Feet of the Chameleon : The Story of African Football

Cover; Title Page; Dedication; Copyright; Contents; Prologue; 1. Big Game Hunting; 2. The White Witchdoctor; 3. Feet of the Chameleon; 4. Leopards Skinned; 5. Desert Foxes; Photographs Part 1; 6. Caravan from the Sahara; 7. The Tortoise and the Hippo; 8. Burial of the Springbok; 9. The Buffalo and the Phoenix; Photographs Part 2; 10. The Swoop of Eagles; 11. Whispering at Pigeons; 12. The Lion bites the Cockerel; 13. Sphinxes and Vipers; 14. Epilogue; Bibliography; African Cup of Nations Finals 1957-2008; African Teams at World Cups, 1934-2006; Africa's Olympic Football Medals. African Champions Cup Finals 1964-2008African Footballer of the Year; Acknowledgements; Picture Credits; Index. Feet of the Chameleon is a comprehensive study of African football, tracing the development of the worlds favourite sport through the tangled history and complex social and political life of this fascinating continent. "Feet of the Chameleon is a comprehensive study of African football, tracing the development of the world's favourite sport through the tangled history and complex social and political life of this fascinating continent. Drawing on a range of sources, including interviews conducted with individuals involved in all levels of the African game, his own extensive experience and years of research, Ian Hawkey, international football correspondent for the Sunday Times, has crafted a unique and remarkable book to satisfy the surge of interest in African football as South Africa prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010. The book explains the rise to prominence of today's African players; a real force in world football -- strong, athletic midfielders like Chelsea's Michael Essien and Barcelona's Yaya Toure; and skillful, deadly strikers like Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor, Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o. They have supplied some of the most memorable and audacious moments in modern football, whether playing in domestic leagues like the Premier League and La Liga or in international competition. Their talents excite millions of fans, but Eto'o, Essien, Adebayor and others of their class are just the most recent crop of African players to capture the imagination of the public. Feet of the Chameleon shows that the scramble for African talent is not a new phenomenon, placing the search for the next football prodigy in historical context and presenting as evidence the careers of Larbi Ben Barek, Salif Keita and Eusebio, who were all great footballing successes in twentieth-century Europe. Analysing these cases, the author reveals such sporting 'exports' to be rooted in Africa's colonial past, when African players first had isolated success in Europe -- notably Arthur Wharton, the first black professional footballer in the 1890s, Hassan Hegazi, Fulham's 'Egyptian wizard' and Matateu, Eusebio's predecessor and the first great Mozambican-born Portuguese footballer. Although these breakthroughs would seem to be positive, the negative side of this tradition is also highlighted. In the modern age, hundreds of football 'academies' have sprung up throughout Africa, some of which are genuine portals to European stardom, while others prey on the dreams of young footballers. In 2006, for example, 34 teenage footballers were found crammed into a house in the Malian city of Sissako, having been enrolled into an 'academy' that had promised trials with dozens of top European clubs. The boys' families had paid thousands to the academy, lured by false promises of fame and football stardom." Publisher description Winner of the Best Football Book at the British Sports Book Awards and shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of The Year 2009 'Written with warmth and understanding, the book for which African football has been crying out.' FourFourTwo Featuring a new foreword by the author, Feet of the Chameleon has been newly released in digital format to coincide with 29th African Cup of Nations in January 2013. A comprehensive study of African football, Ian Hawkey traces the development of the world’s favourite sport through the tangled history and complex social and political life of this fascinating continent. Drawing on a range of sources, including interviews conducted with individuals involved in all levels of the African game, his own extensive experience and years of research, Ian Hawkey, international football correspondent for the Sunday Times, has crafted a unique and remarkable book to satisfy the surge of interest in African football. Engagingly written and comprehensively researched, drawing on a range of accounts from those at grass-roots level through to the very top tiers of African football, Feet of the Chameleon is a compelling mixture of analysis and insight that delves deep into the history of the game in a continent fragmented by history, language and politics. Ian Hawkey is a meticulous and knowledgeable guide to this complex subject, and he has produced a timely and entertaining study of African football’s colourful history, players, supporters and legends.