Soccer in Sun and Shadow

by Eduardo Galeano, Rory Smith (Introduction)

Overview

One of the greatest, magical, and most lyrical accounts of the beautiful game

In this witty and rebellious history of world soccer, award-winning writer Eduardo Galeano searches for the styles of play, players, and goals that express the unique personality of certain times and places. In Soccer in Sun and Shadow, Galeano takes us to ancient China, where engravings from the Ming period show a ball that could have been designed by Adidas to Victorian England, where gentlemen codified the rules that we still play by today and to Latin America, where the “crazy English” spread the game only to find it creolized by the locals.

All the greats—Pelé, Di Stéfano, Cruyff, Eusébio, Puskás, Gullit, Baggio, Beckenbauer— have joyous cameos in this book. yet soccer, Galeano cautions, “is a pleasure that hurts.” Thus there is also heartbreak and madness. Galeano tells of the suicide of Uruguayan player Abdón Porte, who shot himself in the center circle of the Nacional's stadium; of the Argentine manager who wouldn't let his team eat chicken because it would bring bad luck; and of scandal-riven Diego Maradona whose real crime, Galeano suggests, was always “the sin of being the best.”

Soccer is a game that bureaucrats try to dull and the powerful try to manipulate, but it retains its magic because it remains a bewitching game—“a feast for the eyes ... and a joy for the body that plays it”—exquisitely rendered in the magical stories of Soccer in Sun and Shadow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645030379
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	111,826
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Eduardo Galeano (1940-2015) was one of Latin America's most distinguished writers. A Uruguayan journalist, writer, and novelist, he was considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin American left" and "global soccer's preeminent man of letters." He is the author of the three-volume Memory of Fire, Open Veins of Latin America, Soccer in Sun and Shadow, The Book of Embraces, Walking Words, Upside Down, and Voices in Time. Born in Montevideo in 1940, he lived in exile in Argentina and Spain for years before returning to Uruguay.

His work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. He is the recipient of many international prizes, including the first Lannan Prize for Cultural Freedom, the Casa de las Americas Prize, and the First Distinguished Citizen of the region by the countries of Mercosur. Galeano once described himself as "a writer obsessed with remembering, with remembering the past of America and above all that of Latin America, intimate land condemned to amnesia." Isabel Allende, who said her copy of Galeano's book was one of the few items with which she fled Chile in 1973 after the military coup of Augusto Pinochet, called Open Veins of Latin America "a mixture of meticulous detail, political conviction, poetic flair, and good storytelling."

Table of Contents

Dedication xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction Rory Smith xv

