The Greatest Show on Earth

Name: The Greatest Show on Earth
Brand: Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand
SKU: 9781909715967
Price: 47.99 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

The Inside Story of the Legendary 1970 World Cup

By Andrew Downie

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( 21 ratings, 2 reviews)

Summary

The 1970 World Cup is celebrated as the greatest football tournament ever, featuring a high average of goals per game and exceptional teams from Argentina, West Germany, Uruguay, and England. Central to the event was the Brazilian team, led by Carlos Alberto and legendary players like Pelé, Gerson, Jairzinho, Rivellino, and Tostão, often hailed as the finest World Cup side in history. Through extensive archival research and new interviews, Andrew Downie captures the tournament’s stages and players’ perspectives, offering an insightful and compelling narrative of these extraordinary weeks when football reached rare heights.
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Format: Hardback

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for football fans, sports historians, and readers interested in the golden era of international football tournaments.

The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals per game than any World Cup since.Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the tournament, from the preparations to the final, telling a host of remarkable stories in the players' own words.

Description

The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals scored per game than any tournament since. Beyond the sheer number of goals, the overall quality of the football was exceptional. Some of the greatest teams in history, representing Argentina, West Germany, Uruguay, and England, came together to compete for the world title.

At the heart of the tournament were Brazil, led by Carlos Alberto and featuring legendary players such as Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivellino, and Tostão. The 1970 Seleção are often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team.

Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the World Cup in The Greatest Show on Earth, telling the remarkable story of the tournament in the players' own words. The result is an immediate, insightful, and compelling narrative that paints an utterly unique portrait of an extraordinary few weeks when football hit peaks it has seldom even neared in the years before or since.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Financial Times called it an account of arguably the best World Cup, told through the players' own words and selected as an FT Best Book of the Year. The Wall Street Journal praised the eloquence of the voices featured in the book. Monocle Daily found it a fascinating read for football enthusiasts, delving beyond the final to first-round matches. Grant Wahl described it as "phenomenal" and a "terrific read."

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781909715967

Publisher: Birlinn General

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 02 September 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Arena Sport

Illustration: 16 Plates, black and white

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 563g

Pages: 320

Collections

Andrew Downie Non-Fiction Soccer Sports

About the Author

Andrew Downieis the Brazilian football correspondent forReuters, and has lived in the country for almost 20 years. He has written on football for GQ, the Economist, theNew York Timesand theGuardianamong others. He translatedGarrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero, and is the best-selling author of the critically-acclaimedDoctor Socrates: Footballer, Philosopher and Legend. Now based in London, he still spends much of the year in Brazil.