A sporty ‘Servus’ to the big, wide football world!

Our project ‘A football book travels around the world’ is celebrating its fifth anniversary today. On the final day of the 2018 Men’s World Cup in Russia, patron Urs Meier handed it over to former professional and now successful coach Gernot Rohr.

Numerous football legends have since filled the pages of the book with life, enriching it with their personal stories, experiences and anecdotes. Lutz Pfannenstiel, Bjarne Goldbaek, Moritz Volz, Danni Karbassiyoon, Ryan Smith, Michael Lahoud, Kelly Conheeney, Nicole Baxter, Sabrina Flores, Brianna Pinto, Anson Dorrance, Madi Pry, Talia DellaPeruta: the once empty collection of pages now reads like a little museum of football. And more internationally scattered, football-enthusiastic authors will follow. Currently, the book is with Scottish international Christy Grimshaw in Milan.

About the project

In 2018, I had the idea of sending an empty book on a world tour, which people from the world of football should fill with their stories in their respective national languages. There are no limits to creativity. People are allowed to write, draw and make things. Only a maximum of three pages per person is required. The rules of the game are written in different languages on the first pages of the book. We welcome your own stories from the football pitches and stadiums, memories of special matches, football-related experiences, pictures, old newspaper articles, descriptions of social projects in football, opinions on football-specific issues, criticism (of course in line with the FAIR PLAY principle) and thoughts on how football unites people. Racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic and fascist content is absolutely forbidden. In the end, a book is to be produced in which referees, coaches, players, fans, sports scientists, volunteers, sports journalists, fan project staff, sports psychologists, referees, managing directors of professional and amateur clubs from the most diverse leagues and countries have written in (a maximum of two per club).

The cover and the back of the book were designed by Felix Schneider and Johanna Busch. The artists were arranged by Werner Müller. The „rules of the game“ for the book were formulated by myself. Carolina J. Mondi, Philippe Matic Arnauld des Lions, Jürgen Schreiner and I acted as translators.

The message of the book is as follows: football unites people. The central question is: „Can WE all, TOGETHER, manage to get such a project off the ground, which will WIDEL the TEAM spirit in football internationally?“ The exciting thing: Everyone who immortalises themselves in the book decides for themselves to whom they pass on or send the book. Thus, the route of the book is always a surprise.

Goal of the book: social purposes

If everything works out and if the book is finally filled up to the last page, the project initiator will look for companies/associations via her blog and presumably other media who would like to donate a sum of money in order to be able to display the book at their place for a certain period of time. The COMPLETE amount of money donated will then go to one or more social project(s) selected by the jury (consisting of Urs Meier, Armin Wolf and Lisa Schatz). The project ultimately only comes about if ALL work together.

Voices

Patron Urs Meier says: ‘I am incredibly convinced by the project. It connects people in football and, moreover, it is for a good cause. Above all, the book is supposed to travel around the world. I find that mega exciting. That’s exactly what football is all about: this world-spanning, this partly unpredictable, predictable, foreseeable thing. That’s exactly what the book embodies. Ultimately, it should stand for what football stands for: For openness in all areas of life – towards other cultures, other skin colours, religions. It should stand for fair play and for thinking differently – that we don’t forget the weak who are not lucky enough to be able to practise this wonderful hobby, that we also support them with this action. That’s what the book stands for.’ But he also criticises: ‘Now the book has been on the way for five years. Of course, I would have liked it if it had been finished much faster, if it had always been passed on much faster. Unfortunately, that is not the case. That is also part of our society, of people. That one or the other is not so reliable. Nevertheless, I hope that the book will be full of many wonderful stories. It’s nice to be able to hear such stories again and again. Often they are ones that no one has heard before, that have never been in the media or in a book. That these are really very personal, great stories. I’m happy when it comes back and when it’s finished. I hope that we will then be able to experience a happy ending together.’

