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Fútbol!: Why Soccer Matters in Latin America
Zócalo Public Square’s 10 Best Books We Read This Year, 2014 How the game of soccer became a part of everyday life and national identity in Latin America Discover the dreams, passions, and rivalries that are at stake in Latin America’s most popular sport. Fútbol! explains why competitors and fans alike are so fiercely dedicated to soccer throughout the region.
From its origins in British boarding schools in the late 1800s, soccer spread across the globe to become a part of everyday life in Latin America—and part of the region’s most compelling national narratives. This book illustrates that soccer has the powerful ability to forge national unity by appealing to people across traditional social boundaries. In fact, author Joshua Nadel reveals that what started as a simple game played an important role in the development of Latin American countries in the twentieth century. Examining the impact of the sport in Argentina, Honduras, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Mexico, Nadel addresses how soccer affects politics, the media, race relations, and gender stereotypes.
With inspiring personal stories and a sweeping historical backdrop, Fútbol! shows that soccer continues to be tied to regional identity throughout Central and South America today. People live for it—and sometimes kill for it. It is a source of hope and a reason for suicide. It is a way out of poverty for a select few and an intangible escape for millions more. As soccer gains greater worldwide attention today, this book serves as an indispensable guide for understanding soccer’s especially vital importance in Latin America.
From its origins in British boarding schools in the late 1800s, soccer spread across the globe to become a part of everyday life in Latin America—and part of the region’s most compelling national narratives. This book illustrates that soccer has the powerful ability to forge national unity by appealing to people across traditional social boundaries. In fact, author Joshua Nadel reveals that what started as a simple game played an important role in the development of Latin American countries in the twentieth century. Examining the impact of the sport in Argentina, Honduras, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Mexico, Nadel addresses how soccer affects politics, the media, race relations, and gender stereotypes.
With inspiring personal stories and a sweeping historical backdrop, Fútbol! shows that soccer continues to be tied to regional identity throughout Central and South America today. People live for it—and sometimes kill for it. It is a source of hope and a reason for suicide. It is a way out of poverty for a select few and an intangible escape for millions more. As soccer gains greater worldwide attention today, this book serves as an indispensable guide for understanding soccer’s especially vital importance in Latin America.
292 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 15, 2015
The book by a history professor does a decent job of straddling the line between academic and popular history as it pokes around the history of soccer in Latin America. The seven chapters are loosely organized around the seven Latin American nations that qualified for the 2010 World Cup: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Honduras, Mexico (Argentina and Brazil share a chapter, and the seventh chapter is about the state of women's soccer in Latin America). They are also more or less ordered so that they flow chronologically, allowing the reader to kind of get a sense of the game's development over time. These are further broken up by various "interlude" sections, and a number of "sidebar"-style profiles are particular players and personalities. These interludes and whatnot are somewhat distracting, and I found myself skipping past them.
The book frames everything though the "narrative" lens. As the author writes in the introduction, "Narratives are the stories that we, as individuals or as part of a group, tell about ourselves and our past." He goes on to further explain how and why they are used, and the word sprouts up repeatedly throughout. However, this comes across more like an academic grasping at legitimacy for a project that falls outside the bounds of typical academic writing. Ultimately, each chapter is a moderately interesting morsel about the history or social structure of a country, as seen through soccer.
My favorite chapter is the one about Honduras, which does a great job of answering some questions I didn't even realize I had about race in that country. Most of the other chapters focus more on politics and society, generally avoiding the lazy banalities of the sport being "more than a game" that these kinds of sports and society books sometimes fall into. A central historical theme that is more or less successfully carried through the book is showing how soccer and nationhood developed more or less in parallel throughout Latin America.
All in all, probably too academic for the average soccer fan, and if you've read deeply on soccer and the region, a good chunk is likely to be familiar. But I'd definitely recommend that people with a strong interest in one of the mentioned countries dip into that chapter and see if it grabs them.
The book frames everything though the "narrative" lens. As the author writes in the introduction, "Narratives are the stories that we, as individuals or as part of a group, tell about ourselves and our past." He goes on to further explain how and why they are used, and the word sprouts up repeatedly throughout. However, this comes across more like an academic grasping at legitimacy for a project that falls outside the bounds of typical academic writing. Ultimately, each chapter is a moderately interesting morsel about the history or social structure of a country, as seen through soccer.
My favorite chapter is the one about Honduras, which does a great job of answering some questions I didn't even realize I had about race in that country. Most of the other chapters focus more on politics and society, generally avoiding the lazy banalities of the sport being "more than a game" that these kinds of sports and society books sometimes fall into. A central historical theme that is more or less successfully carried through the book is showing how soccer and nationhood developed more or less in parallel throughout Latin America.
