When Pele Broke Our Hearts
Wales and the 1958 World Cup
Mario Risoli author Nicky Wire author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:St David's Press
Published:11th Jun '26
£18.99
Supplier delay - available to order, but may take longer than usual.
When Pelé Broke Our Hearts is the definitive and bestselling story of Wales's remarkable 1958 World Cup campaign.
Now republished in an updated and expanded third edition, Mario Risoli’s highly acclaimed book contains additional material from the players and their families and many more photographs and illustrations from the qualifying campaign and tournament.
An incredible tale that features the Munich Air Disaster, a bizarre qualification as representatives of FIFA’s Middle East/Asia group, and hilariously haphazard preparations, Wales battled through to a quarter-final against Brazil. But without the injured John Charles - the world’s most valuable player who’d been mercilessly targeted by Hungary in the previous game - the team were beaten 1-0 by the first World Cup goal scored by a 17-year-old Pelé.
Heartbreaking yet uplifting, emotional and entertaining, When Pelé Broke Our Hearts chronicles a truly astonishing story that continues to be loved by fans of ‘the beautiful game’.
'a brilliant book...a thoroughly good read...I warmly recommend it'
Adrian Chiles Radio 5 Live
'If you were to write a surreal football comedy script tinged with pathos, personal tragedy, heroism, politics, adventure and endeavour, you couldn't begin to emulate the story of Wales in 1958 ... well-crafted ... meticulously researched'
Total Football
'a great tale, diligently researched and well told'
GQ Magazine
'excellent ... an intriguing story, compellingly told'
Four Four Two
'terrific ... a lovely story, well told and, best of all, you don't have to be Welsh to enjoy it'
The Sunday Times
'A beautifully written and expertly researched book'
Nicky Wire - Manic Street Preachers
ISBN: 9781904609292
Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 20mm
Weight: unknown
192 pages
3rd New edition