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Football for the Soul: Rediscovering the Beauty in the Beautiful Game
Football for the Soul journeys through the European game – from Bilbao to Berlin, Paris, Naples, Amsterdam and beyond – drawing on candid personal interviews to get to the heart of what makes football special and why it matters so much. By BBC Sport journalist Alex Bysouth. Exploring and uncovering some of the most unusual and intriguing stories in European football, this unique book behind-the-scenes access at Athletic Club in Bilbao, featuring interviews with players, directors, fans and journalistsFresh insight into the Berlin football scene, from those who live and breathe itAn exclusive interview with Johan Cruyff's trusted former right-hand man and extensive details about his legacy at Ajax and beyondReflections from a unique Parisian derby and time spent with Red Star, one of France's oldest clubsUnique and wholesome personal stories from the football world, including with Andorra's record-breaking, shirt-collecting former captainOn-the-ground interviews in Naples with the city's second club to tell their unusual storyAccess to Serie A legends during a weekend spent discovering the cult of Italian football nostalgiaUntold tales from the teams behind the non-league Champions League and a pioneering new multi-club ownership modelFootball for the Soul is a must-read for fans who want feel-good, wholesome tales that help make sense of why we really love the beautiful game.
288 pages, Paperback
Published September 9, 2025
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August 2, 2025
A must-read, beautifully told, brilliantly written, heart-warming stories in every chapter
Not many books make you want to go out and buy a Cambridge United shirt, travel to Italy to watch a Nostalgia game from players who retired more than twenty years ago, walk a pilgrimage tale or follow a wall of orange as they sing and dance to a band started as a piss-take*. This one does (although the pilgrimage one was borrowed, for a reason you'll find out later).
In the author's own words, the book is 'One of postcard-worthy sights that hold a thousand stories and bear a thousand scars'. The game of football has long been beautiful, but sometimes these amazing and wonderful stories go on beneath the headline. The game is so much more than the likes of Sky Sports would try and have you believe. In this book, Alex Bysouth, respected BBC journalist, reminds fans of why the game is beautiful. It is not the trophy wins, the big-money signings or the World Cup travels, nice as those things are. This is real life, this isn't Fifa-inspired bullshit, this is the child who collects stickers, looks into shop windows longingly at Subbuteo teams he can't afford, takes his daughters to games and is inspired to write lists of his team's results and former players, following some of them to India (Saul Crespo) and Australia (Alan Baro). Or perhaps that's just me.
I honestly loved the book. Every chapter is written with unbridled joy, bringing thrills of extra time winning goals and smiles at opposing players' mistakes on a whistle-stop tour of Europe and beyond. Below is a quick summary from my experience.
The opening chapter is the longest of the book and is a powerful love story about Athletic Club. The Bilbao-based club have a rich heritage, complete with British influences, but here it is the club's standing in the community which is highlighted in refreshingly colourful detail. Alex writes about the behind the scenes details that rarely get the spotlight they richly deserve, from the inclusivity of projects completed anonymously to the friendships and bonds created by this unique and fascinating club, while the chapter ends with powerful symbolism that summarises just what a splendid club Athletic truly is.
Chapter Two tells of the amazing work of Brentford, deserves a wider audience and I heartily recommend the Mighty Penguins documentary mentioned on page 52. The writing is so powerful here that it makes me want to volunteer too and I've done just that, in my local area. I've long championed my own club, Ponferradina's Genuine football club and the story links beautifully to chapter one when the West London club face their Spanish counterparts. Hats off to both clubs.
I've a feeling that every chapter I read, I am in danger of saying it is my favourite. This one, on Red Star in Paris, cuts to the heart of the French capital. Long known as a hipster club, this describes the suburb in such intricate detail that I feel I'm walking alongside the residents in the market of Sant Ouen before sharing the local drink outside the stadium. I actually know the city quite well, from following the fortunes of Creteil Lusitanos for a season for my own literary work, and the derby between Paris FC and Red Star highlights both sides of a city dominated by PSG but in a gritty, true way, the struggles of identity and belonging and the search for a place in the world. Once again, Alex has found someone on the inside to share the story and the portrayal is so human, so poignant, that I almost feel I know the person he speaks to, the atmosphere brought to life just as the tifos and the passion of the Red Star crowd bring to the matches.
