Top Soccer Cards

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Il Padrino

Do you think the recent Pele movie spiked the interest in his cards?

It definitely did. Think of it like this: if Hollywood didn't make all those superhero movies, then the comic books wouldn't be worth so much today. It's no different with athletes.

[Il Padrino]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

It definitely did. Think of it like this: if Hollywood didn't make all those superhero movies, then the comic books wouldn't be worth so much today. It's no different with athletes.

That's great. Shame that HollyWEIRD has such an influence - the reality is this... once the movie wears off there should be a moderate dip in the prices.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Il Padrino

the reality is this... once the movie wears off there should be a moderate dip in the prices.

But when exactly will the movie wear off? A couple of months ago, Heritage Auctions sold a PSA 5 example for $15,000 USD. The film, Birth of a Legend, came out spring of 2016.

[Exhibitman]

Thanks Al. Now can you post that insane 68 Pele I sold you? I still miss that one...

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

When coming up with this list, I had to look at two things: price and popularity. Pele's Quigol and Alifabolaget cards are more popular than the Crack Maradona. Both of these cards also cost a lot more as well. This is the reason why this card did not make the list. Even Pele's Titulares #86 card ranks higher than the Crack Maradona.

As a collector, I am confused as to what we can call a Maradona rookie card. It looks like he had quite a few cards issued in the late 1970s in Argentina. At first I wanted to go after his Crack, but then I saw his 1977 Arg Jrs. disc. By the way, can a little disc even count as a card? It also looks like he has a few other cards from 1978 as well - it's all very confusing! None of them has come out as the winner. At least with Pele, collectors agree that anything of his which was manufactured in 1958 can be considered his rookie.



This is true. The Quigol is clearly the winner of the two.

The story behind this card is just crazy though. I was speaking to a big Pele collector and he told me that his Quigol Pele sold for only $20 USD back in 2003 on eBay! I also had a chance to purchase a beautiful PSA 5 example a couple years ago for around $4,000 USD, but I thought the seller was out of his mind - oh, how I regret walking away from it! Anyhow, the value has just exploded over the past few years. Any seller who owns this card, especially in mid to high grade, can ask for big money and get it.

The explosion in value of the Pele Quigol card is similar to what David Peck talks about elsewhere on the board with regard to the landmark 1982-83 Wrestling All-Stars sets. Peck has mentioned on here before that he bought his first PSA 9 Hulk Hogan card from that set for $50 in 2009 or 2010. The Hogan card is now a $2,500 card in that grade.

Peck also mentions on here often that he never would have believed he would see high-grade commons selling for $1,000 from those sets (the PSA registry is quite a drug ).

I collect far more for fun than as something I hope to make money off of, but that is also at least part of the reason why I love non-sports cards and cards outside the big four sports. There seems to be a lot more possibility of a card exploding in value as new collectors become aware a particular card exists than what there is in baseball cards. The iconic baseball cards of the hobby have been pricey for a long time.

[aljurgela]

Here is one of Matthias Sindelar. As far as I know there are only two graded copies of these, one of the best pre-war forwards ever.

You can learn more about him and how he refused to play for Germany (he was Austrian) and his mysterious death here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Sindelar

IFFHS has him as the 22 best player ever.

[aljurgela]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Al -- where does Zidane rank on the various lists you have referenced, or is he too new?

Hey Peter, Zidane is #28 on World Soccer, #28 on Top End Soccer and #9 on the "1-20" FIFA Internet poll, but did not make the FIFA Grand Jury top 10 selection.

Regardless, it is easy to say that he is a top 30 player of all time, in my opinion, and I am definitely a fan of accumulating his rookie card.

[aljurgela]

Here is a close up of the Pele Quigol.

[samosa4u]

Very nice. Is it yours? You should crack it out and give it to PSA because Beckett sucks when it comes to vintage. If PSA gives it a 4, then it will still be worth more than a BVG 6.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by aljurgela

Hey Peter, Zidane is #28 on World Soccer, #28 on Top End Soccer and #9 on the "1-20" FIFA Internet poll, but did not make the FIFA Grand Jury top 10 selection.

Regardless, it is easy to say that he is a top 30 player of all time, in my opinion, and I am definitely a fan of accumulating his rookie card.

I am surprised the numbers are that low. As a casual fan, I would have thought top 10 easily across the board.