PELÉ – WORLD CUP HERO

For many he was the greatest football player the world has ever seen. An ambassador for his sport and his country. A player whose genius for soccer broke through the racial barriers of Brazil. But what lies behind the legend?   Can one really call him the greatest footballer of all time? What were the great moments that we can see which illustrate why this man – above so many million others – bears the title ‘the greatest?’ What is the truth behind the reputation?

Pelé scored a total of 1,282 goals throughout his years as a footballer – an unequalled goal a game, 12 of them in World Cup finals. He was decreed by the government ‘a non-exportable national treasure’. Some question, however, whether he was too much the white man’s soccer puppet who played the games of the military dictatorship and gave little back to his own people. Despite these accusations, he has become a talismanic figure for millions of poor and oppressed people all over the world, and whether the Brazilian government wished it or not, was an inspiration to the impoverished black majority of Brazil.

This film goes beyond Pelé’s glittering football career and look at his impact on Brazil, international football and, indeed, the world.

Originally broadcast on the BBC in 2002

Written & directed by Phil Grabsky