Pele vs. Maradona Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Edvaldo Jizídio Neto was the 1958 team mate of Pele better known as Vava. Vava scored twice in the first half of the 1958 final which Brazil won 5-2 against Sweden.

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was also a 1958 team mate of Pele better known as Zagallo and was also the first man to win the World Cup as a player (1958 and 1962) and a coach (1970). He was also a coordinator in 1994.

Manuel Francisco dos Santos better known as Garrincha and was also a 1958 World Cup winner with Pele. He was regarded by many as the greatest Brazilian player of all time, ahead of Pele. Despite this he featured in the first two Brazil World Cup wins of 1958 and 1962. After the 1966 finals, in England, he retired from international football.

Answer: Diego Armando Maradona Franco

Both of Maradona's parents were born to unmarried couples which was seen as a sin during the 1930s in Argentina. Diego was the fifth child of his parents who were also unwed. This caused the young Diego to be bullied by his peers. Football was his escape and football gave him the skills to turn those jeers to cheers from his peers.

Answer: Pele scored a hat trick vs. France to be the first player under 18 years of age to score a hat trick

The semi-final pitted the Brazilians against the free scoring French side led by all-time tournament goal scorer Just Fontaine (scored 13 times in 6 matches). Vava had opened the lead, only for Fontaine to level the scores up with only ten minutes on the clock. Brazil led 2-1 at half time thanks to a strike from Didi before Pele took over and created history by scoring a second half hat trick at the age of just 17.

The youngest player to play in a finals is Norman Whiteside (Northern Ireland), vs Yugoslavia, 17 June 1982,17 years, 1 month and 10 days. Pele was the youngest player to play in a final match at 17 years, 8 months and 6 days, Pelé (Brazil), vs Sweden, 29 June 1958.

Answer: Boca Juniors (Argentina)

Maradona was bought by Boca Juniors for £1 million in 1981, a huge fee back at the time. His previous club Argentinos Juniors knew that had a crown jewel and made more money from the transfer than they had earned as a club in the previous ten years. Maradona openly stated that he wanted to play for his boyhood team Boca and was happy to play for them and win the title in his first season.

In 1982, Maradona was bought for a then World record fee of £5m ($7.6m) by Catalan giants Barcelona. During a game vs. Real Madrid (El Clasico) Maradona rounded the Madrid keeper, stopped, waited for a Madrid defender to commit himself, then slotted the ball into the empty goal. For the first time ever, Real Madrid fans stood and applauded a Barcelona player in their stadium such was the skill they had just witnessed.

He later won the Italian title in Napoli which is still many years later the highlight of that club's history. A brief spell at Spanish club Sevilla led to re-signing and ending his career at Newell's Old Boys and Boca Juniors. Sadly his playing career ended in a spate of drug allegations and extra marital affairs.

Answer: Santos

Pele played for Santos from 1956 till 1974. In that time he won just about everything he and Santos played in. He enjoyed scoring goals particularly against Botofago (73 goals scored). He was brought out of retirement to represent the New York Cosmos from 1975-77 in the inaugural MLS competition alongside many of the world's great players such as Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbaur and George Best among others.

Answer: "It was the hand of God"

In hot, humid and dusty conditions at the Mexican Azteca Stadium, Argentina met England in a tough match up between two nations who four years previously had been to war over the small South Atlantic Islands called the Falklands (Malvinas in Argentina).

The British victory further enhanced the desire for Maradona and his team mates to win this game at all costs. After a nervous first half both teams were making few inroads to each others goal areas, but within ten minutes of the restart, history was made.

After 51 minutes, a mix up outside the England penalty area saw Maradona leap to what apparently looked like a headed goal past England keeper Peter Shilton. Immediately all the England players signalled that Maradona had punched the ball in to the goal. To their dismay the Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser gave the goal. Replay after replay has since proven that in fact Maradona had punched the ball in.

He later admitted this act of "cheating" by claiming it was "the hand of God". England were livid and to make matters worse some three minutes later, Maradona collected the ball in the centre area of the field and went on a slalom run through England defenders and last gasp tackles and lunges.

The Argentine captain had in the space of three minutes destroyed the hopes and dreams of every England fan with two of the most incredible goals ever scored in world football. Despite a late England goal, the Argentines hung on and went on to win the cup.

Answer: Three

Cafu was the first player to ever appear in three World Cup final matches. Pele actually only played in the 1958 and 1970 final matches scoring two in the first game (5-2 vs. Sweden) and once vs. Italy in 1970 (4-1 win).

Pele played in the first two matches of the 1962 finals but injury prevented him from playing in the final that year with Brazil beating Czechoslovakia 3-1. In 2007 FIFA stated that because he was part of the squad he was entitled to a medal. Only the players who actually were on the field of play were allowed a medal till this point. So 45 years after the 1962 final, Pele picked up his third winners medal.

Finals are the competition proper (after qualifiers). Final is the last match.

Answer: None

Amazingly, there were five different players who scored in this mouth watering match between two fine sides (Argentina won 3-2). Maradona may not have scored but he totally dominated the midfield with an assist for the winner, scored just six minutes form time by Burracharga.

The final itself was a fantastic show of football skill and speed. The English sounding Jose Brown opened the scoring with a thumping header from a corner which sent Argentina into raptures. Then around the hour mark, the game exploded into life when Argentina took a two goal lead thanks to Valdano, only to see the West Germans cause a huge fight back with goals from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Voller, the latter with just nine minutes to play. Then in the 84th minute Burruchaga appeared to knock the ball a touch too far ahead of him, having made a lung-bursting 40-yard run to get on the end of a sublime first-time pass from Diego Armando Maradona. He took one touch, then another before slotting the ball past the West German keeper and sent Argentina to their second final win in the last three finals. The pass from Maradona is talked about more in Argentina than the actual goal itself.

Answer: 'Escape to Victory'

'Escape to Victory' was a war film based on an Allied Football team playing a 'friendly' against the German national side for propaganda purposes. Max Von Sydow played Major Karl Von Steiner who had been a professional player before the war and saw many ex professionals in his war camp. Once he had spoken to Captain John Colby played by Michael Caine, a game was arranged to be played in Paris. Colby insisted on the best for his squad, more rations, proper boots, kit and shower tokens plus time to train and be left alone to work on tactics. All was well until he demanded he picked the players he wanted which included "great" east European players (all destined for the death camps). Von Steiner realised this was going to be a big deal and said no. With Colby refusing to play the game he was allowed to select his players. They were in no fit state to play after being brought from the worst places known to man. Eventually the team evolved with names like Bobby Moore (who played Terry Brady), Argentine star Osvaldo Ardiles (who played Carlos Rey) and of course Pele himself, who was the character Corporal Luis Fernandez.

Other notable actors in the film were Sylvester Stallone who played in goal despite being poor in ability but had connections with the French Resistance who planned the escape of the squad. I will not spoil it for you so check it out and see how the game went.

Answer: 54%

Decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury, the FIFA greatest player of the 20th century award saw Maradona win the Internet-based poll, garnering 53.6% of the votes against 18.53% for Pelé. This was seen by many as unfair as Maradona had garnered votes from a younger audience who had not seen Pele play. FIFA in their wisdom decided to have a second vote calling it the "Football Family Award" which meant that both Maradona and Pele were equal in greatness and therefore it was declared a draw.