Balón dividido
Juan Villoro

NONFICTION | 2014 | 232 pages

Without departing from the driving force behind Dios es redondo, ‘soccer is the retrieval of childhood,’ the portraits and chronicles in Balon dividido go through the current figures of soccer—Piqué, Messi, Pep Guardiola, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Boateng brothers—and, with extraordinary connections to literature, history, and psychology like is customary with Villoro, he prepares the atmosphere for the multiple lively debates that soccer always elicits, especially during World Cup years.

How do language barriers affect interventions when referees are doling out red and yellow cards? Can a ball take months to arrive to its destiny? Why do Hungarians have a more philosophical sense of defeat compared to Mexican? What is the secret function of each of the four whistlers in a game? How did Javier Aguirre intervene in Mexico’s mediocre performance in South Africa in 2010? Is it possible for two players in different time periods to both score the best goal of all time in the same way? Do the dead play soccer? Balón dividido is an entertaining critical guide for those who are truly passionate about “the art of kicking.”

RIGHTS: spanish PLANETA

BY JUAN VILLORO:

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Balón dividido
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