{"id":1952,"date":"2019-04-20T22:15:15","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T01:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/?p=1952"},"modified":"2026-03-05T09:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T12:33:57","slug":"pele-still-the-greatest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/20\/pele-still-the-greatest\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Pel\u00e9 still the greatest of all time?"},"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=\"Why%20is%20Pel%C3%A9%20still%20the%20greatest%20of%20all%20time%3F\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/counters.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dear readers, I will explain in 7 arguments why I consider Pel\u00e9 to be the greatest footballer of all time.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>1 \u2013 Because he was the most complete offensive player in football history\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9 had no noticeable flaws in his game. Legends Tost\u00e3o and Gianni Rivera help us understand why:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tost\u00e3o:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.folha.uol.com.br\/fsp\/esporte\/fk2912200217.htm\">Pel\u00e9 had, in the highest level, all the virtues and technical, pyshical and mental caracteristics of a great player.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/globoesporte.globo.com\/mg\/futebol\/noticia\/tostao-lamenta-polemica-com-capita-achei-que-tinha-tido-a-postura-mais-digna.ghtml\">Pel\u00e9 was the greatest because he had it all: playing intelligence, skill, creativity, he could shoot, he was fast, he could had the ball, he could do it all. .<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/en\/news\/12\/spanish-football\/2012\/03\/27\/2995169\/rivera-messi-is-marvellous-but-pele-was-the-best\">Gianni Rivera<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>Messi is quite a weapon for Barca. Having him in your team is huge, he&#8217;s the most decisive player right now. However, I do think there&#8217;s someone who was even better and that&#8217;s Pele. 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.<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The King&#8217;s right foot was his favorite, but he was perfectly capable with his left; he could kick hard and bend it with precision, and dish magic passes. like we can see in the video below.<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pel\u00e9 \u25cf Left Foot\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hGiLXL0RmRY?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>\r\n<p>\u00a0He also had amazing ball control:<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pel\u00e9 \u25cf  Ball Control\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vN-ubmjnKiI?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Likewise, he was excellent at the aerial game (despite his short statute, \u00a05ft 7 \u00be) and scored amazing headers:<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pel\u00e9 \u25cf Header Goals\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q8qEbdZrNIQ?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A very good free-kick taker. He could score it from close or long range, with a lot or less power:<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pel\u00e9 \u25cf Free Kick Goals\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PGveSIQEcYU?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>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>\u00a0Anyway, strong, agressive, fast, skillful, two footed, Pele could dribble and score in every way possible:<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PEL\u00c9 \u2022 Melhores Gols, Dribles e Passes\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ioA0DwrriWM?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>2 \u2013 Because he did score more than 1000 goals\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Initially, it is important to clarify that, despite his crazy number of goals, Pel\u00e9 was never a striker (or a center forward, the &#8220;9&#8221;). He played as a &#8220;10&#8221;, the &#8220;ponta de lan\u00e7a&#8221;, that in his time looked like a mix of today&#8217;s attacking midfilder and forward (I suggest the reading of my article called: <a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/14\/pele-10-formation\/\">&#8220;Pel\u00e9 was a true number 10: his position on field and the formations from the golden age of Brazilian football<\/a>&#8220;). Thus, he was not just a scorer, but also an impressive playmaker. In that regard, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_records_and_statistics#Assisting\">Pel\u00e9 is the all time assist leader in World Cups<\/a> and also for the Brazillian National team overall with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/br\/not%C3%ADcias\/todas-as-assistencias-da-selecao-brasileira-desde-1930-veja\/108mvistgksqy1kefgvujl9lvm?utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=brfb\">64 assists in 115 games<\/a> (counting non official games); in only officiall games, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/br\/amp\/not%C3%ADcias\/pele-lidera-passes-para-gol-na-historia-da-selecao-confira-todas-\/xq6y01pokf8b1m9m1m97wjztk?__twitter_impression=true\">he has\u00a0 47 assists in 92 matches<\/a> (0.51 average).<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>Note added to this post in 10\/11\/2020: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/br\/not%C3%ADcias\/todas-as-assistencias-da-selecao-brasileira-desde-1930-veja\/108mvistgksqy1kefgvujl9lvm?utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=brfb\">check the amazing historic research done for &#8220;goal.com&#8221; by the competent Brazilian journalist Tom\u00e1s Rosolino, who tracked, based on several sources, almost every single assist in the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o&#8217;s history.