No one doubts the greatness of Pele, but the exact number of goals he scored in his career. In fact, that figure will be the subject of an eternal debate.
Pelé used to say that one of the reasons why he should be considered the best soccer player in history was because of his feat of scoring more than 1,000 goals. But many dispute that figure, because Pelé included in it the goals scored in friendly matches, including some against amateur teams.
The legendary footballer, the only winner of three World Cups, passed away on Thursday. He was 82 years old.
Many of his goals came at a time when it was not so easy to record game statistics. There are not even movies or videos of several of those many.
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There is also a discrepancy in the number of games he played. The amount varies according to the source.
Pelé said that he was the leading scorer in all of history, with 1,283 goals in 1,366 games.
To continuation, a glance to the different versions on the goleadora bill of “O King”.
OFFICIAL MATCHES
If only the goals in these games are taken into account, Pelé’s mark was considerably lower, regardless of the source, at less than 800.
This would leave it below Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Romario and Josef Bicanwho played before Pele’s time.
With the Brazilian team, Pelé scored a total of 95 goals, but 18 were against clubs or teams in games that are not usually included in official statistics now.
Another 34 goals came in friendly matches against other teams.
CONTROVERSIAL MATCHES
Pelé played almost 550 unofficial matches, partly because his club Saints he made a fortune playing exhibition matches and touring the world with his fabulous star.
Some of crack’s goal lists include friendly and exhibition matches against low-level opponents.
He scored against U23 teams, national teams, regional teams and even in some military events while serving in the Brazilian Army.
His rivals included the Saudi Arabia under-23 team, the Uruguayan armed forces and the Rio de Janeiro sports union.
Diego Maradona, the Argentine star, was among those who reproached Pelé for his controversial goal tally.
“Who did you score them against?”he asked years ago on a TV show. “Your nephews in the backyard?”
In total, it is believed that more than 500 of Pele’s goals came in unofficial matches.
GUINNESS
The Guinness World Records organization recognizes Pelé 1,279 goals in 1,363 games.
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He adds that the footballer scored more goals in “special appearances” after concluding his degree, without giving details.
Pelé played few celebratory games after his official retirement in 1977. That year, in his farewell game, he played half a game with Santos and half with the New York Cosmos, his last club.
FIFA
Soccer’s governing body credits Pelé with 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches, two more than Guinness in the same number of matches.
The reason for the discrepancy is not clear, since no entity provides a detailed list of goals and matches.
FIFA adds that Pelé scored more than 100 goals in one season, twice. He managed 127 in 1959 and 110 in 1961.
SAINTS
Santos also mentions that Pelé scored 1,281 goals, but in 1,365 games. He claims that 1,091 of those goals were scored with the Brazilian club.
According to the team, the star scored 106 times in the 1965 season.
STATISTICAL FOUNDATION
Even the website of the statistical organization RSSSF, arguably the most accurate source of soccer data, lists different totals for Pele’s goals.
He points out that he got 1,284 in 1,375 games, limiting his total in official matches to 769.
The site emphasizes that Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading scorer in official matches, with 817 goals, followed by Lionel Messi, with 771.
OTHER GREAT SCORERS
If the goals in unofficial matches are taken into account, Pelé is not the only one who has achieved more than 1,000.
Bican, who played for Austria and the Czech Republic, tops some lists with more than 1,400 goals, followed by Brazilian Arthur Friedenreich.
Guinness mentions Friedenreich, who played in the early 20th century. He mentions that “He scored an undocumented figure of 1,329 goals” andn a career of 26 years.
Source: AP
Source: Gestion
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