#12 Soccer Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper
Ah, yes, another book about sports. I couldn't resist.
"How the world's most popular sport starts and fuels revolutions and keeps dictators in power" is the book's main idea. Kuper spent 1992 traveling the world, interviewing people involved in soccer in order to show how soccer, as a global sport, is affected by politics and culture. Dream job right there. He spends hours on trains and planes and finds himself in countries that the State Department would advise one not visit. Traveling and soccer. Totally my kind of thing. To be 23 years old and say "Okay, I'm gonna write a book about soccer, politics and culture, travel the world and meet some cool people." Well, I bow down to you, Mr. Kuper.
Kuper speaks both to people actively involved in professional soccer and the sport's fans. While I thought that his interviews with soccer officials/players were intriguing, it's when he interacts with fans that the book is at its strongest. It's probably because I, too, am a fan of soccer. I obviously have no experience in running a soccer club or playing professionally (or even recreationally), but I could definitely relate with the fan's perspective. I also saw how politics and culture can intervene with the way someone supports their club.
For one thing, I think the timing of Kuper's investigation was spot on. The Cold War was over by 1992, but the countries were still getting acclimated to their new situations. After the Cold War, the USSR became 11 countries. Who do the national players play for now? Once Croatia became independent, there was plenty of controversy over the names of its clubs (Dinamo Zagreb to Dinamo Croatia and back to Dinamo Zagreb).
There's a chapter on East Germany - how the Stasi kept tabs on East Germans who liked West German soccer clubs. I mean, we all know that the Stasi were bad people who ruined people's lives, but to be monitored and considered a risk to the East German state because you like Hertha Berlin (West) instead of Dynamo Berlin (East)? That, of all things, makes you a bad comrade?
Kuper also tackles the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers - the Catholics and the Protestants. Soccer and religion? This is heavy stuff, friends. Kuper tells the story of a group of fans who don't count goals scored by players who play for the wrong team, religion-wise. Um, ok, fools. I'm all for soccer fanaticism, but that's just damn ridiculous. A goal is a goal and if it determines the win, then I'd think it a good idea to count it. There's a lot of players I don't like, but if they score to my club or country's benefit, I'd still want to give them a high-five.
One of the most important sections of the book focuses on football in Africa. The section means a lot more than it probably did back then as the World Cup is taking place in an African nation for the first time. Despite the fact that the book is 15 years old, it still has relevance. It's interesting to reflect on expectations from back then and see how they sized up in reality. Soccer people in Africa expected that an African nation would have won a World Cup by now. Still no dice (and I don't really see it happening this July, either).
I've said it in papers (yes, I wrote college essays on soccer) and even in my review for Soccernomics, but I'll say it again. Soccer is so much more than just a sport. It's a beautiful game, but remains compelling after those 90 minutes are over. You can go on and on about how much better any other sport is, but try to write a politics paper on its vast global impact and then we can talk.
I liked this book a lot (duh), but I had one problem with it - the US version calls American football (NFL) American soccer. Bad! First, I was confused when Kuper made comparisons between soccer and "American soccer." And then I finally got it. Whoever did the editing needs a talking to. There's a new edition coming out in April. Hopefully that'll get fixed.
Showing posts with label kuper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kuper. Show all posts
23 February 2010
12 December 2009
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein / Werden wir Weltmeister sein!
#4 - Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
In case you've been living under a rock (or perhaps in America... just kidding!), the World Cup kicks off on June 11, 2010. That's 180 days and 20 hours from now. Are you ready?
I've been looking forward to the World Cup since the minute the whistle was blown to announce red-hot Spain as the 2008 European Cup Champions over my beloved Germany. Oh, but now it's just seven months away. Qualifying is over. Countries have been drawn into groups and holy crap, I cannot wait.
I was planning to hold off on Soccernomics until May to really get me into the World Cup spirit, but I couldn't help myself. All the soccer blogs were talking about it so that I too, wanted to be in the know of Soccernomics.
