Unlike most sportswriters who have to work their way up to the big leagues, John Doyle’s first assignment as a soccer correspondent was covering the World Cup.  Doyle, a lifelong soccer fan, is TV critic for the Globe and Mail, a major national newspaper in Canada.  Somewhere down the line his career took an unexpected turn when he wrote a column about watching a game between Iran and his native Ireland on TV at an Irish pub in Toronto.

As a result of writing that piece it transpired that Doyle was asked to fill in for the Globe and Mail’s regular sports writer covering the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea.  In the eight years since then he has travelled the globe covering two World Cups, two European Championships and various qualifiers for the most recent World Cup in South Africa.

In the process of covering the tournaments Doyle’s writing on soccer has appeared in the “Globe and Mail,” “The Guardian” and “The New York Times.”   Doyle’s eight years of traveling to cover soccer have also resulted in the very entertaining book, The World Is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer.

Part of the reason Doyle is uniquely entertaining amongst soccer writers is because as he puts it himself he is, “pathologically incapable of writing a traditional report on a game.”

The World Is a Ball instead captures the madcap frenzy involved in covering the world’s biggest sporting events.  With wit and a dash of wonder the book largely forgoes the cynicism and hardboiled analysis of the career sports journalist and instead revels in the visceral pleasures of being at a major tournament.

Things like watching Irish and German fans joyfully playing a drunkenly inept pickup game against one other in a park in Korea prior to a match or seeing the enormous legions of the Netherland’s Oranje Army on the march during Euro 2008.  Part soccer journalism and part travelogue, the book is a highly entertaining read and perhaps as close to an actual trip to the World Cup as you are likely to get while sitting on your couch.

World Soccer Reader’s Alex Baker was lucky enough to catch up with Doyle over a drink while the author was in L.A. on business for his day job as a TV critic.  Doyle is a charming fellow whose Irish brogue is now submerged beneath a slight Canadian accent.  Dry and droll at times, rambunctious and smiling at others, Doyle was generous enough to offer up opinions on among other things, the Irish, the English, the Spanish, the Italians and his home club Toronto FC.

Unlike many members of the roving green army of Irish supporters he writes fondly about in his book Doyle harbors little lingering animosity towards French striker Thierry Henry for his infamous handball in World Cup qualifications.

“It was probably instinctive” he says. “Many Irish players might have done the same thing.”

Nonetheless I ask Doyle to play a little fantasy football and speculate how Ireland might have fared had they been in Group A along with Mexico, Uruguay and South Africa instead of France. “I think they’d have finished second and gotten out of their group,” he replies. “Because they were that dogged and determined.”

But Doyle feels that Irish soccer is currently in a lull with star players like Robbie Keane and Shay Given struggling for playing time at their respective clubs and the rest of the team consisting of “journeyman players.”

Doyle also writes extensively about the English and the often maddening and rather mystifying belief about winning they hold going into every major tournament.  “They’re a middling soccer power,” he explains. “Very insular and unsophisticated when compared to Italy, Spain or Germany.”

“Wayne Rooney actually complained that he was bored staying at whatever resort they were training at in South Africa.  Can you imagine a twenty-something athlete complaining about being bored playing in the World Cup?”

“In Italy you train to be a soccer player like you do to be a lawyer or another professional.  You don’t drink except maybe a half a glass of wine with dinner every now and again.  You don’t go to nightclubs during the week.  You study and learn about soccer.  It’s not like that at all in England.”

However Doyle also shares the commonly held believe that it’s going to be a long road back for the Nerrazzuri.  “Italy is still in decline.  Balotelli should’ve probably been included in the squad.  But there are issues there that Germany has dealt with and Italy still has not.”

Mario Balotelli, the Italian striker of Ghanaian descent has often been subjected to racist remarks by fans during his few appearances for the Italian national team.

As for the Spanish, current champions of Europe and the World, John believes, “We’re lucky to be alive now to see Spanish soccer in its prime,” adding, “We’ll be able to tell our grandchildren we watched the great Spanish team.”

When I mention Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho’s view that Champions League soccer is better than World Cup soccer John strongly disagrees.  “I think the intensity of knowing you have the world’s attention on you easily makes up for an lack of skill or cohesion in a team.”

John who both covers and supports Toronto FC is pleased with the development of MLS and North American soccer in general.  But he admits, “It’ll never be on the same level as NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL.  But if it can hold out at about fifth or sixth that’s doing okay.”

Toronto, or “The FC” as they are known amongst Doyle and the other faithful have just appointed ex-Ajax player and coach Aron Winter as head coach.  Doyle who has certainly been around the soccer block, is a realist in his assessment of the former Dutch international taking charge of his club.

“To think that he’s gonna somehow come here and introduce total football in one or two seasons is ridiculous.  That’s gonna take years.” But even Doyle agrees that the appointment of Winter along with retaining Jurgen Klinsmann as technical adviser shows good intent from the owners.

“One thing they mustn’t do is they mustn’t let Toronto FC become like the Toronto Maple Leafs.  That’s a very successful team but not a winning team.”

At one point in the book while attending an exhibit of Egon Schiele paintings during Euro 2008 Doyle remarks that he feels he as if he resembles one of the figures in the paintings, “stark, skeletal, raw, yet bursting with life in the eyes.”

When pointed out that this could be a description of someone strung out on amphetamines he laughs and explains that covering events like the World Cup and the Euros “does amp you up.  It’s an intense experience that’s completely engaging to be in but it can leave you utterly drained afterwards.”

If you’re looking for an intense, completely engaging global soccer experience while you’re saving your money for Euro 2012, you will surely enjoy picking up The World Is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer.