Customer Reviews

Twenty-Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts:: The Intelligent Fan's Guide to Soccer and World Cup '94

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I picked up this book a couple of years back when a local San Francisco sports columnist described it as 'the best book on soccer ever written.' After reading 'Twenty-Two Foreigners,' I'll second that opinion.

This book successfully weaves a general description of the game, a review of all Word Cups prior to US 94, and the author's own passion for his local team - Wrexham, a Third Division Welsh club struggling to gain promotion to the Second Division in 1993. Pete Davies mixes these themes together masterfully. Despite these three unique threads, the book never seems jumbled or hodge-podge.

Through Davies' sections on the history and nuances of the game, you'll develop a keen appreciation for why certain teams/countries deploy different playing styles and alignments without feeling overwhelmed by jargon and technical detail. In the overview of the World Cups, you'll understand how world dominance has inexorably tilted from its initial power base in the UK to the far reaches of Europe and - especially - South America. And in detailing his long-time affair with Wrexham, you'll begin to comprehend the deep-seated passion for the simplest of games which, unfortunately, has still not quite resonated here in the States.

Despite the fact that the material is now seven years old (Mr. Davies - an updated version in preparation for WC 2002 would be fantastic!), I wholeheartedly endorse this book as a comprehensive and engaging introduction to 'The Beautiful Game.'

I read it 15 years ago but in honor of the World CUp I bought it again from Amazon. It's a thoroughly enjoyable book on the fun of soccer in daily life and not just for the sports-crazed.

The opening chapter on the northwest England/Wales border team rivalries (of the Welsh teams) was a perfect microcosm of how ingrained soccer is in most parts of the world but not in the US. The many football chant songs cracked me up.

It is worth reading again too, despite being 16 years old, since for many people in the US there still is not an appreciation of soccer as a US sport for adults to be playing or professional soccer.

The statistics and personal narration of critical games from the past are great tools for illustration of soccer's place in the world psyche--favorite chapter is Argentina 1978.

I also enjoyed the fact that soccer was put into the daily context of life, maybe not as extreme as Fever Pitch, but pretty close.

If you are new to the World Cup, this is an excellent sociology and blow-by-blow game guide to introduce you to soccer.

This book is so enjoyable and amusing you may consider moving to England. You can't even read it without having a cup of tea handy. The writer jumps around between a history of the world cup and his own favourite team, Wrexham in the lower regions of the English football league. In the process he also tries to explain the rules of the english game for the readers who were preparing to host the world cup in 94. Ironically some things that may be quite confusing are never explained! That is part of the fun. Obviously it is a bit dated now but still a hoot and very worthwhile. Great history of the world cup and also offers some understanding of what this sport means to those across the pond.

Speaking as a person who was born only a dozen or so miles from the small town of Wrexham in north-east Wales, I think that this book accurately captures the pleasure and the pain of being a grass-roots fan of a small, only mildly successful, football club, struggling in the nether regions of the English league system.

If one short, sweet, book can not only explain the rules of football, but also its history, and what it's like to be an ordinary fan - then this is the book for you.

Everything you need to understand football is in this book.

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat as you read about Wrexham's 1993 season to see if they can be promoted to Divsion 2 from Division 3. What capitivated me, a youth soccer coach that is still (and according to the author) and will always be learning the game, is the manner and style of his writing. Direct, hard-edged and always to the point, Mr. Davies tells us the story of Wrexham (a mid-sized town in North Wales south of Liverpool), what each of the players do on the field, soccer strategy and most enjoyably, a history of the World Cup to 1994.

Since I had never heard of Wrexham before and knew very little of the World Cup, the book allowed me to "follow" the 1993 season without knowing the outcome. Since most Americans are in that position, the book is every bit as fresh as it was when first published in 1994. Also, Mr. Davies has very little love and respect for the English soccer establishment and is always candid and fresh with his opinions.

Now that I have become a Wrexham fan, my biggest problem now is finding reliable and up to date information on the English Division 2 soccer standings (assuming that they have not been relegated to Division 3).

