Who was the player considered to be better than Pele(same era) but injury cut short his career?

Question

I've read Pele's autobiography there is one section where he refers to a player also brazillian who many considered better than Pele or would have been had he not been forced to retire due to a bad injury.I can't remember the players name can anyone help? I know it wasn't Garrincha.

Answer 1

Maybe Garrincha could have been better than Pelé (just imagine!). But he wasn't. Nobody was better than Pelé.

Answer 2

No young striker out of Brazil was better than Pele (in the same era). Anyone that he might've thought was better was probably playing a different postion. The only other forward that I can think of other than Garrincha(who actually played the winger postion) would be Adair, but he's from a generation earlier, the generation that brought Brazil into the world fold.

Be that as it may, the only player out of SouthAmerica better than Pele was MARADONA, keeping in mind that Pele always had good support, was on a good team, or was in a crappy league like the NASL. Whereas Maradona carried the 1986 WC on his shoulders, and afterwards brought Napoli the scudetto and a Uefa Cup tittle during an era when Italian football showcased the best talent in the world...c'mon...Napoli. I'll bet he could've gone to LutonTown and done the same. (No offense to LT)

Answer 3

If it wasn't Garrincha, my best guess would be Zico (Arthur Antunes Coimbra). A very successful player during one or two decades following Pelé's climax, after a severe injury which caused him to be on and off the pitch far too often he moved on to coaching.

Answer 4

his name was garrincha and he was born with his legs bent somewhat inward. (the angel with the bent legs) He could dribble better than anyone because the way his legs were bent inward. he played with pele on the national team and they were a lethal combination. His legs being bent inward caused him many problems with his knees and hamstrings which required surgery and cut his career very short. When he retired he turned into and alcoholic a went bankrupt because he was not the best at organizing money. there is a book that has stuff about him it is called Futebol The Brasilian way.

Answer 5

Amelia's right i think. I saw some old footage of Garrincha at the 56 world cup and he was absolutely unbelievable. He used the fact that one leg was shorter than other to good effect.

Answer 6

Garrincha.

Answer 7

Dean Windass.

Answer 8

no player