Review of "Narcoball"

Not being a big soccer fan, I was still interested in this book as I remembered how Columbia lost to the US in the 1994 World Cup and the subsequent murder of one of its players.  This book is an excellent read on this era of Columbia football.  Here is my review of "Narcoball." 

 

Title/Author:

“Narcoball: Love Death and Football in Escobar’s Columbia” by David Arrowsmith

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, football (soccer for American sports fans, but this review will call it football) in Columbia was ruled, just like the country, by the powerful drug cartels.  One man personified this era for both the sport and the political landscape – Pablo Escobar.  His story of ruthlessness, riches and eventual death is told in this excellent book by David Arrowsmith.

The book centers on Escobar’s main two loves – power and football.  For the former, the reader will read about Escobar’s rise through the organized crime network that supplied many nations, especially the United States, with cocaine.  It didn’t matter who may have stood in his way, Escobar would find a way to either take them over or have them eliminated.  This sadly led to much violence and crime in the country and especially in Escobar’s hometown of Medellin.

As for the football, Escobar and other drug lords and cartels were the financial backing for most of the Columbian teams.  This grew out of Escobar’s love for the game early on and grew until he controlled several clubs and had an extended influence on the Columbian national team.  They improved each year and played in the two World Cups during the time frame of the book, 1990 and 1994.  In 1990, Columbia did advance out of group play but lost their first game in the knockout round to eventual champion West Germany. Thanks to even more financing (and the crime and threats that go with it), the 1994 was even stronger and expected to go far in the tourney.

By now, Arrowsmith has painted a complete picture of not only Escobar’s crimes, power and downfall.  This led to his death in 1993, before the 1994 World Cup.  However, many cartels and leaders still were influencing the sport, but they would soon decline and by the late 1990’s their influence was practically nil.  However, there was one more tragic event that came about due to this combination of crime, power and football.  The 1994 Columbia team didn’t advance out of group play, with the most stunning loss coming at the hands of the host USA team 2-1.  The first USA goal was an own goal by the excellent Columbian defender Andres Escobar (no relation to Pablo).  After the tournament was over and the Columbian team returned home, Andres Escobar was murdered after going to a nightclub with friends. The reason was never confirmed and there are a few theories behind the death as Arrowsmith points out, but it did show the power of “narcoball” – the term used for this era of Columbian football.  

I wish to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: amazon.com/Narcoball-Death-Football-Escobars-Colombia-ebook/dp/B0CMHM228J/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Game of Edges"

This is the first of three reviews I am posting in the next three days as after a lull in my reading time, I had plenty of time to read on a recent trip for a conference in Washington DC.  As one who prefers train travel when possible, this meant extra reading time.  For the first review, I am posting this one on a book on the use of data analysis in professional sports.  Here is my review of "Game of Edges." 

 

Title/Author: “Game of Edges: The Analytics Revolution and the Future of Professional Sports” by Bruce Schoenfeld

 

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Fans of professional sports are certainly aware that analytics are now an important part of their favorite sports, no matter which one(s) they prefer.  While many do see the change in the games on the field due to the use of data, they may not be aware that the same type of analysis is used by many team owner for the business side as well.  This book by Bruce Schoenfeld does a good job of explaining this use of data both on and off the field.

I found the discussions on the business aspect of analytics most fascinating. Items that are mentioned cover mainly Major League Baseball and the English Premier League but they are certainly applicable to most professional sports franchises.  It is especially interesting to read about the Premier League franchises who used data to determine how they may be able to sell more merchandise, for one example.  Another excellent example of this was how John Henry, the owner of baseball’s Boston Red Sox, arrived at the decision to buy the Liverpool Premier League team. 

For teams in the United States, one of the more interesting concepts on the business side of analytics was something that anyone who has attended a professional sports event in the past few years can see – the many options outside of the game itself to bring fans (and their money) to the area.  The Red Sox are one example given – Henry was looking to open Red-Sox themed pubs around Boston but was discouraged from doing so by then-Commissioner Bud Selig.  The reason was that this might also be something the rival of the Red Sox would do, the New York Yankees, and help them bring in more money and therefore more wins.  The other interesting business analytics example was also in baseball.  The owner of the Chicago Cubs looked to partner with Draft Kings to open a gambling parlor at Wrigley Field to bring that aspect (growing in leaps and bounds) to their business model as well.  Both of these stories made for great reading.

Analytics that affect the games also are included in this book, but it wasn’t as compelling as the sections on the business side.  The best of this writing was actually about an “anti-analytics” manager, Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals.  Schoenfeld does a nice job of explaining how he had success with the team during the 2014 and 2015 seasons (in the latter, the Royals were champions). There is also some good discussion of the 2020 World Series between two teams who do embrace analytics, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. The most compelling discussion here was about the Rays’ decision to pull their starting pitcher, Blake Snell, early in the decisive sixth game.  But overall, while good, this isn’t quite as good as the business side of this discussion on the use of data analytics in sports.  It is a book recommended for any fan of any professional sport.

I wish to thank W. W. Norton & Company for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed are strictly mine.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Edges-Analytics-Revolution-Professional/dp/0393531686/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

Review of "Twelve Yards"

When I saw this book was being offered on NetGalley for review, I was intrigued - how can an entire book talk about penalty kicks?  Well, this book did so and was a fun read as well.  Here is my review of "Twelve Yards."

