#8221;, why he had to change his position in the beginning of his career (I&#8217;ve edited this post and added this quote in 07\/19\/2016):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/espn.uol.com.br\/video\/614277_evair-fala-sobre-inicio-de-carreira-como-meia-e-adaptacao-grande-dificuldade-da-minha-vida?target=destaques\">No, when I started at the youth system, I was an attacking midfielder. But as I was moving up, Mr. Macia himself, Pepe, said: &#8216;Hey, you should move\u00a0to centre-forward, because if you move to the senior team, you won&#8217;t play there (as an attacking midfielder)&#8217; . Because there was &#8216;the man&#8217; (Pel\u00e9). Then I had to adapt as centre-forward, playing with my back to the goal.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9 can&#8217;t be considered a pure forward, because, despite constantly entering the box to shoot at goal, he used to retreat back to defense with a much higher frequency than current footballers from that role (Messi, for example, unlike Pel\u00e9, has even played as the most advanced forward in his teams, the &#8220;false 9&#8221;). \u00a0In this sense, observe the map done by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lequipe.fr\/explore\/football-bresil-1970\/\">French newspaper L&#8217;Equipe<\/a>, showing where Pele touched the ball in the 1970 World Cup final:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/chap4_terrain.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1146\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/chap4_terrain.jpg\" alt=\"Pele-final-70\" width=\"270\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/chap4_terrain.jpg 270w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/chap4_terrain-213x300.jpg 213w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nonetheless, several football all time XI selections put Pele as a forward, or, astonishingly, as a centre-forward. \u00a0It was not like that during his playing days, as we can see in the yearly World XI in the 60&#8217;s, done then by English journalist Eric batty, in the renowned &#8220;World Soccer Magazine&#8221;. \u00a0Next 1962 and 1966, respectively, as examples\u00a0(images taken from the blog<a href=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastman.com\/2013\/04\/29\/eric-battys-world-xis-the-sixties\/\">\u00a0 &#8220;Beyond the Last Man&#8221;<\/a>):<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1962-XI-WorldSoccer.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1168\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1962-XI-WorldSoccer.jpeg\" alt=\"1962-XI-WorldSoccer\" width=\"1459\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1962-XI-WorldSoccer.jpeg 1459w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1962-XI-WorldSoccer-300x71.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1962-XI-WorldSoccer-1024x242.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1962-XI-WorldSoccer-816x193.jpeg 816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1459px) 100vw, 1459px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1966-XI-WorldSoccer.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1167\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1966-XI-WorldSoccer.jpeg\" alt=\"1966-XI-WorldSoccer\" width=\"1525\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1966-XI-WorldSoccer.jpeg 1525w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1966-XI-WorldSoccer-300x111.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1966-XI-WorldSoccer-1024x379.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1966-XI-WorldSoccer-816x302.jpeg 816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1525px) 100vw, 1525px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oddly, Batty chose the outdated 2-3-5 formation, where, between the &#8220;five forwards&#8221;, two had similar roles to today&#8217;s attacking midfielders (playing behind three real forwards, <a href=\"http:\/\/copa2010.ig.com.br\/infografico+inovacao+tatica+em+tempos+de+copa\/n1237557521058.html\">as taught by Alberto Helena<\/a>). Where was Pele placed? Precisely at the position that today would be the attacking midfielder, behind three forwards. Incongruously, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldsoccer.com\/features\/the-greatest-xi-how-the-panel-voted-341427\">&#8220;World Soccer&#8221; in 2013<\/a>, made a worldwide survey among journalists to choose the all time XI, and, disregarding its own history, put Pele in the same section as centre-forwards like Rom\u00e1rio, Ronaldo, Van Basten and Gerd M\u00fcller. Several journalists even committedthe sin of putting Pele as the most advanced forwards of their &#8220;dream teams&#8221;. On the other hand, the webpage of Globo (Brazil&#8217;s biggest TV station), rightly put Pel\u00e9 among the attacking midfielders (&#8220;Meias&#8221;), together with players like Zico, Rivaldo, Rivellino, Ronaldinho and Kak\u00e1, <a href=\"http:\/\/app.globoesporte.globo.com\/copa-do-mundo\/100-anos-de-selecao\/\">in its online survey to choose Brazil&#8217;s all time XI<\/a>; Pel\u00e9 was the most remembered players with over 306 thousand votes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1169\" style=\"width: 516px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Pel\u00e9-Zico-Ronaldinho-Kaka-Rivellino.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1169\" class=\"wp-image-1169 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Pel\u00e9-Zico-Ronaldinho-Kaka-Rivellino.jpg\" alt=\"Pel\u00e9-Zico-Ronaldinho-Kaka-Rivellino\" width=\"506\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Pel\u00e9-Zico-Ronaldinho-Kaka-Rivellino.jpg 506w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Pel\u00e9-Zico-Ronaldinho-Kaka-Rivellino-300x148.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1169\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Separated cartoons taken from the &#8220;ESTAT\u00cdSTICAS DE ESCALA\u00c7\u00c3O&#8221; area from Globo&#8217;s site.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Finally, the most convincing evidence, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R_ANcFKsruM\">a 2012 interview by the King himself<\/a>, in wich he clearly states he was a midfilder and not a striker (translated below the video):<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 616px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-1179-1\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/final_62b86917d2372400808c4b0f_808180.