Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 – ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR
WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2022 – SPORT

‘This book is a work of art about football’s works of art… Loved it.’ – Kevin Day, broadcaster

‘A beautiful showcase of such a distinctive part of the game’s culture… impossible not to get lost in the book’ – Miguel Delaney, The Independent

‘Gorgeous to behold… Unmissable’ – Danny Kelly, TalkSPORT radio presenter

‘I absolutely love this book’ – Jules Breach, football presenter

On high-rise buildings, street corners and stadium walls in countries around the world, eye-catching murals pay tribute to footballing greats. From Messi and Ronaldo to Rapinoe and Cruyff, these striking displays are remarkable testaments to the awe and affection fans feel for these football legends and cult heroes.

Join renowned football writer and broadcaster Andy Brassell as he explores this fascinating phenomenon. Offering a fresh, highly visual perspective on the global game, Football Murals is the first book to celebrate these towering works of art.

Beckenbauer and Cruyff, Rooney and Ronaldinho, Totti and Salah, Zlatan and Zidane – being honoured with a mural cements a player’s place in a club’s heritage and links them to the heart of the community. This richly illustrated book showcases the most impressive examples, explores their inspirational qualities and examines what they say about these icons and their sport.

Written and curated by respected football writer Andy Brassell, this ground-breaking book features more than 100 murals from around the world, capturing the scale, grandeur and wit of this powerful and popular art form. Through a series of short essays and extended captions, Andy shares the players’ stories, discusses the cultural politics and explains just why these men and women have been immortalised in mural form.

Covering such diverse topics as Home Town Glory, Football Fame and The Cult of the Coach, Football Murals addresses the issues important to fans worldwide. It spans Marcus Rashford’s inspirational mural in a Manchester suburb, the George Best tribute on the East Belfast estate where he was born, the 15-foot depiction of Megan Rapinoe in St Paul, Minnesota, and the Naples ‘shrine’ to Diego Maradona.

‘I can’t tell you how nice it is for players to see their face on a mural.’ – Jermaine Jenas, The One Show

Publisher Review

This book is a work of art about football's works of art, with the added bonus of brilliant slices of social history. Loved it. -- Kevin Day, broadcaster A beautiful showcase of such a distinctive part of the game's culture, perfectly explained by the writer who knows so much about more of the game's cultures than anyone else. It is impossible not to get lost in the book as you take in some captivating images, made all the better by finding out from Andy exactly what it all represents. -- Miguel Delaney, chief football writer * The Independent * Gorgeous to behold; packed with knowledge. Andy Brassell effortlessly weaves two wonderments, football and urban folk art. Unmissable for fans of either. -- Danny Kelly, TalkSPORT radio presenter I absolutely love this book. Full of colour that jumps off the page! Where some of the artwork is iconic, others were so fun to learn about. But the one thing they all have in common is they're all visually beautiful, thought provoking, and they tell a wonderful story about how powerful football can be - and Andy's words are the perfect guide through them. -- Jules Breach, BT Sport/ITV football presenter Brassell celebrates the variety and spectacle of this fan art, showing how eloquent supports can be about their teams. * The Observer *