‘History of football’: How will History judge football? | Soccer | Sports

Wherever the human being is, football will have arrived. From big cities to smaller towns. From deserts to territories that coexist with snow. A goal or a ball will appear anywhere. In the most unexpected place you will see slippers with the emblem of some team. T-shirts with the names of the great international idols will be recognized. The visitor will be identified with the best soccer players in his country. You will be questioned about his preferences. And it will get the conversation started.

But the transversality of football also rises above the people who make it possible and enjoy it. Having become a matter of utmost importance for millions and millions of human beings, the power of football is such that it even affects the values ​​of society. Gives a sense of belonging to people who need it. Move dizzying sums of money. It raises all kinds of passions and reactions. It serves as a propaganda vehicle. It is even capable of outlining the urban planning of a city or an entire country. It has caused armed conflicts. It can change the history of a nation.

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With its magnitude, football has become an accurate photograph of the moment that Humanity is experiencing. Virtually all vices and virtues can be found within the perimeter of the game. But how will History judge this sport? What will be said when, after time, it is evaluated from the perspective of centuries? History of football (Catarata) is the book in which Teresa González Aja, emeritus professor of Sports History and Politics at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, proposes this elevation exercise to observe football with distance and with the respect that such a complex concept deserves.

It is a journey that begins with the historical relationship between the human being and the ball – as in all cases of success, football has many countries that claim to have invented it – and that presents all the changes and evolutions of a game that acts as a mirror of what we are. González Aja offers the milestones that have shaped the game to the contemporary version. “Football,†the professor concludes, “will be what we make of it.â€

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2024-02-26 04:15:00
#History #football #History #judge #football #Soccer #Sports