The World Cup is the planet’s biggest event. Yet no one on this side of the pond has ever set out to explain comprehensively why it matters and what’s likely to happen this time around.

In this sharp, fun, and sassy guide, Stark & Stark lay it all out for both the casual and impassioned fan – the spectacle, the tradition, and the teams. Learn why Spain never wins, Brazil often does, and what the US and Mexico really need to do to win the Cup. Discover, too, what the first World Cup in Africa will mean – from Mandela to mythical spirits. Each team profile features a squad breakdown, players to watch, predictions, and an analysis of team tactics, tradition, coaching techniques, and even the national anthems that will be played before each match. Through it all, the book highlights the cultural politics that still make every England game resemble the Charge of the Light Brigade, as one writer put it, and every Italian team a cross between Machiavelli and Michelangelo.

You’ll laugh out loud, you’ll argue, but when it’s all over, you’ll know more about the World Cup and soccer than an ESPN analyst. This is not only the best introduction to the 2010 World Cup; it’s a book about soccer you’ll want to read and reread for years to come. (edited by author)

5 Responses to “World Cup 2010: The Indispensable Guide to Soccer and Geopolitics”

1. R. Shaw says:

   June 14, 2010 at 12:00 am

   i was really hoping for a something a little more in depth than a seeming overview not much different than the CIA Fact book. I could have lived without this book, even though I am an avid World Cup fan.
2. G. Jansen says:

   June 7, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Not bad, but kind of shallow. Seems to be designed for the American fan who doesn’t know much. More in-depth analysis would have been welcome. Decent overview, but that’s about it.
3. C. Dougherty says:

   June 4, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Maybe I was just thrown off by the title, but I thought the book would have a lot more integrated information on soccer and geopolitics. Like other reviewers mentioned there are a number of simple spelling errors which could have been fixed with a round of spell check and the formatting also seems a bit off at points. There are some interesting points made in different chapters. For each team they offer a Beatles song that describes the team, but then there’s no direct explanation. Sometimes the reasoning behind the choice was obvious or explained in the next section, other times though it would have been beneficial to have a one or two sentence explanation.

   All in all it seemed like the book was just thrown together at the last minute and even though there were some interesting parts I’d recommend trying some of the other authors that are repeatedly mentioned within the book, like Simon Kuper.
4. A. Crane says:

   May 23, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Apart from the odd typo or mistake the sassy approach the authors take made reading this book a blast. As long as you’re looking for something fun and enjoyable to read about the world cup I would say look no further. If all you want is something dry and factual there isn’t too much to be gained here, one could find most of the information on the web, probably even wikipedia, but you certainly won’t find everything you’re looking for presented in such an easy to read format. I found myself laughing on more than one occasion and strongly recommend this book to everyone look for a light read on such a great topic.
5. Sean Mccarthy says:

   May 20, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I love soccer and politics and I got a good deal for this book on Amazon.com, but the content did not deliver. The two authors do give a comprehensive breakdown of the 32 tournament participants divided into eight groups. They definitely give some facts and figures on each team and also provide predictions and background information for the tournament as a whole. But the quality of writing is poor and the many factual and spelling errors tell me that the authors did not proofread and fact check their text which, with a published piece of work, must be an embarrassment. In publishing a book or a journal article, etc. it is never recommended, as the authors did more than a few times, to say “According to Wikipedia…” That is never an appropriate source of information for a book, let alone a term paper in college. The spelling and factual errors remind me of the slogan of voting in Chicago in the 1960 election: early and often. For example, did you know that Cameroon won the Confederations Cup in 2002 (Page 234)? No? That’s because Cameroon not only has never won a Confederations Cup, no such tournament existed in 2002. Also, apparently according to the authors, Australia lost to Brazil 2-0 in the 2006 World Cup 2nd round (Page 210), except that is not true because Australia lost to Italy on a late penalty. Seriously, I could list at least ten more examples, it’s that bad. Additionally, their analysis of the state of soccer in the USA chapter leaves a lot to be desired. One particularly terrible passage was (Page 166) because the US woman’s soccer team is so good, soccer has become a “women’s game” and thus, according to the authors, “has the unintended effect of making it unacceptable to a large part of middle (and male) America.” Really? I guess that little fact of soccer being the most popular youth sport in the United States year after year, with millions of Americans from all backgrounds and states playing year after year, was missed by the two authors. Oops. As for the politics or geopolitics, it’s a pretty light and superficial presentation. With the World Cup coming up there are many choices (and resources) to get your information for the big event. So pass on this 370 page volume and go for something that is more professionally put together. For the unsuspecting reader this book might impress, but make no mistake, there are so many errors of semantics, spelling, facts, and analysis that this book should NOT be on anybody’s must read list for the upcoming World Cup.