Spanish Football and Social Change Sociological Investigations [Hardcover]

In the past few decades, Spanish football has undergone a significant transformation, both on and off the pitch. Llopis-Goig analyses these trends, questioning the role of football in contemporary Spanish society and examining the historical reasons for its social hegemony.Introduction 1. Spaniards' Secular Ritual 2. Historical Configuration 3. Team Identification and Football Culture 4. The Decline of the Spanish Fury 5. The Metamorphosis of the Football Clubs 6. Detraditionalization, Hyperconsumption and Ambivalence 7. Inductor Masculinities 8. Hooligans, Ultras and Vandals 9. Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance Conclusions and Epilogue

Ramon Llopis-Goig has produced the definitive social scientific analysis of the most successful football society in recent times [...] this book will be essential reading for all academics, students and general readers with interests in football and in Spanish culture and society. - Professor Richard Giulianotti, Loughborough University, UK

Despite its cultural centrality, the study of football, el deporte rey (the king of sports) in Spain, has been dominated by predominantly popular journalistic analysis [...] this book not only fills a major gap in the literature but provides a solid foundation for future investigations [...] It is essential reading for anyone interested in the sociology of Spanish football. - Professor Steven Jackson, University of Otago, New Zealand

Ram?n Llopis-Goig is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Valencia, Spain. He is co-author of Groove Armada with John Williams (2006) and he has published a collection of papers on the globalisation of football in Europe and Latin America entitled F?tbol Postnacional (2009).