Pele

Voters in the Gillette Best Young Player survey, carried out by Fifaworldcup.com , were asked to choose from a list made up of players from every World Cup since 1958. With 61 per cent of the overall vote, the clear winner was Pele, not a wholly surprising choice given that the legendary Brazilian won the first of his three world titles at the tender age of 17.

Rei (The King) finished far ahead of the Peruvian Teofilo Cubillas, the Best Young Player at Mexico 1970, and England’s Michael Owen, who reached similar heights at France ’98.

Despite lagging far behind Pele with ten per cent and eight per cent respectively, Cubillas and Owen can still take pride in finishing ahead of a footballing legend like Franz Beckenbauer, a star of the 1966 finals, and Netherlands winger Marc Overmars who shone at USA 94.

Although at the time he had yet to win a major title, when Pele arrived in Sweden in 1958 he was already considered a major star by fans and the press alike. He had turned professional less than two years previously, and in his first season with Santos, in the 1957 Paulista championship, he finished the season as top scorer at the age of 16.

However, 1958 was his annus mirabilis , the year he showed the world he was not just a star but also a genius. In 1958, Pele broke the record for the number of goals scored in the Paulista championship (58 in 38 games), scored over 100 goals in the season (a feat he repeated several times to bring his goal tally to 500 by the age of 21), and was the outstanding player in Brazil’s first World Cup victory. Teofilo Cubillas is renowned as the greatest striker Peru has ever produced. A highly talented player, El Nene (The Kid) took part in three Fifa World Cups, the first of which was Mexico 1970.

He played a leading role to help Peru reach the quarters, scoring four goals in three games.

Owen’s name was on the lip of every England fan during the season leading up to the 1998 World Cup. He went to France as a squad player but replaced Teddy Sheringham in the 72nd minute of England’s game against Romania and took seven minutes to score. Against Argentina he scored a spectacular goal in one of the best games of the tournament.

FIFAWORLDCUP.COM