Sorry to disrupt this brilliant back and fourth about who is the better player between pepe or misty but tbh pele's era was like that because of several reasons.
based on 70 years of footballing evolution and having access to all possible information from the previous eras included but not limited to:
- tactical (why did brasil fail in '82 with such talent, why england style sucks, why pressing is good, etc)
- technical (how to do a rabona, chilena, etc)
- technological (how to do X)
- nutrition related (what when and how much to eat)
- financial (the game is now >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> back then in terms of $$$)
- training (what muscles to train, interval training, what position best suits me, how to gain lateral quickness)
- medical (high quality steroids, easier to control drug/alchol addictions)
it's no wonder misty or neymar would look like gods 70 years ago. Without a time machine it's also impossible and pointless. You can't compare a dude outside of his environment. You put misty in the 60s and in 10 years a whole new generation of players would learn all his tricks, the cute fast dribbling style, the barcelona cuts, the skills, everything tbh, how to defend against such a player. In another 10 tactics would also generally improve towards pressing a team with a player like messi to deny the ball. Like anything else the game is quite alive and nobody stays on top without constant adaptation.
Imo the game has also regressed:
- toughness (compare '78 finals with '14 finals
). A bunch of gots these days I tell you.
- mental (access to feminist psychologists, -on-call-analtherapist vs s learning football on the street or playing in future/past World War encounters)
- too much exposure, no time for the players to disconnect.
- loyalty and effort : too much money and too many sellouts have eroded what football is really about
: winning as a team. When players go to their NT they don't give it all, it's just another day at the office.
- fan leniency on flopping -> ty game.
I will tell you one thing that is lost these days, the true killer instinct/seize the moment superstar, like dad killer, like maradroga, like zidane. This lack of street toughness is making all this new talent stagnate in the face of greatness. These old s knew to take the punches head on and to grab a game by the throat in the face of pressure. You wouldn't hear zidane saying "the ball is too far back, xavi pls bring it
". These new soft betas need perfect conditions and they create a ing circus everytime goes bad (kome, lebeta, misty, penaldo, neymar, bra7il). When they start getting older they finally start to man up but they never peak athletically as men. There is no big difference in natural talent imo, just benefits of increased game training/tactical/exposure/financial/etc experience, and yes, 20, 30, 50 or 70 years of game evolution will definately make them better if compared raw, but maradona with today's training would be absolutely crazy. Imagine this without his drug addiction and with proper modern training from age 12.