The book applies economics to the sport of soccer. Kuper and Szymanski use math to tell us which national team has the best fans, who are the biggest over- and underperformers of the game, and even investigate the correlation between suicide rates and major soccer events. I won't lie, I absolutely suck at math and their explanations of regressions and math formulas left me in a tizzy, but it was still really interesting to read about.
Soccernomics brings to light many subjects, both new to old to the soccer fan(atic). It discusses racism in the sport, which is still hard for me to fathom because it's unheard of in American sports. Also touched upon is the Iraqi national team and the torture they endured during Sadam Hussein's reign. For these men, the pressure to win was not rooted in fear of failure, but in fear of physical and mental torture. Kuper and Szymanski also analyze why some teams do better than others. Of course, money plays a role as bigger clubs can afford better and expensive players, but did you know that clubs based in capital cities are usually worse off than clubs that aren't?
The book was released in November 2009 - meaning most of the statistics and references are relatively recent, which was great for me. I would consider myself a pretty new soccer fan whose love for soccer has progressively grown into a behemoth. I will base my schedule around matches and I have little shame in this declaration. My obsession took off during the 2002 World Cup where I watched Germany make a (probably undeserving) run to the finals. My dad is a German who was raised on soccer, so the World Cup gave us something to bond over. I hopped on the fußball bandwagon and it's been a magical ride ever since.
Because I am a new-ish soccer fan, I sometimes found it difficult to read other books about the most popular sport on the planet. I adore Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch but constantly found myself going on Wikipedia to further research Arsenal's history and other major events in the world of soccer (the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies immediately come to mind). Kuper and Szymanski cite events that are as recent as summer 2009 (Cristiano Ronaldo's epic transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid), while also tracing back to the 70's (Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest team that won two European Cups). I enjoyed the fact that I witnessed some of these events (along with millions of other people watching it on TV and in the stands), but was also educated on the moments I missed, whether because I wasn't born yet or was still in my NSYNC-OMG-Justin Timberlake phase.
I'd like to highlight a couple of my favorite chapters because I can relate to them best as a soccer fan.
"The Economist's Fear of the Penalty Kick" was probably my favorite. For starters, I watched Germany dismiss Argentina in the 2006 World Cup Quarterfinals and it ranks quite high on my favorite international soccer moments. Jens Lehmann and that piece of paper that helped bring Germany into the semifinals (only to lose to Italy, which broke my heart and ruined my birthday, still a very sore subject) are forever in my mind.
I also witnessed the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea. Even though Chelsea had beaten Liverpool (my favorite team in the EPL) to advance, they were still better than Man U in my book. I still blame Anelka for missing the kick, but now I see that Van Der Saar played some mind games. Anelka knew where he was supposed to kick (thanks to a Basque economist), but had to second guess himself because of VDS catching on.
"Are Soccer Fans Polygamists?" is also a favorite because I suppose I can consider myself one. Liverpool and Real Madrid are my favorite teams in their respective leagues, but I can still appreciate Arsenal and Barcelona. I follow Werder Bremen because I studied abroad there one summer, but Dortmund and Bayern Munich are also on my radar. Germany is my national team thanks to my dad's love for them, but Spain and the USA are also worth rooting for. For me, the players are just as important as the club, so wherever my favorites go, I tend to follow. I'm all over the place and while the soccer purists may consider me a heathen, I have too much love for the game and its players to limit myself to one club or national team.
Considering how much I wrote, I guess it's easy to see how much I loved this book. It made me look forward to the World Cup even more (I didn't know that was possible), while also making me mindful of the fact that soccer's impact goes well beyond the world of sport. I could go on and on about how large a role soccer plays in the world of politics, culture, and economics, but you'll have better luck with the eloquent writing of Kuper and Szymanski.
In case you've been living under a rock (or perhaps in America... just kidding!), the World Cup kicks off on June 11, 2010. That's 180 days and 20 hours from now. Are you ready?
I've been looking forward to the World Cup since the minute the whistle was blown to announce red-hot Spain as the 2008 European Cup Champions over my beloved Germany. Oh, but now it's just seven months away. Qualifying is over. Countries have been drawn into groups and holy crap, I cannot wait.
