Reddit mentions: The best soccer books

I posted this in the past to the same question:

Well there's a massive picture book type thing called A Photographic History of English Football which should be recommended more often than it is. It's one of those Guinness Book of Records sized books that might have trouble fitting on a shelf but it covers every aspect of the history of the English game (and thus the history of football itself). The pictures are extremely good too, especially the ones from the 1900s.

For a more in-depth study of football across the world, Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy is definitely one of my favourites though it's a little outdated now. However, Kuper travels round Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas interviewing key personnel in some of the bigger Clubs in the area and tells their history. His chapter on Dynamo Kiev and their Cold War era function as a funnel between East and West is worth the price of the book alone in my opinion.

In terms of autobiographies, I have always recommended Sir Bobby Robson's Farewell but not Goodbye as he tells the story of his journey from working in a coal mine in North East England to playing for his country and eventually nurturing the talents of some of the most important people in football now on and off the pitch. Most of all his personality shines through and the man is a hero to me and many others.

If you want a more technical autobiography then Rinus Michel's Teambuilding is the go to standard. Not strictly an autobiography and more a technical book but he intersperses it with his own experiences and you really get the feeling of how the greatest coach in the history of the game came to believe the things that he did.

If you like quirky but thought provoking books then Football and Chess might pique your interest. I'm a great believer in the vast similarities between chess and football on a tactical level and the author shared the same sentiment. Not the best written book in the world but it's gets your noggin ticking over and makes you reassess your ideas on the game which is always the best thing a book can really do for you.
Also as a fan of Italian football and culture, Gianluca Vialli/Marcotti's book The Italian Job is one of my favourite football books ever and extremely thought provoking on the differences in the football cultures in England and Italy and how both can learn from each other.

On the psychological side, I've recently read Inside the Mind of a Manager which was interesting. I can't say that I agreed with all of the conclusions and think the quotes were a little cherry picked but it's a good read for people who want to know more about what the modern manager actually does for a living and the people interviewed for the book are some of the best maangers alive today.

Lastly, if you really want to look at the business side of the game and how it is changing then I would recommend Ferran Soriano's book GOAL! The Ball doesn't go in by chance. Soriano is Man City's current CEO and former Barca CEO so he's certainly been there and done it on the business front and many of his ideas ion that book are beginning to be realised now. He recently did a lecture about it which skimmed over the ideas but the book delves into it deeper and tells stories from his time at Barca.
If you want more of a narrative and less of a business lecture then former Crystal Palace Chairman Simon Jordan's book, Be Careful What You Wish For is an excellent read. Be aware that Jordan is obviously bitter about his time at Palace and tries to settle some old scores here but outside of that it's a semi interesting look at his time at the Club and the problems he faced in implementing his business strategies.

Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer -- The book for the novice soccer fan. It explains how one can get caught up in the sport even if they deride it or have no history with it. Amazon: After covering the American sports scene for fifteen years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world—the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, “It was like childhood, with beer.”

The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer -- Be warned this book can be mistaken as a blunt object. One of the most global histories I've ever read. If you like information about how world soccer got to where it is now, I highly recommend this book. Amazon: In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.

Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer -- Amazon: From the league’s formation in 1993 to the David Beckham era, this book reveals all the action on and off the pitch: the politics, the lawsuits, the management of its teams, and the savvy business deals that helped MLS rebound. It also revels in the big personalities of its stars, the grace of its utility players, and the obstacles the league faces in meeting its long-range goals.

Corner Offices & Corner Kicks -- Amazon: The Bethlehem Steel soccer team of 1907-30 and the New York Cosmos of 1971-85 were very much alike in a number of ways beyond their status as the two greatest soccer teams the United States has ever produced. The most important way that they are alike is that both were owned by major corporations, which is the exception in professional sports, and both experienced the benefits and the pitfalls of corporate ownership. Here are the stories of these two teams, and in particular the roller-coaster rides that their ownership situations sent them on.

• We were the first MLS team.
  
  
• We hate DC for knocking us out in the playoffs a lot.
  
  
• We hate TFC because their fans are assholes who riot in our stadium when they loose.
  
  
• We hate Chicago because they're fart faces.
  
