When Pelé Broke Our Hearts
When Pelé Broke Our Hearts: Wales & the 1958 World Cup is a 1998 book by Mario Risoli recounting the Welsh national football team's 1958 World Cup campaign. Wales registered three draws in their group stage, then a win in a tie-breaker against Hungary, advancing them to the quarter-finals, losing 1–0 to Brazil, on a score by then 17-year-old Pelé. As of 2020, this is the only appearance by Wales at the World Cup.[1]
 First Edition Cover, 1998 | |
| Author | Mario Risoli |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Popular history |
| Publisher | St David's Press, Cardiff |
Publication date | November 1998 Reprinted October 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 161 pp |
| ISBN | 1-86057-025-9 (1st imp.) ISBN 1-902719-02-6 (New ed.) |
Much of the story is from the perspective of the Welsh players, but also many other sources were used, such as newspaper articles. This was then all collated together, so as to sculpt the story.
A total of 17 players were interviewed: Colin Baker, brothers John Charles and Mel Charles, Trevor Ford, Alan Harrington, Ron Hewitt, Mel Hopkins, Cliff Jones, Ken Jones, Ken Leek, Terry Medwin, Kenny Morgans, Des Palmer, Ron Stitfall, Derek Tapscott, Colin Webster and Stuart Williams.
Welsh player John Charles, in addition to being one of the interviewees, also wrote the foreword. The 2001 edition also includes a preface by Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire.
References
- Hayes, Alex (1999-02-21). "Sport Book Review: Wales fall to a 17-year hitch". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-08-17.