The Barcelona Complex

June 7, 2021
Financial Times reporter Kuper (Soccernomics) translates his decades of coverage of the world’s highest-grossing sports club into a fascinating record of its legacy. FC Barcelona, popularly known as Barca, was founded in 1899 by a Swiss immigrant accountant and became an essential fixture of Catalan society. At present, Kuper notes, there are about 150,000 dues-paying club members who elect Barca’s directors and who view their seat assignments as treasured status symbols. Kuper describes how Barca went from a humble local team to an international phenomenon with “five times as many followers” on social-media as the L.A. Lakers after opening offices in Hong Kong and New York in the 2010s; he also reveals a dark side to the story, detailing how directors have crossed ethical lines by signing underage players, and how, in 2020, they hired a communications company to create fake online media accounts to defend the club’s president. The team’s triumphs are framed by the career of superstar player Lionel Messi, the “single most powerful person inside the club” and whose $80 million-a-year salary is the club’s biggest financial charge. Though some information verges on too granular—such as Kuper’s painstaking parsing of the team’s nutritional regimen—the end result brilliantly captures the business of sports. This is likely to be the definitive account of the business side of the famous club.

June 15, 2021
Veteran soccer correspondent Kuper delivers an account over three decades of the fortunes of a leading European club. Barcelona FC, Bar�a to its fans, was once an anomaly among professional soccer organizations; it is owned by citizens of the city, and it calls itself, in Catalan, m�s que un club, "more than a club." Attached to it is an academy called the Masia, or "farmhouse," where aspiring team members come to train, for many years under the tutelage of Johan Cruyff, whom Kuper calls "distinctly batty." Cruyff certainly shrugged off the received rules and opinions, and as his colleague and fellow coach Pep Guardiola says, "he built the cathedral." One of the players who came to the Masia was an Argentinian teenager named Lionel Messi, who adopted Cruyff's doctrine of "total football," which means "that every player attacked and everyone defended," all while exercising a kind of sixth sense about where the ball was going to be three seconds in the future. No one had seen soccer of the sort that Bar�a played, or Messi's on-field magic, and the team roared from backwater bit players to European champions. Alas, as Kuper chronicles in a narrative as swiftly moving as a tournament, Barcelona FC became victim of its own success: Messi was its star player for years, but as he aged and commanded a higher salary (thanks to his scheming father, who managed him), there was no money to hire players to support him. Meanwhile every other soccer club on the continent had incorporated Cruyff's once-radical rulebook, with doctrinal points such as, "There is only one ball. If we have it, the other team can't score." It's a fine cautionary lesson, and though this book is likely to appeal primarily to soccer fans, readers need not follow the sport to enjoy it. The opening cast of characters and "Barcelona Lexicon" are particularly helpful. A smart, engaging look at soccer as both game and business.

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June 18, 2021

FC (Futbol Club) Barcelona, dubbed "the World's Team" by Sports Illustrated, is one of the most successful sports franchises ever, with a huge international fan base. Journalist Kuper (Soccer Against the Enemy) unfurls the team's history from its beginnings in 1899, through the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and into the modern era. He places special emphasis on soccer immortals Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi, who he believes revolutionized the game while wearing the famous blue and garnet uniform of Barcelona. Kuper's unique access to the inner workings of the organization and his accompanying descriptions of the Catalonia region's history and culture combine to create an all-inclusive, highly significant history of FC Barcelona. Kuper's eye for a good story, thorough and unique research, and fan-friendly writing style will make this book an essential read for serious soccer fans and historians. VERDICT FC Barcelona is a way of life for untold millions around the world, and Kuper covers over a century of the beloved team's history with an insider's view and a fan's insights. Followers of "the Beautiful Game" will enjoy this deep dive into one of the world's most famous and successful franchises.--Janet Davis, Darien P.L., CT

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2021
Founded in 1899, the FC Barcelona soccer club (also known as Bar�a) from Spain's Catalonia region is one of the sport's most famous franchises, with a rich history of dynamic coaches and managers, as well as superstars like Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi. Who better to explore this legacy than veteran British sports journalist Kuper (Soccernomics, 2009)? His account delivers an insider's view of FC Barcelona, introducing readers to a "Who's Who in the House of Bar�a" and pulling back the curtain to reveal what fuels the powerhouse organization. The first half of the book is devoted to Kuper's childhood hero, Cruyff, a player who also coached the team and whom Kuper considers not only the architect of the club but also labels the father of modern soccer. The chapter on "The Golden Age" (2008-15) tracks the rise and fall of the team with Messi, who owns the record for most goals for one club but is not without controversy (tax fraud). Kuper vividly captures the unique cultural phenomenon that is FC Barcelona. A must for soccer fans.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.