Next is a short chapter on the craziness of Dutch support at an international football tournament, this one heading across Berlin to the Olympic Stadium for Euro 2024. Anyone who has witnessed the wall of orange on route to a game will happily reminisce even if the Dutch party act mentioned below will annoy you with their catchy songs and indecipherable lyrics.
The same city and indeed same stadium is the focus of the following chapter. Berlin is home to Hertha, of the German second tier, one of the biggest in terms of attendance but, arguably, the biggest in terms of history. In such a historically significant city, indeed the author refers to the stadium as a breathtaking "arena bearing the weight of the darkest epoch in German history", Hertha have claim to be a significant force although, according to one fan, it "mirrors the chaos of the city in a lot of ways. We think it is going to be so great and then it's kinda shit. In that sense, Hertha is a very Berlin club, in that it shares the chaos."
The chapter goes on to offer the contrast of Union, the other club in the city and gives a brief but fair overview of some of the lesser clubs in the city before covering the women's game. I, for one, am interested in seeing how the FC Viktoria 1889 team progress following significant investment from a host of German successful women from a number of different spheres.
A short but precise chapter on SV Babelsberg 03, entitled a Groundhopper's Paradise although that sums up Berlin in general as much as nearby Potsdam. A chapter for anyone with an unhealthy interest in the Futbology App (guilty).
The birth and evolution of so-called Phoenix clubs have fascinated football fans since their inception. Hardly a new idea, the first was in 1881, the case of AFC Wimbledon brought them into sharper focus and the last few years have seen a myriad of models, loosely based on the concept, alongside supporter-led projects. One such is FC United of Manchester. I'll be honest, I've never been to see this team in action, but my own journey began, like many of my adventures, in Spain. In 2018 I attended the Memorial Pepe Ortiz, a pre season friendly between UC Ceares and Candás. Named after local boy and Sporting Gijon legend who wore the team's iconic red and white jersey from 1949 to 1963, UC Ceares have hosted this game since 2011, usually against a side from Asturias. Intrigued by the club's desire to pursue a 'People's Football' project, inspired by both FC United of Manchester and St Pauli, and in the presence of a raucous and relentless home support and the Against Modern Football graffiti at the ground, I was hooked. So the chapter on the Fenix Trophy, the alternative invitation-only European Cup for non-league and amateur clubs held plenty of appeal and I learned a lot about Kraków Dragoons, Brera and Matt Van Wyk's examination schedule.
The following chapter tells much more about Brera and the numerous ideas from the Aleotti family to grow the third club in Milan in all sorts of wild and wonderful directions. Football royalty from Walter Zenga, Jari Litmanen and Goran Pendev to mafia bosses also get a mention.
Any mention of Ildefons Lima, Andorra's longest standing player and top international goalscorer is worthy of a read, but when his impressive football shirt collection gets a mention, even more so. Along with The Sweeper podcast, I'm possibly his biggest fan.
Naples is a city that lives and breathes football and from the lemonade stalls decorated with Diego Maradona's image to the recommendation of book Once Upon a Time in Naples by John Ludden, this chapter will have you booking a flight and a trip to the Pignasecca market for juicy buffalo mozzarella, the spicy taralli.
A beautiful chapter on Cambridge United's Chief Executive brings home that it is not just spectators who live and breath the game, livelihoods depend on the decisions most 28-year-olds don't have to make. Even if we take the same frustrations home with us.
An in-depth look at Johan Cruyff and his legacy, brought right up to the modern day. Excellent writing.
