Sadly Edson Arantes do Nascimento “Pele” the Brazilian phenom considered by many the greatest football player of all time passed away this Thursday at age 82. In honor of Pele we wanted to talk about his greatness through his era. While also delving into why the comparison between himself and Lionel Messi to see who the greatest player of all time is, just isn’t a fair one.
There’s No Messi Without Pele
Although Messi and Pele were each born in rival neighboring countries almost 50 years apart there’s no question that Messi is standing very much on what Pele built. People born in the years following Pele’s career only have videos of him playing to fall back on and try to figure out just how good he was. One of the biggest criticisms of the man by modern fans is that defenses in his day were not nearly as fierce and intense as they are now.
While that’s an accurate statement we also have to remember that Pele played in an era in which red, and yellow cards were yet to be instituted. It was only in the later stages of his career that he played with these disciplinary measures. It could also be argued that it was because of him and players like him that refs are now more willing to protect skilled players. Something that has certainly benefited Messi throughout his career.
The other aspect that Pele almost single handedly changed was the physical aspect of the game. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Pele was not only a skilled player. He was perhaps the greatest all around athlete of his era. He had speed and skill, but also a physical presence that allowed him to use his body to fight off defenders that were doing everything within the rules and outside of them to stop him. Teams that had the misfortune of facing Pele realized that they needed to feature better athletes to be able to deal with the man. That clearly began to shape the way that defense is played in the global game.
Pele Never Played In Europe …So?
This is one of the arguments that people use to try and minimize Pele’s career. If he were a modern player, and he didn’t play in Europe the argument would certainly be valid. The reality is that in his era we could make the argument that the level of play in the Libertadores Cup was greater than the one that was seen at the European Cup. Plus, this was the pre Champions League era, so the competition throughout Europe was not what it is today. The fact that Pele’s Brazil teams filled mostly with local players won 3 World Cup validates this idea that in his era the South American game was better than European football.
Greats Of Each Of Their Eras That We Can All Applaud
We’ve kind of gone the whole length of the article trying to validate Pele’s claim as the GOAT. Ultimately though as we mentioned you can’t have one without the other. The evolution of the game sparked by play in the 60s and 70s which were Pele’s era brought us to the type of game that we have today. What we can say is clear is that Messi has won his head-to-head matchup with Cristiano Ronaldo for the GOAT of the modern era. Pele is without question the greatest player in a post war generation that shaped the way that not only the game is played, but he was the first global sports icon in many ways. That endorsement money that the players get today is in large part thanks to the path that Pele paved!
