Tag: Germany

The best books (I’ve read) on German football

For those who just want a list:

While beloved of football hipsters, the Bundesliga has always lacked a landmark English language TV show to really generate significant interest in the UK and Ireland.  Serie A had Football Italia in the ’90s, La Liga had Revista on Sky Sports combined with the appeal of Messi and C. Ronaldo but the Bundesliga was usually restricted to clips of goals on Eurosport.

German football has however been incredibly well served by the quality of the books about it either written or translated into English.  In particular, Uli Hesse, Raphael Honigstein and Ronald Reng have brought the story of German football to English readers.

The obvious place to start is Tor!: The Story of German Football by Uli Hesse.  First published in 2002, Tor! is a detailed and engrossing history of German football from it origins to the Champions League Era.  Tor! covers a vast amount of detail, covering the often complex origins of modern clubs, the remarkably late professionalisation of the game in West Germany, and the challenges football faced in East Germany under Communism among many more topics. Throughout the book, football is set in the context of Germany’s turbulent 20th Century history, never more powerfully than when retelling the story of the 1954 World Cup and the Miracle of Berne where a the national team helped drag Germany out of it’s post-war shame.  For many readers, the detailed recounting of the evolution of the German national team may be of most interest and Tor! excellently balances the twin tales of how football developed for both clubs and country.

One of the challenges that Tor! faces is telling 100 plus years of history in just one book.  Thankfully Hesse returned more recently with two comprehensive books on the history of Germany’s two best well known clubs – Bayern: Creating a Global Superclub and Building the Yellow Wall: The Incredible Rise and Cult Appeal of Borussia Dortmund.   Both books trace the origins of the clubs from their first steps to the modern day.  Both are meticulously researched and packed full of detail and insight.  Hesse seems to have spoken to every key figure for both clubs you can imagine.

Bayern tells the story of how a fairly normal Bavarian team, who weren’t even invited to joint he first Bundesliga, grew to become a global institution.  At times it contains a little bit too much detail on long-forgotten matches but remains immensely readable.

Building the Yellow Wall has a more personal feel.  The book is packed full of nuggets of history and trivia about Borussia Dortmund that you are unlikely to find anywhere.  Hesse grew up in Dortmund but also interviews a wide range of players, club officials and ordinary fans.  This book has less match report style recounts of long forgotten matches than the earlier book on Bayern and instead wisely focuses more on the cultural impact of Borussia for its fans, its city and football in general.

For a closer look at the development of the Bundesliga, we have Matchdays: The Hidden Story of the Bundesliga by Ronald Reng.  Reng is best known as the author of the heart-breaking, beautiful book ‘A Life Too Short’ about the late Robert Enke which I discuss later.

Reng’s second book to be translated to English, Matchdays, is a biography of Heinz Hoher – a real journeyman of German football – a bit of a Wes Hoolihan as a player (talented but often stuck as a flair player in second division) and a bit of an Alan Pardew as a manager (decent at bottom half/middle table teams) but undoubtedly a complete ****.  Hoher is quite the character – quitting jobs on a whim, drinking to the point of collapsing on first day of a new job, just missing out on Dortmund job to Hitzfeld. Most interestingly, Reng uses Hoher’s career to tell the story of the Bundesliga from its inception in the 60’s to current day – how it has changed and how the German public’s attitude towards it evolved.  All round it is a really enjoyable, if slightly overlong, read. The style takes a bit of getting use to – although I’m not sure if it that is the author’s style or a result of the translation.

For a more modern look at how the German national team evolved we turn to Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World by Raphael Honigstein. Honigstein, who has recently joined the Atheltic UK’s exciting new football site, is undoubtedly the current English language expert on all things German football.  Das Reboot is a really enjoyable read with great insight into the rise and rise of German football.  It looks behind to scenes to identify how German football changed from a defensively minded game to the remarkable attacking football that led Germany to the 2014 World Cup.   The book gives fantastic insight in the philosophical debate for the soul of German football that was sparked by terrible tournaments in 1998 and 2000 and led to a revolution in youth coaching.  The impact of Jürgen Klinsmann and Jogi Löw in enhancing the professionalism of the national team is fascinatingly told and the story of that incredible 2014 World Cup winning campaign is brilliantly told.  At times the narrative jumps between time periods and between the national team and domestic games in a slightly confusing manner but that is a very minor quibble.

