Full Description
'Excellent' - Simon Kuper
'The definitive story' - Christian Karembeu
A REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION, INCLUDING NEW EXCLUSIVE PSG CONTENT
Glory, scandal and how French football came of age
Le foot français has come a long way over the last 40 years, with France reaching four of the past seven men's World Cup finals (winning two) and French players starring for the world's biggest clubs.
Culminating in a comprehensive account of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League triumph in 2025, Tom Williams explores French football's turbulent modern transformation. From match-fixing affairs to sex-tape scandals, monumental matches to heart-stopping headbutts, he details how philosophies, personalities and power struggles have defined each era.
Featuring exclusive interviews with French greats such as Alain Giresse, Jean-Pierre Papin and Blaise Matuidi, and with a cast including Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé, Va-Va-Voom is the inside track on France's footballing revolution.
Contents
Prologue: Les Poteaux Carrés
1. Les Bleus: One Night in Seville
2. Geste Technique: Le Coup Franc à la Platini
3. Bordeaux: Victory Amid the Vineyards
4. Marseille: Tapie's Tainted Triumph
5. Geste Technique: La Papinade
6. Les Rosbifs: Living the Dream
7. Nantes: The Goal That Came From Somewhere Else
8. Italie: Learning to Win
9. Geste Technique: La Roulette à la Zidane
10. Auxerre: One Small Village Still Resists
11. Angleterre: The Sound and the Fury
12. Arsenal: A Very English Frenchman
13. Les Bleus: Champions du Monde!
14. Geste Technique: La Spéciale Henry
15. Lyon: The Magnificent Seven
16. Les Bleus: From the Gutter to a Second Star
17. Espagne: The Ballad of ZZ and KB9
18. Le Foot Féminin: Lyon Light the Way
19. Paris Saint-Germain: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
20. Allemagne: La Nouvelle Vague
Epilogue: Et Maintenant?
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index
