Analysis: Leônidas da Silva: ‘I was good, but Pelé is better’

The article below was originally published on October 21, 1962 and republished in Pelé’s special notebook of a thousand goals, on November 20, 1969.

In any sector of human activities —in literature, science, music or sports— it has always been possible to make comparisons between exponential figures, between various personalities who have clearly stood out in their field of action.

In football, this only happened until the appearance of Pelé. In a country that has always produced exceptional footballers, superiority of such a nature is astonishing.

Anyone interested in football will remember how much time was spent in endless discussions to name the greatest Brazilian scorer before the appearance of Pelé: Neco, Friedenrerich, Teleco, Leônidas, Ademir, Heleno, Valdemar de Brito, they all had their defenders. . Each had personal skills capable of adding new features to the Brazilian way of playing football.

Friedenreich was the genius of improvisation and speed; Teleco was the inventor of the turn; Leonidas, the creator of the bicycle. This and Fried were the ones who disputed the title of best striker in Brazil. In the opinion of most experts and lovers of all times, Pelé ended the discussion.

Valdemar de Brito, a top player in the past, in Brazil and Argentina, was the discoverer of Pelé. He saw the boy training in Bauru, in a youth team, and soon noticed exceptional qualities in him. He took him to Santos because, as he would later say, the staff at Vila Belmiro was, at the time, what offered the best conditions for taking advantage of the qualities of the embryonic star player.

This fact would change the history of a club and completely alter the panorama of football in São Paulo. But, for now, what we want is to remember Valdemar’s considerations around Pelé’s qualities. He said, in an interview for a radio or newspaper: “Everything that I learned and perfected in my long years of football, Pelé already knew before starting to play”.

This definitive statement would later be reinforced by a statement by Leônidas: “I was good, but Pelé is much better”.

In unscientific language, we would say that Pelé is what could be called an iron personality, a psychological fortress, harmonious and balanced in all its compartments. The clearest proof of this balance is the fact that he has not been affected by the oppressive and overwhelming popularity he enjoys.

To use more football terms, it is almost unbelievable that this exceptional athlete is absolutely averse to the famous “mask”, so frequent among young footballers.

What does Pelé do to be an unusual player? On the field, he is simply a superman. Consecrated stars turn into children in front of a giant, when they face him. It seems that even opponents have learned to accept the indisputable superiority, because they know that he has abnormal predicates.

Some of them: quick and perfect reflexes, unbeatable speed, powerful and accurate shots with both feet, fatal jump and header for opposing goalkeepers, serenity and vision of plays that allow you to make deadly passes to a teammate placed at any distance. And, above all, the dread that his presence instills in any opponent, a factor he knows how to take full advantage of.

With the acquisition of the star, Santos had a vertiginous rise, in the technical and financial sectors. Praise the skill of the club’s directors, who knew how to resist the enormous difficulties that, paradoxically, were created with the presence of Pelé in their team.

Few people believed that Santos would be able to cope with the fabulous monetary proposals made to the player for him to transfer to Europe. On the other hand, the standard of wages rose astronomically, reaching even other associations.

Playing for Santos became the ultimate aspiration of the so-called “snakes” of our football. To all this, the club managed to resist with serenity, as if making an investment for the future. But, in a short time, it was demonstrated that this policy was the most correct, until today, followed by a Brazilian club.

Winning titles after titles, Santos surpassed Real Madrid in terms of international projection, and today it demands what it wants to show off anywhere in the world.