Ouroboros Part II: Conclusion of the Cycle
And so, the year ends, as does the cycle that defined a generation.
“Here ends the war of the gods. Destiny’s hand cannot be stayed.”
I think you’ve heard this story before.
A tale of two sides…warriors doomed to fight each other until death does them part - and even then, death never comes. However, this time I’ll add a bit more context.
The picture above comes from Dissidia Final Fantasy, and it displays the end of the supposedly endless cycle as the god of discord, Chaos, is defeated. The warriors of good, once guided by the fallen goddess of harmony, finally triumph over the warriors of evil, and in the end, the final chess piece is toppled, marking the end of what was once an unending conflict.
All who had fought the grueling war finally got to go home, their lives of battle finally behind them at long last.
Going home, having accomplished everything…wonder how that must feel.
Within a hospital in the state of São Paulo on December 29th of 2022, there was a man who had his thread virtually on the precipice of being cut. After the life he lived, after all that he had accomplished, after all his achievements and misdeeds, he must have wondered if there was anything that he could have done better in his life. Every person in the world will always find ways to undermine what they have accomplished - it is always a hard-wired method of motivating oneself to do better than what they have done yesterday, or even the day before. Destructive, but when it works, it really can be effective.
However, there is another theory.
Instead of thinking what he could have done differently, he must have been thinking of something else as he drew his last few breaths.
Maybe…he simply wanted to go home and reunite with an old friend long gone.
Pele versus Maradona.
A tale as old as time.
Before Messi and Ronaldo, this was the Messi vs Ronaldo of an older generation’s time, but this rivalry was so influential that it even lived within the minds and hearts of the present generation. People could never truly decide who was the better player, because both players did so much during their active years on the pitch. However, if one were to look at the stats and lists of accolades at face-value, it seems like it would be obvious on who was the better player back in the day.
Maradona won a World Cup? Well, Pele won three.
Maradona and Pele, shockingly, had never won a Ballon d’Or due to the award only being available to European players until 1995, when Liberian legend George Weah won it, making him the first African player to ever win it.
Maradona had 48 goals from 116 appearances for Argentina. 311 goals from 589 appearances in club football.
Meanwhile, Pele rocked up with 77 goals from 92 appearances for Brazil. 643 goals in 659 appearances for Santos. Not just club football in general, 643 goals for just one club alone. In the twilight years of his career, he would move to the New York Cosmos, where he continued playing from the 1975 season all the way to 1977, where he scored 66 goals in 107 appearances.
All things considered, surely Pele should be deemed the superior player, right?
Well, sometimes it is best to not look at things through just numbers and words. There is always more to stats than meets the eye.
Maradona, being an attacking midfielder, meant that he was not going to get that many goals compared to someone like Pele, who was a forward. Pele’s job was to get the ball to the goal - Maradona’s job was to make sure someone CAN get the ball to the goal, if not himself.
With that in mind, the fact that Maradona could get 311 goals from 589 club appearances was very impressive. Now, as an attacking midfielder, it meant that having assists was equally important to having goals - so how many did Maradona have throughout his career?
208 assists. If we were to include his international appearances and assists, it meant that Maradona had 358 goals and 259 assists (617 G/A) in 705 appearances. For an attacking midfielder, those are insane numbers to be producing.
So, with all things considered, does this mean that Pele had lesser assists, and thus, his overall goalscoring record should be seen as expected?
Well, you would be proven surprisingly wrong.
In October, Lionel Messi had overtaken the Brazilian icon in terms of goals and assists, with Messi registering a monumental 1,127 goal contributions (G/A) at the time, surpassing Pele’s official 1,126.
This meant that Pele’s assist count was 343. How do you even manage that as a forward? Well, the thing is that the term ‘forward’ does not explain the whole story. Some say he was a striker. Some believe that he was an inside forward - the playmaking position, essentially.
If you were to ask me, I personally believe he was the latter choice - I find it incredibly hard to believe that he was able to rack up 343 assists as a striker or even a winger, if he had played in that position at all. You’d have to be one hell of a playmaker for you to have this many assists throughout your entire playing career. It turns out Pele was just that ‘hell of a player’.
Right, so here’s the thing.
I’ve been going on and on about the rivalry between Pele and Maradona. Comparing their numbers, talking about their positions. Both of them displayed the foundation of a strong rivalry - a rivalry so powerful that it bled past their respective generation and lurched towards the modern generation. Us.
And yet, neither of them ever faced each other on the pitch.
That’s right - despite me saying everything that needed to be said about their achievements, they never went up against each other directly.
