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Futebol Nation: A Footballing History Of Brazil
“Brazil is empty on a Sunday afternoon, right?
Look sambão here is the country of football.”
—Milton Nascimento
No nation is as closely identified with the game of soccer as Brazil. Futebol Nation is the story of Brazil told through its overriding national obsession. For over a century, Brazil’s people, politicians, and poets have found in soccer the finest expression of the nation’s collective potential, embracing its ethnic diversity and its rich cultures of dance and music. Since the team’s dazzling performance in the 1938 at the World Cup in France, Brazilian soccer has contained an otherworldly blend of the effective and the aesthetic.
Futebol Nation is an extraordinary chronicle of a nation that has won the World Cup five times and produced players of miraculous skill, such as Pelé, Garrincha, Rivaldo, Zico, Ronaldo, and Ronaldhino. It shows why the phrase O Jogo Bonito—the Beautiful Game—has justly entered the global lexicon.
Yet there is another side to Brazil and its game, one that reflects the harsh sociological realties of the “futebol nation.” David Goldblatt explores the grinding poverty that creates a vast pool of hungry players, Brazil’s corrupt institutions exemplified by its soccer authorities, and the pervasive violence that has seeped onto the field and into the stands.
Futebol Nation presents both sides of Brazilian soccer and Brazil itself; its brilliance, its magic, its style, and the fabulous myths that have been constructed around it; as well as its tragedies, its miseries, and the light it shines on the economic and political injustices of Brazilian life that were highlighted last year during the Confederations Cup. Goldblatt shows how Brazilian soccer can, if only occasionally, do justice to Brazilian society’s conviviality and creativity rather than its brutality.
Look sambão here is the country of football.”
—Milton Nascimento
No nation is as closely identified with the game of soccer as Brazil. Futebol Nation is the story of Brazil told through its overriding national obsession. For over a century, Brazil’s people, politicians, and poets have found in soccer the finest expression of the nation’s collective potential, embracing its ethnic diversity and its rich cultures of dance and music. Since the team’s dazzling performance in the 1938 at the World Cup in France, Brazilian soccer has contained an otherworldly blend of the effective and the aesthetic.
Futebol Nation is an extraordinary chronicle of a nation that has won the World Cup five times and produced players of miraculous skill, such as Pelé, Garrincha, Rivaldo, Zico, Ronaldo, and Ronaldhino. It shows why the phrase O Jogo Bonito—the Beautiful Game—has justly entered the global lexicon.
Yet there is another side to Brazil and its game, one that reflects the harsh sociological realties of the “futebol nation.” David Goldblatt explores the grinding poverty that creates a vast pool of hungry players, Brazil’s corrupt institutions exemplified by its soccer authorities, and the pervasive violence that has seeped onto the field and into the stands.
Futebol Nation presents both sides of Brazilian soccer and Brazil itself; its brilliance, its magic, its style, and the fabulous myths that have been constructed around it; as well as its tragedies, its miseries, and the light it shines on the economic and political injustices of Brazilian life that were highlighted last year during the Confederations Cup. Goldblatt shows how Brazilian soccer can, if only occasionally, do justice to Brazilian society’s conviviality and creativity rather than its brutality.
290 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
27 people are currently reading
502 people want to read
About the author
David Goldblatt
79 books102 followersLibrarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
David Goldblatt is a highly experienced sports writer, broadcaster, and journalist. He is the author of The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football (Penguin, 2006), the definitive historical account of the world’s game. He has also written the World Football Yearbook (Dorling Kindersley, 2002), which was published in nine languages and ran to three editions.
As a journalist, he has written for most of the quality broadsheet newspapers including the Guardian, the Observer, the Financial Times, and The Independent on Sunday, as well as for magazines such as the New Statesman and the New Left Review. He is a regular reviewer of sports books for The Independent and The Times Literary Supplement and is currently the sports’ columnist for Prospect magazine.
As a freelance reporter he has worked for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, including producing documentaries on football in Jerusalem and the politics of football in Kenya. He has also appeared on other BBC radio programmes including The World Today, The World Tonight, The Sunday Morning Show, and Africa – Have Your Say.
In addition to his extensive writing and broadcasting career, he has also taught the sociology of sport at the University of Bristol and has run literacy programmes at both Bristol City and Bristol Rovers football clubs, as well as teaching sport, film, and media at the Watershed arts cinema, also in Bristol.
