Here’s my personal recommendations of the best football books about the World Cup. Kick off the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA with one of these great reads.
Review – Answered Prayers: England and the 1966 World Cup by Duncan Hamilton
‘Answered Prayers’ is Duncan Hamilton’s personal homage to Alf Ramsay and the England World Cup winners. 1966 is still England’s crowning football achievement and it may never be surpassed, but Ramsay and the players never got the rewards and recognition they deserved and were treated poorly by the Football Association.
Review – The Power and the Glory: A New History of the World Cup by Jonathan Wilson
Jonathan Wilson’s comprehensive history of the World Cup is not just about football. During the five hundred plus pages he makes a strong case that the story of the World Cup is also the story of the world.
Review – Last Boy of ’66: My Story of England’s World Cup Winning Team by Sir Geoff Hurst
Hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst is the last surviving member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team and his latest book delves deepest into his life and the key characters of the final. Hurst has had a bittersweet life with some unbelievable highs and distressing lows. The deaths of his younger brother Robert and his eldest daughter Claire are darknesses that he has taken decades to process.
Review – O Jogo Bonito! Brazil’s 1970 World Cup Samba Party by Gary Thacker
Gary Thacker’s book is the story of probably the greatest football team in the history of the World Cup. ‘O Jogo Bonito’ is Portuguese for ‘the beautiful game’ and the Brazilian World Cup winning team of 1970 truly defined the phrase.
Review – Gary Lineker: A Portrait of a Football Icon by Chris Evans
Chris Evans’s biography of Gary Lineker provides a fascinating insight into one of football’s most popular characters. Lineker led the itinerant life of a footballer with Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, Spurs, Grampus Eight and England before becoming the accomplished presenter of Match of the Day and other sports broadcasts, a successful entrepreneur and owner of sports podcasts.
Gary Thacker’s ‘Beautiful Bridesmaids Dressed in Oranje’ provides an illuminating and in-depth analysis of the Dutch national team and their dramatic failure to win a World Cup. This is an extensive history of Dutch football, but the narrative really gathers pace with the 1970s when they reached the World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978.
Review: After Extra Time and Penalties – Memories of a BBC Football Correspondent by Mike Ingham
Former BBC football Correspondent Mike Ingham’s autobiography is a thoughtful homage to the golden age of sports broadcasting. His own broadcasting experiences saw him attend eight World Cups, commentate on twenty-eight FA Cup Finals, work with ten full-time England managers and introduce Sports Report.
The former director of the National Football Museum Kevin Moore has produced a challenging and revelatory new book which debunks many of the myths and assumptions about football. In 50 short chapters Moore shatters many of the strongly held beliefs of football fans. His entertaining commentary is generally supported with hard facts and statistics although occasionally he does stray onto more subjective ground.
Book Review: World in Motion – The Inside Story of Italia ’90 by Simon Hart
Simon Hart revisits Italia ‘90 with an entertaining journey through one of the most culturally significant World Cups. It was a rare tournament with Scotland, Ireland and England all qualifying. It was a time of Gazza’s tears, Pavarotti’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ and New Order’s ‘World In Motion’. Italia ‘90 was to prove groundbreaking in so many different ways.
Review: Luka Modric My Autobiography
From humble beginnings Luka Modric has achieved incredible things during his football career winning more than 15 trophies with Real Madrid, a FIFA World Cup finalist, Golden Ball winner, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, FIFA Best Men’s Player and Ballon d’Or Winner.
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