Description
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Sunday Times Football Book of the Year 2022
One of the Financial Times Top 5 Best Sports Books of the Year
The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals per game than any World Cup since. But more than just the proliferation of goals was the quality of the overall football, as some of the finest teams ever to represent the likes of West Germany, Peru, Italy and England came together for a tilt at the world title. But at the heart of the tournament were Brazil; captained by Carlos Alberto and featuring legends like Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Tostão, the 1970 Seleção are often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team.
Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the tournament, from the preparations to the final, telling a host of remarkable stories in the players’ own words. The result is an immediate, insightful and compelling narrative that paints a unique portrait of an extraordinary few weeks when football hit peaks it has seldom reached since. This is Mexico 1970. Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth.
Trade Review'An account of arguably the best football World Cup, told almost entirely in quotes from the men who played in it'
* Financial Times, FT Best Books of the Year *
'the voices in this charming book—each one an aging football star’s—are eloquent to a man'
-- Tunku Varadarajan * The Wall Street Journal *
'For any football nurd out there it is fascinating because you don’t only speak about the beautiful final between Brazil and Italy, you go for the first round matches too. It is a really, really interesting read…'
* Monocle Daily *
'Phenomenal – a terrific read'
-- Grant Wahl
