World In Motion: The Inside Story of Italia '90, The Tournament That Changed Football

Simon Hart

From £14.99


‘The last word on the most divisive World Cup of all.’  The Observer

‘It succeeds in being both objective and passionate, diligently researched but never dry or heavy. One of the best works that any World Cup has inspired.’ When Saturday Comes

Italia '90 was, in a sense, the first and the last World Cup. It was also the best and worst World Cup. It was football at a junction. It was the World Cup of Gazza’s tears and Nessun Dorma, a grand spectacle of colour and drama that made football suddenly fashionable again — at least among the wider English public (and salivating television executives). Yet it was also a World Cup low on goals and high on fouls which led to the re-writing of football’s rulebook.

World In Motion travels from Africa to South America, via Europe and the Middle East, to hear from the heroes and villains of Italia ’90 and find out why it is still seen as a special and transformative moment, not just in English eyes but in other countries far and wide.

Featuring interviews with Cameroon’s Roger Milla, Italy’s Totò Schillaci, West Germany’s Jürgen Klinsmann, Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea, and Ireland’s Packie Bonner, Hart explores the full global impact of the 1990 World Cup, examining not only the story of tournament but the long-term social, political and economic paths of each country involved.

Simon Hart says: ‘For somebody who was a football-mad teenager in 1990, it was a privilege to write this book – to go out and discover the impact of Italia ’90, not just in this country but in many other parts of the world. Hopefully it will highlight just why that tournament was so special and why its legacy endures today, as well as providing readers with a powerful and enjoyable dose of World Cup nostalgia.’

About the Author

Simon Hart has been working in sports journalism since the late 1990s and has been present at the past seven World Cups. This is his second book and follows Here We Go: Everton in the 1980s, published in 2016.

Author Simon Hart
Format Parent
Publication Date May 2024
Depth 34.0mm
Height 210.0mm
ISBN-13 9781917064545
Pages 388
Width 155.0mm

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