A football book was my Real goal

Richard Fitzpatrick combined his love of both writing and soccer in a book. Here he explains how he went about doing it

MY second book, El Clásico, is about the rivalry between two of the world’s greatest soccer teams — Barcelona and Real Madrid.

I was drawn to the subject because I moved to Barcelona in Feb 2010, and because it illuminates Spain’s cultural and political life. Their sporting dual is a proxy war for ancient hatreds that reached a bloody climax with the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s; though their global fan bases and relentless corporatism have diluted the internecine factor.

Eighty percent of the work for El Clásico was research. The writing was easier. Writing a non-fiction book is like making a documentary. El Clásico involved travel around Spain, and to other countries, to see matches and for 60 face-to-face interviews; and, because I didn’t speak fluent Spanish, the marshalling of a team of eight translators/interpreters. The idea for El Clásico took a few months to gestate. In the bars of Barcelona, I watched Spain win the 2010 World Cup. Barça set a record: seven of the Spanish team came from their ranks. The entertaining José Mourinho arrived to manage Real Madrid on the eve of the World Cup. I thought there might be a book there.

By Jan 2011, I had material to write a proposal: a chapter outline; key selling points; and three sample chapters. I made a shortlist of seven agents and seven publishers in the UK for my pitch. I signed with AM Heath, one of London’s oldest literary agents, while ploughing on with my research. A good agent is a fantastic ally — for literary advice and business smarts.

I began writing at the end of Mar 2011. The first four or five chapters, including a rewrite of the three sample chapters, were the most difficult, as they set the story up and involved more abstract ideas. I took five days to write a chapter, including one day to reread notes and interview transcripts.

I set a target of 1,000 words a day, the length of an article. I planned for 80,000 words. I started work every day at 11am. I would edit the previous day’s work and make phone calls/write emails related to outstanding interviews; follow up on match-ticket leads; organise travel, and so on. I’d take a long lunch, during which I’d sketch out the day’s writing plan.

After lunch, I put in the first of three writing shifts, the last of which ended around 1am or 2am. I read for an hour to unwind before sleep. With the exception of meals, a siesta, walking the dog two or three times a day (and days spent reading, travelling or attending matches), this was my routine for four months.

After finishing the manuscript, there were bouts of editing over the next 12 months, including a libel read that cost a fifth of my advance, until its publication this week.

John Banville says it takes him three to five years to write a novel. James M Cain wrote The Postman Always Rings Twice over a long weekend. For a non-fiction book, a year or two is the norm. I bulled through it. It was all-consuming. I got married during the process, so you can imagine the effect on my poor bride. For six months, I had to block out everything — birthdays, weddings, movies, even playing soccer. I had two bottles of beer in half a year.

There were curve balls. In one six-week stretch, I had to get match tickets for four Madrid-Barça matches and the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. It was an ordeal. Volcanic ash hit the week of that final in London, which meant jettisoning flight tickets for bus and ferry. It was exhausting. Going to Madrid, which I did once a week for three months, involved two eight-hour, night-time bus journeys. One evening, having completed a radio interview, I fell asleep for 15 minutes on the pavement of the street where the Ultras Sur, Real Madrid’s hooligan brigade, do their war dances before matches.

It wasn’t all drudgery. Traipsing around Spain to visit its finest cities, lounging in cafes before getting to watch Leo Messi, possibly the greatest ever footballer, had its compensations. I met interesting people, like the chef Ferran Adrià, a Barça fan.

There is also the pleasure of seeing the book in print. It’s like the feeling of having run a marathon. I’m looking forward to my parents reading it (my dad will enjoy it a little more than my mom). Not sure, though, if my beautiful wife will want to read “that book”.

* El Clásico: Barcelona v Real Madrid, Football’s Greatest Rivalry, is published by Bloomsbury on Friday, at €14.99.