Around the World in 90 Minutes: (+ Extra Time and Penalties) [Paperback]

David Winner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

While only relatively few football fans managed to get a match ticket for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, billions of people watched it on TV screens all around the globe. Acclaimed football writer David Winner decided it was time to get off his sofa and join them. His quest: to circle the globe in just four weeks and watch as the planet went World Cup crazy. Travelling from Gdansk to Seoul, from Buenos Aires to Rome, joining in the drama of the World Cup in nation after nation while battling flu, exhaustion, and agonizingly intense jet-lag, David soon realizes he is watching the people as much as the games themselve —the differences in their reactions to victory, defeat, tragedy, and even the odd draw. Whether it be the rueful resignation of drunken Poles or the ecstatic jubilation of excited Koreans, the way people celebrate or commiserate the World Cup seems to bring out our  national characters and stories in a way that not much else can. This heartfelt, humorous, and ultimately poignant account of David Winner’s travels is a book by and for the true fan. He reminds readers that, despite the tears, headbutts, and early exits, the World Cup is for its spectators a truly global experience, managing, for just four weeks every four years, to unite all sports fans.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Winner is the author of Brilliant Orange and Those Feet.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury UK (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747590834
• ISBN-13: 978-0747590835
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,586,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars no winner here, August 30, 2011

By 

Brian Maitland (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Around the World in 90 Minutes: (+ Extra Time and Penalties) (Paperback)

Hard to believe the author of one of best ever books on soccer (Brilliant Orange) could take a fabulous idea (travel around the world immersing oneself in the local fan culture as those fans watch the World Cup Finals on TV) and completely blow it.

First of all, David Winner spends way to much time telling us about his travel troubles in making or being on flights. Note to Winner: Cut all that out if you do this project again. The guy needed to focus way more on the fans in each country.

Then despite knowing for about six months the teams (therefore the nations) involved and the schedule of group matches, he often shows up in countries searching for places to watch the matches. In this Internet age, could he not have arranged all this before hand and scoped out where to watch in each city.

The worst part is Winner lives in Rome yet ends up not actually being in Rome when Italy win the 2006 World Cup.

Lastly, the writing is so matter-of-fact, I just scratched my head as to how this could be the same writer of that seminal book on Dutch soccer, Brilliant Orange.