Dios Es Redondo

by Juan Villoro, Juan Vilbro

Dios es redondo explora las supersiticiones, los ritos y los mitos que han convertido los estadios en catedrales, a los jugadores en apóstoles y a los árbitros en ángeles del infierno investidos del poder de quebrar la esperanza o desatar una vanidosa crueldad. Un libro para fanáticos de las canchas y para los ateos descreídos que juran que nunca veran un partido de fúbtol, pero viven deseosos de entender el delirio de los fieles.

Durantes más de diez años, Juan Villoro ha escrito en los principales medios de España y América latina sobre el fútbol y su extravagante entorno. Enviado especial a los mundiales de Italia 90 y Francia 98, el autor domina las minucias deportivas y las enhebra en el maravilloso tejido narrativo que determina sus celebrados cuentos y novelas.

Villoro alterna el sabroso tono de tertulia con la épica recuperación de los grandes indaga las peculiaridades de un planeta donde la FIFA tienen más agremiados que la ONU, retrata a el más desaforado divo de las canchas (Diego Armando Maradona), se adentraen el contradictorio esplendor de la liga española, manda postales indelebles del último Mundial del siglo xx y ejerce el arte de la conversación con Jorge Valdano.

Un excelente libro que mantendrá al lector al borde de su asiento, como quien contempla un penal en el último minuto de partido.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Football, Soccer, Essays

223 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Juan Villoro is Mexico's preeminent novelist. Born in Mexico City in 1956, he is the author of half a dozen prize-winning novels and is also a journalist. In 2004, he received the Herralde Prize for his novel El testigo (The Witness).

Reviews

[Raya راية · Rating 5 out of 5]

"يرى بيورو أن الرياضة صورة راقية من صور الشغف، وتفريغٌ للشحنات العاطفية الوجدانية في مجتمعاتنا المعاصرة."

في هذا الكتاب ستجد ذكريات ولحظات لا تنسى، قصص أهداف تاريخية، وحياة أبطال خالدين، تحليلات لأبرز المباريات، حكايات مشجعين ومتابعين. خليط عجيب رائع لن يستمتع به سوى عاشق شغوف بالساحرة المستديرة.

عادة كتاب بحجم هذا الكتاب يأخذ مني ما يزيد عن 7 أيام، لكن ما أن بدأت بـ "بجنون المستديرة" حتى أنهيته في 5 أيام! خوان بيورو، لاتيني آخر ساحر يكتب لنا عن معشوقة الملايين بأسلوب أدبي جذاب، أشبه ما يكون برواية مجنونة.

ممتنة جداً بأن المزيد من الكتب عن كرة القدم أصبحت تُترجم وتنشر.

اعتقد بأن غلاف النسخة العربية غير مناسب لموضوع الكتاب، فهو لم يتطرّق لحياة نيمار أو محمد صلاح. وإنما ركز على بيليه ومارادونا ويوهان كرويف وجورج بيست وفرانز بيكنباور، رونالدو.. إلخ. كان الأجدى بدار النشر أن تصمم غلافاً جذاباً أكثر.

"هذا الكتاب ليس لمشجعي كرة القدم العاديين، بل هو كتاب لمتعصبيها فقط. كتاب لمن تمثل له كرة القدم الكثير من المشاعر والعواطف والآمال والتعصب والصراعات والتنافسات."

...

[Samuel Ch. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le debo muchísimo a Villoro por este libro.
Su análisis del mundo del futbol no está limitado por tecnisismos, historiografía ni reproches nacionalistas. Dios es redondo resume el significado de patear una pelota desde los partidos de barrio, pasando por Maradona, Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, la relación Madrid-Barça, hasta el Maracaná con todo lo que esa explosión implica personal y globalmente, dentro y fuera de la cancha.

Su perspectiva a veces personal y a veces exterior permite al lector simpatizar, ya no con un autor, sino un amigo que cuenta por qué le vamos al equipo que vamos y cómo es asistir a la final de un mundial. Rara vez me identifico con la voz ensayística como sucedió en esta ocasión en una lectura que me quitó el insípido sabor dejado por La casa pierde.

