A History of the World Cup: 1930-2014

by Clemente A. Lisi

Overview

There is no sporting event more popular than the World Cup. For one month every four years, billions of people around the world turn their attention to the tournament. Fans call in sick to work, pack into bars to watch games, or stay home for days at a time glued to their TV sets. Nothing else seems to matter.

In A History of the World Cup: 1930-2014, Clemente A. Lisi chronicles this international phenomenon, providing vivid accounts of individual games from the tournament's origins in 1930 to modern times. It features a glossary of terms, statistics for each competition, photos, and profiles of the most memorable—and controversial—figures of the sport, including Diego Maradona, Juste Fontaine, Franz Beckenbauer, Mario Kempes, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and, of course, Pelé. Though other histories of the World Cup largely ignore the United States' contribution to the competition, this volume highlights the progress of the American teams over the last several decades.

Updated with a new chapter on the 2014 World Cup, profiles of those players who stood out in the latest competition, and revised statistical information, A History of the World Cup provides a fascinating read for fans of the game.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442245730
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/06/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	532
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Clemente A. Lisi works for ABC News as a senior editor. His work has appeared in newspapers such as the New York Post and magazines like FourFourTwo and Soccer Digest. He is the author of the previous two editions of A History of the World Cup and of The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, all published by Scarecrow Press.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The World Cup Is Born
2. The First Steps
3. Brazil Is Born
4. Pele the King
5. Total Football
6. The Hand of God
7. A New Frontier
8. “Four”-Za Italia!
9. Vive España
10. Obrigado, Germany
Glossary
Appendix A: World Cup Stats
Appendix B: World Cup Records
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Clemente Lisi’s readable and detailed monograph, A History of the World Cup: 1930–2014, is a great addition to the canon of World Cup scholarship. . . .A History of the World Cup successfully toes that awkward middle line between academia and journalism; being an undoubted page-turner whilst also managing to delve into some of the more well-known and infamous World Cup events. . . .Perhaps the book’s greatest use, particularly in the United States, is to teach recent converts to soccer about the game’s rich history. . . .A History of the World Cup: 1930–2014 is a perfect place for newcomers to soccer history and World Cup history to get a detailed, informative, but readable account of one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

Sport in American History

This is an update of two previous editions, the first by the same author,with a new chapter on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and revised statistics. Like the previous editions, this is a narrative history and not an encyclopedia with subject-oriented entries. There have been 20 World Cup tournaments so far, and Lisi covers them chronologically in ten chapters, with each of the last three events meriting its own chapter. The author describes the process leading to the choice of each host venue and highlights memorable and important events. He also includes a glossary that defines terms and about 50 pages of World Cup records and statistics. This volume can be read cover-to-cover or dipped into to gain insight on any particular World Cup, player, coach, administrator, or country. However it is used, it is a handy and helpful history of one of the world’s preeminent sporting events. Those who own an earlier edition would do well to replace it with this latest edition. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty/practitioners; general readers.

Choice

This is an update of two previous editions, the first by the same author,with a new chapter on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and revised statistics. Like the previous editions, this is a narrative history and not an encyclopedia with subject-oriented entries. There have been 20 World Cup tournaments so far, and Lisi covers them chronologically in ten chapters, with each of the last three events meriting its own chapter. The author describes the process leading to the choice of each host venue and highlights memorable and important events. He also includes a glossary that defines terms and about 50 pages of World Cup records and statistics. This volume can be read cover-to-cover or dipped into to gain insight on any particular World Cup, player, coach, administrator, or country. However it is used, it is a handy and helpful history of one of the world’s preeminent sporting events. Those who own an earlier edition would do well to replace it with this latest edition. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty/practitioners; general readers.

CHOICE

03/15/2015
Lisi's (ABC News editor; The U.S. Women's Soccer Team) updated edition on soccer's most important competition is very similar to his earlier volumes in structure, content, and features. He again does an effective job of capturing the excitement of the world's most popular sporting event by providing vivid accounts of individual games and crucial plays, along with profiles of its most accomplished athletes and their feats. Photographs enhance the fast-paced text, and a glossary of terms makes a wonderful primer for the novice and occasional fan. However, the bibliography, which lists six books, five papers, and two websites, and is the same as the 2006 and 2010 editions, could be more comprehensive. Moreover, the index is very limited and only includes players and coaches. In contrast, the two appendixes of World Cup statistics and records are almost 60 pages long. They catalog the scores of every game from the tournament's history beginning in 1930 through the most current cup competition in 2014. Keir Radnedge's Complete Encyclopedia of Soccer is much more thorough and authoritative, but it was published in 2012 and lacks information about the 2014 World Cup. By comparison, Lisi writes extensively on that event making this title a solid option even for those libraries that already own the earlier editions. VERDICT Readers and researchers of soccer literature will value the updated chapter and statistics on the 2014 World Cup found in this new edition.—Rob Tench, Old Dominion Univ. Lib., Norfolk, VA

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