[FuTbALLeR8395]

who was the best soccer player to ever walk the earth?


my opinion PELE

[Bertje]

Maradona. The only player who ever was one with the ball.

[Tribune]

Pele. The only player who had achieved supreme technical mastery of absolutely any offensive skill.

[MAICOL]

This debate between Maradona and Pele will go forever......

Pele was the Ultimate during his era as was Maradona......

But the best ultimate soccer/futbol player to ever walk the earth is Maradona as Pele had players to win him 2 World Cups (1958,1962), while Maradona took the 1st World Youth Title, too bad he was not chosen to join the 1978 winning side as he was considered too young, and he won the 1986 World Cup by himself. Maradonna by far takes it.

[Tribune]

Originally Posted by MAICOL

This debate between Maradona and Pele will go forever......

Pele was the Ultimate during his era as was Maradona......

But the best ultimate soccer/futbol player to ever walk the earth is Maradona as Pele had players to win him 2 World Cups (1958,1962), while Maradona took the 1st World Youth Title, too bad he was not chosen to join the 1978 winning side as he was considered too young, and he won the 1986 World Cup by himself. Maradonna by far takes it.

By far ? Please... Good for you that you favor Maradona, but "by far" is a very bold statement.
Just one question keeps nagging me : why exactly having better teammates automatically makes a player worse than the other ?

[Ghostface]

I Know a lot (and I mean a lot) will disagree, but I rate Maradona, Cruyff and Beckenbaeur all ahead of Pele. To me those 1000 goals isn't that impressive, and I know Europe wasn't AS dominant a football force as it is now in comparison to the Brazillian league, but still. Not to mention he may not have those WC titles if it weren't for having some almost equally good teammates. Not saying having good players with him makes him worse, jsut saying he did have a lot of support that could have made him look better.

1. Maradonna
2. Beckenbauer
3. Cruyff
4. Pele

[Tony Dellbird]

1. Pele
2. Beckenbauer
3. Best
4. Maradona

[colby7]

Best by name Best by nature

[BigKeeper]

I've often wondered how any of the above players would stand against todays players.
Would they be able to stand out against the far greater number of players with pace and skill in todays game? Would they just simply blend in? Or would they just all be considered good, solid players?
I think you can take a Maradona in his prime and play him today and because of his strong low center of gravity quickness he may still stand out.
Pele, I think, could be one of the best, a top striker along with others but not stand alone the way he did. Beckenbauer and Best might only be considered great consistant players but, IMO, certainly might not stand alone.
It's always harder to look good against other great players. As the game continues to expand around the world, as does technology and training techniques, I think there are far more great players today than there was 20 plus years ago.

[Tony Dellbird]

Originally Posted by BigKeeper

I've often wondered how any of the above players would stand against todays players.
Would they be able to stand out against the far greater number of players with pace and skill in todays game? Would they just simply blend in? Or would they just all be considered good, solid players?
I think you can take a Maradona in his prime and play him today and because of his strong low center of gravity quickness he may still stand out.
Pele, I think, could be one of the best, a top striker along with others but not stand alone the way he did. Beckenbauer and Best might only be considered great consistant players but, IMO, certainly might not stand alone.
It's always harder to look good against other great players. As the game continues to expand around the world, as does technology and training techniques, I think there are far more great players today than there was 20 plus years ago.

Who's to say they wouldn't have adpated, because we live in a very different world and football is also very different.