Behind the Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football [Paperback]

Jonathan Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

From the war-ravaged streets of Sarajevo, where turning up for training involved dodging snipers' bullets, to the crumbling splendor of Budapest's Bozsik Stadium, where the likes of Puskas and Kocsis masterminded the fall of England, the landscape of Eastern Europe has changed immeasurably since the fall of communism. Jonathan Wilson has traveled extensively behind the old Iron Curtain, viewing life beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall through the lens of soccer. Where once the state-controlled teams of the Eastern bloc passed their way with crisp efficiency—a sort of communist version of total soccer—to considerable success on the European and international stages, today the beautiful game in the East has been opened up to the free market, and throughout the region a sense of chaos pervades. The threat of totalitarian interference no longer remains; but in its place mafia control is generally accompanied with a crippling lack of funds. Jonathan Wilson goes in search of the spirit of Hungary's Golden Squad of the early 1950s; charts the disintegration of the soccer superpower that was the former Yugoslavia; follows a sorry tale of corruption, mismanagement, and Armenian cognac through the Caucasuses; reopens the case of Russia's greatest soccer player, Eduard Streltsov; and talks to Jan Tomaszewski about an autumn night at Wembley in 1973.

Editorial Reviews

Review

With style and erudition, [Wilson] proves that football is a metaphor, an allegory, and much more than just a game THE TIMES Enlightening THE SCOTSMAN

About the Author

Jonathan Wilson is the soccer correspondent for the Financial Times.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752879456
• ISBN-13: 978-0752879451
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jonathan Wilson is the Football Correspondent of the Financial Times and author of the critically acclaimed 'Behind the Curtain: Football in Eastern Europe' and 'Inverting the Pyramid'. Coming in time for the 2010 World Cup is 'The Anatomy of England', an in-depth look at ten crucial games that shaped England.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best soccer book I've ever read November 19, 2011

By Steven E. Brown

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is my favorite soccer book I've read. Part travelogue, part history and politics, and part sport, in 'Behind the Curtain' Jonathan Wilson travels through Eastern Europe and explores the people, the cultures, and the problems via the lens of football. Whether he is sharing a drink with former guerrillas in Belgrade, or traveling the back roads of Armenia, Wilson's book is enthralling and I couldn't put it down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent February 25, 2011

By Alex McCoy

Format:Paperback

This book is yet another of the great works by J. Wilson. It is definately not a mass-public book, but the soccer fan who likes to read about soccer in different parts of the world will be well-rewarded. Some of the countries he discusses are so different than what we think of when we think of European football that it is a real culture shock. However, the book makes you actually want to take and interest in Eastern European football, or to even see a game from the earth enbanked and rail-road ties recycled seats in some really, really poor places. An enjoyable read from a master of the genre.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars lifts the curtain September 26, 2009

By Brian Maitland

Format:Paperback

Simply a superb soccer book. It's not just the "big" nations that the author looks at nor are they the most interesting. By delving into such places as Bosnia-Hercegovina, Armenia, Azerbaijin as well as the big boys of Russia, Croatia and Romania we get a truly complete picture on the state of the game both from a historical perspective but with a firm eye on the present and future.

It's so enjoyable to learn a nugget like the "Russian" linesman Tofik Bakhramov who confirmed that England's third goal in the 1966 World Cup Final did cross the line has the national stadium named after him in his native Azerbaijan. The book is filled with these and they are not just thrown in as trivia asides but are investigated and explained in entertaining details.

Here's hoping author Jonathan Wilson is working on a followup as this subject has so many more stories I'm sure to tell even as thorough a job as he did on this one.