Want to read a good soccer book

[nedved9]

I suggest to read. Futebol The Brazilian way of Life. It is

written by Alex Bellos.A British Journalist. IT IS vERY ENTERTAINING

and informative,and most importantly it captures the chaos, the corruption,and the obession of what soccer brings to that nation.

cost is $18.95 soft cover. 420 pages

[beachesl]

Yes, it has some good pieces interviewing Brazilian soccer players overseas, and I especially like the interviews from the various players (both sides) and average Brazilians in the 1950 WC. It is a very disorganized and disjointed book, however, and this can be frustrating. The centrepiece seems to be how the 1950 defeat still seems to be at the centre of the Brazilian soul. Circa 2003

A similiar book, better written but striving to be hyper-intellectual,

is Brilliant Orange by David Winner, which deals with "the neurotic genius of Dutch soccer". 1974 seems to be the centrepiece of this book, but not as earthshattering as 1950 to the Brazilians. It is a real difficult read, and can lose everybody when it uses geometry and philosophy to describe Dutch football mentality. Like the part about the Dutch aversion to practicing penalty kicks, and how it has cost them. Circa 2001.

I like Soccer in the Shadow and the Light, by Eduardo Gaetano, which is a short series of poetic vignettes dealing with the history and passion of soccer. Not everbody's cup of tea, and since it is translated from Spanish, it often strikes people as odd. Circa 1995.

Very good is The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, by Joe McGiness, about an American journalist not just travelling with, but sharing the lives of a Serie B Italian football team from a small town. Real fantasy stuff, altho' it suffers from a bit of American gee-whizzism. Circa 1998.

Simialiar, but more of a travelogue, is A Season with Verona, by Tim Parks. Very interesting, you'll want to plan a dream vaction to Italy after reading this.

I enjoyed "Life at the Top" by Mark Hodginson (sp?). But I read it a few years ago, so I could not vouch for it that strngly. It's about an inside look at Barnsley's one year in the Premiership. Circa 1998.

"Ajax- The Dutch , the War", self-explanatory title, by Simon Kuper I really enjoyed, as I love history. 2003

Stinkers to Avoid: "The Working Man's Ballet" by Alan Hudson. Be careful, there are a lot of British stinkers about faded stars or clubs.

There are some titles I'm looking for that I would like other poster's opinions about:

White Storm – 100 Years of Real Madrid , Parma: Notes from a Year in Serie A , Dynamo – Defending the Honour of Kiev ,The Day Italian Football Died – Torino and the Superga Tragedy , Barça – A People’s Passion

[Marc]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Very good is The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, by Joe McGiness, about an American journalist not just travelling with, but sharing the lives of a Serie B Italian football team from a small town. Real fantasy stuff, altho' it suffers from a bit of American gee-whizzism. Circa 1998.

This is the only book I've ever read twice. Couldn't agree more, although at times I found McGuiness less than authentic/genuine. Still a great read.

[PaulV]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

"Ajax- The Dutch , the War", self-explanatory title, by Simon Kuper I really enjoyed, as I love history. 2003

I haven't read that one, but Kuper also wrote "Football Against the Enemy" which was excellent.

One of my more recent reads was "Us v Them: Journeys to the World's Greatest Football Derbies", by Giles Goodhead. It gets negative reviews from some people as it doesn't have the depth of soccer content that other books have, but I found it entertaining simply as a travelogue of his experiences viewing matches around the world.

"Manchester United Ruined My Life" by Colin Shindler is more of an autobiography than soccer book but is very entertaining (and funny).

I agree regarding Castel di Sangro, and I have Tim Parks' book in my list of things I want to read.

[Brun06]

I am reading that book rite now. It something that I can relate since I'm from Brazil. I like the different perpectives that the book presents especially bout the 1950 World Cup as I wasn't around to see it but only hear bout it from my parents.

Overall, fantastic.

[Michael Crampton]

I've read most of the books listed in this thread (and at least enjoyed all of them) and wanted to add to more.

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby - I can't believe no one else mentioned it. It really is the seminal piece that started the whole fanlit genre.

The Glory Game by Hunter Davies - Great book about his following around Spurs journey one long season in the early 70's. He's granted so much access that he's practically on the team. Davies recently released a collection of his columns from The New Statesman (a leftish British semi-intellectual magazine) called "The Fan"... it got decent reviews from what I've seen.

Offside - this has a long subtitle I can't remember exactly with the phrase American Exceptionalism in there somewhere. The authors (whom I also can't remember) relate the lack of soccer culture in the US to the broader issue of America's disengagement from Europe/the rest of the world. Very academic (it was written by a sociologist) but an excellent read if you can get through it especially if you want to think hard about what it will take to get a league going in this country.

Among the Thugs by Bill Buford - the original academic book on 80's hooligan culture written from the eyes of an American overseas. The first half is better than the second but still a worthwhile read.

Mike.

Mike.