Beckham vs Pele in the USA

[Crazysah]

Do you think Beckham can do better than what Pele did when he was in the USA?

[User6060]

Beckham is a has been already imo.

[Brodel]

I'm not sure what Peles goal scoring record etc was like at the Cosmos but I think that Beckham will be good for the MLSas a whole, America is probably more interested in football now than it was then and with his famous wife, brands hunting for his name and his soccer academies I think that he will make a greater success out of the experience as a whole than Pele did.

[snyper]

tha fact that some one would mention the great Pele and that vagina in the same sentence is an insult to football.

This is no offence to the poster because the media has a way of hyping a one trick wonder.

Ivote Beckham all the same because of the Media Punching power he has.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Beckham is a has been already imo.

The Toronto Star wrote a scathing report saying that Beckham wasn't the sharpest tack in the drawer. They said that he doesn't seem to get it that he was hired as a pretty poster boy for soccer and not because they expect him to do much for the team.

Edit: I'm still voting for Beckham in this poll purely for marketing reasons. I never even heard that Pele played soccer in the US. So, as far as I am concerned, Pele had zero effect. At least when the Beckham decision was annouced, all the LA Galaxy games vs Toronto FC sold out. That has as much to do with Posh Spice as it has to do with sports but, oh well, you take what attention you can get.

Edited January 15, 2007 by Fred Derf

[DreAming in DigITal]

Do you think Beckham can do better than what Pele did when he was in the USA?

What exactly do you mean when you are asking this? Are you asking if he will score more goals and perform better? Or are you asking if he will help grow the sport better?

Everyone knows there is no way Beckham is a better player than Pele...but I do think he is much much much more marketable to the public than Pele. I stated those reasons on the other thread...basically his location (L.A.), his wife, his connections in Hollywood, and his looks will make for a great marketing combination. So its possible he is better for the growth of Soccer than Pele.

[Lingwo]

Pele is an actual legend who was excellent at the sport, a lot like George Best. Beckham is just a corporate ###### who sold out to the media very early in his career which now has ultimately killed his career early.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Pele is an actual legend who was excellent at the sport, a lot like George Best. Beckham is just a corporate ###### who sold out to the media very early in his career which now has ultimately killed his career early.

That may be true but did Pele's team sell out all of their games?

Without Beckham, soccer is a kid's sport in North America.

Specifically in Toronto we care about Hockey first, then Baseball, then Basketball, then Football (Canada or US), then Lacrosse, then Golf, then Soccer and then Cricket (presumably Auto Racing would be next after Cricket but it isn't listed). I'm going be the order they are listed on the Toronto Star Newspaper (which has the highest circulation in Canada).

If Soccer has a chance of overtaking Golf and Lacrosse then it needs marketing tools like Beckham. If he performs half-decently on the field then great. He doesn't need to be "the man" just "the poster boy".

Edited January 15, 2007 by Fred Derf

[xp1ode]

are we talking about sold out games or are we talking about actual skills here? Becuase if it is about skills that right there is a no brainer. Pele will just destroy this guy. But if we are talking about media hype then there is no doubt that this once so called "best payed player" in soccer will actually look prettier in the camera and have alot of lil girl fans.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

are we talking about sold out games or are we talking about actual skills here? Becuase if it is about skills that right there is a no brainer. Pele will just destroy this guy. But if we are talking about media hype then there is no doubt that this once so called "best payed player" in soccer will actually look prettier in the camera and have alot of lil girl fans.

Without Beckham, soccer isn't really considered a sport in the United States.

[snyper]

That may be true but did Pele's team sell out all of their games?

<snipp>.

The fact is that becks is a poster boy. He will make loads of money in america but america / canada has no interest in soccer. They remain oblivious to the sport.

I once remember an american comedian, of african origin that once said "meah black ppl dont play soccer"

I shuddered in her ignorance.

I wonder did she ever hear of a small land mass called Africa?

They are basically just 2 separate markets..North America and the rest of the world.

America likes the grid iron, and men in streachy pants play fighting.

The rest of the world likes loves Soccer.

The irish like Drinking.