Michael Cox’s superb new book Zonal Marking makes a convincing case that during 2012 to 2016, German football was at the forefront of tactical innovation in European football.  As well as the national team’s success covered by Das Reboot, Jurgen Klopp’s development of gegenpressing at Dortmund and Pep Guardiola’s tactical evolution at Bayern helped to shape tactical thought across Europe.  Luckily, there are two excellent English language books which shine a light on both of these periods.

Klopp: Bring the Noise by Raphael Honigstein is a fun and detailed biography of the most charismatic manager in football – Jurgen “Kloppo” Klopp.  Honigstein details the key influences on Klopp’s career including his own limitations as a player and his one-time coach Wolfgang Frank.  Klopp comes across in the book in the same way he does on TV.  He clearly has a huge work ethic and builds a very  strong connection with his players.  The access that Honigstein had to so many people close to Klopp at different times of his life and career gives a great insight into his tactics and his management.  A clear pattern emerges – builds a fantastic team with meagre resources, performs well above expectations only to see a decline – either due to star players being headhunted or the rest of the league adopting his tactics.

Pep Confidential: The Inside Story of Pep Guardiola’s First Season at Bayern Munich by Martí Perarnau is a remarkably in-depth look at Guardiola’s attempts to evolve the tactics of reigning Campions League winners Bayern Munich for the 2012/2013 season.  The level of access granted to Perarnau is extraordinary and he recounts in detail the tactical moves which Guardiola used to ‘reprogramme’ his players.  The book goes in to great depth on how Guardiola prepares his team for every game and overall how he adopted his footballing approach for the differences between German and Spanish football.

Perarnau followed this up with a second book Pep Guardiola: The Evolution covering the rest of Pep’s time at Bayern.  The second book is less in diary format but contains the same fascinating detailed explanations of the tactics used in various matches.  There is quite a bit of repetition about Pep’s broad philosophies and at times, like the first book, it borders on hero-worship.   Together however the two books provide a remarkable insight into not just Pep but also into the inner workings of Bayern.

Some less well known German football figures have also been the subjects of two books by Ronald Reng.  Best known is his heart-breaking, exceptional book A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke.  German international goalkeeper, Enke died by suicide in 2009 at age 32.  He had played across Europe at club’s like Benfica and Barcelona and appeared outwardly to have a fantastic life.  Reng sensitively examines the darker story as Enke struggled badly with depression and mental health issues.  Reng, who considered Enke a friend, paints a picture of Enke as a person, rather than a footballer.  I’ve never read anything so powerful at asking us to look behind the curtain of celebrity and consider the human side of professional athletes.   It’s a spell binding, heart-breaking, incredible book that rightly won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

Reng’s other, less well known, book is Keeper Of Dreams: One Man’s Controversial Story of Life in the English Premiership which was published in English in 2002 (translated by Shaun Whiteside). Keeper of Dreams is about the brief professional career of Lars Leese, a German goalkeeper who was catapulted from lower league German football to become a Premier League goalkeeper during Barnsley’s one season in the top flight. Lesse looked like he had missed his chance to be a professional before, at the age of 26, getting taken on as Leverkuson’s third choice goalkeeper.  A bit of luck and the right connection resulted in a surprise transfer to Barnsely where Lesse briefly became a starting Premier League goalie in only his second year as a pro.  

Barnsley’s year in the top flight was in 1997/1998 – when I was 13 and utterly obsessed with football and Championship Manager.  That obsession can only explain why I have vivid memories of that Barnsely team and of Lars Lesse when I can barely remember matches I watched last week.    Keeper of Dreams is ultimately the story of a dream temporarily lived and the frustration of coming to terms with the reality that the dream ended all too soon.  Reng is excellent at capturing the more difficult side of life in football – the personal struggle players experience behind closed doors.   Keeper of Dreams is a pretty quick and easy read that captures a fairly unique football journey. 

I suspect there are other great English language books on German football and footballers that I’ve not yet read and would love to be pointed towards some.   Mensch: Beyond the Cones by Jonathan Harding seems like an interesting read and one I’m hoping to pick up soon. 

