Jairzinho was not the main scoring threat on the team. He scored more goals than Pele, but he was not the main scoring threat. OPTA data tells us that Pele took 26 shots in the tournament. Jairzinho took just 12. Tostao took 17 shots. The fact that Jairzinho happened to score a very impressive amount of his attempts does not make in the main scoring threat instead of Pele. It just means he was a fantastic finisher with the chances he got.
Friend, why so serious? This is just fun. Since you say you don't deny Pele was not a 10 or attacking midfielder, then we do not even disagree that much. I respect your opinion. But i think Tostao himself says he played for Cruzeiro the same way as Pele for Santos. In the qualyfing for the 1970 wc, Tostao was the leading scorer for Brazil. Were can I see those stats? Numbers can lie, How many of those 26 shots were inside the box? Pele got so many shots because he fired from long distance a lot like Jairzinho and Tostão did not. Pele in 1966 and 1970:
I dont deny it and I dont claim it either. I get the feeling you do not agree with what I did claim, though.
Whatever is meant by 'exquisite playmaker'?Pele can hold his own amongst the very best of playmakers the sport has seen.According to OPTA sports: Pele, made 249 passes in 6 games (averaging 41.5 per game), their accuracy was 83.9%, considering only what has been done in the attacking half its accuracy was 78.2%. Maradona,[this comparison is just for an idea and not in anyway to bring down the footballing great that Maradona is]made 262 passes in 7 games (average of 37.5 passes per game), their accuracy was 79.8%, considering only what has been done in the attacking half its accuracy was 67.6%. Pele made the most number of assists as well in the 70 Cup,more so than what Cruyff did in 74.The above stat clearly shows that he was the main orchestrator in his team.A player who makes that many passes is indeed rotating the strike and serving his frontline forwards and that was exactly what Pele did.
CHANCES CREATED – A pass that leads to a shot on goal. Keypass – A pass that leads to a shot on goal that is not converted. Assist – A pass that leads directly to a goal. Chance created = keypass + Assist Read more at http://www.squawka.com/football-stats-definitions Let's see the chances created by Pele vs Tostao vs. Jairzinho in 1970: Pelé, 28 = 4.7 chances per game Tostao, 17 = 2.6 per game Jairzinho, 13 = 2.1 per game Now, let's see with other great attacking midfielders: Pelé 1970, 28/6 = 4.7 per game Maradona 1986 = 27/7 = 3.9 per game Zidane 1998 = 18/5 = 3.5 per game Zico 2002, 17/5 = 3.4 per game Platini 1986 = 19 / 6.3 = 3.0 per game It is clear, that Pele was a brilliant generator of football and plays of danger. In that aspect, Romario, Muller or Ronaldo is very far from the King.