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Thirty-One Nil :On the Road With Football's Outsiders
Thirty-One Nil :On the Road With Football's Outsiders
paperback
Published:
21 May, 2015
Description
WINNER OF THE FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
A brilliant book - Rory Smith
The story of the immense struggle to qualify for the World Cup, Thirty-One Nil roams from American Samoa to Zambia in a remarkable and insightful journey that gets under the skin of world football.
In a tiny, decaying aluminium smelting town in southern Tajikistan, a short drive from a raging war zone, Afghanistan take on Palestine in the first Asian qualifier for the World Cup. Every player on both teams is risking something by playing: their careers, their families, even their lives. Yet, along with thousands of other footballers backed by millions of supporters, they all dream of snatching one of the precious 32 places at the finals; and so begins a three-year epic struggle – long before the usual suspects start their higher-profile qualifying campaigns under the spotlight.
Named after the greatest victory (and defeat) that the World Cup qualifiers have ever seen (Australia’s 31-0 victory over American Samoa), Thirty-One Nil is the story of how footballers from all corners of the globe begin their journey chasing a place at the 2014 World Cup Finals. It celebrates the part-time priests, princes and hopeless chancers who dream of making it to Brazil, in defiance of the staggering odds stacked against them. It tells the story of teams who have struggled for their very existence through political and social turmoil, from which they will very occasionally emerge into international stardom.
From the endlessly humiliated San Marino to lowly Haiti; from war-torn Lebanon to the oppressed and fleet-footed players of Eritrea, in Thirty-One Nil James Montague gets intimately and often dangerously close to some of the world’s most extraordinary teams, and tells their exceptional stories.
Prizes
Winner of British Sports Book Awards: Football Book of the Year 2015
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781408851630 |
| ISBN10 | 1408851636 |
| Number Of Pages | 344 |
| Item Weight | 280 g |
| Product Dimensions | 128 x 196 x 22 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
[Montague] captures a dazzling amount of detail...Thirty-One Nil is well worthy of entry to the canon of great football reportage. * Independent *
The Indiana Jones of soccer journalism * Sports Illustrated *
as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking * FourFourTwo *
vibrant and colourful...Thirty-One Nil is a a brilliant read * Back page Football *
a gripping tale...Montague's book is a tale of dreaming despite the odds, and its strength lies in the many compelling individuals featured in its pages * South China Morning Post *
a compelling, exciting book...let Thirty-One Nil take you on an emotional journey that rekindles your love of international football. * These Football Times *
a vibrant, at times emotional, chronicle * Independent on Sunday *
every story is emotionally-charged, re-kindling a love of the game * Etihad Inflight Magazine *
It's a fantastic book! -- Grant Wahl
A brilliant book * Rory Smith *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
James Montague is an award-winning author and journalist who writes for The Athletic and Tifo and who reports about football, politics and society for The New York Times, CNN and BBC World Service. He is the author of four books and is a two-time winner of the Football Book of the Year at the British Sports Book of the Year Awards for Thirty-One Nil and The Billionaires Club.