DAVID SQUIRES is an artist and illustrator whose work has featured prominently in a wide range of publications around the world. His popular weekly football cartoons for the Guardian have attracted a global readership, as he casts a unique and critical eye on the sport. His first book, The Illustrated History of Football, was published in 2016.
Welcome back to the imitable work of illustrator David Squires.
Most football fans can only dream of pulling on the shirt of their favourite team and running out in front of thousands of adoring fans. Pitch invaders aside, few of us get to experience that adrenalin rush. Of those who do make it as a professional footballer, even fewer realise the giddy heights of success.
In The Illustrated History of Football: Hall of Fame, renowned Guardian cartoonist David Squires returns to celebrate those who straddle the game like giants; those talented, determined souls who were kicking footballs in the back streets before they could talk.
There’s more than one way to attain football immortality though, and in this hilarious book Squires also turns his comic eye to the mavericks, the pioneers, the forgotten legends and the anti-heroes. From Pelé to Meazza, Maradona to Sócrates, you will be taken on an unforgettable journey through the good, the bad and the Hagi.
As soon as I finished writing my last book, I started working on this one. Therefore, everyone who I mentioned in the acknowledgements of The Illustrated History of Football was also vital in getting me over the line with this one.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank my partner, Sarah; without whose support, these books simply would not have happened. It’s been a tough couple of years, but hopefully I can have a weekend off now. Thanks also to Sarah’s parents, Laurelle and Bruce, and of course to my own mum and dad. Between them, they were probably responsible for about 70 per cent of the sales for the first book.
Huge thanks also to my agent Iain Macintosh and for the team at Penguin Random House; notably Ben Brusey and Huw Armstrong. Their constant encouragement and advice was invaluable, especially at times of distracting global news events such as Brexit, Trump and Swindon Town being relegated to League Two (that last one not really a surprise). Their hard work on my behalf was astonishing and humbling.
I’d also like to thank my colleagues at the Guardian, especially James Dart, Owen Gibson, and Ian Prior, who, to my weekly surprise, continue to provide a platform through which I can share my silly drawings. Their enthusiasm for my cartoons gives me the confidence to keep making them. Mike Hytner at Guardian Australia also continues to exceed his duties as a sports editor by providing me with weekly counselling sessions, as well as debriefs on the latest episodes of the Athletico Mince podcast.
Another of my Guardian colleagues, Dan Lucas, sadly passed away in March 2017. I’ll do here what I never got a chance to do in person and thank Dan for his regular generous words, which helped me more than he could ever have realised.
Finally, I’d like to express my gratitude to my family and friends, who have remained patient as I became a hermit over the last couple of years. So massive thanks to Alastair Wilson, Paul Whitehead, Justin Smith, Kieran Holden, Mark Woolford, Elizabeth Aubrey, Simon Hodgon, Casper Hodgon (you might have had a point about Neymar), Paul Connolly, Ian Plenderleith, David Stubbs, Sachin Nakrani, John Mitchell, Pete McDougall, The Curry Club, and anyone who got in touch to say they’d enjoyed the first book; it encouraged me to keep going.
