Digging Deep - David Bolchover

Who was the greatest Jewish footballer ever? A question to leave even the most historically literate football experts scratching their heads. And yet, before the Holocaust, Jewish superstar players were at the heart of European football. So too were the visionary Jewish coaches reinventing tactics; the Jewish footballing pioneers who shaped the modern game; and even the elite Jewish referees trusted with the biggest matches. Digging Deep excavates a destroyed civilisation. It reveals the untold stories of eleven Jewish football greats - icons one minute, marked for extermination the next. Setting exhilarating sporting triumphs against the gathering darkness of twentieth-century Europe, it restores these forgotten men to their rightful place in the football pantheon. More than a sports book, this is a journey through the beautiful game into the savage reality of the Holocaust - tracing human sagas that speak of ambition and glory, identity and belonging, terror and murder.