- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: WSC Books Limited (12 May 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0954013433
- ISBN-13: 978-0954013431
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 603,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Tor! The Story of German Football
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tor! The Story of German Football does exactly "what it says on the tin". As the author explains, his aim was to write an entertaining history of the German game. He has certainly achieved his goal, or "tor" as they would say in Germany. Hesse-Lichtenberger sets out to prove that football in Germany is not necessarily the efficient, predictable machine that those of us believing in the German stereotype might think. Again, he succeeds. From the foundation of the game to the present day (and dare I mention the historic 5-1 defeat at the hands of the English in Munich in September 2001), the narrative finds plenty of room to include the quirky, amusing and unexpected. The seemingly curious names of many German club sides are dissected, while the fact that the national side managed to win the 1954 World Cup before the advent of the first professional national league only serves to amaze. The author proclaims his belief that it is people who shape events, and misses no opportunity to investigate the diverse personalities who have made the German game what it is, from the obsession of Herberger to the maverick brilliance of Netzer. The upshot is a wonderfully colourful history, and one that will no doubt surprise even most the avid of Europhile football followers. The latest in the line of recent books in English on European football, Tor!, like a number of German teams of the past, is a clear winner. --Trevor Crowe
Book Description
Germay did not have professional players or a national league until the 1960s, yet it became one of the most successful football nations in the world. Tor! (Goal!) traces the extraordinary story of Germany's club and international football, from the days when it was regarded as a dangerously foreign pastime, through the horrors of the Nazi years to postwar triumphs and the crisis of the new century.
Tor! challenges the myth that German football is 'predictable' or 'efficient' and brings to life the fascinating array of characters who shaped it: the betrayed pioneer Walther Bensemann; the enigmatic genius Sepp Herberger; the all-conquering Franz Beckenbauer; the modern misfit Lothar Matthaus. And even the radio commentator Herbert Zimmermann, whose ecstatic cries of 'Tor!' greeted the winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final and helped change a whole nation's view of itself.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to German soccer. Obviously written with an English audience in mind, it nevertheless makes compelling reading. The writer is a German writing in English and occasionally it shows, but this only adds to the charm and remarkable even-handedness of the piece.
There is much here that I am sure is new to English audiences. I found the chapter about the 1954 world cup victory ('the miracle of berne') and Herbert Zimmermann's commentary of the final remarkably moving (especially when the received wisdom is the mighty magyars were cruelly robbed in that final). Also revealing is that Rudi Voeller is a thoroughly good bloke (when we all think of him as just a bloke with a typically naff German moustache and haircut) and that Franz Beckenbauer's personal behaviour hasn't always been as impressive as his achievements in the game. The author seems keen to dispel the myth of German efficiency and thoroughness, which is refreshing , but it doesn't quite come off because time and again we see Germans achieving heights (in spite of themselves) that the English just haven't got close to.
Just a couple of odd notes struck this reader and both relate to the war (sorry to say). The first is this line 'On April 30, 1945 Adolf Hitler shot himself. The day before Hamburg had beaten Altona 4-2 in the last official match played during wartime.' Now call me a pointy head, but the fall of Berlin (in which more Russians and Germans died over two months than the USA lost in the whole war) is a rather odd juxtaposition for such a meaningless match. Second, I know Sepp Herberger (coach to the remarkable 1954 team) was a great football man (sort of a cross between Bill Shankly and Alf Ramsey) but he was a member of the National Socialist Party and although the author goes to some lengths to clear his name I just wish he'd gone a bit further before I could feel entirely comfortable with him. To counterbalance this, I was more than impressed with the quiet dignity of men such as Helmut Schon (who witnessed the allied bombing of his home town Dresden) and Fritz Walter, the captain of the '54 team who was captured by the Russians (and what a close escape that was).
Overall though, a cracking read and one I recommend to all Europhile football fans. I read it at one sitting which is a testament to its engrossing and hugely enjoyable quality.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you are a fan of all things football - READ THIS BOOK!! If you already have an opinion on German football....I bet you it's wrong! I worked in Germany as a football commentator and thought I knew a lot about the Bundesliga. Wrong! If only this book had been around a couple of years ago.....
An absolutely fascinating read, starting at the very beginning of the German game. I was fascinated at how the household (in Germany) names that I recognised were so influential in the development of the beautiful game in the country where we (falsely) believe it became an automated one.
An outstanding book full of invaluable information for those of us who think we know it all. How many of you out there knew that 'adidas' has never officially been spelt with a capital letter? Or that 'adidas' and 'puma' were founded by two fueding brothers?
Buy this book and you won't be disappointed. You may even change your opinion on the Germans.........
An absolutely fascinating read, starting at the very beginning of the German game. I was fascinated at how the household (in Germany) names that I recognised were so influential in the development of the beautiful game in the country where we (falsely) believe it became an automated one.
An outstanding book full of invaluable information for those of us who think we know it all. How many of you out there knew that 'adidas' has never officially been spelt with a capital letter? Or that 'adidas' and 'puma' were founded by two fueding brothers?
Buy this book and you won't be disappointed. You may even change your opinion on the Germans.........
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been a dedicated follower of football since that fateful day in Dortmund's Stadion Rote Erde some 40 years ago when Alemannia Aachen lost 3-5 to Borussia Dortmund after a 3-1 lead and Yugoslavian goalie Beara breaking his leg (again) - and I've always been inclined to read about the game as well as watching it, but I then had to come across a book on German football that I could sincerely recommend to others. I've now found it in Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger's "Tor!" which is not only detailed and precise on the factual side but also well-written and highly entertaining. The balance of facts and anecdotes is perfect, and Mr Hesse-Lichtenberger's detached perspective and often (suitably) ironic approach draw any kind of reader quickly into the book's numerous pages. Constantly changing between a frog's-eye and bird's-eye point of view, this books portraits German football from its diverse angles and examines its many facets. I don't see any competitor for this book on the history of German football, and as such its performance surpasses that of the current German national team. Anyone who has read Mr Hesse-Lichtenberger's contribution (definitely among the best three) to "Back Home" would have expected nothing less than a great book eloquently written.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Ausgezeichnet!
Can't recommend this strongly enough. I gave a copy to a German friend of mine and even he found nuggets of interesting information. Read more
Published on 30 May 2003
Fantastiche
Excellently written, maintaining the usual high standard from the WSC canon. It tells you so much about a remarkable football nation, about whom criminally little has been written... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2003 by Mr Ciaran J Colley
Max Morlock said, "Now let's show them!"
I'm a Japanese who knows little about history of German football, but this book is very attractive to the beginner as I. Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2002 by "yukidaruma"
The ball is round
I'm a Japanese who knows little about German football history, but this book is very attractive to the beginner as I. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2002 by "yukidaruma"
I have been waiting a long time for a book like this.
As a German-American fan of German soccer, I've been waiting a long time to find an english language book on the subject that was not reduced to stereotypical notions of German... Read more
Published on 21 July 2002
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