I might not ever get a chance to do another book, so despite what I said in the introduction about being too old to have a favourite footballer, here is a cartoon about mine …
Agnew, Paddy, Forza Italia: A Journey in Search of Italy and its Football (Ebury Press, 2006)
Ball, Phil, Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football (WSC Books, 2001)
Bellos, Alex, Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life (Bloomsbury, 2002)
Brown, Paul, The Victorian Football Miscellany (Goal-Post, 2013)
Burns, Jimmy, Maradona: The Hand of God (Bloomsbury, 2010)
Castro, Ruy, Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil’s Forgotten Hero (Yellow Jersey Press, 2005)
Charlton, Sir Bobby, The Autobiography: My Manchester United Years (Headline, 2008)
Connolly, Kevin and MacWilliam, Rob, Fields of Glory, Paths of Gold: The History of European Football (Mainstream, 2006)
Dawson, Jeff, Back Home: England and the 1970 World Cup (Orion, 2001)
Downie, Andrew, Doctor Socrates: Footballer, Philosopher, Legend (Simon & Schuster, 2017)
Ferguson, Alex, My Autobiography (Hodder & Stoughton, 2013)
Foot, John, Calcio: A History of Italian Football (Fourth Estate, 2007)
Freddi, Cris, Complete Book of the World Cup 2006 (HarperSport, 2006)
Glanville, Brian, For Club and Country (Guardian Books, 2008)
Glanville, Brian, The Story of the World Cup (Faber and Faber, 2005)
Goldblatt, Davd, The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football (Penguin 2007)
Hamilton, Duncan, George Best: Immortal. The Approved Biography (Windmill, 2013)
Hawkey, Ian, Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of African Football (Portico, 2009)
Henderson, Jon, The Wizard: The Life of Stanley Matthews (Yellow Jersey, 2013)
Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich, Tor! The Story of German Football (WSC Books, 2002)
Hughes, Simon, Red Machine: Liverpool FC in the 1980s (Mainstream, 2013)
Keane, Roy, Keane (Penguin, 2002)
Kelly, Stephen, Dalglish: The Biography (Highdown, 2004)
Kuper, Simon, Football Against the Enemy (Orion, 1994)
Lawrence, Amy, Invincible: Inside Arsenal’s Unbeaten 2003–2004 Season (Viking, 2014)
Lowe, Sid, Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid (Yellow Jersey Press, 2013)
Maradona, Diego, El Diego (Yellow Jersey Press, 2004)
Mattick, Dick, 100 Greats: Swindon Town Football Club (Tempus, 2002)
McGuigan, Paul and Hewitt, Paolo, The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story (Mainstream Sport, 1997)
Pelé, Pelé: The Autobiography (Simon & Schuster, 2006)
Pirlo, Andrea, I Think Therefore I Play (BackPage Press, 2014)
Plenderleith, Ian, Rock’n’Roll Soccer: The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League (Icon, 2014)
Spurling, Jon, Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup (Vision Sports, 2010)
Steen, Rob, The Mavericks: English Football When Flair Wore Flares (Mainstream, 1994)
Wangerin, David, Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America’s Forgotten Game (WSC Books, 2006)
When Saturday Comes, The Half Decent Football Book (Penguin, 2005)
Wilson, Jonathan, Angels with Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina (Orion, 2016)
Wilson, Jonathan, Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics (Orion, 2008)
Wilson, Jonathan, The Anatomy of England: A History in Ten Matches (Orion, 2010)
Wilson, Jonathan, The Outsider: A History of the Goalkeeper (Orion 2012)
Wilson, Jonathan with Murray, Scott: The Anatomy of Liverpool: A History in Ten Matches (Orion, 2013)
Winner, David, Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football (Bloomsbury, 2000)
Winner, David, Those Feet: An Intimate History of English Football (Bloomsbury, 2005)
Adams, Tom, ‘Ronaldo’s record-breaking season’, ESPN
Austin, Jack, ‘Top managers respond to Marco van Basten’s “immeasurable bulls***”’, Independent
Ayegbayo, Olaojo, ‘When Pelé played in Nigeria during its civil war (did he really bring a ceasefire?)’, Africa is a Country
Ball, Phil, ‘Greatest Managers, No. 5: Herrera’, ESPN
Bandini, Paolo, ‘Paolo Maldini bows out at Milan with jeers in his ears’, Guardian
