The Glorious World Cup: A Fanatic's Guide

by Alan Black, David Henry Sterry

If a guide book was a riot, then this is it. The Glorious World Cup is a smash and grab read with propellant laughs, and wicked satire. Expect some crunching tackles on the establishment with profiles on hooligans, World Cup villains and serious national grudges. Stuffed with country and player profiles, bags of footie history, and all you need to know about South Africa. Shooting on target are contributors Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, best-selling author Po Bronson, and the world's best soccer writer, Simon Kuper. This is the rebel guide for the soccer masses and the fanatic. Score one.  

Now you know...

*1 million condoms have recently been shipped to South Africa.

*USA v England on June 12, the second day of the tournament, around the 60th anniversary of one of the World Cup's most famous matches - USA's shock 1-0  victory over England in the 1950 tournament in Brazil.

*The first recorded soccer game in America took place at Plymouth Rock on what is now known as Thanksgiving.  They used a pumpkin for a ball.

*Henry Kissinger is soccer mad. Kobe Bryant too.

Welcome to the club.

Genres: Football

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether a World Cup fan for the first time or following your eleventh competition, The Glorious World Cup, provides a satiric ‘balls-out’ guide to educate, entertain and provide a tongue-in-cheek review as the top thirty-two teams in the world compete for soccer’s greatest prize, the World Cup.

Be it a run down of the teams that will be playing or an individual player profile on some of this year’s more colorful characters in soccer, The Glorious World Cup is there to provide the lurid details, the dirt on the villains, the historical significance in a variety of rivalry matches, and to prepare you to sit back in your armchair at home and cheer on which ever team flies your national colors.

Not since 1066 And All That has history been written with such mockery. The New Jersey attitude that emanates from David Henry Sterry is the same one that gave us Tony Meola and John Harkes and that helped light the way for the many Americans that now ply their trade in Europe.

Will this be the year that the Americans reach the finals or will the tried and true of Europe or South America once again vanquish a traditional foe? Brush up on your knowledge of the World Cup, take a trivia test with The Glorious World Cup and see how you stack up against the rest of the world.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was entertaining and informative - once I dug through the BS, which is really all in fun. Not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed reading it. Some of the exaggerations are over-the-top (Leo Messi is small, but certainly not 4'6" and 98 pounds!) but the "stories" drew a chuckle out of me on plenty of occasions. I'd like to find a current book by the same authors, about next year's Cup.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guide to the 2010 World Cup is truly dedicated to a broad audience - from beginners to die hard followers. It is clear the author did his research. What sold me was the often hilarious yet technical way he explained past tournaments and the animosities between rival teams and players.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly and funny, this slim book could mostly be skipped. However it was worth it just to read Irving Welsh's interview about his love of Scottish soccer.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quickie, throwaway guide to the just completed World Cup, so its shelf-life is now expired. Actually, pretty informative and well-written with some good snarky humor.

[Angela Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, learned a lot, and laughed a lot.