- Phil Ball
Phil Ball (born 1957 in
Vancouver , Canada) is a British writer based in San Sebastian/Donostia, Spain, where he has lived for the past eighteen years [citation
last= Ball
first=Phil
title=White Christmas
url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=493574&root=europe&cc=5901] . Although Canadian by Birth, Ball grew up inGrimsby on the north east coast ofEngland , having moved there as a child in 1967. As a youngster Ball supportedGrimsby Town , saying "I was brought up on lower league football" [cite video | people=Phil Ball | title=http://laligatalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=268378 | medium=Podcast | publisher=La Liga Talk | date = October 2007] . After finishing University, Ball took an English teaching job inOman . He moved to San Sebastian during the firstGulf War [cite video | people=Phil Ball | title=http://laligatalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=268378 | medium=Podcast | publisher=La Liga Talk | date = October 2007] .By profession a teacher of English, Phil Ball is a life-long soccer enthusiast, and his first published book was the acclaimed "Morbo: the story of Spanish football" (2001). The book linked the traditional antagonisms in Spanish football (the “Morbo” of the title) to the regional, linguistic and political divisions of Spain as a country. "White Storm: 100 years of
Real Madrid " (2002) was the first English-language history of the famous Spanish soccer club, written to celebrate its centenary, and using a similar socio-political approach to that taken in "Morbo"."An Englishman Abroad : Beckham’s Spanish adventure" (2004) chronicled the first year of English soccer hero David Beckham’s spell at the Real Madrid club.
Phil Ball’s 2006 publication "The Hapless Teacher’s Handbook" marked a departure from sports writing, being a humorous autobiographical account of his own early years as a schoolteacher in England.
Phil Ball has contributed soccer articles to a number of sports publications, including "
When Saturday Comes ", "ESPNsoccernet ", "The New York Times [citation | last= Ball | first = Phil | title=The Game in Spain | newspaper=The New York Times | year=2003 | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phil_Ball&action=submit] " and "Financial Times ". Phil Ball has also worked as an announcer for Sky Sports' la liga broadcast [ [http://www.rbooks.co.uk/author.aspx?id=16398 Phil Ball - books from rBooks.co.uk ] ] .References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