Gracias a este libro disfruto también la propia mediocridad de jugar mi futbol, porque el futbolista es un abandonado en el deporte que lo exalta. El futbol es la venganza del pie sobre la mano, y este libro es su decreto.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's the English translation, but I did not find this a particularly intelligent book. No real structure or insight, just a collection of musings by someone who 's been on the scene for a while. This is another punchy and simplistic sports book by an author who has little faith in his readers and doesn't even attempt to treat sports writing like serious non-fiction.

Also, heed the title and summaries of this book... It has NOTHING to do with soccer tactics or even playing styles. It's entirely about personalities and fan/establishment behavior. That's not a criticism exactly... But lovers of the game itself, not just the culture, will not be satisfied with this book.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book looking at the game of football though mainly latin american in nature. looks at the emotions, great players and sometimes the illogical nature of the great game.

[Joshua Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Quién fue el pendejo que dijo que el futbol solo es para personas ignorantes?
Villoro logra expresar lo que sentimos todos los amantes del futbol, un deporte de grandes.

[Hugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

No tan bueno como otros relatos de fútbol, de Fontanarrosa o Galeano. Me pareció menos divertido. Más intelectual que fresco, no por el contenido sino que por la forma, a ratos tipo ensayo. Aunque con varias anécdotas destacables. Lo mejor, el final, las entrevistas a Valdano.

[Elyse Hdez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sin palabras ... Villoro lo hizo de nuevo

[محمد الأنصاري · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب يقرأ على إيقاع العد التنازلي لنهاية كأس العالم قطر 2022، وعلى وقع الجنون الذي تحدثه الساحرة المستديرة، وعلى خطى الكرة وهي تتأرجح بين شمس المتعة وظلال الجشع المادي. ها نحن نعيش بين الأدب وكرة القدم ، حيث يزداد العشق خطورة وجنونا. من خلال أديب من أدباء المكسيك.

هكذا يكون الأدب، يستعرض استعراضا طريفا كما هو استعراض لاعب كرة القدم في حركاته وفنونه، ولكن الكلمات هي الكرة في يد الأديب ليركلها بقدمه، ها هي الكرة تعلن لنفسها أنها أكثر من مجرد كرة. كرة قادرة على صنع التاريخ، تجعل الهدف أكثر من مجرد هدف. نستطيع أن نقول أنه لا يغيب عن كتاب أغرب الأحداث في تاريخ المونديال من ترجمة محمد الفولي، ولكن الشاعرية الأدبية لا تغيب بقوة عن كل تلك الأحداث من اللاعب الذي يجعل الكرة تتبادل أطراف الحديث مع الأرجل مرورا بالنوادي ثم إلى الفيفا الذي كان له النقد اللاذع في رئاسته.

لعل أهم ما يذكر هاهنا في هذا الكتاب ، عن ليونيل ميسي، الذي يجذب العيون في وصف الأديب له، مع ارتداءه على مر التاريخ البشت الخليجي متوجا بكأس العالم لمصلحة الأرجنتين. ناهيك عن مارادونا وجنونه ثم مرورا برونالدو وكريستيانو، ليتطرق كذلك في الحديث عن سر الرقم 10 وولع الجماهير به، ثم تلك الرؤوس التي تشارك رحلة كرة القدم مرورا بالساقين الضروريتين في اللعب.

كتاب بإمكانك أن تختم به مونديال كأس العالم مع اللحظات الأخيرة مثلما عشت تلك اللحظات مختتما الكتاب في مباراة تحديد المركز الثالث في مونديال قطر 2022.

[Paco Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me declaro un no-seguidor del balompié salvo en los ocasionales mundiales que he medio seguido. Sin embargo este libro me encantó por su muy amena manera de llevarnos a lo más profundo de la naturaleza humana por medio del fenómeno de este deporte. Un libro con toques psicológicos, antropológicos, cómico-trágicos y sobre todo con una profunda comprensión de la naturaleza humana.

[Aseret Aldrete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una buena lectura para los amantes del fútbol que guardan en su corazón esos momentos en que grandes futbolistas y jugadas hicieron que se erizara su piel.
Voy leyéndolo justo cuando acabo de ver a mi equipo ser campeón después de 70 años y no puedo más que hacer honor a mi amor por este deporte que con este libro de Villoro.

[أحمد جيو حسن · Rating 5 out of 5]

رااااااااائع

[María José Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encantador. Ya me siento más preparada para saborear el mundial de este año. El fútbol también es cultura.