All in all, a great, fresh and enjoyable read!!!

Pete Davies' book entertainingly covers the world of soccer in a witty, new-journalism style of writing. From the inside story of a Welsh 3rd Division club stuggling for promotion to the details of a great USA upset win over England in 1993, to the World Cup itself, Davies offers a rich and vivid look at the details and passion that make up the world's most popular sport. Great for beginners to become educated about the game, and where soccer is going in the United States. The book takes you to soccer at every level: From the groundskeeper to the manager to each players' unique perspective on what happens over the course of a match or an entire career. A very entertaining read. A great chapter on US National Team goalkeeper Kasey Keller's starting out in England at Milwall, a club in London with some of the toughest fans in Britain. You will learn a great deal about the sport of soccer, even if you fancy yourself an expert.

This book is about three things: 1) The author's favorite team, 3rd division Wrexham, struggling to gain promotion, 2) Breif but insightful descriptions of every world cup up to Italia 90 3) Descriptions of the positions and jobs of all the players on the pitch. Even if you think you know it all, read this book anyway. It will make you laugh and I guarantee that you will learn something new and interesting. Enjoy

As coach of my son's youth soccer team, I went looking for a book to introduce our parents to the rules, history and color of the world game. I found what I was looking for in this slim volume. Pete Davies' book is ostensibly about USA '94, America's hosting of the 1994 World Cup Tournament. It is much more than that, and it is a terrific read for soccer novices, soccer romantics, and hard-core fans. Davies is a Welshman and a die-hard fan of Wrexham, a Third Division team in the English League, struggling to gain promotion to the higher division. Davies intersperses a season-long odyssey of watching soccer among 5,000 loyal fans in a decrepit stadium where fans have to wait in line for 15 minutes to get the world's worst coffee and "deathburgers," which he says are made from "ears and nostrils." The reader gets a real sensory appreciation of what it means to be in love with a club, to live and die with their weekly ups and downs. Davies teaches the readers the rules of the game in a very casual way, but he is 100% accurate and insightful. He also covers all the major positions on the field. He describes the so-called formations used in the modern game, and then tells us that it is all meaningless once the top world teams get into the whirl of a real match. Soccer style, he says, reflects who you are. As he covers the build-up to USA 1994, he covers all the major teams. Italy are artists, but also subject to bouts of psychological darkness and fraternal bickering. Brazil are the sun-drenched sorcerers, magicians with the ball, who elevate the world game to its highest levels. The English are "cavemen with hairy arses," he says both with admiration and regret. An English League match is like watching 22 men on amphetimine. Bodies rush and hurl about, with collisions leaving casualties in their wake. A high work rate is prized. Unfortunately, he says, the artists of the world game have left the English game behind. The organization of English soccer,he says, is run by "idiots." In a short, easy-to-read volume, Davies really gives a great overview of the game in different parts of the world. He sounds a warning about the future of American soccer. The American character likes big corporate, para-military style organization. USA 1994 is awash in logos and rampant commercialism. Although the sandwiches served at USA 1994 are infinitely better than the "deathburgers" served at Wrexham, the common fan is the heart of the game in England, not the corporate sponsor. It is a point that we should not forget as our game in America grows. My favorite sports books are written by passionate writers who have a sharp eye for the game, but more importantly, a real affection for their games and subjects. I would put in this category Roger Kahn's "The Boys of Summer," David Faulkner's book on Sadaharu Oh, and now Pete Davies, with "Twenty-Two Foreigners In Funny Shorts." Highly Recommended

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is about 5 to 10% of it is outdated. The rest is smart, funny, passionate and insightful, a joy for beginning and serious soccer fans alike. I read it in 3 days and now my girlfriend, a soccer novice, is consuming it with equal speed. I highly recommend it in full measure. (By the way: you can find out about Wrexham by going to espn.com/soccer, then going to "Soccernet/UK" and searching for club standings. They're still in the 2nd division, though close to relegation! )