Complete Encyclopedia Socce

Rating:
Summary: Quality
Review: A quality effort from the lads who have clearly given 110%, and you can't ask for more than that. Radnedge bosses it in the mid-sections of the book like the workhorse he is as Lineker delivers quality from the fringes, living on scraps. In short, a guaranteed net-bulger.

Rating:
Summary: The complete Encyclopedia of Soccer
Review: Disappointing... I received this book as a gift or I would have returned it! For a such an expensive tome I would have expected fewer typographical/factual errors. The production quality is excellent but there are so many text errors that I believe the publishers quality control to be suspect. Was there a rush to get it out by last Christmas? During my less than intense reading I noticed 22 errors including 1 on the sleeve! As far as content, the writer seems to be doing his best inflate US players as much as possible. Inclusion of players such as M. Balboa, T. Ramos and A. Lallas and ommiting Dwight Yorke who has scored dozens of goals for Manchester United as well as won the Champions League with United, speaks volumes!

Rating:
Summary: Good effort, despite flaws
Review: It's hard to give this work a negative review, because it's a decent effort. However despite it's size, it's too short :) The info seems to reflect the editor's Eurocentric point of view: there is decent coverage of World Cup and Euro events. Latin American coverage is very weak, and Asian/African virtually non-existant. Also, it seems a bit too heavy on the very recent past. While this is understandable, it also can be annoying at times. For example, under "Great Players", most current decent players are covered, but many older ones omitted. And there are some glaring screwups: Jordi Cruyff, who hasn't done much, gets a writeup, but Berti Vogts, one of Germany's best ever defenders, capped 96 times, World Champ, etc. is only mentioned as a coach. I'm sure you could find plenty of other glaring faults. But rather than harp on all the problems, I will say that it's a useful addition to a soccer fan's library. The strengths outweigh the weaknesses.

Rating:
Summary: IF YOU LIKE THE GAME AND/OR WANT TO LEARN ... READ IT!
Review: The book is simply fantastic! It draws you in from the very beginning. It contains the results, the draws, the most important statistics and excellent descriptions of everything around the game. Everything that makes soccer the most exciting game on earth is reflected in this book. Goes over the most important things and facts and you can relive the big/important moments. If you like soccer, and/or think you would like to learn about it, or if you want your son or friends to get a feeling for it, this is the book. There are not enough words to describe it. Keir Radnedge scored a huge goal writing this book. It is coming back to me ... Wembley 1992, Fc Barcelona's Bakero takes a free kick in short to Koeman, who takes a shot from 30 yds., Sampdoria's goalkeeper is trying to get it but ... GOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL !

Rating:
Summary: What ever happened to soccer bumper stickers?
Review: The cultural importance of soccer in America was first brought home to me back in the early 70's with those classic bumper stickers such as, "It takes leather balls to play soccer," and "Soccer's played on grass." Well, I don't know if soccer ever really took off as a sport in America, but they did have the best bumper stickers of any sport around back then.