Since their first match in 1914, the national teams have played 92 matches counting friendlies, World Cup, and other official competitions (excluding matches between youth sides).

Even though there is a difference depending on whether the Argentine Football Association

Argentine Football Association

The Argentine Football Association is the governing body of football in Argentina. It organises the Argentine football league and the Argentina national football team. It is based in Buenos Aires...

 (AFA) or the Brazilian Football Confederation

Brazilian Football Confederation

The Brazilian Football Confederation is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on June 8, 1914, as Confederação Brasileira de Desportos , meaning Brazilian Sports Confederation. Its first president was Álvaro Zamith. It organizes the Brazilian national competitions, like...

 (CBF) does the counting, the near-balance is not in dispute. Of the 92 matches played between both national teams, 24 were draws, 34 were Brazilian victories and 34 for Argentina, with 144 goals for Argentina and 139 for Brazil. Only counting World Cup matches Brazil is ahead with 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, whereas in the Copa América, Argentina has 15 victories, 8 draws and 9 defeats. Of 49 friendly matches, 19 were for Brazil, 16 for Argentina and 14 were draws. Since the first match between the two countries in 1914, the 1970s proved to be dark times for Argentina, with 7 defeats, 4 draws and only 1 victory. Biggest wins are, for Argentina 6–1 (at home in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, 1940) and 1–5 (away at Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, 1939), for Brazil 6–2 (at home in Rio de Janeiro, 1945 and 1960) and 1–4 (away at Buenos Aires, 1960).

Argentina and Brazil's last continental final match took place on July 15, 2007 at Estadio José Pachencho Romero

Estadio José Pachencho Romero

The José "Pachencho" Romero Stadium is a sports stadium in Maracaibo, capital of the Zulia state, in Venezuela. The stadium holds 40,800 spectators...

 in Maracaibo

Maracaibo

Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and was the final match of Copa América 2007

Copa América 2007

The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...

 which Brazil won by the score of 3–0. The first goal was scored by Júlio Baptista

Júlio Baptista

Júlio César Baptista is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Málaga CF of the Spanish La Liga...

, while the second one was an own goal

Own goal

An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

 by Roberto Ayala

Roberto Ayala

Roberto Fabián Ayala , nicknamed el Ratón , is a former Argentine football centre back.Regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation, Ayala captained the Argentine national team for more matches than anyone else...

 after a pass attempt by Brazil's Dani Alves

Daniel Alves

Daniel Alves da Silva , commonly known as Dani Alves, is a Brazilian footballer. He plays as an attacking right defender for FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team. Before joining Barcelona, Alves spent a successful six year spell with Sevilla FC, winning two UEFA Cups and the Copa del Rey...

, who also scored the last goal.

The latest match between the two teams was the Superclásico de las Américas

Superclásico de las Américas

The Superclásico de las Américas – Copa Doctor Nicolás Leoz , is an annual football match-up between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil. Founded in 2011, it is the successor of the Roca Cup.-Format:...

 held in Belém

Belém

Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...

 in September 2011.

