This is the first book in English to closely examine the life of Diego Maradona from socio-cultural perspectives, exploring how his status as an icon, a popular sporting hero, and a political figurehead has been culturally constructed, reproduced, and manipulated.

The volume looks at representations of Maradona across a wide variety of media, including literature, cinema, popular music, printed and online press, and radio, and in different countries around the world, to cast new light on topics such as the instrumentality of sporting heroes and the links among sport, nationalism, and ideology. It shows how the life of Maradona - from his origins in the barrio through to his rise to god-like status in Naples and as a postcolonial symbol of courage and resistance against imperial powers across the global south, alongside scandal and his fall from grace - powerfully illustrates themes such as the dynamics of gender, justice, and affect that underpin the study of sport, culture, and society.

This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in football, sport studies, media studies, cultural studies, or sociology.

About the Author

Pablo Brescia is a writer, critic, and Professor of Spanish at the University of South Florida, USA, where he directs the graduate program and teaches courses on contemporary Latin American literature and culture. His areas of research are the theory and history of short fiction and the intersection among science, technology, and literature in Latin America.

Mariano Paz is a Lecturer in Spanish and Subject Leader for Spanish at the University of Limerick, Republic of Ireland, where he is also an Associate Director of the Ralahine Centre for Utopian Studies. His research focuses on Latin American utopian and dystopian cinemas, science fiction, and popular culture.

Reviews

'This text offers much to the academic specialist, the armchair sports watcher and those also interested in the broader issue of fandom and celebrity. With especially strong chapters on the Spanish and Italian dimension of Maradona's career by Garcia Cames and Russo as well as Boyle on Maradona and Britain, the work is destined to have a wide and long-lasting appeal. Brescia and Paz have also opened an avenue of investigation and analysis that could prove valuable in the assessment of other major historical sporting figures most notably Shane Warne, Mohammed Ali, Arthur Ashe and Colin Kaepernick, with respect to gaining a deeper insight into wider manifestations of popular culture and the growing impact of sport in moulding a key component of evolving national identity, socio-political priority and nation-building.'

- Russell Holden, In the Zone Sport and Politics Consultancy

Book Information
ISBN 9781032052090
Author Pablo Brescia
Format Paperback
Page Count 265
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 460g