  
• "Massive" is our tagline, the Crew's website has a pretty good write up on it here.
  
  
  
• Steve Sirk's "A Massive Season" is a good book.
  
  
• Our stadium is typically where the USMNT chooses to play their biggest home games.
  
  A very brief list of team legends include (but are certainly not limited to):
  
  
• Frankie Hejduk - captain of the championship team, awesome guy. Currently the Crew's "Brand Ambassador". You'll probably see him in the stands/tailgates if you come to a game.
  
  
• Robert Warzycha - Great player. Bad coach, but great player and definitely a legend.
  
  
• Brian McBride - Number one overall pick of the MLS inaugural draft and very much deserved it.
  
  
• Guillermo Barros Schelotto - The man, the legend, the god. Amazing player, league MVP during our championship season. I still contend that he is the best player MLS has seen (obviously not as an entire career, but the best player while they were playing in MLS).
  

My list would have to include

The Ball is Round this is an amazing history of the sport. It is a very big book but very good.

The Numbers Game This has been one of my favorite soccer reads and I am surprised at how little people talk about it.

This love is not for cowards Truly an amazing story.

Amung the Thugs a fun and alarming tale of holgainism. Something I am very glad has not developed around the sport in the USA.

also if your not already receiving them you should subscribe to
Howler Magazine and
Eight by Eight


I hope this list gets you started. I have more on my list but have not got around to them.

Inverting the Pyramid - Jonathan Wilson
A pioneering book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe.

Teambuilding: the road to success - Rinus Michels
The late Rinus Michels, FIFA's Coach of the Century, offers his unique insight into the process of "teambuilding".

The Coaching Philosophies of Louis Van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches - Henny Kormelink and Tjeu Seeverens
Louis van Gaal, Frans Hoek, Co Adriaanse and fitness coach Bobby Haarms discuss their training methods and philosophies in this book full of creative ideas for soccer coaches at any level.

Dutch Soccer Secrets - Peter Hyballa & Hans-Dieter te Poel
This book is a first attempt to present expert knowledge of internationally proven useful and effective Dutch soccer coaching in theory and practice, based on qualitative data collection.

Attacking Soccer: a tactical analysis - Massimo Lucchesi
This book examines match strategies for creating goal scoring opportunities out of various systems of play.

Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong - Chris Anderson, David Sally
Innovation is coming to soccer, and at the centre of it all are the numbers—a way of thinking about the game that ignores the obvious in favour of how things actually are.

Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper
Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them.

There are a few, depending on what you want really...

The best place to start is DEFINITELY Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby, which is his autobiography as an Arsenal fan. It came out in 1992, so doesn't have any of the Wenger era, but really helps you to get a feel of what it's like to be an Arsenal fan.

[Highbury: The Story Of Arsenal In N5] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Highbury-The-Story-Of-Arsenal/dp/0752876392/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333575519&sr=1-1) (I hope I did that right, I'm very new to Reddit) is very good as a more informative history book covering the period up until we left Highbury in 2006.

Others to look for, although I haven't got around to reading either yet, are So Paddy Got Up by Arseblog, which is written by The Arseblogger and various other Bloggers and Journalists, and is meant to be fantastic.

[Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arsenal-The-Making-Modern-Superclub/dp/1907637311/ref=pd_sim_b_2) is meant to be very good too, and covers more of the Arsene Wenger era.

I might go and buy So Paddy Got Up now actually... or re-read Fever Pitch (again!)

The story behind that dates back to before the Nordecke section was formed. Each of the three groups were in different parts of the stadium: HSH was in the old north end, La Turbina was much smaller and was in the NE corner sometimes and Crew Union was in 103 on the east endline.

When the stage was built prior to the 2008 season the groups met and decided it would be worth a shot to stand together in the NE corner of the stadium. There's a whole chapter on Crew supporters in Steve Sirk's book about the 2008 season that has a lot more history including old groups like The Contractors, NorthEnders and V-Army.

To expand on the three groups, as Metelteeth said:

Crew Supporters Union Oldest group of the bunch having been the remains of what was once V-Army. Also tends to be more young professional, but has a wide range of ages overall. Does a lot of fundraising for MidOhio Foodbank as part of it's not-for-profit status. Hosts large tailgates prematch. Known for throwing large parties like the Crew-Newcastle Supporters party last week.

