Pele is a legend, the first player to be known around the world as the greatest to ever live. His status as the greatest of all time is up for debate today, but there is no denying his accomplishments.
So, if you call yourself a soccer fan, then you better know who he is. If you aren’t a soccer fan and you find yourself reading these words, then congratulations you are about to see a snapshot of what this guy was all about: goals.
During his career, Pele scored 1281 goals, a number that is hard to fathom. For perspective, practically everyone alive today believes that Lionel Messi and maybe even Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best players to ever live. Those two have scored 412 and 431 goals, respectively, in their careers so far. For the mathematically disinclined that means that Pele scored 438 more goals than Messi and Ronaldo combined. Even though scoring may have been higher when Pele played, and his career lasted an impressive 22 years, 1281 goals is a lot.
It should not surprise you, then, that the top 10 of those 1281 Pele goals are are pretty f***ing amazing:
But, for my money, what’s more impressive is that the top 10 Pele goals are set to a song about Pele himself, and it is unbelievably catchy. Seriously, it’s so catchy that I am actually curious as to why it hasn’t been used in some sort of viral marketing campaign that we all find incredibly annoying.
But back to soccer.
As if the legend of Pele wasn’t great enough, his actual best goal ever was never even recorded. Some call it the best goal of all time, and thanks to the wonders of computer generated graphics and the “infallibility” of hear-say, you can now watch it.
Impressive, no?
Of course, the career of Pele is so much more than goals, as great as Pele’s goals may be. If you have an hour and ten minutes to spare, check out this documentary on Pele and one of his lesser known peers, Garrincha.
Enjoy.
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