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List: $10.00 Our Price: $8.00 You Save: $2.00 (20%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours.
Paperback, 290 pages |
Reviews and Commentary for Twenty-Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts : The Intelligent Fan's Guide to Soccer and World Cup '94
Synopsis:
In time for the 1994 World Cup games that will take place across the U.S., this is the ultimate handbook for the serious soccer fan--a complete guide to the game, the World Cup, and USA '94. Charts throughout.
Customer Comments
A Reader from W. Springfield, Massachusetts , 10/17/97, rating=9:
A profound look into the world of soccer
Pete Davies' book entertainingly covers the world of soccer in a witty, new-journalism style of writing. From the inside story of a Welsh 3rd Division club stuggling for promotion to the details of a great USA upset win over England in 1993, to the World Cup itself, Davies offers a rich and vivid look at the details and passion that make up the world's most popular sport. Great for beginners to become educated about the game, and where soccer is going in the United States. The book takes you to soccer at every level: From the groundskeeper to the manager to each players' unique perspective on what happens over the course of a match or an entire career. A very entertaining read. A great chapter on US National Team goalkeeper Kasey Keller's starting out in England at Milwall, a club in London with some of the toughest fans in Britain. You will learn a great deal about the sport of soccer, even if you fancy yourself an expert.
rating=9:
A must read for beginners and experts!
This book is about three things: 1) The author's favorite team, 3rd division Wrexham, struggling to gain promotion, 2) Breif but insightful descriptions of every world cup up to Italia 90 3) Descriptions of the positions and jobs of all the players on the pitch. Even if you think you know it all, read this book anyway. It will make you laugh and I guarantee that you will learn something new and interesting. Enjoy!
, 07/26/96, rating=9:
A Welshman's acerbic, affectionate look at the world game
As coach of my son's youth soccer team, I went looking for a book to introduce our parents to the rules, history and color of the world game. I found what I was looking for in this slim volume. Pete Davies' book is ostensibly about USA '94, America's hosting of the 1994 World Cup Tournament. It is much more than that, and it is a terrific read for soccer novices, soccer romantics, and hard-core fans. Davies is a Welshman and a die-hard fan of Wrexham, a Third Division team in the English League, struggling to gain promotion to the higher division. Davies intersperses a season-long odyssey of watching soccer among 5,000 loyal fans in a decrepit stadium where fans have to wait in line for 15 minutes to get the world's worst coffee and "deathburgers," which he says are made from "ears and nostrils." The reader gets a real sensory appreciation of what it means to be in love with a club, to live and die with their weekly ups and downs. Davies teaches the readers the rules of the game in a very casual way, but he is 100% accurate and insightful. He also covers all the major positions on the field. He describes the so-called formations used in the modern game, and then tells us that it is all meaningless once the top world teams get into the whirl of a real match. Soccer style, he says, reflects who you are. As he covers the build-up to USA 1994, he covers all the major teams. Italy are artists, but also subject to bouts of psychological darkness and fraternal bickering. Brazil are the sun-drenched sorcerers, magicians with the ball, who elevate the world game to its highest levels. The English are "cavemen with hairy arses," he says both with admiration and regret. An English League match is like watching 22 men on amphetimine. Bodies rush and hurl about, with collisions leaving casualties in their wake. A high work rate is prized. Unfortunately, he says, the artists of the world game have left the English game behind. The organization of English soccer,he says, is run by "idiots." In a short, easy-to-read volume, Davies really gives a great overview of the game in different parts of the world. He sounds a warning about the future of American soccer. The American character likes big corporate, para-military style organization. USA 1994 is awash in logos and rampant commercialism. Although the sandwiches served at USA 1994 are infinitely better than the "deathburgers" served at Wrexham, the common fan is the heart of the game in England, not the corporate sponsor. It is a point that we should not forget as our game in America grows. My favorite sports books are written by passionate writers who have a sharp eye for the game, but more importantly, a real affection for their games and subjects. I would put in this category Roger Kahn's "The Boys of Summer," David Faulkner's book on Sadaharu Oh, and now Pete Davies, with "Twenty-Two Foreigners In Funny Shorts." Highly Recommended
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Reading Level: Ages 9-12 |
From Booklist , 04/01/94:
Gr. 4-6. Divided into one- or two-page sections, this slender volume provides an overview of the mechanics of soccer as well as a discussion of tournaments and players through the years. The pages on defenders, for instance, explain the aims and main strategies of defensive players and also feature two full-color photographs, a box of "facts and feats" from the years 1930-1990, and another box with a photo and a cameo description of Brian Moore, an exceptional player who captained the English team in 1966 and 1970. At the end of the book are chapters on the U.S. as host of the 1994 finals tournament and on the recent rise of African teams to challenge European and South American dominance at the World Cup. A colorful action photo appears on nearly every page. Although the book was originally published in Great Britain, the appended list, "Books to Read," includes U.S. publications. Good for browsers or the seriously interested.
Copyright© 1994, American Library Association. All rights reserved
Card catalog description :
Introduces the sport enjoyed worldwide which features an international tournament every four years. Also includes highlights of noteworthy matches and profiles of outstanding players.