The Brazilian refuses to accept the Bavarians as
the greatest until they dominate for a few years, while saying Spain and
Germany are the strongest nations in world football
Pele has refused to brand Bayern Munich as the greatest team in Europe despite their recent Champions League heroics.They eliminated Serie A champions Juventus 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals before annihilating Spanish giants Barcelona 7-0 in the last four, and they finished off the 2012-13 European campaign with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
However, the Brazilian footballing legend does not think that one continental trophy is enough to justify calling the Bavarians the best in Europe, though he hinted his belief that incoming coach Pep Guardiola could see them deserve that tag.
"When you're Champions League winners, it is not the same as being the best team in Europe," he told Sport Bild.
"Bayern have to sustain success to show they are the best team in Europe. For about four or five years. Barcelona did this [recently] and Santos did it in my time, while Benfica, Ajax, AC Milan and Real Madrid had their respective golden eras.
"Bayern Munich are still far from being jewels of their time. Though perhaps they will succeed under new coach Pep Guardiola, who dominated when at Barca."
Despite his scepticism towards Bayern, Pele does think that Germany are the strongest nation in football alongside current world champions Spain, but he is crossing his fingers that next year's World Cup hosts and his home country, Brazil, can up their game in the coming 12 months.
"Today, one year before the World Cup, Spain and Germany have the best teams," he added. "I hope that Brazil unlock their potential though."
Brazil are currently hosting the Confederations Cup and won their opening game 3-0 against Japan. They play against Mexico on Wednesday, with kick-off at 21:00CET. ---------------------- goal.com
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