Postcards From Santiago

Long before Erling Haaland, Thierry Henry and Eric Cantona, there was George Robledo, the first overseas star of English football. Abandoned by his father as a child in Chile, Robledo came to the UK where he was raised in a Yorkshire mining village, serving underground as a ‘Bevin Boy’ during the Second World War before turning professional with Barnsley. During the 1951/52 season his 33 goals for Newcastle United in what is now the Premier League established a record that has yet to be broken. Nwo other overseas registered, foreign-born player had reached that number before, and no other overseas registered foreign-born player has reached that number since – despite what the record books might say.

Postcards From Santiago is the poignant yet inspiring story of Robledo’s remarkable journey from the Moon-like wastes of the Atacama Desert to the front cover of John Lennon’s 1974 album Walls and Bridges, via Wembley glory and the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil. Where, in England’s first ever World Cup match of any description, Robledo became the first Football League player from outside the British Isles to face off against England in an official international.

Featuring interviews with family, friends and admirers, this fascinating biography is the long-awaited definitive account of a footballing trailblazer who, despite being largely forgotten in his adopted homeland, remains a national hero in Chile.