Title/Author:

“Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty Kick” by Ben Lyttleton

Tags:

Football (English), soccer, World Cup, psychology

Publish date:

July 28, 2015

Length:

345 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

This sentence in the description of this book is a good description of the penalty kick: “The penalty kick is soccer in its purest form: kicker, goalkeeper, ball.” The distance between the ball and the goal is twelve yards. Since the goal is quite large and the goalkeeper cannot move until the kicker makes his move, it sounds easy for the kicker, right?  This book by Ben Lyttleton illustrates that is not necessarily true all the time.

Like the title says, the psychology of the penalty kick is covered in the book.  For this, Lyttleton uses a variety of sources – studies that have been devoted to measuring success on penalty kicks, interviews with players, coaches and others who have been involved in soccer and stories from famous games that were decided by penalty kick shootouts, including World Cup games, championship matches in various leagues and even some friendly matches as well.

There is no one consensus on the mindset of the kicker and the goalkeeper, and Lyttleton does a good job of presenting all sides to this argument.  From an expert who states a penalty kick is “90% psychological and 10% physical” to famous players who have missed penalty kicks saying that it wasn’t mental at all, just misplayed, the reader will be peppered with stories, interviews, game recaps and studies all devoted to that one play that is full of drama – the penalty kick.
I wish to thank Penguin Books for providing a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No matter what topic a reader can think of about a penalty kick, this book has it covered.  Does the kicker or the goalkeeper truly have the advantage?  It is addressed.  If the reader wants to read about famous players and their experiences in this situation, many are covered – Pele, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, and Zinedine Zidane are just a few of the sport’s legends who are mentioned in this book. How about famous shootouts, such as those that won World Cup tournaments in 1994 (men), 1999 (women) and 2006 (men)? Those are in the book as well.

This makes the book a great source of information on this simple but pressure-packed play.  Overall, it is a good and entertaining read.  Some of the statistical sections and reports on studies about the psychology were a tougher read, but overall this was an entertaining and fun book that soccer fans everywhere and of any level should enjoy.

Pace of the book:

It was a very smooth read during most of the book when the author was sharing stories, interviews and recaps but did seem to drag during the sections with statistical analysis, as I skimmed most of those sections after reading the theory behind the statistics.

Do I recommend? 

No matter what level of soccer fan a reader may be, there is something for everyone in this book. Many of the stories are entertaining, and one does not have to know about the history of the players, referees or teams involved to enjoy reading these stories about those twelve yards between the kicker and the goalkeeper when a penalty kick is called.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Yards-Psychology-Perfect-Penalty-ebook/dp/B00OQS4E22/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439136917&sr=1-1&keywords=twelve+yards+the+art+and+psychology+of+the+perfect+penalty+kick

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/twelve-yards-ben-lyttleton/1120624752?ean=9780143127307

Review of "I Am Sam"

This book has to be one of the more interesting reads I have done in a long time. This is because when I received the book from an executive of the publishing company, I believed I would be reading a biography of a forgotten soccer star from the past.  While that player does play a big role in the book, it was not what I expected at all.  Once I adjusted my expectations and read the book as a fictional story, it was much better.  Here is my review of "I Am Sam." 

Title/Author:

“I Am Sam” by James Durose-Rayner

Tags:

Soccer, Football (English), fiction, history

Published:

February 10, 2015

Length:

498 pages

Stars: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Jon Sammels was considered a tragic figure in the 1960’s and early 1970’s English Premier League soccer, a tremendously talented player who was left off the 1970 World Cup team for England.  His story is brought back to life by a television producer who must make a documentary as part of his job.  Sammels’ story as well as that of the fictional “Mr. Arsenal” (named for his favorite English Premier team) is told in this entertaining book by James Durose-Rayner.

While initially the reader will believe he or she will be reading a biography of Sammels, it becomes clear early in the book that the story is really about Mr. Arsenal.  He can be considered a tragic figure himself, as he is about to divorce his wife, will break up with his girlfriend and will get another woman pregnant.  How this part of the book plays out was what grabbed my attention in this novel and frankly, I felt his story was much more interesting than that of Sammels.

This is not to criticize Durose-Rayner’s writing about Sammels, done through the eyes of Mr. Arsenal as he does the research on “Sammy” to produce his documentary.  The writing about not only Sammy but the entire political scene of soccer at that time is top-notch and fans will really enjoy the vivid descriptions of Sammy’s spectacular plays and goals while Mr. Arsenal tries to not only do his job but make sense of his personal life as well.

No matter which part grabs your attention – the soap opera life of Mr. Arsenal or the great story of Sammy – this book is a fun read that will require a considerable amount of time to complete.  However, it is well worth that time, especially if the reader wants to learn about a player who is sadly forgotten when the discussion revolves around great English soccer players.

I wish to thank the author and Authoright for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Pace of the book:

As the focus of my reading switched from the soccer and Sammy to the soap opera story, I enjoyed the book much more than I would have by simply reading it to learn about Samuels’ career.

Do I recommend?

Fans of English soccer will enjoy this story as well as readers who just want to be entertained with the story of a man trying to make sense of his life. 

Book Format Read:

E-book (EPUB)

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Sam-James-Durose-Rayner-ebook/dp/B00SEUA0E4/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431136869&sr=1-13&keywords=I+Am+Sam  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-am-sam-james-durose-rayner/1121084116?ean=9781909477834