I am unable to comment on chapter 13 but the pilgrimage comment in the opening sentences was inspired by someone else reading it. I can't comment as the pilgrimage was mine and I am the subject of the chapter. It made me cry with joy, beautiful, wholesome tears of joy, in front of my children and girlfriend Marie, seeing part of my own story in print. Thank you to the author and to SD Ponferradina for being my most beautiful thing in this wonderful sport.
The next chapter is about a Nostalgia football game in Italy, which will resonate with anyone with fond memories of Football Italia on C4. Francesco Totti and Alex Del Piero get prominent mentions as captains of both teams but the real heroes, along with the other former players, are those who came up with the idea for this.
The final chapter is very personal to the author and for that is beautiful.
* Dutch party act Snollebollekes
Not many books make you want to go out and buy a Cambridge United shirt, travel to Italy to watch a Nostalgia game from players who retired more than twenty years ago, walk a pilgrimage tale or follow a wall of orange as they sing and dance to a band started as a piss-take*. This one does (although the pilgrimage one was borrowed, for a reason you'll find out later).
In the author's own words, the book is 'One of postcard-worthy sights that hold a thousand stories and bear a thousand scars'. The game of football has long been beautiful, but sometimes these amazing and wonderful stories go on beneath the headline. The game is so much more than the likes of Sky Sports would try and have you believe. In this book, Alex Bysouth, respected BBC journalist, reminds fans of why the game is beautiful. It is not the trophy wins, the big-money signings or the World Cup travels, nice as those things are. This is real life, this isn't Fifa-inspired bullshit, this is the child who collects stickers, looks into shop windows longingly at Subbuteo teams he can't afford, takes his daughters to games and is inspired to write lists of his team's results and former players, following some of them to India (Saul Crespo) and Australia (Alan Baro). Or perhaps that's just me.
I honestly loved the book. Every chapter is written with unbridled joy, bringing thrills of extra time winning goals and smiles at opposing players' mistakes on a whistle-stop tour of Europe and beyond. Below is a quick summary from my experience.
The opening chapter is the longest of the book and is a powerful love story about Athletic Club. The Bilbao-based club have a rich heritage, complete with British influences, but here it is the club's standing in the community which is highlighted in refreshingly colourful detail. Alex writes about the behind the scenes details that rarely get the spotlight they richly deserve, from the inclusivity of projects completed anonymously to the friendships and bonds created by this unique and fascinating club, while the chapter ends with powerful symbolism that summarises just what a splendid club Athletic truly is.
Chapter Two tells of the amazing work of Brentford, deserves a wider audience and I heartily recommend the Mighty Penguins documentary mentioned on page 52. The writing is so powerful here that it makes me want to volunteer too and I've done just that, in my local area. I've long championed my own club, Ponferradina's Genuine football club and the story links beautifully to chapter one when the West London club face their Spanish counterparts. Hats off to both clubs.
I've a feeling that every chapter I read, I am in danger of saying it is my favourite. This one, on Red Star in Paris, cuts to the heart of the French capital. Long known as a hipster club, this describes the suburb in such intricate detail that I feel I'm walking alongside the residents in the market of Sant Ouen before sharing the local drink outside the stadium. I actually know the city quite well, from following the fortunes of Creteil Lusitanos for a season for my own literary work, and the derby between Paris FC and Red Star highlights both sides of a city dominated by PSG but in a gritty, true way, the struggles of identity and belonging and the search for a place in the world. Once again, Alex has found someone on the inside to share the story and the portrayal is so human, so poignant, that I almost feel I know the person he speaks to, the atmosphere brought to life just as the tifos and the passion of the Red Star crowd bring to the matches.
Next is a short chapter on the craziness of Dutch support at an international football tournament, this one heading across Berlin to the Olympic Stadium for Euro 2024. Anyone who has witnessed the wall of orange on route to a game will happily reminisce even if the Dutch party act mentioned below will annoy you with their catchy songs and indecipherable lyrics.
