Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131475 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The FIFA World Cup is the planet's biggest event. Not sporting event-event, period, writes Trecker in this in-your-face firsthand account of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Trecker, Fox Sports soccer columnist, is passionate about the game (Munich exploded in the sixth minute when Phillip Lahm, employing his signature move, cut from the left side into the area to sink a powerful right-footed shot into the top of Jose Porras's net) and the players (What makes Zidane truly special is not that he can control the pace of a match-there are other holding midfielders in the game-but that his motions and instincts are artful, serene, and beautiful). Unfortunately, Trecker, while covering the sport, the games and the '06 World Cup comprehensively, falls prey to clichéd sports writing. He spends much time describing brothels (in South Korea and Germany), topless women and drunken debauchery-of both fans and the media alike. While not without its pleasures, this is mostly for the already initiated rather than the general reader. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, U.S. publishers offered many books explaining the World Cup, soccer, and why players aren't allowed to use their hands. Certainly, many Americans still need the help, but books timed to coincide with the event lacked a crucial element: results. The U.S. team went home early, but journalist Trecker went the distance. His firsthand account of soccer madness is lively and intelligent, as full of funny anecdotes as it is opinionated commentary. He doesn't stint the historical context, either, detailing not only the history of the tournament but changing cultural and political attitudes toward it. And if he occasionally provides a little too much background—the U.S. history of the game is a book in itself (see Jim Haner's Soccerhead, 2006)—he goes some other writers one better by placing the tournament in another crucial context: financial (because money is what makes the world of sport go round). This comes too late for 2006 World Cup newbies, of course, but it proves to be the book they were waiting for. Graff, Keir

Review
"Finely balancing his personal experiences with comprehensive historical detail, and a generous supply of factoid footnotes . . . Trecker delivers the goods with gusto." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Trecker went the distance. His firsthand account of soccer madness is lively and intelligent, as full of funny anecdotes as it is opinionated commentary. He doesn't stint the historical context, either . . . [and] he goes some other writers one better by placing the tournament in another crucial context: financial." -- Booklist

Customer Reviews

Pleasure and Substance
I had no grasp of how little I knew of US Soccer, much less the world cup, until reading Trecker's book. It is a "stay up all night 'cause it's so engaging" flight through the politics, sociology, finance, underbelly and countless freaks which color the world football stage. It doesn't just tell the story (and it does, with great entertainment value); it gives you an understanding of all the forces behind the story, and why it matters.

Excellent book!
I haven't followed soccer since playing it as a kid, but Trecker instantly drew me into not just the game, but the scene. Starting with the Introduction (2002 World Cup), and driving straight through the aftermath of the 2006 World Cup, you get incredible camera angle after camera angle showing what's important on the field, off the field, and why.

The World Cup doesn't happen in a vacuum. They're all four years in the making, and most every every player has a day-job for some other club. Trecker shares the back-stories that helped me understand the headlines and commotion around the 2006 World Cup. That is, however, the least of the book's accomplishments.

As with all great writing, this book gave me pause--threw me into reflection, sent my thoughts spinning. As I read, I had moments where I was shuddering to suppress laughter inappropriate for my surroundings. At other times, I let the book fall into my lap as I considered, for instance, the social implications of suddenly liberating a repressed female society with not just public independence, but with anonymity...

This is an exciting book, a sometimes incendiary book, but also a deeply thoughtful book that's much more than the coverage of a World Cup, or two. Balancing personal to the point of confessional with the most analytic investigative journalism, Trecker's narrative is unvarnished, compassionate, insightful, and always from the hip. His recounting of matches is often thrilling, and the history is informative, but the real treasure is his depiction and analysis of both the context and personalities of the World Cup--ultimately illustrating that in various measure we are all footballers, fans, and freaks.

A Fun Read
I enjoyed this book as much as Bill Buford's "Among the Thugs." It's the same mix of humor, first-person observation, and mini-history lessons, all woven together in a breezy, entertaining style.

A lot of "Love & Blood" focuses on off-the-pitch fan activity in bars, train stations, public squares, and more. This is not a book simply about which countries won/lost the games in Germany. Trecker also makes some valid points about the absurd over-commodification and corporatization that the World Cup has become (like every other major sporting event on the globe.)

Some reviewers here have found the tone of this book too negative, but having a spotlight on the BS is essential to understanding the event as a whole, and Trecker does it with a sense of humor.