For me the answer is Maradona. I have not seen much of Pele, though. But like Gregoriak has said, the litle footage that can be found does not match the hype (in my view). Those who say that the people who pick Maradona have not seen Pele forget that that people have not seen Di Stefano either (nor Puskas, Moreno, Garrincha, etc., etc.).
You are entitled to your opinion. That is all it is. My brother and I agree on Maradona, but from then on the best player I have seen is not the same that he has seen.
because you are too young to have seen the rest...?? I'm not. Seen 'em all and Pele trumps Maradonna easily.
Ok then. My mistake. Took you for a guy with an opinion, but I understand now you are the holder of the truth
How many people saw full games of Pele ? 0 However- I thing that Zidane was the best player in the history. Maradona was too junky for soccer.
Once again, here is a picture of a poster on this thread watching Pele (a bit). BTW, he thinks Pele was the greatest ever . . .
it depends on teh voters. if the voters are ppl who play organized soccer, the answer will be unanimous 100% vote for ronaldinho.
The greatest ever is not a debate that can be conclusively ended. It really comes down to preference ultimately. Many dont do more than looking at titles and stats. Being too happy with what they find, they dont feel going any further is necessary. But to have a serious discussion you really have to start spliting hairs (not sure that is the right expression). Otherwise J. M. Fangio should be considered the greatest F1 driver of all time, Rocky Marciano the greatest boxer of all time (at least HW), Bill Russell the greatest basketball player of all time (at least center), Rod Laver the greatest tennis player, etc. But its not quite like that because there are other factors and variables to consider beside the numbers that make the matter a bit more complex. I personally think that after watching Maradona one has to be quite gullible and credulous to believe that somebody had been a better player than him. Especially so considering that the little visual evidence to support such claim completely fails to do so (IMO) and the rest is just a sort of mythical hearsay that you can only either decide to believe or not. For what I have seen written around in forums and the internet in general (and talking to people too), the refusal to deem Maradona the greatest ever has more often than not a reason in Maradona the man, rather than Maradona the footballer.
That's actually more prevalent only in the English speaking media. The major English speaking media are UK and USA. In UK, they hate Maradona because of the Hand of God, and in the USA, they hate Maradona because he is communist sympathizer, and a known anti-American. If you go outside the English speaking media, then there is not much hatred of Maradona. In the non-English speaking world, he is greatly admired.
Why...?? because he cheats and is a known drug abuser..?? the fcuk isn't fit to lace Pele's boots....never has been ...never will be.
If you think about only playing abilities it has to be Maradona. At his best he could lift any team. But if you consider other issues as well it would be Charlton. Great player and great man outside the field aswell
Skills: Maradona. There is no comparison. Messi isn't there yet! (Note the emphasis on "yet") Intelligence: Cruyff. He is a more inteligent than everyone else on this list combined. Success: Pele, I guess..
You can even watch them on youtube ... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upxN8isH0Lc"]YouTube - World Cup 1958 Full Game Semifinal Brazil vs France Part 1‏[/ame]