Simon Kuper's New York Times bestseller Soccernomics pioneered a new way of looking at soccer through meticulous empirical analysis and incisive -- and witty -- commentary. Kuper now leaves the numbers and data behind to explore the heart and soul of the world's most popular sport in the new, extraordinarily revealing Soccer Men. Soccer Men goes behind the scenes with soccer's greatest players and coaches. Inquiring into the genius and hubris of the modern game, Kuper details the lives of giants such as Arsè Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jorge Valdano, Lionel Messi, Kakáand Didier Drogba, describing their upbringings, the soccer cultures they grew up in, the way they play, and the baggage they bring to their relationships at work. From one of the great sportswriters of our time, Soccer Men is a penetrating and surprising anatomy of the figures that define modern soccer.

In his national bestseller, Soccernomics, Simon Kuper pioneered a new way of looking at soccer, the world’s most popular game, through his witty and meticulous use of data. In Soccer Men, Kuper explores the heart and soul of the sport by getting up close and personal with soccer’s greatest players and coaches. An inquiry into the genius and hubris of the modern game, Soccer Men details the lives of international stars such as Arsène Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Josep Guardiola, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, and David Beckham, describing their upbringings, the soccer cultures they grew up in, the way they play or coach, and the baggage they bring to their relationships at work. In this updated edition, Kuper profiles Hope Solo, Raymond Domenech, Andrea Agnelli, Robin van Persie, Carlo Ancelotti, and more. He also provides a brilliant comparison of two tales of immigrant life: Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint and the autobiography of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

October 10, 2017. The U.S. men’s soccer team loses in Trinidad and Tobago, and fails to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Winning soccer’s greatest prize never seemed more distant. Immediate fixes—a new coach, a revamped professional league, a commitment to coaching education—won’t put the USA in the global elite. The nation is too fractious, too litigious, too wrapped up in other sports, and too late to the game. In Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup: A Historical and Cultural Reality Check, Beau Dure shows what American soccer is really up against. Using hundreds of sources to trace more than 100 years of history, Dure delves into the culture that only recently lost its disdain for the global game and still doesn’t have the depth of soccer insight and passion that much of the world has had for generations. The difficulty isn’t any single thing—the mismanagement of failed leagues, the inability to agree on a path forward, the lawsuits that stem from an inability to agree, or the unique American culture that treasures its homegrown sports. It’s everything. And yet, Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup is ultimately optimistic. Dure argues that with the right long-term changes, the U.S. can build a soccer environment that consistently produces quality players, strong results, and a lot more fun on the international stage. Soccer fans and skeptics alike will find this a fascinating examination of America’s past, present, and future in the beautiful game.

‘Football matters, as poetry does to some people and alcohol does to others… Football is inherent in the people… There is more eccentricity in deliberately disregarding it than in devoting a life to it. The way we play the game, organize it and reward it reflects the kind of community we are’ Written just two years after England’s ’66 triumph when the national game was at its zenith, Arthur Hopcraft’s The Football Man is repeatedly quoted as the best book ever written about the sport. This definitive, magisterial study of football and society profiles includes interviews with all-time greats like Bobby Charlton, George Best, Alf Ramsay, Stanley Matthews, Matt Busby and Nat Lofthouse. It is a snapshot of a pivotal era in sporting history; changes and decisions were made in the sixties that would create the game we know today. For many who are disenchanted with the modern game – the grip of businesses and corporations, the dominance of advertising, the extortionate ticket prices and inaccessible matches, the fickleness of teenage millionaires – The Football Man takes the reader back to the heart and soul of the national game when pitches were muddy and the players were footballers not brands. Voted in May 2005 as one of Observer’s top sports books of all time, this is a long-awaited reissue of the classic football ‘bible’. ‘Masterpiece among sports books’ Guardian ‘It remains one of my favourite football reads’ Graham Taylor

You know the scene: amateur soccer players battling over the ball, spectators cheering from the sidelines, vendors selling their wares from carts. Over the past half century, immigration from Latin America has transformed the public landscape in the United States, and numerous communities are witnessing one of the hallmarks of this transformation: the emergence of park soccer. In Fútbol in the Park, David Trouille takes us into the world of Latino soccer players who regularly play in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood where they are not always welcome. Together on the soccer field, sharing beers after the games, and occasionally exchanging taunts or blows, the men build relationships and a sense of who they are. Through these engrossing, revealing, and at times immortalizing activities, they forge new identities, friendships, and job opportunities, giving themselves a renewed sense of self-worth and community. As the United States becomes increasingly polarized over issues of immigration and culture, Fútbol in the Park offers a close look at the individual lives and experiences of migrants.