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9 scored <a href=\"http:\/\/futdados.com\/raio-x-de-todos-os-1282-gols-de-pele\/\">1282 goals<\/a> in his professional career (<em>ergo<\/em>, not counting youth goals for Santos or Brazil).\u00a0 Out of all of those, <a href=\"http:\/\/futdados.com\/raio-x-dos-767-gols-de-pele-em-jogos-oficiais\/\">767<\/a> were in official games by today&#8217;s standards. Because of that, may disregard his 515 goals scored in friendly cups and games. I consider that to be a huge mistake (result of ignorant anachronism) because of the following reasons.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At first, it is important to inform people that Pele had basically the same goal average in official (0.92 per game) and non official matches (0.94 per game).<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Well, in Pel\u00e9&#8217;s time, friendlies did not carry the low importance they do today (clubs play just a few of those a year). To clarify their weight back then, Santos even quit playing 3 Libertadores <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.br\/news\/3328-por-que-o-santos-de-pele-nao-ganhou-a-libertadores--vezes-seguidas-na-epoca-do-pele\">(66,67 and 1969)<\/a> to play in &#8220;friendly&#8221; cups across the globe. Several of those tournaments and games were extremely competive (teams did really want to beat the great team of the best player in the world) and involved some of the best teams in the world with their first squads (like Real Madrid with Puskas, Gento and Di Stefano and Barcelona with Evaristo, Kocksis e Czibor; both in 1959); we also have as an example the 1966 New York Cup, when Santos easily beat a first team Benfica (main core of the Portuguese National team, with all time greats like Eus\u00e9bio and Colina) by 4 goals to 0.<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Santos 4x0 Benfica - 21\/08\/1966 - New York Champions Cup Novas imagens\" width=\"616\" height=\"462\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f5VnQtGwviw?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By the way,\u00a0 people also like to disdain the absurd number of Pel\u00e9 goals, because they were mostly scored in Brazil. Well, you cannot judge the level of Brazilian football back then by the football played in Brazil today. Brazil had its golden generation in the Pel\u00e9 era, winning 3 out of 4 World Cups (all those squads had only Brazilian based players). Beyond legendary Brazilian athletes, there was great South American players in Brazil like Roberto Perfumo and Pedro Rocha. Even smaller teams had very good players; one must remember that the great Djalma Santos was a Portuguesa player during the 1958 World Cup. Therefore, Pel\u00e9 routinely faced all those players in several tournaments like the Paulista league (that had much more importance tham today; it is said that Santos valued the Paulista more than the Libertadores), Rio-S\u00e3o Paulo, the Ta\u00e7a Brasil (Brazilian Cup), among others. Also, we cannot forget Pel\u00e9&#8217;s incredible goal average against European clubs: 1.10 per game; 144 goals in 130 matches; better numbers than his career average.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dear readers, how can one disdain tours like Santos had in 1959? 10 goals in 6 games (all away from home and in a short period of time) against giants like Internazionale, Valencia, Sporting (second team with most players in the great Portuguese National team of the 60&#8217;s),\u00a0Real Madrid (with Puskas, Gento, Di Stefano, Santamar\u00eda and Del Sol), Barcelona (Evaristo, Kocsis and Czibor) e Botafogo (Nilton Santos, Didi, Garrincha and Zagallo). Observation: I&#8217;ve found all those lineups in a great book called \u201cAlmanaque do Santos\u201d by Guilherme Nascimento.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">06\/17\/1959 Santos 3 x 5 Real Madrid\/SPA &#8211; Pel\u00e9 scored l goal;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">06\/19\/1959 Santos 2 x 2 Sporting\/POR &#8211; Pel\u00e9, 1 goal;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">06\/21\/1959 Santos 4 x 1 Botafogo-RJ &#8211; Pel\u00e9, 1 goal;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">06\/24\/1959 Santos 4 x 4 Valencia\/SPA &#8211; Pel\u00e9, 1 goal;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">06\/26\/1959 Santos 7 x 1 Internazionale\/ITA &#8211; Pel\u00e9, 4 goals;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">06\/28\/1959 Santos 5 x 1 Barcelona\/SPA &#8211; Pel\u00e9, 2 goals.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another common critique is that Pel\u00e9 only scored so many goals, because goal average was crazily higher in his time (there are people who think there was double, triple of even quadruple of goals compared to today&#8217;s game). There is some truth in that: goal average was indeed higher. However, it was only slightly higher, like we can see in the history of goal average in World Cups (see that, during Pel\u00e9s era, we see a considerable higher number only in 1958).<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1926\" style=\"width: 794px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/media-de-gols-em-copas-do-mundo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1926\" class=\"wp-image-1926 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/media-de-gols-em-copas-do-mundo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"784\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/media-de-gols-em-copas-do-mundo.jpg 784w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/media-de-gols-em-copas-do-mundo-300x263.jpg 300w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/media-de-gols-em-copas-do-mundo-768x673.