Who invented the bicycle kick? : soccer's greatest legends and lore

Discover the ultimate collection of soccer's greatest lore and legends, illustrated with 100 black-and-white photos, by two of the world's most knowledgeable soccer journalists. Uli Hesse and editor Paul Simpson bring together the sublime feats, legendary personalities, neglected heroes, bizarre twists of fate, and fascinating mysteries that have shaped the world's most popular game, including:

Who invented the bicycle kick?

Why does a football match last 90 minutes?

Who scored the fastest goal ever?

Which match produced the largest number of red cards?

Why are seven dead cats buried under a stadium in Argentina?

Which country was banned from the World Cup after refusing to play in shoes?

Providing answers to more than 100 questions, Hesse and Simpson explore the beautiful game as never before, shedding new light on legends such as Pele, Maradona, Messi, Beckham, Ronaldo, and Rooney, and uncovering lost histories of international clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and more. Challenging conventional wisdom, and destroying a few urban myths, Who Invented the Bicycle Kick? is a must for every soccer lover.

Author Notes

Paul Simpson is the editor of Champions, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League. He was the launch editor of Four Two Four magazine.
Uli Hesse has written more than 300 articles for ESPN FC, America's most popular soccer website. He is the author of Tor!, the definitive history of German football.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Which goalie first wore gloves? What was the most brutal game ever? Is there any real advantage to having a low center of gravity? Was the soccer war really about soccer? Under the headings Inventions, Oddities, Stars, Gaffers, Records, and Culture, these questions, and many more, are thoughtfully answered in this engaging book for soccer buffs. Unlike many sports-trivia books packed with obscure stats, these offbeat questions and in-depth explanations offer truly revealing information about the history and global development of the game. The vocabulary may be British (a gaffer is a manager), but American fans will get it. And, as the authors suggest, this could indeed form the basis for a truly epic pub quiz. --Graff, Keir Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Enough of the social, political, and economic aspects of soccer-this book is fun. In a question-and-answer mode, coauthors Simpson (editor, Champions) and Hesse (Tor!) tackle the burning issues of the game, such as the oddest reasons for stopping play, which match produced the most red cards, and, as promised in the title, who invented soccer's bicycle kick. Answers to these quirky questions run from one to six pages each and explore the sport's history from its origins. The run through the game's past and present includes colorful personalities such as legendary coach Stan Cullis, soccer's "scariest" manager, and Colin Grainger, a 16-year soccer veteran who once shared a stage with the Beatles. The teams, leagues, venues, games, equipment, on-field moves, and records are also here, and all make for a light romp across the world's most popular game. VERDICT With the World Cup just weeks away, this look at the lighter side of soccer is wonderful for serious and casual soccer fans and readers with a passing interest in the spectacle gearing up in Brazil.-Boyd -Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Introduction	p. xi
Inventions
Who invented the bicycle hick?	p. 1
Who recorded the first celebratory football song?	p. 5
Who invented 4-4-2?	p. 8
Who was the first attacking full-back?	p. 11
Which goalie first wore gloves?	p. 14
Who invented the league?	p. 17
Who invented the long throw?	p. 21
Why do football matches last ninety minutes?	p. 23
Who first parked the bus?	p. 25
Who was the first pi ay maker	p. 26
Who was the first sweeper-keeper?	p. 31
Who invented the Stepover?	p. 34
Who invented Total Football?	p. 41
Oddities
Do you always have to wear boots to play football?	p. 47
Who was the first player to wear coloured boots?	p. 50
What was the most brutal game of football ever?	p. 52
Who were the most careless owners of a trophy?	p. 56
What is the strangest criteria to decide which clubs enter a cup?	p. 59
What was the earliest kick-off time for a professional game?	p. 62
Can elephants take penalties?	p. 65
Do footballers have small feet?	p. 67
Why did Independiente hold a minute's silence for Neil Armstrong?	p. 71
What was the oddest method to separate teams level on points?	p. 72
What formation did North Korea play in 1966?	p. 73
What is an Olympic goal?	p. 75
Why can't you score an own goal from a direct free-kick?	p. 78
Who is the greatest penalty saver in football history?	p. 79
Which teams won the league and was relegated next season?	p. 81
What is the strangest sending off?	p. 82
What are the oddest reasons for stopping play?	p. 83
What is football's strangest transfer deal?	p. 85
Which is the most unlikely club to break a transfer record?	p. 89
Has a league-winning team ever been unable to defend their tide?	p. 91
Why did Venezia fans start booing white players?	p. 92
Stars
Who was Britain's first black footballer?	p. 93
Who was the greatest diver of all time?	p. 96
How two-footed are two-footed players?	p. 100
Who was the first foreign footballer in the English game?	p. 102
Who was football's first global superstar?	p. 105
Who has scored most goals in the history of the game?	p. 108
Has any footballer ever succeeded in gridiron?	p. 110
Who scored the most headers in a match?	p. 113
Who had the hardest shot in football?	p. 115
Why didn't hat-trick Hurst get the 1966 World Cup final matchball?	p. 117
Is there any real advantage in having a low centre Of gravity?	p. 118
Which player has represented the most national teams?	p. 122
Which player has been capped in the most positions?	p. 125
Have outfield players worn No 1?	p. 127
Which player has had the most elaborate pre-match ritual?	p. 129
Who was the first Scotsman to score in a "World Cup finals?	p. 130
Who is the most travelled player?	p. 131
Has any footballer ever played two matches on the same day?	p. 134
Did any one player win the World Cup single handedly?	p. 136
Gaffers
Who was the first coach to discover the importance of diet?	p. 139
Who was the best-dressed coach?	p. 142
Who led the most dysfunctional World Cup campaign ever?	p. 146
Who was England's first manager?	p. 152
Who has coached the most national teams?	p. 154
Who was the scariest manager?	p. 156
Who had the shortest managerial career?	p. 161
Who was the youngest manager to win a league championship?	p. 164
Records
Which side holds the record for away wins in a single season?	p. 167
What was the greatest comeback?	p. 168
Who made the most consecutive league appearances?	p. 171
Which side were the most convincing league champions?	p. 174
Which is the best defensive performance in a major league?	p. 177
What was the most entertaining league season ever?	p. 179
Which was the first team to win an FA Cup with no English players?	p. 183
Who scored the fastest ever goal?	p. 184
When did teams first agree to fix a match?	p. 185
Which team has won the most games on the trot?	p. 189
Which team has endured the worst goalscoring drought?	p. 191
Which player has had the longest goalscoring streak?	p. 192
Does home advantage really exist?	p. 196
What is the longest move that has led to a goal?	p. 199
Who took the first penalty?	p. 201
What match has prompted the most red cards?	p. 204
Which, is the greatest relegation escape act of all-time?	p. 205
What is the lowest number of penalties a team has scored in a shoot-out and still won?	p. 207
Has any single Club supplied an entire international team?	p. 208
What was the longest amount of Stoppage time added to a game?	p. 212
What is the furthest a team has travelled for a domestic cup tie?	p. 215
Culture
Can footballers act and can actors play football?	p. 217
Who was the first team to wear advertising on their Shirts?	p. 221
Who was the only footballer to sing on the same bill as The Beatles?	p. 223
Do bogey teams really exist?	p. 225
Why do Brazil wear yellow shirts with green trim and blue shorts?	p. 227
What is the world's longest-running football comic?	p. 231
Who was the greatest ever comic Strip football hero?	p. 234
Why are corner flags so important?	p. 236
What exactly is a derby?	p. 238
How effective is drinking as a motivational aid?	p. 240
What is the point of dugouts?	p. 244
When was the first fanzine?	p. 246
Who coined game of two halves, early doors and sick as a parrot?	p. 248
At which ground ate visitors least likely to be insulted?	p. 250
When was the first football magazine published?	p. 252
What is the lowest crowd for a top-flight game?	p. 255
Which footballers are best at acquiring native accents?	p. 257
What was the top pop hit by a footballer?	p. 259
Why were seven dead cats buried in a stadium in Buenos Aires?	p. 261
How common is it for footballers to smoke?	p. 264
What's behind those Stadiums of Light?	p. 267
Why are Italian fans called tifosi?	p. 269
Who was the first football TV commentator?	p. 270
Was the soccer war about soccer?	p. 272
Acknowledgements	p. 275
Photo credits	p. 275
Index	p. 276

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