From the publisher:
Italia '90 was, in a sense, the first and the last World Cup. It was also the best and worst World Cup. It was football at a junction. It was the World Cup of Gazza’s tears and Nessun Dorma, a grand spectacle of colour and drama that made football suddenly fashionable again — at least among the wider English public (and salivating television executives). Yet it was also a World Cup low on goals and high on fouls which led to the re-writing of football’s rulebook.
World In Motion travels from Africa to South America, via Europe and the Middle East, to hear from the heroes and villains of Italia ’90 and find out why it is still seen as a special and transformative moment, not just in English eyes but in other countries far and wide.
Featuring interviews with Cameroon’s Roger Milla, Italy’s Totò Schillaci, West Germany’s Jürgen Klinsmann, Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea, and Ireland’s Packie Bonner, Hart explores the full global impact of the 1990 World Cup, examining not only the story of tournament but the long-term social, political and economic paths of each country involved.
Simon Hart says: ‘For somebody who was a football-mad teenager in 1990, it was a privilege to write this book – to go out and discover the impact of Italia ’90, not just in this country but in many other parts of the world. Hopefully it will highlight just why that tournament was so special and why its legacy endures today, as well as providing readers with a powerful and enjoyable dose of World Cup nostalgia.’
The author:
Simon Hart has been working in sports journalism since the late 1990s and has been present at the past five World Cups. He reports on European football for UEFA’s website and publications, and also writes for The Independent and the i. This is his second book and follows Here We Go: Everton in the 1980s, published in 2016.
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