Va-Va-Voom

Emma — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

‘Excellent' – Simon Kuper

‘The definitive story’ – Christian Karembeu

A REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION, INCLUDING NEW EXCLUSIVE PSG CONTENT

Glory, scandal and how French football came of age

Le foot français has come a long way over the last 40 years, with France reaching four of the past seven men’s World Cup finals (winning two) and French players starring for the world’s biggest clubs.

Culminating in a comprehensive account of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph in 2025, Tom Williams explores French football’s turbulent modern transformation. From match-fixing affairs to sex-tape scandals, monumental matches to heart-stopping headbutts, he details how philosophies, personalities and power struggles have defined each era.

Featuring exclusive interviews with French greats such as Alain Giresse, Jean-Pierre Papin and Blaise Matuidi, and with a cast including Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé, Va-Va-Voom is the inside track on France’s footballing revolution.

Va-va-voom

Emma — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

‘Excellent’ – Simon Kuper, author of the bestselling FOOTBALL AGAINST THE ENEMY‘The definitive story of how French football came of age’ – Christian Karembeu’Erudite and engrossing’ – Vincent Duluc, lead football writer, L’ÃQUIPETHE PLAYERS, THE TEAMS, THE GOALS, THE GAMES, THE SCANDALS, THE GLOOM AND THE GLORY: THE STORY OF FRENCH FOOTBALL’S CHEQUERED COMING OF AGE OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS.French football is an enigma: a puzzling jumble of brilliance and farce, flair and frailty, stunning success and abject failure. Its domestic league is mocked on social media as an uncompetitive ‘Farmers League’ and its clubs derided for underachieving in European competition. But France have reached four of the past seven men’s World Cup finals, French players star week in, week out for the world’s grandest clubs and the very best of French football – the roar of the Vélodrome, the glamour of the Parc des Princes, the shimmering brilliance of Zinédine Zidane, Ãric Cantona and Kylian Mbappé – stands comparison with anything the sport has to offer. When it comes to scandal, meanwhile, the French are the best in the business, be it sensational match-fixing affairs, squabbles over sex tapes or meltdowns within the national squad.In this fascinating and exhaustively researched book, the first of its kind in the English language, Tom Williams brings to life French football’s chequered coming of age over the last 40 years. He details how the starry-eyed romanticism that characterised the national team in the early 1980s gave way to an Italian-style pragmatism that would lead Les Bleus to the summit of the international game in the late 1990s, and examines how a succession of star-studded club sides grappled with the thorny (and distinctly un-French) notion of how to win. By delving into French football’s rich history, he also explains the myriad ways – tactical, technical and cultural – in which France has shaped the game’s evolution around the world.Featuring exclusive interviews with great figures of the French game such as Alain Giresse, Jean-Pierre Papin, Emmanuel Petit and Blaise Matuidi, and with a cast of characters that also includes Michel Platini, Thierry Henry, Karim Benzema, Chris Waddle and Lionel Messi, it’s a book no football fan will want to miss.—-‘A comprehensive account of the highs, lows and scandals of French football’ – Jonathan Wilson, author of the bestselling INVERTING THE PYRAMID

Williams, Tom – The Bell Bookshop

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