Date	Venue	Score	Winner	Comments
28 September 2011	Belém Belém Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...	0 – 2	Brazil	Superclásico de las Américas 2011 Superclásico de las Américas The 2011 Superclásico de las Américas – Copa Doctor Nicolás Leoz is the first edition of the Superclásico de las Américas, an annual football match-up between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil.-First leg:-Second leg:...
14 September 2011	Córdoba	0 – 0	Draw	Superclásico de las Américas 2011 Superclásico de las Américas The 2011 Superclásico de las Américas – Copa Doctor Nicolás Leoz is the first edition of the Superclásico de las Américas, an annual football match-up between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil.-First leg:-Second leg:...
17 November 2010	Doha Doha Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...	1 – 0	Argentina	Friendly
5 September 2009	Rosario Rosario Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....	3 – 1	Brazil	World Cup 2010 Qualifier
18 June 2008	Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...	0 – 0	Draw	World Cup 2010 Qualifier
15 July 2007	Maracaibo Maracaibo Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...	3 – 0	Brazil	Copa America 2007
3 September 2006	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	3 – 0	Brazil	Friendly
29 June 2005	Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...	4 – 1	Brazil	2005 Confederations Cup
8 June 2005	Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...	3 – 1	Argentina	World Cup 2006 Qualifier
25 July 2004	Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...	2(4) – 2(2)	Draw-Brazil won on penalties	Copa America 2004
2 June 2004	Belo Horizonte	3 – 1	Brazil	World Cup 2006 Qualifier
5 September 2001	Buenos Aires	2 – 1	Argentina	World Cup 2002 Qualifier
26 July 2000	Sao Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...	3 – 1	Brazil	World Cup 2002 Qualifier
7 September 1999	Porto Alegre Porto Alegre Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...	4 – 2	Brazil	Friendly
4 September 1999	Buenos Aires	2 – 0	Argentina	Friendly
11 July 1999	Ciudad del Este Ciudad del Este Ciudad del Este is the second largest city in Paraguay and capital of Alto Paraná department, located at the Rio Paraná....	2 – 1	Brazil	Copa America 1999
29 April 1998	Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...	1 – 0	Argentina	Friendly
8 November 1995	Buenos Aires	1 – 0	Brazil	Friendly
17 July 1995	Rivera Rivera Rivera is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. It is located at the north end of Route 5, on the border with Brazil. The Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento is right across the border, only a street away of it...	2(4) – 2(2)	Draw-Brazil won on penalties	Copa America 1995
23 March 1994	Recife Recife Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...	2 – 0	Brazil	Friendly
27 June 1993	Guayaquil Guayaquil Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...	1(6) – 1(5)	Draw-Argentina won on penalties	Copa America 1993
18 February 1993	Buenos Aires	1 – 1	Draw	Friendly
17 July 1991	Santiago de Chile	3 – 2	Argentina	Copa America 1991
27 June 1991	Curitiba Curitiba Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...	1 – 1	Draw	Friendly
27 March 1991	Buenos Aires	3 – 3	Draw	Friendly
24 June 1990	Torino	1 – 0	Argentina	FIFA World Cup 1990
12 July 1989	Rio de Janeiro	2 – 0	Brazil	Copa America 1989
10 July 1988	Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...	0 – 0	Draw	Gold Cup 1988
5 May 1985	Bahía Bahia Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...	2 – 1	Brazil	Friendly
17 June 1984	Sao Paulo	0 – 0	Draw	Friendly
14 September 1983	Rio de Janeiro	0 – 0	Draw	Copa America 1983
24 August 1983	Buenos Aires	1 – 0	Argentina	Copa America 1983
2 July 1982	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...	3 – 1	Brazil	FIFA World Cup 1982
4 January 1981	Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...	1 – 1	Draw	Mundialito
23 August 1979	Buenos Aires	2 – 2	Draw	Copa America 1979
2 August 1979	Rio de Janeiro	2 – 1	Brazil	Copa America 1979
18 June 1978	Rosario	0 – 0	Draw	FIFA World Cup 1978
19 May 1976	Rio de Janeiro	2 – 0	Brazil	Roca Cup
27 February 1976	Buenos Aires	2 – 1	Brazil	Atlantic Cup
16 August 1975	Rosario	1 – 0	Brazil	Copa America 1975
6 August 1975	Belo Horizonte	2 – 1	Brazil	Copa America 1975
30 June 1974	Hannover	2 – 1	Brazil	FIFA World Cup 1974
31 July 1971	Buenos Aires	2 – 2	Draw	Roca Cup
28 July 1971	Buenos Aires	1 – 1	Draw	Roca Cup
8 March 1970	Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...	2 – 1	Brazil	Friendly
4 March 1970	Porto Alegre	2 – 0	Argentina	Friendly
9 June 1965	Rio de Janeiro	0 – 0	Draw	Friendly
3 June 1964	Sao Paulo	3 – 0	Argentina	Nations Cup
16 April 1963	Rio de Janeiro	5 – 2	Brazil	Roca Cup
13 April 1963	Sao Paulo	3 – 2	Argentina	Roca Cup
24 March 1963	La Paz La Paz Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...	3 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
12 July 1960	Rio de Janeiro	5 – 1	Brazil	Atlantic Cup
29 March 1960	Buenos Aires	4 – 1	Brazil	Roca Cup
26 March 1960	Buenos Aires	4 – 2	Argentina	Roca Cup
20 March 1960	San Jose, Costa Rica San José, Costa Rica San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...	1 – 0	Brazil	Panamerican Cup
13 March 1960	San Jose, Costa Rica	2 – 1	Argentina	Panamerican Cup
22 December 1959	Guayaquil Guayaquil Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...	4 – 1	Argentina	South American Championship
4 April 1959	Buenos Aires	1 – 1	Draw	South American Championship
10 July 1957	Sao Paulo	2 – 0	Brazil	Roca Cup
7 July 1957	Rio de Janeiro	2 – 1	Argentina	Roca Cup
3 April 1957	Lima	3 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
8 July 1956	Avellaneda Avellaneda Avellaneda is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 328,980 as per the ....	0 – 0	Draw	Atlantic Cup
18 March 1956	Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...	2 – 2	Draw	Panamerican Cup
5 February 1956	Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...	1 – 0	Brazil	South American Championship
10 February 1946	Buenos Aires	2 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
23 December 1945	Rio de Janeiro	3 – 1	Brazil	Roca Cup
20 December 1945	Rio de Janeiro	6 – 2	Brazil	Roca Cup
16 December 1945	San Pablo San Pablo -Geography:San Pablo is a common toponym in parts of the world where the Spanish language is or was spoken.Towns, cities, and counties called San Pablo:*Argentina**San Pablo , Catamarca Province...	4 – 3	Argentina	Roca Cup
15 February 1945	Santiago de Chile	3 – 1	Argentina	South American Championship
17 January 1942	Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...	2 – 1	Argentina	South American Championship
17 March 1940	Avellaneda Avellaneda Avellaneda is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 328,980 as per the ....	5 – 1	Argentina	Roca Cup
10 March 1940	Buenos Aires	3 – 2	Brazil	Roca Cup
5 March 1940	Buenos Aires	6 – 1	Argentina	Roca Cup
25 February 1940	Sao Paulo	3 – 0	Argentina	Roca Cup
18 February 1940	Sao Paulo	2 – 2	Draw	Roca Cup
22 January 1939	Rio de Janeiro	3 – 2	Brazil	Roca Cup
15 January 1939	Rio de Janeiro	5 – 1	Argentina	Roca Cup
1 February 1937	Buenos Aires	2 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
30 January 1937	Buenos Aires	1 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
25 December 1925	Buenos Aires	2 – 2	Draw	South American Championship
13 December 1925	Buenos Aires	4 – 1	Argentina	South American Championship
9 December 1923	Buenos Aires	2 – 0	Argentina	Roca Cup
18 November 1923	Montevideo	2 – 1	Argentina	South American Championship
15 October 1922	Rio de Janeiro	2 – 0	Brazil	South American Championship
2 October 1921	Buenos Aires	1 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
25 September 1920	Valparaiso Valparaíso Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...	2 – 0	Argentina	South American Championship
1 June 1919	Rio de Janeiro	3 – 3	Draw	Friendly
18 May 1919	Rio de Janeiro	3 – 1	Brazil	South American Championship
3 October 1917	Montevideo	4 – 2	Argentina	South American Championship
10 July 1916	Buenos Aires	1 – 1	Draw	South American Championship
27 September 1914	Buenos Aires	1 – 0	Brazil	Roca Cup
20 September 1914	Buenos Aires	3 – 0	Argentina	Friendly

