Pelé vs Maradona: A statistical comparison of the world's two greatest footballers HD

The age-old debate as to who the greatest footballer of all time is one which will never die down no matter how many moments of magic the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to produce. But even the most argumentative of football fans will concede that Pele and Diego Maradona belong to the very top of the tree; there’s Pele vs Maradona on one side, and every other ‘greatest of all time’ debate on the other. Pele was born on October 23 and Maradona’s birth date is just a week later on October 30. Both inspired their countries to World Cup victories and still continue to be the benchmark for the illustrious South American nations when a new star comes on to the block. The number of players who have grown up idolising these legends is immeasurable. The two rightly shared the FIFA Player of the Century award when it was announced a few years ago. However, there is no space for modesty in their minds when they talk about who they consider the greatest of all time is. No love lost between the two greats “According to me, Pelé will always remain second best in football when compared to Maradona,” said the Argentine. And Pele’s opinion of his rival? “(Maradona cannot be considered the best ever player as) he couldn’t kick well with his right foot and he didn’t score headed goals. The only important headed goal that Maradona ever scored was scored with his hand!” There’s no love lost between the two, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t stop the debates at all; in fact, it exacerbates them! Here, we make a statistical comparison of how the two have performed at the international and club level. Pele was two-footed and a clinical finisher, as evident from his immaculate goalscoring record. But his critics argue that he played in an era where the game was played at a snail’s pace and that he had better players around him. Maradona liked to control the game from midfield, bringing others into play, and his supporters cite his performance at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico as proof of how the Argentine was the greatest ever. But the controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal against England en route to that triumph and the doping scandal later in his career will, unfortunately, forever cloud his achievements. Cynics might argue that you cannot compare players of different generations, but the rivalry, or the grudge, that these two icons of the beautiful game continue to share is too great to shrug away. International career Unlike Messi and Ronaldo, Pele’s and Maradona’s greatest moments were achieved with their national teams, something which has made the pair a lot more endearing to their compatriots. Pele is the only player to have featured in three World Cup winning teams, having tasted success in 1958, 1962 and 1970, while Maradona almost single-handedly inspired Argentina to the 1986 World Cup triumph. Pele 1970 World Cup final Pele lifts the 1970 World Cup trophy, his third with Brazil after success at the 1958 and 1962 editions Pele ann