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Behind The Curtain Football In Eastern Europe

Behind The Curtain Football In Eastern Europe
By Jonathan Wilson

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Product Description

From the war-ravaged streets of Sarajevo, where turning up for training involved dodging snipers' bullets, to the crumbling splendor of Budapest's Bozsik Stadium, where the likes of Puskas and Kocsis masterminded the fall of England, the landscape of Eastern Europe has changed immeasurably since the fall of communism. Jonathan Wilson has traveled extensively behind the old Iron Curtain, viewing life beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall through the lens of soccer. Where once the state-controlled teams of the Eastern bloc passed their way with crisp efficiency—a sort of communist version of total soccer—to considerable success on the European and international stages, today the beautiful game in the East has been opened up to the free market, and throughout the region a sense of chaos pervades. The threat of totalitarian interference no longer remains; but in its place mafia control is generally accompanied with a crippling lack of funds. Jonathan Wilson goes in search of the spirit of Hungary's Golden Squad of the early 1950s; charts the disintegration of the soccer superpower that was the former Yugoslavia; follows a sorry tale of corruption, mismanagement, and Armenian cognac through the Caucasuses; reopens the case of Russia's greatest soccer player, Eduard Streltsov; and talks to Jan Tomaszewski about an autumn night at Wembley in 1973.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #558311 in Books
  • Published on: 2006-03-16
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 352 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
'A blissful book, lovingly and stylishly written' -- Edward Pearce DAILY TELEGRAPH 'This fascinating and perceptive travelogue includes a fine collection of anecdotes too colourful for fiction' SUNDAY TIMES '[a] terrifc book' -- Henry Winter DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Epic... Wilson writes captivatingly with humour...anyone with an interest in eastern European sport will be consulting this book for years to come.' -- David Winner FINANCIAL TIMES 'Football is centred squarely within a fascinating socio-political context... There is plenty of humour too' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Compelling... he [Wilson] succeeds in going well beyond the lurid headlines, skilfully interweaving his own travel notes with forays into politics, culture and history.' FOUR FOUR TWO 'There's everything you needed to know about football and plenty that you didn't... wittily observed travel writing.' WHEN SATURDAY COMES 'In this part-travelogue, part history Jonathan Wilson captures the contemporary chaos of the region drawing in figures as diverse and noteworthy as Hungary's 1950s star Ferenc Puskas and Arkan, the murderous Serbian paramilitary.' OBSERVER SPORTS MONTHLY 'Wilson knows an immense amount about eastern European football and has crammed a lot into 300 pages. He writes well and has a lot of good stories' -- Josh Lacey GUARDIAN '[an] intriguing, entertaining history-cum-sports travelogue. ****' METRO 'Jonathan Wilson brilliantly plugs the gaps in our knowledge...an observant and witty guide to life in Eastern Europe.' WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY 'His lively prose captures the chaos of a region in the grip of racism, violence and organised crime, whilst retaining a warm affection for the people.' EVENING HERALD (Ireland) 'As absorbing as any post-war spy thriller' SUNDAY LIFE (Northern Ireland) 'Engrossing and funny travelogue-cum-social history.' GLASGOW EVENING TIMES 'Absorbing... Wilson is adept at using football as a microcosm of the post-Communist East as he reveals how totalitarian regimes have given way to Mafia control and curruption.' BRIGHTON EVENING ARGUS 'Pitched somewhere between Bill Bryson and John Le Carre, Wilson's narrative twists from neon-lit boom town of Donetsk to the crumbling splendour of Budapest's Bozsik Stadium... Wilson has a novelist's eye for detail and suspense' WESTERN DAILY MAIL

About the Author

Jonathan Wilson is the soccer correspondent for the Financial Times.

Customer Reviews

Insanely great!5
What a absolute find! This is a first-rate book not only on Eastern European soccer pre- and post-Communist era, but is a sociocultural look inside each nations' pysche. I just loved the fact the author got deep into the more obscure nations like Azerbaijan, Armenia, etc.

The stuff on the influence of the Mob on Russian soccer is truly the best thing I've read on the subject. I also love how he narrows in on each nation's seminal soccer moment (i.e., Hungary in the '50s beating England or Steaua Bucharest winning the Euro Cup) and relates it to the state of the game in each nation today. Had to chuckle at how Hungarians saw the English as playing "stupid" soccer..nothing changes if you saw any World Cups since 1982 onwards regarding the English.

Get this guy to write more books on soccer. Brilliant and entertaining writing!