Weidenfeld & Nicolson Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina

Unfortunately this book does have an ending. Which is a pity as after 500 + pages, I still wanted more. This is a book I've waited a long time for. There are some amazing books covering South American football as well as focusing upon the exploits of Brazil but never Argentina. Thankfully it has been worth the wait.First I think it's fair to address a couple of complaints for other reviews. Yes, some chapters do come across as being fragmented which do feature a bit of back and forth but that shouldn't impact upon how enjoyable the book is. Secondly, it's a football book first and foremost. You don't need to know the history of Argentina. The politics and socio-economic factors are easily explained in the context of the relevant chapters. They played an impact upon Argentina at the time and thus helped shape the country at the time. Football was also taken along for the ride. Be it escapism from a government with little time for human rights or being used as a tool for propaganda, football helped shape Argentinian society. The book is never bogged down with irrelevant information. So, onto the football.........From the beginning in which football was introduced by the British, the spread of the sport, the rise of Argentine football, plenty of crashes along the way which eventually lead to the present day - this book is superb! Split the book into 3 parts if you like. The beginning and the establishment of the clubs who now dominate the landscape. Struggling to find the right philosophy and having to recover from an almighty setback during the World Cup in Sweden. The book then focuses upon the club sides and the eventual rise of the national team which culminated in the 1978 victory. The final third deals almost with the rise of Maradonna and the AFA. So yes, there are chapters which dip back and forth in time reflecting either the league programme or the national side. Either way you look at it, the book is a magnificent read for any fan of South American football. Let's hope the author could eventually give the same treatment to River Plate...........

There's one great thing about this book, and one problem.The great thing is that Wilson devotes as much attention to the 1930s and the 1950s as he does to the 1990s and the 2000s. Too many football books are written as though the sport only began in 1966, 1982 or 1990. Wilson is excellent when it comes to tying in the development of the sport with Argentina's troubled development and I learned a lot about Peron, the generals and Menem.The problem is summarised in one sentence towards the end, when Wilson explains that there have been eleven different champions in the most recent twelve years. The chapters on the last decade of Argentine domestic football are dull because there is no real narrative. The teams are made up of journeymen players, a few young talents and the occasional star in the twilight of their careers. It's impossible to build a team over the seasons because of the rapid turnover of players.While I understand why Wilson had to write three later chapters they add little of interest and are a sad reflection on the appalling state of league football in South America.A long, satisfying read but - unusually in a sport book - the really interesting stuff ends with 100 pages to go.

Generally does a fantastic job of describing and taking you through the tumultuous early years of professional football in Argentina, whilst providing a deep political context. Is a little too long and gets too anti-English towards the end. Most of this is justified well throughout but when we reach the infamous “hand of god” incident, it is merely glossed over the focus instead being on how dirty England defenders were towards maradona. Real shame as Wilson is a well balanced writer but let himself down in that regard.

This book was very interesting. A clear way in to the history of Argentina and he appropriately places football within its social, economic and political context. However I did feel a little underwhelmed.Firstly, I know little of South American history. Yet I do know that this book glosses over certain themes too easily. A book which claims to be able to offer some political history surely cannot overlook how Argentina became a haven for Nazis and collaborationists after the Second World War. I'd also echo another person's review that the last hundred pages of this book are somewhat week. Again, a big deal is made of Kirchner and the Falklands, yet the fall of Christine Kirchner and the more recent territorial disputes are not mentioned.I think it is this academic depth which will leave the serious reader somewhat disappointed. The raw factual material is there, clearly written (albeit in heavily fragmented chapters) but Wilson often alludes to the relationship between a given context and football but does so in excessively tentative language. There are times when you are really trying to unearth a stronger narrative.That said, I did enjoy this book a lot. It serves as a great introduction to Argentinian history and footballing history. Suitably inducted into such writing, I'm planning on following it up with a few books by David Goldblatt which I gather serve a similar purpose for Brazil and post-Thatcherite Britain.

The author's total familiarity with and knowledge of his subject is impressive. As a social history of the country it is a useful introduction as well.