- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Portrait; First Edition edition (23 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0749950021
- ISBN-13: 978-0749950026
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.4 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
905,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Football > South American
- #72 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > South America > Argentina
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
When England meets Argentina on the football pitch, both nations hold their breath. Author David Downing explores the stormy relationship that the two countries share, against the backdrop of their interwoven histories. The story begins with Britain bringing the game to its South American semi-colony. It takes in football matches that degenerate into battles, and wars that seriously affect football matches. From the club tours of the early 20th century, through the mass import of British referees, to the first friendly internationals of the post-war period, Downing unearths the telling anecdotes and examines the footballing trends. He takes the reader through the 1966 World Cup quarter-final; the romantic Argentinian victory of 1978 and the arrival of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa in England; the 1982 war in the South Atlantic; and the revenge offered up four years later by Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God'. At each turn of the story, Downing shows how different attitudes to the game and different cultural identities have underlain the footballing headlines. This is a tale of clashing cultures, both on and off the pitch.
About the Author
David Downing is the author of more than thirty published works, including titles on football, books about twentieth-century history, biographies and works of fiction. The holder of a Master's degree in international relations, he has travelled extensively.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a nice idea but is spoilt by poor writing and bad economics.
Chapter 5 looks at the economic relations between the two countries in the 1920s. If you think right-wing, free-trade capitalism is a bad thing then you will like this chapter. Of course, if you realise that left-wing protectionist policies sustain poverty you will weep.
Similarly, saying that the last ten years of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister had 'predictably dire results' - again, enough to make you weep. A statement like that doesn't belong in a book like this. This is not to deny the Malvinas effect on Mrs Thatcher's continuing in power but that could have been handled better.
Chapter 13 tells us that Alf Ramsey alienated the Mexican media so much that the England team was booed onto the pitch in its first match in the 1970 World Cup finals. But the book gives no hint as to how this alienation took place.
The book does not pull punches when dealing with players and politicians from both countries and neither comes out well. There is some value in reading (claims of) nastiness of both English and Argentinians but, overall, this is a poor book.
Chapter 5 looks at the economic relations between the two countries in the 1920s. If you think right-wing, free-trade capitalism is a bad thing then you will like this chapter. Of course, if you realise that left-wing protectionist policies sustain poverty you will weep.
Similarly, saying that the last ten years of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister had 'predictably dire results' - again, enough to make you weep. A statement like that doesn't belong in a book like this. This is not to deny the Malvinas effect on Mrs Thatcher's continuing in power but that could have been handled better.
Chapter 13 tells us that Alf Ramsey alienated the Mexican media so much that the England team was booed onto the pitch in its first match in the 1970 World Cup finals. But the book gives no hint as to how this alienation took place.
The book does not pull punches when dealing with players and politicians from both countries and neither comes out well. There is some value in reading (claims of) nastiness of both English and Argentinians but, overall, this is a poor book.
Format:Hardcover
This book does not offer a balanced argument and although i was looking forward to a great read, i was very disappointed. Like another reviewer stated, it does not give a balanced argument.
I have visited Argentina and to my amazement, I found the people incredibly friendly and warm. When my partner at the time and I said we were from England, we were expecting distrust and aggression at every corner,but we never came across it even once. The "war" and rivalry (so-called) between the two countries comes from the English tabloid/pub racists and xenophobic football fans, not from the Argentinians. The Argentine people on the whole are too worried about their Countries' unemployment, frail economy and corruption to worry about the English, who they view as simply a bit boring, backward/insular and arrogant, and not really worth hating. Of course there are exceptions to this but this enmity or "hatred" generally stems entirely from the English people's backwardness/insularity, arrogance and bitterness about losing out to Maradona in the 1986 World Cup - which they wouldn't have won anyway.
I have visited Argentina and to my amazement, I found the people incredibly friendly and warm. When my partner at the time and I said we were from England, we were expecting distrust and aggression at every corner,but we never came across it even once. The "war" and rivalry (so-called) between the two countries comes from the English tabloid/pub racists and xenophobic football fans, not from the Argentinians. The Argentine people on the whole are too worried about their Countries' unemployment, frail economy and corruption to worry about the English, who they view as simply a bit boring, backward/insular and arrogant, and not really worth hating. Of course there are exceptions to this but this enmity or "hatred" generally stems entirely from the English people's backwardness/insularity, arrogance and bitterness about losing out to Maradona in the 1986 World Cup - which they wouldn't have won anyway.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The history of England and Argentina in football should have made a fascinating read. But as an American, to my shock, this book contains far too many anti-American--never mind anti-British--asides.
It's obvious that Mr. Downing is a Guardian reader. Basically, England are evil, America even more so, and the Third World (in this case Argentina) the saintly oppressed. As has become the curious trait of the Guardian's sport page, Downing too is pretty much disparaging of England's footballing heritage. To him, they were never as good as they thought they were. In the occasions where they find form, Downing seems to think it's a fluke, or only achieved through favorable draws, refereeing, or brute tactics. Of course, when Argentine sides resort of brutish play, the assumption is that they were driven to it by the evil European who played that way first.
The punters aren't spared either. Most of the time, the English supporters are insular and jingoistic. The Argentines, kept behind barbed wire fences and moats at home--for good reason--seem to get a free pass.
I am not such a zealot that I won't read an opposing point of view, but halfway through, when Downing takes a shot at President Bush 43, it seems too much. Please keep to the subject matter at hand!
When Downing does stick to the football, he does paint some interesting anecdotes, but none have depth. He seems to rely heavily on press clippings when discussing the early 20th Century but far too often seems to have been unable or unwilling to research the first names of players. This is a subject matter that cries out for recent primary source interviews of managers and players from both sides, but Downing relies either on press interviews at the time or biographies (which of course always cast a manager or player in a positive light).
Worse, he provides no explantion for how the Argentine Football Association and domestic league changed from Anglo-Argentine membership to an Latin Argentine one. This seems a critical and very important historical change but there is no explanation for it.
Of course, any mention of the words "England" and "Argentina" must include the Falkland Islands and as you might have guessed, Downing is sympathetic to the Argentines on this one. He seems to cast aside the concerns of native born Falklanders and seems to almost regard their presence as a nuisance. I wonder what author Graham Bound, who wrote the excellent Falkland Islanders at War, must think if he should ever read this book!
So a high level skim of English-Argentine football clashes, shots at G.W., Kissinger, Thatcher, the evil United States--it's all here. If you're on the left or far left you'll love it. If you're not, you won't be surprised to read on the dust jacket that Mr. Downing has travelled in "Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union."
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
