Wherever you are on earth, it's only a matter of time before you will come across children playing football. Another five minutes and you will probably find yourself having a ball rolled to your feet as an invitation to join in the game. Across every continent, football is a common language and a culture shared: a joy, a passion, an escape and an affirmation of identity understood and celebrated by children - and their parents - in every country on earth. For this unique collaborative project, football writer Tom Watt talked to the world's top footballers about growing up and falling in love with the game: Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Gilberto Silva; England's David James and Scotland's Craig Gordon; Italy's Fabio Cannavaro, Spain's Iker Casillas and France's Franck Ribery; South Africa's Benni McCarthy and Nigeria's Nwankwo Kanu; the USA's Landon Donovan and Shunsuke Nakamura from Japan; and, the world's most famous player, David Beckham. The player's own words are brought to life with over 130 full colour images which offer rare, emotive and striking insights into childhood all over the world and celebrate football's ability to touch the lives of children - and adults - wherever the beautiful game is played.
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About the Author
Tom Watt is an English actor, writer and broadcaster. He writes on football for every major UK newspaper and ghost-wrote My Side, the best-selling autobiography of David Beckham. Tom is currently lead presenter for BBC London's football coverage. Arsene Wenger is a French football manager who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996. David Beckham is a footballing icon and recently became England's most capped outfield player.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Jon B
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Tom Watt has written this book with such passion that you feel the stories if you were the reporter. What a great book for a TV series,what a delight that would be!
By L. Ajayi
Format:Hardcover
Amongst all the highs and lows of supporting your football team you sometimes forget what first brought you to love the game. This book with it's exceptional human interest pictures reminds us of just that. It also shows that underneath all of the bravado of world class players there is still pure joy in just being able to play the game.
The other aspect of this book that is compeling is the human interest stories that are given by the players themselves, where they have come from, what motivated and still motivates them and their perspective on what being in a privalaged position has in terms of their position in society.
Overall a very good read with stunning pictures to boot.
The other aspect of this book that is compeling is the human interest stories that are given by the players themselves, where they have come from, what motivated and still motivates them and their perspective on what being in a privalaged position has in terms of their position in society.
Overall a very good read with stunning pictures to boot.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.9 out of 5 stars
23 reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The game is the big star
30 May 2010
By M.S.
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The bigger picture this book paints of how the game affects lives, all over the world, in profound ways is what is most impressive. The photographs are moving and interweave brilliantly with the short biographies of world famous professionals. Stories from tiny countries to the worlds super powers help you get a sense of what this game represents globally. I suppose it could be any sport, soccer happens to be the most popular game all over the world for good reason: it's simplicity plus it is a universal language. It has a massive impact on lives.
My son loves this book and loves to learn about some of his favorite players. The stories are short and you don't need to read it from front to back. Easy to pick up and flip through for a few moments, gives the reader a real sense of some far away land. It truly is a moving book for anyone, not just a soccer fan
My son loves this book and loves to learn about some of his favorite players. The stories are short and you don't need to read it from front to back. Easy to pick up and flip through for a few moments, gives the reader a real sense of some far away land. It truly is a moving book for anyone, not just a soccer fan
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book for a young soccer fan
31 July 2010
By DCResidentPK
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I bought this for my son's birthday (15). I got a brief chance to look through it before and was impressed with the whole thing. I do plan to go back and read it all. He loves it and has commented a few times how much he likes it and thanked me more than once! He said he has read it through 3 times. He loves the game and this was just a great way to get more info on players he loves and some he doesn't. You won't be disappointed whether for you or as a gift.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for any fan of the beautiful game
11 Jan 2011
By JohnGalt
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This is, simply, a fantastic book. I can't imagine a better read to give a sense of soccer and its role in the world. The photography is incredible and really makes me appreciate the passion this sport has garnered. Some of the interviews seem choppy and shallow but this is clearly the result of translations and casual interviews. It is this lack of polish that makes it a true gem. I read it electronically and now am buying a hard cover for my office coffee table.
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4.9 out of 5 stars
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