Soccer in Sun and Shadow

From one of Latin America's most acclaimed writers, a lyrical account of the world's most popular sport.

Named one of the "Top 100 Sports Books of All Time" by Sports Illustrated

“A winning celebration of the beautiful game.” — New York Times Book Review

In this witty and rebellious history of world soccer, award-winning writer Eduardo Galeano searches for the styles of play, players, and goals that express the unique personality of certain times and places.

Galeano takes us to ancient China, where engravings from the Ming period show a ball that could have been designed by Adidas; to Victorian England, where gentlemen codified the rules that we still play by today; and to Latin America, where the “crazy English” spread the game only to find it creolized by the locals. Meanwhile, all the greats—Pelé, Di Stéfano, Cruyff, Eusébio, Puskás, Gullit, Baggio, Beckenbauer, Maradona— have joyous cameos, rendered in a pitch-perfect translation by Mark Fried. Soccer in Sun and Shadow is an exquisite and powerful account of the world’s favorite sport.