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The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup
The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup features original pieces by thirty-two leading writers and journalists about the thirty-two nations that have qualified for the world's greatest sporting event. In addition to all the essential information any fan needs—the complete 2006 match schedule, results from past tournaments, facts and figures about the nations, players, teams, and referees—here are essays that shine a whole new light on soccer and the world.
399 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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173 people want to read
About the author
Matt Weiland
11Ìýbooks9ÌýfollowersMatt Weiland was formerly the Deputy Editor of The Paris Review. He has been an editor at Granta, The Baffler and The New Press, and he oversaw a documentary radio unit at NPR. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, New York Observer, The Nation and The New Republic. He is the co-editor, with Sean Wilsey, of The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup and, with Thomas Frank, of Commodify Your Dissent: The Business of Culture in the New Gilded Age. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 29, 2010
It's the 2010 World Cup, and I've reread an essay from this book -- or two -- every day of play so far. All of the essays are interesting, but as a book about football, it's a teeter-totter. One day I read about how a beautiful expression of how football can be more important than sex or how an unquenchable England fan can find himself cheering for Les Bleus, and the next day I am reading an article about surfing that happens to mention a footballing superstar (apparently that's all it takes to qualify the essay as "footy" writing) or a piece of political propaganda that happens to draw some obscure parallel between the beautiful game and a nation (see the essays on Paraguay and Mexico).
When the book is on the teeter, it is a perfect compliment to the matches. When the book is on the totter, though, it is maddeningly off-topic, suggesting that editor was either lazy or rushed when he put this book together. Still, even with the totters and its World Cup 2006 focus, is a perfect diversion at half time when Brazil and Portugal are playing to a dour draw or Germany is on the verge of embarrassing England...again.
I leave you with one of the finest description of what makes the beautiful game beautiful that I've ever read. It was in the essay I saved until last, 's essay on Spain; it's the essay that will always keep me coming back to this book, despite its totters:
When the book is on the teeter, it is a perfect compliment to the matches. When the book is on the totter, though, it is maddeningly off-topic, suggesting that editor was either lazy or rushed when he put this book together. Still, even with the totters and its World Cup 2006 focus, is a perfect diversion at half time when Brazil and Portugal are playing to a dour draw or Germany is on the verge of embarrassing England...again.
I leave you with one of the finest description of what makes the beautiful game beautiful that I've ever read. It was in the essay I saved until last, 's essay on Spain; it's the essay that will always keep me coming back to this book, despite its totters:
The explanations advanced for soccer's intense mysterious power, the trancelike quality of great matches, its worldwide domination over all other sports, have been many, some finding in it a vivid reenactment of the prehistoric ritual hunt, others echoes of the matriarchal dream, initiation rites, pastoral dreams of a lost golden age. There is, akin to these, the game's inherent theatricality -- not the razzamatazz of an American halftime, but the inner dramas of sin and redemption, the testing of virtue, the pursuit of pattern and cohesion, the collision of paradoxical forces: soccer has often been compared to Greek tragedy, or seen as a kind of open-ended morality play. Perhaps the difficulty in scoring (and thus the usual narrowness of margins of victory, even between teams of markedly unequal ability, the everpresent danger of a sudden reversal of fortune) intensifies this sense of theatre, causing the denouement -- or the collective catharsis -- to be withheld almost always until the final whistle. Nor, until that whistle, is there relief from the tyranny of time's ceaseless flow: once you've fallen into a game, there is no getting out. The player must stay with that flow, maintain rhythm, press for advantage, preserving all his skills, his mind locked into the shifting patterns, and the spectator, though less arduously, shares this experience.It's that sharing of experience that makes the game beautiful for me. It's why I was depressed for two weeks after Zidane headbutted Materazzi in 2006; it's why I was depressed after France's ignominious exit in 2010, at least until the amazing Slovakian defeat of Italy. I feel the game in a way I feel no other. And it's nice to know someone can put my experience into words.
February 14, 2008
This book is really around 21% about soccer. It's mostly just an excuse to get writers from different countries in the same volume -- some use soccer is a launching point for greater discussion on social topics or culture, some talk about soccer's role in their culture, others talk about the current history and the context of the tournament... It's interesting, and sometimes moving, but all in all it's a guiltless read to get your hands off fifa.com and onto something paper-based.
March 4, 2018
A solid collection of essays on the 32 countries in the 2006 World Cup, from a very good group of writers (Aleksandar Hemon, Nick Hornby, Geoff Dyer). The book is often frustrating, though, in the many essays that only touch briefly on soccer. Don’t get me wrong - pieces about a country’s politics and culture can be rewarding, but they’re out of place in a book that’s supposed to be about soccer. But what finally elevates this book beyond the solid-but-ordinary is Robert Coover’s long, wonderful essay on Spain, which shifts easily between a 1977 league match between FC Barcelona and Espanyol (and the political history of the clubs) and the Brazil-Italy final in the 1982 Cup. Coover captures the ethereal, magical aura that makes this low-scoring sport so enthralling.
