Got a terrific little surprise in the mail yesterday: John Beck's "2010 World Cup Survival Guide," an extremely informative, 82-page book that literally fits into your back pocket and is geared specifically toward a Bay Area audience.

ESPN has come out with a book, "World Cup Companion," but in truth it's not a companion at all. It's merely a history of past World Cups -- expertly assembled, with spectacular color photographs, but a "companion" is something that comes in handy during this World Cup, and for that, Beck's work is a treasure. Not only can you bring it along when visiting your local pub, Beck suggests you "spill beer on it and throw it at the television." Admirable spirit, that.

Beck, the longtime entertainment writer for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, played soccer in his youth and obviously hasn't lost his passion for the game. There's a bit of whimsy to the book, but fortunately, he doesn't get too cute. It's mostly vital information: South Africa venues, team profiles, trivia, lists (such as the top 10 players to never play in a World Cup), websites, and some of the best soccer-mad taverns in the Bay Area. The only missing element is an analysis of the rosters, but then again, there's no way such a thing could be completely accurate (imagine, for instance, forecasts mentioning Michael Ballack, Charlie Davies, Michael Essien or Theo Walcott).

If you're really interested in World Cup history, I'd suggest "The Story of the World Cup," by Brian Glanville, one of the best and most seasoned soccer writers in the world. Also recommended: Pete Davies' "Twenty-Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts." Beck's book, meanwhile, is available at Book Passage in San Francisco and Corte Madera, two other S.F. locations (Green Apple on Clement St. and Booksmith on Haight St.) as well as this website: www.2010worldcupsurvivalguide.com

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The newswire:

England issued its No. 1 jersey to David James, indicating the veteran goalkeeper will start the opener ahead of Robert Green and Joe Hart . . . The news isn't all bad for 20-year-old Jonathan Dos Santos, left off the Mexican team in a very controversial move by Javier Aguirre. Dos Santos' club, the fabled Barcelona, signed him to a two-year extension . . . As the controversy rages on over Adidas' new ball, Brazil coach Dunga isn't happy with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, who implied during a news conference this week that, in criticizing the ball, Brazilian players Luis Fabiano and Julio Cesar were looking for excuses in case things go wrong. "The guy has never gone on the pitch, never kicked a ball, the only thing he knows how to do is talk," said Dunga. "Let's have him come train here with us, with this ball, and afterwards we can talk. It's not just the Brazilians who are complaining, it's players from a number of countries." . . . Sounds like Dunga's relationship with the Brazilian media is about like always when the World Cup rolls around: "We've got 300 journalists here who don't want Brazil to win," said Dunga. "They want to be able to say I was lucky when we won the Copa America and the Confederations Cup. Happens to every coach of Brazil." . . . The Wall Street Journal points out that for all the teams coached by men from other countries over the years, no team ever won the World Cup with a coach who isn't a native of that country. Only seven, by the way, have ever won it: Italy, Brazil, France, Germany, Argentina, England and Uruguay.

The informative website Goal.com examined Italy's rich history of world-class strikers and declared the 2010 group "the worst selection of Azzurri attackers since at least 1954." The five-man group -- which excludes New Jersey-raised Guiseppi Rossi -- is Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella and Giampaolo Pazzini. If you're intimately familiar with Italian soccer (and I'm not), the website suggests that Marcello Lippi would have done better to include Francesco Totti, Mario Balotelli, Fabrizio Miccoli and Antonio Cassano . . . Disturbing: Michael Essien, Ghana's world-class midfielder who will miss the World Cup due to a knee injury, is blaming his fate on his estranged father, with whom he has not spoken in 15 years. In reports circlating throughout Africa, Essien claims that the man issued a bad-luck curse on his son . . . Fans haven't sensed much regret from Zinedine Zidane in the wake of his shocking head-butt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. I've heard Zidane claim he'd do it all over again; Materazzi's words were just that insulting. A story today, though, quotes Zidane as saying, "No one knows what the six months afterwards felt like. If I was living the moment again today, I would not do this again. It pains me that four years later people still speak of this."