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/final_62b86917d2372400808c4b0f_808180.mp4\">https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/final_62b86917d2372400808c4b0f_808180.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I played the midfield role. I always played as a third man; I was never a advanced striker. I would always come from the midfield, because I helped to defend; everybody can see; just watch it&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There stills lies a question: what role would Pel\u00e9 have in the most used tactical formations today?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The King would definitely not be a pure playmaker like Iniesta, Ozil and Fabregas, players similar to the <em>meias-armadores<\/em> (number 8) from the past, main organizers from their team and who don&#8217;t score much. In his original position, Pel\u00e9 could play in a 4-2-3-1 as the central attacking midfielder or as the sole attacking midfielder for the team in a 4-3-1-2.\u00a0Although not ideal, he would also be effective as a second striker (in some forms of 4-4-2 or 3-5-2), ou even as side forward in a 4-3-3 (not as winger, but as someone who would cut to the middle a lot and would participate in the playmaking there, like Messi, recently, for Barcelona).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Therefore, based on everything I&#8217;ve written, I believe Pele was an attacking midfielder, a &#8220;true number 10&#8221;.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">BONUS:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I recommend this excellent video with 100 great goals by the King, posted by youtube channel &#8220;Futebol Nacional&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"TOP 100 GOLS DE PEL\u00c9\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eyeh8fuf1_g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">PS: WRITTEN IN 01\/17\/2024: I&#8217;ve read some comments online, mostly from non-Brazilians, arguing that Pel\u00e9 only became a true number 10 in the later stages of his career, mainly in the 1970 World Cup. To refute them, I offer the following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MP6zjpQqv3c\">video<\/a> from 1969, in which a Reporter asks Pel\u00e9 about Saldanha&#8217;s (the then new Brazilian National Team coach) wish to put him &#8220;upfront&#8221;; The King shows his dissatisfaction and claims that he has always played &#8220;coming from behind&#8221;:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 616px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-1179-2\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Que-posicion-jugaba-Pele-El-mismo-lo-explica.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Que-posicion-jugaba-Pele-El-mismo-lo-explica.mp4\">https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Que-posicion-jugaba-Pele-El-mismo-lo-explica.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Transcription:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reporter: According to the tactical formation that Saldanha has already defined for the Journalists, you will play upfront, fighting with defenders. It seems that you don&#8217;t like this playing style.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9: It is not that I don&#8217;t like it (&#8230;) What happens is that I&#8217;ve played for 15 years coming from behind, and to come and to change my way of playing, just like that, it is not possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_counters\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/lang\/pt\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:2px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_c=new Array(\"twitter\",\"facebook_like\",\"facebook_send\",\"pinterest\",\"email\",\"print\",\"linkedin\");var hupso_counters_lang = \"pt_BR\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"blogdootavio\";var hupso_url_c=\"\";var hupso_title_c=\"Pel%C3%A9%20was%20a%20true%20number%2010%3A%20his%20position%20on%20field%20and%20the%20formations%20from%20the%20golden%20age%20of%20Brazilian%20football\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/counters.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_counters\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/lang\/pt\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:2px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_c=new Array(\"twitter\",\"facebook_like\",\"facebook_send\",\"pinterest\",\"email\",\"print\",\"linkedin\");var hupso_counters_lang = \"pt_BR\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"blogdootavio\";var hupso_url_c=\"\";var hupso_title_c=\"Pel%C3%A9%20was%20a%20true%20number%2010%3A%20his%20position%20on%20field%20and%20the%20formations%20from%20the%20golden%20age%20of%20Brazilian%20football\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/counters.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p>In order to understand Pel\u00e9&#8217;s position on field, it is necessary to explain the tactical formation of Brazilian football during his reign. Almost every Brazilian team played in a 4-2-4, organized like this (adapted, not literal translation): goleiro (goalkeeper); lateral direito (right-back), quarto-zagueiro (centre-back on the left), zagueiro central (centre-back on the right) and lateral [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_counters\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/lang\/pt\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:2px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_c=new Array(\"twitter\",\"facebook_like\",\"facebook_send\",\"pinterest\",\"email\",\"print\",\"linkedin\");var hupso_counters_lang = \"pt_BR\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"blogdootavio\";var hupso_url_c=\"\";var hupso_title_c=\"Pel%C3%A9%20was%20a%20true%20number%2010%3A%20his%20position%20on%20field%20and%20the%20formations%20from%20the%20golden%20age%20of%20Brazilian%20football\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/counters.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[153,152,78,107,3,2,151,42,143],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1179"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2754,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions\/2754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}