Author's Confession 1

Soccer 2

The Player 3

The Goalkeeper 4

The Idol 5

The Fan 7

The Fanatic 8

The Goal 9

The Referee 10

The Manager 12

The Theater 14

The Specialists 16

The Language of Soccer Doctors 17

Choreographed War 18

The Language of War 19

The Stadium 20

The Ball 21

The Origins 25

The Rules of the Game 28

The English Invasions 31

Creole Soccer 33

The Story of Fla and Flu 35

The Opiate of the People? 36

A Rolling Flag 38

Blacks 42

Zamora 43

Samitier 45

Death on the Field 46

Friedenreich 47

From Mutilation to Splendor 48

The Second Discovery of America 50

Andrade 53

Ringlets 54

The Olympic Goal 55

Goal by Piendibene 56

The Bicycle Kick 57

Scarone 58

Goal by Scarone 59

The Occult Forces 60

Goal by Nolo 61

The 1930 World Cup 62

Nasazzi 65

Camus 66

Juggernauts 67

Turning Pro 68

The 1934 World Cup 69

God and the Devil in Rio de Janeiro 71

The Sources of Misfortune 73

Amulets and Spells 74

Erico 76

The 1938 World Cup 77

Goal by Meazza 80

Leônidas 81

Domingos 82

Domingos and She 83

Goal by Atilio 84

The Perfect Kiss Would Like to Be Unique 85

The Machine 86

Moreno 87

Pedernera 89

Goal by Severino 90

Bombs 91

The Man Who Turned Iron into Wind 92

Contact Therapy 93

Goal by Martino 95

Goal by Heleno 96

The 1950 World Cup 97

Obdulio 100

Barbosa 101

Goal by Zarra 102

Goal by Zizinho 103

The Fun Lovers 104

The 1954 World Cup 105

Goal by Rahn 107

Walking Advertisements 108

Goal by Di Stéfano 111

Di Stéfano 112

Goal by Garrincha 113

The 1958 World Cup 114

Goal by Nílton 117

Garrincha 118

Didi 120

Didi and She 121

Kopa 122

Carrizo 123

Shirt Fever 124

Goal by Puskás 128

Goal by Sanfilippo 129

The 1962 World Cup 130

Goal by Charlton 133

Yashin 134

Goal by Gento 135

Seeler 136

Matthews 137

The 1966 World Cup 138

Greaves 141

Goal by Beckenbauer 142

Eusebio 143

The Curse of the Posts 144

Penarol's Glory Years 146

Goal by Rocha 147

My Poor Beloved Mother 148

Tears Do Not Flow from a Handkerchief 149

Goal by Pelé 151

Pelé 152

The 1970 World Cup 153

Goal by Jairzinho 155

The Fiesta 156

Soccer and the Generals 158

Don't Blink 159

Goal by Maradona 160

The 1974 World Cup 161

Cruyff 164

Müller 165

Havelange 166

The Owners of the Ball 168

Jesus 173

The 1978 World Cup 174

Happiness 177

Goal by Gemmill 179

Goal by Bettega 180

Goal by Sunderland 181

The 1982 World Cup 182

Pears from an Elm 185

Platini 187

Pagan Sacrifices 188

The 1986 World Cup 192

The Telecracy 195

Staid and Standardized 198

Running Drugstores 200

Chants of Scorn 201

Anything Goes 203

Indigestion 207

The 1990 World Cup 208

Goal by Rincón 210

Hugo Sánchez 211

The Cricket and the Ant 213

Gullit 214

Parricide 216

Goal by Zico 217

A Sport of Evasion 218

The 1994 World Cup 222

Romário 225

Baggio 226

A Few Numbers 227

The Duty of Losing 229

The Sin of Losing 230

Maradona 232

They Don't Count 237

An Export Industry 239

The End of the Match 242

Extra Time: The 1998 World Cup 245

The 2002 World Cup 253

The 2006 World Cup 258

The 2010 World Cup 263

Sources 271

Index 279

Editorial Reviews

Named one of the 'Top 100 Sports Books of All Time' by Sports Illustrated


"Soccer in Sun and Shadow is the most lyrical sports book ever written... In soccer, Galeano finds both a reflection and extension of everything he loves and finds maddening about the part of the world that has been the central focus of his writing for decades"
—Dave Zirin

"Between poetic descriptions of scores by famous players, Galeano provides political context and commentary... over all, the book is a winning celebration of the beautiful game."

—New York Times Book Review

"A poetic history [of soccer] that sets the book apart from others. Galeano's Catholic upbringing, socialist politics, and the injustice he's seen as a journalist seeps into his commentary, and gives his narrative a refreshing perspective that captures soccer's spiritual roots, corruption by greed, and role as a global equalizer that puts royals and dictators at the mercy of minorities and slum kids."
—Publishers Weekly

"This updated edition serves as a reminder that this is not just a classic sports book. On virtually every page, Galeano uses a phrase or sentence that will leave readers in awe of his gifts. A welcome update of a classic. Galeano's gift to the game he loves."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Since its first publication in 1995 (as Football in Sun and Shadow), this book has been relentlessly quoted, and for good reason. The author who pleads, 'A pretty move, for the love of God' has an eye for beauty, a feel for the game, a sense of proportion-and a gift for putting it all into words. Those seeking a history of soccer or a fan's memoir won't find it here... Above all, he reminds us of 'a simple truth that tends to escape the scientists of the ball: soccer is a game, and those who really play it feel happy and make us happy too.' An indispensible addition to soccer collections"
—Booklist, (starred review)

"It's all here. Everything you should know about soccer, the world's game"
—Los Angeles Times

"Stands out like Pele; on a field of second-stringers."

