In response to a posting on the blog “When Saturday Comes” that asked about decent soccer books, here is a summary of an article written at the end of 2004.

Colin Shindler’s “George Best and 21 Others” (Headline Book Publishing) is a great follow up to his two previous soccer books “Manchester United Ruined My Life” and “Fathers, Sons and Football”. Shindler takes the 1964 FA Youth Cup semi-final between the two Manchester clubs as his anchor and weaves together the stories of the individuals who played in that match, along with the social upheaval that was sweeping Britain in the 60’s. “How Soccer Explains the World” by Franklin Foer (Harper Collins) can be judged one of the best books of the year without limiting the category to soccer. Foer, who writes for the New Republic, does a masterful job of describing the powerful forces that the game often unleashes. Racism, ethnic-cleansing, bigotry and violence are all put under the microscope. Simon Kuper has followed up his acclaimed “Football Against the Enemy” with another stunner, “Ajax, The Dutch, The War” (Orion). Kuper tells the story of Amsterdam’s Jewish population during the Second World War and the role of Ajax during those terrible times. The Second World War is also the setting for Andy Dougan’s book “Dynamo” (Harper Collins). Dougan tells the story o####ame played in 1942 in occupied Ukraine. A team largely comprised of the pre-war Dynamo Kiev side played a Luftwaffe side. The consequences of the result were brutal. Dougan does an incredible job of separating the facts from the folklore of the game. This one is a riveting read. Tom Bower is an investigative journalist rather than a sports journalist but that is not a handicap in his book “Broken Dreams” (Simon & Schuster). You can’t read this book and not feel uneasy the next time you hear or read a rumour about an imminent player move. The book is devastating in its expose of the largely unregulated industry of soccer and the millions siphoned by sleazy agents, unprincipled owners and managers. Another book with a business and financial bent is “Manchester Unlimited” by Daily Telegraph reporter Mihir Bose. This book was published in 2000 and focuses on the attempted takeover of United by Sky TV. The book not only lays out how the Sky bid failed, but also provides the context for the current goings-on at Old Trafford involving Martin Glazer as well as the “Fergie – Coolmore Mafia” feud earlier this year. “White Storm” written by Phil Ball (Bloomsbury) thankfully manages to deal with subject of Real Madrid without mentioning David Beckham in every second sentence. The history of the world’s most successful club is charted. The roles played by all the great and influential figures in building the institution that is Real Madrid are described. A couple of years ago Alex Bellos gave us “Futebol – The Brazilian Way of Life” (Bloomsbury) and on a second reading a couple of months ago it is still a standout book.  Nothing is left untouched as the book covers topics as diverse as the export of Brazilian players, poverty, religion, Carnival and the 1950 World Cup final. If it is statistics you want then you cannot go wrong with “Soccer Yearbook 2004/5” by David Goldblatt and published in the United States by DK Publishing. With over 500 pages the book is crammed with all the information you could want on a country-by-country basis while covering the history of all the major competitions. The statistics, graphics and the photographs make this a must have for all anoraks out there. Finally “Motson’s National Obsession – The Greatest Football Trivia Book Ever” (Publishers Group West) maybe a slight exaggeration although I must admit I cannot name a better one. Compiled by the late Adam Ward and with a foreword by legendary soccer commentator John Motson, it makes an enjoyable and often interesting little read.”