I was planning to hold off on Soccernomics until May to really get me into the World Cup spirit, but I couldn't help myself. All the soccer blogs were talking about it so that I too, wanted to be in the know of Soccernomics.
The book applies economics to the sport of soccer. Kuper and Szymanski use math to tell us which national team has the best fans, who are the biggest over- and underperformers of the game, and even investigate the correlation between suicide rates and major soccer events. I won't lie, I absolutely suck at math and their explanations of regressions and math formulas left me in a tizzy, but it was still really interesting to read about.
Soccernomics brings to light many subjects, both new to old to the soccer fan(atic). It discusses racism in the sport, which is still hard for me to fathom because it's unheard of in American sports. Also touched upon is the Iraqi national team and the torture they endured during Sadam Hussein's reign. For these men, the pressure to win was not rooted in fear of failure, but in fear of physical and mental torture. Kuper and Szymanski also analyze why some teams do better than others. Of course, money plays a role as bigger clubs can afford better and expensive players, but did you know that clubs based in capital cities are usually worse off than clubs that aren't?
The book was released in November 2009 - meaning most of the statistics and references are relatively recent, which was great for me. I would consider myself a pretty new soccer fan whose love for soccer has progressively grown into a behemoth. I will base my schedule around matches and I have little shame in this declaration. My obsession took off during the 2002 World Cup where I watched Germany make a (probably undeserving) run to the finals. My dad is a German who was raised on soccer, so the World Cup gave us something to bond over. I hopped on the fußball bandwagon and it's been a magical ride ever since.
Because I am a new-ish soccer fan, I sometimes found it difficult to read other books about the most popular sport on the planet. I adore Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch but constantly found myself going on Wikipedia to further research Arsenal's history and other major events in the world of soccer (the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies immediately come to mind). Kuper and Szymanski cite events that are as recent as summer 2009 (Cristiano Ronaldo's epic transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid), while also tracing back to the 70's (Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest team that won two European Cups). I enjoyed the fact that I witnessed some of these events (along with millions of other people watching it on TV and in the stands), but was also educated on the moments I missed, whether because I wasn't born yet or was still in my NSYNC-OMG-Justin Timberlake phase.
I'd like to highlight a couple of my favorite chapters because I can relate to them best as a soccer fan.
"The Economist's Fear of the Penalty Kick" was probably my favorite. For starters, I watched Germany dismiss Argentina in the 2006 World Cup Quarterfinals and it ranks quite high on my favorite international soccer moments. Jens Lehmann and that piece of paper that helped bring Germany into the semifinals (only to lose to Italy, which broke my heart and ruined my birthday, still a very sore subject) are forever in my mind.
I also witnessed the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea. Even though Chelsea had beaten Liverpool (my favorite team in the EPL) to advance, they were still better than Man U in my book. I still blame Anelka for missing the kick, but now I see that Van Der Saar played some mind games. Anelka knew where he was supposed to kick (thanks to a Basque economist), but had to second guess himself because of VDS catching on.
"Are Soccer Fans Polygamists?" is also a favorite because I suppose I can consider myself one. Liverpool and Real Madrid are my favorite teams in their respective leagues, but I can still appreciate Arsenal and Barcelona. I follow Werder Bremen because I studied abroad there one summer, but Dortmund and Bayern Munich are also on my radar. Germany is my national team thanks to my dad's love for them, but Spain and the USA are also worth rooting for. For me, the players are just as important as the club, so wherever my favorites go, I tend to follow. I'm all over the place and while the soccer purists may consider me a heathen, I have too much love for the game and its players to limit myself to one club or national team.
Considering how much I wrote, I guess it's easy to see how much I loved this book. It made me look forward to the World Cup even more (I didn't know that was possible), while also making me mindful of the fact that soccer's impact goes well beyond the world of sport. I could go on and on about how large a role soccer plays in the world of politics, culture, and economics, but you'll have better luck with the eloquent writing of Kuper and Szymanski.
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