Another soccer/football question

June 11, 2006 11:47 AM

I've played soccer my whole life, compared to my European brethren I know very little about the sport (and its stars). Anyone know a good book about soccer/football that will allow me to speak with authority when someone references Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, or even Cisse or Ronaldinho?

Also, if you've been watching the World Cup, you've probably seen this great commercial (different from the question below). Does anyone know what the song is?
posted by Cochise to media & arts (16 comments total)

[edited this question to just include the secondary question - hope that's ok]
posted by jessamyn at 11:54 AM on June 11, 2006

It was a completely different commercial and song between the two questions.
posted by dobbs at 11:56 AM on June 11, 2006

Poster wants to know who does the song in this commercial, which is not the same as the song/commercial in the post below.
posted by dobbs at 11:59 AM on June 11, 2006

They're two adidas ads and people wouldn't know they were different until they clicked through unless they read the title. I emailed the poster to see if he couldn't post the "what is this other song" question in the thread immediately below.
posted by jessamyn at 12:01 PM on June 11, 2006

The tune is, i think, Jim Noir - Eaney Meanie.
posted by the cuban at 12:34 PM on June 11, 2006

Fun, well-written histories:

Goooal!: A Celebration Of Soccer by Daniel Arcucci
Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano

Guide that includes a lot of useful history:
Rough Guide to European Football: A Fans' Handbook

If you have any particular interest in British fandom, you should read:
Derby Days by Dougie Brimson
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
posted by languagehat at 1:01 PM on June 11, 2006

[compromised on question with OP, sorry for the all hubub]
posted by jessamyn at 1:05 PM on June 11, 2006

The Miracle of Castel del Sangro is the best football book I've ever read. Mightn't help you speak with authority on the career of Beckenbauer (but I think some sort of highlights or history DVD might be better for that anyway - you want to see these guys play) but it's good on general football obsession in Italy.
posted by jamesonandwater at 1:14 PM on June 11, 2006

the cuban: i think that's the song in a different cut of the same ad.

for the one on metacafe, the song is RJD2 - de l'alouette

samples: http://www.juno.co.uk/products/146653-01.htm
posted by aiko at 1:34 PM on June 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

Well for starters, you can have a look at wikipedia, for example the history of Fifa World Cup, Champions League and Uefa Cup. Then, you can continue with national football teams; [England, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany] Finally, English Premier League, Spanish League, Italian League and German League.
posted by caelumluna at 3:08 PM on June 11, 2006

I second Fever Pitch, but I disagree on the commercial -- I really dislike it. That may or may not be related to the fact I've seen it 30 times in the past 2 days...
posted by inigo2 at 5:25 PM on June 11, 2006

A good way to learn about current soccer stars is to play a soccer video game. I'd recomend winning 11 by konami. It has classic teams too so you learn some history as well.
posted by afu at 11:04 PM on June 11, 2006

second afu's suggestion to play a soccer game. 'Pro Evolution Soccer 5' has all the actual players of the most important leagues (LFP Spain, Serie A, Premier League,...) and the most important international teams. And it's a great game too - a lot better than the EA Fifa series.
posted by NekulturnY at 4:02 AM on June 12, 2006

I suppose someone has to mention that Pro Evolution Soccer and Winning Eleven are the same game, just differently named depending on which side of the Atlantic you happen to be on.

And I might add that it's a really excellent game.
posted by Kattullus at 6:48 PM on June 12, 2006

I live in the US and just "discovered" football four years ago. Now I'm hooked - I've read some of the books mentioned above and love playing Winning Eleven but what really brought me up to speed on the game past and present was reading a magazine from the UK called FourFourTwo. It costs a fortune ($69.00) but is well worth it in my opinion. My current issue has articles about the 50 Greatest World Cup Moments and the Schalke vs. Dortmund rivalry among other things. I've seen it at Barnes and Noble so flip through it there but it's cheaper to subscribe. BTW if you're not a fanatical follower of a particular team(Liverpool), don't let anyone try to influence(Liverpool) you.
posted by philad at 11:23 PM on June 14, 2006

Thanks for the suggestions, but trust me, I know my video games. Been playing FIFA for as long as it's been around, and though I briefly made the switch to Winning 11, I'm back to FIFA on Xbox 360. As for the books, I'm gonna check some out.
posted by Cochise at 10:28 PM on June 18, 2006