Probably the most debated topic in football is about who of these two football Gods is the greatest. Is it the three time Brazilian World Cup Champion? Is it the tiny magician from Argentina? Find out now!
Without a shadow of a doubt, these are two of the greatest to have ever play the beautiful game, but to the question everyone has in their head, I have the answer, well, my answer. For me, there is one that is superior to the other, and the best of these two men is Diego Maradona. I know that more than one is shocked, thinking how is it possible for someone to dethrone King Pelé. Here is the explanation.
Both of these men have amazing achievements and many records, but why does Maradona trump Pelé? Let´s look at some of the records, Pelé is a fantastic goal scorer, he almost netted 1300 goals in his wondrous career, crushing Maradona´s 345 goals he got throught his career. An amazing lead Pelé has over Diego, but you have to take into account that many of these goals were scored not only in friendlies and exhibitions, but to a poor defence ahead, tell me a great defender that played in Pelé's time, don't worry, I'll wait. Are you back? Tell me, who are the amazing defenders Pelé encountered? Yeah, exactly what I thought, no one pops to mind, right? Regardless of those tiny details, it is an astonishing record, 1281 goals, too bad Arthur Friedenreich trumps that with a remarkable 1329 goals, but well, at least Pelé is the top scorer of his country. Oh, I almost forgot, Friedenreich is also Brazilian. I know what you are thinking, with that name, you must be thinking I am messing with you, but no, he was borned and raised in Brazil, with a german father, hence why the name. Pelé surely is one of the greatest ever, but taking this into account, the king´s throne starts to wobble. Remember to take into account that Maradona was a number 10 on the field, while Pelé was a center foward, he was there waiting for the assist, while Maradona created his wonderful goals, with a great example the goal he netted against England in the 1986 World Cup, it being named the best goal of the 20th century.
Now that I mentioned the World Cup, we have to acknowledge Pelé´s record breaking world cup trophies, three have his name written there, but in reality, it should be two, he didn´t do much at the 1962 World Cup, he injured himself very quickly, and basically, didn´t play in it, but it is not his fault, it is an injury, it happens to the best of us. Regardless of this, two World Cups to his name, very impressive, the amazing players that Pelé played with like Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, and many others helped him win the World Cup. Maradona on the other hand had an even better squad, picture it, a team with Maradona, Maradona, and Maradona. Did you realize that I say his name three times? That´s because that is everything he had, himself, and regardless of it, he won the 1986 World Cup. Daniel Passarella, Maradona´s teammate at the '86 World Cup once said this, "Maradona was more showy, Pelé more intelligent". This is absolutely true, Maradona seduced the audience with his skill, how he dribbled past others, and how he created his goals, but Pelé, he was much more clever, he would wait inside the box or at least near it, and when he got the ball, he shoots and goal.
As you can see, I am not wrong, as a footballer, Maradona was superior in my eyes and I think I provided enough evidence to why he is better, but all of his wonders, his ability, and magic, only lands him at number 3 in my list of the greatest ever, beating Pelé by one spot, making the Brazilian star land at number 4. So, who is the greatest ever? If you read one of the articles I wrote last week, you can have a good idea of who I think is the greatest, but to be sure of it, tune in next week where I'll explain who are the two greatest to have ever stepped into a football pitch.