La Turbina Amarilla (The Yellow Turbine) is largely latino. Mostly El Salvadorians and Mexicans with a healthy dose of other nationalities including a growing number of caucasians who just enjoy the drumming aspect of the group.

Hudson Street Hooligans Have a private club/bar owned by original members of the group where members go pre and post match. The "edgiest" of the three groups. Draws a lot of it's membership from Ohio State students.

There have been speed bumps here and there, but for the most part the groups get along well on match days. The largest chunk of the Nordecke is possibly independents who don't have a group affiliation.

I'd recommend reading Arseblog.com every day. He writes every day and it'll help you get accustomed, I believe.

Perhaps do some digging into our North London rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur as well. The history behind, some of the big moments, that St. Totteringham's Day is the day we celebrate when we mathematically finish above them in the table, etc.

There are some good books and movies that can help you get acquainted as well, if you'd like. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby is one book, and there's a movie as well (not the Jimmy Fallon Red Sox one). Additionally, there's this book Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub. It's a good look at the club and how it's changed since Arsene Wenger became manager.

LFC.TV also has an official forum where you could ask.
If it's of any help:
Coutinho's been our best player no doubt. Then maybe Sakho, in case he might want a shirt with a name on it.

If he's into reading, a lot of ex players and managers have autobiographies, or books related to their Liverpool tenure. Some of the most prominent ones (in no particular order):

• Rafa Benitez's
  
• Steven Gerrard's
  
• Jamie Carragher's
  
• Kenny Dalglish's
  
• This book by Jonathan Wilson talking about Liverpool, more like a biography about the club. And Wilson is brilliant.
  
  If he watches the games in his own mini bar, or has a room specially for it he might like some assorted memorabilia like this.
  The official LFC com store even has some recommendations depending on age and price range...but i'd still ask around because personally i wouldn't buy many of the articles they suggested haha.
  Hope any of this helps!

I used to be director of coaching for a small youth soccer organization that included a rec program and education for people in your exact situation. Here's a couple of my recommendations:

• Definitely take the F to help you learn the basics. Don't bother with the E for a couple years unless you're really loving coaching.
  
• Get this book. The biggest take-away is that soccer IS NOT a kicking game. It is a ball control game (and space control for older ages 10+).
  
• Your biggest priority (especially for kids under 10) is to help kids love soccer so much that they want to play outside of structured practice time.
  
• Get size 1 mini balls to use with kids under 7. Size 3 - and heaven forbid size 5 - are just too big for the size of their feet and legs.

Definitely Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson
It's a bit dry, but it's a great history of the tactics of football, and how they & the game in general spread across the world.

Even though it's about Arsenal, Fever Pitch by Nick Hornsby does a good job describing what it's like to be a fan.

I haven't read this yet, but have heard very good things about Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer by David Winner

Those are the ones that jump to my head immediately.

I haven't read this one yet, but the thread gives me an idea:

Let's put together a list of essential reading here, and when we're done we can add it to the FAQ.

Please add book title with link and a short description.

I'll start:

Soccernomics -- analyzes the game from the perspective of behavioral economics. A highly entertaining read. Some may find some of the conclusions a little iffy, but the chapter on penalty kicks and game theory is by itself worth the price of the book.

Soccer in Sun and Shadow -- a poetic, moving, and often hilarious reflection of a lifetime of watching the beautiful game. The book is written in short, pithy chunks, and few chapters are more than a couple pages long. But the work itself is a passionate and reverent love song for the sport itself.

Fever Pitch -- a diary of the author's life-long obsession with Arsenal, the book tries to make sense of the complex mix of agony, frustration, bitter disappointment, and fleeting moments of pure ecstasy that make up the experience of being a die-hard supporter. There is a lot about Arsenal, of course. But it's really a story about being a fan.

___

Keep 'em coming ...

Edit.