‘Keeper Of Dreams: One Man’s Controversial Story of Life in the English Premiership’ by Ronald Reng & translated by Shaun Whiteside (2002)

Ronald Reng will be best known to English readers for ‘A Life Too Short’ his excellent and heart-breaking biography of the late Robert Enke.

Keeper of Dreams is his much lesser known first book (first translated into English at least) about the brief professional career of Lars Leese, a German goalkeeper who was catapulted from lower league German football to become a Premier League goalkeeper during Barnsley’s one season in the top flight.

Lesse looked like he had missed his chance to be a professional before, at the age of 26, getting taken on as Leverkuson’s third choice goalkeeper.  A bit of luck and the right connection resulted in a surprise transfer to Barnsely where Lesse briefly became a starting Premier League goalie in only his second year as a pro.

Barnsley’s year in the top flight was in 1997/1998 – when I was 13 and utterly obsessed with football and Championship Manager.  That obsession can only explain why I have vivid memories of that Barnsely team and of Lars Lesse when I can barely remember matches I watched last week.

lars

Leese was something of a celebrity in Barnsley as the town went football crazy.   In the book he is very candid with his opinions on British life and Reng captures the bemusement of a foreigner in a British town as Lesse and his wife come to really enjoy their lives there.

Keeper of Dreams is ultimately the story of a dream temporarily lived and the frustration of coming to terms with the reality that the dream ended all too soon.  After eventually securing a starting spot and playing fanstically to secure a famous win at Anfield, Lesse lost his place due to illness and couldn’t get back into the team due to David Wagner’s great form.   As Barnsley dropped to Division 1, John Hendrie took over from Danny Wilson and Lesse found his face no longer fit with Hendrie’s plans for the club.  Released after his second year, Lesse struggled in vain to find a new club before eventually seeking normal work and stability back in Germany.

Reng is excellent at capturing the more difficult side of life in football – the personal struggle players experience behind closed doors.  It is impossible to read this book now without seeing the writing of this story as part of Reng’s development as a writer and his experiences with Reng can only have helped him to so brilliantly capture the tragic story of Robert Enke in his universally admired A Life Too Short –  a book I thought was just superb but am hesitating to reread and review given the sad subject matter.

Keeper of Dreams is a pretty quick and easy read that captures a fairly unique football journey and an interesting and honest character in Lars Lesse.  Well worth picking up.

keeper

 

 

‘Klopp: Bring the Noise’ by Raphael Honigstein (2017)

It’s always fascinated me how a manager’s character can shape the neutral fan’s perception of a football team.  Under previous Liverpool managers (especially Houlier) I found Liverpool quite dis-likable and certainly not a team I would root for.  Yet under Klopp its hard not to  have a soft spot for the free-flowing Liverpool team that plays in a manner

Klopp

Klopp: Bring the Noise is a fun and detailed biography of the most charismatic manager in football – Jurgen “Kloppo” Klopp.  Honigstein details the key influences on Klopp’s career including his own limitations as a player and his one-time coach Wolfgang Frank.

Klopp comes across in the book in the same way he does on TV.  He clearly has a huge work ethic and builds a very  strong connection with his players.  The access that Honigstein had to so many people close to Klopp at different times of his life and career gives a great insight into his tactics and his management.

A clear pattern emerges – builds a fantastic team with meagre resources, performs well above expectations only to see a decline – either due to star players being headhunted or the rest of the league adopting his tactics.  It remains to be seen if his Liverpool team can compete in the Premier League and become more than a very good cup team.

I’m a big fan of Raphael Honigstein’s writing – in particular his book Das Reboot.  Like his other work, this book is well written, well researched and a very enjoyable read.

Klopp 2

There are a few areas in the book where more detail would have been interesting.  The section on the type of player Klopp looked to sign was very interesting but I would have like more detail on why certain players were signed – what was it about Lewandawski that made Dortmund pull the trigger for example when he was overlooked by other clubs?

I found the ordering of chapters a bit frustrating.  I understand what Honigstein was trying to achieve – linking his first days at each club together to enable the reader to make comparisons between his time at Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool.  But for a reader not all that familiar with Klopp’s time at Mainz, the jumps back and forth were a bit disorientating.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Klopp – and I can’t imagine why any football fan wouldn’t be interested in him!

klopp 3

And here’s 12 I prepared earlier

Before starting this blog, I very occasionally reviewed books on Goodreads.  This post captures 12 long ago, and in many cases forgotten, musings on a wide selection of sports books.  Some of these are in the re-read pile and will get a fuller, updated review when I get to enjoy them again.  These 12 cover a range of topics including: Boxing’s 4 Kings, Brazilian and German football, Irish cycling and drugs in sport.