All in all, probably too academic for the average soccer fan, and if you've read deeply on soccer and the region, a good chunk is likely to be familiar. But I'd definitely recommend that people with a strong interest in one of the mentioned countries dip into that chapter and see if it grabs them.
June 7, 2017
It's a fun book that answers some key questions about soccer and national identity. I think it is aimed at a popular press audience, so from an academic standpoint, the book is lacking in theoretical development. Could have been more insightful if it made more explicit use of the numerous theories of nationalism, masculinity, and identity. Still a good read.
February 10, 2020
A really interesting historical survey of how the sport folds into the larger historical narrative. I was disappointed not to read about Andres Escobar's murder in 1994. Otherwise, well written and solid research.
June 12, 2021
Exciting book. Excellent introduction to Latin American history as well as soccer history. Would recommend to anyone wishing to study either, and all soccer fans across the world. Great source for studying the uses of sport in nationalism.
August 9, 2014
Everyone who follows soccer knows that it's a really big deal in Latin America. But why, and why there?
I attended a reading by the author, who is local to me, the week this book was released, and knew at once that this is not a run-of-the-mill sports book. Nadel is a university professor of history, and his book contains as much Latin American history as it does soccer. You'll learn about the stadium in Chile used as a concentration camp, how soccer stabilized and destabilized governments, and how classism and racism were defined and defied by the game.
His writing is excellent, and while there is a lot of information here, a good history instructor knows to emphasize the story. You will learn more about how soccer caught on in Latin America and changed the narrative for Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico. Vignettes on notable players past and present run through the text; you'll learn a bit more about some of the great names in the game.
Speaking to the author, his next project is on the history of women's soccer, to which he devotes a chapter in this book. I look forward to it.
I attended a reading by the author, who is local to me, the week this book was released, and knew at once that this is not a run-of-the-mill sports book. Nadel is a university professor of history, and his book contains as much Latin American history as it does soccer. You'll learn about the stadium in Chile used as a concentration camp, how soccer stabilized and destabilized governments, and how classism and racism were defined and defied by the game.
His writing is excellent, and while there is a lot of information here, a good history instructor knows to emphasize the story. You will learn more about how soccer caught on in Latin America and changed the narrative for Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico. Vignettes on notable players past and present run through the text; you'll learn a bit more about some of the great names in the game.
Speaking to the author, his next project is on the history of women's soccer, to which he devotes a chapter in this book. I look forward to it.
March 16, 2015
In Futbol!: Why Soccer Matters in Latin America, Professor Joshua Nadel explores why soccer has played a vital role in defining Latin American culture, the role of women in society, racial identity, political ideologies, and how soccer gives a voice to under-served populations. The world witnessed firsthand the joy and despair, soccer brings to a nation, after the end of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Passionate fans from across the globe gathered in Brazil to cheer their respective nations onto victory. This zeal for the beautiful game especially was evident among supporters of the national teams from Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the host country Brazil. Soccer is more than just a sport in Latin America, but a way of life. While soccer fans will enjoy Nadel’s analysis and attention to detail, the casual observer will be able to appreciate how sports and culture can co-exist to positively impact lives.
December 28, 2016
In Fútbol!, Joshua H. Nadel is at his best when he doesn't try to answer the question "Why soccer matters in Latin America". The way he tries to answer it is biased, uninformed, sophist and editorial. With the quality of a College paper done the night before the due date, Joshua Nadel thus wastes his chapters on Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil reformulating the same idea without ever backing it with a logical explanation and navigating around the titular question without ever really addressing it.
This being said, Fútbol! is an interesting book when its chapters are about Latin America's history, as much political as sportive. The chapter on women's soccer, though not exactly linked to the book's subject, is refreshing, interesting and deeply researched.
I recommend reading the book while ignoring its title and skipping a few of its chapters.
This being said, Fútbol! is an interesting book when its chapters are about Latin America's history, as much political as sportive. The chapter on women's soccer, though not exactly linked to the book's subject, is refreshing, interesting and deeply researched.
I recommend reading the book while ignoring its title and skipping a few of its chapters.
July 2, 2016
Nothing short of stunning. Incredibly well researched, eloquently written, stunningly insightful, this book delves into an issue that the world over discusses on a regular basis and discusses and illuminates without cheapening it by pretending to be able to simplify it. At the same time it is easy to follow and understand. It accomplishes it's task so well that if sheds light on the question of why soccer doesn't have the same hold on the US without ever even mentioning it. I expected it to be slow and dry, but was completely wrong. Fascinating book that's really worth the read.
April 17, 2015
Derivative, to be generous.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews