Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina

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Tempted by Keith Burkinshaw to join Tottenham Hotspur, they proved an adornment to the English game and are fondly remembered.

In the light of subsequent events, it is amusing to learn that in 1948 the Argentinian football association imported eight British referees to help them raise the standard of officiating.Along with the World Cups there is, of course, Peron, Maradona, the Falklands, Messi and all those great Argentinian clubs like Boca, River Plate, Indipendiente (king of the cups), Racing, San Lorenzo (Pope Francis is a fan) and Estudiantes.

At the turn of the century it was buoyant, viewed more favourably than Australia or Canada, and in 1928 its GNP was the eighth highest in the world per capita. Jonathan Wilson, having lived there on and off during the last decade, is ideally placed to chart the sport’s development in a country that, perhaps more than any other, lives and breathes football, its theories and its myths. It is like the history of the Argentinian national team, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Newel Old Boys, Estudiante, Velez Sarsfield, etc, all combined into one big narration.Wilson napisał jednak książkę nie tyle o samej piłce nożnej, co o umęczonym kraju, dla którego ten sport jest częścią tożsamości narodowej, tak jak dla Polaka Biedronka i pierogi. This book offers a great deal of insight into the development of Argentinian domestic football, which was originally started off by English and Italians, as well as that of the national side. He always picks a fight with the club he’s in, ends his career at each club with a catastrophic disagreement. Overall, though, Angels with Dirty Faces is a hugely enjoyable read – I raced through the 523 pages – and its broad scope never comes at the expense of depth.