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1926\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">http:\/\/futdados.com\/media-de-gols-copas-do-mundo\/<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/16\/part-ii-club-performance\/\">In that same reasoning, we can use Pel\u00e9&#8217;s Santos and Messi&#8217;s Barcelona (the genius scorer of current football) to reinforce such understanding. Santos with the Brazilian\u00a0 scored 2.94 goals per game, also just a bit higher than Barcelona with Messi: 2.49 (data up to 2015).\u00a0 In regard to individual numbers, even if we adapt the number of the King&#8217;s goals in regard to those scored by his team in his era, we can notice that even so he had a greater percentage of his team&#8217;s goals than &#8220;La Pulga&#8221;.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is also the following argument: &#8220;Pel\u00e9 even counts his goals scored in the army&#8221;.\u00a0 Yes, he does. However, it&#8217;s only 13 total goals! One can easily dismiss them without great damage. Furthermore, it is essential to know the crazy amount of games Pel\u00e9 played each year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3y0A8f8SE\">He went on to play 103 matches in 1959 (almost 1 game each 3 days, including several outside Brazil), scoring an incredible 127 goals<\/a>. Well, let us imagine how even more impressive his numbers in &#8220;official games&#8221; would be with a better rested Pele (without some many games and travels). Another reason why that makes unfair simple excluding all of his goals in friendlies.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We also must not forget that there are in current football many more official games and tournaments. That is the main reason why Neymar will probably pass Pel\u00e9 in the all time scoring list for the Brazilian National team, even though he has a much lower goal average and regularly faces weak teams like El Salvador and Honduras in easy cash games for CBF.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Because of everything written here so far, I believe it is possible to conclude that Pel\u00e9 did score more than 1000 goals. Even if we disregard all of his goals against <a href=\"https:\/\/pt.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lista_de_jogos_e_gols_marcados_por_Pel%C3%A9\">mixed and amateur teams<\/a> (Pel\u00e9 scored 3 goals for the S\u00e3o Paulo Athlete Union, 6 for a Vasco\/Santos team, 1 against a Flamengo\/Juventude team, 2 against a B Bulgaria National Team, 2 against a Sampdoria\/Genova team, 2 against the U.S All Stars and 1 for the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o of Sudeste; 17 total goals), for state teams\u00a0 (9 for the Paulista Team), Army team (13 goals) and non official goals for the Brazilian national team (18), and count only his official goals and friendly cups and games against European, Brazilia and South American clubs (among others),<strong> Pel\u00e9 would still have incredible 1225 goals!\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>3 \u2013 Because he was a great club winner<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Besides his incredible individual numbers for Santos (642 goals in 656 official games; 0.97 average), Pel\u00e9 also won several times the most important titles available in his time:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Campeonato Brasileiro S\u00e9rie A (6): 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968; Copa Libertadores (2): 1962, 1963; Intercontinental Cup (2): 1962, 1963; Intercontinental Supercup: 1968; Campeonato Paulista (10): 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973 (note: extremely important league and it had the most games in the King&#8217;s days; he was the leading scorer 11 times, including 9 times in a row between 1957 and 1965). Torneio Rio-S\u00e3o Paulo (4): 1959, 1963, 1964.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is worh to highlight his amazing performance against European Champions Milan in Benfica in the Intercontinental Cup (7 goals in 3 games). In the 1962 Cup, Pel\u00e9 had perhaps his best game ever, destroying the great Benfica with incredible 3 goals and 1 assist.<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Canal 100 - Benfica 2 x 5 Santos - 1962 - 2 jogo - Final Mundial Interclubes\" width=\"616\" height=\"462\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Wvh9aAdhAao?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>4 \u2013 Because he was a winner for Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Again, besides his incredible individual numbers (77 goals in 95 official games; 0.84 average), Pel\u00e9 won several titles for the Brazilian National Team, like 3 World Cups, something that no one has ever achieved to this day:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">FIFA World Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1970;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Rocca Cup: 1957 and 1963;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atlantic Cup: 1960;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oswaldo Cruz Cup: 1958, 1962 and 1968;<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bernardo O&#8217;Higgins Cup: 1959.