The same city and indeed same stadium is the focus of the following chapter. Berlin is home to Hertha, of the German second tier, one of the biggest in terms of attendance but, arguably, the biggest in terms of history. In such a historically significant city, indeed the author refers to the stadium as a breathtaking "arena bearing the weight of the darkest epoch in German history", Hertha have claim to be a significant force although, according to one fan, it "mirrors the chaos of the city in a lot of ways. We think it is going to be so great and then it's kinda shit. In that sense, Hertha is a very Berlin club, in that it shares the chaos."
The chapter goes on to offer the contrast of Union, the other club in the city and gives a brief but fair overview of some of the lesser clubs in the city before covering the women's game. I, for one, am interested in seeing how the FC Viktoria 1889 team progress following significant investment from a host of German successful women from a number of different spheres.
A short but precise chapter on SV Babelsberg 03, entitled a Groundhopper's Paradise although that sums up Berlin in general as much as nearby Potsdam. A chapter for anyone with an unhealthy interest in the Futbology App (guilty).
The birth and evolution of so-called Phoenix clubs have fascinated football fans since their inception. Hardly a new idea, the first was in 1881, the case of AFC Wimbledon brought them into sharper focus and the last few years have seen a myriad of models, loosely based on the concept, alongside supporter-led projects. One such is FC United of Manchester. I'll be honest, I've never been to see this team in action, but my own journey began, like many of my adventures, in Spain. In 2018 I attended the Memorial Pepe Ortiz, a pre season friendly between UC Ceares and Candás. Named after local boy and Sporting Gijon legend who wore the team's iconic red and white jersey from 1949 to 1963, UC Ceares have hosted this game since 2011, usually against a side from Asturias. Intrigued by the club's desire to pursue a 'People's Football' project, inspired by both FC United of Manchester and St Pauli, and in the presence of a raucous and relentless home support and the Against Modern Football graffiti at the ground, I was hooked. So the chapter on the Fenix Trophy, the alternative invitation-only European Cup for non-league and amateur clubs held plenty of appeal and I learned a lot about Kraków Dragoons, Brera and Matt Van Wyk's examination schedule.
The following chapter tells much more about Brera and the numerous ideas from the Aleotti family to grow the third club in Milan in all sorts of wild and wonderful directions. Football royalty from Walter Zenga, Jari Litmanen and Goran Pendev to mafia bosses also get a mention.
Any mention of Ildefons Lima, Andorra's longest standing player and top international goalscorer is worthy of a read, but when his impressive football shirt collection gets a mention, even more so. Along with The Sweeper podcast, I'm possibly his biggest fan.
Naples is a city that lives and breathes football and from the lemonade stalls decorated with Diego Maradona's image to the recommendation of book Once Upon a Time in Naples by John Ludden, this chapter will have you booking a flight and a trip to the Pignasecca market for juicy buffalo mozzarella, the spicy taralli.
A beautiful chapter on Cambridge United's Chief Executive brings home that it is not just spectators who live and breath the game, livelihoods depend on the decisions most 28-year-olds don't have to make. Even if we take the same frustrations home with us.
An in-depth look at Johan Cruyff and his legacy, brought right up to the modern day. Excellent writing.
I am unable to comment on chapter 13 but the pilgrimage comment in the opening sentences was inspired by someone else reading it. I can't comment as the pilgrimage was mine and I am the subject of the chapter. It made me cry with joy, beautiful, wholesome tears of joy, in front of my children and girlfriend Marie, seeing part of my own story in print. Thank you to the author and to SD Ponferradina for being my most beautiful thing in this wonderful sport.
The next chapter is about a Nostalgia football game in Italy, which will resonate with anyone with fond memories of Football Italia on C4. Francesco Totti and Alex Del Piero get prominent mentions as captains of both teams but the real heroes, along with the other former players, are those who came up with the idea for this.
The final chapter is very personal to the author and for that is beautiful.
* Dutch party act Snollebollekes
Displaying 1 of 1 review