Soccer around the World: A Cultural Guide to the World’s Favorite Sport

450 Pages·2014·5.94 MB·English

by  Charles Parrish

Soccer around the World
A Cultural Guide to The World’s Favorite Sport
Charles Parrish
John Nauright
Copyright © 2014 ABC-CLIO, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Parrish, Charles.
Soccer around the world : a cultural guide to the world’s favorite sport / Charles Parrish.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-61069-302-8 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-61069303-5 (ebook) 1. Soccer—Juvenile literature.
2. Soccer—Social aspects—Juvenile literature. I. Title.
GV943.25.P37 2014
796.334—dc23
2013051345
ISBN: 978-1-61069-302-8
EISBN: 978-1-61069303-5
18 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 5
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Soccer around the World
Soccer around the World
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO THE WORLD’S FAVORITE
SPORT
CHARLES PARRISH AND JOHN NAURIGHT
ABC-CLIO
Santa Barbara, California • Denver, Colorado • Oxford, England
In memory of lifelong educator, mentor, and friend, George H. Bedwell (1938–
2012)
Although I never convinced you otherwise, soccer is indeed much more than “a
good cure for insomnia.”
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Timeline of Important Events in Soccer History
Argentina
Brazil
Cameroon
Egypt
England
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Mexico
The Netherlands
Nigeria
Portugal
Russia
Spain
United States
Uruguay
Appendix 1: Additional Iconic Clubs from around the World
Appendix 2: Additional Legendary Players from around the World
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Authors
Preface
Despite the subtitle of this book, soccer is much more than simply the world’s
favorite sport. Throughout these pages we highlight the cultural significance of
soccer in various regions across the globe. As the reader will find, soccer both
reflects and helps shape our perception of societies, past and present. Evolving
from a simple diversion and character-building tool to a global commercial
industry, the sport now functions as a cohesive (and divisive) global spectacle, a
means by which to assert personal and collective identities, an effective and at
times controversial political tool for international diplomacy, an integral
component of contemporary strategies seeking to forge economic and social
development, and a showpiece nations construct as a means to display economic
and technical achievements. Of course, the global business element is of
paramount importance, and as we progress with haste in the 21st century, the
global soccer industry faces a unique set of challenges to its welfare as well as
opportunities for future growth.
Some have argued that the consumption of soccer, though difficult to
measure, surpasses that of any other cultural product. With 3.2 billion people
(nearly half of the world’s population) tuning in to watch the 2010 FIFA World
Cup on television it is becoming increasingly difficult to refute such a claim. The
final match between Spain and the Netherlands alone drew a total viewership of
approximately 1 billion. Countless others play the game at some level, whether
informally, through organized recreation, or by way of serious competition. As
people around the world now incorporate soccer into their routines, the sport has
become an important facet of everyday life worthy of analysis. In doing so, we
are able to better understand not only its local cultural and social significance but
also its much broader global impact. Through serious analysis and reflection we
can derive useful conclusions that, in the end, provide a holistic window into the
past, present, and future.
This book is organized alphabetically by country. Space limitations do not