According to Alex Fynn (author of a book covering the modern Arsenal era and conductor of several extensive interviews with Arséne), David Dein's one and only purpose in life was to provide the Arsenal with a winning team. So when the board of directors proposed a new stadium, Dein instead favoured bringing Kroenke onto the board in order to build (on) a winning team. He doesn't clarify whether that would've involved Kroenke flooding the Club with wealth but - seeing as he doesn't have a reputation for doing that with any of his businesses - I personally doubt it. At the end of the day, I guess Dein and the board just couldn't agree on what to do next.

Interestingly, Fynn also tells us that whereas David Dein wouldn't exactly have 'challenged' Arséne per se, he would definitely have been able to sway Arséne's mind on certain decision because, as Arséne himself stated, 'he (Dein) would do my dirty work.' In other words, David Dein very much enjoyed the cut and thrust of transfer and contract negotiations and haggling with agents etc., making it considerably more convenient for the Club to do that kind of business.

Fynn also quotes Dein as having said that the first thing he does upon waking up in the morning is look at himself in his bathroom mirror and see the words "Build A Winning Team" etched into his forehead. The Club was his everything so I doubt that he would just randomly sell his shares and bugger off.

I believe the glue story was in Pitch Invasion. That book describes quite a bit of the Adidas history although there are numerous works which detail Dassler's early work and how he used football to expand (Sneaker Wars is another good one).

Brazil - See Alex Bellos' book. There's a chapter in there, there are also quite a few good books about Havelange's time with FIFA which discuss his nepotism with Teixeira, and there is plenty of stuff to read about Teixeira and Nike just on Google.

Just read the man's wiki entry for a taste..

Seems my bit is more downvote-worthy than attributing Adidas' success to making quality balls..

Whatever. I made a tidy profit when Qatar won the 2022 WC and I backed them at 40/1. The corruption in football is so transparent, how it works is so obvious, who benefits is entirely clear, and yet people want to argue with a straight-face that it comes down to the quality of balls..

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: this love is not for cowards


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Spain|www.amazon.es||
|France|www.amazon.fr||
|Germany|www.amazon.de||
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||
|Italy|www.amazon.it||
|India|www.amazon.in||
|China|www.amazon.cn||




To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.

This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.

You can check out The Mammoth Book of the World Cup (has all the info about world cups you could possibly want from 1930-2014). I'm trying hard to remember what book I was just recently reading that was going over this exact topic but it sounds like you are generally interested in some soccer books and with your dutch interest I would recommend (haven't read it myself) Brilliant Orange

A Season With Verona sounds like a great read. I love reading books about soccer/football. Just got finished reading this book about Dutch soccer, very good read.

There’s a really fun Wenger v Ferguson documentary I watched on YouTube recently but I can’t recall the name but you should be able to find it easily.


I know you said that you already know a lot about the invincibles but I’d really recommend Amy Lawrence’s book Invincible: Inside Arsenal's Unbeaten 2003-2004 Season . Also she’s my favorite journalist about Arsenal and I’ve been reading her since I was at least 10 years (32 now sadly :() and I always find it fun to read through her old articles when I’m annoyed or nostalgic. Also Ray Parlour and Tony Adams’ autobiographies are also fun nostalgic reads because they recall a time when the club was more “local”.

Sorry I know you asked for documentaries but I couldn’t resist throwing my recommendations in

Just came here to say that if you haven't read the book This Love is Not For Cowards, about Indios (the last team in Juarez), you should definitely check it out. Really entertaining read. Glad to see football in Juarez is back!

It's pretty difficult to show evidence when they have no transparency, I mean, it's almost like a mafia organization, but there's a few books on the subject, like Foul!: The Secret World of Fifa: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals, Badfellas: FIFA Family at War and probably the best one (and most up-to-date) is written by an UK journalist recently but I forgot the name, "FIFA: How the game was won/lost" or something like that.

If you start reading up on this subject there's no question that bribery was involved during this Qatar deal, especially not since Blatter's whole campaign to rise to power in FIFA from out of nowhere was paid by Qatar in the first place.

The best evidence to support bribery is probably that FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam got a lifetime ban for it recently although he was only Blatter's scapegoat.

Simon Kuper is one of the best writers in football. Anybody who likes this should read The Football Men: Up Close with the Giants of the Modern Game, Soccernomics or Football Against The Enemy.