Maradona and Pelé rivalry

Among the elite group of players football fans consider the best player of all time, Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...

 and Pelé

Pelé

However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

 are probably the most famous, and hold most of the votes among a fraternity that includes Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff

Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...

, Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...

, Garrincha

Garrincha

Manuel Francisco dos Santos , known by the nickname "Garrincha" , was an association football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. He played the majority of his professional career for Brazilian club Botafogo.The word garrincha itself...

, Michel Platini

Michel Platini

Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...

, Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...

, Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954...

, and Alfredo di Stéfano

Alfredo Di Stéfano

Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé, born into a family of Italian immigrants from Capri, is a former Argentinian footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time...

.

The discussion about which of the two is the number one player of all time proved to be never ending. Even though most consider them as the best players of their times, many consider the comparison between them useless, as they played during incomparable eras, and in different leagues.

Pelé was given the title "Athlete of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

. In 1999, Time Magazine

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

named Pelé one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century

Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century

Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century is a compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people, published in Time magazine in 1999....

. Also, he was elected Football Player of the Century, by France Football's Golden Ball Winners in 1999, Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics, 1999, South America Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics. Pelé's 1281 goals are recognized by FIFA as the highest total achieved by a professional footballer.

The controversy reached a climax during the FIFA century awards in 2000, in which Maradona was voted Player of the Century in an official internet poll

Opinion poll

An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...

, garnering 53.6% of the votes against 18.53% for Pelé. Shortly before the ceremony, FIFA unexpectedly decided to add a second award and appointed a "Football Family" committee composed of football journalists that gave to Pelé the title of best player of the century to make it a draw. This move was criticized in Argentina, that suspected Pelé was rewarded for his constant support of FIFA, in contrast to Maradona's frequent criticism. Others believe that FIFA was considering issues other than football, notably Maradona's drug problem. Maradona left the ceremony right after receiving his award, and before Pelé was given his.

In another internet poll that took place in 2002, Maradona received another award from FIFA, as one of his goals was selected as the World Cup Goal of the Century. One of Pelé's goals received third place, while Maradona had a second goal selected as fourth.

