{"product_id":"soccer-tales-the-untold-stories-behind-the-world-cup-9798197365842","title":"Soccer Tales: The Untold Stories Behind the World Cup","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Ezra Flint\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: World - General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of football, told as it should be told.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree thousand years ago, courtiers in the Han Dynasty palace kicked a leather ball through a silk net. Five hundred years ago, English kings tried - and failed - to ban the game from their streets. One hundred years ago, fifty-three thousand people packed into Goodison Park to watch a women's football match.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd in June 2026, the largest sporting event in human history will begin: the \u003cb\u003eFIFA World Cup\u003c\/b\u003e, hosted across sixteen cities in three countries, with forty-eight national teams and an estimated television audience of more than five billion people.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSoccer Tales: A Journey Through Time, Triumph and Tears\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is the story of how we got there. It is not a statistics manual. It is not a tactics handbook. It is a collection of the great stories that have shaped the beautiful game - the founders, the rivals, the legends, the cheats, the heroes, the underdogs and the absurdities.\u003c\/p\u003eInside this book you will find: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe ancient origins of football\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe medieval kings who tried to ban it\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe London tavern where the modern game was invented\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe greatest World Cup matches ever played\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProfiles of the legends - from Pel� to Messi to Marta\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe forgotten history of women's football\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe great controversies, rivalries and songs that fill stadiums every Saturday\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA complete guide to the 2026 FIFA World Cup\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhether you have followed football for fifty years or you are only just discovering it because of the 2026 tournament, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSoccer Tales\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is the perfect companion: the history, the heroes, and the heart of the world's most popular sport in one beautifully crafted volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the author of \u003cb\u003eOlympic Tales: A Journey Through Time, Triumph and Tears\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47891309625495,"sku":"9798197365842","price":887.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798197365842.webp?v=1781183167","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/soccer-tales-the-untold-stories-behind-the-world-cup-9798197365842","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}