Va-Va-Voom

'Excellent' - Simon Kuper 'The definitive story' - Christian Karembeu A REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION, INCLUDING NEW EXCLUSIVE PSG CONTENT Glory, scandal and how French football came of age Le foot français has come a long way over the last 40 years, with France reaching four of the past seven men's World Cup finals (winning two) and French players starring for the world's biggest clubs. Culminating in a comprehensive account of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League triumph in 2025, Tom Williams explores French football's turbulent modern transformation. From match-fixing affairs to sex-tape scandals, monumental matches to heart-stopping headbutts, he details how philosophies, personalities and power struggles have defined each era. Featuring exclusive interviews with French greats such as Alain Giresse, Jean-Pierre Papin and Blaise Matuidi, and with a cast including Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé, Va-Va-Voom is the inside track on France's footballing revolution.

Tom Williams is a football writer and broadcaster who has written for The Athletic, The Times, the Guardian and the Independent. He is the resident Premier League expert for Canal+ in France and a regular guest on The Totally Football Show podcast.

Prologue: Les Poteaux Carrés 1. Les Bleus: One Night in Seville 2. Geste Technique: Le Coup Franc à la Platini 3. Bordeaux: Victory Amid the Vineyards 4. Marseille: Tapie's Tainted Triumph 5. Geste Technique: La Papinade 6. Les Rosbifs: Living the Dream 7. Nantes: The Goal That Came From Somewhere Else 8. Italie: Learning to Win 9. Geste Technique: La Roulette à la Zidane 10. Auxerre: One Small Village Still Resists 11. Angleterre: The Sound and the Fury 12. Arsenal: A Very English Frenchman 13. Les Bleus: Champions du Monde! 14. Geste Technique: La Spéciale Henry 15. Lyon: The Magnificent Seven 16. Les Bleus: From the Gutter to a Second Star 17. Espagne: The Ballad of ZZ and KB9 18. Le Foot Féminin: Lyon Light the Way 19. Paris Saint-Germain: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work 20. Allemagne: La Nouvelle Vague Epilogue: Et Maintenant? Acknowledgements Bibliography Index