No 1: Diego Maradona
He will be remembered for the Hand of God effort against England, but also
for one of the best World Cup goals ever scored The Greatest World Cup
players
* No 2: Pele
* No 3 Franz Beckenbauer
* No 4: Giuseppe Meazza
* No 5: Gerd Müller
The Greatest World Cup players
* No 6: Garrincha
* No 7: Johan Cruyff
* No 8: Ronaldo
The Greatest World Cup players
* No 9: Bobby Moore
* No 10: Ferenc Puskas
For the avalanche of goals that Edson Arantes do Nascimento — Pelé — amassed
in his career, with the total figure disputed but believed to be 1,284 from
1,375 matches, he is perhaps most fondly remembered, rather perversely, for
two that he failed to score.
Remember the group game against England in the 1970 World Cup? When Pelé’s
bludgeoning downward header from a cross by Jairzinho drew a save from
Gordon Banks that still leaves the video viewer reeling in astonishment.
And what about the semi-final against Uruguay? When Pelé outrageously
dummied Ladislao Mazurkiewicz, the goalkeeper, ran around him on the “wrong
side”, retrieved the ball and semi-scuffed it narrowly wide of the empty net.
The latter was dubbed the “greatest goal never scored” but Pelé more than
made up for it with a thousand or so others that did count. Add to that his
entrancing dribbling, passing, pace and extreme power generated from shots
or headers and it is not difficult to see why he was lauded as the real deal,
the full package.
Not bad for a lad who grew up in poverty in Bauru, São Paulo, and who earned
extra money by working in teashops as a servant.
“I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music,” he would
utter, rather immodestly.
Most opponents, though, would concur. When Brazil won the World Cup in 1970,
beating Italy 4-1 in the final, Tarcisio Burgnich, the Italy defender who
had tried in vain to mark Pelé, lamented: “I told myself before the game,
he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.”
Pelé set records at will. He played for Santos at 15, for Brazil at 16 and
won his first World Cup, in 1958, at 17. At 17 years 239 days, he became the
youngest player to score in the finals; ten days later, he became the
youngest to play in a final. He scored twice, in the 5-2 win over Sweden,
and passed out in excitement at the end.
Four World Cups, three gold medals. Pelé’s contribution in 1962 may have
been curtailed prematurely by injury, and a rugged Portugal ended Brazil’s
involvement in 1966, but his “King of Football” crown will endure for ever. |