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is important to say that, yes, Pele only played one full game in the 1962 World Cup, because he got injured in the second game against Czechoslovakia. About that, journalists like<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sambafoot.com\/en\/news\/61235_tim_vickery_column___pele_and_the_world_cup_are_synonymous_.html\"> Tim Vickery argue<\/a> that Pel\u00e9 would probably have his best World Cup performance that year, since he was at his absolute peak. We could see a glimpse of that in Brazil&#8217;s debut in that World Cup against Mexico, in which Pel\u00e9 had a marvelous game (1 great goal and 1 assist):<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"1962 Pel\u00e9 vs Mexico | WORLD CUP (compact version)\" width=\"616\" height=\"462\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HycEq264oo0?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9 was masterful in the 1958 and 1970 World Cups. In 58, at age 17, the teenager Pele scored 6 goals in the last 3 games (including 3 in the semi-final against France and 2 in the final against home team Sweden).<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u25cf King Pele \u25cf all goals in World Cup 1958 \u25cf Only 17 years old  \u25cf\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/REPKp_fFMh4?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>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In 1970, he led the team that many consider to be the best of all time. He was named Player of the Tournament and his performance was full of amazing plays, including ones where he did not even score the goal.<\/p>\r\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k85liXbZiao In his World Cup Finals appearances, Pel\u00e9 had 12 goals and 10 assists (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_records_and_statistics#Assisting\">all time leader<\/a>) in just 14 games. At his only Copa America, 1959 in Argentina, the King was the Cup leading scorer and Brazil finished undefeated, but in second place (a controversial draw against home team Argentina decided the title\u00a0\u2013 the cup was played in a round-robin system.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>5 \u2013 Because he was clutch in finals.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9 was a super clutch player, because he was extremely decisive in the finals he played on. Wondrously, he only failed to score in a single title final game: a 0 to 0 draw against Flamengo in the 1964 Brazilian Championship (Ta\u00e7a Brasil). Nonetheless, it is important to state that Pel\u00e9 had scored 3 times in a smashing 4 to 0 win against Flamengo in the first game of that final.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, Pel\u00e9 only actually played in one losing final match in his entire career (the other final he lost, against Bahia, he was injured in the final game): Santos against Cruzeiro in the final game of the 1966 Brazilian Championship.<\/p>\r\n<p>Next we can see a summary of his numbers in finals (the complete list may be seen at my article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/27\/pele-messi-finals\/\">Pel\u00e9 and Messi in Finals<\/a>&#8220;):<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">14 finals<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">12 finals won (85.71%);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">2 finals lost (14.29%);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">23 games, 17 wins (73.91%), 1 draw (4.34%) and\u00a05 losses (21.73%);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Goals for \u2013 69 (3 per game);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Goals against \u2013 36 (1.52 per game);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Goals by Pel\u00e9 \u2013 29 (1.26 per game) \u2013 42.02% of his team\u2019s goals and 27.61% of total goals scored; the great Messi, for example (<a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/27\/pele-messi-finals\/\">untill 2016<\/a>) had 23 goals in finals (0.71 per game) \u2013 39.65 % of his team\u2019s goals and 24.46% of total goals scored);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hat-tricks \u2013 3 (13.04%);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Games with a least 2 goals \u2013 10 (43.47%);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Games with at least 1 goal \u2013 16 (69.56%);<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Games without scoring \u2013 7 (30.43%).<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>6 \u2013 Because the biggest football legends consider Pele to be the greatest ever.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to a research I did in my article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/01\/the-best-soccer-player-of-all-time-according-to-the-greatest-legends-of-the-sport\/\">The best football (soccer) player of all time according to the greatest legends of the sport<\/a>&#8220;, several of the biggest names in football (players and coaches; all in statements from less than 10 years ago, meaning they got to see recent greats like Maradona,\u00a0 Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi) have Pel\u00e9 as the greatest of them all. Some examples below (references are in the original article):<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Di St\u00e9fano in 2012:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The best player ever? Pele. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pele was better;<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zico in 2014:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>No doubt, he is the greatest ever. When God built Pel\u00e9, he put everything that a player needs in him. He knew how to shoot, how to dribble, how to head, be physical. He had everything that a football player needs to have. It\u2019s difficult for someone to achieve what he has in football.