It's World Cup Time

The ESPN World Cup Companion: Everything You Need To Know About The Planet's Biggest Sports Event / by David Hirshey and Roger Bennett
An abundance of World Cup photographs, country profiles, legendary players and the greatest matches are presented in this brand new book published just in time for the June event in South Africa. Whether you support El Tri, Mannschaft, Azzurri, Les Bleus, Bafana or even if you're merely a non-partisan casual soccer fan and would just like to learn a bit more about the world's most epic sporting event, this is one of the best, most up-to-date resources around. (796.33466 HIRSHEY)
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Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, And Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Japan, Turkey--And Even Iraq--Are Destined To Become The King's Of The World's Most Popular Sport / by Simon Kuper
Inevitably, the title of this book will catch some people off guard. But for readers who do pick it up, it can be quite entertaining and revealing. With it's intriguing, if largely speculative evaluation of international 'football', it investigates the financial side of the world's biggest game, detailing many intricate and often contradictory economic factors which the author believes dooms certain national teams to consistent failure, aids others who seem destined for perennial glory and facilitates the potential success of certain dark horses. (796.334 KUPER)