The World Cup: The Ultimate Guide to the Greatest Sports Spectacle in the World (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"The World Cup 2006" is a small paperback original that will provide fans with everything they need to know about the 2006 World Cup in Germany. It includes information about all key players, the history of the Cup, the teams to watch, and an interactive component allowing them to keep track of each country's performance. Fernando Fiore is one of the most recognized celebrities in the US Hispanic community. He has won 3 Emmys, and in recent years, his ongoing popularity has led him to cover major sports events, such as the World Cup, the Copa America, and the Juegos Panamericanos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: It Books; Tra edition (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060820896
• ISBN-13: 978-0060820893
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,119,110 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O mundo gira e a bola rola! , May 23, 2006

By	Peppino - See all my reviews

For the English speakers, this is the translation of the most wonderful book by a true fanzaço Fernando Fiore , to celebrate the coming of the 2006 Copa Mundial! (Vamos al Mundial is the title of this book).

Written with a big heart and much love, and with the (small) inroads "o jogo bonito" is making in the USA, this book is not just a guide to the Germany experience and description team to team fo the happy national sides, but a great history of all the World Cup from the very beginning to 2002. (I will hope this book is updated in 2010 , just as Eduardo Galeano's "El Futbol a Sol y Sombra" made the updated edition!).

Don Nando's perspective as an argentino , transplanted from uruguai and with also Italian ancestry closely parallels my history, as it relates to futebol.
(Sorry to say, Seu Nandinho,..I am "Boca" in Argi, "e sou Verdão também"! However my ancesrty compels me this year to forsake "O Penta" and shout 'Forrrrrza Azzzzzzurrrrrrri!)

He colors each page with his admiration and affection for the beautiful game, its stars, and all the surprises it brings. As well, a historical perspective , both from history passed and personal experience enable me to "smell the matches" as if I am there again in attendence!

Always a positive outlook, a good word , and ultimate entusiasm in every page, Don Fernando is our most genial "tipo cem-por-cento" if you do not know him already from the televison broadcasts!

When I see this book originally, I thought it just the 2006 "guidebook", until I sit for a minute to read it! I could not put it down!

10000000000 stars in the galaxy for this small gift!

A bola é redonda.....who knows WHAT can happen this year's Copa!

I think it my moral and filisofical "enemy" Henry Kissinger who once said futebol is "a little box of surprises", né?

He was dead -on with that statement, and this "little book" really surprised me as I must say it is "essential" for every futebol fan!

To tell the truth, after I bought this book, I went the next day and ordered "Vamos al Mundial", the original 'em espanhol" edition of the book! And now "today is history, tomorrow a mystery. Onward to Copa 2006!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good flow and animated description, January 2, 2008

By	arzewski (pittsburgh, pa United States) - See all my reviews

It was nice to read. It has a nice flow. Instead of being the staid and inanimated description of technical and statistical handbooks, the text is really full of life and trivia. It mentions who was sick and who was attempting to bribe, and many trivial facts. Also, it mentions when the yellow and red card were first used, when the Adidas ball was used first. It, however, had some glaring omissions, like not mentioning the plaque at the Atzeca stadium in Mexico City declaring that "here was played the game of the century" for the 1970 semifinal, and surprisingly not mentioning the 18-year old Rivera that did some magic. Given the very animated descriptions of memorable games, I consider this book very valuable for those that want to search for video clips in YouTube, now that many people around the globe are digitizing clips of video for the rest of us to scavenge and watch.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All-in-one guide, December 30, 2006

By	Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

By now the 2006 World Cup has come and gone so this book will not serve the afficionado as well. However, there is enough World Cup trivia and history to make it a good addition to the sports section of your library anyway. Argentina-American Fernando Fiore, the omnipresent sports figure and director on Univision delivered a much needed companion to the biggest and most popular sports spectacle that is The World Cup; futbol (soccers) showcase that comes every four years. The thematic sections of the book are First Half, an introduction to Germany(the host city), Second Half which features a very concise yet adequate overview of the History of The World Cup, chapters include the Birth of the World Cup, The prehistoric Cup, The Ancient Cups, the Modern Cups and The Contemporary Cups, Overtime the thirty-two teams and their stars and section for notes on each match and finally the lastsection entitled The Victory Lap which features the twelve host cities and their stadiums with suggestions on where to go and what to do if you were so fortunate as to have been there. To me as a fan the best part was the breakdown of each team, it's stars etc. and most helpful the grouping and opponents for each match which includes the dates and a sort of scratch section on each game where you can keep track of things about the game like goals scored and quality of the match etc. I loved this part and used it throughout the Copa. I even used it on a remote , boat accessible only little town off the coast of Mexico where we watched the game with the locals at a bar on the beach with a small tv with rabbitt ears!I hope that there is an updated version for 2010 and I would highly recommend it to any fans of futbol or soccer as it is known the U.S.