[Travis Timmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are probably familiar with this famous Garry Lineker apothegm:

“Football is simple. Twenty-two men chase a ball for ninety minutes and at the end, the Germans always wins.”

Like any apothegm worth its weight in syllables, this one contains some truth; namely, on the international stage, Germany always manages to make the deepest of runs in nearly every single tournament (World Cup or Euros) to the semis at least, usually the final, and frequently enough winning the whole thing. However, we know that if this apothegm were wholly true, Germany would have won every World Cup and Euro since 1954, which, obviously didn’t happen.

(“But Lineker says the Germans always win,” you whine – to which I counter, “Right, hence the apothegm status here. It’s got some truth, but needs an element of exaggeration or even quasi-fact to remain memorable.”)

An alternative approach to the Lineker quote is establishing a factual account of Germany’s international success. For example, you could list out (or just read the wikipedia article on) Germany’s international achievements, which indeed are impressive, during a run when die Nationalmannschaft seems to reach each final of almost every major tournament since 1954’s “the Miracle of Bern.” And at the end of this survey, you could conclude something in factual fashion about Germany making X number of semis, Y number of finals, and winning Z number of major tournaments (the answers are 21, 7, and 7 if you were wondering). Compared with the Lineker apothegm, this factual account is truer, if the status of “facticity” is what matters most to you.

But is it as fun?

The factual account loses something captured in Lineker’s pithy quote, which enfolds Germany’s overall tournament narrative and individual matches with expectation and meaning. The apothegm adds instant evaluative criteria to Germany’s performance in tournament. Yet, if you care about facticity, well, good luck.

In this example, we’re navigating between something like myth and history, or (quasi-)fiction and fact, to put the options bluntly. You know the sides. Old school crusty dinosaur-types or most major TV studios it seems, who understand football through seemingly eternal aphorisms (“England can’t shoot penalties!” or “Bayern are always lucky!”) and the new school quant-types, who understand football through statistical modelling and the principle of disenchantment. Increasingly, our football experiences seem confined to either of these reductive camps or types.

But does it have to be?

God Is Round coverDefining an alternative position is precisely what’s at stake in Juan Villoro’s astonishing new book, God is Round: Tackling the Giants, Villains, Triumphs, and Scandals of the World’s Favorite Game (Restless Books, 256 pages, translated by Thomas Bunstead). Villoro, Mexico’s proclaimed “football philosopher,” is a Spanish-speaking writer of voluminous, supremely intelligent, creative, and self-reflective work.

At last, English-speakers are blessed with a translated volume of Villoro’s work – thank you, Thomas Bunstead and Restless Books! Paradoxically, this remarkable book brings me a bit of sadness, as I consider that most of Villoro’s will remain in the dark for me, since I don’t know Spanish. A pity. (Learning German is work enough.)

Anyhow, I’ll say upfront that you should buy and read this book right now. Already, I’d put it among Eduardo Galeano’s Soccer in Sun and Shadow, David Goldblatt’s The Ball is Round, and Uli Hesse’s Tor! as the most important soccer books I’ve read. It’s that good. Go get it. Read it.

Returning to the tension between Lineker’s clever apothegm and the factual account of Germany’s success, in such cases Villoro’s project is to dwell in the tension between apothegm and fact by carving out alternative spaces for articulating football’s meaning in ways that I find extremely satisfying.

Let’s look at an example. So what does Villoro conclude about Germany’s success?

Treading between myth and history, Villoro establishes the premise that footballing success requires prior tragedy, that is, something to galvanize and to add urgency to those 90 minutes. In a section entitled “The Sense of Tragedy,” from this premise Villoro explains why Germany won the 1974 World Cup against Holland:

“You need to be very thirsty for consolation to want to put yourself on display in front of a hundred thousand baying fans and millions of prying media eyes. Opera singing, record breaking—it all points to something nasty in a person’s history.”

So Germany won because the “long-suffering” squad shared a collective sense of tragedy and because “a secret compensatory law exists whereby the champions must show up already in some way battered and bruised.” Conversely, Holland was on the wrong side of this law in both the 1974 and 1978 World Cup final losses. The Dutch were clean. Too clean for success, according to Villoro.

