The author of a best-selling biography of Diego Maradona, and similarly widely acclaimed books on FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, digs deep into the roots of the most popular sport, to look at how football played in Spain became the most admired in the world. From its early beginnings when the first football on the shores of Bilbao and Buenos Aires was played by British sailors and engineers, through to the influx of South American stars, and similarly inspirational Italians, Dutchman and Scandinavians, the author shows how the engagement of foreigners with home-grown Spanish talent overcame political adversity and produced football of sublime skill, passion, and unparalleled entertainment value. The book takes us on a journey through some of the extraordinary characters, games, and moments that have defined Spanish football from the early days when a few enthusiasts developed their talent kicking a ball around on a piece of industrial waste-ground or beach, to the emergence of rival giants, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid - the most powerful and successful football clubs in the world - and a national team that, encompassing all that was most brilliant in the Spanish League, became the World Champions.
La Roja
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And so the final of Europe's biggest club competition will proceed without Europe's two best teams, or a new eruption of the bitter rivalry carefully chronicled by Jimmy Burns in his vivid survey of Spanish football, La Roja - Financial Times
Those who like to sneer that the world's most popular sport is a grossly exaggerated and often meaningless metaphor for the battle of real life should get hold of this splendid book. At the very least, it points out that if football is essentially a simple game, only relentless hard work, superior imagination and considerable passion can make it so. However, in the extraordinary rise of Spain to the number-one football nation there have been, as Jimmy Burns outlines with great skill, quite a number of other factors - Independent
A brilliant and comprehensive study - --Richard Wilson
'Those who like to sneer that the world s most popular sport is a grossly exaggerated and often meaningless metaphor for the battle of real life should get hold of this splendid book. At the very least, it points out that if football is essentially a simple game, only relentless hard work, superior imagination and considerable passion can make it so. However, in the extraordinary rise of Spain to the number-one football nation there have been, as Jimmy Burns outlines with great skill, quite a number of other factors' --James Lawton, Independent
Those who like to sneer that the world's most popular sport is a grossly exaggerated and often meaningless metaphor for the battle of real life should get hold of this splendid book. At the very least, it points out that if football is essentially a simple game, only relentless hard work, superior imagination and considerable passion can make it so. However, in the extraordinary rise of Spain to the number-one football nation there have been, as Jimmy Burns outlines with great skill, quite a number of other factors - Independent
A brilliant and comprehensive study - --Richard Wilson
'Those who like to sneer that the world s most popular sport is a grossly exaggerated and often meaningless metaphor for the battle of real life should get hold of this splendid book. At the very least, it points out that if football is essentially a simple game, only relentless hard work, superior imagination and considerable passion can make it so. However, in the extraordinary rise of Spain to the number-one football nation there have been, as Jimmy Burns outlines with great skill, quite a number of other factors' --James Lawton, Independent
About the Author
Jimmy Burns is an award-winning journalist and author of seven other books. He was born in Madrid in 1953. He has reported for the Financial Times, London Observer, BBC and the Economist, and was the FT correspondent in South America in the early 80s and his book on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes, won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. When not in Spain, or travelling elsewhere, he lives in London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Really enjoyed Jimmy Burns' Barca book so I was keen to read La Roja as well. Similar to Barca the author is deft at knowing when to provide us with his own insights - and knowing when to let the fans, managers and players speak. The Spanish have the English to thank originally for giving them the game, but once embedded in the culture the History of Spanish Football has a story uniquely tied to its own politics and spirit. La Roja is a story involving a civil war and proud and fractious regions (whether it be the Basque Country or Catalonia) - but the ending hints at the harmony that Spain has achieved through no small help from football.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Andy
Format:Kindle Edition
This book provides a wonderful blend of politics, history and sports journalism. Jimmy Burns weights his material well and has a writing style superior to most other football journalists. La Roja is particularly strong on Real Madrid and Barcelona, which is not to mean that the author ignores other teams. I enjoyed the final third of the book most as Burns gives us a behind the scenes look at how both Barcelona and Spain have triumphed in recent years. One can't help but be touched by Burns' admiration and affection for the likes of Pep Guardiola and Del Bosque.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Chris Yates
Format:Hardcover
Jimmy Burns writes with authority and
enthusiasm. The book starts with the origins of Spanish Football, inherited from the English, but it is not until the author interviews living witnesses to the players and politics of the game that La Roja really hits its stride. The book is a subtle guide to the History of Spain in the 20th century, as well as its football.
As well as being a keen observer of why Spain have recently been successful, the book is also particularly strong on the eras of Cruyff (as player and manager) and Raul. Muy terrific.
enthusiasm. The book starts with the origins of Spanish Football, inherited from the English, but it is not until the author interviews living witnesses to the players and politics of the game that La Roja really hits its stride. The book is a subtle guide to the History of Spain in the 20th century, as well as its football.
As well as being a keen observer of why Spain have recently been successful, the book is also particularly strong on the eras of Cruyff (as player and manager) and Raul. Muy terrific.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Interesting and thoroughly researched. Amazing insight in a fascinating political landscape. Excellently written and offers a real glimpse of Spanish football, including some interesting looks at history and how that affects the football.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Delving, as it does, into Spain, "La Roja," has as much to do with politics as with that country's world champion national soccer team.
Jimmy Burns has written an amenable yet substantive story about how Spain went from a bullfighting nation to kings of international football.
He goes way back to the 1880s and an English-owned mine in Huelva where the first games of football were played exclusively by Brits. The journalistic knitting continues as Basque teams assert primacy and then Argentines come to enliven the game with a quick passing style.
