Les Hommes hors-jeu

Emmanuel Habasko is a young unemployed man who lives with his father in a small apartment in Zizkov, a proletarian suburb of the Czechoslovak capital. Lacking financial means, father and son have to share everything in the small apartment, including the bed. They also share a passion for the Victoria soccer team, which all true Zizkovians support.
Mr. Naceradec is a Jewish merchant who owns a clothing and raincoat store. Although he lives in Zizkov, he is a fervent supporter of Slavia, Victoria's rival team.
The circumstances of the first meeting between Emmannuel Habasko and Monsieur Naceradec in the stadium stands, during a match between Victoria and Slavia, did not augur well...
Through the story of the friendship between a young Czech proletarian and a Jewish shopkeeper, this novel humorously describes the peaceful cohabitation of ordinary people on the eve of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.