In the book’s next section, “When It Comes down to It, Germany Wins,” Villoro digs deeper into Germany’s collective psyche to both philosophize and psychologize die Nationalmannschaft‘s international success. He starts with a sensitive reading of the 1954 World Cup (“the Miracle of Bern”). Villoro’s main insight is that Germany needed “the capacity to transform their suffering into epic feats” to win the famous final against the mighty, mighty Hungarians.

The likes of Eduardo Galeano would end his account here, but not Villoro, who unspools a thread of facts to support his observation about Germany, such as Puskas’ injury, German coach Sepp Herberger’s lineup tinkering, Fritz Walter, and – most famously – the rainy weather: “[W]hen Herberger felt the first drop of rain, he knew the final in Bern was going to be an episode of trench warfare, a chance for the courageous to win the day.” And if anyone could do “trench warfare,” it was the post-WWII Germans, living in a devastated country, fresh off the humiliation of Nazism, concentration camps, and bombed-out city centers. Villoro’s simply concludes: “Germany knew how to make the most of a difficult situation.”

For Villoro, aphorisms (he composes them brilliantly) act as topic sentences, which he supports with historic fact, anecdotes, cultural commentary from literati, and good ol’ dot connecting. This blending of apothegm and history situates Villoro somewhere between the likes of Eduardo Galeano’s lyrical myth-making and of David Goldblatt’s comprehensive sociological analysis.

Sticking with German football-related examples, this method allows Villoro frequently to make surprising discoveries, such as listing Wolfgang Overath as the only German representative in his chapter of famous Number 10s. Of the Köln midfielder, Villoro claims “Overath belongs to the select group of understated rhetoricians,” concluding that the German international “provided the calm thinking for an epic Germany side that dominated the world game for eight years.” Consistently, Villoro delighted me with similarly surprising profiles, anecdotes, and observations.

Indeed, Villoro displays a tremendous knowledge not only of football’s raw data, but also of countless literati (usually Latin Americans) who enrich our understanding of the game either directly or indirectly in their essays, novels, poems, and books. The list of sources is long; here’s a sampling: Juan Carlos Onetti, Javier Marías, Walter Benjamin, Gregorio Agamben, Jorge Valdano, Martín Caparrós, Álvaro Enrigue, Jorge Borges, Juan José Arreola, Juan Nuño, Roberto Fontanarrosa, Nelson Rodrigues, – I could go on for lines. God Is Round is allusive in such a way that nestles football (nay, sport itself) into the heart of our most significant cultural expressions.

Villoro’s literary source-heavy approach underscores his belief that football demands written words in response to what we witness on the pitch, specifically “[g]reat moments … nobody can keep quiet witnessing a goal that really matters.” In a section entitled “Writing Football,” Villoro calls football writing a type of consolation. Something we must have. Yet because football itself provides its own epics, narratives, tragedies, heroes, and villains, the football writer is a reiterator, working with material that already is. Football writers, according to Villoro “must be endowed with great imaginative capacities,” given this reiterative task. In this framework, imagination leads football writers to football’s crucial element: it’s ultimate incomprehensibility.

Incomprehensibility forms the foundational thematic thread in God Is Round. Villoro identifies this traits in numerous ways, such as spectators’ bafflement at the perfect throughball, the inspiration for a new “move” performed by a player, the curious ways results work out, or ghosts haunting football grounds. Of course, in another register football contains plenty of quantifiable events and results. And Villoro doesn’t downplay this register, as much as shift us toward a phenomenological register of experience, expectations, and human emotion. As such, we bear witness to football and respond to it in fandom, of which writing itself is a type.

In my favorite section of the book, incomprehensibility profoundly animates Villoro’s treatment of Leo Messi’s famous 2007 “Ghost Goal” against Getafe, which reenacted Maradona’s first goal against England in the 1986 World Cup semi-final. You can almost sense the occult crackling on the edges of Villoro’s account of Messi’s goal. Or at least, and fittingly for the Argentinian player involved, a Borges-esque tale of football being “transformed into an unquantifiable activity.”

Moreover, Villoro’s exploration of incomprehensibility leads him to the book’s most important unstated question: why do we play and, especially, watch football? The answer is diffuse, but in Villoro’s writing seems always to work back to the notion that participating in football is “the weekly return to childhood,” a phrase borrowed from Spanish writer Javier Marías, which Villoro repeatedly evokes in God Is Round. Of course, Villoro explains that this is an idealized childhood we elect to remember, not one we actually lived through. Nonetheless, the childlike experience of mystery, wonderment, and most importantly, confronting the incomprehensible, is what gives football meaning, according to Villoro.