David Goldblatt is a highly experienced sports writer, broadcaster, and journalist. He is the author of The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football (Penguin, 2006), the definitive historical account of the world’s game. He has also written the World Football Yearbook (Dorling Kindersley, 2002), which was published in nine languages and ran to three editions.
As a journalist, he has written for most of the quality broadsheet newspapers including the Guardian, the Observer, the Financial Times, and The Independent on Sunday, as well as for magazines such as the New Statesman and the New Left Review. He is a regular reviewer of sports books for The Independent and The Times Literary Supplement and is currently the sports’ columnist for Prospect magazine.
As a freelance reporter he has worked for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, including producing documentaries on football in Jerusalem and the politics of football in Kenya. He has also appeared on other BBC radio programmes including The World Today, The World Tonight, The Sunday Morning Show, and Africa – Have Your Say.
In addition to his extensive writing and broadcasting career, he has also taught the sociology of sport at the University of Bristol and has run literacy programmes at both Bristol City and Bristol Rovers football clubs, as well as teaching sport, film, and media at the Watershed arts cinema, also in Bristol.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 25, 2021
very readable, and very informative too, as is all of Goldblatt's work. If it has a failing, it is that it doesn't quite explain how Brazil came to be the very best for so long (hence the four stars, which should be 4 and a half). It's a pity that it stops just before the World Cup of 2014, because he would have much to say about what followed, both on and off the field
November 5, 2019
Some minor mistakes, easy to spot for Brazilians. Could be misleading for foreigners, though. The general tone of criticism is sometimes unnecessary and superficial. Despite that, all in all, a good account of football in Brazil until 2014. Needs an update for the last 4 years, they were very important.
March 26, 2017
134 - 2017
Buku ini terbit persis sebelum World Cup di Brazil, jadi belum mencantumkan sejarah baru, kalah 1-7 dari Jerman di kandang sendiri...
Buku ini terbit persis sebelum World Cup di Brazil, jadi belum mencantumkan sejarah baru, kalah 1-7 dari Jerman di kandang sendiri...
September 15, 2017
A good book that gives the history of a nation which many seem to have little understanding of except in modern times. What I like about this book is that he tells the story of Brazil in parts and thematically. Each chapter has a section on the soccer of the era, the politics of the era, and the culture of the era. Also, Mr. Goldblatt shows that some of the problems facing Brazil have been occurring throughout the nations history and not pretending like it is a new idea that has been happening over the past couple of years. Very interesting book that shows how a nation and a sport is connected. The only problem with the book was that while he wanted to write a linear history of Brazil, it sometimes became thematic, especially when he included events that were outside the era in which he was writing about. Another minor issue was that he would give away what happened in Brazil in one section, then go back and repeat the history in another. Overall, good book and a good way to get a brief history of Brazil and soccer.
May 6, 2017
Really struggled with this. It's was more a political history of Brazil tied in with a some football. I expected more info on Brazilian championships and the national team, particularly as often listed next to books of that style for Spanish, Italian and German football (although that isn't he authors fault)
November 16, 2025
The wonderful chaos of Brazilian football
Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world by size, 7th largest by population, and it is among the top 20 largest economies in the world. But yet their presence in the world is often subtle. Their cuisines are top notch but are not as well known as the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, or even Mexican. One of their main exports, coffee, is also superb but also lose in competition compared with Ethiopia or Italian coffee. Their academic research are excellent and their movies are exceptional, but none of them has won any international awards, except for the movie City of God.
But there's one area that Brazil is undeniably very famous for: Football. Brazil is the only nation that have participated in all of the World Cup finals, winning 5 of them and lost 2 finals. Apart from its successes, what makes Brazil stand out from the rest is their style of play, which Pelé refer as the Jogo Bonito, the beautiful game. As the joke goes, the English invented football and the Brazilians perfected it.
This book is about that passion for football and how it helped to shape the nation's identity.
Published just before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the book is a story about how football was first introduced into the country and how they grew to become the absolute craze of the nation and its most famous image of the country. It is a wonderfully written piece of history, alongside the bosa nova, the samba, the capoeira, and the carnival. It also tells the story about the founding of the football clubs, the many important matches, the match brawls and stadium deaths, and of course the story about the insanely long list of footballing legends from Pele, to Socrates, to Romario and Ronaldo.
