Va-Va-Voom
The Modern History of French Football
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:9th Apr '26
£10.99
This title is due to be published on 9th April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The players, the teams, the goals, the games, the scandals, the gloom and the glory: the story of French football’s chequered coming of age over the last 40 years.
‘Excellent' – Simon Kuper
‘The definitive story’ – Christian Karembeu
A REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION, INCLUDING NEW EXCLUSIVE PSG CONTENT
THE PLAYERS, THE TEAMS, THE GOALS, THE GAMES, THE SCANDALS, THE GLOOM AND THE GLORY: THE STORY OF FRENCH FOOTBALL’S EVOLUTION OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS
French football is an enigma: a mixture of brilliance and farce, flair and frailty, stunning success and abject failure. Its domestic league is mocked as an uncompetitive ‘Farmers League’ and its clubs ridiculed for underachieving in European competitions. But France have reached four of the past seven men’s World Cup finals and at its best – the roar of the Vélodrome, the glamour of the Parc des Princes, the brilliance of Zinédine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé – French football has few equals. When it comes to scandal, meanwhile, the French are the best in the business.
Tom Williams brings to life French football’s evolution over the last 40 years. He details how the idealistic romanticism of the national team in the early 1980s gave way to an Italian-style pragmatism that would lead Les Bleus to the summit of the international game. By delving into French football's rich history, the book explains the myriad ways in which France has shaped the game’s evolution around the world.
Featuring exclusive interviews with legends such as Alain Giresse, Jean-Pierre Papin, Emmanuel Petit and Blaise Matuidi, and with appearances from Karim Benzema, Chris Waddle and Lionel Messi, it's a book no football fan should miss.
As it turns out, what was required to really define the identity of our football was a perspective that was partly inward-looking and partly continental. Erudite and engrossing, this book adds a biting modernity to the old legend of France’s magnificent losers. -- Vincent Duluc, lead football writer, L’ÉQUIPE
Williams is an engaging and intelligent storyteller, who knows France well beyond sport. This is an inspiring account of how French football went, in a very few years, from almost nowhere to regularly leading the world – and of some of the colourful and sometimes frankly bizarre people who took it there. In a word, it’s excellent. -- Simon Kuper, author of the bestselling FOOTBALL AGAINST THE ENEMY
A comprehensive account of the highs, lows and scandals of French football, told through a series of fascinating vignettes. -- Jonathan Wilson, author of INVERTING THE PYRAMID
The definitive story of how French football came of age. -- Christian Karembeu, world and European champion with France
I loved my time in France and it changed the way I thought about the game. Using the stories of France’s most celebrated teams and players, this fabulous book explains what sets French football apart. -- Glenn Hoddle, former Monaco midfielder
A masterclass. A delightfulinsight into the history, the culture and the values of French football. Having worked in France for three years now, it helped me understand so many concepts and words that they use in the weird and wonderful world that is la Ligue 1. -- Will Still, head coach, Reims
Entertaining, vivid and painstakingly researched, Williams’ prose brilliantly captures the juxtaposition of France’s extraordinary flair for the game and its public’s love-hate relationship with it. -- Andy Brassell, European football journalist
This is a book that students of the game have been waiting for. * Game of the People *
absorbing, hugely entertaining ... illuminating ... an absolute joy. ... There had never been a definitiveaccount of the game in France ... there is now. * When Saturday Comes *
[a] valuableinsight into the psychology of contemporary France and the French … fascinating stuff. -- Charlie Connelly * The New European *
ISBN: 9781399403962
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
288 pages
Revised edition