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Whenever the debate of "who is the Greatest Of All Time(G.O.A.T.)?" has arisen, we have always come across two names consistently for the last decade - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, before them, we have had several players who were the best of their generations and are strong contenders for GOAT. The list of great footballers is a long one. That is why this sport is so popular across continents. However, when it comes to the debate of GOAT, we have Pele from Brazil, Diego Maradona from Argentina, Johan Cruyff from the Netherlands (then Holland), Alfredo Di Stefano from Spain as the prime nominees along with the LM10 and CR7.
Let's analyze the situations all these players were in and their stats across club and country.
1. Pele
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He was active from 1956 to 1977 in professional football. He played in 638 games for Santos scoring 619 goals and then appeared for New York Cosmos in 56 games scoring 31 goals. For Brazil, he appeared in 92 games scoring 77 goals. Overall he scored 1281 times in 1323 games for club and country.
Most of the time he appeared in Brazil and then moved to New York. In World Cup's he had got a support of strong national squad all the time. In 1958 in the semifinals, when France was down to 10 men, then only Brazil got the floodgates opened. In 1962, despite him scoring only 1 goal in the entire tournament he was able to lift the World Cup. And in 1970 he scored 4 goals in total but only 1 in the knockouts, in finals. These stats suggest that Pele was indeed part of a near invincible squad where there were others present in the squad to score. The era of Brazilian Dominance.
2. Diego Maradona
Maradona was active from 1976 to 1997. He had appeared for various clubs during this period. Notably, he appeared for Argentinos Juniors in 167 games scoring 119 goals. For Napoli, he appeared in 188 games scoring 81 goals. He retired with Boca Juniors. He had appeared for Barcelona across 2 seasons in 36 games scoring 22 times. Overall he scored 311 times in 592 games for club and country. For Argentina, he appeared in 91 games scoring 34 times.
In 1982 World Cup he didn't perform to the expectation. In 1986, he won the World cup with his infamous "Hand of God" goal paving the way through. In 1990 he captained Argentina but failed to make a mark. And in 1994 he had to depart due to a failed drug test. Though he is one of the best of his generation, stats and situations don't put him in the pole position to be GOAT.
3. Johan Cruyff
Three-time Ballon d'Or winner is the next in this list. He was active from 1964 to 1984. In this period his most notable appearances are with Ajax and Barcelona. For Ajax, he appeared in 364 games scoring 266 goals and for Barcelona, he appeared in 227 games scoring 85 goals. For Netherlands he appeared in 48 games scoring 33 times. Overall he played in 704 games scoring 392 times for club and country. (Source: https://www.worldofjohancruyff.com/cruyff/cruyff-as-a-player/)
He ran into won the player of the tournament in 1974. Netherlands finished runners-up in the tournament. Though Johan played excellent to won the player of the tournament but credit goes to the Total football played by the entire team. In this type of football players switch their positions and need to adjust accordingly. Without having a strong squad it would not have been possible to adapt the system. This suggests that the World cup run was more due to the team then Johan alone.
4. Alfredo Di Stefano
This Spanish Legend is an Argentine by Birth and had represented Argentina in only 6 games. He also played for Columbia in 4 games. His major international stint is with Spain for whom he played 31 games scoring 23 goals.
He was active from 1945 to 1966 in senior football career. In club football he remained most active for Real Madrid and Millonarios. He appeared in 242 games for Madrid scoring 216 times and in 101 games for Millonarios scoring 90 times. Overall he played 521 games and scored 376 goals for club and country. Luck didn't favored this great to play in World Cups ever with any one of the National teams. Though he had won 5 European Cups.
5. Lionel Messi
The Little Magician of this decade and 5 times Ballon d'Or winner is active since 2005 in senior professional football. He has appeared for Barcelona in 418 games scoring 383 times in La Liga. He has not represented any other clubs. For Argentina he has played in 128 games and has scored 65 times. Overall he has scored 552 goals in 637 appearances for club and country. Also he has 239 assists to his name.