But perhaps more intriguingly, the book also gives us the big picture of a nation with brutal political environment that have endured so many coups and corruptions, harsh economic reality where poverty and crimes are common sights, not to mention terror under brutal dictatorial regimes that tried to whitewash their crimes through football. It also paints the bleak condition of their domestic league, with the minimim wage reality and so many late payments of salary, which prompted the exodus of talented players to constantly go abroad whenever they can or even change nationalities.
Indeed, it is after we understand the big picture of the country, that we would begin to understand why they play football the way they play. As the author, David Goldblatt, remarks, "the real price of making football the avatar of the nation is that the game's deep connections to Brazil's social structures, economic institutions and political processes are also laid bare."
This, in the end of the day, is the overall feel of the book. The passion, the brilliance, the magic, mixed with the tragedies and miseries, the poverty and violence, the class war and political injustices, and the one thing that can unite the entire nation into one big harmony: the love of futebol.
Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world by size, 7th largest by population, and it is among the top 20 largest economies in the world. But yet their presence in the world is often subtle. Their cuisines are top notch but are not as well known as the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, or even Mexican. One of their main exports, coffee, is also superb but also lose in competition compared with Ethiopia or Italian coffee. Their academic research are excellent and their movies are exceptional, but none of them has won any international awards, except for the movie City of God.
But there's one area that Brazil is undeniably very famous for: Football. Brazil is the only nation that have participated in all of the World Cup finals, winning 5 of them and lost 2 finals. Apart from its successes, what makes Brazil stand out from the rest is their style of play, which Pelé refer as the Jogo Bonito, the beautiful game. As the joke goes, the English invented football and the Brazilians perfected it.
This book is about that passion for football and how it helped to shape the nation's identity.
Published just before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the book is a story about how football was first introduced into the country and how they grew to become the absolute craze of the nation and its most famous image of the country. It is a wonderfully written piece of history, alongside the bosa nova, the samba, the capoeira, and the carnival. It also tells the story about the founding of the football clubs, the many important matches, the match brawls and stadium deaths, and of course the story about the insanely long list of footballing legends from Pele, to Socrates, to Romario and Ronaldo.
But perhaps more intriguingly, the book also gives us the big picture of a nation with brutal political environment that have endured so many coups and corruptions, harsh economic reality where poverty and crimes are common sights, not to mention terror under brutal dictatorial regimes that tried to whitewash their crimes through football. It also paints the bleak condition of their domestic league, with the minimim wage reality and so many late payments of salary, which prompted the exodus of talented players to constantly go abroad whenever they can or even change nationalities.
Indeed, it is after we understand the big picture of the country, that we would begin to understand why they play football the way they play. As the author, David Goldblatt, remarks, "the real price of making football the avatar of the nation is that the game's deep connections to Brazil's social structures, economic institutions and political processes are also laid bare."
This, in the end of the day, is the overall feel of the book. The passion, the brilliance, the magic, mixed with the tragedies and miseries, the poverty and violence, the class war and political injustices, and the one thing that can unite the entire nation into one big harmony: the love of futebol.
August 24, 2017
It took a long time for me to be absorbed into Futebol Nation and I confess I almost gave up on it a third of the way through. Only Garrincha, Pele and the teams of 1950-1970 kept me going. There were a lot of facts about Brazilian politics, culture and how they interacted with football, rather than stories of the football itself. It lacked flow at times and if it was a wine it would of been a very dry white which I don't like.
The final third about Brazil in the modern era where David Goldblatt is able to write as a journalist rather than an historian was brilliant as well as truly shocking and disturbing. His words are full of energy, anger and despair and you can see why he wanted to write the book. The level of corruption and violence which dominates football and politics are entwined together and all at the expense of the working class who seemingly suffer what they must. If he would of started with the 2014 World Cup and then used this to trace the roots of the problems rather than the other way around it would of made it a better book.
There is a wider context here too. Joao Havelange former president of FIFA was a mentor to Sepp Blatter and is the father in law to Ricardo Teixeira and they are all an ever present in the books on FIFA corruption 'Foul' and 'The Ugly Game'. Brazilian football not only dominated on the field but took its corrupt way of controlling football which David explains has been an ever present at the local level and turned the world governing body into what we see today.
