Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World - Softcover

Graham Hunter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0956497128 ISBN 13: 9780956497123

Publisher: BackPage Press Ltd, 2012

Synopsis

BARCELONA are the greatest football team in the world, the greatest for a generation and possibly the greatest of all time.
This is the untold inside story of how the best and most loved football team in the world came to redefine how the game is played.
We start with the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, the game that ended the debate about whether Barcelona were the greatest team in the world and began a new one: are they the best ever?
We are inside the winning dressing room and inside the mind of the team s coach, Pep Guardiola.
From there, the focus is on each of the iconic personalities of this team, telling its story through them, from its genesis in the late 1980s to their coronation in London: Guardiola; his mentor, Johan Cruyff; Xavi; Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest footballer of all time.

About this title

Review:

'This could well be the best football book ever written.'
Kevin Bridges, comedian

'Fantastic book. It's can't-put-down good.'
--Oliver Holt, The Daily Mirror

'Superbly-written analysis & celebration of Pep, Messi, Xavi etc. Brilliant book.' --Henry Winter, The Daily Telegraph

'Graham Hunter's book reminds us all just how beautiful the beautiful game can be. His admiration for Barca is genuine, his knowledge is vast, and he is an expert at bringing readers close into the story, making us cheer for not only Pep and Messi, but for every player who has turned out for the greatest team in the world.'
---Rodge Glass, author of Bring Me The Head of Ryan Giggs

'Unmissable.' --Juliano Belletti, former Barcelona player

'Hunter examines Barca's rise from every angle and manages, ultimately, to strike a delicate balance between wise football writing and perceptive portraiture that makes for a compelling read.'ESPN

'From detailing the out of control influence of Ronaldinho and Deco to confirming Guardiola's genius, it's written with stacks of insight' ***** --Four Four Two

'Graham Hunter takes you on an unforgettable journey ... into the famous footbaling cathedral of Camp Nou and into the Catalan club's boardroom. He delves deeper than any journalist has ever managed into every nook and cranny of the much-vaunted youth system. You will love it.
'Hunter's gargantuan effort is quite possibly the best book ever written on FC Barcelona and quite comfortably slots into the top 10 of my all-time sports books.' Brendan Crossan, The Irish News

'We'll be talking about this Barcelona team decades from now, and thankfully we'll still have Graham Hunter's magisterial book explaining how it came about. Just as Barca didn't happen by accident, neither does Hunter's acutely observed account. An instant classic.' Grant Wahl --Sports Illustrated

'No one knows Barcelona like Graham Hunter. This is a penetrating, convincing and fascinating account of the construction of one of the best teams we have seen, full of insight and analysis.' Sid Lowe --The Guardian

'I doubt whether there will ever be a more definitive book about the making of the greatest football team our generation. 'Pep Guardiola once said to his team that Andres Iniesta would retire them all. Graham Hunter has retired all of us who aspire to write about this team.' Rob Draper --Mail on Sunday

'Entertaining, informative and beautifully written, Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, is the next best thing to watching Barcelona play. 'Years from now, this book will be revered as the definitive biography of the most remarkable era in the history of FC Barcelona.' Ian McGarry

Full of behind-the-scenes insight into the individuals and the ethos behind Barca s rise to dominance. Utterly astounding. John Greechan, The Scottish Daily Mail

'Fittingly, the making of the greatest team in the world is a subject from which has emerged one of the finest books written on football.' Alan Pattullo, The Scotsman

'An access all areas pass to the greatest football story of modern times.'Hugh MacDonald, The Herald

'An enjoyable, flowing read that succeeds in providing great detail and insight ... Hunter impresses a supreme command of the inner workings of the FC Barcelona machine.' --Total Football Magazine

Superbly-written analysis & celebration of Pep, Messi, Xavi etc. Brilliant book. --Henry Winter, The Daily Telegraph

Having worked closely with the club for a decade, Hunter succeeds in capturing the magic of how Barca have redefined the game.
From detailing the out of control influence of Ronaldinho and Deco to confirming Guardiola's genius, it's written with stacks of insight ***** --Four Four Two

About the Author:

Graham Hunter moved to Barcelona in 2001. He is a journalist of international reputation and covers Spanish football and FC Barcelona for Sky Sports, the BBC and newspapers and magazines across the world.
His access to the team is unrivalled and he is the only Englishspeaking journalist to have interviewed Pep Guardiola during his time as Barcelona coach.

About this edition

• Publisher: BackPage Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0956497128
• ISBN 13: 9780956497123
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480