For Argentina he has appeared in 4 World Cups with his best run came in the year 2014 where he led the national team to finals and won the player of the tournament. However, Argentina has always been a team with talented Individuals but lack of cohesiveness that resulted in failures in the final frontier for them. After frustrations in Copa America in the year 2016 Messi took retirement from International football eventually returning with a huge appeal from fans across the world and "Don't go, Leo" campaign in Argentina.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo
CR7 the five time Ballon d'Or winner and winner of 5 Champions League is active since 2003. He has appeared for Sporting CP in Portugal, Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain and now moved to Juventus in Italy. Notably, so far he has amassed 84 goals for Manchester United in Premier League in 196 appearances, 311 Goals for Real Madrid in La Liga in 292 appearances. He is also the all time top scorer of Champions League with 120 strikes in 153 appearances. Overall he has scored 573 times in 763 games. He also has 200 assists to his name.
For Portugal he has appeared in 154 games scoring 85 goals. He has also featured in 4 World Cups. His best is 4th placed finish in 2006 World Cup. However, when we have a look into the squads of all the nominees, Cristiano has the weakest team all together with Portugal. He still has managed to sail his team through in 2016 Euro Cup.
7. The Conclusion
When we look into the stats of Pele, it seems that he is above all in every aspects. However, a micro observation tells us that in the Brazilian League, there was not enough competition as it is present in today's world in Europe's top 5 leagues. With video analysis of each player it is hard to maintain the scoring momentum game after game for all the players.
Further Pele has played many exhibition matches, as Government of Brazil declared him a National treasure and ensured more matches to keep him away from lucrative offers outside Brazil.
Maradona though was good but not good enough to be placed alongside Pele, However, FIFA had other ideas. In 2000. FIFA declared Pele as "The Greatest Player of the Game" and Maradona as Player of the Century (People's Choice).
Johan Cruyff had his more than 50 percent career with Ajax, a weaker league again. Di Stefano is great but his lack of appearances in any finals of international tournament put a question mark for the GOAT credibility.
Messi is an awesome player but he is not a tough mentality at the final frontier. Also he has been constantly supported by a strong team all together for club and country both. Still he has not managed a Cup with the national team yet. He had failed to inspire a nation. He though showed temperament to take Argentina to World Cup 2018 by scoring hat trick in a do or die match against Ecuador. But when it comes to success as an Individual for Messi, most of it is due to the Tiki Taka system of play adopted and mastered by the players at the start of the decade. His skills acted as an engine to that system for final results.
Messi is facing fierce competition from Cristiano Ronaldo, the final name in the list. The stats suggests he is at par with all the nominees and a level up when it comes to Champions League. In World Cup he had not got enough support from his team mates to progress to a significant level. However, the way he has developed himself it is a matter of time he could overtake all the above nominees to lay claim on the GOAT.
When Portugal was reeling to qualify for the World Cups in 2014 against Sweden, he single handedly took Portugal to Brazil 2014. When Wolfsburg threatened Madrid for an early exit in the Champions League, he vowed and showcased what he is capable of. When Euro looked out of reach in the group stages itself, he took Portugal to the final with his brilliance match after match.
Messi and Ronaldo are not finished yet and already at the levels of Pele and Maradona. So there is a huge chance for one of them to become greatest of all time. With age on his side, Messi has an upper hand. But at the moment, Cristiano is on the driver's seat.
Ultimately, as we have the famous quote from Batman Begins', "It's not who you are underneath, what you do, defines you". After all his achievements, now Cristiano has shown the guts to challenge Italy and has embarked on a journey to redefine himself. Messi has been devoid of competition in Ronaldo as well as an avenger in Iniesta. Stage set, curtains are about to be raised...
For Messi and Ronaldo I would say:
The Inspiration of Generations. The Champions of Champions'. All eyes waiting!!!
The Mother of All Seasons' starts...
