Hachette India

New

Football 500: The Ultimate Companion to 9 Decades of the World Cup

Joy Bhattacharjya

Aniket Mishra

TOR! TOR! TOR! TOR!

For the uninitiated, that is the iconic commentary by Herbert Zimmermann on 4 July 1954 during the World Cup final between Hungary and West Germany. After the winning goal was shot in the 84th minute by West Germany, he shouted ‘Tor! Tor! Tor! Tor!’ (Tor is 'goal' in German) and his voice became the iconic narration of a nation's victory. The FIFA trophy, on the other hand, has its own history of being lost and then found (by a dog no less) and then redesigned, and yet it has always charted great distances to make its way to the champions. The FIFA World Cup, with its legacy of almost a century, has many such stories waiting to be unravelled and Football 500 brings you just that!

As we prepare for yet another season in 2026, refresh your knowledge about all the World Cup clashes – starting from the very beginning in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay. From behind-the-scenes stories, goals and GOATs, to tenacious teams and grand stadiums, this book covers it all! It is full of spellbinding stories, quizzes and puzzles sprinkled with QR codes and images for you to relive the magic of the last 96 years of the beautiful game as you read along.

Classification : Sports/Football
Pub Date : MAY 19, 2026
Imprint : Hachette India
Page Extent : 272
Binding : PB
ISBN : 9789357315784
Price : INR 499

Joy Bhattacharjya

Joy Bhattacharjya is a cricket analyst and is currently hosting the Cricbuzz IPL Live 2026. He runs a professional volleyball league and was the project director for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the team director for the Kolkata Knight Riders (including two championship seasons), head of programming for History channel and National Geographic channel for South Asia and head of production for ESPN Star Sports.

He also designed India's first ever fantasy sports game, Super Selector, for ESPN Star Sports. Joy is a columnist, active quizzer, sports presenter and analyst and currently resides in Delhi.

Aniket Mishra

Aniket Mishra hailing from Delhi is a disciplined runner, avid quizzer and a football enthusiast. He works with FIFA and has been associated with over five editions of the World Cup (a mix of the men's and women's editions). He is the author of Know Thy Dhoni (2020), The IPL Quiz Book (2021), 125 Years of the Olympics (2024) and more.

These books are a testament of his passion and showcase his flair for writing. He has an MPhil in Comparative Literature from Delhi University and is also the founder of Barefoot Sports Quizzing Festival (2012) that has seen 14 editions.