Pele is the greatest (Michael Lewis/FrontRowSoccer.com)

By Michael Lewis

FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

Since Sunday, since Argentina captured the World Cup on Sunday, a debate has raged online.

Who is the GOAT?

Pele, Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi.

I’ll give you my two cents:

Pele.

Why?

He won three World Cups as the fulcrum of the Brazilian national team.

He scored more 1,279 goals.

He won a myriad of titles.

Yes, I heard he didn’t play in the great European leagues at the time, but Edson Arantes do Nascimento competed in an era where not many South Americans performed across the Atlantic. And Brazil also declared Pele as a national treasure.

He also was the great ambassador of the beautiful game and ignited a soccer boom in this country that we are still feeling today, perhaps forever.

Case closed!

Next!

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.