In spite of their frequent confrontations, usually through quotations by the media, Pelé was the guest star of Maradona's TV show La Noche del 10 ("The Night of the #10"), where they had a friendly chat and played a bout of headers.

Famous players and football figures often give their opinion on the Maradona and Pelé rivalry, sometimes choosing one over the other. Others prefer not to compare them, as they played in very different times. Perhaps one of the most reliable comparisons available is that by the Ballon d'Or

European Footballer of the Year

The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...

 winners (elected since 1956 by voters of several countries, and arguably greatest ones to properly appreciate both players). Pelé was elected Best Player of the Century for Ballon d'Or winners and Maradona was the runner-up.

The table below presents factual data about both footballers career:

Criteria	Pelé	Maradona
Playing position	Forward	Attacking midfielder
National team appearances	90	91
Goals scored for national team	95	34
World Cup wins playing	1958, 1962, 1970	1986
Total goals scored	1281	258
Total matches played	1363	490
Average goals scored per match	0.939	0.526
Club Titles	Intercontinental Cup (football) Intercontinental Cup (football) The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...  1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores 1962 and 1963 Recopa Sudamericana Recopa Sudamericana The Recopa Sudamericana is an annual football match-up between the reigning champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions....  1968 Recopa Intercontinental Recopa Intercontinental The Intercontinental Champions' Supercup, commonly referred to as the Intercontinental Supercup or Recopa Intercontinental, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested by the past winners of the Intercontinental Cup and played only in 1968 and 1969.-History:The idea for the...  1968 São Paulo´s Football League Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1, simply known as the Campeonato Paulista, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The league is contested between 20 clubs and typically lasts from January to April...  1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973 North American Soccer League North American Soccer League North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...  1977 Torneio Rio-São Paulo Torneio Rio-São Paulo Torneio Rio – São Paulo was a traditional Brazilian football competition contested between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teams until from 1935 until 2002....  1959, 1963, 1964, 1966 Taça Brasil Taça Brasil The Taça Brasil was a Brazilian national football competition which was contested from 1959 to 1968. It is considered by many historians the most important football tournament in Brazil at the time and is compared, in importance level, to the current Campeonato Brasileiro.Bahia, Cruzeiro and... , 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968	Argentine Primera División 1981 Copa del Rey Copa del Rey The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....  1983 Copa de la Liga Copa de la Liga The Copa de la Liga was a Spanish football tournament created in 1982.Due to time constraints, saturation and club pressure, the competition only lasted four years, being cancelled in 1986...  1983 Supercopa de España Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...  1983 Italian Football Championship Italian Football Championship The Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...  1987, 1990 Coppa Italia Coppa Italia The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...  1987 UEFA Europa League 1989 Supercoppa Italiana Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...  1990
Individual titles	FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player) FIFA World Cup awards At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game.These are awards granted during the men's senior tournament... , 1970 World Cup. São Paulo´s Football League Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1, simply known as the Campeonato Paulista, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The league is contested between 20 clubs and typically lasts from January to April...  Top Scorer: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1973. Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president... : 1999 Athlete of the Century, elected by world wide journalists, poll by French daily L'Equipe: 1981 Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999 UNICEF Football Player of the Century: 1999 FIFA FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...  Player of the Century: 2000 Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football's Golden Ball Winners : 1999 Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999 South America Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999 Laureus World Sports Awards Laureus World Sports Awards The Laureus World Sports Awards are awarded annually to sportspeople who have been outstanding during the previous year. The Laureus World Sports Awards were established in 1999 by Founding Patrons Daimler and Richemont and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and...  Lifetime Achievement Award from South African President Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing... : 2000 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality The BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year is an award presented at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ceremony. The award is presented to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport in that year. The award is decided by a... , 1970 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime". The winner is... , 2005 The tally of official 32 team trophies makes Pelé Pelé However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...  the player with most career titles in history.	Golden Ball for Best Player of the FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup, until 2005 known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association... : 1979 Argentine league Primera División Argentina The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...  Top Scorer: 1979, 1980, 1981 South American Footballer of the Year (El Mundo, Caracas):1979, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992 Italian Guerin d'Oro Guerin d'Oro The Guerin d'Oro is an annual prize instituted by the Italian weekly football magazine Guerin Sportivo, which, since 1976, is awarded to the player in Serie A with at least 19 games played, which has obtained the best average-media rating... : 1985 Golden Ball for Best Player of the FIFA World Cup: 1986 Best Footballer in the World Onze d'Or Onze d'Or The Onze d'Or is a football award handed out by French magazine Onze Mondial at the end of the year since 1976... : 1986, 1987 World Player of the Year (World Soccer Magazine World Soccer Magazine World Soccer is an English language football magazine published by IPC Media. It specialises in the international football scene. Its regular contributing writers include Brian Glanville, Sid Lowe and Tim Vickery. World Soccer is a member of the European Sports Magazines , an umbrella group of... ): 1986 Capocannoniere Capocannoniere The Capocannoniere is the name given to the highest goalscorer in Italian football. The Serie A title is currently held by Antonio Di Natale.-SERIE A:...  (Serie A top scorer): 1987–88 Golden Ball for services to football (France Football France Football France Football is a French bi-weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It's one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of their photographic reports and accurate statistics of the big European Cup matches, and extensive coverage of the European... ): 1996 "FIFA best football player of the century", people's choice (online voting in English): 2000 "FIFA Goal of the Century" (1986 (2–1) v. England; second goal): 2002

