Fields of Fire: A Blazing Journey Through the History of Football [Paperback]

Billed and sub-titled as "The Greatest Football Matches Ever", Fields of Fire is a collection of pieces on a selection of football matches dating back to 1942, which for one reason or another will hold an important place in the history of the game. The classics of course are all there. The Hungarians beating England at Wembley in 1953, the Brazilians and their beautiful game in the 1970 World Cup Final, not to mention Real Madrid's thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup Final in Glasgow.

Some of the other choices, meanwhile, are a little off the beaten track. The first account concerns the tragic story of the murder of the Dynamo Kiev team who fearlessly beat a German army side during the occupation of the Ukraine in the Second World War. There are, however, also some notable omissions--no place for example for the England-Brazil game in the 1970 World Cup or the classic semi-final between West Germany and Italy of the same year. Indeed a number of Ludden's choices are rather quixotic. The Italy-Argentina World Cup semi-final of 1990 was hardly a classic, while, despite its thrilling climax, Manchester United's 1999 Champions League Final victory over Bayern Munich looked set to be a distinctly forgettable 1-0 victory for the Bavarians for most of the game. (Surely United's 1968 European Cup Final extra-time victory over Benfica at Wembley is more deserving of classic status?) Nevertheless, despite these quibbles, each game selected definitely has a story behind it, and the author neatly brings the appropriate context to the fore. Although Fields of Fire could have been more accurately sub-titled, it remains a well-written and researched book, sure to be welcome to anyone interested in great footballing stories of the past. --Trevor Crowe

"Fields of Fire" kicks off in war-torn Ukraine in 1942, telling the tale of a Dynamo Kiev side forced into a series of propaganda matches against their Nazi occupiers. They are ordered to lose but repeatedly hammer the Germans and are finally forced to pay a tragic forfeit - their lives. This terrible but factual tale is the first of many landmark games examined in John Ludden's collection of milestone matches in football history. The tales are laced with wonderful characters - some good, some bad, some downright scandalous: the cherry-red shirts of Hungary romping through the 1950s; a tubby little genius called Puskas; Di Stefano and his wizards from Madrid; Busby and his tragic, but brilliant babes; and the villainous Argentinean Rattin at Wembley. Moving into the 1970s, Ludden examines Pele and his glorious team exploding in Technicolor; German glory in 1974; Argentinean skulduggery in 1978; in the 1980s we revisit the France-Germany World Cup semi-final and the infamous arrival of Diego Armando Maradona. Onto the 1990s and Gazza's famous tears in Turin and the tragic shooting of Columbian Escobar.

John Ludden is a self-proclaimed football fanatic. He has recently completed a journalism course and has written articles for the Jewish Chronical and The Ukrainian Times. He currently lives and works in Manchester. Fields of Fire is his first book.