Sid Lowe is a Spanish football genius, the equivalent of a Messi or Ronaldo in the world of football pundits. Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the World’s Greatest Sports Rivalry is a masterpiece, something that explains the true greatness of the Barca/Madrid rivalry. Put it this way: you won’t understand the importance of “El Clasico” until you read this book.
Yes, this derby is bigger than anything in the sporting world. Bigger than the Yankees and the Red Sox. Bigger than the Lakers and the Celtics or Duke and UNC. Even bigger than the Cowboys and Eagles or the Packers and the Bears. It’s that big, a rivalry that makes the WORLD take notice.
He breaks the rivalry down from every angle: football, revolutions, politics, great players, dynasties, anything you can imagine. He proves that it is a game that matters on and off the pitch.
And this is a book that matters when it comes to wanting to learn about Spanish football because we all know that Barca and Real Madrid is the pinnacle of Spanish and, you could certainly argue, world football.
People interested in the history of the game will be engulfed in this text. So many things are to be learned and this is certainly the place to start.
Don’t watch another “El Classico” or even La Liga match without first reading this book. It will make everything click and you will get more out of the games, knowing how far these two teams have come. Neither was spared from tragedy and neither was free from obstacles. But today they both stand as the giants of world football.