1937 incident

In the South American Championship 1937

South American Championship 1937

The fourteenth edition of the South American Championship of football was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from December 27, 1936 to February 1, 1937....

 (current Copa América), the rivalry between both teams was already something of national pride. There were verbal confrontations between both parties, and Argentine fans often taunted the Brazilians by calling them macaquitos and making monkey sounds. The final match, held in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, was played between the two sides and was goalless after 90 minutes. In extra time, Argentina scored two goals. Questioning one of the goals and fearful for their own safety (reportedly Argentine fans insulted the Afro-Brazilian players in and outside stadium by calling them macaquitos), the Brazilian players decided to leave the stadium before the match was officially finished. The Brazilian press has since called this match "jogo da vergonha" (the shame game).

1939 incident

In 1939, there were two matches between Argentina and Brazil, both of them in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 and for the Roca Cup. The first one, held in January, ended 5–1 to Argentina.

A second match was held only one week later, with the Brazilian team seeking revenge for the previous defeat. The match was vibrating; first Brazil went ahead 1–0, then Argentina recovered to lead 1–2, and Brazil then drew level at 2–2. Shortly before the end of the match the referee, the same as in the previous match, gave a dubious penalty to Brazil. Furious, Argentina player Arcadio López verbally attacked the referee and had to be escorted out of the pitch by police. The Argentine team, enraged by the actions of the referee and the police, left the pitch. The penalty that gave Brazil the 3–2 victory was scored without a goalkeeper, because the entire Argentine team had already walked off the pitch.

1945 and 1946 incidents

In the 1945 match that Brazil won by six goals to two, young Brazilian Ademir Menezes fractured Argentine Batagliero's leg. Though it seemed to be only an unfortunate accident, the game was played roughly and sometimes violently.

A few months later, the South American Championship 1946

South American Championship 1946

The nineteenth edition of the South American Championship was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from January 12, 1946 to February 10, 1946. This tournament, an extra edition with no trophy handed to the winners, is considered official by CONMEBOL....

 final again involved Argentina and Brazil. There was a large media coverage, and the conviction that it would be a rough match. Twenty-eight minutes after the beginning, when both teams went for a free ball, Brazilian Jair Rosa Pinto fractured Argentine captain José Salomón

José Salomón

José Salomón is a retired Argentine football defender who played club football for Talleres de Remedios de Escalada and Racing Club de Avellaneda and captained the Argentina national football team....

's tibia

Tibia

The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....

 and fibula. General disorder ensued, with Argentine and Brazilian players fighting on the pitch with the police. The public invaded the pitch and both teams had to go to the dressing rooms. After order was restored the game continued, and Argentina won the match 2–0. Salomon never recovered completely nor played professional football after the incident.

World Cup 1978 ("The Battle of Rosario")

The Group B of the Second Round was essentially a battle between Argentina and Brazil, and it was resolved in controversial circumstances. In the first round of group games, Brazil beat Peru 3–0 while Argentina saw off Poland 2–0. Brazil and Argentina then played out a tense and violent goalless draw (also known as A Batalha de Rosário (The Battle of Rosario), so both teams went into the last round of matches with three points. Argentina had an advantage that their match against Peru kicked off several hours after Brazil's match with Poland. Brazil won their match 3–1, so Argentina could know that they had to beat Peru by four clear goals to go through to the final. Argentina managed it with what some saw as a suspicious degree of ease. Trailing 2–0 at half-time, Peru simply collapsed in the second half, and Argentina eventually won 6–0. Rumours suggested that Peru might have been somehow illicitly induced not to try too hard (especially because the Peruvian goalkeeper, Ramón Quiroga

Ramón Quiroga

Ramón Quiroga Arancibia was an Argentine-born Peruvian international football goalkeeper, who was nicknamed "El Loco" in Peru and "Chupete" in Argentina. He obtained 40 caps playing for the Peru national football team. He began his career playing for the Argentine club Rosario Central...

