Stallone Recalls Pelé’s Power on ‘Escape to Victory’ Set

Sylvester Stallone recently shared memories from the set of the 1981 film Escape to Victory, a sports war movie. In an interview with The Rest Is Entertainment, the 80-year-old actor talked about his experience working with the late soccer legend Pelé.

The film follows prisoners of war who play a soccer match against a German team during World War II. Stallone recalled how Pelé taught him the intensity of soccer, particularly its power.

“Pelé broke my finger in that thing,” Stallone recounted. He initially underestimated soccer, thinking it seemed easy, but quickly learned its challenges.

The actor described the historical context: soccer balls then resembled bowling balls, made of thick, brown leather, and players wore steel-toed shoes. Pelé demonstrated his skill by directing a kick.

Pelé instructed Stallone to stand in a specific spot in the goal, promising that Stallone wouldn’t see the ball coming. When Pelé kicked, Stallone heard a forceful sound, threw his hands up, and the ball tore through the old net. The force was powerful enough to break windows in the set’s prisoner of war bunkers.

Pelé, renowned worldwide as one of soccer’s greatest players, scored over 1,000 goals throughout his career. The Brazilian icon passed away at 82 on December 29, 2022.