Ringside.jpg    Drama     fifa.jpg  brazil

1) ‘A Ringside Affair: Boxing’s Last Golden Age’ by James Lawton

A Ringside Affair is a love letter to boxing from one of the UK’s great sportswriters. Each chapter covers one of the great fights or fighters that Lawton had the immense pleasure of witnessing throughout his career. It’s clear that the era of the Four Kings
(Leonard, Hearns, Hagler and Duran) stands out as the golden age of the title, but it’s the career of Iron Mike Tyson which clearly shines through in the book. Lawton’s admiration for young Tyson’s talent is only topped by his disappointment at the Tyson’s eventual troubles and crimes.

Lawton’s accounts really bring the fights to life as well as placing them clearly in their time and place. His passion and love for the sport shines through. Its a work of remembrance and of celebration as Lawton reflects on his career.

For all fight fans the book is a fantastic summary of 30 years of top level boxing. It’s excellently written and will make you want to pull out the you tube videos and track down the great boxing books.  I highly recommend it.

2) ‘Drama in the Bahamas’ by Dave Hannigan

An entertaining and in-depth look at Ali’s last fight and the sad spectacle it was. The book is best enjoyed by someone well versed in Ali’s life story – it paints some characters a bit too thinly for anyone coming to Ali;s story without a reasonable knowledge of the cast of characters that surrounded the Champ.

Hannigan paints a picture of an Ali who is his own worst enemy.  It is apparent that there is no is villain guiding Ali to fight one last time. It really appears to be Ali himself and his own desire for attention and love that motivates him to take one more totally unnecessary and disproportionate risk.

Like all Hannigan’s work, it’s an enjoyable read and a welcome addition to the library of Ali books.

3) ‘The Fall of the House of Fifa: The Multimillion-Dollar Corruption at the Heart of Global Soccer’ by David Conn

I greatly enjoyed this book on FIFA’s troubled history. Its extensively researched and well written. As a follower of David’s writing in the Guardian the book lives up to expectations.

Its a sad reminder of the scale of corruption and the breath of individuals involved. Blatter emerges as not quite the villain but rather the enabler and master politician. There is plenty of new material even for those following FIFA closely, especially a fascinating interview with a post retirement Blatter.

The only criticism is that it is a bit too detailed at times. Sometimes the narrative could be shortened and there is a bit of repetition at times.

All in all its a highly recommend for anyone interest in football politics or just good journalism.

4) ‘Shocking Brazil: Six Games That Shook the World Cup’ by Fernando Duarte

Very enjoyable history of Brazilian football. Examining the most successful team in history by focusing on their lowest moments, Durate paints a convincing narrative of the impact each of these games had on shaping the team.

One of many books to come out in the lead up to the Brazil World Cup, Durate captured a lessor seen angle of the 5 times champions.   Considering that the worst defeat of all was yet to come – who will ever forget that 7 – 1 – its a timely book and one that will remain relevant as Brazil try to rise again in Russia.

The writer is also a very entertaining journalist and great as a guest on football podcasts.

Das reboot   Match  vol  nowehere

5) ‘Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World’ by Raphael Honigstein

A really enjoyable read with great insight into the rise and rise of German football.  At times the narrative jumps between time periods and between the national team and domestic games in a confusing manner.   A good companion piece to ‘Tor! The Story of German Football’ by Ulrich Hesse to complete the picture of how the world champions became the world champions.

6)’Matchdays: The Hidden Story of the Bundesliga’ by Ronald Reng

Ronald Reng is the author of the heart-breaking, beautiful book ‘A Life Too Short’ about the late Robert Enke.

His second book to be translated to English, Matchdays, is a biography of Heinz Hoher – a real journeyman of German football – a bit of a Wes Hoolihan as a player (talented but often stuck as a flair player in second division) and a bit of an Alan Pardew as a manager (decent at bottom half/middle table teams) but a complete ****.  Hoher is quite the character – quitting jobs on a whim, drinking to the point of collapsing on first day of a new job, just missing out on Dortmund job to Hitzfeld.

