Title: Rotten to the Core
Author: Rob Murphy
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ASIN: B07949JNBY
Pages: 228
Genre: Sports Fiction
Reviewed By: Dan MacIntosh

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Europeans have a religious-like zeal for football (or as we Yankees call it, soccer), and Rob Murphy’s novel Rotten to the Core smartly plays upon this seemingly boundless zealotry. Simultaneously, Murphy’s book also explores international relations. His story centers around a Russian and England bidding war to host the 2018 World Cup. This war, although seemingly innocent on the surface, is more like an actual war (especially like the Cold War), than one might at first imagine.

Fascinatingly, the Russians are painted in Murphy’s book like a bunch of thuggish bad guys. It’s fascinating because poor, woebegone Russians seemingly cannot escape their criminal nationalistic image. Those that thought the end of the Cold War, brought on by perestroika and glasnost and mainly associated with then Soviet head Mikhail Gorbachev, would bring with it a more whitewashed Russian image, were sadly mistaken. Communism is a thing of the past (at least in modern Russia), but Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current president, is like a chip off the old Soviet bloc and viewed nearly unanimously internationally as an old school bad guy. Then there’s the whole intrigue involving American President Donald Trump and Russian’s intrusion into the 2016 presidential election, which brings out all the ugliness of Russia’s stereotypical international meddling.

Murphy’s main character is Francois Picard, the Secretary General of the Federation International de Football Association, best known by the acronym FIFA. In his position, he has the power and influence to help determine the host country for the World Cup. Picard is wined and dined, so to speak, by high level Russians to secure that country’s bid to host the tournament. The stakes are high – even life and death high – for Picard. Murphy’s prologue lays out these conditions in no uncertain terms.

“If England were to win the right to stage the 2018 World Cup instead of Russia, not only would Picard lose out financially. At best, he would lose Russian support for his bid to become FIFA President. At worst, he had good reason to fear for his life. The Russians were not good losers.”

Although a work of fiction, Murphy’s story is nevertheless decidedly believable. As recent as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Russian athletes from the Olympic Athletes from Russia (aka OAR) delegation, failed doping tests and were disqualified. Therefore, when Murphy writes, “The Russians were not good losers,” there is ample evidence to prove this assertion.

One caveat should be added, which is that Murphy’s book is sometimes difficult to appreciate without foreknowledge and insight into European football. After all, some Americans might comment, ‘Hey, it’s just a game, right?’ However, the rest of the world takes this sport extremely seriously. It’s taken easily as serious as the Olympics. Winning the World Cup is a source of national pride. Perhaps, few esteem the sport any more seriously than the English, which take exclusive regional pride in their professional teams. The best American comparison might be professional football, but it’s doubtful the stakes in Sunday football are nearly as high as international (or even English regional) soccer/football.

With that said, Murphy does a great job setting up and telling his story. He clearly understands the sport, as well as the intricacies of international relations. Therefore, even if you’re not especially fond of sports, you can still appreciate Murphy’s deep dive into international politics. Then again, if you’re from outside the United States (which will likely be the last nation to fully appreciate soccer’s appeal) this story may feel like reading the daily newspaper sport section. It truly comes off like current news.

Once again, sports are just games – that is until national interests enter the equation. Just as the Olympics cannot be completely devoid of politics, so it is with international football. Rob Murphy makes this sad but true point abundantly clear with Rotten to the Core.