, was born in Argentina); but nothing could be proved, and Argentina met the Netherlands in the final. Brazil, denied a final place by Argentina's 6–0 win over Peru, took third place from an enterprising Italy side and were dubbed "moral champions" by coach Cláudio Coutinho

Cláudio Coutinho

Cláudio Pêcego de Moraes Coutinho was a Brazilian football manager that coached Brazil from 1977 to 1980 and Los Angeles Aztecs in 1981...

, because they did not win the tournament, but did not lose a single match either.

World Cup 1982 

Group C, a true Group of Death

Group of death

A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament...

 with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, that World Cup history was made. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2–1 over Argentina's side. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but they were no match as the Brazilian Team attacking game, characterised by nimble, one-touch passing on-the-run, eclipsed the reigning World Champions. The final score of 3–1 — Argentina only scoring in the last minute ——could have been much higher had Brazil centre-forward Serginho

Serginho

Serginho is a diminutive form of given name Sérgio, may refer to:* Serginho Chulapa , Brazilian footballer from the 1982 FIFA World Cup squad* Sergio Claudio dos Santos , Brazilian international footballer who played for A.C...

 not wasted a series of near-certain scoring opportunities. Frustrated because of the poor refereeing and the imminent loss, Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...

 kicked Brazilian player João Batista and received a straight red card.

World Cup 1990 (The holy water scandal)

The last time both teams met in a World Cup match was in the 1990 World Cup and featured Argentina defeating Brazil 1–0 with a goal from Claudio Caniggia after a pass from Maradona. The end of the match was controversial with Brazilian player Branco accusing the Argentina training staff of giving him a bottle of water laced with tranquillizers while they were tending to an injured player. This came years after Maradona revealed the news on an Argentine television show. The Argentinian Football Federation and the team coach of the time, Carlos Bilardo

Carlos Bilardo

Carlos Salvador Bilardo is an Argentine former football player and coach, who is currently the General Manager of the Argentina national football team....

, denied that the "holy water" incident ever took place.

1991 Copa América match

Argentina defeated Brazil 3–2 in Santiago, Chile

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

 in the first match of the final pool. Five players were sent off: Claudio Caniggia

Claudio Caniggia

Claudio Paul Caniggia is a former Argentine football forward, who played 50 times for the Argentine national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both rival clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. Caniggia was known for his speed as a player and competed in Athletics before his...

 and Mazinho

Mazinho

Iomar do Nascimento, known as Mazinho , is a Brazilian football manager and former player, and the former head coach of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.-Club career:...

 after tangling in the 31st minute; Enrique and Márcio Santos

Márcio Roberto dos Santos

Márcio Roberto dos Santos, best known as Márcio Santos is a former association footballer, who played as a defender for such teams as Internacional, Fiorentina and Ajax. He was born in São Paulo. He was a member of the Brazilian national football team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup, in which he...

 for another fight in the 61st minute, with one player leaving on a stretcher; and Careca III

Carlos Alberto Bianchezi

Carlos Alberto Bianchezi is a retired Brazilian footballer who played for Brazilian sides Marília Atlético Clube, Guarani and Palmeiras, as well as in Italy for Atalanta and in Mexico for CF Monterrey.-External links:*...

 in the 80th minute, two minutes after coming on as a substitute.

1993 Copa América

Copa América 1993

The 1993 Copa América was the 36th Copa América, CONMEBOL's football tournament for national teams. It was held in Ecuador between June 15 and July 4. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, but for the first time two nations from outside CONMEBOL were invited to take part in the tournament. Mexico and...

 match

Argentina and Brazil finished 1–1 at the 8/final match, played in Guayaquil

Guayaquil

Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

. Brazil started winning the game, but Leo Rodríguez drew with the head after a corner kick at the second part. In the penalties, Los Gauchos defeated 5–4 and advanced to the quarter-finals. Finally, Argentina obtained this tournament defeating Mexico in the Final.