Hence, as Villoro indirectly gestures, our admiration for Diego Maradona and Leo Messi, whom the Mexican writer captures wonderfully in two portrait essays attempting to interpret the significance of these footballing giants. God Is Round is worth its price tag for these two essays alone, which will become required reading for the thinking football fan.

If Villoro strikes any false notes, it’s only in the book’s final chapter on the FIFA shenanigans, entitled “Blood on the Terraces: Violence in the Business of FIFA.” Surprisingly, Villoro’s condemnation of FIFA sounds trite and full of Op-Ed piece bromides, as he juxtaposes Blatter’s gang of thugs with the real artists toiling on the pitch. Villoro’s critique is somewhat superficial and even confused, as he over-determines FIFA’s role as a governing organization and under-determines the role of global capital, TV deals, sponsorships, and, well, capitalism. Villoro mentions these latter factors as sort of ancillary “real world” pressures on football, rather than factors intrinsically driving and determining FIFA’s vision, goals, and expenditures.

Nevertheless, even amid these false notes, Villoro can’t help but provide illumination. For example, his use of the paradoxical motto “Advance to the back” becomes an intriguing antidote to what’s derisively called “Modern Football.” With this motto, Villoro urges “the weekly return to childhood” as our motive for participating in football (whether as player, administrator, staff, or most importantly, as fans) and healing football, which is “modernity sick,” as Villoro eloquently explains.

However, what this antidote looks like in practice is hard to picture, given the impossibility of restoring a pre-globalization and pre-professionalization version of football, as Villoro himself concedes. Football has left is working class roots as a relief from industrialization far behind. There’s no going back. Villoro agrees. Yet he is not deterred, citing – of all things – the 2015 Champions League final as an example of the football itself on the pitch being the one stable thing (i.e. Barça and Juve did what they were supposed to) amid turmoil in the wider world of football (i.e. the FIFA shenanigans).

I can’t help but agree with Villoro. There’s no return to pre-modernity in football, which is implicated in and reflective of gigantic socioeconomic systems and structures that feed on football, utilizing the world’s most popular sport as “the most money spinning form of passion on the planet.” Yet, and this is the whole point of Villoro’s remarkable book, football has us, those who play and watch. We are crazy for this game. In our “weekly return to childhood,” we think through (Villoro contends that football is the thought-intensive of sports) the 11 vs. 11 on pitch, weaving present with past, and open ourselves to football’s ultimate incomprehensibility.

[Daniel Alegría · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un buen libro para quienes son aficionados al deporte más popular del mundo. Villoro cuenta una parte de la historia de cómo se adentró en el mundo del futbol desde pequeño, como aficionado, y, posteriormente, como alguien que trabaja para ello desde las letras. Así, plasma sus grandes comentarios sobre el balompié, cuenta anécdotas futbolísticas, habla sobre el impacto de grandes futbolistas y relata los sucedido en los mundiales de 1998 y 2002. Las conversaciones con Valdano permiten ver el futbol con un toque de literatura, algo que, como mencionan, antes era impensable. Tanto Villoro como Valdano hacen ver que el futbol trasciende de un simple juego de pelota, pero, a su vez, es eso primitivo lo que lo hace diferente, su esencia. Por último, su homenaje a Ángel Fernández es grandioso; un aficionado puede sentirse fácilmente identificado con lo relatado por el autor, esa nostalgia de la infancia es lo que representa el futbol para la gran mayoría de los hinchas.

Mis 4 estrellas son porque, a pesar de que me gustó en la mayoría de las partes, hubo algunas otras que se me hicieron un tanto pesadas. Además creo que no es un libro para cualquiera, una persona no familiarizada con el futbol podría no comprender del todo lo relatado, y un gran aficionado, pero no lector, podría verlo aburrido.

[Hank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Villoro isn’t only one of the most perceptive authors working, he’s also a fan through and through. Chock-a-block with great anecdotes, dazzling quotes, and characters who can only come from the world of football. Essential World Cup Reading.

[Zurisadai Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura que siempre he estado posponiendo y más aún que estaba en ansia de tenerlo en físico. Fue una lectura rápida y cómo buen fanático del fútbol tenía que leerlo y comenzar con un nuevo enfoque hacia como se ve el panorama deportivo.

