Who is better, van der Sar or Zico?
Zico leads with a GOAT score of 90.9 against 90.8 for Edwin van der Sar — a gap of 0.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
van der Sar vs Zico
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GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
ZicoWinner
90.9Zico wins: Peak, Statistics
van der Sar
90.8van der Sar wins: Dominance, Longevity
Candidates
Locked to FootballShareable URL · /compare/edwin-van-der-sar-vs-zico-f
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇧🇷 Zico
90.9
Zico leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Zico
2. Edwin van der Sar
Category breakdown
Season form · Goals per season
Career timeline · Goals per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Goals per season
1. 🇳🇱 Edwin van der Sar9 goals
1 season by age 21 · 9 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Zico — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | van der SarRetired | ZicoRetired |
|---|---|---|
| League appearances | 606 | — |
| Champions League titles | 2 | — |
| Netherlands caps | 130 | — |
| Premier League titles | 4 | — |
| Eredivisie titles | 4 | — |
| South American Footballer of the Year awards | — | 3 |
| Intercontinental Cup titles | — | 1 |
| Copa Libertadores titles | — | 1 |
| Career goals | — | 527 |
| Brazil goals | — | 48 |
| Dominance w25% | 90 | 88 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 96 |
| Longevity w20% | 92 | 88 |
| Honours w20% | 90 | 90 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 94 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Zico90.9
van der Sar90.8
FAQ
Where does van der Sar beat Zico?
van der Sar scores higher on dominance, longevity. Zico leads on peak, statistics.
How is the van der Sar vs Zico score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. van der Sar: 90.8, Zico: 90.9.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for van der Sar vs Zico. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.