For those who don’t know, the Book of Revelation is
the final book of the New Testament. It is also known as the Book
of the Revelation of Saint John the Divine or the Book
of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Let me cross to the Caribbean in Jamaica
where Bob Marley once said “if you know your history then
you would know where you're coming from’’ but to me “’if you don’t know your
history, certainly you don’t know where you are coming from and where you’re
going.
Pele
is an Alpha and the Omega of the world football but they are some distorted
historical information about his success. Let’s look at 5 things Pele doesn’t
want you to know.
Pele did score 1,283 goals, but 526 goals came in unofficial friendlies and
tour games. He even counted games he played for the Sixth Coast Guard in the
military competition. He officially scored
757 goals in 812 games. As great as Pele’s goal scoring ratio was, it pales in
comparison to Fernando Peyroteo.
Of course, Pele probably would dismiss Peyroteo’s
achievements, just like I’m about to dismiss some of the Brazilian’s goals.
Looking through Emilio Castaño’s statistical analysis of Pele’s goal-scoring feats, you can’t help but notice irregularities.
Scoreline
|
Pele’s goals
|
||
Santos 11-0 Botafogo Ribeirão Preto
|
8
|
||
Santos 11-1 Maringá
|
5
|
||
Santos 10-3 Nitro-Química
|
5
|
||
Santos 10-0 Nacional
|
5
|
||
Santos 10-1 Royal Neerschot
|
5
|
||
Santos 10-2 Guarani
|
5
|
||
Santos 10-1 Juventus
|
5
|
||
The eight goals Pele scored against Botafogo didn’t come
against the Botafogo.It
came against a side bearing the same name and whose only achievement was producing
the late great Sócrates.
It’s not the Uruguayan Nacional but some state side in
São Paulo. The same applies to Juventus—not the European one, but another
irrelevant state side. Using a modern-day example, it’s like Mamelodi Sundowns beating
up on Powerlines 24-0 in a separate Nedbank Cup.
A real gauge of Pele’s goal-scoring ability was his international record.
He never scored four goals or more in a game and his 77 goals in 92 games is
mortal, as opposed to his mythical 1,283 goals.
2. A Reality Check
Pele needs a reality check regarding his FIFA World Cup achievements.
Most World Cup All-Star appearances
|
Djalma Santos and Franz Beckenbauer, 3
|
||
Most World Cup goals
|
Ronaldo, 15
|
||
Most World Cup goals in one final
|
Geoff Hurst, 3
|
||
Most World Cup goals in one tournament
|
Just Fontaine, 13
|
||
Most World Cup goals in one game
|
Oleg Salenko, 5
|
||
Most World Cup games
|
Lothar Matthäus, 25
|
||
Most World Cup games won
|
Cafu, 16
|
||
Most World Cup tournaments
|
Antonio Carbajal and Lothar Matthäus, 5
|
||
Where's Pele?
3. Pele Was Outperformed
in Every Single World Cup
Pele played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments but was outperformed in
every single one of them. For a man that boasts about his goal-scoring prowess,
I find it amusing that he never mentions himself as a Silver Boot winner.
Year
|
Golden Boot Winner, goals
|
Pele's goals
|
|||
1958
|
Just Fontaine, 13
|
6
|
|||
1962
|
Six players tied, 4
|
1
|
|||
1966
|
Eusébio, 9
|
1
|
|||
1970
|
Gerd Müller, 10
|
4
|
|||
To be fair, Pele was injured during the 1962 and 1966
World Cup. When he was fully fit for the 1958 and 1970 World Cup, he wasn't the
top goal scorer. In
fact, he wasn't even Brazil's top scorer during the 1970 World Cup. That
accolade went to Jairzinho with seven goals.
4. Pele Won Two FIFA World Cups, Not Three
Here's Pele laying down the gauntlet to Lionel Messi:
People always ask me: "When is the new
Pele going to be born?" Never. My father and mother have closed the
factory. When Messi's scored 1,283 goals like me, when he's won three World
Cups, we'll talk about it.
Messi needs to reach 758 goals instead of
1,284 and needs to win two FIFA World Cups instead of three. Pele was a member
of three World Cup-winning teams, but he sat out the large majority of the 1962
World Cup. It was Garrincha who singlehandedly won the World Cup for Brazil,
not Pele.
5. Pele Played with
Historic Teammates
When Pele compiled his 125 greatest living footballers
list, he didn't include many of his teammates. Regarding the teammates that
made the cut: There are two of the greatest right-backs ever in Carlos Alberto
and Djalma Santos.
Then there is one of the greatest
left-backs ever in Nílton Santos. Also a marvelous midfielder in Rivelino. Here are Pele's teammates who
were ineligible for his list: Garrincha (inspired Brazil to win the 1962 FIFA
World Cup), Vavá (scored three goals in two World Cup finals) and Didi (1958
World Cup Golden Ball winner).
Pele shockingly omitted teammates: Gerson,
Jairzinho, Gilmar, Tostao, Zito, Bellini and Zagallo. I read into the omissions
as Pele's way of downplaying his teammate's role in his success. I would have
liked to see Pele symbolically include Santos strike partner Coutinho on the
list as a way of saying thank you. After all, they did supposedly combine for
over 1,000 goals.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi dedicated his FIFA Ballon d’Or to Xavi: "I
want to share this with my friend, he deserves it."Has anyone ever
wondered were Pele was when Garrincha's life was spiraling out of control?
Never forget that Pele played with historic teammates who made him into the
living legend he is. They
were that good that they didn't even need Pele for the 1962 World Cup.
By Owen Mundalamo
Football food for Thought
*The article was informed by empirical evidence gathered
from various literature reviews about Pele*
+ comments + 2 comments
great stuff! pele just needs to sit down.
Corinthians 7X0 Santos!!!KKKKK