Books on Football

[Bianchi on Ice]

Im reading a very fine one at the moment..."Puskas on Puskas"...cost me an arm and a leg as it is hard to get hold of but well worth it...I do like reading about the european game..."Tor!" and "Morbo" are very good...id get Tor again if it was in hardback...anyway...any other reads on football in europe you can recommend?

[Nickyboy]

Calcio is very good. Can't remember the author, will check at home tonight

[Cocacolajojo1]

You probably know about these ones already but I found them well worth a read:

Simon Kuper - Football against the enemy
Simon Kuper - The football men
Simon Kuper and guy with difficult name - Why England lose

Also, my roommate found this a good read but I was... a bit disappointed and didn't finish it. I found the author overexaggerated how "strange and exotic" Italy is: The Miracle of Castel di Sangro – Joe McGinniss

[zuricity]

Tim Parks 'A Season with Verona' ... Limoncello rules.

[Jorgobot]

That book by zlatan was class

[Pretty Boy Lee]

I've got quite a few now.

Bellers is good.
Half way thru pele at moment, tad sterile but still interesting.
Niall Quinn's was crap as it was like a fucking love letter to Roy keane
Paul lakes is top
Bert trautman as well

Shit got loads more but memory escapes me

[BobbyJ1956]

[quote
Also, my roommate found this a good read but I was... a bit disappointed and didn't finish it. I found the author overexaggerated how "strange and exotic" Italy is: The Miracle of Castel di Sangro – Joe McGinniss[/quote/
Best football book I ever read and didn't think he made Italy seem "strange & exotic", just thought it brought a remote area to life.
There's a good book about Dynamo Kiev's players in Ukraine under Nazi occupation, forgot the exact title.
Then there's "Manchester City Terrify Europe: the Story of the Ten Times Champions League Winners" (Moss Side Books, 2025.)

[Im_Spartacus]

Soccernomics - should be standard reading before you are allowed to pollute this site with drivel

[zuricity]

Soccernomics - should be standard reading before you are allowed to pollute this site with drivel

Sorry fella, haven't read it yet , but i certainly won't be polluting the site with drivel, i promise . :-)

[Cocacolajojo1]

Soccernomics - should be standard reading before you are allowed to pollute this site with drivel

I think that's the edited version of Why England Lose, so yeah, this version is probably better than my tip.

[Breks]

Walking on water, Brian Clough.

[zuricity]

Walking on water, Brian Clough.

Dennis Tueart Surely??

[Original Dub]

Provided you don't kiss me:20 years with brian clough.

About time I read a new one actually, but that book is mint.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Malcolm Allison's book 'Football for Thinkers' is a terrific publication; still relevant even by today's standards.

The great man was light years ahead of his time.

[gillie]

Walking on water, Brian Clough.

Loved that book and Joe Mercer's "Football with a smile"

[Bianchi on Ice]

Malcolm Allison's book 'Football for Thinkers' is a terrific publication; still relevant even by today's standards.

The great man was light years ahead of his time.

In England maybe MC but on the continent they were reinventing the game pre-war...and the mystifying thing is that a lot of that philosophy stemmed from english coaches working over there...ones that our game appeared either scared of or unready for. You could argue that the english game has never truly recovered from this oversight.

[xavi6]

Paul McGrath's is well worth a read, how he was able to play so well while drunk still boggles the mind.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

'Brilliant Orange'.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

'Brilliant Orange'.

How did you find it?

Got to be honest I struggled with that one.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

'Brilliant Orange'.

How did you find it?

Got to be honest I struggled with that one.

Trouble with it for most people is that it tries to explain the Dutch way of playing football by looking at the Dutch as a people rather than just looking at the football side of things, which it also does as you know. I loved it as I grew up on the 1970s Dutch team and the football that they played and so found it insightful in many different ways. But you're right, it's not for everyone.