The History of the World in 12 Soccer Matches

An epic tale of war, revolution, economic crisis, and social transformation told through the story of twelve historic soccer games, with a gallery of unexpected heroes, thwarted tragedies, and stunning, world-changing results . . .

Soccer has always intersected with history--sometimes during an anonymous match, sometimes in a major world final--because, from the sport's beginning in 1848, echoes of what's happening off the pitch have reached the global playing field in unthinkable ways. Soccer can spark a war but it can also have the opposite effect: interrupting conflict, even just for a few hours or days.

For example, the story that begins this book: When French, Belgian, English and German World War I soldiers climbed out of their foxholes to kick the ball around with their enemies for a brief few hours during a Christmas Truce.

This is just one of 12 matches the book covers. Others include the game between Dinamo Zagreb and the Red Star Belgrade in Croatia in 1990, when clashes between fans and police made it clear that Yugoslavia was about to have a bloody split. Or Chile vs. the USSR in 1973, held in Santiago, Chile, shortly after Augusto Pinochet took over in a bloody coup, and in the very stadium where he'd imprisoned, tortured, and murdered thousands of political prisoners. The hometeam won by scoring on an empty goal -- the Soviets had refused to take the field in protest.

Alternating between journalism and first-hand accounts from the protagonists, this work invites us to look at our past and present from a new point of view. Because, beyond what we may think, sometimes history happens while someone, somewhere, is kicking a ball around.

Author: Stefano Bizzotto
Publisher: Melville House Publishing
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.92lbs
Size: 8.36h x 5.60w x 0.88d
ISBN: 9781685892296

About the Author
Stefano Bizzotto, is an Italian sports journalist and commentator. He has covered 8 World Cups and 7 European Football Championships, 7 Summer and 7 Winter Olympics, and co-wrote two previous books about soccer, What a dive, life! (2012), and Around the World in a Cup (2018). He lives in Italy.

Will Schutt is an award-winning poet and translator. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellowship, the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship and the Raiziss/de Palchi Award from the Academy of American Poets. He currently lives with his wife in Rome, Italy.