Description

Book Synopsis

Germany did not have professional players or a national league until the 1960s, yet it became one of the most successful football nations in the world.

Tor! (Goal!) traces the extraordinary story of Germany’s club and international football, from the days when it was regarded as a dangerously foreign pastime, through the horrors of the Nazi years to postwar triumphs and the crisis of the new century.

Tor! challenges the myth that German football is ‘predictable’ or ‘efficient’ and brings to life the fascinating array of characters who shaped it: the betrayed pioneer Walther Bensemann; the enigmatic genius Sepp Herberger; the all-conquering Franz Beckenbauer; the modern misfit Lothar Matthäus. And even the radio commentator Herbert Zimmermann, whose ecstatic cries of ‘Tor!’ greeted the winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final and helped change a whole nation’s view of itself.

Fully revised and updated ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Tor! is the definitive history of German football.

Tor!: The Story of German Football

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    A Paperback / softback by Uli Hesse

    £13.49

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Wed 26 Aug 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Polaris Publishing Limited
      Published 5 May 2022
      ISBN-13 9781913538743
      978-1913538743
      ISBN-10 1913538745
      Also in:
      History European history Sport Association football (Soccer) History of sport

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Germany did not have professional players or a national league until the 1960s, yet it became one of the most successful football nations in the world.

      Tor! (Goal!) traces the extraordinary story of Germany’s club and international football, from the days when it was regarded as a dangerously foreign pastime, through the horrors of the Nazi years to postwar triumphs and the crisis of the new century.

      Tor! challenges the myth that German football is ‘predictable’ or ‘efficient’ and brings to life the fascinating array of characters who shaped it: the betrayed pioneer Walther Bensemann; the enigmatic genius Sepp Herberger; the all-conquering Franz Beckenbauer; the modern misfit Lothar Matthäus. And even the radio commentator Herbert Zimmermann, whose ecstatic cries of ‘Tor!’ greeted the winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final and helped change a whole nation’s view of itself.

      Fully revised and updated ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Tor! is the definitive history of German football.

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