Goald!

Billions watch the Olympics, and follow the world's number one sport- football. But how do these two 19th Century inventions fit together? 'Goald!' tells the story of Olympic football from the easy-going 1900's to London 2012, when over 160 countries aimed to win medals. The world's original football tournament may be the least known in Europe, but it helped change the game and introduced teams and players of the highest quality; Uruguay, the 1920's sensations, Puskas's Hungary. New African teams (Nigeria and Cameroon) reached their peak at the Olympics. Klinsmann, Ronaldo, Messi first drew a global audience at these tournaments. Read about thirty tournaments where goals do mean gold. Three British Olympians have contributed their personal experience to the book's Foreword and its conclusion, which illustrates what membership of Team GB can mean to footballers. In combining the two elements- Olympics and football- 'Goald!' portrays each Olympics as a whole from 1900 to 2012, before depicting every match up to the Final, in each chapter. It weighs up the benefits and problems of including this most popular team sport in the Olympics, showing the likely effects of separating football from The Games. Amid the controversies, within the UK and the world of sport, the book offers the reader stories from the first ever football competition, then and now- the stars, the matches, the unsung heroes. Judge for yourself.