[Angélica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si no te gusta el futbol, pero tienes buenos recuerdos gracias a él, este libro es ideal. Muy recomendable para las y los no fans de este deporte. Es un "debe" para quienes sí les apasiona el tema.

[Carlos Tiznado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: mi calificación es parcial porque Villoro habla de dos cosas que amo: Necaxa y el futbol.

Juan nos lleva a la primera infancia. Nos lleva a dos chamarras de la primaria colocadas como postes en el patio de la escuela. Futbol es mucho más que sólo eso, son malvados quienes afirman que los deportes embrutecen.

Aquí, Villoro nos narra como el Necaxa se vincula con su primera infancia como exiliado español en México. Equipo de la infancia que, más que fútbol, es identidad.

Hay un repaso por tantísimos aspectos que envuelven la épica del futbol, la lesión de Ronaldo en el 98 y su posterior estrellato, la industria de zapatos de Nike, la inclusión y protagonismo de personas de color en el futbol; una semblanza magistral de los Galácticos del Real Madrid, todos los sinsabores del último mundial del siglo, Francia '98, con la epopeya de los mexicanos regresando de la muerte frente a Bélgica y Países Bajos, sucumbiendo (como siempre) contra Alemania. Los sinsabores de Jorge Valdano, ese peculiar personaje que fue simultáneamente futbolista y literato.

En fin, no puedo hacer referencia a cada ensayo/artículo que Juan Villoro nos comparte, pero una cosa me deja clara: el fútbol se trata mucho más de lo que ocurre alrededor de él.

Indispensable para cualquier amante de futbol.

[Julián Vásquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julián, ¿Por qué lees sobre fútbol?
Respondo usando palabras de Albert Camus: porque “Mis mayores convicciones sobre la moral y los deberes de cada quien se las debo al fútbol”

[Shareni]

todo lo que sé de fútbol lo sé por J. Villoro

[Luis Guizar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro lleno de datos interesantes, aunque dice que está hecho para los que les gusta el fútbol y para los que no. Creo que debe existir al menos la nostalgia por este juego para leer este libro.

[Eduardo Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grandísimo homenaje al aficionado del fútbol. El fútbol sigue siendo esa actividad de las masas que tiene una trascendencia social y cultural. Villoro como aficionado exhibe la grandeza de este deporte y realiza un viaje por diversos pasajes históricos de este deporte. Se siente como una charla cercana con el autor.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a title like “God Is Round,” I was drawn to this contagious level of devotion, for a subject as uniting as soccer. I will refer to the sport as both soccer and football, the other football having no place here. This book name comes from a true love for the game, and its author, Juan Villoro, is an encyclopedia of the sport – and also of literature. He opens with a bit on an Uruguayan writer who worked first in his country’s national football stadium, and he throws in references to global literature and other popular culture – some of which I don’t get. Nor do I know all of the players – but even a non-follower must recognize more of these legends than they might think. And, he does not give explanations of the rules, only anecdotes of memorable plays or behaviors – so you have to be ‘in the know’ to get some things. I am not a “fan,” but I appreciate the simplicity of the game, its intuitiveness and universality. Villoro’s writing makes me want to both read about and watch (maybe even play) more football.

The style here is a stream of consciousness, the unpredictable directions feeling like a match itself – and I’m not just writing that, I really did get that sense, coming from the author’s dual passions for the sport and the written word. The sub-chapters are like plays or episodes; when telling of the action, you feel like you’re in the middle of it, on the grass. Football is present in every part of life – Juan Villoro writes this into being. He explains his country’s, Mexico’s, reasons for why they celebrate the way they do, and why or how fans everywhere are capable of exploding in shouts. He riffs on the importance of television, radio, and stadiums – any means of connecting the fans to the game – but especially the outsized hold of t.v. – what it shows and doesn’t show. He also has a few things to say about how advertisement and sponsorship are ruining the game. One downside is that he only covers men’s soccer, no women’s – which right now, at least in the U.S., is hopefully going to get its long-overdue fair share.

