1st Edition

Football and European Identity Historical Narratives Through the Press

By Liz Crolley, David Hand Copyright 2007
    222 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    224 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Shifting European identities, cultural loyalties and divisions are often expressed more directly through attitudes to 'the people's game' game than in any other arena.

    This book examines European football journalism from throughout the last century to present a unique cross-cultural analysis of changing European national and regional identities.

    Building on detailed research into original language sources from across Western Europe, from the early 20th century to the present day, Football and European Identity traces this fascinating evolution.

    The resulting cross-cultural analysis of national identity in Europe provides the basis for a unique study of the interplay between football, society, politics and the print media, in three parts:

    Part 1: Old Europe national identity in the football writing of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain

    Part 2: Nations within a State examines the status of Corsican, Catalonian and Basque identities

    Part 3: New (Football) Worlds explores the response of Europe’s presses to the emergence of Africa, South East Asia and the USA as major forces in world football

    1 Introduction PART I Old Europe 2 England: theirs is not to reason why 3 France: the style counsel 4 Germany: past performance equals future value 5 Italy: high drama, fine art, classic design 6 Spain: land of hope and fury PART II Nations within states 7 One nation, one team, one image: Catalunya and the Basque Country in Spain 8 Beauty or the beast? The Corsican question PART III New (football) worlds 9 The colonial shadow: Africans in the French imagination 10 Only in America: representations of the USA national team 11 Marshalling art: the portrayal of North East Asian football

    Biography

    Liz Crolley is Lecturer in the Business of Football and Communications in the Football Industry Group at the University of Liverpool, UK. David Hand is Senior Lecturer in French at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.