[giga Veteran]

Beckham and Pele in the same sentence. :|

[Fred Derf Veteran]

The fact is that becks is a poster boy. He will make loads of money in america but america / canada has no interest in soccer. They remain oblivious to the sport.

Without Beckham to bring people into the stadiums and without Beckham to get the plush TV contracts, however, soccer has no chance of ever catching on as a sport in the US. Soccer (and Cricket) have been increasing their profile in Toronto for the last decade or so but that has to do with South Asian immigration for the most part.

[DreAming in DigITal]

I absolutely think soccer can catch on in America if it is marketed correctly. If they try to line the game up against the NFL (the guys who are "play fighting") then it would be crushed within a season or two. But if they can arrange the schedule against another sport then it may fair better. Baseball season may be a good time to play since part of their season is pretty low key in the sports world.

It seems to me that soccer is already growing in the US...especially since the World Cup. The problem is that alot of people here aren't exposed to it enough. It can and will grow if they can expose the public to the skill level of so many European players.

I don't really think that Americans will be competitive on the World scene anytime soon because our best athletes are raised playing a wide variety of sports, and soccer really doesn't tend to be one of them though.

[Rappy Veteran]

Why did I think when reading the title that Beckham was challenging Pele to a fight? :laugh:

I think Beckham will be a bigger commercial success but not as good as Pele playing wise.

[Martyn]

Think this is a poo poll to be honest, so I null voted.

How are we going to judge who is going to be the most "successful"? In footballing terms there are not many people who have ever been able to touch Pele, perhaps only George Best and Diego Maradona. Commercially though, not many people have been able to touch David Beckham during his career, he is probably the most well known footballer in the world.

I think Beckham can change football in America for the better, he seems to have a genuine passion for doing so anyway as he already has some academies over there. His first step is getting the people of America to refer to the great sport by it's proper name of "football", but I have seen in some of his live interviews he is already calling it "soccer", I do not know how he can do that without cringing.

[ZiGGA]

Beckham IS a good footballer and it just so happens that he's a Media Magnet, the guy has something about him that makes the public want to know about so I think he will prove a success in the States. I wouldn't really want to put Beckham in comparison to Pele, as for one I have no clue how successful Pele was at that time. Both players are good ambassadors though and obviously want the best for the game of football.

Maybe Beckhams first duty could be to get all Americans to start calling it by it's original term Football. And not Soccer. :D

[DreAming in DigITal]

Think this is a poo poll to be honest, so I null voted.

How are we going to judge who is going to be the most "successful"? In footballing terms there are not many people who have ever been able to touch Pele, perhaps only George Best and Diego Maradona. Commercially though, not many people have been able to touch David Beckham during his career, he is probably the most well known footballer in the world.

I think Beckham can change football in America for the better, he seems to have a genuine passion for doing so anyway as he already has some academies over there. His first step is getting the people of America to refer to the great sport by it's proper name of "football", but I have seen in some of his live interviews he is already calling it "soccer", I do not know how he can do that without cringing.

I wouldn't push it....getting the sport to gain popularity is hard enough...getting Americans to call it football will be impossible. You guys made up the word "soccer" anyways so its your fault :p

btw...Go Liverpool!

[elONEam]

Beckham can do better as a brand in the US, he will never play football as well as Pele; he was never in the same league.

[Tomo]

Looks like Beckham is the smart one here, he's coming to the end of his career and yet he is getting paid more money than he ever did at Man Utd or Real Madrid.

Beckham may not be in the same league as Pele, not many players are except maybe George Best or Eusebio but he will do alot to promote Football in the USA which can only be a good thing. On the pitch he is still a class act and the MLS players will have a tough time against him.

[sundayx Veteran]

tha fact that some one would mention the great Pele and that vagina in the same sentence is an insult to football.

QFT

[5Horizons]

Just wondering, but why would anyone care if football is promoted in the United States or not? :p

[Andy07]

its an insult to Pele putting Beckham on the same level as him :laugh:

[Shibby]

As Milan Mandaric pointed out in the papers recently taking big name football players to the USA will not work, how does he now? he done it himself

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Mandaric

So beckham will produce some hype but will soon die down and football will as normal as ever over in the states

[Guest]

We're comparing David Beckham to Pele?

:x