Perfect 10

by Richard Williams

In eleven chapters on ten enigmas (plus one forgotten 'nearly man' who makes it to the bench), Richard Williams unravels the fact, legend and myth of the shirt number that encapsulates everything that excites about the beautiful game. It Puskas of Hungary in the '50s; Pele of Brazil and Gianni Rivera of Italy in the '60s; Platini of France in the '70s; Diego Maradona of Argentina in the '80s; Baggio and Zidane in the '90s. The most magical supremely talented footballers of the post-war period have all worn the Number 10 shirt.

Genres: Football

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Richard Williams is the chief sports writer for the Guardian and the bestselling author of The Death of Ayrton Senna and Enzo Ferrari: A Life. He is a lifelong fan of Nottingham Forest.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the introductory chapters the author starts to explain what makes the number 10 position so special and how there have been quite a few slight variations on it over the years. He also details how hard it was to narrow his selection down to the final 10 (technically 11) players chosen. Those players are Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Gianni Rivera & Sandro Mazola, Gunter Netzer, Michel Platini, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Roberto Baggio, Dennis Bergkamp, and Zinedine Zidane. It is a good mix of players from different nations who played during different eras of the game and provide a wide range of playing styles.

Sadly, despite the introduction, we are treated to a potted history of the chosen players which frankly lacks detail. There are also some very strange asides during these histories which are very out of place and detract from the matter at hand. There is no tactical insight and there is very little in the analysis of what made the player different to his compatriots. I would have expected some discussion on how Bergkamp for example would find space where none seemed available but Zidane's game had a more physical edge to it than is normally associated with a number 10. There are some wonderful passages, for example, Zidane's balletic movement and control of the ball seemingly at odds with his physical size and strength. There are however, some really glaring holes in the author's research, one of which in particular really irritated me. Williams implies that Zidane bulked up during his time in Italy using questionable methods prevalent in Italy at the time. This is a perfectly valid claim, but, he states that Zidane "used the drug Creatine". Creatine is not a drug, it is a food supplement which aids in muscle growth and recovery and it has never been banned by WADA, USADA or any other doping control agency. It is readily available and used by most athletes around the world where strength is a factor. A simple google search would have turned up this information but it would seem that Williams preferred the more sensationalist approach. He doesn't deal any further with this claim, which is quite inflammatory, basing it entirely on this one line.

This book promised a lot but delivered a fraction of that promise.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Individually, these were 10 good profiles of assorted football greats who played at number 10, but as a book it was a slightly weird idea, and the discussion to acknowledge this was the main weak point of it.

Richard Williams selects his 10 favourite number 10's, by the criteria of what he thinks a number 10 is so that he can justify his choices, although his definition isn't too shoddy. However his criteria is simply that he likes them, which would be fine for a blog but for a book seems a bit self-indulgent.

What saves it however is the storytelling. Although Pele and Maradona are far from unknown, their profiles still reveal new things and are a good balance between on-field and off-field events. In the cases of Maradona and Enzo Fracescoli it is perhaps a little too fawning but at least Williams chooses players from his own memory rather than basing it on reputation alone. These are good portraits and are about the right length.

This could easily be knocked down a star and perhaps others won't feel that Williams' writing deserves such forgiveness, but it really won me over after a vague opening.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gobbled this up when I was about 20, when I appreciated football history but where there was still novelty in discovery, especially about the Italians. Very good on Bergkamp, if I remember rightly.

[Zhang Stanley]

Got dad this and the Chinese translated version (by a publisher in Taiwan), however, Dad chose to read the Chinese version.

I like how the writer writes about number 10.
These are the people that gave soul to football, it's sad that a good midfielder is so hard to come by.

Football today has changed flavor, it's all about fame. Yes, undoubtedly the midfielder stars today still got lot of skill under their feet, but they are just no comparison with the best players (Maradona, Pele and Zidane). No matter how much we hope to witness the birth of the next legend. They hardly happen because of fame.

So, patience is the virtue here. And while waiting, there's nothing better than mesmerizing about the past.