Ronaldo Has Been Voted The Greatest Brazilian Footballer Of All Time Ahead Of Pele
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Ronaldo, Pele, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo have been voted the four greatest Brazilian footballers of all time - with 'O Fenomeno' edging out Pele to claim top spot.
The 32-player knockout poll, conducted by football magazine FourFourTwo, saw a spicy Ronaldo vs Pele final. In that match-up, Brazil's 2002 World Cup Golden Boot winner saw off the nation's all-time top scorer in a tight, 60-40 split.
Ronaldo, with his incredible speed and skill for a big man, is seen by many fans as the ultimate No 9. Pele, however, is known as the king of football in Brazil and owns just the three World Cup winners' medals.
Neymar, currently second on Brazil's highest goalscorer list behind Pele, couldn't quite crack the top 10. He was eliminated in the quarter-final stage (but with a high percentage of the vote, earning him 11th place).
The list overall shows the incredible depth of Brazilian talent, which arguably no other nation can match.
Cafu, the only player to have played in three consecutive World Cup finals, is only good enough for seventh spot - and isn't even the highest-placed full-back, as Roberto Carlos bombs forward into fifth.
There is some 'recency bias' as you would expect, with double World Cup winner Garrincha - widely viewed as one of the best players in football history - only making 10th spot, only six places above Gilberto Silva.
In 32nd and last place, Philippe Coutinho only managed 0.8% of the vote in his appearance in the poll. But when you look at the quality of players above him, it's really not so bad for the Barcelona man.
FourFourTwo's full list of results are below.
32. Philippe Coutinho
31. Casemiro
30. David Luiz
29. Dunga
28. Denilson
27. Dida
26. Lucio
25. Leonidis
24. Carlos Alberto
23. Gerson
22. Adriano
21. Roberto Firmino
20. Juninho Pernambucano
19. Falcao
18. Ze Roberto
17. Rivellino
16. Gilberto Silva
15. Zico
14. Marcelo
13. Dani Alves
12. Jairzinho
11. Neymar
10. Garrincha
9. Kaka
8. Romario
7. Cafu
6. Socrates
5. Roberto Carlos
4. Rivaldo
3. Ronaldinho
2. Pele
1. Ronaldo
Let us know whether you agree or disagree in the comments.
All imagery: PA Images
Topics: Ronaldinho, Cafu, Football, Rivaldo, Kaka, Ronaldo, Pele, Roberto Carlos, Brazil