Barker, Matt, ‘Milan ’88: The Inside Story of Sacchi’s all-conquering kings, as told by them’, Four Four Two
BBC, ‘Len Shackleton: Clown Prince’
Bellos, Alex, ‘He’s won more World Cups than anyone, now Zagallo returns to plot another Brazil triumph’, Guardian
Bird, Sheridan, ‘An Appreciation of … Franco Baresi’, The Blizzard, Issue 8
Campanile, Vittorio, ‘“Look at me. I am Giorgio Chinaglia. I beat you!” – Farewell to the footballing legend who made Pelé cry’, Goal.com
Carter, Jon, ‘Maradona brings success to Napoli’, ESPN
Chaudhary, Vivek, ‘Sir Alex cleared after motorway dash’, Guardian
Christenson, Marcus, ‘Tomas Brolin at Leeds: the worst signing ever? He doesn’t think so’, Guardian
Corbett, James, ‘Bill Shankly: Life, death and football’, Guardian
Davies, Tom, ‘Golden Goal: Ilie Dumitrescu for Romania v Argentina (1994)’, Guardian
de Menezes, Jack, ‘Paul Gascoigne reveals he snubbed Manchester United for Tottenham because Spurs gave him a house and his sister a sunbed’, Guardian
Doyle, Paul, ‘The Joy of Six: blessings in disguise’, Guardian
Doyle, Paul and Lutz, Tom, ‘Joy of Six: Footballers who have overcome humble beginnings’, Guardian
Early, Ken, ‘Doctor Sócrates review: the thinking, drinking, footballing genius’, Irish Times
Early, Ken, ‘Johan Cruyff the great idealist who proved beauty is best’, Irish Times
FIFA.com, ‘Der Bomber and his record for eternity’
FIFA.com, ‘Herrera: More than just catenaccio’
FIFA.com, ‘Michel Platini – Elegance and intelligence personified in blue’
FIFA.com, ‘The inimitable Giuseppe Meazza’
Flint, Andrew, ‘The methodical, scientific wisdom of Valeriy Lobanovskyi’, These Football Times
FourFourTwo, ‘Faustino Asprilla: One-on-one’
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/faustino-asprilla-one-one
FourFourTwo, ‘Matt Le Tissier: One-on-one’
Goal.com, ’70 Facts about Brazil legend Pele’
Gordon, Phil, ‘Jimmy Johnstone: Celtic winger considered his club’s greatest ever player’, Independent
The Guardian, ‘Football Weekly presents: The Ballad of Robin Friday’
The Guardian, ‘From the Vault: Remembering the life and football of Bobby Moore’
Hackett, Robin, ‘Faustino Asprilla: All guns blazing’, ESPN
Hackett, Robin, ‘Frank Worthington: All Shook Up’, ESPN
Hackett, Robin, ‘Paul Breitner: Playing on the left’, ESPN
Haugstad, Thore, ‘The incomparable legacy of Helenio Herrera’, These Football Times
Heffernan, Conor, ‘When Pelé literally became a national treasure in Brazil’, These Football Times
Hills, David, ‘The ten most entertaining transfers’, Guardian
Horncastle, James, ‘Gianluigi Buffon: a goalkeeper must be a masochist and egocentric’, Guardian
Hurrey, Adam, ‘’90s Heroes: Dennis Bergkamp’, The Set Pieces
Jacobs, Sean and Ross, Elliot, ‘How Eusebio’s soccer exploits challenged European and African identities’, Aljazeera
Jenson, Pete, ‘How to stop the Barcelona carousel leaving you dizzy’, Independent
Jones, Simon, ‘George Best was dubbed El Beatle 50 years ago as Manchester United thrashed Benfica 5-1 … it was the night he came of age on the European stage’, Daily Mail
Keating, Frank, ‘From the archive, 24 November 1977: The incomparable Dixie Dean’, Guardian
Keating, Frank, Lacey, David, and McIlvanney, Hugh ‘From the Vault: Remembering the life and football of Bobby Moore’, Guardian
Kuper. Simon, ‘Rijkaard finally gets frank’, Guardian
Kuper, Simon, ‘The Hamburg Factor’, The Blizzard, Issue 10
Levin, Angela, ‘Hero who won his Spurs in No Man’s Land: The amazing life of football star Walter Tull – the first black army officer of WWI’, Daily Mail
Lowe, Sid, ‘Barcelona were transformed by Johan Cruyff not once but twice, and for ever’, Guardian
McKinstry, Leo, ‘Hero cast aside – Sir Alf Ramsey, 1970s’, Guardian
McOwan, Gavin, ‘Eusébio obituary’, Guardian
McRae, Donald, ‘Johan Cruyff: ‘Maybe we were the real winners in 1974. The world remembers our team more’, Guardian
Miller, Nick, ‘The Joy of Six: Diego Maradona’, Guardian
Molyneux-Carter, Jonathan, ‘Gheorghe Hagi: The Maradona of the Carpathians’, ESPN
Morgan, Steve, ‘George Best’s Greatest Night’, Manchester United.com
