History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game

This is a remarkable feat, a obvious labor of love, and if you're from England it's probably heaven on earth. If you're not from England, you may weary a bit from the rather relentless Anglo-centric viewpoint, but hey--they put it together, they're entitled to their own focus. As with any project as long as this, some parts fail to impress. The significant amount of time spent on the development of the game in India and on the African continent was (IMO) a little too much. Interesting to see once...but not something I'd likely share with my soccer friends. ("Hey! You've got to see this 30 minute segment on how political and sociological conditions in Ghana influenced the selection of the national team during the 1990's!") But there is a great deal here that approaches the magnificent. It was worth half the price of the whole package just to see the interview with Maradona where he mocks (MOCKS!) Peter Shilton for the hand-of-God goal. A classic! In fact the segment on South America (mostly Argentina and Uruguay) was flat-out excellent...followed by an entire hour devoted just to Brazil, with wonderful footage from the '56 World Cup that marked the emergence of Pele at the age of 17. One unavoidable problem with the disc is that this "history" gets older every year. This was put together just after the 1998 WC--a debacle for the United States. When talking about developing soccer countries, the USA isn't mentioned once. Instead, we have Hugo Chavez from Mexico complaining about how "sure we're the best in North America--but so what? We never get to play anybody good!" Grrrrr. If you buy this, here's what to expect (the good and bad): 1. Nothing but a few dismissive yawns towards the USA--appropriate in 1998, but wildly inaccurate now. 2. Everything you've ever wanted to know about the various incarnations of the English national side. 3. Wonderful analysis and history of football in South America. 4. A genuinely interesting analysis of the struggles between club teams and national teams, and how players can be caught between them. 5. Lots of interesting video of some of the first cup competitions in Europe, that follows the development of teams in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia (as it was called at the tme) and more. 6. An objective view of the problems of hooliganism (and a commendable willingness to place the blame largely on England, where it belongs.) 7. More than you wanted to know about football in India. 8. A lengthy and more-or-less interesting history of the bureaucracy known as FIFA. 9. The sense that the folks who put this together sincerely love the game. As you watch it all, you'll love it to.

The History of Soccer (Football); The Beautiful Game, is a wonderful set. Its cinematography is outstanding and the narration is very good. The extras are very cool as well (my one complaint is that the type on the bios is a bit small. I liken it to a survey course at university such as a History 101 or 102 course. It is not overall comprehensive but is comprehensive in giving us an understanding of the game from its earliest origins to the modern game all the way up to the 2002 World Cup. Each DVD contains two one hour segments on a different historical theme of the history of soccer, and some extras. So much is covered hear, from the early origins, a Greek game that the romans adapted to a sort of ruby game that was preserved by both the Italians and the English to the modern games of Rugby and Football. In Soccer cultures the USA (a nice segment on the NASL is included) and Iran are covered as well as Asia and more. From the European superpowers (Italy, France, Germany, Holland, etc.,) to the South American Superpowers, with a whole segment featured on Brazil as well. From Clubs teams to the fans. From Superstars to the Media. And finally the growth in Africa. We get a pretty comprehensive look at the World Cup and good locks at the Europeans championships. All the superstars are hear, the great coaches, the great teams and the scandals are covered too. The different strategies and how they developed are discussed, as well as how the game spread to the fans. And how are why its so important to the fans. Also the political climates are discussed, as pertaining to the development of Soccer, in each country, in which politics has effected the game. Such as Fascism in Europe and a Dictatorship in Brazil. This is a great set and a great starting place for the novice fan and long time fan of Soccer (Football).

From a global perspective, this documentary series has a glaring omission; it failed to give the viewers the development of soccer in the Oceanic region. If only this documentary had mentioned about the absolute dominance of soccer in New Zealand and other Oceanic countries (in the confederation of Oceania), this DVD would truly be called a compendium of international soccer. Its failure to mention the confederation of Oceania (a common occurrence in soccer literature as well!) and the development of the game in that region shows us that FIFA and soccer commentaries and journalists have still a long way to go before being truly global in their perception of this beautiful game. In fact, one of the producers, Guy Oliver (author of the classic encyclopedic book " The Guinness Book of World Soccer ") repeats this same mistake in this series. Soccer is NOT ONLY about the winners and famous soccer nations and clubs. The soul of this mesmerizing sport lies with the smaller clubs and obscure soccer nations such as Aruba, Mongolia, Vanuatu and Bhutan. Thus with a heavy heart, I am forced to give this documentary a 4-star rating and not a perfect 5 stars. However, I really enjoyed watching this 14-hour series about world soccer. It gives the viewers a comprehensive detail about the history of this sport and the reasons for its immense popularity around the globe. It shows us every goal scored in a World Cup Final match and gives a detailed history of this sport in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, England and other top footballing European soccer nations. It even gives us the development of the game in China and India (potential World cup winning nations in the far fetched future) and shows us the future development of the game in the world. Every famous soccer player was interviewed (the interview with Maradona was ESPECIALLY interesting and comical!) and the history of famous clubs are also being brought to light. Soccer tragedies are also being narrated and there is also a brief commentary about soccer hooliganism as well. The description of the political climate of some of the soccer nations (such as Sudan and Ghana) provides the fan an enjoyable slight deviation from the main theme. In conclusion I would recommend this DVD to all passionate soccer fans. However, those who are interested in the minute details and facts about soccer, would not find anything new in this documentary.

