A Matter of Life and Death

A seriously entertaining soccer gift book, in which 100 memorable quotes spark a richly informative and thought-provoking history of the sport in all its aspects

The sayings of the great and the good—not to mention the lovers and the loathers—of the beautiful game are used here as starting points for an informal, freewheeling, discursive, and entertainingly opinionated history of soccer. From the Pall Mall Gazette to Attitude magazine, from Brian Clough to Julie Burchill, from Diego Maradona to José Mourinho, the things they have said about the world's most popular team sport are examined, picked over, and placed in historical context—and sometimes found to inspire in unexpected ways. Exploring themes as diverse as the language of the sport, the role of the media, the role of money, and the careers of gilded geniuses from Pele to Ronaldo and maverick managers from Clough to Mourinho, and generously sprinkled with anecdotes, further quotes, and photographs, this book is the perfect present for the hardcore fan.  less