Why Soccer Matters

March 1, 2014
Soccer's biggest global icon discusses the sport he loves. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pele, is the greatest player in the history of soccer and one of the greatest athletes of all time. For decades, he has been his sport's best ambassador. A winner of three World Cups for his native Brazil and a legend for Brazilian club Santos and for the short-lived New York Cosmos, Pele is especially well-equipped to reflect on the "beautiful game," a phrase that he may have coined. Not quite memoir, not quite history, this book provides an engaging reflection on international football in the World Cup era. Pele's voice shines through, and for this, Winter (Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien: A Yanqui's Missteps in Argentina, 2008, etc.) deserves praise. The co-author captures Pele's passion and commitment in a chatty, conversational tone. Pele uses five sections, based on different World Cups, to structure the narrative, beginning with the 1950 World Cup, which Brazil lost in heartbreaking--and for Brazilians, haunting--fashion. This beginning allows Pele to tell of his boyhood, his relationship with his father, whose own football-playing career represents a what-might-have-been story, and his early exposure to the game. The four remaining sections center on the 1958 World Cup, which saw the first of Brazil's world-record five world championships; 1970, another Brazil win and Pele's last cup as a player; 1994, which took place in the United States and which Pele supported (over Brazil, which also wanted to host the event); and the upcoming 2014 Cup in Pele's native country, for which this book is timed. Pele never fully demonstrates "why soccer matters," but he does provide insight into the world's most popular game through the eyes of its most revered figure.

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April 1, 2014

In the short list of celebrities known by one name, Brazil's Pele (born Edson Arantes do Nascimento) stands alone above Lebron, Michael, Magic, and all the others. The most prolific scorer the game has ever known, he won three World Cups of soccer (1958, 1962, 1970) with Brazil, and is the greatest soccer athlete of all time. In 1950, Rio hosted the fourth World Cup competition. Brazil lost the final match to Uruguay, which is where Pele's story begins. Five of the chapters here center on four years: the three when Brazil won the cup and this year, when the country will host the games again. The star has already published two autobiographies (one in 1977 and one 30 years later), and he repeats personal details in this account, in an easy, accessible style, covering personal highs (he doesn't shy away from self-congratulatory pats on the back) and lows. His focus, however, is on why soccer matters--politically, socially, and as a world sport. VERDICT Pele's superstar status and the 2014 World Cup's start in Brazil this June make this an optimal choice for all interested readers.--Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014
These days, it's difficult to appreciate the fame of Edson Arantes do Nascimentoor Pel'. The soccer prodigy who helped Brazil win three World Cups became a global sports superstar at the dawn of the TV era, and like the Beatles, he was famous when there weren't really rules for it yet. His first-person account will please sports fans with its tales of his quick success for the Santos football club, magical World Cup moments, and victory lap with the New York Cosmos. But it's the personal insights that make it worthwhile. Interestingly, he never liked his nickname but came to use the persona of Pel' as a shield against celebrity. Describing his growth as a person and player, he comes across as a thoughtful, humble, self-deprecating man well aware of his talents, his failings, and his good fortune. And his frequent observations on how different things were back thenat the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Brazil's team shirts were bought at a Stockholm department storeprovide a fascinating contrast to the corporate world of sports today.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)