The essential guide to world soccer—the history, the players, the fan culture—from the phenomenally popular duo from NBC Sports. The Men in Blazers are two English-born, soccer-obsessed broadcasters who have savored the dizzying growth of the game along with millions of Americans. Now they immerse fans and novices alike in the history and culture of the world’s game with Encyclopedia Blazertannica. Examining fan culture, from the famous stadium chants to the tactical variations of scarf tying, exploring the complex physics and ethics of both celebratory knee slides and fights between players, reliving the careers of legendary players, classic matches, and colorful World Cup history, and sharing a deep appreciation for the athletic brilliance and ill-judged neck tattoos that dominate the sport, this indispensable tome gives readers a front-row seat to all the action of football madness. A New York Times Bestseller!

Dive into the world of soccer with this mega book of everything to do with the beautiful game. Learn all the lingo from the essential phrases to the bizarre jargon. Meet the greatest players, managers and teams of all time from both the men's and women's games. There are masterclasses from the pros; learn to take a slide tackle like Nesta, bicycle-kick like Zlatan and shoot like Ji So-Yun. Wander through the haircut hall of fame and learn the most iconic goal celebrations. This is an essential guide to the wonderful world of soccer. The Basics and the Lingo History of Soccer The Game Through Time The Greatest Teams of All Time Soccer Boots past to Present The Evolution of the Ball The GREAT Players Legendary Coaches and How They Did It The Key Positions Managers and Formations The Big Cups Amazing Stadiums Coolest Jerseys How to... Take the Perfect Shot... Like Ji So-yun Make the Perfect Slide Tackle… Like Alessandro Nesta Take the Perfect Set Piece… Like David Beckham Play the Perfect Long Ball... Like Xabi Alonso Take Penalties... Like Matt Le Tissier Do Nutmegs... Like Luis Suarez Have the Perfect First Touch... Like Dennis Bergkamp Play the Perfect Through Ball... Like Xavi Beat the Offside Trap... Like Fernando Torres Do the Perfect Attacking Header... Like Didier Drogba Do the Perfect Defensive Header... Like Kalidou Koulibaly Weird and Wonderful Haircuts Celebrations The Big and the Small Soccer Lingo from Around the World: A Stir Fried Aeroplane More than the Game Respect the Referee Who’s Who? The Match Day Crowds and Chants

The Man Watching: Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Women's Soccer Dynasty is the authorized biography of a fascinating head coach and the more than 200 young women he inspired to believe that anything is possible. Updated to include the story of the Tar Heels's 2008 and 2009 NCAA championships. As coach of UNC's women's soccer team, Anson Dorrance has won more than 90 percent of his games, groomed far more All-Americans, and captured more NCAA championships than any other coach in the sport ten times over. Author Tim Crothers spent four years interviewing Dorrance and Tar Heels players from every era, along with players and coaches from rival college programs, to create the most comprehensive, intimate, and unfiltered look ever inside the most prolific dynasty in college athletics.

Fully revised and updated with today's superstars! The ref blows the whistle, the striker approaches for kickoff, feet fly— a soccer match is underway! With a fun mix of Sports Illustrated action photography, simple text, a full glossary of terms, and awesome graphics, My First Book of Soccer introduces readers to the world's favorite game. Kids (and probably a few adults, too) will learn how the clock counts "up" and never stops, what an offside means, what's up with those yellow cards, and how kicks become a gooooaaaallll! Illustrated "rookie" characters appears on every page, guiding the reader moment by moment, and helping to make My First Book of Soccer an ideal shared reading experience between parents and their little rookies before, during, and after the game.