With its victory in the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, the Spanish national soccer team became the first in history to win three major trophies in a row. De Riotinto a la Roja explores the long and fraught development of soccer in Spain that began with a group of British engineers and sailors playing soccer in Bilbao’s shipyards and ultimately led to an influx of South American and European stars whose engagement with homegrown players helped overcome political rivalries and resulted in some of the most exciting and technically sublime soccer ever seen. The book journeys through some of the most extraordinary characters and matches that have defined Spanish soccer while also serving as an invaluable study on Spain’s recent history, during which regional tensions and sectarianism have played out on soccer pitches all over the country—especially in the rivalry between F. C. Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of the richest, most powerful, and successful teams in the sport’s history. Above all, however, the book explores the journey of a national team that went largely unnoticed for most of its history until a succession of players and coaches, heirs of foreign and domestic talent that had taken root throughout the 20th century, led Spanish soccer to glory.

Jimmy Burns Marañón is a freelance author and journalist with an expertise in security, espionage, Latin America, and Spanish football. He was formerly an award-winning senior reporter for the Financial Times, for which he worked as a foreign correspondent and specialist in intelligence. Born in Madrid to Anglo-Spanish parents, he is the author of several books on Spain and Spanish football, including Barça: A People’s Passion, Spain: A Literary Companion, and When Beckham Went to Spain. Vicente del Bosque is the current manager of the Spanish national soccer team, which he has led to victories in the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships. As the manager of Real Madrid, he won two UEFA Champions' Leagues and two domestic La Liga titles.