Across the Pitch

This essay assesses three recent writings on soccer and society in Europe. Examining developments in England, Spain, and across the breadth of Europe, it tracks the formation of the English Premier League, discusses the politics within the Real Madrid-Barcelona rivalry, and explores the possibility of soccer as a site of anticapitalist resistance. Issues surrounding race, capitalism, gender, democratic participation, and globalization are discussed as well. The texts reviewed are David Goldblatt's The Game of Our Lives: The English Premier League and the Making of Modern Britain, Gabriel Kuhn's Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics, and Sid Lowe's Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the World's Greatest Sports Rivalry

Capitalism · Democracy · Economic history · Economics · Football · Globalization · League · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rivalry · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Law · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports and Physical Education Studies · Sports, Gender, and Society