\u201d Tactically, technically, physically, mentally he was the best. A lot of things that I learnt was from Pele\u2019s sticker albums: how to head, how to shoot the ball. It was like a step-by-step guide. I learnt from Pele as a kid;<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gianni Rivera in 2012:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Messi is quite a weapon for Barca. Having him in your team is huge, he\u2019s the most decisive player right now, However, I do think there\u2019s someone who was even better and that\u2019s Pele. 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;<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Menotti (Argentina Coach who won the 1978 World Cup and also coached Maradona in the 1982 World Cup) in 2012:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The best of all was Pele, who is a mixture of [Alfredo] Di Stefano, [Diego] Maradona, [Johan] Cruyff and Leo Messi.;<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Franz Beckenbauer in 2015:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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\u2019ve never seen a player like Pele. 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<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><strong>7 \u2013 Because he was an inovator in his sport and broke racial barriers<\/strong> <strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In order to understand the magnitude of Pel\u00e9&#8217;s impact, it is essential to understand just how colossal racism was during those days (unfortunately, racism still persists today in different forms). In 1958, the year of the King&#8217;s first World Cup win, just 11 years had passed since racial barrier was broken in American sports by Jackie Robinson (first African-American player in the modern Major League of Baseball), just 8 since African American players could really compete in the NBA, and even worst, there still existed &#8220;expositions&#8221; in Europe where black men (including children) were exposed like they were exotic animals. Like the great Brazilian poet once wrote: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.poemhunter.com\/poem\/o-navio-negreiro-part-5-with-english-translation\/\">God of the unfortunates! You tell me God, If it is madness\u2026if it is the truth So much horror below the skies?!<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_1953\" style=\"width: 972px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/3E5C1AEF00000578-0-image-a-25_1489742766347-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1953\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1953\" src=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/3E5C1AEF00000578-0-image-a-25_1489742766347-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"962\" height=\"766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/3E5C1AEF00000578-0-image-a-25_1489742766347-1.jpg 962w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/3E5C1AEF00000578-0-image-a-25_1489742766347-1-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/3E5C1AEF00000578-0-image-a-25_1489742766347-1-768x612.jpg 768w, https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/3E5C1AEF00000578-0-image-a-25_1489742766347-1-816x650.jpg 816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1953\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-4323366\/Photos-reveal-horrifying-human-zoos-early-1900s.html\">The horrifying industry was also active in Europe. An African girl is shown at the 1958 Expo in Brussels, Belgium that featured a &#8216;Congo Village&#8217; with visitors watching her from behind wooden fences<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">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. It is essential to repeat here a bit of my article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/2015\/08\/08\/pele-and-racism\/\">Pel\u00e9 and racism<\/a>&#8220;, to explain, that even though, sadly, Pel\u00e9 did not take an active role in the fight agains racism, he, gladly, had a monumental role in that matter:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, although ideal and worthy of praise, it is essential to say that Pel\u00e9 (or any other person) had no obligation of getting personally involved in militancy of any kind. Nonetheless, even not participating in &#8216;black activism&#8217;, Pel\u00e9, specially during his reign as football\u2019s superstar (1958-1977), was important in the fight against racism. For that, it was only needed the blackness of the most popular sport\u2019s greatest player and worldwide idol in extreme racist time. In that position, he shattered almost unbroken barriers, like being treated as royalty and living legend in Europe, and being the first black man on the cover of Life Magazine&#8217; (from a country, United States, where segregation laws were still common). Furthermore, Pele was an inspiration for many by not being ashamed of his skin color; that was the opinion of his time and of the legendary journalist M\u00e1rio Filho (author of the classic book &#8216;O negro no futebol brasileiro&#8217; \u2013 &#8216;The black man in Brazilian football), as explained by Brazilian historians Francisco Carlos Teixeira da Silva and Ricardo Pinto in the book &#8216;Futebol e Pol\u00edtica \u2013 Mem\u00f3ria Social dos Esportes&#8217; (Football and Politics \u2013 Social memory of sports \u2013 free translation): &#8216;<em>According to M\u00e1rio Filho, the recrudescence of racism in result of Brazil\u2019s defeat in the 1950 Final would only be defeated with the winning Brazilian team in the 1958 World Cup. That overcoming would pass through the magical feet of a mulatto and a black man, respectively, Garrincha and Pel\u00e9. 