Well no one can actually say for sure can they? That's the whole point of the debating topic. I also find it quite ignorant to suggest that the younger generations don't know who Pele or Puskas were. I certainly don't think seeing many eras of players makes your opinion more valuable/informed by default.
Read the post again..........."Probably the vast majority of posters will not know who someone like Pele or Puskas was." That is not to say they don't know only that they may not!! There is nothing in there to suggest I know any better than anyone, only that people that saw them both regularly can make a real comparison. I quote......."Like always though it is just a matter of opinion" I certainly find it ignorant for you to suggest anything different!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's still highly assumptive. Why isn't it "probably the vast majority of posters will know who Pele and Puskas were?" Near enough every proper football fan I know, who is from a younger generation, knows who they are. I mean, Pele? Really...
The majority of people who have never watched a game of football in their lives know who Pele was. I don't think I've ever knowingly met a person who doesn't know who Pele was.
What an unbelievably ignorant opinion to hold. Any fan of the modern game will hear various comparisons to footballers from past eras, and naturally (for most of us) we want to find out more. It's in our nature as human beings to learn new things, and in this day and age, it is easier than ever to read about footballers like Pele, like Maradona, like Puskas. We can easily go onto Youtube and watch footage of these players at our leisure. Yes we may not have been around to see these guys in there prime, but you can be damn sure we know about their achievements and style of play. We may be young, but we're not stupid. And to simply brush aside our views based on the fact we're barely out of teens is blatantly ageist, and for someone in your position of authority Beddy, that's a very dangerous attitude to have. Furthermore, to try and justify your opinion by emphasising the fact it is only an opinion isn't going to fool any of us. If anything, you will come off looking even more out of touch than you already do.
Trying to take this seriously, but it's tough. Best defender ever has to be Bobby Moore (as nominated by Pele); best midfielder between Zidane and Paul Scholes ... But the question is who is the greatest player to have walked the earth, and so maybe we need a non-footballing criterion. How about one of the highly paid stars who do such great charity work - Didier Drogba or Jamie Carragher?! Best player - well the clue in the name. Georgie
Probably because most of us younger fans weren't alive when he played and probably haven't heard of him.
Guys It was never my intention to upset anyone nor was it my intention to belittle or say I knew any better than anyone else. I agree some will have done their home work and a name like Pele will indeed be a household name. That surely doesn't mean they will actually be able to make an informed judgement on who these people were or what they actually achieved. Seeing snippets of recordings is not the same as actually witnessing it first hand. If you say you have as much knowledge as anyone else about making a comparison, fair enough, that is your opinion. I just happen to think it is not an easy comparison, without first hand knowledge. It does not debase an opinion that is different. It is Just two different opinions. Why on earth it is dangerous for me to have such an opinion?.........Why is it an ignorant opinion? Lummy it wasn't said to stir people up, young or old!
You can probably find most of Pele's goals online, and you can watch full highlights of World Cup games. It's not just snippets. Your ignorance is in not realising just how much exposure we have to these players who were knocking about before we were born. Just like in today's game, pretty much everything of note these players did was caught on camera and immortalized. Unless you actually went to watch Pele play in the flesh, we can probably see just as much of him as you have. Same goes for Best, Moore, and so on.
Granted, it is not an easy comparison without having witnessed it first hand, but that's not to say that we can't have an opinion on the basis that we haven't been around to see them play. I'll stop there as I would just be repeating myself with Youtube, internet etc etc. The fundamental fact of the matter, and I think this was touched on earlier, is that it is hard to define the best player of all time, as there are number of different positions out there on the pitch, and hence it is impossible to compare someone like Beckenbauer to someone like Messi or Pele.
You are probably right Joe......us old codgers do have trouble at times in keeping up with modern technology. It is true we forget that some will have gone back and watched old recordings. I still remain doubtful as to how many will have done that to make the comparison. I have been fortunate in that I have seen Pele play on several occasions in the flesh the same for Puskas and Bobby Moore. George Best I only saw the once other than on TV as I did Eusabio. (Sorry have probably spelt his name way wrong) another who was not on the list incidentally. I certainly did not mean to imply that my knowledge was any better than anyone else's and I certainly apologise if that was the impression given.
Di Stefano might be getting loads of votes if there was enough footage of him. I can't really find much though and it's poor quality. He had a great goalscoring record and plenty of assists. But not only that he used to defend. He'd sometimes be making last man tackles and picking the ball up from the defence. I don't really know what this did to the formation of the teams he played for but it sounds like having him in your team was almost like having 12 men. I can't find enough on him though to vote for him over Pele
Absolute unbelievable shout. The man once kicked Mark Lawrenson in the face and after receiving a red card for the offence, broke into the Brighton dressing room and shat in Lawro's kitbag. Squeezed Bobby Moore's testicles mid-game after scoring two whilst the England captain was attempting to mark him. Would regularly turn up to training drunk/high and tragically died of a heroin overdose at the age of 38. His biography is incredible, makes Gazza's life look boring. Also, if legend is to be believed, he scored the greatest goal ever scored. A goal so good that the referee threw his hands to his head in disbelief ... such a shame that he fell out of love with the game as many claim he could have played for England.
