Caporegime
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Odd first post.
Pele
- Thread starter Robert-Heenan
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Caporegime
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For me Maradona but if my generation it would have to be fat Ronaldo, Paul Scholes or Ronaldinho.
He did, of course, play in four world cups against those 'superior' european players. And the Brazil teams that won 3 of those 4 were entirely made up of players playing in the Brazilian league.
Plus, Pele's Santos had a pretty decent record against European teams, with Pele scoring a fair few goals:
http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/pele-s-santos-vs-european-clubs-statistical-overview.157423/
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old gamer;30493423 said:
Both Pele and Maradona acknowledged Best as the greatest.
Thierry Henry for me. 
I think there's a lot of nostalgia associated with players like Pele but the game has come a long way since then, defences and goalkeepers are a lot better for a start, players in far better condition. It's like me in my mind Amiga computers are as brilliant as when I had one as a kid but to set one up now all you see is how far things have progressed.
I think there's a lot of nostalgia associated with players like Pele but the game has come a long way since then, defences and goalkeepers are a lot better for a start, players in far better condition. It's like me in my mind Amiga computers are as brilliant as when I had one as a kid but to set one up now all you see is how far things have progressed.
weird.
Consistent goal scoring week in week out then messi has to be the Golden standard 307 goals in 338 appearances for barcelona is an obscene tally.
defense and midfield wise the game has changed so much, it's hard to judge the likes of debruyne/hazard against rivaldo/villa.
As would be comparing Jorginho,cafu, thuram, lahm or zanetti. Arguably some of the best right backs in the game for their times.
However greatest is often attributed to most well known/respected and Pele certainly is known to everyone.
Consistent goal scoring week in week out then messi has to be the Golden standard 307 goals in 338 appearances for barcelona is an obscene tally.
defense and midfield wise the game has changed so much, it's hard to judge the likes of debruyne/hazard against rivaldo/villa.
As would be comparing Jorginho,cafu, thuram, lahm or zanetti. Arguably some of the best right backs in the game for their times.
However greatest is often attributed to most well known/respected and Pele certainly is known to everyone.
I don't because I haven't seen enough video evidence to convince me. Whenever you see highlights reels of Pele it always includes a tap in (albeit at the age of 17) and him having a long range shot that doesn't even hit the target.
Now obviously this is down to the fact that there was much less video coverage in those days but the fact remains that I can only judge based on what I can see.
Looking at my time following football the best players I saw chronologically were Maldini, then Zidane, then Messi. There were brief periods where I had others as the best player in the world - for example I considered it a travesty that Henry was overlooked in favour of Zidane back in 2003 - but in terms of consistent performances over a period of say 5-10 years they were top dogs from the late 80s to present day.
As an aside I would strongly recommend watching Zidane highlights from the WC QF against Brazil in 2006, when you consider he retired two matches later his performance is quite mesmerising, absolutely bossed that game against these so-called elite players like Ronaldinho.
Now obviously this is down to the fact that there was much less video coverage in those days but the fact remains that I can only judge based on what I can see.
Looking at my time following football the best players I saw chronologically were Maldini, then Zidane, then Messi. There were brief periods where I had others as the best player in the world - for example I considered it a travesty that Henry was overlooked in favour of Zidane back in 2003 - but in terms of consistent performances over a period of say 5-10 years they were top dogs from the late 80s to present day.
As an aside I would strongly recommend watching Zidane highlights from the WC QF against Brazil in 2006, when you consider he retired two matches later his performance is quite mesmerising, absolutely bossed that game against these so-called elite players like Ronaldinho.
Maradona was a fat coke head who once went around the defensive classics of Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick whilst the rest of the England eleven were trying to make up for the most obvious cheating piece of cack during the world cup I've witnessed. Those who remember it as "the greatest goal in living memory", were either not watching at the time, or officially brain stem dead. The idea that Maradona's undeniable skill is the same as Pele's, is laughable. The argument that they were not competitive back then is also ridiculous. Google "Bobby Moore defensive tackles" for an example of the era and then tell me that Maradona going around Butcher and Fenwick in disarray, due in no small part to Maradona's cheating earlier, is supposed to be comparable? So many know nothings, it's embarrassing.