Book Review: History of the World in 12 Soccer Matches by Stefano Bizzotto

Release Date: May 19, 2026

Soccer is a massive sport and cultural phenomenon and while it can’t actually explain the history of the world (only existing for 0.000004% of the planet’s life makes that slightly difficult) it does often intersect with major geopolitical events in interesting ways. History of the World in 12 Soccer Matches highlights 12 examples of such convergences. It’s a good read even if it only scratches the surface of many of its topics.

The book is divided into 12 self-contained chapters in chronological order. Chapters include the 1914 World War I Christmas truce game between German and British soldiers, Chile vs. the USSR in 1973 after Augusto Pinochet took power in Chile, and Dinamo Zagreb vs. Red Star in 1990 as Yugoslavia was breaking up. You generally get a few details about the on-field action and loads of context for why the game was important.

Bizzotto is an Italian sports journalist who has covered seven World Cups. The book reads a bit whimsically and informally, like an exuberant Italian grandfather is regaling his family about old soccer stories. I don’t know if this is a function of the translation or the “base” Italian text (or both) but I found it charming, though it took a second to get used to. His passion for his subject matter comes through quite clearly.

I see the book as a “tasting menu” of topics. This is a fast read and there’s not a ton of detail of any single event. As a casual soccer fan (probably familiar with about half of the games in the book on some level) there were a few chapters like the 1969 Soccer War between El Salvador and Honduras where I noted I wanted to do more reading on the subject but appreciated being introduced to it. Overall, I would have liked longer chapters but still learned a good bit and enjoyed myself while doing it.

7/10