Author: Ben van Maaren
List of books
Hello all, Terribly sorry for not keeping my blog updated much. Lack of time, eh? The little time I do have, though, I’ve recently been spending on compiling an online list of my books. Eventually this should replace the enormous list I keep on this site, which is a huge eater of resources and also […]
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When my playing days are over, my youth will be over too
This interview with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (‘the Hunter’) appeared earlier in the Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. I translated it and got permission to reproduce it here. Words by: Hielke Biemond, Teun Meurs, Hein Meurs Photographs: Thijs Brouwers Ajax, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Schalke 04: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has played for four major clubs in four different […]
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RWDM: Ketjes know why
The following is my translation of an article that earlier appeared in Dutch football culture magazine Staantribune. It is reproduced here with permission. The original Dutch article was written by Raoul de Groote. Photography: Marco Magielse. RWDM: Ketjes know why “I’ve got a Johan Boskamp poster hanging in my loo” RWDM ceased to exist in 2002, […]
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List of books updated
Hi! At last I’ve got things going again on this blog. Nothing much to speak of yet, but it’s a start: I’ve updated my list of books to include purchases from the past few months. Click here for the full list.
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All books
Hi, Sorry this site has been quiet for the past few months. I was busy doing other stuff and simply didn’t have the time to read much. Don’t worry, I will soon resume writing reviews again. What I did do, though, was add to my list of All Books the – many! – titles that I […]
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40 Years in Football – Ivan Sharpe
Outline Keeping his chapters brief, Ivan Sharpe relates his memoirs of “40 Years in Football”, first as a player and later as a journalist. His anecdotes and stories harken back to the early days of football. Logic dictates that his reminiscences relate mostly to British football, but he also takes his 1954 readers across many […]
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Recommended Referee Reading
I’m immensely proud as RefereeingBooks.eu featured on this month’s episode of the popular refereeing podcast RefereesWorld. Sadly, presenters Darren Cullum and Richard Melinn had no time to read out the full list I submitted, so I’m putting it on the site. Here goes: Technique & Match Control. It all started in 1905 with How to […]
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The Football Association 1863-1883: A Source Book – Tony Brown
Outline As the title suggests, the author of this book has consulted a variety of old sources to commit to paper the earliest history of the Football Association. That history does not, incidentally, start in 1863, the year the FA was established, but way earlier. Long before 1863 there were many sets of rules and […]
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Who’s the B*****d in the Black? – Jeff Winter
Outline The English referee Jeff Winter (1955) could hardly have imagined the turn his career would take when he was a “boot boy” in the ranks of the Middlesbrough hooligans in the 1970s. A far from happy childhood and this “hobby” were threatening to push his life in the wrong direction. However, seeing the hard, […]
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Fluitend door de wereld – Whistling through the World – John Langenus
Outline To my knowledge, this fragile, weather-stained book (printed in WWII, so the paper is of sub-par quality) is the first set of memoirs ever written by a football referee. Belgian John Langenus’ principal claim to fame rests on his being the referee of the final of the first World Cup in 1930. In this […]
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