Pele was the better player, some say Drugadona oops, I mean Maradona is better because he played in Europe. You know what I say to that, Pele played in Brazil against better players and more creative player at that. When Santos traveled to play Europes best, they usually came out on top. When was Maradona ever kept in his county and labeled a NATIONAL RESOURCE? Maradona's hand of God was praised, but it showed the world that he is nothing but a cheater and don't get me started on his being kicked out of two World Cups. This is no reflection of the Argentine people, they produce far greater players like Di Stefano, Batistuta, Crespo, Savio and the list goes on, all of these players surpass Maradona.
Drugadonna is a fallen god like the angels who were thrown out of heaven for not following the rules and playing the game with out cheating...
Is this the same Savio who played for Real Madrid? If so, he was Brazilian. He was a great player but not exactly in Maradona's league.
I agree, this forum is not to insult one another, Jet$on asked who we thought was the best player Pele' or Maradona? We may not all be in agreement and that's ok, but we should respect each others opinion and yes, offer a differing opinion with out insulting each other, Savy?. That's what attracted me to this site...
Regardless of who may be better, both Maradona and Pele are soccer superstars per excellence and they are players who don't come around every generation. I grew up watching Maradona, so I've seen a lot of him in person. On the other hand, even though I knew a lot about Pele, I didn't get to fully appreciate his game until I saw the video 'Pele Eterno'. (courtesy of a fellow bigsoccer poster). Fans today are lucky. There are great videos about both these players on the market, and I think any true fan of the beautiful game will stand in awe when they watch either of them play. Anybody who tries to put down Pele or Maradona to build out the other is a moron. If you get kicks out of bringing out whatever failures they may have as individuals then that is your perogative, but as players they were pure joy to watch. Both Pele and Maradona could not only singlehandedly control matches at the highest level, but also were able to make their teammates play at a higher level as well, and to top it off they also managed to dazzle fans with their amazing ball skills, creativity and unpredictability. They were both in a league by themselves, and both shone bright and took soccer into a different level and made it a better game. You might as well ask who was better, Mozart or Beethoven, when it comes to classical music. Having said that, If I'm put on the spot and I have to offer an opinion, taking their whole career and everything they accomplished, I'd have to give Pele the edge. I think he was more dominant overall. But having seen Maradona, I can understand why some people may feel otherwise.
I agree with you with the acception of calling people Morons, however it is your opinion and I both appreciate it and respect it. Also thanks for the rest of you comment it was very insightfull and rich with your soccer, oops futbol Knowledge. Thanks again...
maradona was the best creative and smartest fast-thinking player, Pele was the most complete player. Depends on your taste, I say maradona but I respect people that say Pele because he was more complete(headers, defending..)
Only one of them stopped a war. Pele it is. Maradona was a great player too, but according to some he may have been Argentina's second best after DiStefano. From what I have seen, I would be inclined to take this pretty seriously. For me, I think the "hand of god" goal kind of changed my opinion of him as well. In the same game he scored one of the most brilliant goals ever in the world cup, and it is hard to think of the two plays as coming from the same person. (Yes, I know. You don't have to tell me. I am totally unrealistic about the level of sportsmanship I think should be in the game)
PELE His both footedness, completeness, creativity and eye for goal surpasses Maradona. Maradona's a legend but i just think Pele's better. Maradona disapointed me when he used his hand to get a goal and abused coke. Pele never Cheated and was fair. He loved The Beautiful Game.
All of these side issues are merely smokescreens to prevent people from admitting a truth that they cannot handle. Maradona was a better player.
There is one aspect of the 'hand of god' goal that is hardly ever discussed, for obvious reasons. I understand why people contrast the two goals, but in many ways they were very similar, with the exception of the finish. If we watch the whole play which led to the first goal, how it started, and how it was set up, it was a brilliant play by Maradona, who got the ball near midfield and with his great movement and flair eliminated four English players. Then he passed the ball to Valdano and broke for the goal. Unfortunately, Valdano's return pass was too high, which led to a divided ball between Diego and Shilton and culminated in Diego's trickery. It is a shame, because if that return pass had been a bit better placed, we'd be talking about one of the best WC goals of all time, along with his second one. But (hand of god aside) all the goals Diego scored in that World Cup were brilliant, and an affirmation of the great things which he was doing at the club level. I speculate that the reason why Maradona didn't look to give up the ball when he scored the second goal is that he still had the first one in his mind, and he figured, 'this time I'm going to do it all on my own, so I don't have to resort to trickery'.
Frankly I can't see Maradona surpassing Pelé in any given skill Not by accident Pelé was voted the athlete of the century It's a shame that the past is so easily forgotten and disconsiderated by the younger fans Oh well probably 40 years from now we'll be hearing who's better maradona or some new player to shine within the next two decades
why do you be so cruel. What good do you get by starting a thread like this and get this poor guy insulted. Isn't the abuse he received enough? We all make mistake in life. At one time he was an idol. Please have respect.