Los héroes numerados
Juan Villoro

NONFICTION | 2026 | 264 pages

In Los héroes numerados, soccar becomes a word game thanks to the ingenuity of Juan Villoro, "an exceptional interpreter and narrator of the social, cultural, and political realities of Mexico, Latin America, and the world," according to a juror for the 2022 Gabo Prize.

The number 10 that belongs to Pelé, Maradona, or Messi; the number 7 that belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo or Álex Aguinaga; the number 14 that belongs to Johan Cruyff…The heroes on the pitch wear numbers on their backs. Juan Villoro reviews these figures of mythical stature. When the representatives of the tribe take to the field, "what is at stake is no longer a sport. From that moment on, something different, unique, unclassifiable begins to happen: the mystery that fills the stadiums."

Villoro addresses great feats of the World Cup, cases of bribery, illicit business dealings, and sports violence, as well as the role of technology and the leading role that women have taken on in the world's most popular sport. Soccer and literature merge to look squarely at what excites us most: an exploration of the game, but also of the public and secret customs of contemporary society.

RIGHTS: spanish SEIX BARRAL

BY JUAN VILLORO:

The Game at the End of the World
NONFICTION, 2026
Los héroes numerados
NONFICTION, 2026
No soy un robot
NONFICTION, 2024
La figura del mundo
FICTION, 2023
La tierra de la gran promesa
FICTION, 2021
Examen extraordinario
SHORT STORIES, 2020
El vértigo horizontal
FICTION, 2019
Llamadas de Amsterdam
FICTION, 2018
¿Hay vida en la tierra?
FICTION, 2014
Balón dividido
NONFICTION, 2014
Conferencia sobre la lluvia
THEATER, 2014
Arrecife
FICTION, 2012
El libro salvaje
CHILDREN’S, 2008
Los culpables
SHORT STORIES, 2008
Dios es redondo
NONFICTION, 2006
El testigo
FICTION, 2004
El disparo de Argón
FICTION, 1991