FISHMAN PELE, LIONEL MESSI, AND MORE THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK PELE, LIONEL MESSI, AND MORE JON M. FISHMAN Lerner Publications Minneapolis SCORE BIG with sports fans, reluctant readers, and report writers! Lerner Sports is a database of high-interest LERNER SPORTS FEATURES: biographies profiling notable sports superstars. Keyword search Packed with fascinating facts, these bios Topic navigation menus explore the backgrounds, career-defining Fast facts moments, and everyday lives of popular Related bio suggestions to encourage more reading athletes. Lerner Sports is perfect for young Admin view of reader statistics readers developing research skills or looking Fresh content updated regularly for exciting sports content. and more! Visit LernerSports.com for a free trial! MK966-0818 (Lerner Sports Ad).indd 1 11/27/18 1:32 PM Copyright © 2020 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com. Main body text set in Aptifer Sans LT Pro. Typeface provided by Linotype AG. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Fishman, Jon M., author. Title: Soccer’s G.O.A.T. : Pele, Lionel Messi, and more / Jon M. Fishman. Other titles: Soccer’s GOAT | Soccer’s greatest of all time Description: Minneapolis : Lerner Publications, 2020. | Series: Sports’ greatest of all time | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Age 7–11. | Audience: Grade 4 to 6. Identifiers: LCCN 2018044380 (print) | LCCN 2018045987 (ebook) | ISBN 9781541556348 (eb pdf) | ISBN 9781541556003 (lb : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Soccer players—Biography—Juvenile literature. | Women soccer players—Biography— Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC GV942.7.A1 (ebook) | LCC GV942.7.A1 F54 2020 (print) | DDC 796.334092/2 [B]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018044380 Manufactured in the United States of America 1-46056-43472-1/29/2019 CONTENTS KICKOFF! 4 #10 ALFREDO DI STEFANO 8 #9 FRANZ BECKENBAUER 10 #8 MIA HAMM 12 #7 ZINEDINE ZIDANE 14 #6 JOHAN CRUYFF 16 #5 CRISTIANO RONALDO 18 #4 LIONEL MESSI 20 #3 MARTA 22 #2 DIEGO MARADONA 24 #1 PELE 26 YOUR G.O.A.T. 28 SOCCER FACTS 29 GLOSSARY 30 FURTHER INFORMATION 31 INDEX 32 Denmark (front left) and the Netherlands have competed in the Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991. KICKOFF! When you watch soccer, do you try to pick out the best players on each team? Do you ever ask your friends or family what they think? You probably don’t always agree. That’s part of the fun of sports. Everyone has opinions. There’s a lot to think about when it comes to who is the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.). Soccer has a long history, and people play the game all around the world. 4 FACTS AT A GLANCE In 1990, FRANZ BECKENBAUER became only the second person to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager. MIA HAMM won the US Female Player of the Year award five years in a row. In 2011–2012, LIONEL MESSI scored 73 goals for FC Barcelona, the most ever in a European season. PELE helped Brazil win the World Cup three times. The International Olympic Committee named him athlete of the century. Teams from England and Scotland faced off for the first official soccer match in 1872. The game was a lot different almost 150 years ago. The goals didn’t even have nets. They were just two poles with a string running between them at the top. Soccer teams began to use nets in 1891. 5 Soon soccer spread from Britain to the rest of the world. In 1904, soccer officials started FIFA. The group sets rules for soccer matches between different nations. It also promotes the sport and sets up games. Since FIFA’s beginnings, soccer has become the most popular sport in the world. People in most countries call it football. It’s not as popular in the United States as it is in some other places. But the sport is growing almost everywhere. Some soccer matches in the early 1900s drew huge crowds. The crowd at this 1908 match was reported to have more than 120,000 fans! 6 The World Cup is one tournament where the best players show off their skills. The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930. You’re bound to have your own opinions about the greatest players of all time. You might even disagree with the order of the players in this book. Soccer’s long history means that many great players aren’t included. But that’s OK. Having strong opinions about your favorite players means you’re a true soccer fan! 7 #10 ALFREDO DI STEFANO Alfredo Di Stefano was born in Argentina, but he became a soccer legend in Spain. Real Madrid is one of the world’s most famous soccer clubs. They owe much of their success to Di Stefano. He joined the club in 1953 and proved he could do it all on the soccer field. He scored amazing goals and made exact passes. He played tough defense and never seemed to get tired during games. 8 Di Stefano’s play helped his team win like no other team before them. Real Madrid played in the European Cup, one of Europe’s top soccer tournaments. Di Stefano led the team to five European Cup titles in a row between 1956 and 1960. He won the Ballon d’Or award twice, an honor given to the best male soccer player in the world each year. In 1989, Di Stefano won the only Super Ballon d’Or ever awarded. It was in honor of his incredible career. ALFREDO DI STEFANO STATS He led Real Madrid’s league in scoring four years in a row. He led Real Madrid to eight league titles between 1954 and 1964. He led Real Madrid to the Copa del Rey competition in 1962. He scored 377 goals in 521 total European club games. He won two Ballon d’Or awards. 9 IT’S TIME TO SETTLE THE TOUGHEST QUESTION IN SOCCER: WHO IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME? Soccer fans love their favorite players. They collect jerseys and cheer on the current greats. But they often disagree on who is the best. Filled with stats and action-packed game recaps, this book tackles that issue in a fun top ten format. Once you check out this list, do some research and enter the debate with your own G.O.A.T. list! DALE EARNHARDT, JIMMIE JOHNSON, JIM BROWN, TOM BRADY, AND MORE AND MORE BABE RUTH, MIKE TROUT, WAYNE GRETZKY, SIDNEY CROSBY, AND MORE AND MORE MICHAEL JORDAN, LEBRON JAMES, PELE, LIONEL MESSI, AND MORE AND MORE www.lernerbooks.com GRL: Q.