A Game of Two Halves

** the kind of conservations I want to footballers to have **

I feel that the title of the book is slightly misleading. Written especially raising funds for the UNHRC Refugee Crisis, this book brings in the big names in contemporary footballer to have important conversations about the world around us. Amy Raphael brings in an interesting and diverse ensemble of men and women of the footballing world to talk to individuals from various other fields. Paired together for their shared love and admiration of a club, these conversations are never boring.

They share personal stories, opinions on political events, ideas on the evolution of the game and footballing industry and discuss immigrants and the world in the aftermath of Brexit. While the theme of the book is to promote conversations about Brexit and immigration in Europe, the tone and discussions always feel very organic. Not once I got the sense that they were talking because they were forced to do so.

While I was excited to hear, I thoroughly enjoyed all these little personal anecdotes that were shared between celebrity fans and football personalities.

It was quite delight reading Guardiola's take on the Catalonian independence (I read this before the FFP ruling and his reaction to it so.. ), Klopp reinforced his “cool uncle” image for me and seeing him be as loud and vocal on Brexit as on pitch was fun. His conversation on the problematic past of Germany and its future discourse on immigration was also worthy of notice. Steve G and Frank Lampard discussing the impact of immigration, now as managers, was a mood. Reflecting on their time as players for the national team and compete for titles with their clubs and now shifting focus on mental health and navigating the labyrinth of managerial life was entertaining. Ferdinand and Wright's discussion focusing on racism in the game and the evolving role of social media was important. I was also delighted to pick up further readings form their conversations on these topics. Gary Lineker's convo with Fahd Saleh was of supreme importance, highlighting the real reason why individuals leave their country and how war tears their entire lives apart and what it means for them to find asylum in a new stable state. Vivianne Miedema, Lucy Bronze, Clare Balding and author Amy Raphael's conversations on Women's football was a bit of a surprise as found a new mindset to approach the game and found a better understanding of the reality from the point of view of women who are pioneers in the game. Eric Dier's conversations with David Lammy was filled with surprising revelations about both personalities. As a Spurs fan, it was entertaining, informative and had me walking away with a newfound respect for the centre back.

Having said all that, the book could have done a bit more. It felt like the owners of talking about race fell on the shoulders of players of colour, only women discussed the victories and challenges of women's football and so on. But I loved the concept and the implementation and would love to read more work that shows these sports celebrities as actually thinking social beings and not reduced to the stereotypes of fast cars and flashy clothes.