I learned of the origins of and changes to jersey numbers, and following a chapter on some of the great number 10s, the most lengthy continuous topic is a biography of Diego Armando Maradona, highlighting the contrasts between his life in the game and his excesses off the pitch. Then, there’s a short chapter on Ronaldo, who of course you’ve heard of, but if you’re like me, you might get confused with all these “R” names (does this make a heathen of me?). This being the player’s first name, the following chapter is a “diatribe” against the “other” Ronaldo (last name), first name Cristiano. You’ve heard of him too, no doubt; his physique is quite different from the former’s. Both are out of touch, based both on ego and skill, the first so much so that no one else can use his name (despite all this confusion) and another player, Ronaldinho, is named thusly. After them is a chapter on the unlikely Messi, the youthful, short-in-stature “genius” – a prodigy for sure. Pelé doesn’t have his own full chapter, but his kingliness is made clear. I like how he and his countrymen are described as playing at a samba-like pace. Villoro knows every nickname, and has alternative titles for every person, place, thing or idea. You too will feel like you have a “football between the ears” when reading this book – it’s a blast, as exciting as the game itself.

Note: a copy of this title was generously provided by Restless Books in exchange for an honest review. For more reviews, follow my blog at http://matt-stats.blogspot.com/

[Juan Almonacid · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Los milagros del fútbol ocurren de tanto en tanto, pero no dejamos de aguardarlos.

- La vida es tan rara que tiene curiosas formas de volverse lógica

- Misteriosa energía que une a once soledades

- La situación sería equivalente a la de ir a un concierto donde la orquesta armara trifulcas, los violinistas desafinaran y sólo a veces se produjera el raro milagro de la música. Así es el fútbol, algo que no sucede o sucede a medias o sucede mal, pero insinúa en todo momento que puede componerse.

- El hombre en trance futbolístico sucumbe a un frenesí difícil de asociar con la razón pura. En sus mejores momentos, recupera una porción de infancia, el reino primigenio donde las hazañas tienen reglas pero dependen de caprichos, y donde algunas veces, bajo una lluvia oblicua o un sol de justicia, alguien anota un gol como si matara un leopardo y enciende las antorchas de la tribu.

- La atracción del fútbol depende de su renovada capacidad de hacerse incomprensible. Hay algo que no captamos pero sucede, como el crecimiento del pasto o la circulación de la sangre. De pronto, Zidane encuentra un hueco y enfila hacia la nada. ¿Qué lo anima? ¿Qué idea aun incierta cristalizará en ese avance? Sin conocer su ruta ni su posible desenlace, sentimos la vibración de lo que puede ocurrir y ya importa sin haber llegado. Zidane avanza. Lo invisible es la certeza que nos consta.

-...una condición central de la felicidad: siempre resulta excepcional.

- la realidad: esa bruma sin magia que circunda los estadios.

- A veces, una pérdida produce el efecto de revelar lo que siempre había estado allí pero sólo podía potenciarse en ausencia....Solo cuando se abren, las heridas entregan sus lecciones.

- Beckett: no hay partido de vuelta entre el hombre y su destino.

- En el fútbol el heroísmo no tiene que ver con quienes disponen de habilidades excepcionales sino con quienes, siendo endebles, superan una formidable adversidad.

- El fútbol genera anticuerpos contra la modernidad...Es como si el fútbol fuera un gran monstruo que no se deja domesticar.

- Hay algo que antecede a toda inclinación literaria; el descubrimiento de las palabras como símbolos mágicos. De golpe, el idioma utilitario se transforma en un mecanismo de invención.

- Vivir en un continuo trance narrativo.

- Vincular hechizos momentáneos con perdurables mitologías.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy these kinds of books: soccer anecdotes, history, travelogue, and philosophy. This one, written by a Mexican author and translated from Spanish, was another good one.

One example of a turn of phrase that I particularly enjoyed (about Maradona): "When he didn't have the ball, he felt more alone than Adam on Mother's Day." And another (about the Argentina team in at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa): "But the usual way in football is that mythical illusions become subject to religious reform – that is, to Germany."

[Wisou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dios es redondo es un libro que deberían de leer tanto los aficionados del futbol, como aquellas personas que son ignorantes o desinteresados del deporte. El libro está lleno de anécdotas (que si a unx no le gusta ver partidos, la lectura de los mismos en ciertos momentos pueden llegar a ser algo tedioso) y datos curiosos (como las 46 formas diferentes en la que los jugadores festejan un gol) que giran en torno al deporte, los futbolistas y los fanáticos.

