Few would say he was wrong to choose himself.
But Pele angered his countrymen Thursday by leaving three famous World Cup teammates off his list of the best 125 soccer players alive.
The three-time World Cup winner had 15 of his countrymen, the most of any nation, in his list which has been compiled as part of FIFA's Centenary celebrations.
But Jairzinho, Tostao and Gerson, three of the stars of Brazil's memorable 1970 World Cup triumph, were missing.
Pele's defense was that there too many Brazilians to choose from.
"I did my best," he told reporters. "I asked if we could have 1,000 players but I was told it should be only 100. I could have picked 100 from Brazil.
"I tried to make as few mistakes as possible."
But Gerson wasn't impressed, appearing on a Brazilian sports television program tearing up a piece of paper as if it were Pele's list.
"I respect his opinion, but I don't agree," Gerson said. "Taking off Zidane, Platini and Fontaine, I'm behind 11 Frenchmen? This is a joke to have to hear this."
Other surprises were the inclusion of Senegalese striker El Hadji Diouf -- a virtual unknown before the 2002 World Cup -- and Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf. Scottish star Dennis Law, England World Cup hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst and Italian striker Sandro Mazzola were among the omissions.
Pele was only allowed to choose players who are still living. It was initially to be a list of 100 to celebrate the centenary of FIFA -- 50 current players and 50 retired. But Pele asked FIFA if he could increase the retired list to 75, hence the grand total of 125.
Although Pele selected 1970 World Cup winning teammates Carlos Alberto and Rivelino, he was criticized in Brazilian papers for leaving out Jairzinho, Gerson and Tostao. They were among the stars of probably the best Brazilian lineup put together.
While the list includes 15 Brazilians, Italy and France each have 14. There also are 13 Dutch players on the list, 10 Germans, 10 Argentines and seven English.
The only Americans on the list are women -- Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm. No other female players were included.
"When I came up with the name Mia Hamm and the midfielder Michelle Akers, everyone was a little surprised," Pele said. "But women's football in the world is very important. We have the World Cup, the United States is world champion twice. This confused the people who were working with me but it was my choice, my idea."
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