The final third about Brazil in the modern era where David Goldblatt is able to write as a journalist rather than an historian was brilliant as well as truly shocking and disturbing. His words are full of energy, anger and despair and you can see why he wanted to write the book. The level of corruption and violence which dominates football and politics are entwined together and all at the expense of the working class who seemingly suffer what they must. If he would of started with the 2014 World Cup and then used this to trace the roots of the problems rather than the other way around it would of made it a better book.
There is a wider context here too. Joao Havelange former president of FIFA was a mentor to Sepp Blatter and is the father in law to Ricardo Teixeira and they are all an ever present in the books on FIFA corruption 'Foul' and 'The Ugly Game'. Brazilian football not only dominated on the field but took its corrupt way of controlling football which David explains has been an ever present at the local level and turned the world governing body into what we see today.
January 14, 2023
I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it for anyone interested in the intersection of Brazilian football and history.
It lacks a bit of information and depth, which is partially compensated for being easy to read and fast-paced. Another questionable point is the mixture between a historical perspective on old times versus a more journalistic approach towards recent events centered around the 2014 World Cup. It requires some judgement of the reader to sort out how consequential the facts and timelines presented in the book are to the Brazilian history.
Lastly, as a Brazilian myself, I can only regret that we miss a book in English on the likes of Angels with Dirty Faces, which I strongly recommend: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
It lacks a bit of information and depth, which is partially compensated for being easy to read and fast-paced. Another questionable point is the mixture between a historical perspective on old times versus a more journalistic approach towards recent events centered around the 2014 World Cup. It requires some judgement of the reader to sort out how consequential the facts and timelines presented in the book are to the Brazilian history.
Lastly, as a Brazilian myself, I can only regret that we miss a book in English on the likes of Angels with Dirty Faces, which I strongly recommend: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
November 19, 2019
A fantastic survey of modern Brazilian history, culture, and politics through the lens of soccer. Goldblatt has an interesting theory of fireball as Brazil's most notable cultural export, and he defends it with a comprehensive analysis of this fascinating and enigmatic country. Two key takeaways: I see a lot of Trumpism in Brazil's history, which is rife with inequity and brazen government corruption. I used to think it was unfathomable that the U.S. could be like Brazil or Italy, but that's where we are heading. Second takeaway: I really wish the book had been updated with an addendum; it ends right before the 2014 World Cup. So much has happened since: the 7-1 semifinal catastrophe, the 2016 Olympics, and the rise of Bolsonaro. I'd love to hear Goldblatt's take on the last five years.
November 11, 2025
The best intro i ever read from a football book. The book is good with interesting facts about Brazil. Nice books and movies references. Finally read a book about the most famous and appreciated football country in the world. I still don’t understand why people are so excited by Brazil in football terms, i think it’s more for his culture of métissage. That country start to progress in football terms only at the middle of the 20th century thanks to a Hungarian coach, so Brazil don’t really win the 1958 WC with their own style. Conclusion i see more Brazil internationally as a European 2.0 country than a « futebol nation » or purely latin america football. 4 stars
Ps: Same comment for the book of Uli Hesse, don’t agree about the narrative that uruguayans were rough beginning 20th century
Ps: Same comment for the book of Uli Hesse, don’t agree about the narrative that uruguayans were rough beginning 20th century
April 10, 2025
This is a great book but it's let down by the fact that 100+ years of history, that's split between club and country, is compressed into such a short print length. Angels with Dirty Faces works because of the length whereas this felt too compressed. I enjoy the book and flew through sections, I just wish for more elaboration instead of an overview.
December 12, 2025
Essentially an expanded version of the Brazil sections in The Ball is Round. Nevertheless, informed, readable, and fascinating as a social and political history of Brazil as told through football. It could have done with more discussion of the matches themselves, the tactical and sporting trends within the game, but I guess that’s for a different book.
May 2, 2020
Learned a little bit about brazils history which was nice. Last half was boring. Read more like a Wikipedia article. Lots of information but it would have been nice if it was given in a flowing narrative rather than as prescriptive information to ingest.
