Club Soccer 101: The Essential Guide to the Stars, Stats, and Stories of 101 of the Greatest Teams in the World

by Luke Dempsey

Everything any fan needs to know. Club Soccer 101 is the essential guide to 101 of the most storied soccer clubs in the world. The book covers the history of European powerhouses like Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid; historic South American clubs like Boca Juniors, Corinthians, Penarol, and Santos; and rising clubs from Africa, Asia, and America, including such leading MLS clubs as LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, and Seattle Sounders. Writing with the passion and panache of a deeply knowledgeable and opinionated fan, Luke Dempsey explains what makes each club distinctive: their origins, fans, and style of play; their greatest (and most heartbreaking) seasons and historic victories and defeats; and their most famous players―from Pelé, Eusébio, and Maradona to Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, and Ronaldo. With club soccer exploding in popularity, Club Soccer 101 provides everything any fan needs to know.

Genres: Soccer, Sports, Nonfiction, Football, Reference, History

466 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2014

Reviews

[NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are going to read a sports reference book--or any reference book for that matter--then this is an excellent choice. For soccer fans, lots of great details, memorable stories, historic victories, and tragic defeats. For newbies and wannabes, all the basics you need to hold your own while watching a match (or even pick your own favorite side). Dempsey, a Brit by birth, never holds it against us Yanks that we are so late to the game. He even defends our use of the word "soccer." Great wit and attention to detail in this book.

[Douglas Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most excellent soccer, claims Dempsey, is not played at the World Cup or during the Olympics but instead “…in vibrant, thrilling league” games in Europe and elsewhere. Indeed, Dempsey goes on to write that these tournaments are “more compelling than almost any World Cup match” of the last 30 years. Club Soccer is a guidebook that provides fast-and-furious profiles of the 101 “most storied” league clubs from around the globe. It goes beyond “the usual suspects,” such as Manchester United and A.C. Milan and covers some teams you might only have heard about but not watched, such as Everton, Dinamo Kiev, and Notts County. As one might imagine, there ain’t too many from the United States, though three (NY Red Bulls, LA Galaxy, and Seattle Sounders) make the cut. As “an attempt to provide a historical guide to the teams,” this succeeds wildly. Readers learn that Atlético Madrid is cursed with being “good, but not as good as Real Madrid” and that Fiorentina (Italy) sold its best player to its finals opponent during the series. Dempsey packs a surprising amount of history and information into the scant few pages allotted for each of the teams, a testament to his knowledge and tenacity as a pithy, readable writer. VERDICT This massive tome drops just in time to reap some of the interest generated by the World Cup, and readers even remotely interested in soccer will have a difficult time putting it down. As for others, let’s bear in mind that some of a man’s deepest allegiances and emotional connections are to his team. Dempsey calls these people “…hordes of completely committed and generally unhinged fans;” they will most probably buy this and eat it.
Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal

[Tracy]

There are some moments in the great sport of association football that are remembered as dream for supporters of one team; as nightmare for fans of the other; and, for neutrals, as the reason we tune into any game, any time, anywhere... just in case. (35)

That's from the Arsenal chapter of this book, which is not one for finishing so much as opening at random for fun stories, or to a particular chapter to find out the history of a specific team, and it pretty much nails why I still, and probably always will, stop and watch a bit of soccer any chance I get, why it still, and probably always will, catch my eye, whether I'm channel-surfing or walking by a restaurant that's showing a game on a TV I can see from the street. Even though I have ridiculous cable, even if I've already watched a game or have plans to watch another game (or two, or three) that day, I always stop to take a look... just in case.

Anyway. This book is one for the "I'm always reading" shelf because, as mentioned before, it's not a cover-to-cover kind of read; it's a reference that's also a collection of fun stories — but the two are synonymous in the best cases, right? (I say this as a kid who used to pick random pages from random volumes in the World Book Encyclopedia — yep, the hardcover, like back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, because I am oooooold — and read an article, then the related entries, then their related entries, and so on... it occurs to me now that I was basically trying to invent the Internet on paper before I had any concept that such a thing might even be possible, let alone exist, but also that when I was doing this the Internet was in fact coming into existence... neat.)

