Historical Dictionary of Soccer

Tom Dunmore is a soccer writer and executive. In 2010, he was appointed as Vice-President of the Chicago Riot Soccer Club of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He publishes an award-winning global soccer culture blog, www.pitchinvasion.net, and he was an international soccer columnist for The Chicago Sports Weekly from 2007 to 2008.

Dunmore (English-born, Chicago-based, award-winning soccer writer) packs a wealth of information into this dictionary on "the beautiful game"--now better known as "the global game" for its popularity and profitable commercialism. The brief preface prepares the ground for the meaty 250-page dictionary section (comprising more than 400 cross-referenced entries). Included are a list of acronyms and abbreviations, FIFA member associations by country, and a useful chronology (extending from 206 BCE to 2010). Dunmore's 18-page introduction is a solid, up-to-date history of soccer as it evolved in Europe and South America, and especially in Scotland and England--from upper-class beginnings down to the working masses. The author covers the organization of the Laws of the Game, the formation of regional associations, the growing importance of fans, soccer's commercialization and globalization (especially through television), and the growth of women's soccer in the late 20th century, especially in North America. The dictionary section features long and short entries, describing places, e.g., world-famous stadia in Rio, Mexico City, London, and elsewhere, along with others tragically remembered for disaster and death (e.g., Hillsborough and Ibrox). Stars like Pele, Maradona, and Beckenbauer, and modern icons like Beckham, Messi, and Mia Hamm, all find their places here. Soccer terminology, e.g., offside, corner kick, foul throw, and penalty shootout, is explained for the uninitiated. Teams like Manchester United and Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and many more are all highlighted in their national and international settings through cross-references. Rounding out the dictionary are 20 appendixes, e.g., on FIFA presidents and players of the year; and a bibliography, with information including periodicals and websites of interest. No photographs, illustrations, or concluding general index. Dunmore is to be commended for packing so much into just 300-plus pages. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.