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Fear And Loathing In La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid, And The World's Greatest Sports Rivalry (2014)

by Sid Lowe(Favorite Author)

4.22 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1568584504 (ISBN13: 9781568584508)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Nation Books

review 1: Barcelona good, Madrid bad; Barcelona independence; Madrid Franco buddies. Very much the opinion I held when I started to read this. Sid Lowe for me has always been the most compelling pundit on football weekly, and I love his writing in the Guardian. This book is a good read throughout.The strongest chapters cover the effect of the Civil war on football and challenge the preconceptions. Madrid was not Franco's base, and it suffered from nationalist attacks. Real had to stop playing matches, and their (republican) president Guerra was imprisoned when the city finally fell to Franco. Barca were was less impacted by the fighting.There's some great stuff on Cruyff, how Di Stefano could have played for Barca; and Barca's current embrace of Catalan nationalism might be more pol... moreitical than idealistic.The author admits he had to leave a lot out. Maradona barely gets a mention and there's obviously another book in waiting on Laurie Cunningham. Not just a book for the football hipsters this is sociological and a good (ongoing) tale.
review 2: Messi vs Ronaldo. Good guys vs bad guys. Guardiola vs Mourinho. Catalonia vs Francho. Cruyff. Left vs Right. Kabula vs Di Stefano. Independence vs regime. All are themes that have been woven into the Barcelona vs Real Madrid mythology. But the complexity in the history of Spain and the the history of football is deeper than some of the themes and story that sit at the surface of this rivalry. Lowe offers a much more balanced look at the history of these two Spanish giants. Both are clubs with rich football history and for any lover of football, this is a great read. Lowe goes back to back each chapter at the mirrors in Barcelona and Real Madrid's history. Both clubs are great. Both are flawed and both will continue to be giants in the world of football. less

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