1995 Copa América

Copa América 1995

The 1995 Copa América football tournament was staged in Uruguay. It was won by Uruguay, who beat Brazil 5-3 in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the final. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, with Mexico and the USA invited in order to reach 12 teams....

 match

Held in Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, they met at the quarter-finals stage on 17 July 1995 . Brazilian Túlio Maravilha

Túlio Costa

Túlio Humberto Pereira Costa , sometimes simply referred as Túlio or Túlio Maravilha for his great creativity on the field and for his charisma, is a former Brazilian international football forward. He has scored more than 900 goals and intends to score the 1000th with Botafogo...

 became famous for scoring a late equalizer five minutes from time after controlling the ball with his left arm. Despite the obvious foul, the referee (Alberto Tejada Noriega

Alberto Tejada Noriega

Alberto Tejada Noriega is the incumbent Peruvian Minister of Health. He was also a urologist and later a football referee.-Football career:He refereed three matches in the FIFA World Cup, two in 1994 and one in 1998....

 from Peru) claimed he did not see the incident and the goal stood. The game finished with a 2–2 draw and Brazil went on to win on penalties. The Argentine media labeled the incident as the "hand of the devil".

Copa América 2004

Copa América 2004

The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,...

Argentina, was winning by 2–1, but in a spectacular turn of events, Adriano

Adriano Leite Ribeiro

Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...

 scored a goal in the last minute of the match, taking it to the penalties, where Brazil won with Júlio César

Júlio César Soares Espíndola

Júlio César Soares de Espíndola , commonly known as simply Júlio César, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A...

 stopping an impossible shot from Andrés D'Alessandro

Andrés D'Alessandro

Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro is a left-footed Argentine footballer who currently plays for Sport Club Internacional in Brazil. He is best known for his dribbling and his short passing ability.-Early career:...

. Brazil was playing with its second team and this victory might be considered an underdog one.

2005 Confederations Cup Final

In 2005, a year just before the 2006 FIFA World Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Brazil and Argentina participated in the Confederations Cup. Brazil entered the competition for being the current World Cup champion at the time; however, since Brazil had also won the Copa América, the previous year, runner-up Argentina, was allowed to participate in the tournament. In the semi-finals, Brazil eliminated host nation Germany national football team

Germany national football team

The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

, while Argentina eliminated Mexico

Mexico national football team

The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...

. This competition was the first time the two rivals would meet in a final game of a tournament sponsored by FIFA. In a surprising turn of events, the Brazilian team won the game easily, thrashing the Argentinians by a score of 4–1. Adriano

Adriano Leite Ribeiro

Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...

 scored twice for Brazil, along with Kaká

Kaká

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...

 and Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...

; while Pablo Aimar

Pablo Aimar

Pablo César Aimar Giordano is a Argentine professional footballer who plays for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the Portuguese first division. An attacking midfielder with a vast array of skills, he also holds a Spanish passport....

 scored Argentina's only goal.

Desábato/Grafite 2005 incident

In a Copa Libertadores

Copa Libertadores de América

The Copa Santander Libertadores de América , known simply as the Copa Libertadores and originally known as the Copa Campeones de América , is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960...

 2005

Copa Libertadores 2005

The 2005 Copa Libertadores was the 46th edition of the Copa Libertadores. The champion also qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship....

 match, after a tackle by São Paulo's Grafite

Grafite

Edinaldo Batista Libânio , commonly known as Grafite is a Brazilian footballer who plays for UAE Football League club Al-Ahli Dubai....

, the Argentine Leandro Desábato

Leandro Desábato

Leandro Desábato , nicknamed Chavo, is an Argentine football defender who plays for Estudiantes de La Plata of the Argentine Primera División.-Club career:...

 supposedly reacted with a racist insult towards Grafite (whose nickname is that because he's very dark skinned), even though the referee was standing less than three feet away and wrote in his report that he did not hear Desabato. In what was called by the Argentine media "an extremely exaggerated reaction" and by their Brazilian counterparts as "an exemplary reaction to a racist attack," Desábato was arrested after the match, handcuffed, taken to the local police station, and kept there for 40 hours. The entire Quilmes team waited for Desábato in Brazil while he was held in custody. With Desábato sent back to Argentina, and after a few days of tension and media coverage of the event, Grafite finally dropped the charges.

Copa América 2007

Copa América 2007

The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...

Brazil defeated Argentina 3–0 in Maracaibo, Venezuela, at the final pool. Goals by Júlio Baptista

Júlio Baptista

Júlio César Baptista is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Málaga CF of the Spanish La Liga...

, Roberto Ayala

Roberto Ayala

Roberto Fabián Ayala , nicknamed el Ratón , is a former Argentine football centre back.Regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation, Ayala captained the Argentine national team for more matches than anyone else...

 (own goal) and Dani Alves

Daniel Alves

Daniel Alves da Silva , commonly known as Dani Alves, is a Brazilian footballer. He plays as an attacking right defender for FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team. Before joining Barcelona, Alves spent a successful six year spell with Sevilla FC, winning two UEFA Cups and the Copa del Rey...

. Argentina was favored to win the match, but the Canarinhos were superior.

