The Illustrated Football (Soccer) Hall of Fame

by David Squires

Soccer players represent something more than the team they play for or the country they represent. They can transcend the game and influence society, fashion, politics, and music. But the subject of which players are better than others can spark intense opinions and debate. Families can be torn apart, relationships can end, and friendships shatter. Thankfully for us, David Squires has taken one for the team and has put himself in the heart of the long-standing argument. In this book, Squires celebrates the mavericks, the pioneers, the cult heroes, and the forgotten legends.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction, Comics, Humor, Sports, Soccer

200 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2017

Reviews

[سیده فاطمه مطهری · Rating 3 out of 5]

برای پسرهای نوجوون یا حتی آقایون عاشق فوتبال و البته دخترها و خانم‌های عشق فوتبال خوبه. یکسری بازیکنان قدیمی فوتبال رو بررسی کرده، زندگیشون، حوادث مهم فوتبالی‌شون
من کتاب رو تورق کردم. اون فوتبالیست‌هایی که میشناختم و جالب بودن برام، که سر جمع پنج شش مورد شدن رو، مطلبشون رو خوندم.
تقسیم‌بندی‌های کتاب برام جالب بود

جای الیور کان تو قسمت دروازه‌بان‌ها به شدت خالی بود ( غیر بوفون، تو عمرم یه دروازه‌بان دیگه میشناسم، جاش رو باید خالی میکردم قاعدتا)

[Ajay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot remember the last time I laughed as much while reading a book as I did when going through Squires' drawings, a collection that is an oddly irreverent tribute to some of the best footballers of the past century.

[Stephen Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous, irrelevant, surreal and entertaining look at the heroes, anti-heroes who have graced the world of football and left their own unique mark on it.

Superbly drawn and written.

[Joe O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lionel Messi’s homemade broth of Human Growth Hormone. Diego Maradona’s fake penis.
Antonio Cassano’s Sex Pastries. Faustino Asprilla’s own-brand range of flavoured condoms. Zlatan Ibrahmimovic buying a Twix in a petrol station.

These are just some of the tableaus depicted in David Squires’s wonderful “Illustrated History of Football: Hall of Fame”, his second volume of scabrously funny cartoons portraying the history of football.

It portrays the geniuses, visionaries, cult heroes, bastards and psychopaths who make the history of association football so rich, so compelling – and in Squires’ hands – so hilarious.

This book is a tremendous antidote to the banter merchants, amply assisted by the fantastic level of research that Squires has so obviously poured into this book. “Hall of Fame” never goes for the most obvious joke - or concentrates on the most obvious footballer – so that even the most ardent football fan will learn immense amounts about the history of football. All this and Diego Maradona’s fake penis.

A joy from start to finish.

[Stephen McGovern · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Squires has to be one of the funniest cartoonists around today, and this book just reinforces that view for me.

The format is slightly different to last time - instead of covering events in football, it covers people, from players like Maradona to managers like Mourinho. Some of the cartoons are longer to accommodate the rich, varied and sometimes crazy stories of these characters lives. It allows for better storytelling in some cases.

It's a great medium for telling the stories of less well known characters in the game, such as Giorgio Chinaglia and William 'Fatty' Foulke, who are no less worthy of their place in this book than the biggest names in football.

It's witty, clever and a great read.

[DaViD´82 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se Squiresem se to má jako se svého času se Zeleným Raoulem Štěpána Mareše. Když se to čte jednou týdně v době, kdy to vyjde, tak je to dobré, někdy i trefné a vynikající. Ovšem takto pohromadě se to rychle přejí, navíc to staví na aktuálním dění (je třeba se v zákulisí, lidech a kauzách nejen anglické kopané orientovat na denní bázi), což takovémuto souhrnnému vydání "po letech" neprospívá. Zde to ještě není až tak hrozné, je to ostatně o osobnostech světové kopané, ale i tak se to projevuje... Mnoho vtípků již zavál čas a je to poněkud na jedno brdo. Čili Squirese v souhrnném vydání již příště raději ne, ale na týdenní bázi na Guardianu stále ano.

[Barnaby Haszard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lost the plot at the Zidane one. Then showed it to my wife, grinning as I read it back over her shoulder. Even she -- almost completely uninterested in football -- found it funny. I've read it again like five or six times since. It is my favourite in the book, but there are a good dozen I thought works of genius. Squires can be relentlessly sarky (and snarky), and that can wear if you read a few of his Guardian strips in a row, but his reverence for the subjects here mostly cuts through all that. His best book so far.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I frequently enjoy Squires weekly cartoon in the Guardian and if that’s you, or even if you just have an interest in football then it’s basically essential that you seek this book out for yourself. It’s consistently good all the way through, but at points it’s so funny that I was in stitches laughing out loud to myself. Honestly so many evenings this book literally brought joy into my life, it has to be 5 stars for that reason alone. My wife will be glad I’ve finished as she’d spend most nights saying ‘are you reading that bloomin’ book again?’ as I’d sit there chuckling away. Joyous.

[Mayank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complete and utter treat. Dollops of humor drizzled with a genuine love for football and the characters who made it so. Sly digs at what makes footballers human. The back cover lampooning Pirlo's Christmas photograph is a masterpiece for the ages.

[Ystyn Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as funny as his first outing, but still informative, entertaining and very, very clever.

[Dara Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just wonderful. Can't say much more!

[Piers · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun, so well observed, and full of hilarious details that will keep you coming back again and again.

[John Frasene · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Squires has the funniest takes on soccer since Special One TV.

[Ushnav Shroff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't have as much fun in this one as the original.

[Yacoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zábavné jako vždy, jen škoda, že si nenašel místo ani na Panenku, ani na Bicana. Podle mě by si aspoň jeden zasloužil tam být.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. A friend had it on holiday, it took me 4 years to pick it up, boy I should have done it sooner! If you like football and comedy, this is the book for you!

[Thomas Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book full of laughs, heartfelt stories and intriguing explorations of some of the heroes and beloved cretins of football.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

After saving this for a time when I just wanted some light reading, this hit the spot. There's not really too much to add beyond an acknowledgment that it's as good as his Guardian strips, and has a good breadth of eras, nationalities and Simpsons references. I wish I had his creative instinct for tangents from his football subjects.

[Alessio Gori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wonderful

David Squires is a genius, it’s as simple as that. Only he knows how he comes up with his comic strips but each and every one is uniquely superb. This book is a collection of factual write-ups on various historical and more recent footballing legends, each of which is followed by a brilliantly-random comic strip about said legend. No review can truly do this book justice but if you like football stories with a bit of humor thrown in, check it out.

[Via_diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este no es el libro original, es libro está en wattpad (la autora es ZAIRALYS1) pero acá no lo encontré pero si quería marcarlo, me gustó mucho y el capítulo que era en un mundo paralelo también me encantó

[Anirban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read. Read if you love football and want to have an eye watering laugh.