From the publisher:
'Striking . . . extraordinarily ambitious' JONATHAN WILSON, NEW STATESMAN
'A compelling account of how football became a force in Latin America with an impact far beyond the pitch, helping forge national identity and fuelling regional rivalries' INDEPENDENT
!Golazo! recounts the story of Latin American football: the extravagantly talented players; pistol-toting referees; bloody coup d'etats; breathtaking goals; invidious conspiracies; strikers with matinee idol looks and a taste for tango dancers; alcoholism; suicide and some of the most exhilarating teams ever to take the field. And yet it is gripping social history. Andreas Campomar shows how the sport that started as the eccentric pastime of a few expat cricket players has become a defining force, the architect of national identity and a reflection of the region's soul.
Including not only the well-known heroes of 'the beautiful game', but also the numerous forgotten gems of Latin American football, !Golazo! is the extraordinary tale of how football came to define a continent.
The author:
Andreas Campomar is a publishing director, and has reviewed for, among others, the Daily Telegraph, Times Literary Supplement and the Spectator. He is the great-grand-nephew of Dr Enrique Buero, the man who convinced Jules Rimet to stage the first World Cup in Montevideo and later became Vice-president of FIFA.
---