Pele has died
- Thread starter Teesste
- Start date
atypical_boro
Well-known member
He’s timed his death perfectly to counter the argument against Messi being the GOAT.
I’ve no doubt at all he was a fantastic player, and very well maybe the best ever from the clips I’ve seen, but I still think it’s significant in the debate that most people outside of Brazil never actually saw him play all that many times. He is unquestionably an icon, however, and 3 World Cup winners’ medals still hasn’t been equalled I don’t think (although he got injured early in ‘62).
Anyway, very sad day for football, RIP. It’s weird to think Brazil have only actually won the World Cup twice without him in the squad. It’s almost as if now he’s dead they aren’t actually ahead of the other big footballing nations anymore.
I’ve no doubt at all he was a fantastic player, and very well maybe the best ever from the clips I’ve seen, but I still think it’s significant in the debate that most people outside of Brazil never actually saw him play all that many times. He is unquestionably an icon, however, and 3 World Cup winners’ medals still hasn’t been equalled I don’t think (although he got injured early in ‘62).
Anyway, very sad day for football, RIP. It’s weird to think Brazil have only actually won the World Cup twice without him in the squad. It’s almost as if now he’s dead they aren’t actually ahead of the other big footballing nations anymore.
HarryVegas
Well-known member
Pele RIP
With shorts made from bluesky,
and shirt from pure sunshine,
all small boys need their Gods
and Pele became mine.
A smile as wide as a goalmouth
and wings upon his heels,
I went to bed and dreamed
about how it must feel
to have a lion in his chest
and quicksilver in his boots
and a universe of joy unleashed
every time he shoots.
With shorts made from bluesky,
and shirt from pure sunshine,
all small boys need their Gods
and Pele became mine.
A smile as wide as a goalmouth
and wings upon his heels,
I went to bed and dreamed
about how it must feel
to have a lion in his chest
and quicksilver in his boots
and a universe of joy unleashed
every time he shoots.
Last edited:
BoroMart
Well-known member
possibly the greatest SPORT has ever seen, maybe second to Ali
WoodallServices
Well-known member
RIP. True legend.
Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona and Cruyff all dazzled us with their flicks, step overs, runs and turns, only to discover, they had already been done.
Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona and Cruyff all dazzled us with their flicks, step overs, runs and turns, only to discover, they had already been done.
swordtrombonefish
Well-known member
There's past and present players who can be called great footballers, then there is Pele who stands head and shoulders above them. RIP to a footballing giant and ambassador for the game.
bungydinsdale
Well-known member
RIP The GOAT
asredastheycome
Well-known member
Greatest footballer I have ever seen and I have seen a few in my 68 years. The best RIP
Madeinbrazil
Well-known member
Rip The Great One - what a player
TeessideCleveland
Well-known member
RIP
bungydinsdale
Well-known member
Here are just a few tributes to him:
“To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.” — Nelson Mandela.
———
“I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.” — Italy’s Tarcisio Burgnich, after playing against Pele in the 1970 World Cup Final.
———
“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” — Andy Warhol.
———
“I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” — Sir Bobby Charlton, retired England great who won 1966 World Cup and Ballon d’Or in same year.
———
“Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” — Johan Cruyff, the late Dutch star and standout manager who won the Ballon d’Or three times.
———
“He is the most complete player I ever saw.” — Retired German great Franz Beckenbauer.
———
“If you take the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi, put them together, then you’d have a player to compare to Pelé!” — Retired Brazil forward Tostao.
———
“The best player ever? Pelé. (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better.” — Alfredo Di Stefano, the late Argentine star for Real Madrid.
———
“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.” — Brazil defender Carlos Alberto Torres.
———
“This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There’s only one possible answer: Pelé. He’s the greatest player of all time, and by some distance, I might add.” — Retired Brazil star Zico.
———
“The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.” — Hungary star Ferenc Puskas.
———
“We went up together to head a ball. I was taller, had a better impulse. When I came back down, I looked up in astonishment. Pelé was still there, in the air, heading that ball. It was like he could stay suspended for as long as he wanted to.” — Italy defender Giacinto Facchetti.
———
“When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots.” — Just Fontaine, the Morocco-born French star who scored 13 goals in six games in the 1958 World Cup.
———
“The moment the ball arrived at Pelé‘s feet, football transformed into poetry.” — Italian poet Pier Paolo Pasolini.
———
“The difficulty, the extraordinary, is not to score 1,000 goals like Pelé — it’s to score one goal like Pelé.” — Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet.
———
“Pelé was the most complete player I’ve ever seen. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only 5-feet-8 inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision.” — Bobby Moore, captain of the 1966 World Cup champion team from England.
———
“I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us.” — Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira after 5-2 loss to Santos.
———
“There’s Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God.” — Retired France star and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini.
———
“Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé in the world.” — Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal star forward.
“To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.” — Nelson Mandela.
———
“I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.” — Italy’s Tarcisio Burgnich, after playing against Pele in the 1970 World Cup Final.
———
“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” — Andy Warhol.
———
“I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” — Sir Bobby Charlton, retired England great who won 1966 World Cup and Ballon d’Or in same year.
———
“Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” — Johan Cruyff, the late Dutch star and standout manager who won the Ballon d’Or three times.
———
“He is the most complete player I ever saw.” — Retired German great Franz Beckenbauer.
———
“If you take the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi, put them together, then you’d have a player to compare to Pelé!” — Retired Brazil forward Tostao.
———
“The best player ever? Pelé. (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better.” — Alfredo Di Stefano, the late Argentine star for Real Madrid.
———
“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.” — Brazil defender Carlos Alberto Torres.
———
“This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There’s only one possible answer: Pelé. He’s the greatest player of all time, and by some distance, I might add.” — Retired Brazil star Zico.
———
“The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.” — Hungary star Ferenc Puskas.
———
“We went up together to head a ball. I was taller, had a better impulse. When I came back down, I looked up in astonishment. Pelé was still there, in the air, heading that ball. It was like he could stay suspended for as long as he wanted to.” — Italy defender Giacinto Facchetti.
———
“When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots.” — Just Fontaine, the Morocco-born French star who scored 13 goals in six games in the 1958 World Cup.
———
“The moment the ball arrived at Pelé‘s feet, football transformed into poetry.” — Italian poet Pier Paolo Pasolini.
———
“The difficulty, the extraordinary, is not to score 1,000 goals like Pelé — it’s to score one goal like Pelé.” — Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet.
———
“Pelé was the most complete player I’ve ever seen. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only 5-feet-8 inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision.” — Bobby Moore, captain of the 1966 World Cup champion team from England.
———
“I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us.” — Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira after 5-2 loss to Santos.
———
“There’s Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God.” — Retired France star and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini.
———
“Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé in the world.” — Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal star forward.
boroboy6872
Well-known member
RIP
He is/was Football
An Icon and a TRUE Legend
He is/was Football
An Icon and a TRUE Legend
Smoginexile
Well-known member
Very sad news
He changed football, he changed the world
RIP Pele
RIP Pele