May 3, 2021
Why did I read an introduction to the 2006 World Cup? Probably for some vicarious experience during quarantine, which is justifiable, but it is a little silly.
This book contains 32 essays about football in the 32 countries that qualified for Germany 2006. Enjoyable read, as dated as you’d expect, some essays seemed wildly off topic.
It’s also a time capsule of an age when the political backdrop to sports essays was the end of the Cold War and rampant globalization. I enjoyed watching out for the little flickers where the authors mention right-wing authoritarianism and nationalism, which would be the backdrop to the equivalent essay collection for Russia 2018 or Qatar 2022. Which I would also happily read, in any decade.
This book contains 32 essays about football in the 32 countries that qualified for Germany 2006. Enjoyable read, as dated as you’d expect, some essays seemed wildly off topic.
It’s also a time capsule of an age when the political backdrop to sports essays was the end of the Cold War and rampant globalization. I enjoyed watching out for the little flickers where the authors mention right-wing authoritarianism and nationalism, which would be the backdrop to the equivalent essay collection for Russia 2018 or Qatar 2022. Which I would also happily read, in any decade.
August 19, 2020
The concept of offering a brief history (political, socioeconomic, etc.) of each country in the upcoming World Cup through a series of independently-authored essays was a fascinating idea. I wish they had kept it going as a series for future World Cups.
July 15, 2021
Could have done with more football and less navel gazing
July 10, 2009
A delightful look behind the flag, color, and jerseys of each country in the 2006 World Cup. Some essays focused on soccer, while others use players and teams as a microcosm for the country's political or cultural place in the world. A book about sports, without really being about sports.
I found that I tended to like entries on countries written by non-native-born authors. ' United States entry is funny, but doesn't really explain America's relationship with soccer today.
Highlights include Australia's cruel plight as the dominant Oceania team (though they've since started dominating Asian teams), the Argentina entry that explains Diego Maradona, the Czech entry examining , Ecuador's speed-walking celebrity and rock-star president, 's struggles to learn Farsi, the Dutch's widespread exceptionalism (I know little about Total Football, but love it), 's study of Swedish prisons, and the Ukrainian political scene as it relates to Shiva.
I found that I tended to like entries on countries written by non-native-born authors. ' United States entry is funny, but doesn't really explain America's relationship with soccer today.
Highlights include Australia's cruel plight as the dominant Oceania team (though they've since started dominating Asian teams), the Argentina entry that explains Diego Maradona, the Czech entry examining , Ecuador's speed-walking celebrity and rock-star president, 's struggles to learn Farsi, the Dutch's widespread exceptionalism (I know little about Total Football, but love it), 's study of Swedish prisons, and the Ukrainian political scene as it relates to Shiva.
September 25, 2011
This is probably a great book to get the lay person interested in the World Cup. While it provided some intriguing personal anecdotes from the writers, it is evident many of the writers are not soccer maniacs as they do not provide enough relevant information about the role of soccer in each country. In particular, I think the editors struggled to find a writer for Portugal so they settled on a surfer who mentioned C-Ronaldo once and rambled on page after page about the development of surfing on the small islands West of Portugal. The writer in charge of France (it was not a requirement to be from or raised in the country of assignment) was probably most compelling as he expertly divulged his quest for losing his virginity during the summer of the '86 World Cup while juggling his new-found love for Michel Platini and French football. As France and Germany enter extra-time of the semi-final match he wrote, "Renata vanishes in my memory. I suppose she worked too hard, and could not match the excitement and magic Platini and his copains provide. I am fully aware this is an awful thing to say and hereby admit that any man who spurns a woman's love for a soccer game is an idiot and nothing but an idiot." Such is the appeal of football, soccer and sex simply cannot coexist.
July 7, 2010
Being that we are in the midst of World Cup Fever and I play soccer I thought this might be an enjoyable read. All of the teams that made it into the 2006 World Cup were represented by a different author to write for that particular country. It gave stats and then a personal essay about soccer and (fill in the blank with country). I loved that the American essay talked about how much we hate flopping. That's when the players throw themselves on the ground, roll around in agony, grimace, writhe and pant until the official has enough and the "injured" player hops up and returns right to the game with nary a limp or bruise. This is a big time wasting gimmick. And it's true, whenever somone on one of the other teams does this, I find it completely infuriating. Overall, a great read. Caution, some strong language on a couple of the drinking song lyrics. Maybe skip the England chapter.
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May 30, 2014Though arguably dated, this is a nice intro to the soccer / football histories of individual nations, though granted, some essays are quirky and go off on tangents. These do capture the characters of teams and often a nation through essays by an assortment of authors, of whom Nick Hornby is probably the most famous? Check it out for an offbeat introduction or refresher before this World Cup begins! Spain's entry, as an example, reprises a time Barcelona lost and the attendant humiliation and horror. this from a country that has famously tossed a pig's head at an unpopular player. History is important in the footballing world, like it or not!