So why is this rivalry on par with Messi vs Ronaldo when the people who watched them play never even got to see them play against each other at least once?
Well, let us try to look at this from a different angle.
This was not a rivalry on the pitch, but rather, a rivalry off it. A rivalry which would define how football would be played in the future.
If you were to look at the Messi vs Ronaldo debate, many of their fans will look to the goals, assists, individual and team accomplishments, the team that they were currently playing for and how they were currently performing, so on so forth. Pretty standard and reasonable barometer for deciding who was the better player.
But in Pele and Maradona’s rivalry, it was not just about the trophies, goals or assists. That was only part of the equation. It was about redefining a legacy. Pele’s legacy inspired a generation because of his impact on the beautiful game - Maradona sought to topple that legacy down and take its place.
Say what you want about Pele’s role in the Brazilian national team, but you cannot deny the overall quality of the Brazilian national team during his time. Brazil was THE team to be - their poise, stature, and dominance on the international stage could not be more understated during their peak years. Garrincha, Waldyr Pereira, Gilmar, Djalma Santos…many of these players were considered to be the greatest players of their time in their respective positions, if not one of the greatest of all time. That’s how stacked the Brazilian team was - Pele was a jewel in a shining crown that radiated across the entire footballing sphere.
Can you really say the same thing about Argentina during Diego Maradona’s time?
Now, I am not in any way saying that the Argentines during Maradona’s time were bad players, but when you compare them to the star-studded legends that were part of the Seleção Canarinho, it definitely does feel like an unimaginable rift in quality.
Still, that did not stop the Argentinian team from winning the World Cup in 1986, when they beat West Germany 3-2 in the final. Of course, in true World Cup fashion, there was controversy in the road to the final, and I think we all know what that controversy was, at that fated semi-final against the Three Lions. We never got to see it in person, but we all knew it as an act of God.
Well, according to him, anyway.
This Diego Maradona story involving Argentina really does sound familiar, doesn’t it? A group of players who would do anything to ensure that their star player, a man that represented an entire nation, would bring their country into the spotlight.
But enough about that.
Really, if we want to talk about the rivalry between Pele and Maradona, we have to look at the rivalry that was birthed thanks to their illustrious careers. It is easy to compare them based on the numbers. Based on the achievements. But frankly, it was much more than that. It was a matter of legacy. Maradona wanted to revolutionize the playmaking role, to shape it in his own dogged, determination-fueled image. Pele thought he revolutionized the role himself, with the role expected to have a degree of poise, skill and flawless class.
It was a rivalry that influenced more than just their respective generation, since it ended up shaping a new generation of players, who would take on the playmaking mantle whilst idolizing the two men who defined a football staple that would be enjoyed for years, even decades.
Without Maradona, there would be no Messi. Without Pele, there would be no Neymar. Surely that cannot be disputed, right?
In this rivalry, there are no losers. Only winners. The proof is right there.
Pele’s awe-inspiring career inspired future Brazilian teams to possess sheer talent and an unmistakable style that no other nation can truly replicate without fail. Legs that dance and bamboozle opposition players, shots that are as lethal as they are splendorous, and most important of all, a display of mesmerizing magic that truly puts ‘beautiful’ in ‘the beautiful game’.
Samba? That’s in their middle names. Their DNA. Their very soul.
As for Maradona, he inspired future Argentinian teams to possess sheer grit and tenacity - talent is one thing. Character is another. And when you live in a country where there standard of life is growing more difficult by the day, you needed to have a sharp conscience. You had to be forged under the hottest of flames, shaped by the toughest of hammers, and when it is all said and done, all you have left is a weapon that can withstand a thousand suns. A weapon that can wield the rage, frustration, agony, and exasperation of 45.81 million citizens.
A team that can dish out the hurt in unimaginably heartbreaking manners when anyone dares to talk or even dream of looking down on them.
It is a tale of two cities, really.
One forged of vibrance, another forged of aggression.
I remember believing that Messi vs Ronaldo was the rivalry that defined a generation - a rivalry that we might never see a definitive victor for. While I still believe that to be the case, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a rivalry that defined a generation and decided the future of another, have we?
In the end, it was a rivalry that birthed a wonderful balance in the footballing world - long may that balance be maintained.
When Maradona passed away in 2020, Pele had this to say:
“What sad news. I lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to family members. One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky,”
Pele must have been thinking of that on his deathbed.
As the football world mourns his passing, I personally think we should look back at the quote he said - perhaps that should give the people some form of comfort, even if it may not seem very significant.
May he rest in peace, and may he play ball in the sky.
With the one rival he can call…
…a friend.
- Logeenth Rao