Reng uses Hoher’s story to tell the story of the Bundesliga from its inception in the 60’s to current day – how it has changed and how the German public’s attitude towards it evolved.

All round an enjoyable, if slightly overlong, read.  The style takes a bit of getting use to – although I’m not sure if it that is the author’s style or a result of the translation.

7) ‘Living on the Volcano: The Secrets of Surviving as a Football Manager’ by Michael Calvin

Michael Calvin is modern footballer’s great chronicler.  He examines the less beautiful side of English football shining a light on the real life experiences of those who live and breath the game.  Living on the Volcano focuses on the stresses of football management – showing the cost, the emotion and the real lived experience of managers at almost every level of the game.  It is an interesting and enjoyable read that offers a unique perspective of the job we all love to try on a computer game.

The book does suffer from Calvin at times being a bit too close to some of the subjects.  Its hard not to get the sense that he lets the fact he grows to like many of his interviewees/subjects as people get in the way of his objectivity as a football journalist.

8) ‘The Nowhere Men’ by Michael Calvin

Before data, analytics and youtube, talent needed to be scouted. Calvin’s book offers a fascinating insight into the enclosed world of football scouts in the UK

It chronicles a profession teetering on the edge – slowly being replaced by technology (and those who use it) yet a profession that continues to prove that data alone can’t tell you everything.

Above all, the love of football some of the scouts who work for mileage only is amazing, inspiring and heart-breaking all at the same time.

roche   Race   Running with Fire   Nike

9) ‘Born to Ride’ by Stephen Roche

Very interesting and enjoyable book. A chronicle of a time when Irish cyclists ruled the world.  Roche really was some rider had an incredible career and I wish I had been older in 1987 to have been swept up in the Roche/Kelly era.  Roche’s book is well worth a read for any cycling fan.

As with all cycling books, the issue of drugs hangs over every story like a bad smell.  Roche does at least address the drugs controversy which emerged after he retired.  His position is not entirely convincing and it is very hard not to believe his accusers.  Roche may have been part of the problem, and is definitely not willing to be part of the solution, but his achievements should not be underesimated.  If he was clean, its doubtful there has ever been a greater Irish sportsman.

Hunger by Sean Kelly is a very good companion book to give Kelly’s perspective of days that Irish cycling will never see again.

10) ‘The Dirtiest Race in History’ by Richard Moore

Moore is better known as a cycling journalist and writer.  Here, he moves away from cycling to the other sport dominated by drugs.  He crafts the story of the 1988 Olympic 100m final where Ben Johnson smashed the world record then dramatically failed a drug test.  Will there ever be another Olympic final where so many competitors had their legacies tarnished as the testers caught up with the cheats?

The book provides an in-depth look at Johnson’s rivalry with Carl Lewis and both of their journey’s to Seoul.  Johnson’s assertion that, while he was on lots of drugs, he never actually took the drug that the test found creates a bizarre and intriguing story.

It is well written, well researched and entertaining.  It provides an interesting look at drugs in sport in general – although Moore’s eagerness to believe in Team Sky over the years totally unfairly taints his comments on drugs in sport in my eyes.   Highly recommend.

11) ‘Running with Fire: The True Story of Harold Abrahams’ by Manterrk Ryan 

Very enjoyable biography of the 100m Olympic gold medalist and legend of athletics officialdom. Charts the prejudice he faced for being Jewish, his fantastic athletic career and even more successful (and interesting) administration career after he retired.

A must read for any fans of Chariots of Fire.

12) ‘Shoe Dog’ by Phil Knight.

Every long lasting company needs its origin myth.  What is unusual is the founder telling his story so long after the fact. Shoe Dog is both a sports book and a business book.  It is much better than I would have expected.

Knight tells the story of the founding of Nike and its early years before it broke into the big time.  It ticks the usual boxes of near disaster, dramatic recovery and eventually incredible growth.

What becomes clear is that for Knight, the early years are where is heart remains. It is a loving reflection on the days before he became a bazillionaire and a love letter to Steve Prefontaine.

I would have liked it to go a little further and look at the signing of Jordan and the groundbreaking nature of that change for Nike and for sport.

Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore is a great companion piece to round out the story of the technical genius that combined with Knight’s business brain to change the sporting world.