Author:Henrik Brandão Jönsson,Nichola Smalley
In Brazil nothing is more important than football.
If England is the birthplace of football then Brazil – the five-time World Cup winners and home of Pelé, Romário, Ronaldo, Neymar and the rest – is the heart and soul of the game.
Jogo Bonito – meaning ‘the beautiful game’ – takes you on a journey through the Wild West of Brazilian football. On the way we meet an eclectic cast of characters, such as Mario Zagallo, the four-time World Cup winner; the long, lost son of Garrincha; Brazil’s best-loved bad boy player turned politician, Romário; and many more. We take a trip to an away game with the country’s most violent hooligans, visit the home of the world’s largest amateur football tournament and enjoy a boozy dinner with South America’s most famous commentator – he of ‘goooooooool’ fame.
Jogo Bonito is a history, a travelogue and a gonzo-style report into a country which has the sixth biggest economy in the world and yet questionable records on education, healthcare and corruption. The result is a book that not only tells the story of Brazilian football, but also of today’s Brazil.
Jonsson’s book is a joy, dancing around erratically between the best and worst of Brazil
—— The TimesDistinguished by its entertaining originality
—— Richard Williams , GuardianJonsson is a fearless, dogged journalist… Jogo Bonito is an artful, spare book. The prose gallops along in an elegant and entertaining introduction to the sprawling intoxicating mess that is modern Brazil
—— Francis O'Shaugnessy , Racing PostOne of the most moving stories I've ever read... I was completely blown away by it.
—— Paul Cuddihy, editor of Celtic ViewSo moving, I love it.
—— Damian Barr, author of Maggie and MeA moving, masterful tome.
—— Back Page PressBrilliant... Twelve Yards is a book every England player should read.
—— Matt Le Tissier, former England internationalGlorious... Lyttleton's book goes into remarkable detail in an attempt to find a solution, to do for England and penalties what Freud wanted to do for the human condition by transforming neurotic misery into normal human unhappiness.
—— Sunday IndependentFascinating.
—— The ObserverExcellent.
—— Financial TimesCould not be better.
—— Sunday PeopleVery good... a readable study of an almost unknowable art. Lyttleton's scope is nothing if not wide.
—— When Saturday ComesGreat book… might make me take a penalty one day.
—— Per MertesackerSuperb… full of great insight
—— Alan ShearerHamilton through the stories and backstories of others broadens his horizons to explain the phenomenon that was Best and the world that destroyed him. Offering up new material and new perspective, Hamilton, as one reviewer would opined, mastered biography.
—— Irish ExaminerDickinson is tender to the memory of the Essex lad who, for a breathtaking instant, was glorious
—— Ain Finlayson and Kate Saunders , Saga MagazineMatt's work is the most impressive West Ham book of the year, a genuine and sincere attempt to get to the root of the man. It is an excellent, thought-provoking book
—— Knees Up Mother BrownA compelling and complete account
—— SportIn The Man in Full, acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full
—— Bert Wright , NudgeOutstanding... this excellent biography comes very close to describing the real Bobby Moore
—— Post