—New Yorker

"[A] beautiful ode to the beautiful game."

—Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated

"The Pele of [soccer] writing....a marvelous book."
—Richard Williams, The Guardian

From the Publisher

[Galeano's] elegiac tone…does not prevent his lifelong love for the sport from bursting through as he recreates and relives many of the game's signature moments, mostly from World Cup matches…Between poetic descriptions of scores by famous players, Galeano provides political context and commentary…but over all, the book is a winning celebration of the beautiful game.

The New York Times Book Review - Jay Jennings

A history of the sport of soccer, the poetic title of this volume, originally published in 1995 as El fútbol a sol y sombra and now in its fourth edition, is a dead giveaway that this is not a purely historical accounting of the world’s most popular game. While Galeano covers the sport’s origins in China five thousand years ago to the 2010 World Cup in chronological order, it’s how he tells the story in this rather poetic history that sets the book apart from others. Galeano, a renowned Uruguayan author and journalist, brings a personal passion to fútbol’s most memorable moments that can only come from a true aficionado. Whether describing great games, momentous goals or extraordinary players, each story has that distinct magical realism so prevalent in Latin American literature that it doesn’t matter that from one sentence to the next the writing moves from clichéd to poetic, as when he describes the great Pelé: “he cut right through his opponents like a hot knife through butter. When he stopped, his opponents got lost in the labyrinths his legs embroidered.” Focusing mostly on the international aspects of the game, Galeano’s Catholic upbringing, socialist politics, and the injustice he’s seen as a journalist seeps into his commentary, and gives his narrative a refreshing perspective that captures soccer’s spiritual roots, corruption by greed, and role as a global equalizer that puts royals and dictators at the mercy of minorities and slum kids. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Brilliant, lyrical flights of language that, like a player racing down the field in a mad, beautifully executed breakaway, are piercingly and unexpectedly insightful.

Village Voice Literary Supplement

Galeano delivers a loving tribute to the game and its culture, and a celebration not only of soccer but also of life.

San Francisco Chronicle

As only a radical Latin American writer can, Galeano conjures up images of legendary heroes and earth-shaking goals, with heavy-handed swipes at commercialism and class-politics, real-life racism and fascism.

Time Out New York

It's all here. Everything you should know about soccer, the world's game.

Los Angeles Times

Stands out like Pelé on a field of second-stringers.

The New Yorker

This effervescent book, illustrated by the author's spry silhouettes, is a lyrical celebration of the Latin character.

Boston Globe

A revised and updated version of the Uruguayan author's lyrical exploration of the beautiful game. Like so many children born in Latin America, Galeano (Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History, 2013, etc.) grew up wanting to play soccer. In his dreams, he was a star. During the day, however, he "was the worst wooden leg ever to set foot on the little soccer fields of my country." Nonetheless, his love affair with the sport continued. After its 1995 publication, El fútbol a sol y sombra was instantly hailed as one of the finest works of sportswriting ever written; Sports Illustrated hailed it as one of the 100 best sports books of all time. This updated edition serves as a reminder that this is not just a classic sports book. In more than 150 chapters, sketches, really, most of not more than a page or two, the author explores soccer from a wide variety of angles and looks at some of the major touchstones, including the World Cup games and dozens of significant goals. Galeano does not endeavor to provide a complete history of the game but rather, set pieces exploring great players, moments and themes in the development of the game he deeply loves but does not spare from criticism. The author's longtime translator Fried ably conveys the lyricism and poetry of Galeano's prose. On virtually every page, Galeano uses a phrase or sentence that will leave readers in awe of his gifts. This updated edition scarcely touches the original book but adds four new chapters, longer than those preceding them, of "Extra Time," covering the last four World Cups and developments in the game in the time since 1995. A welcome update of a classic--Galeano's gift to the game he loves.

Kirkus Reviews