Murray, Andrew (additional reporting by Alves, Marcus; Jonson, Alex; Renard, Arthur; and Santi Alberto) ‘ZLATAN’. Australian Four Four Two
Murray, Scott, ‘The Joy of Six: Route-one goals’, Guardian
Murray, Trevor, ‘How Dennis Bergkamp became a symbol of elegance at Arsenal’’, These Football Times
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Newman, Blair, ‘Valeriy Lobanovskyi and Dynamo Kyiv’s scientific enlightenment’, These Football Times
O’Brien, Colin, ‘Napoli Still Diego Maradona’s City Almost 3 Decades After the First Scudetto’, Bleacher Report
O’Dea, Arthur James, ‘Why Sir Alf Ramsey was English football’s great man of the people’, These Football Times
Paxton, Jonathan ‘Stoke City 1946–47’, When Saturday Comes, Issue 267, May 2009
Pearson, Harry, ‘Brother world’, When Saturday Comes, Issue 188, October 2002
Phillip, Robert, ‘Salute to a true Cup final legend’, Telegraph
Powley, Adam, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, When Saturday Comes, Issue 279, May 2010
Prior, Neil, ‘Giorgio Chinaglia: Swansea to Italian and American stardom’, BBC
Rainbow, Jamie, ‘Garrincha, the never forgotten genius of Brazilian football’, World Soccer
Roberts, John, ‘Dixie Dean went off early to avoid being mobbed after his 60th goal. The ref conspired by saying he’d gone for a wee’, Sporting Intelligence
Ronay, Barney, ‘Grim Reep’ When Saturday Comes, Issue 196, June 2003
Ronay, Barney, ‘The Great Orator’, When Saturday Comes, Issue 205, March 2004
Sharp, Will, ‘Andoni Goikoetxea: The Butcher of Bilbao’, These Football Times
Smith. Alan, ‘Golden Goal: Eric Cantona for Manchester United v Liverpool (1996)’
Smyth, Rob, ‘Golden Goal: Roberto Baggio for Juventus against Internazionale (1992)’, Guardian
Smyth, Rob, ‘The forgotten story of … Just Fontaine’s 13-goal World Cup’, Guardian
Smyth, Rob, ‘World Cup: 25 stunning moments … No10: Dennis Bergkamp’s wonder goal’, Guardian
Spurling, Jon, ‘Exit Strategy’ When Saturday Comes, Issue 338, April 2015
Staunton, Peter, ‘The Captain and The Foot Soldier: Ferenc Puskas was a hero on two fronts’, Goal.com
Steinberg, Jacob, ‘Golden goal: Matt Le Tissier for Southampton v Newcastle (1993)’, Guardian
Steinberg, Jacob, ‘Golden Goal: Paolo Di Canio for West Ham v Wimbledon (2000)’, Guardian
Stevenson, Jonathan, ‘Remembering the genius of Garrincha’, BBC
Storey, Daniel, ‘Portrait of an Icon: Eric Cantona’, Footbal 365
Storey, Daniel, ‘Portrait of an icon: Ferenc Puskas’, Footbal 365
Storey, Daniel, ‘The Big Interview: Jan Åge Fjørtoft on impersonating journos & the aeroplane’, Planet-Football.com
Talbot, Simon, ‘Alfredo Di Stefano: Icon’, Four Four Two
Taylor, Louise, ‘Bert Trautmann: from Nazi paratrooper to hero of Manchester City’, Guardian
Taylor, Louise, ‘Gianluigi Buffon’s 1,000th career game is testament to a beacon of stability’, Guardian
The Telegraph, ‘Eusébio da Silva Ferreira – obituary’, Telegraph
The Telegraph, ‘Johan Cruyff, footballer – Obituary’, Telegraph
Townsend, Jon, ‘Bill Shankly: it’s not how you arrive, it’s how you leave’, These Football Times
Townsend, Jon, ‘Marco van Basten: an undisputed legend despite a premature end’, These Football Times
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Vickery, Tim, ‘Mario Zagallo and Tostão’, The Blizzard, Issue 3, December 2011
Wagner, Frank, ‘Helenio Herrera: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Coaching Legend’, Bleacher Report
When Saturday Comes, ‘The media-created Brian Clough was a pain’ Issue 25, March 1989
Williams, Richard, ‘Michel Platini’s playing brilliance can be seen through the murk’, Guardian
Wilson, Jonathan, ‘Best, Beckenbauer, Platini, Zidane: Puskas topped them all’, Guardian
Wilson, Jonathan, ‘How Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s appliance of science won hearts and trophies’, Guardian
Wilson, Jonathan, ‘Sindelar: the ballad of the tragic hero’, Guardian
Winner, David, ‘Johan Cruyff: father of modern game who also shaped Dutch culture’, Guardian
Winter, Henry, ‘The day Ronaldo received a standing ovation from all Old Trafford after his star turn against Manchester United’, Telegraph
Let’s start with the greatest.