2008 Summer Olympics – Beijing

Brazil never having won Olympic gold in football and Argentina the defending champions met on August 19 in the semifinal game of the Summer Olympics. The game, billed as a tête-à-tête between Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...

 and Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...

, Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

 teammates, was in the end a hard-fought clash between two historic rivals, marred by numerous fouls and two ejections for Brazil. Argentina won convincingly, 3–0, and went on to beat Nigeria

Nigeria national football team

The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

 1–0 in the final, being the first in obtaining two consecutive gold medals in football in 40 years and the third overall after the Olympic teams of the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

2010 World Cup Qualifying matches

On 5 September 2009, the two nations played their second leg in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario

Rosario

Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....

; the same stadium where they had played their 1978 World Cup match. The first result was a 0–0 tie in Brazil; but the Brazilian team would qualify with a victory, if Ecuador

Ecuador national football team

The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...

 and Uruguay

Uruguay national football team

The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...

 did not win their matches during that leg; while Argentina continued to struggle. The match was covered intensely by the media in both countries due to comments made by Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...

 in regards to both teams. Dunga and the Brazilian squad, on the other hand, did not say much and decided to concentrate on the game. The Brazilian team won the match by a 3–1 score, with goals from Luisão

Luisão

Ânderson Luís da Silva , aka Luisão , is a Brazilian footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a central defender....

 (23') and Luís Fabiano

Luís Fabiano

Luís Fabiano Clemente , commonly known as Luís Fabiano, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for São Paulo and the Brazilian national football team as a striker.-Early career:...

 (30' and 68'). Jesús Dátolo

Jesús Dátolo

Jesús Alberto Dátolo is an Argentine football midfielder who currently plays for La Liga club RCD Espanyol.-Club career:Dátolo started his career in 2000 at Cañuelas in Primera C Metropolitana, Argentina's fourth division. In 2002 he signed for Primera División club, Banfield and broke into the...

 scored for the Argentinians (65'). Brazil won what they considered a historical win (they had not won in Argentinian soil since 1995), silencing a stunned crowd in Rosario. And as a result, they also won the qualification as both Ecuador and Uruguay lost to Colombia

Colombia national football team

The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

 and Peru

Peru national football team

The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...

, respectively. Argentina lost the following match to Paraguay

Paraguay national football team

The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...

 (1–0), but was able to qualify by defeating Peru (2–1) and Uruguay (1–0) in the final two legs of qualification.

Club level

Intercontinental Cup

Intercontinental Cup (football)

The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...

 (d)||9||9
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|Copa Libertadores||22||15
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|Copa Sudamericana

Copa Sudamericana

The Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes , known simply as the Copa Sudamericana , is an annual international club football competition organized by the CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF clubs were invited between 2004...

Copa CONMEBOL

Copa CONMEBOL

The Copa CONMEBOL was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for eligible South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was the third most prestigious South American club football contest after the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa...

 (d)
Copa Mercosur

Copa Mercosur

The Copa Mercosur was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV money to the participating teams, but it went beyond and ended up as a natural replacement...

 (d)
Supercopa Sudamericana

Supercopa Sudamericana

The Supercopa Sudamericana , also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa Libertadores, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually by the past winners of the Copa Libertadores...

 (d)||15||12
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|Recopa Sudamericana

Recopa Sudamericana

The Recopa Sudamericana is an annual football match-up between the reigning champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions....

 ||6||6
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|Suruga Bank Championship

Suruga Bank Championship

The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship Final, officially called the Suruga Bank Championship , is an annual intercontinental football match contested by the reigning champions of the J. League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana.-History:...

 ||1||1
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|Copa Interamericana

Copa Interamericana

Copa Interamericana was a football trophy contested between the champions of CONMEBOL's Copa Libertadores de América and the winners of CONCACAF's Champions' Cup...

 (d)
Copa de Oro (d)
Supercopa Masters

Supercopa Masters

The Supercopa Masters, also known as Copa Master de Supercopa, was a football tournament for clubs that had previously won the Supercopa Sudamericana. It was only played in 1992 and 1995.-1992 Supercopa Masters:...

 (d)
Copa Masters Conmebol

Copa Masters Conmebol

-Final:-Scorers:5 goals Almir3 goals Túlio Valdir1 goal Edmílson Ailton-External links:* at RSSSF...

 (d)
Recopa Intercontinental

Recopa Intercontinental

The Intercontinental Champions' Supercup, commonly referred to as the Intercontinental Supercup or Recopa Intercontinental, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested by the past winners of the Intercontinental Cup and played only in 1968 and 1969.-History:The idea for the...

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