Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the astonishing career of football legend Pelé, who (by his own count, if not FIFA’s) scored his 1,000th goal on 19th November, 1969.

Smashing racial barriers, Pelé was the first black player to grace the cover of LIFE magazine; played a pivotal role in Brazil's triumphs at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico; and remains the all-time leading scorer for his club, Santos FC.

In this episode, The Retrospectors weigh up arguments whether his 1000th goal ‘counts’; reveal how Pelé got his name; and praise how the player transformed his nation’s image on the world stage from ‘coffee beans and Carmen Miranda’ to a global footballing powerhouse...

Further Reading:

• ‘50 Years On From Pelé’s 1,000th Goal, It Has Become Necessary To Reaffirm His Greatness’ (Forbes, 2019): https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshualaw/2019/11/19/50-years-on-from-pels-1000th-goal-it-has-become-necessary-to-reaffirm-his-greatness/

• ‘Pele's 1,000+ goals: Why Santos' claims about the G.O.A.T. should be taken seriously’ (ESPN, 2021): https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37612913/why-santos-claims-goat-taken-seriously

• ‘Pele scoring his 1,000th career goal’ (The Sports Pages, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107f2tga0LE

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/retrospectors

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Victory Celebration