The Foreign Revolution

Chelsea's 2-1 win against Southampton on 26 December 1999 was less significant than the fact they fielded the first all-foreign XI in the history of the English Football League. The manager Gianluca Vialli couldn't understand the fuss, but English football had been irrevocably changed... The Foreign Revolution is the definitive account of how the mother country relearned the game, and opened her heart and wallet to a generation of foreign stars and a host of foreign managers. The celebrated and the obscure share the stage in this meticulously-researched and entertaining account of how cultures came to collide and merge in our national game. From the first forays in the late 19th century to the golden age of Cantona, Henry and Mourinho, the Russian Revolution at Stanford Bridge and the take over at Man Utd, Nick Harris dives into the melting pot and tells football's great unwritten story.