Former TarHeels player Madi Pry explains: ‘I decided to be part of the football book project team because if one person read my story and was able to relate to it or be inspired by even just one part of it, then it would be worth it. My soccer story involved lots of injuries and set backs and I know many others do too, so I wanted to add my story to the book in hopes to make someone else who has dealt with adversity feel seen and heard.’

Anson Dorrance describes: ‘First of all, I absolutely loved it for all kinds of reasons. I am a globalist. So for me, one of the many things I love about our game is the fact that it is a global sport. And so to see how we are all connected through our connections of love for the game is a part of the reason I absolutely love what I do. And another thing that was really cool for me, was to connect with the person who gave me the book [Madi Pry]. When she gave it to me, obviously I had no issue jumping in with both feet because she was a very special player for me and a very special person. So for all of those reasons, it is all about connection. What is important for me? It is important for me how this connects all of us. That’s what I like most about this project, is it literally connects all of us. It’s not one country, it’s multi-national and there are so many good things about being multi-national. I am a globalist, I was born and raised all over the world. I was born and raised in Bombay, India: lived there for three years, moved to Calcutta, lived there for three years; Nairobi, Kenya: lived there for three years; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: three years, Singapore, Malaysia: three years. Then my family moved to Brussels, Belgium. When we were there I was sent to a Swiss Boarding School. So I was born and raised all over the world and I have loved that. I have loved that part of my background. So for me, this project is almost so similar to my life story.’

The coach of the 1991 world champions adds: ‘Our world community is something that is going to stay alive partially through what you’ve done. So I thought that was very, very cool. I feel connected to everyone indirectly through the game.’ Furthermore, Anson Dorrance says: ‘One of the worst things about the global community is when we are in war with each other so I think this is almost like the antidote to a global community at war which is clearly what is happening right now between Russia and the Ukraine. So what’s the antidote? The anti-poison is a book like this that connects us, that does not separate us or cause us to go to war with each other. So for me, I think that is a wonderful way to frame it since – you are right – that was a period when Russia was embraced because they didn’t want war with anyone. So obviously the world had no issue going to Russia to compete. But now if they applied to host the event, they would never get it because of their behavior.’

Thanks!

I would especially like to thank all those who made it possible to start the project in this way. Above all, my thanks go to Johanna Busch and Felix Schneider, who designed the outer pages of the book – as well as to the translators Carolina Mondi, Philippe Matic Arnauld des Lions and Jürgen Schreiner. A big thank you goes to Werner Müller for putting me in touch with the two artists. Furthermore, I would like to thank Urs Meier for his great support of my crazy idea. Thanks also to Armin Wolf for his immediate agreement to participate in the jury. And of course thanks to all those who have already filled the book with content, which is really extremely diverse. The book shows how much football can weld people together and brings out highs as well as lows, exciting as well as poignant, impressive stories. I am honoured that we have so many personalities and different characters in the team. It is also worth mentioning that all team members are 100 per cent volunteers.

How the crazy project was born

The idea for the book came about relatively spontaneously. Shortly before a move, I gave a friend my friendship album to write in and my eye fell a little later on a children’s book by Dietmar Brück and Ulla Klopp about a ball that travels through different countries. Since I have been very football-mad for a long time, I wanted to start a project that shows how much football connects people and at the same time move something for a good cause. The whole thing only works if everyone really pulls together. I’m excited to see if it works.

Interviews and information around the book

Should you, dear readers, want to dive into some of the stories surrounding the football book, here is some info on the journey of the book as well as a few interviews:

• The Journey of the Football Book from Bjarne Goldbaek to Moritz Volz
• Interview with Michael Lahoud about his story
• Interview with Brianna Pinto about her experiences
• Interview with Anson Dorrance (part 1): About his story and pressing in football
• Interview with Anson Dorrance (part 2): About sports psychology and the revolution in women’s football
• Interview with Anson Dorrance (part 3): About his ideas on how the game could be changed positively

Let’s be surprised which way the book will take next…!

Sportive regards

Lisa Blue

For reasons of better readability, the language forms male, female and diverse (m/f/d) are not used simultaneously. All personal terms apply equally to all genders.