Pele- Rest In Peace

[Tighthead]

RIP Pele, I was too young to witness your greatness in person but all of the grainy films showed us how fantastic a footballer you were. Thank you.

[BlackHillsPaul]

I didnt realise but for all the hype about Pele being the greatest and 3 World Cups etc.

For a start hundreds of his goals aren't officially recognised because he included friendlies and Charity games

He and Santos claim 1200 and something.

But only 700+ are officially recognised (still a great total).

And for all his World Cup plaudits the man called the Greatest by many wasn't even the best striker at any World Cup.

1958 Pele got 6, Just Fontaine got 13.

1962 Pele got 1, top scorers had 4.

1966 Pele got 1, Eusebio got 9.

And in 1970 Pele got 4 and Muller got 10.

He wasn't even Brazil's top goal scorer in 70, Jairzinho was with 7.

Feels odd that for all his plaudits he wasn't the best player in his position at any World Cup and even his scoring record isn't that unique.

Gerd Muller had similar at a similar time.

Ferenc Puskas, Josef Biscan before him, Eusebio.

Romario even in more recent times.

Would be interested to know why people like Puskas and Biscan and Eusebio aren't talked about like Pele despite having very similar records at the same time?

Puskas and Biscan actually had official better strike rates.

Is it purely the World Cup? Isn't that Pele benefitting from the quality around him given his World Cup stats are bettered by many including Muller and Eusebio?

As you are fond of saying Cjay, stats don't always tell the whole story.

If you are my age (60) or older you probably think that Pele is the GOAT. And because of our age we have seen virtually every player that is in the conversation. It is subjective for sure. But Pele was the complete package. His goals, his runs off the ball, and the goals he created for other players. The dirty work he did on the pitch. And always with Brazilian flair. That Samba rhythm. In an era when South American football was really special.

May Pele Rest in Peace. His Memory will be Eternal!!

[Jaydog]

Who needs numbers when we have witnessed the greatest?

Precisely

[Clacton White]

Very true, gone not forgotten.......

He will never be forgotten . People forget how different the game was then to now .

[Muppet the Cat]

RIP Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Without question, the greatest footballer in my lifetime

[BobHirst]

RIP Pele. The greatest ever.
I can't imagine the numbers he would produce today with defenders not allowed to foul him like they used to do back in the day.

[BlackHillsPaul]

RIP Pele. The greatest ever.
I can't imagine the numbers he would produce today with defenders not allowed to foul him like they used to do back in the day.

He was absolutely brutalized. His accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider the injuries he played with over his entire career. He arrived injured for his first World Cup 1958. Got injured in the 2nd match at the 1962 Tournament and sat out the remainder. It was in England 1966 where he suffered the worst abuse. And Brazil were eliminated in the group stage. And then there was the magic of Mexico 1970.

[Orange Box]

I first saw him in Carlisle at a training camp in 66, our school trip had a few days exploring Hadrians Wall, needless to say the highlight was watching Brazil train in public. It was very low key with a couple of laps and some short passing drills. Pele as you can expect was mobbed by school kids, I never got close.

The next time was, I think, summer 1972, a friendly Sheffield Weds vs Santos. I travelled on my little Lambretta GP125 which just about got me down the M1 in one piece. Pele scored a penalty and the entire crowd went wild.

My good friend was a British Airways first class air stewardess and tonight she sent me a couple of photos of her with the great man. Lovely memories.

[The Subhuman]

A lot of the issue with Pele's stats is players didn't move clubs much back then and Santos only played three times in the Copa Libertadores, the equivalent then of the UCL now.. he should have competed in around 15 tournaments instead of the three he did. In the three he did he scored 17 times in 15 games, multiply that by 5 and you get 85 goals minimum and depending how far Santos got...

And it wasn't that Santos didn't qualify for that tournament, they pulled out to tour and play friendlies around the world... Pele scored 526 goals from 554 friendly games through his career ...





"Santos toured Europe often as it was a rich continent and helped the club earn lots of profit. Pele’s record was an exceptional 205 goals in 196 games against European teams . Not bad for a player who’d “struggle” in Europe"

[Orange Box]

See above post

[The Subhuman]

Even without the stats if you watched him play you could really only make one decision ... My favourite player was Cryuff, but favourite is not greatest....

[The Subhuman]

If I had to pick an all time WC 11, about 5 would come from that Brazil 70 team

[1964white]

See above post

A treasured photo, OB

[mentalcase]

RIP Pele, simply the best of my era, lovely person to talk to off the pitch as well, so calm and compassionate.

[Leeds1000]

R.I.P the Great Pele.

Mention Football anywhere in the World and Pele's name wouldn't be far behind.

He's got 7 kids so no doubt the Catholic God will find in a nice spot in heaven.

[liggy]

Pele and Brazil where every kid of my generation's team something magical about them.always brazil for me after friggin England like.
Brazil v Italy 1970 fantastic memories.

[mentalcase]

[velo]

RIP Pele

[Sockerist]

I am sorry to hear of Pelé's death. He was 82, so I suppose it was his time. I have not looked into the circumstances of his death. I hope he passed away peacefully and loved by his family.

He was a terrific footballer and one of the best of his era, and he did produce two or three amazing moments. Perhaps the best tribute that can be paid to him from the point of view of an Englishman is that he was responsible for the greatest moment in the storied career of Gordon Banks, the England goalkeeper - perhaps the greatest ever save.

However, I can't bring myself to call Pelé the 'Greatest Player Ever' because of all the hype that surrounds him and this insistence from pretty much everybody that he was the Greatest Player Ever, which arouses my suspicions and prompts my sceptical mind to ask if he really was. When everybody is saying you must think a certain thing or a certain way, it may well be because it is true, and if the matter is self-evident, then I can accept it; but if the matter is something subjective, like this, I start to wonder about it.

I could name maybe 50 players from across all eras, including some coinciding with Pelé's own playing era, who were at least as good as he was, if not better. Why was Pelé singled out in this way?

It's not Pelé's own fault. He deserves nothing but credit. I'm not criticising or attacking him, whether personally or as a player. One thing I want to say about Pelé is that he played the game how it should be played - even in the face of provocation from sabotaging players. I may be mistaken, but I think he was only sent-off once in a professional game. He was an innocent amongst cynics. Even after he stopped playing, his smile and ebullience as a footballing personality evoked for me the idea of a footballer who played for the joy of it. That was just image, though. I appreciate it probably didn't reflect the real Pelé - a real person who must have had flaws, conceits, insecurities and weaknesses like the rest of us.

[Orange Box]

tempFileForShare_20221230-113006.jpg

Now that is an image I will treasure. Thanks for sharing mental