Soccer in Sun and Shadow

Galeano takes us to ancient China, where engravings from the Ming period show a ball that could have been designed by Adidas; to Victorian England, where gentlemen codified the rules that we still play by today; and to Latin America, where the “crazy English” spread the game only to find it creolized by the locals. Meanwhile, all the greats—Pelé, Di Stéfano, Cruyff, Eusébio, Puskás, Gullit, Baggio, Beckenbauer, Maradona— have joyous cameos, rendered in a pitch-perfect translation by Mark Fried. Soccer in Sun and Shadow is an exquisite and powerful account of the world’s favorite sport.