为什么是足球？

by Desmond Morris, 德斯蒙德·莫利斯, 易晨光 (Translator)

《裸猿》作者德斯蒙德·莫里斯，把足球比作当代“部落”，全面考察了足球部落的每一个重要组成部分，包括：

“起源”（足球和部落之间的象征意义），“仪式”(禁忌和惩罚，目标和策略)，“英雄”(他们的技能和迷信，胜利和失败)，“标志物”(皮球、服装、横幅和徽章、奖杯和奖章)，“长老”(董事及裁判员、经理和教练)，“球迷”(老的和幼的、名人和死忠粉)，以及“部落语言”(队歌、口号、欢呼和咒骂)。

从利物浦到里昂，从拜仁到巴塞罗那，从曼彻斯特到马德里，莫里斯以极大的热情剖析着每一个细节，我们会看到：足球场内外的历史和标志事件、足球技战术的变化、专业和热情、暴力和单纯……作者以部落为喻，试图解答我们这些“裸猿”为什么踢足球、爱足球、恨足球却又离不开足球。

这是一本给所有人的书，包括：教练、球员、评论员、周末球迷、梦想成为冠军的孩子，甚至那些诋毁足球，谴责足球危险乃至希望取消它的人。

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Soccer, Anthropology, Football

358 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Desmond John Morris (24 January 1928 - 19 April 2026) was an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology.
He is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time.

After the death of his wife in 2018 he lived with his son and family in Ireland.[ Morris died in Naas, County Kildare, on 19 April 2026, at the age of 98.

abridged from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Owlseyes]

I just want to understand the Ronaldo mess case.
Will he get back to Vegas...for a police interrogation?

[Ted Feder · Rating 5 out of 5]

In times of World Cup, an anthropological analysis of soccert - we are all members of a tribe.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most interesting books on footy I've come across. It was published in 1981 and is a kind of anthropological study of Football fans as a "tribe." Yes, that's dated for sure. The book includes some great photographs and some interesting histories/discussion of club badges. This seems hard to track down (I found it at the library) but it is very cool and well worth your time!

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a scientific study of the game of football where the game is compared to a tribe. Most of the examples are from the English football leagues. The book has plenty of pictures to illustrate authors various arguments. I think the analogy with a tribe sticks very well as by the end of the book I was convinced beyond all doubts. Why no other game has been able to grab the imagination like football had always been one of the many mysteries of my life. Relatively simple rules, team bonding, flow of the game, and arenas are some of the main reasons why football is a clear leader over many other team sports.

The book gets rather tedious though because of repetition, and too much detail for someone like me who has some knowledge but no great love of soccer.

[adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would really enjoy this book. The content was interesting but not what I had in mind. It read more like a history of football & it’s rules. Some interesting info and some funny pictures.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthropologist takes a look at the worldwide phenomenon of football (soccer). So, very worth reading.

[Yacoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vlastně jsem od toho čekal trochu něco jiného, ale přesto jsem nebyl zklamaný. Jedna hvězdička dolů za to, že chybí zdroje pro nejrůznější tvrzení, a hlavně kvůli tomu, že jsou rozostřené švy mezi prvním vydáním v sedmdesátých letech a aktualizací v roce 2016. U některých pasáží tak není jasné, zdali ještě platí, nebo se přeci jen za těch 40+ let fotbal posunul někam jinam. Asi by to chtělo z tohoto pohledu některé kapitoly komplet přepsat, ale chápu, že na to Morris už neměl sílu. I tak je to ale zajímavé čtení.