[Sean Takada · Rating 5 out of 5]

CLUB SOCCER 101 was an amazing book in my opinion. This book, written by English author and football fanatic Luke Dempsey, shows the top 101 clubs that have changed the world's way off seeing football (soccer). I chose this book after looking at books about football at Barnes&Noble. The book caught my attention because its spine was yellow. After reading the book for a couple of minutes, I decided to check NYPL's catalog if they had the book since it was so interesting. Fortunately, they had it. This book impressed me because the author didn't just choose the 100 best teams; he chose the top 101 clubs from all parts of the world that had interesting anecdotes and also impacted the world. The author writes the book in a very unique way, because instead of just stating the facts and statistics of the club. He showed how the club stood out from the others and mostly how the club was created. What surprised me was that most of the men that created these clubs were not actually the richest; they just simply started the club because 1. it was easy to do and 2. there mostly was a group of bored men. "In 1927, workers at a Cemento Cruz Lazuli factory in Mexico decided they wanted to form a football team, since all they did during their break was sit and talk" (Dempsey 130), is a perfect example of the two main reasons. This still happens nowadays; bored people with a new idea trying out something brand new. Overall, I recommend this book to people who know about football, because people who don't know much will be utterly confused.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good introduction to what can be an overwhelming world of club soccer--so many countries, so many teams! A little too condensed, though. I wanted more about the culture of the teams, the supporters, the passion.

[Julie Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love this book and will continue to reference it as i learn more about soccer! really want an updated version and a women's version.

[Miller Pulvere · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The reason club soccer is now often more interesting is this: playing for your national team means getting together with colleagues a few times a year- many of whom you actually play against each week in your club league - and attempting to forge a team identity. Naturally, the soccer that gets played tends to be disjointed, if not downright poor. Dempsey 1" Club Soccer 101 authored by Luke Dempsey exhibits the 101 most influential and important soccer teams in the world. Dempsey gives a short summary of important playmakers throughout the teams history usually focusing on one era, and then tells stories from that era to help the reader connect with the team and feel excited, depressed, or excited to go and look on cable to watch their next game. "The plane carrying 11 Grande Torino crashed full-on into the back of the basilica, high up on Superga. The result was catastrophic-everyone on board perished. Gone was Valentino Mazzola, considered to this day one of Italy's greatest players; gone was his illustrious striking partner, Croat Ezio Loik; gone were the Ballarin brothers, Dino and Sergio. Dempsey 398" The characters Dempsey brings up have big personalities and unmatched skills. "On came Spink, a kid in huge gloves, who went on to make a handful of immaculate saves, including one in the second half against Rummenigge which defied the laws of time. Dempsey 41" Dempsey uses humor to explain the difference between different players with similar names. "Joining the fun was Luis Suárez- no relationship to the toothy Uruguayan. Dempsey 53" This is a joke referencing to a whole different Luis Suarez that bit Chiellini, and Italian defender in a World Cup. If you are an avid soccer fan or interested in the world of club soccer this book is a good read.

[Brandon Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect read for an intermediate soccer fan looking to catch up on soccer history and clubs in leagues around the world they don't know much about. I've been a soccer fan for around a decade. I know the Premier League pretty well and know about the recent history at top clubs around Europe, but now I feel like I know more about the ethos of each team and their fans. You get a little more than a Champions League number of teams from each European country plus a few too many South American teams and 3-5 pages of each. I would've liked a bit more focus on recent history and less on the first half of the century but I get it. Very interesting to learn about the 2-3 key stories from each team that define fan mentalities. The author gets a tad too clever at times, and the book would've been better as a resource (hey, we're playing Ajax! what's their story?) on my shelf than a straight read, which got long and felt like reading an encyclopedia at times. Still recommended reading for any soccer fan.

