Sadly, we’ve just had to say goodbye to a real football great.
And not just a great, the greatest of all time.
No matter what side of the Messi vs. Ronaldo debate you’re on, you just have to agree
that this man from Brazil was the greatest.
And here’s why:
1.
His World Cup record
We all agree that the World Cup is the apex of football, right?
Well, nobody else has dominated that stage like Pele did during his career, and we honestly
don’t think anybody else will be able to.
There’s the obvious record of him being the player to have won the most World Cups
in history with 3.
When you consider that the average footballer will only get to play in a maximum of 3 World
Cups but this guy won 3, you realize how crazy that is.
Messi and Ronaldo tried 5 times each but they were only able to win one trophy between them.
That’s how difficult it is to win the World Cup, but Pele made it look so easy.
Apart from that, he’s the youngest player to ever win a World Cup, youngest to ever
score a World Cup goal, youngest to ever score in the World Cup final, youngest player to
score twice in a World Cup final, youngest player to score a World Cup hat trick, he
has the most assists provided in World Cup finals, most open play goals at World Cup
finals… we could really go all day talking about this man’s records at the FIFA World
Cup.
If we Cristiano Ronaldo is Mr. Champions League for what he has achieved in the European competition,
then Pele is, without a doubt, Mr. World Cup.
But let’s even put the World Cup aside for a bit and you’d see that Pele showed his
greatness elsewhere.
2.
His goalscoring record
At the time of his demise, Pele was the all-time top scorer for the Brazil national team and
for Santos.
He is also recorded as the player with the most hat tricks scored in football history
with 92.
And then, if you include goals scored in unofficial friendlies and tour games, he sits atop the
all-time list as the player with the most goals in football history with an astounding
1,283.
Those are really insane numbers, and sometimes one just sits and wonders how a player was
able to achieve all that in a 21-year career.
Well, the next point might give you an idea.
3.
He’s the perfect footballer
In his prime, Pele was one hell of a specimen.
Yes, he was just 5 foot 8, but the things that relatively small frame could do were
mind-blowing.
Where do we even start?
His speed?
Pele covered a hundred meters in just 11 seconds.
Many Olympic sprinters can’t even manage that, not to even talk of footballers.
We could also talk about how very good he was in the air.
Like we said, he was not the tallest man, but he had an insane leap in him.
His vertical leap measured about 48 inches, and that is better than many pro basketballers.
As a matter of fact, it’s on par with the great Michael Jordan.
Even his heart was perfect.
He had a playing heart rate of 56 beats per minute.
For context, the average footballer has a playing heart rate of about 95 beats per minute.
He was so fit; fitter than most footballers currently playing, and that’s saying a lot
when you put into consideration the vast difference in technological advancement between the 60s
and 70s and now.
Listen, Pele was truly the perfect football player.
And here’s the thing, not only was he perfect, he put every bit of that perfectness to use,
thanks to his versatility.
4.
The most versatile player ever
Whatever your idea of what the greatest footballer ever should be able to do, Pele can almost
certainly do it and maybe even more.
He’s the greatest goalscorer ever as we have already established, he is one of the
greatest creators of all time with his myriads of assists, he is also one of the greatest
dribblers ever.
Think of your favorite player’s signature move, Pele probably already did it before
him.
He was that skillful.
He was truly the most versatile player ever.
He could play in any position up front and could also play in midfield.
You’re probably saying Messi can do that, too, but can Messi play as a goalkeeper?
Thought as much.
Pele could and, in fact, did a number of times.
In Pele’s era, before the 1970s, substitutions were not really allowed in the Brazilian league,
so if a goalkeeper got sent off or even got injured, an outfield player would have to
take up the gloves.
And guess what!
On about 4 occasions, it was Pele who went to man the goal for Santos in those situations.
Perhaps the most memorable one was when he went to play as goalkeeper in a semi final
game and saved some shots after scoring a hat trick in the same game.
Listen, players quite literally do not get any more versatile than that.
5.
7 Ballon d’Or awards
Yes, what you know is that Messi is the player with the most Ballon d’Or awards in history
with 7, but there’s something that wasn’t taken into account for that record.
During Pele’s era up until 1994, the Ballon d’Or was only given to European players,
so no matter what he did, Pele just could not win the award in his career.
Because of that, France Football decided to go back and review the awards given between
1956 and 1994, and the conclusion was that Pele would have won 7 Ballons d’Or during
his career, 4 of them coming in consecutive years between 1958 and 1961.
So, Pele is recognized by France Football as a 7-time Ballon d’Or winner.
And can you even argue with it?
This man won 3 World Cups, scored the most goals in football history, won the World Cup
Best Young Player award and then the World Cup Golden Ball, but no Ballon d’Or?
That doesn’t even make sense.
So yes, Pele is still the greatest football player of all time, and it’s truly a sad
period for the entire footballing universe having to say goodbye to a true legend of
the game, one who made the beautiful game truly beautiful.
Rest well, Edson Arantes do Nascimento.
You will continue to live on in the history books and more importantly, in the hearts
of millions all over the world.