Whether tearing through a defence, hollering at his teammates about his massive balls, or ripping his shirt open and peppering journalists with air-rifle pellets, the world has never seen anything like Diego Maradona. As a footballer, he was a whirlwind; a tiny, spiralling Tasmanian devil in short shorts who could dribble, pass and shoot like no one before or since. A chest-thumping street fighter who was capable of both scattering an entire unit of startled Belgian defenders and making your uncle swear at the television (‘Handball! Hand-bloody-ball!’). Unlike the controlled professionalism of Pelé, or the refined grace of Cruyff, Maradona was a wild-eyed, emotional live wire; so highly strung that you could be forgiven for thinking he had a long-term addiction to an ego-enhancing narcotic. However, his first obsession was with football.
Maradona followed the traditional route to football stardom of being born into abject poverty. He was raised in a shanty town in the outer suburbs of Buenos Aires, living in a shack with none of the comforts most people take for granted: electricity, running water, Wi-Fi. It was his cousin who gave him his first football, for his third birthday; by the time he was eight, he’d been signed by Argentinos Juniors. Even at this young age, Diego was plied with pills and stuck with injections to help accelerate his growth.
By the age of ten, Maradona was entertaining the Argentinos Juniors crowds with ball-juggling displays during the half-time intervals; a small boy flicking the football casually off his knees, shoulders and substantial head. He then repeated the tricks with an orange, after that a bottle. Just five years later, on 20 October 1976, the same kid would be coming on as a substitute to make his professional debut. His coach, Juan Carlos Montes, had sent him on with a simple brief: to play as he knew he could and to try and nutmeg an opponent, both of which he accomplished. His marker that day, Juan Cabrera, is proud of his part in the Maradona tale, despite suffering the kind of humiliation at the hands of a teenager that is usually preserved for online gaming or supply teaching.
Diego scored his first international goal in a 3–1 win against Scotland at Hampden Park in 1979; a performance that featured a dribble through the heart of the Scottish defence, almost identical to the one he would produce against England at the Azteca Stadium seven years later. The run even began with the same pirouette in midfield to evade a clutch of pink-faced opponents. This was Scotland. Nobody did this to Scotland!
By now, his stock was rising, to such an extent that there was talk of him signing for Sheffield United. However, the military regime at home was determined that such a superior example of Argentinian athletic prowess should not be allowed to leave, so it was agreed that he would sign for Boca Juniors, in 1981. This was no great hardship for Diego, as he’d always been a Boca fan, but the club was in dire financial straits and could barely afford his wages. He stayed for one year and, once the junta had crumbled, joined Barcelona for a record transfer fee after the 1982 World Cup. The tournament had given Barça a glimpse of what they could expect from his time at the Nou Camp: astonishing individual skill and occasional acts of petulant violence (his World Cup had ended in disgrace after a knob-high foul on Brazil’s João Batista, just as his Barcelona career would end in a flurry of flying karate kicks in the aftermath of a bitter Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao).
It was four years later, at the Mexico World Cup, that it became clear that Maradona might actually be from another planet; one populated by a race of fleet-footed maniacs with hair like Detroit rockers from the 1970s. The performance for which he is most remembered didn’t come in the final against West Germany (although his perfect through-ball set up Jorge Burruchaga for the late winner), nor was it the semi-final win against Belgium, where he scored two goals, one of which involved a surge past three defenders and an off-balance finish. No, it of course came in the uncle-infuriating quarter-final defeat of England, with a pair of goals that perfectly demonstrated Maradona’s status as both the player of the century, and as a sneaky bastard.