Books

Reading matter for footie fans

So close and yet so far

Mario Risoli (introduction by John Charles), When Pele Broke Our Hearts: Wales & the 1958 World Cup (Ashley Drake Publishing, £10)

Over 40 years ago, Wales qualified (!?) for their one (and so far) only outing to the world's premier football tournament. This fabulous book tells the story behind the arduous and finally bizarre route to Sweden 1958 that Wales took and the magnificent events of the tournament itself. John Charles in his introduction describes the late fifties as "the golden age of football" and the 1958 World Cup as "one of the finest tournaments of all time", a quick glance at some of the players taking part adds strength to his views - Pele, Didi and Garrincha from Brazil, Just Fontaine of France, Billy Wright and Tom Finney of England and of course Jack Kelsey, Mel Charles, Ivor Allchurch and John Charles from mighty Wales.

The 1958 World Cup is the only one to date when all the "home" nations have qualified, and Wales unexpectedly emerged as the best performing of the UK teams - go on, don't be ashamed, let's feel proud for a change. The story is a great one, peppered with incident and humour, it takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride from narrowly failing to qualify for the tournament, through a bizarre lottery which provided a play off place with Israel, the insane behaviour of the Welsh F.A. (no surprise there), the almost as insane behaviour of the selection committee, the totally under funded preparations, the motivational team talks of manager Jimmy Murphy, the agonising wait for John Charles to arrive in Sweden, the idyllic surroundings of the team hotel, the illicit boozing of Welsh players, qualification from the first round via play off, brawling in a hotel bar, and a glorious defeat at the hands of Brazil.

In short, I found this to be a gripping book which should be compulsory reading for all supporters of Welsh football. Mario Risoli has done an excellent job of capturing a flavour of the times, the politics, the host nation, the football and above all the fantastically optimistic characters of the Welsh team. I recommend that once you've read it the first time, you keep it handy, because you may want to read it again after seeing the next abject surrender that the modern day Wales team offer. It's good to know that a welsh team once existed that played with immense spirit, incredible workrate, appropriate tactics and commendable skill. Gorau Chwarae, Cyd Chwarae.

Rod Jones