An epic tale of war, revolution, economic crisis, and social transformation told through the story of twelve historic soccer games, with a gallery of unexpected heroes, thwarted tragedies, and stunning, world-changing results . . .

Soccer has always intersected with history—sometimes during an anonymous match, sometimes in a major world final—because, from the sport's beginning in 1848, echoes of what's happening off the pitch have reached the global playing field in unthinkable ways. Soccer can spark a war but it can also have the opposite effect: interrupting conflict, even just for a few hours or days.

For example, the story that begins this book: When French, Belgian, English and German World War I soldiers climbed out of their foxholes to kick the ball around with their enemies for a brief few hours during a Christmas Truce.

This is just one of 12 matches the book covers. Others inclu*e the game between Dinamo Zagreb and the Red Star Belgrade in Croatia in 1990, when clashes between fans and police made it clear that Yugoslavia was about to have a bloody split. Or Chile vs. the USSR in 1973, held in Santiago, Chile, shortly after Augusto Pinochet took over in a bloody coup, and in the very stadium where he'd imprisoned, tortured, and murdered thousands of political prisoners. The hometeam won by scoring on an empty goal — the Soviets had refused to take the field in protest.

Alternating between journalism and first-hand accounts from the protagonists, this work invites us to look at our past and present from a new point of view. Because, beyond what we may think, sometimes history happens while someone, somewhere, is kicking a ball around.