How Soccer Explains the World - An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, by Franklin Foer
Published by HarperCollins, 2004, 272 pp.

Franklin Foer discusses soccer on a whole new level.

Everyone knows soccer is more than just a game. Virtually the entire world is in tune with the passionate fanfare, angry brawls and quasi religions that permeate Europe, Latin America and the world over. Adding to these staples, How Soccer Explains the World ties globalization and soccer together to examine the rarely covered relationship between a countries' globalized condition and its love for sport.

With interview subjects that range from thuggish Serbian military leaders to communist Italian soccer activists, the book could pass on the merits of its colorful characters alone. But author and lifelong soccer devotee Franklin Foer ups the ante by mashing soccer's mainstream appeal with globalization's omnipresence to sway the reader into a new mindset.

Foer posits that the dynamics of modern soccer can explain a world transformed by globalization. As globalization came to be hotly debated through the 90's, soccer was picked up in its talons and became even more of a global supersport. However, after September of 2001, globalization's problems suddenly over shadowed its benefits. It is with this premise, examining globalization through its failures, that Foer bases the book. Primarily addressing its shortcomings—continued extreme inequality, the steamrolling of local cultures, to name a few—Foer depicts how one can see these issues played out on the pitch. Never finding the same result in every country, he discovers a contrast of conclusions as diverse as the cultures that house them.

Franklin Foer ups the ante by mashing soccer's mainstream appeal with globalization's omnipresence to sway the reader into a new mindset.

Giving compact but dense history lessons that bounce off playful, first person narrative, Foer's prose is complex and never stagnant. Seemingly aware he is treading new ground by appealing to sporting fans and free-market debaters alike, he cleverly weaves through chapters by giving just enough history before reverting back to entertaining anecdotes. In describing Scotland's ugly standoff between Catholics and Protestants, a lecture on seventeenth-century monarchic overthrow is interspersed with Foer's visit to the Celtic Rangers home stadium where ruthless anti-Catholic rhetoric is spewed by father and son alike.

In each of the ten chapters Foer visits a different country to probe a timely issue. In Serbia, he meets a crew of local, soccer-affiliated gang members called The Ultra Bad Boys. The Bad Boys admit their ultimate desire to kill Croatian cops and wax fervently about the preferred methods for beating rivals at home games. Given their violent and energetic mindset, the Bad Boys and thousands of other fans were eagerly recruited into the army for the Balkan wars of the 90's. Foer illustrates how globalization and its ability to attract attention has elevated the game's rivalries and violent fandom to the point where fans are seen as potential soldiers to be plucked out of stadiums and put into battle.

Though increasingly optimistic throughout the book, the people and places Foer encounters depict a troubled world often made more so by illogical fans and corrupt owners.

In England he meets with Alan Garrison, a compelling oddity of an anti-Semite with Nazi and Jewish heritage. Garrison is partially credited as a founding member of soccer hooliganism—the violent, often drunk and racist sect of extremist soccer fanatics. However, through increased limelight, jacked-up ticket prices and a family atmosphere, his era of violence crumbled. Though a seemingly welcome change, a vibrant sub-culture was also brushed aside to create a mega club that would only survive in the throes of globalization.

In Italy, a fascinating and mischievous mixture of big money, soccer hysteria, politics, referees and bribes is laid out in Hollywood-esque fashion. In an escalating arms race to "win" more national titles, Italian juggernaut clubs AC Milan and Juventus exemplify the evolving ways in which a club's ultra rich owners can buy their way to victory. Though globalization and increased press coverage can and do expose illegalities, Foer demonstrates how this still doesn't dispel cheating, only the manner in which it is executed.

Plunging into extensive insight regarding a club's impacts from world trade, evolving racial boundaries, and economic development…the core message of how all these factors connect to globalization can become foggy.

While offering plenty to the reader, at times it can feel Foer has gone too far or tried too hard. Plunging into extensive insight regarding a club's impacts from world trade, evolving racial boundaries, and economic development, to name a few, the core message of how all these factors connect to globalization can become foggy. And though this only happens in rare pockets, his points can be muddled by the arduous task of switching between soccer and an overarching, macro view of a country.

In addition, by focusing heavily on the western European situation, Foer neglects coverage of much of the world. A mention of African countries and the persistent popularity of soccer (location of 2010 World Cup) despite the travesties that have befallen them would have been a nice contrast to the predominantly rich nations that he visits. He also glazes over the rise of trials and tribulations of women's soccer, which have risen with the global appeal of the game.

Ultimately the book succeeds in providing unlikely explanations, through the lens of soccer, as to why the world behaves in its peculiar ways. For this, Foer is an innovator. Touring the globe's stadiums, locker rooms and bars with Foer, the reader is treated to the thrill of sport as a passage to bettering one's understanding of globalization. The unique medium of his message will surely attract the attention of a diverse readership.




Contributed by Dave Zook, a Portland, Oregon based writer for Global Envision. To read an excerpt from the book, click here.

To read another Global Envision article about soccer, see Sports for Peace and Life.



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