July 11, 2012
I saw both editors speak at Court Street Books right before the 2006 World Cup. Two of the contributors also showed up, though their contributions had nothing to do with soccer. Um, if you were to pull together some writers to write about the upcoming World Cup for the soccer-ignorant American public, wouldn't you want to make sure that the pieces included in the book had something to do with soccer? Sure, I love reading about the Swedish penal system and surfing in Portugal, but not in a soccer book. I also wasn't impressed by the editors, though that is a story for another day...
March 27, 2011
What a fun book! The editors collected 32 essays, one for each of the teams participating in the 2006 World Cup. Some are from noted literary fans like Nick Hornby and Dave Eggers, others from luminaries like former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Casteneda, and others from writers I'd never heard of. Some essays focus exclusively on the beautiful game, others barely mention it at all. The only thing I didn't like about this book is I read it about 5 years too late. And that there wasn't a 2010 version.
July 21, 2016
The idea behind this book was good.
It, unfortunately, fell short, far too often. While a few essays were entertaining, some were listless (and in some cases not much about football at all). I also disliked the English-world bias of this. I would have preferred to hear essays from a local author rather than a British expat.
That being said, I enjoyed some of this and I would like this to become a fined-tuned, more meticulous fixture prior to every World Cup complete with local writers and insights. It's a book that's on the right track, at least.
It, unfortunately, fell short, far too often. While a few essays were entertaining, some were listless (and in some cases not much about football at all). I also disliked the English-world bias of this. I would have preferred to hear essays from a local author rather than a British expat.
That being said, I enjoyed some of this and I would like this to become a fined-tuned, more meticulous fixture prior to every World Cup complete with local writers and insights. It's a book that's on the right track, at least.
June 5, 2013
This is a fun and light book. The problem is the inconsistency between the authors. Some are funny, insightful, poignant, and others don't seem to know or care much about soccer or its influence. The author discussing Portugal, for example, wrote a very long essay about surfing that only turns to the country and its love of soccer in the last page. Overall a fun read, and one I wished the authors would update each time the tournament came around.
January 26, 2014
I started the book on my friend Russ's suggestion. The World Cup was about to begin, and here was a book that made you think. I read it of course out of order based on the teams I liked most, and then over time centred in on teams that had done well at the event itself.
The 32 essays more or less were connected to football, many fun and some were fascinating, but as a companion to watching the event the book made it a little less about the structure of the game and more about the pageant
The 32 essays more or less were connected to football, many fun and some were fascinating, but as a companion to watching the event the book made it a little less about the structure of the game and more about the pageant
June 20, 2007
You'd be surprised at what this book really is -- it's not about football--erm--soccer at all. It's a series of essays about the countries in 2006's World Cup, some political, some personal, all by different authors.
The appendix contains a fascinating almanac of figures regarding the countries.
The appendix contains a fascinating almanac of figures regarding the countries.
September 8, 2007
An interesting collection of stories from writers and jounalists representing all 32 countries of the 2002 Fifa World Cup. Some of the stories are all about the sport. Some stories have very little to do with it. A good read for any one really. The stories only common theme is the author's personal connection with the sport, their country or both.
December 20, 2008
This was supposed to be a diversion. However, the title did not belie its contents. This is "the thinking fan's guide" and the section on Portugal (my people) certainly dampened my ardor for my beloved national team. Nonetheless, with how bad Portugal is sucking these days...it doesn't take much to get me to poo on them.
February 15, 2015
Obviously, very different styles and content of 32 stories. I don't think that anybody could love all of them, but for me the preface and introduction are masterpieces. As a Polish native I can also say that the chapter about Poland is very informative and interesting. Other highlights are Argentina, Australia,Germany,Paraguay, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland.
January 2, 2018
Series of essays about the 32 nations represented in the 2006 World Cup. While soccer is featured in many of these essays, much of this book is about more, namely the little things that make the people of this world so unique.
June 28, 2007
Great essays on each of the 32 countries who participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Not straightforward sports stories, each writer surveys the socio-economic and/or political state of the countries as they relate the the most popular sport in the world. Very insightful.
August 8, 2007
Pretty good. A little uneven, as some of the essays are better than others, but still worth the time. It's probably not as entertaining now that we're a year removed from the World Cup, but it'll be a good way to get ready for South Africa.
December 15, 2007
Book contains essays on countries that qualified for the 2006 World Cup, each by a different author. Spans entire viewpoints (which are pleasantly biased at times): culture, history, ideology. A brilliant warm-up for the actual event.
March 9, 2007
The essays are very hit or miss.
May 7, 2007
This was a great companion for the World Cup! I hope they'll put out another one in 2010.
May 30, 2007
This book was made for me. Equal parts complex socio-political history and jock/nerd soccer book. Dave Eggers' essay on the history of the sport in the US is PERFECT!
August 23, 2007
a collection of short stories, 1 per each team that qualified for the world cup. A fun read, nothing crazy, was perfect to help tame world cup fever.
August 8, 2009
So far this book is just great. Really good breakdowns of all of ther teams leading into the '06 world cup. Also, some really good historical info about the tournament in general.
June 20, 2010
Interesting essays about each country that qualified for WC 2006. Some were political, some weren't great, but I learned quite a bit.
August 2, 2011
A nice account of World Cup observations and statistics.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
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