Approaching football in a way that blends whimsy, intelligence, humour and style is nothing new – When Saturday Comes, Nick Hornby and others were doing it decades ago. But the very arty Spiel, sent in our regular lucky bag from Stack Magazines, is taking it to a new level.
A detailed account of the sport’s part in the often bloody history of Algeria is intriguing, though it’s a shame it only takes us up to 2001. There’s a great celebration of Brighton’s revival and an amusing account of an attempt to learn Italian by following a lowly team called Pro Vercelli – though the photos and illustrations facing the latter’s text have no apparent relevance to it.
Any fule kno that football was first played with a pig’s bladder – but Spiel actually tries it, which is rather admirable. Less welcome is a slightly daft poster on how to play conkers – it fails to hit the target.
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