November 8, 2020
I made it through 75% of the book and couldn’t bring myself to finish. I was terribly bored. There is no cohesive story. It’s like reading a poorly written history book. I love sports and wanted to learn more about Brazilian culture but this book left me down a man and behind by two goals.
May 14, 2018
Insightful, but I expected it to be more about the beautiful game itself and less about the politics of Brazil.
June 16, 2019
First chapter / intro is outstanding. Rest kind of repetitive / slog.
May 14, 2023
A look into the political and social history of Brazil through the context of the sport of football. ⚽️
February 11, 2015
A bit of a pioneering book this one. I wondered what a similar book on the US and American football would tell us. I was drawn to read this through Tim Vickery's work with the BBC. This book has a brisk pace, flying over periods at speed, leaving intriguing questions unanswered at least in the first 2/3 of book (but he has good bibliography and notes for further reading). That prose can be academic and it could use more illustration but the story he is telling is fresh and interesting. It also provides a solid foundation for understanding the current state of Brazil and its football. In the final 1/3 the pace slows and the prose is enlivened, perhaps because it is more recent and he could draw on personal experience and a range of source materials. I applaud his ambition in writing this and illuminating the less than transparent politics of the sport.
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July 10, 2014The perfect book to accompany the World Cup fever. Read this and you can make some sense of the carnage that was the semifinal between Germany and the hosts Brazil. You have to be determined and trudge along in the middle of this book when it becomes factual and dry. But, you will be amply rewarded by the final chapters that cover the decade before the run up to Rio. The author acknowledges that "this book should have been written by someone else, preferably someone Brazilian ..." So if you are looking to complement this one, read Duarte's Shocking Brazil. Goldblatt lays the foundation of the intertwining history of soccer and modern Brazilian society. Duarte provides the heartache and passion that rewrites that history.
August 13, 2014
Read this during the 2014 World Cup--fortunately not in Brazil watching live... This is a fascinating look at Brazilian history through football; so much of the nation's history and identity is intertwined with this British import. From Pele and Garrincha to newer stars, and the corruption of elites/governments before and leading up to hosting the cup, anyone with more than a passing interest in Brazil or soccer should enjoy this book. It was crushing to watch Brazil lose to Germany 7-1 (nearly 7-0); only time will tell whether this has an impact on Brazil's psyche similar to the 1950 "maracanaço" when Brazil was shocked by Uruguay in their brand-new stadium. GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!
June 3, 2014
Since I have lived in Brazil and am going there for the World Cup in just a couple of weeks, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think the author did a great job of telling the modern history of Brazil through soccer, and I don't think it was a stretch to try and tell the story though Futebol. The game and Brazil and inextricably linked, and he showed that.
Learned a lot about the last 100 years in Brazil from a political and popular perspective.
Learned a lot about the last 100 years in Brazil from a political and popular perspective.
August 29, 2014
Nice look at Brazil's history viewed through Futebol. Not as narrative driven as Bellos' book. This is more up to date, taking into account Brazil's preparations for the 2014 World Cup. Although I couldn't help but view this book in light of Brazil's lackluster performance in the WC.
Recommended.
Recommended.
September 4, 2016
This history of Brazil, told through soccer, starts slowly but gains momentum and interest as the Brazilian teams become more familiar. Goldblatt deeply and impressively uses the sport as a microcosm of the good and (especially)bad in Brazilian culture and government.
July 31, 2024
This book is a really interesting concept, analysing how intertwined Brazil’s national identity, politics and sport are.
I would say at times it’s more of a political discourse than a sports book, hence the rating, but I still loved it and found it fascinating to read!
I would say at times it’s more of a political discourse than a sports book, hence the rating, but I still loved it and found it fascinating to read!
May 31, 2014
Decent. Still preferred Alex Bellos's, but this is much quicker to read in time for the start of the World Cup if you need to.
June 10, 2014
Reviewed for The Two Unfortunates soccer blog here.
June 30, 2014
Moments that were terribly dry and the writing is very formulaic but i enjoyed the subject matter
October 31, 2014
Excellent history of the connection between football and politics in Brazil. One of the best you'll find in English.
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December 12, 2014796.33409 G6185 2014
February 9, 2015
For those of you interested in Brazilian's political history and how they used soccer or futbol as a vehicle to promote the government's agenda.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews