|
Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football |
How far can you go in extrapolating the character of a nation through the way it plays football? Quite a way if this engaging and very enjoyable work is to be believed. The Dutch emphasis on consensual government and mistrust of leaders, their views of space and its uses (a result of their national geography) and historic Dutch attitudes to Germany all played their part in creating football teams of undeniable genius but deep psychological flaws.
(Clive Yelf - bwl 54 November 2009) |
|
|
Those Feet - A Sensual History of English Football |
If you've ever had the sneaking suspicion that we in Britain have fundamentally different attitudes to football than every other nation - well you're probably right . . . This highly engaging book looks at how the medieval precursor of football was adopted and adapted by Victorian patriarchs anxious to develop both team ethos and sexual repression. The first was important for the preservation of empire, the second to combat the threat of masturbation. It's been downhill ever since . . .
(Clive Yelf - bwl 30 June 2005) |
|
