Diego Marradona was voted higher than Pele
 

in FiFA player of the century, he won the poll, then why did FIFA decide to make both players as joint winners when Marradona won that poll? Maradona is hundred times better player than Pele ever was.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Player_of_the_Century

There are 2 different awards, the "FIFA public vote" and the "FIFA officials choice". They decided the second one dur to the controversial with Maradona winning. We still don't know why they have done it.

Maradona a hundred times better player than Pele? Give me a break!

I think Maradona was better too. Much of the hype surrounding Pele is a bit of a sham. Take his 1000 goals for instance. To score 1000 goals he had to be banging 40 goals a season for about 15 season. Not a chance.

The proper figure is something like 600 goals but he includes so many goals scored in meaningless games to bump it up.

Both of them were obviously excellent players, to say one is 100 times better than the other is foolish.

I agree they were both excellent. I think Zidane should be up there too.

Zidane is in the top10 it's a good thing, he deserves it a lot.

Same here.Zidane's probably the most gifted player of the last couple of decades.

Garrincha is well up there for me and all.Considering the defects in his legs and spine it's a surprise how good he was.

I'm surprised Ronaldo is so high up.

Same here, from the last 2-3 years, he's not on the top anymore but I guess it's related to what he has done at the end of the 90's.

He is, what he has done is amazing. And he grew up in Marseille, where I live, it's not far from my house, his face is printed on a big building wall, he's a star everywhere he goes.

I'm happy Van Basten is so high up. He's the most complete striker I've ever seen.

Sorry Dan but I'd go with Maradona. He played in a time when the game was much more competitive and the defenders were actually quality. He took a nobody team like Napoli to win the best cups, and serie A before Premiership was known to be the hardest league in the world, and basically won the world cup for an average Argentina, almost won it in Italia90. Mrradona's goals were more created himself, but Pele's goals were more assisted than created. Pele came at a time where Brazil were already the best team sarrounded by players and legends as good as him. pele never came to europe to test himself, he played in a least competitive league games where goals he scroed against were very average teams.

I think Dan_ disagrees that Maradona is 100 times better. Even though I too think Maradona was a better player, I can see where he's coming from.

Yes he deserves it too. I think the top10 is quite stunning, all of them deserves to be in, even if the ranking can be debated.

My top 5 fave players

1. Marradona
2. Eric cantona (absolutely adroed him, he was feared by everyone on pitch)
3.Zinadine Zidane
4. Cruyff
5.france beckenbauer

Eric Cantona is hilarious !!!! He got such a strong character, speaks his mind loudly and provocates people all the time. When he's on a french tv show, the ratings break their highs lol

Where did Cantona come in the poll? Surely he made the top 20 but he never really did it at international level did he?

I never saw Pele play, so it is difficult to pick him as the best over Maradona.

Someone who played against Maradona in 1986 said once that Pele was the better team player but Maradona had more individual talent. Don't know if that is true or not.

He would of done it in an international level, but Cantona was banned from the international team due to his high voilent temper, he was kicked out from virtually all the teams in france he played for, but lets not forget Cantona was one of the reasons an average leads utd side got their first championship in 1991/1992 season, then he got Manchester United to cup glory, thats where Alex Ferguson major success began at the club when he signed Cantona. I think a lot of people have forgotten about Cantona.

I watch 1970 World cup semi final Brazil played against England, he played well but nothing as creative and entertaining as the legend Marradona, Marradona was a one-man team, when Argentina won it in 1986, he was the only star in the side, other players were not known that well. Pele already had best players in the squad when he won it for Brazil, Pele is just like Ruud Van Nistelrooy who just scored many goals, but marradona was in a league of his own.

Pele is a bit better than Van Nistelrooy

Take this



And this - Even though he missed.



Also, Pele played at a time when the now traditional forward/striker was still to be defined. Pele was one of the players who defined the position. That's a bit more than Van Nistelrooy has done.

I remember what a class player he was in his younger days but then he ended up getting far too comfortable with life at Real Madrid and just piled on the weight.With the added weight and injuries, he's well and truly lost his pace and is just a lazy striker with the ability to poach goals.

I'd possibly go with Maradona too but it's obviously a close call.I only disagreed with the assertion that Diego was 100 times the player that Pele was.You don't get the type of reputation that Pele's got without being a very complete player, he was so much more than just a goalscorer.