[Brett Van Gaasbeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decently written rundown of many of the top clubs in the world. I would argue that the likes of DC United and the Seattle Sounders don't warrant space alongside the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but that is a difference of opinion and mostly based upon longevity and success. I think Dempsey could have done more research on the club leaders in winning percentage, goals, and other statistics instead of a vague retelling of basic history that read more like a wikipedia entry than a real historical analysis. This is a great tool for those who are new to the beautiful game and attempting to get brief understandings or for those watching tournaments and needing to know who Sporting Lisbon is before the matchup.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a lot about some lesser known clubs. My one complaint was the omission of certain cups, and he kept writing how fat Ronaldo is.

[Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

One star down for mistaking Honduran Olimpia with Paraguayan Olimpia (And I don't even like that team)

[Cary Boswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history of the best soccer teams and players. I learned a lot, and now like Everton better and not Chelsea.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revised edition will be needed soon to reflect current happenings from the 2015-2016 Premier League:

- Aston Villa - abysmal failure this season and strongly backed by all pundits and fans to be relegated down
- Chelsea - Mourinho's firing due to the team's horrible start to defending their championship. Possibly the worst title defence in the Premier League's history
- Manchester City - arrival of Pep Guardiola in fall of 2016. Will a new and mega-star coach's arrival finally spell European S-U-C-C-E-S-S?
- Manchester United - a horrible team under Moyes' successor, Louis Van Gaal, with the distinct possibility of finishing out of the top 4 and being dumped out of the Europea League by a Danish team
- Real Madrid - Firing of Benitez and hiring of Zidane. How much bigger can Ronaldo's ego get?

Good overview of many of the clubs in various leagues around the world. Not as in-depth as I would have liked but hard to do without creating a tome.

[Stephen Heiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's arranged like a compendium but it's not comprehensive enough to be a reference book. The stories are interesting, but not compelling enough to justify. It's one of the few times I've forced myself through a book - I very much buy into the "art of non-finishing" and have no problem ditching a book that I don't engage with. Life is too short. But I did force myself through because I wanted to improve my overall soccer knowledge. And I did. Slightly. But you might give it a pass if you're considering what to read next on your soccer shelf.

[Dan Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book cemented what I had been feeling for sometime: Soccer has joined Baseball as my 1 and 1A sports. The similarities they share are striking.

A rich history dating back to the 19th century filled a cast of characters and villains. A game marked by mismanagement and sadly too often forced to endure tragedy. The NFL, NBA and other games may have some of these traits but soccer has now joined baseball for me as something that transcends sports...

[Rich Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for anyone who want to learn about the history behind the top teams in the world of soccer. In Club Soccer 101, Luke Dempsey tells the story of 101 soccer teams or football clubs. Each story is about 4-6 pages long with the high points and often low points of the respective team's history. This is a must read for anyone who knows very little about the game and would like to learn more.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too condensed for my liking, though still full of interesting tidbits and important historical perspective. What causes it to lose a couple stars, however, is Dempsey's rather apparent disregard for German and especially American soccer. Perhaps it's familiarity or maybe just preference, but it's hard to miss.

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively and engaging sketches of some of the world's great soccer clubs. Although North American soccer is wildly over-represented, Dempsey's stories are enjoyable, informative, often funny and occasionally quite moving. Very handy when watching tournament play and you're not exactly sure who, say, Galatasaray is, and you want to know more about their history and character.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book consists of 101 mini-histories of club soccer teams from throughout the world. The book is in alphabetical order by clubs. The stories are fascinating. It fails to be 5 stars only because alphabetical order is a weird way to read them. I don't know how much I'm going to remember in a year or even a few weeks.

[Zach Ellerbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only good if you've only started getting into club soccer, especially if you don't have a favorite team yet. As a casual fan of a couple years now, I can find more interesting information about each club from Wikipedia.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. If you're a soccer fan, you'll love it.