When Tite Said Messi Was Not Equal To Pele
JAKARTA - Tite emoh admits Lionel Messi as the greatest footballer of all time. He stressed that comparisons between the Argentina captain and Brazilian legend Pele lacked credibility.
The Brazil coach and Messi exchanged words during the Samba Team against Team Tango last Friday. Tite claimed that La Pulga told him to shut up during the match which Argentina won 1-0 in Riyadh.
Tuesday, 19 November, marks the 50th anniversary of Brazilian legend Pele scoring his 1,000th goal. Speaking ahead of the match between Brazil and South Korea in Abu Dhabi on the same day Tite said three-time World Cup winner Pele remains ahead of anyone.
"Pelé is unmatched. Anyone who wants to compare Pelé to other athletes ... do you know what I do? I hear but I don't listen," said Tite. Launch Soccerway, Tuesday.
"It's as if this guy doesn't know the history of this man's qualities ... this guy is phenomenal. One time I said Messi was amazing. I mean he was extraordinary to this day and among humans, with his creativity. Pele came out of the normal pattern and I'm not saying this because I'm Brazilian. You can't find his handicap (Pele). "
Tite added that if someone comes to him and starts making comparisons between Pele and Messi, for him it "has no credibility".
Meanwhile, Brazil's defeat to Argentina in a friendly match titled Superclassico de las Americanas left the Selecao now suffering from five games without a win. But Tite remains calm and is not worried about the performance of the 2019 Copa America champions.
"I'm not desperate to win. I'm happy to be where I am. I'm aware of this pressure but I'm not desperate. I don't have all that (despair). What I want is a good game," he argued.
Tite also warned his team of the South Korean threat. He called the Taegeuk Warriors not only Tottenham striker Son Heung-min.
"We know about the strength of Korea, about their important win against Germany (at the World Cup) and we respect them. We know about the strengths of each player, not just Son, but others and the team as a whole."