Apparently, it’s World Book Day so I thought I’d cobble together a quick top five of recommended football books I’ve enjoyed in recent years.
I’m not one for a biography as you’ll see, I like learning about the clubs, their locations and communities. I hope you enjoy some of these. Please note, if you buy a book using the links below, FiB will make a small fee from each sale.
Building the Yellow Wall
I’ve been making a yearly pilgrimage to Borussia Dortmund for many years now, something me and Duds loved to do. To stand in the Yellow Wall is a truly unbelievable experience. The noise, the smell, the goosebumps as the team come out, oh and the never-ending supply of beer. I’m yet to finish the book, but it’s been a fascinating insight in to the growth and cult status of the team and its supporters.
Up Pohnpei
When I read this, it started off a bit like a Dave Gorman/Danny Wallace read where there’s a bet, and then the fall-out of that bet. But this book grew on me and I became completely entranced with Paul Watson’s story as he set out to manage an international team. Since then he has become a huge advocate for the smaller nations and saw him organise the 2018 CONIFA World Cup in London (and Bracknell).
The Illustrated History Of Football
Part history lesson, part comic strip. I love David Squires work and sense of humour. Ideal for when we’re all taking football a little bit to seriously.
The Miracle Of Castel Di Sangro
It’s been years and years since I read this book but it drew me in. It is in the vein of following a specific club for a season, but this time it is the small-town team of Castel di Sangro who had reached the heights of Serie B in the late 1990s. It was a fascinating story that included alleged match-fixing, a battle against relegation, a signing of Ali Dia proportions and if memory serves, an awful and tragic twist.
Anything by Daniel Gray
Specifically though Saturday, 3pm and Black Boots & Football Pinks. I think there is now a third in the series but these are lovely little pocketbooks full of 50 or so very specific memories about football and going to it – even more relevant now.
Football in Berkshire has compiled a list of all our book recommendations via the website GoodReads – see them all listed here.
