Customer Reviews

One Night in Turin: The Inside Story of a World Cup that Changed our Footballing Nation Forever

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I was 11 when England were knocked out of Italia '90, and still remember the day. But the stories and issues that were going on behind the scenes were not anything I knew before. Reading interviews with Chris Waddle and Bobby Robson, the admin side of hosting a World Cup pre-internet, email and largely mobile phones is fascinating. But the single thing that stood out for me, was the almost spooky premonitions of people on how football might change in the coming years. This was pre-Premier Leage/Sky remember! The concerns over Paul Gascoigne seem pertinent now too. A great book for anyone with an interest in English football, and particularly for those wanting to hark back to when football really was the people's game, and not the over-hyped and over-paid wasters of today!

If I'm not very much mistaken this is a retitling of Pete Davies seminal work on Italia 90. If you have never read this, you have no idea of the impact that this tournament had on today's game so plaese buy it and read it. On to the review...

If you were over 7 years old in 1990 you will remember the last truely great World Cup. 2 points for a win, tackles from behind and, ohhhh, the haircuts! You'll remember the scintillating 0-0 draw with Holland, and no matter how drunk you were when England played Cameroon that you could still keep your feet better than Lineker, and where you were when Waddle hit the post against the old enemy (the real one, not that lot in the blue shirts!)

This was the World Cup of Gazza's tears and Waddle's mullet, who can forget Butcher and Waddle's "let's all have a disco" after the 2nd round win over Belgium.

Davies catches the feel of the tournement; a team which The Sun (or was it The Mirror?) demanded be brought home after the disappointing start against Ireland but rallied in the face of adversity to unite the nation and chagne the course of the modern game.

Thr travelogue nature of the book invites you in and shuts the door. There is no escape as Davies weaves his spell and the tournamnent crescendoes to its terrible finale, or in truth its terrible semi-finale. The fact that we all know the outcome bestows the reader with a deep melancholy and will make the hairs on your arms stand up and a shiver travel down you spin as you read through the game against Germany and think "if only...".

A truely great book, a must for anyone who likes football and anyone who remembers Italia 90. If you like this, and believe me you will, try "Back Home", a similarly styled book about Mexico 1970.

Alongside Tony Cascarino's FullTime, and The Damed United, this is the best book on football I have read. It effortlessly recreates the extraordinary times both footballing and politically. A real sense of time and place for anyone who can remember the days when Gascoigne was a debated inclusion to the squad. It also provides perhaps the best explanation so far as to the woeful performance of John Barnes in an England shirt. The only dark side is to read that in an event that I still think is fairly recent - faxes were both in short supply and regarded as cutting edge communication. Oh dear.

This is a superb behind-the-scenes account of England's final preparations and progress through the Italia '90 world cup. Davies had first-hand access to the England squad and staff and gains some interesting perspectives on footballing life from them. He clearly built up a relationship with Terry Butcher, whose voice is heard frequently. However, it's much more than an inside report on the squad; Davies recounts the experiences of the fans, and how the Italian police dealt with them, often in a very hard way, which, he argues, probably caused more trouble than it removed. His vivid accounts of England's initially faltering progress, the endless debates over the players and formation, through to their heartbreaking defeat in the semi final make gripping reading; he understands his football, and is able to portray things from both the squad's perspective and that of his fellow writers. There are also sharp analyses of other teams and matches, notably Argentina and Cameroon, who elicited such different responses from the crowds. A great bit of football nostalgia, but one that deals with important issues such as the attitudes of FIFA, the FA and other influential voices in football. Highly recommended.

A book that reminds us of how football used to be seen. Gazza, the icon of the World Cup 1990 and the changes that came after the World Cup. Memories....

A gripping book which is more than a match by match recap of England's progress in the 1990 world cup finals.
Journalist/ fan Pete Davies had access to the England manager and team players so we gain an insight into their personalities and behaviour as the tournament unfolds. There are revealing passages about the experience of English fans whilst in Italy, the difficulties of organising such a big tournament and opinions about the FA hierarchy. Bear in mind that this is a straight reprint of the 1990 original with no added content e.g. the end looks forward to USA 94. I would have liked a postscript, new intro or some comments with the benefit of hindsight but its still excellent.Davies faithfully captures the agony and ecstasy of this event that really did grip the nation.