From the publisher:
STAMPING GROUNDS follows the Liechtenstein national football team through their defeat-strewn qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup. Drawn in a group with Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria and mighty Spain, it was hard to see the principality's part-time players scoring even one goal, never mind adding to its meagre international points total. So what motivates a nation of 30,000 people and eleven villages to keep plugging away despite the inevitability of defeat? Travelling to all of Liechenstein's qualifying matches, Charlie Connelly examines what motivates a team to take the field dressed proudly in the shirts of Liechtenstein despite the knowledge that they are, with notably few exceptions, in for a damn good hiding.
Sampling the delights of Liechtenstein's capital, Vaduz, such as the Postage Stamp Museum, the State Art Museum and, er, the Postage Stamp Museum again, Connelly provides an evocative and witty account of the land where every year on National Day the sovereign invites the entire population into his garden for a glass of wine.
The author:
Charlie Connelly is the author of a string of books including And Did Those Feet: Walking Through 2000 Years of British and Irish History, Last Train to Hilversum: A Journey in Search of the Magic of Radio and Bring Me Sunshine: A Windswept, Rain-Soaked, Sun-Kissed, Snow-Capped Guide to Our Weather. Three of his books have been selected as BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Charlie is the literary correspondent for the New European, writes and presents the Coastal Stories podcast and performs his one-man show about the shipping forecast in venues across the country. He lives in Scotland where he misses Charlton Athletic terribly.
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