"La Roja" is about the places where such trends were born and the people who sowed them on Spanish soil.
Burns's chronicling of Barcelona F.C's role as an expression of Catalan culture and its rivalry with Real Madrid is deftly woven into discussion of the defeated Republic, the Monarchy, the Falange and, poignantly, the names of soccer players killed during the Spanish Civil War.
Noteworthy, too, is Burns's analysis of the Franco dictatorship's aggressive engagement with football as a tool to soothe tensions on the Iberian peninsula, as a propaganda weapon, and as diplomatic entry to worlds otherwise closed to the regime.
Burns suggests Franco made the Spanish national team a projection of homegrown fascism. A group possessing the "racial" qualities of true and pure Spaniards, and which brought to the playing field a particular "Spanish Fury." A sobriquet that stuck.
Like many people in Spain who had little time for the national selection over the years, Burns believes that the "The Spanish Fury" amounted to a whole lot of nothing, and that success in world-class tournaments would be elusive until a more modern and technical conception of Spanish soccer could be born.... Read more ›
Jimmy Burns has written an amenable yet substantive story about how Spain went from a bullfighting nation to kings of international football.
He goes way back to the 1880s and an English-owned mine in Huelva where the first games of football were played exclusively by Brits. The journalistic knitting continues as Basque teams assert primacy and then Argentines come to enliven the game with a quick passing style.
"La Roja" is about the places where such trends were born and the people who sowed them on Spanish soil.
Burns's chronicling of Barcelona F.C's role as an expression of Catalan culture and its rivalry with Real Madrid is deftly woven into discussion of the defeated Republic, the Monarchy, the Falange and, poignantly, the names of soccer players killed during the Spanish Civil War.
Noteworthy, too, is Burns's analysis of the Franco dictatorship's aggressive engagement with football as a tool to soothe tensions on the Iberian peninsula, as a propaganda weapon, and as diplomatic entry to worlds otherwise closed to the regime.
Burns suggests Franco made the Spanish national team a projection of homegrown fascism. A group possessing the "racial" qualities of true and pure Spaniards, and which brought to the playing field a particular "Spanish Fury." A sobriquet that stuck.
Like many people in Spain who had little time for the national selection over the years, Burns believes that the "The Spanish Fury" amounted to a whole lot of nothing, and that success in world-class tournaments would be elusive until a more modern and technical conception of Spanish soccer could be born.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By idleshark
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A fantastic read for anyone who either loves Spanish football or interested in 20th Spanish history.There is a particular focus on Athletic Bilbao which any soccer fans who cheered their exciting soccer played last year in Europa Cup will enjoy
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By godzilla78
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
Its a book I found myself flying through in no time at all. A stunning read which looks at how the football of Spain has evolved over the years and how history and politics have played a huge part in the process. This is a wonderful story of Spanish football, from its anglo saxon roots, to the current world and european champions. Its been a long journey which has been shaped by the country's political history. Don't get me wrong as this is a football book but Jimmy Burns does a terrific job in telling a story beyond that goes beyond sport and into the heart of Spain's fractious past.
Another bright spot is that the big two (Real and Barca) only really feature the the second half of the book. Whilst there are some great books about these two giants, its refreshing to see the author focus on other teams such as Bilbao and Racing. Jimmy Burns has written fantastic books of Barca and Maradonna in the past and this is worthy to be along side them. Just a shame it wasn't longer!
Another bright spot is that the big two (Real and Barca) only really feature the the second half of the book. Whilst there are some great books about these two giants, its refreshing to see the author focus on other teams such as Bilbao and Racing. Jimmy Burns has written fantastic books of Barca and Maradonna in the past and this is worthy to be along side them. Just a shame it wasn't longer!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Wilson Fisk
Format:Hardcover
I've enjoyed some of Jimmy's other books but "La Roja" has to be my favourite. If you love football, Spain and Spanish history this is the book for you. The author takes us on a journey around Spain and its diverse regions and explores how British mining speculators, engineers and servicemen brought the game to Spain. From Bilbao to Seville and back north to Barcelona via Madrid the main characters of bygone ages through to the present day are discussed. How the game developed with help from the Dutch and South Americans into what we are now witnessing with the current Spanish selection....a great read. Incidentally I finished the last few pages, very aptly, flying over the Pyrenees on my way to Alicante.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
Well worth a read if you are a passionate football fan. One of the most interesting books I have read.
Published 1 month ago by Jake
4.0 out of 5 stars
Historic context
Really good read in respect to the history of both Spain as a country as week as its football. Also helps understand the historic rivalrly that exists today and just between the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by chim
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit too much info.
well writen and easy to read but there is only so much history of Spainish football a normal football fan can take. He must take credit for the ammount of research done. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Neal
5.0 out of 5 stars
The great Real Madrid Barca divide
Great insight into the football and the politics of Spain. The way in which the ( broadly ) monarchist Real and the ( broadly ) republican Barca have exemplified political... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jonathan Hills
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another winner from Burns
Jimmy Burns is a knowledgable and informative writer, particularly on the subject of Spanish football. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Neil McGuffie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
This was a really interesting book showing how Spanish football has changed as the nation itself changed,from the Franco years to the modern era. Read more
Published 5 months ago by martin rowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
intererting read
A bit over-long but a good summary of the relationship of football to wider Spanish history. Vital if you want to live or do business in Spain but also good sports history too
Published 5 months ago by Ruth writes
3.0 out of 5 stars
La Rajo three star rating
La rajo explained spanish football rivalry in good detail but it become boring as the book progressed hence my three star rating.
Published 5 months ago by Julie Thompson
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