The production quality is pretty good for the first several episodes, but it leaves so much to be desired with regard to team strategy, transfer markets, player development, and other specific phenomena of modern soccer. For example, I would've loved an entire episode dedicated to soccer academies, youth teams, etc. There's just a lot about soccer that you won't find here, but I don't know of any other dvd series that comes close, which is a crying shame.

As a soccer player myself and having seen countless amounts of footage and soccer videos, History of Soccer was a major let down. It plays like a monotone history lesson and fails to communicate the passion of the game. It contains far too much footage of landscapes, statutes and buildings than of beautiful plays. The interviews are nice, but they far too long and tedius: they should have played most of the interview as a background talk, while showing the actual footage of the beautiful plays being talked about. It missed a lot of great available footage of crack players (Maradona, Pele, Garrincha, Zico, the Kaiser, Johann Kruif, Higuita, Valderama, Ronaldo, etc.) instead, it shows the players walking about, kissing their girlfriends or travelling around... If you are an academic, or a fan, you may like it. If you are a player, you'll find the DVDs interesting but rather boring. If you don't know the game, you will learn about it (after enduring HOURS of monotone talk), but you will not fall in love with the game. Pele himself did something similar back in the 80s or early 90s: a series which aired in TV that gave a full background of the game, all of its aspects, presented all of its stars and taught one how to play it. Such program was of better quality, with great insight into the game and leaved the audience with a desire to pick up a ball and start kicking it! Not only did he talk about the game but most importantly, he SHOWED what he was talking about. Such series had all of the footage shown in this DVD series and much more. I sure wish I could get a hold of it on DVD and I was wishing this DVD series would be sort of an update to that program, but was quite disappointed.

This collection of DVD's depicting the history of soccer is truly captivating. For fans who love the game, and can't get enough of it, there is nothing like being able to see over and over the greatest moments in soccer history... it is a dream come true. For those who want a deeper historical understanding of this beautiful game, there is a comprehensive analysis of soccer history... the good, the bad and the ugly... but overall, the sublime phenomena that soccer has become around the world. For wholehearted soccer fans, this a discovery of oneself and one's world... to see the great soccer traditions in China, Sudan, Egypt, India... this is the true definition of the world sport soccer is. Also, growing up in the US, the extras on the NASL were very nostalgic and moving. I wish there were more footage on all the greats that were part of this unique experiment in soccer... George Best, Pele, Eusebio, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Krol... I just wish there was more of everything. More footage of the great games, interviews of great players (we need to have the words of Cruyff and Beckenbauer), and to also include the history of soccer in Oceania. The DVD collection reaches up until the France 1998 World Cup. I certainly hope Fremantle Home Entertainment builds on this work of art by adding to it the 2002 World Cup, and will continue with the upcoming 2006 World Cup. I would certainly buy each addition every year. You will enjoy this invaluable collection for years, and will have a greater appreciation for this most universal of all sports... soccer.

First of all, the production standards are terrible on this. Very nice, a bit staid, cinematography, but the sound mix is atrocious. The music booms, along with the narration, but interviews are recorded on sub-par, breathy microphones and are mixed very low in comparison to everything else. Even with the volume set too high for comfort in respect to the music and Stamp narration, you strain to hear the interviews. And the presentation is very formulaic and drowsy. None of the energy of the game is captured. Instead you find the Ken Burns-ian approach of reducing any story, no matter its particular dynamics, to a deadly pace of voiceover over obvious imagery - cut to interview - cut to historical shot. I've only made it through Disc 1, and find it difficult to believe I'd make it through seven. But if I'm proven wrong, I will append this review.

My husband loves this collection. He asked for it for Christmas, and he has really enjoyed it. It goes into fascinating detail about the history of soccer in several different countries, and while I'm not as obsessed with soccer as he is, it is quite interesting. It touches on many historical periods, eg Fascism, etc. Very interesting.

He really loves soccer. Loved the gift.

My son loved it. He is a huge soccer fan and loved watching all the history of the sport. Worthwhile purchase

Très déçue de ce produit, acheter pour offrir en cadeau a mon père et TOUS les disques sont rayés dans l'emballage. Produit qui finira a la poubelle malheureusement

I got this for my fiance and he loves them! What else can you say about classic football. You can easily sit and watch every single DVD in a row = )

Product as described, fair price, fast shipping, quite a positive experience overall!