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. Because of that, the journalist concludes: &#8216;Someone like Pele was missing to complete the work of Princess Isabel (note: she signed the law the emancipated slaves in Brazil). The black man was free, but felt the curse of color. The slavery of color&#8217;.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">M\u00e1rio M\u00e1rio Filho also said in his book about Pel\u00e9&#8217;s role:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>The black players in football really tried, as they rose, to be less black, They had their hair straightened, did plastic surgeries, escaping their color There lies Pele\u2019s important role, the Kind of Football, who is proud to be black. Not to confront anyone, but to exalt his mother, father, grandfather, uncle, the poor family of black people who prepared him for glory. No black man in the world has contributed more (note: it was written in the early 60\u2019s) to sweep racial barriers than Pele. Whoever applauds him, applauds a black man. That\u2019s why Pele never had his hair straightened: he is black like his father, like his mother, like his grandmother, like his uncle, like his brother. To exalt them, he exalts the black man. That\u2019s why he is more than a black man: he is the &#8216;Black man&#8217;. The others black players recognize him: for them, Pele is just &#8216;the Negro&#8217;.<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>Besides the racial issue, Pel\u00e9 also had a huge impact in football itself. Before him, the number 10 was just another number; after him (curious enough, the number was randomly drawn to him in the 1958 World Cup) it became to symbolize the best player of teams all around the world, worn by legends like Zico, Maradona, Platini, Ronaldinho and Messi.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pel\u00e9 was also an innovator in the physical and technical aspects of the game. 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:<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pel\u00e9 \u25cf He did it 50 years ago \u25cf 1\" width=\"616\" height=\"347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sYokNMEgRvw?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>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>Note: the original video above is this one: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sYokNMEgRvw\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sYokNMEgRvw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5PHtxlO_Ys8\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5PHtxlO_Ys8<\/a><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:separator --><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/><!-- \/wp:separator -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>Therefore, because of those reasons explained in this article, Pel\u00e9 is still the greatest of all time!<\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p><strong>P.S<\/strong>. <strong>(added in 07\/10\/2020)<\/strong>: It is also important to report that was chosen not only as the greatest footballer, but as the greatest athlete of 20th century by:<\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>a) International olympic committee in 1999 (even though he never payed in the Olympic games!). <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2013\/12\/27\/world\/pel-fast-facts\/\">[1]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.otempo.com.br\/superfc\/futebol\/pele-o-rei-do-futebol-completa-70-anos-1.165426\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>b) Reuters news agency in 1999. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iol.co.za\/capeargus\/sport\/pele-tops-sportsman-of-the-century-poll-330759\">[1]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/fsp\/esporte\/fk2011199918.htm\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>c) L&#8217;Equipe in 1980.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uX_NSdjAbFo\"> [1]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/esportes.estadao.com.br\/noticias\/futebol,ha-30-anos-pele-era-eleito-o-atleta-do-seculo,579758\">[2]<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/fsp\/esporte\/fk2011199918.htm\"> [3]<\/a><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><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=\"Why%20is%20Pel%C3%A9%20still%20the%20greatest%20of%20all%20time%3F\";<\/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=\"Why%20is%20Pel%C3%A9%20still%20the%20greatest%20of%20all%20time%3F\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/counters.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p>Dear readers, I will explain in 7 arguments why I consider Pel\u00e9 to be the greatest footballer of all time. 1 \u2013 Because he was the most complete offensive player in football history\u00a0 Pel\u00e9 had no noticeable flaws in his game. Legends Tost\u00e3o and Gianni Rivera help us understand why: Tost\u00e3o: Pel\u00e9 had, in the [&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=\"Why%20is%20Pel%C3%A9%20still%20the%20greatest%20of%20all%20time%3F\";<\/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":1930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[77,2],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952"}],"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=1952"}],"version-history":[{"count":61,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2835,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions\/2835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/otaviopinto.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}