Football books

Not quite sure where to post this; there may have been a thread on this subject before on here and if so, please merge immediately.

Basically, I'd like to talk about books about football in general but while doing so, may I put in a link for a book about to come out which was written by an acquaintance of mine? Here's a link:

Here

It's called "A Great Face For Radio" and is written by John Anderson. It's about more sports than football but the game does feature heavily in it.

After the plug, can I start (if one hasn't already been started) the thread proper about football books? One which I loved is Football Grounds of Great Britain by Simon Inglis, quite out of date by now, but a lovingly put together account of the various stadiums in England, Scotland and Wales with photos, anecdotes, architectural information and more to go with it.

I've got loads more but will hang back for the moment in case they've already been covered on the forum.

On edit: yes, I know football has two ls in it! Can admin put it in for me?"

This post has been edited by Merengue on Oct 7 2009, 10:28 AM

Nice topic Sporting and good luck to your friend on his book. I will recommend The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by the noted American author Joe McGinnis who became hooked on the sport during the 1994 World Cup and spent a season following Castel Di Sangro, a very small club provincial club from Abruzzi in their first season in Italy's Serie B. It is a fascinating story about a headstrong coach, a corrupt club president and the band of players some of whom befriend McGinnis and others of whom keep their distance. If I am not mistaken Carlo Cudicni was one of the young goalkeepers on the team at the time. It is a good read about a small club's momentary shot at glory. I believe Castel di Sangro have now fallen out of Italy's professional leagues and now are competing in a regional feeder league.

As the Arsenal fan here my recommendation of course would be Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. It was made into a decent movie in the UK and later bastardized in a US remake involving baseball.

I've always thought Soccer In Sun And Shadow by Eduardo Galeano is beautifully written.

Agree with Fever Pitch and The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro.

Thanks for the tip on A Great Face For Radio Sporting, it looks pretty interesting.

cheers,
hobbes

A Great Face for Radio does sound like a good book, I usually enjoy reading compilations by writers of their experiences over the years.

I have to agree with others about Galeano's book Futbol in Sun and Shadow and about McGinniss' Miracle of Castel di Sangro, although the ending kind of disappointed me (spoiler alert for those who have not read it yet!) but maybe that was expected as the idealistic writer ran into the pragmatic world of Italian soccer.

A book I read as a teenager and which really hooked me on the international aspect of the sport was Pele's autobiography, "My Life and The Beautiful Game." When writing about Pele's Santos teams in the History thread I thought about that book and how I would like to find another copy of it and re-read it.

An excellent read is Soccer in sun and shadow by Eduadro Galeano. Another good read is Futebol, Soccer, the Brazilian way by Alex Bellos. Last, but not least, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer.

Simon Kuper's 'Football against the Enemy' was fascinating.

David Winner has written a couple of really well-received books in which he analyses a country's football culture in the light of its wider culture. I've read 'Those Feet' which is described as a 'sensual history of English football' and there are bags of entertaining anecdotes and arguments linked to comic books, films and so on - even to Victorian schoolmasters' ideas of a 'muscular christianity' whose main aim was to tire schoolboys out through wholesome activities such as football so that they wouldn't have the energy for other...um...sinful activities that they might otherwise have got up to in their own time! It's always entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny in some parts. His other book, 'Brilliant Orange', does the same for Dutch football. I've got it but haven't yet got round to reading it.

John Foot's book 'Calcio' was a great exploration of the history and culture of Italian football. I reckon it's probably similar to Bellos's book on Brazil, which I still haven't got round to reading.

A couple more from my collection. "All Played Out" by Pete Davies, about the build-up to England's participation in the 1990 World Cup. Great anecdotes about the fans, insights into how the press went about things, unguarded quotes from the players themselves...well worth finding a copy of this.

"Left Foot in the Grave" by Garry Nelson, about the writer's experiences of managing Torquay United, a struggling 3rd division side. This is the diary of a season with all the usual problems afflicting such teams, whch basically boil down to a lack of money, some bad luck, injuries, the occasional peaks, the long away trips in midweek, the old pros who do their best and the young up-and-comers who try their best but who everyone knows that if they show any promise at all they'll be away to the bigger teams at a shot. Both poignant and funny, insightful as well.

"The Beautiful Game", by Chris Taylor. Various chapters on football in different South American nations. It's out of date now, but I found the description of the Uruguayan "garra charrúa" (Uruguayan fighting spirit, ferocity; sometimes translating into violence and intimidation: his words, not mine!) pretty interesting. There are also chapters on Colombia, Argentina, Nicuragua and Bolivia, as well as one on Latin American exiles playing Sunday league football on Clapham Common in London. As I say, out of date, but good writing never loses its lustre.

I recommend A Season With Verona by Tim Parks, an Italian-based English writer who spent a year following his adopted club, Hellas Verona, as it tried to stay in Serie A. Interesting stuff.

I learned some good slang insults in Italian that previously didn't know after reading Parks' book! It is an excellent travelogue of Italy as he followed Hellas Verona everywhere they went in one season. But it does not paint a good picture of Verona's hardcore fans but that sadly was not unexpected. It is worth reading for a view of a club's fans and the intense regionalism that still exists in Italy especially among the hard core set of ultras.

Simon, I recommend when you have time that you pick up and read your copy of David Winter's Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football. It is well worth the read and a pretty good analysis of the Dutch psyche.

Sorry Sporting I had not noticed this thread before, I've corrected the spelling on the title.

Like others I enjoyed Eduardo galeano's Soccer in Sun and Shadow, another book I would recommend but do not know if it is available in English is Manuel Vazquez Montalban's Football, a Religion in Search of a God, the first half of the book is the author detailing how FIFA and multinational companies have turned football practically into a religion and the players into idols of the masses. But the author laments how there are no modern idols, the book was written about 4 years ago, to match DiStefano, Pele, Maradona and Cruyff. The second half of the book is a collection of essays from the author about various players, club presidents, referees and sports writers which gives a sort of inside look into the sport in Spain.

I will second Robdog's recommendation of Alex Bellos' Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life. Here for anybody interested is a blog reviewing the book:

http://www.lastkick.com/?p=2823

And here are more reviews from amazon.co.uk:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/074755403X

The book helps a reader understand we Brasilians passion for the sport.

Allow me to toss in a few more worth reading. The first is by the stalwart US fan, Andy Gustafson (known by more than a few of us on the Board). It is called "23 Days in Korea" and is a diary of sorts detailing his experiences as a US fan at the 2002 World Cup. For anyone who has gone to a World Cup or is planning on doing so, it is really worthwhile. For the US fans, it is a snapshot of some very fun times.

The second is Steve Menary's "Outcasts: The Lands that FIFA Forgot." He is a real sportswriter and chronicles the efforts of numerous communities and locales to try and gain entrance into FIFA's Golden Gates. For the sake of disclosure, I must admit there is a chapter on the Northern Mariana Islands which I helped provide information.

BTW, anything Joe McGinnis writes, I read. Same for Tony Horwitz and Rick Atkinson.

I think I'll be putting a few of those on my Christmas list. At the very least, the "23 Days" book.

I'm a sucker for watching, hearing, or reading anything about the American experience during those games. Obviously, it has as much to do with the success we had that summer as much as anything else. I wonder if that feeling will ever be matched. The Confed Cup this year was pretty close. I'm crossing my fingers for next year!