*He de confesar que quien escribe esta reseña es una neófita del futbol*así que lxs conocedorxs del deporte disculparan mi sorpresa al enterarme de ciertas características, reglas y tradiciones que componen este deporte, tales como que te dan una multa si te quitas la camisa festejando tu gol… O que el FIFA tiene un código donde está mal visto que un jugador exagere su emoción, entre muchas otras.

La forma en la que escribe el autor me parece preciosa, incluso poética en ciertos párrafos. Se refleja su pasión y amor por el deporte. En lo personal me gustó mucho encontrar ciertas analogías (como que así como Napoleón que perdió la batalla de Waterloo por mal clima, lo mismo suele suceder con los jugadores). Sin embargo, el autor suele utilizar vocabulario de fútbol que si no estás familiarizado (como por ejemplo de dónde es el equipo estrella roja) puede resultar confuso o difícil de leer y comprender.

Sin embargo termino este libro satisfecha y con una mayor noción de todo aquello que hace al futbol ser un deporte tan popular, político y cultural.

[Spiros · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lapidary collection of belles lettres on futbol, rich in anecdote and rumination. Villoro cites a plethora of authors: Borges, Onetti, Javier Marias, Alvaro Enrigue, even Gregorio Agamben and Walter Benjamin. Villoro manages to skate around preciousness because of his passion for the game and his sense of humor; at no point does he present himself as Eric Idle's interviewer in the Jimmy Buzzard sketch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...

The book really kicks into high gear towards the end, with profiles of iconic #10's (including my favorite, Robert Baggio, the Zen Master/Space Oddity who seemed to have a slightly different relationship with gravity than us earthlings), and in-depth essays on Maradonna, Ronaldo, Christiano Ronaldo, and Messi. He concludes with a scathing indictment of FIFA.
It's hard to think of a similar collection of linked essays on baseball. Roger Angell might have been able to do it, had he been born 40 years later than he was.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of elegant, passionate, essays about the world's most popular sport: soccer/football. Villoro is a well know Mexican novelist and playwright. He is also a passionate fan. His writing helped me understand the mania that takes over the rest of the world every weekend. This was particularly interesting for me because most of my soccer interest is Euro-centric. Villoro writes about the great players of Europe but also about following small, unsuccessful clubs in South America as well as a Mexican national team then never seems to peak at the right time. Often I could not follow him because the events and players were so foreign to me. Still, his essays on Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo and corruption in FIFA are wonderful. I love his explanation of the best players ever and what made them so special. I usually only read this kind of sportswriting when it is centered on baseball. This historically based, utterly irrational, anecdote-laden football fandom is new to me. This is a great introduction to that world.

[RuloZetaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juan Villoro pública en 2006 este libro que nos presenta crónicas tan añejas, que parece que han pasado generaciones desde eso. Aún así, su pulida prosa nos lleva en un viaje en el tiempo cuando el deporte era más sencillo, menos comercial y más creativo. Villoro con su mirada prístina de niño de 12 años nos narra con palabras adultas su amor por el fútbol y las escenas que atestiguó.
Me encantó la posibilidad de leer un libro de fútbol, en plena pandemia sin casi fútbol y con ya nula presencia de este en mi vida, pero viaje de vuelta y afirmó la necesidad de sembrar, cultivar y narrar pasiones en la cotidianidad de la existencia.
Por cierto, que si han pasado muchas generaciones desde sus textos, pues estás responden a la vida del futbolista, 8 años buenos y ya viene entrando la siguiente generación y la decadencia del jugador, va cambiando la mirada mientras se reducen sus minutos en el pasto, hasta esfumarse para siempre y volverse el otro que aprecia a la distancia las proezas ajenas.

[World Literature Today]

"Reading God Is Round will make fans of soccer and good writing alike wonder how they appreciated either before they read Villoro’s insightful, critical, and ultimately hopeful take on the world’s game (see “World Cup/World Lit,” WLT, May 2011). God Is Round reproduces the uniquely exciting tension between surprise and order that keeps fans coming back to their favorite sport. VHistory shapes the ninety-minute period during which it seems anything can happen, and its influence takes a variety of forms, including a cursed stadium, the transmigration of childhood play into adult work, and war.: - Ryan Long

This book was reviewed in the May/August 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:

http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...