Book Review: Outsiders by Rodrigo Barneschi

A Football Fanatic's South American Odyssey

What’s It About?

It is fair to say that Rodrigo Barneschi is fascinated by two things above all: his beloved Palmeiras and football fans, particularly those who opt to visit others’ stadia as opposing fans. The former feature heavily but, above all, this book is dedicated to the former.

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A chance childhood encounter with a bus full of singing fans rolling through enemy territory sparked a lifelong fascination in Barneschi. That fleeting moment of collective passion left such an impression that he has since spent much of his adult life chasing its echo.

In Outsiders, Barneschi documents that pursuit, devoting himself above all to Palmeiras, his beloved club, whose matches he never misses. But this book goes way beyond that, focusing on the broader obsession with being an outsider: the away supporter hoping to snatch three points on unfamiliar ground.

That obsession often demands long, grueling, and occasionally dangerous journeys. Sections of the book are dedicated to the elaborate tactics used to evade detection by hostile home fans, while others focus on the endless hours spent aboard buses snaking through the night.

Those journeys make for great experiences. They offer fleeting glimpses into unfamiliar towns, chance friendships forged in the haze of shared exhaustion, and moments of pure emotion that arise only when you're far from home, vastly outnumbered, and still singing louder than the rest. It's in these away days- half hardship, half adventure - that Barneschi finds meaning.

For him, the stature of the club being followed is irrelevant. What matters is the decision to show up, to take the risk, make the journey, and stand behind your team far from home. Even the defeats, he suggests, serve a purpose; they make the victories taste better.

What truly elevates Outsiders is Barneschi’s writing itself. He has a lyricist’s eye, capturing the poetry of even the most mundane moments. His gift lies in articulating thoughts and feelings that many football fans experience but few have ever managed to express.

Even So…

Although it is not an overt sentiment, there are moments when a subtle glorification of fan violence creeps in. Barneschi doesn't dwell on it, nor does he fully endorse it, but in recounting certain clashes and confrontations, there’s an undercurrent of admiration for the chaos and intensity that can erupt around the game. It’s a delicate line, and Outsiders occasionally walks it without fully interrogating the implications.

Final Score

Through Barneschi’s vivid storytelling and poetic eye, in Outsiders we’re given access to a world that many fans only glimpse from a distance: the packed buses, the whispered routes, the roar of the away end. Even if some aspects raise uncomfortable questions, the book’s honesty and passion are undeniable. For anyone who’s ever followed a team, stood in the rain with strangers, or felt that strange mix of pride and pain that only football can conjure, Outsiders gives life and meaning to those experiences.

Outsiders: A Football Fanatic’s South American Odyssey by Rodrigo Barneschi is available from Pitch Publishing Ltd. A review copy was provided by the publisher.

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