Also I hate when footballers are labelled idiots. It requires extreme intelligence to be a top class player. Not "book learning" intelligence or even basic common sense, but extreme intelligence nonetheless. It's no different to how a top tier Physics academic might not be able to book a hotel room online. They are brilliant in their field, bit sometimes dim in other areas.

Eduardo Galeano - Soccer in Sun and Shadow

not tactics or anything, just love, passion, and great writing.

Anyone interested in FIFA, and the reasons why Blatter is so unpopular should really check out Foul! by Andrew Jennings

It's a bit out of date now, but is a great investigation into all sorts of corruption at FIFA, but especially into the bribes that ISL paid to Blatter to secure World Cup rights.

I assume it is The Damned United which the movie was based on?

You might also enjoy Walking on Water, Clough The Autobiography and I personally look forward to this, Nobody Ever Says Thank You.

> Any suggestions of other soccer related books is appreciated as well.

Would highly recommend Fever Pitch, Miracle of Castel di Sangro, Inverting the Pyramid, Brilliant Orange and Behind the Curtains.

I'm reading Teambuilding by Rinus Michels, the father of total football. I'm not a coach but I though it'd be fun to get a peek into Michels' approach, given his influence and the rise of total football-influenced styles (like Barca's tiki-taka). I'm nearly finished, I can give you some examples of the book's content if you want. It's pretty in-depth.

Having just read this book, and learned about Guardiola, his attitude, intelligence and the changes he made to that team to make them such a success, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Bayern will be very close to retaining every competition they won last season, including the Champions League.

An Epic Swindle is the best book on the ownership and direction of Liverpool under our former American owners Hicks & Gilette. An excellent read, and honestly very important in terms of setting the stage for FSG's tenure - elements of the H&G reign are still affecting Liverpool as a club today, and part of what made last season's title challenge so special was that it came less than 4 years after we almost went into administration.

The Anatomy of Liverpool is one I'm reading at the moment. Written by The Guardian's Jonathan Wilson, author of another highly recommended football book called Inverting The Pyramid (a history of football tactics), The Anatomy of Liverpool picks out 10 matches in the club's history and uses them as the basis to discuss that era of the club - the players, the manager, the seasons, the direction of the club, let alone that match itself. Bear in mind that both this book and Inverting The Pyramid can occasionally be very dry reads, but worth persevering with!

And then, of course, LFC players' autobiographies. There's also Pepe Reina's autobiography, in addition to the ones on that list, which also has some insights about the club under Rafa & Hicks & Gilette

I liked this book:

"Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World"

https://www.amazon.com/Barca-Making-Greatest-Team-World-ebook/dp/B00736W9C6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

And really dig the artwork as well

Amy Lawrence wrote an excellent book about the Invincibles, it's a great read.

Invincible: Inside Arsenal's Unbeaten 2003-2004 Season

this love is not for cowards is maybe a book about things that happen around soccer instead of explicitly about its history or tactics but is still an amazing book to read.

The best football book I've ever read was Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

tl;dr It's a 1994 book from a young British journalist who visited 22 countries in the early '90s and wrote about their football cultures.

He examines issues like Dynamo Kiev being involved in the illegal trade of ex-Soviet military hardware, and why when West Germany's Olaf Thon gave his shirt to a Dutch player (can't remember which one) in the wake of a Dutch win over West Germany in the '88 Euro semi-final, the Dutch player subsequently used it as toilet paper.

The chapter on the Rangers vs Celtic rivalry is comparatively pretty tame. There is some pretty messed-up hatred going on in the football world.

There's a really great book by Simon Kuper called Football Against the Enemy. It goes through a lot of bigger European clubs and their history with political identities, etc. It's absolutely my favorite book about the sport that I've ever read.

It's superb. His other book, Behind the Curtain, (about football in Eastern Europe) is also very worth reading. And while I'm at it, a mention for The Blizzard.

(I promise I'm not Jonathan Wilson)

[edit to fix formatting]

You're seeing the renaissance of Japanese soccer helped by an American. Tom has implemented the culture that is now taking a strong hold there. If you read his book, it's about how soccer at a young age isn't just for winning, but playing and having fun at a young age.

https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Byers-Soccer-Starts-Home-ebook/dp/B01EHNLM5C

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Byer

This excellent book tries to answer that question: http://www.amazon.com/Offside-American-Exceptionalism-Andrei-Markovits/dp/069107447X

The basic idea is that there is only so much space for sports, and as other "major" sports solidified their positions, minor sports like soccer ended up getting pushed to the margins.

Personally, I'd say that the American Soccer League, which persisted on a smaller scale after the Soccer War / Great Depression, lacked ambition and organization and was happy to occupy a minor league role. Starting around 1960, people started to notice soccer again, due to growing internationalization, television, the world cup, etc.

If you are interested in this subject of why soccer failed while other sports succeeded in the US, I'd highly recommend the book Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism. It's very interesting for soccer fans in the US.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/069107447X?pc_redir=1404571777&robot_redir=1

Some bestsellers for each club on Amazon:

Arsenal: "Invincibles" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invincible-Inside-Arsenals-Unbeaten-2003-2004/dp/0241970490

Man Utd: "You can't win anything with kids" https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Cant-Win-Anything-Kids/dp/1909360414/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469542993&sr=1-3&keywords=manchester+united

Chelsea: "The Holy Grail" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chelsea-FC-Grail-Shaumik-Daityari-ebook/dp/B008MXJX2S/ref=sr_1_34?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469543078&sr=1-34&keywords=chelsea+fc

Manchester City: "My Eyes Have Seen Glory" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eyes-Have-Seen-Glory-Manchester/dp/178155076X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469543222&sr=1-4&keywords=manchester+city+2012

Leicester City: "5000 to 1"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/5000-1-Leicester-City-Story-Champions/dp/1785781510/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469543139&sr=1-20&keywords=manchester+city


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Liverpool: "Make Us Dream - 2013/14" https://www.amazon.com/Make-Us-Dream-Liverpools-Season/dp/1909245216

Okay, yeah was just wondering so I could compile a list. I've read a few.

These are probably books you'd find more interesting:

Behind the curtain

Tor! The Story of German football

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football (especially good for learning more about the culture within the Netherlands).

Feel free to PM for any others or questions you may have, I feel these are the main ones that come to mind but perhaps you've read them?

This book is a great read that talks about this stuff as well.

I haven't read it yet but Brilliant Orange ticks some of those boxes:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1590200551/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1409239530&sr=1-1&pi=SY200_QL40

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barca-Making-Greatest-Team-World/dp/0956497152/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372787895&sr=1-1&keywords=barcelona This is pretty interesting.

Some titles that come to mind:

• Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game
  by David Wangerin
  
  
• Distant Corners: American Soccer's History of Missed Opportunities and Lost Causes
  by David Wangerin
  
  
• The Encyclopedia of American Soccer History
  by Roger Allaway, Colin Jose and David Litterer
  
  
• Corner Offices & Corner Kicks
  by Roger Allaway
  
  
• North American Soccer League Encyclopedia
  by Colin Jose
  
  
• Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism
  
  by Andrei S. Markovits and Steven L. Hellerman
  
  
• Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer
  by Beau Dure
  
  
• Star-Spangled Soccer: The Selling, Marketing and Management of Soccer in the USA
  by Gary Hopkins
  
  
• Once in a Lifetime; the Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos
  by Gavin Newsham
  
  
• Love Thy Soccer (pre-order)
  by Sean Reid

Hmm the only thing off the top of my head that would compare to 11 Rings would probably be "Teambuilding: the road to success" by Rinus Michels. http://www.amazon.com/Teambuilding-road-success-Rinus-Michels/dp/1890946737

Though dated (pub date 2001) due to the rise in popularity of soccer in America, as well as the rise of quality in MLS, etc., this was a great read: Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism

Brilliant Orange is a great book. It is a history of dutch football, and links their style of football to the art, culture, philosophy, etc. of the Netherlands.

There is actually a whole bunch of sociology books look at the issue of America and soccer. The "soccer mom" (which is a very American idea) is the perfect example of how soccer became established in a completely different way in America than the rest of the world, with baseball and american football being the traditional conservative sports that make up the American identity, and soccer associated with the liberal globalists.

http://www.amazon.ca/Offside-American-Exceptionalism-Andrei-Markovits/dp/069107447X

The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football by David Goldblatt is brilliant as a general history (and has a lot about Sindelar).

There are many excellent country-specific books. My favourite is Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life by Alex Bellos which has masses of obscure history (scandalously obscure, given that the country has 200 million inhabitants).

if the politics of different european clubs interests you, this book is fascinating. i can't recommend it enough. probably my favorite book written on the sport. Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper

Read Fever Pitch for one. Also Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub is helpful. Going back through Arseblog's archives and the matchday threads on r/gunners couldn't hurt either.

http://www.amazon.com/Fever-Pitch-Nick-Hornby/dp/1573226882/

http://www.amazon.com/Arsenal-The-Making-Modern-Superclub/dp/1907637311

> Man Utd: "You can't win anything with kids" https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Cant-Win-Anything-Kids/dp/1909360414/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469542993&sr=1-3&keywords=manchester+united
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> Chelsea: "The Holy Grail" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chelsea-FC-Grail-Shaumik-Daityari-ebook/dp/B008MXJX2S/ref=sr_1_34?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469543078&sr=1-34&keywords=chelsea+fc
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> Manchester City: "My Eyes Have Seen Glory" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eyes-Have-Seen-Glory-Manchester/dp/178155076X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469543222&sr=1-4&keywords=manchester+city+2012
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> Arsenal: "Invincibles" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invincible-Inside-Arsenals-Unbeaten-2003-2004/dp/0241970490
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> Leicester City: "5000 to 1" https://www.amazon.co.uk/5000-1-Leicester-City-Story-Champions/dp/1785781510/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469543139&sr=1-20&keywords=manchester+city
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> Liverpool: "Make Us Dream - 2013/14" https://www.amazon.com/Make-Us-Dream-Liverpools-Season/dp/1909245216


ftfy

....sorry, I missed the Arsenal roast

This might be a good read for you: https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Byers-Soccer-Starts-Home-ebook/dp/B01EHNLM5C

Either The Damned United, as someone mentioned previously, or Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arsenal-The-Making-Modern-Superclub/dp/1907637311
A great book, especially useful in showing the ridiculous transformation since the Prem happened. I have the original edition that ends with us all set for world domination, sadly just before Abramovich used his cheat codes.

Someone asked for recommended reading instead of watching the match. Badly wanted to send...

Invincible: Inside Arsenal's Unbeaten 2003-2004 Season https://www.amazon.com/dp/0241970490/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_nIjMDbC3CS3T4

just read the book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barca-Making-Greatest-Team-World/dp/0956497152

[This one] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Futebol-Brazilian-Way-Life-Updated/dp/1408854163)

Miracle of Castel di Sangro

Football Against the Enemy

Really? I read that here: http://www.amazon.com/Arsenal-Making-Superclub-Alex-Fynn/dp/1907637311/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342800740&sr=1-1&keywords=arsenal

Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life By Alex Bellos and Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduaro Galeano

Making Of A Modern Superclub

An excelent read and written by someone with very close ties to Wenger.

Yo leí el famoso inverting the pyramid, si no te jode leer en inglés (es lo que más se consigue en internet) te recomiendo: Brillant Orange y why england lose. Bien bien táctico leí hace poco attacking soccer y está bueno, aunque a algunas de las ideas se les notan los años.

I guess that's just his opinion of the team. Jonathan Wilson is a very knowledgeable journalist with a special interest in Eastern European football, so he wouldn't be rubbishing them out of spite or ignorance.

Soccer is gay and uncool in America, sorry rest of the world. We hate this stupid gay sport.

He says this because the Dutch have a history with penalties. To lose, yet again, because your team can't execute a simple task is a black mark on Dutch football.

For quality insight into Dutch Football's dysfunction see:

http://www.amazon.com/Brilliant-Orange-Neurotic-Genius-Soccer/dp/1590200551

You're right. I shouldn't have worded it that way so I've added a little correction. I remember reading, here I think, that the game was the first time that a lot of people saw the tension manifested as a massive act of collective violence. One thing let to another and boom big war.

If that's wrong, I bow to your superior knowledge.