You play soccer. You watch soccer. You live soccer You breathe soccer. But do you think about soccer? Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, inspiring the absolute devotion of countless fans around the globe. But what is it about soccer that makes it so compelling to watch, discuss, and think about? Is it what it says about class, race, or gender? Is it our national, regional, or tribal identities? Simon Critchley thinks it’s all of these and more. In his new book, he explains what soccer can tell us about each, and how each informs the way we interpret the game, all while building a new system of aesthetics, or even poetics, that we can use to watch the beautiful game. Critchley has made a career out of bringing philosophy to the people through popular subjects, and in What We Think About When We Think About Soccer he uses his considerable philosophical acumen to examine the sport that has captured the hearts and minds of millions.

Taking the soccer pitch can be intimidating if you’re not sure where to go. It’s a big field and each position on the “starting 11” has a big responsibility. Whether exploring all the ways a keeper makes saves or how the defense works in front of them, readers will love experiencing the game of soccer in this exciting title. Filled with golden goals and brilliant passes, readers take a deep dive into “the beautiful game” and learn important ways they can succeed with their friends on the pitch.

The world’s most popular sport, soccer is a global and cultural phenomenon. The television audience for the 2010 World Cup included nearly half of the world’s population, with viewers in nearly every country. As a reflection of soccer’s significance, the sport impacts countless aspects of the world’s culture, from politics and religion to business and the arts. In The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport, Tamir Bar-On utilizes soccer to provide insights into worldwide politics, religion, ethics, marketing, business, leadership, philosophy, and the arts. Bar-On examines the ways in which soccer influences and reflects these aspects of society, and vice versa. Each chapter features representative players, providing specific examples of how soccer comments on and informs our lives. These players—selected from a wide array of eras, countries, and backgrounds—include Diego Maradona, Pelé, Hugo Sánchez, Cha Bum-Kun, Roger Milla, José Luis Chilavert, Zinedine Zidane, Paolo Maldini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Neymar, Clint Dempsey, Mia Hamm, and many others. Employing a unique lens to view a variety of topics, The World through Soccer reveals the sport’s profound cultural impact. Combining philosophical, popular, and academic insights about our world, this book is aimed at both soccer fans and academics, offering readers a new perspective into a sport that affects millions.

"Soccer and Philosophy captures the essence of our wonderful sport, its transcendental qualities, and explains why we care so deeply and maddeningly about twenty-two players and a ball."---STEVEN GOFF, Washington Post --

This collection considers women's football in a global context and analyses its progress, and the challenges and problems it has faced.

Manchester United’s Tony Strudwick leads an all-star panel in providing the most current research on soccer. Soccer Science features the world’s leading experts in soccer history, biomechanics, physiology, psychology, skill acquisition, coaching, tactical approaches, and performance and match analysis.

Ever wonder what all the positions are? Think you know every position and that a book on positioning is unnecessary for you? Ever hear of a False Nine, a Wing Back, or an Inverted Winger and were confused by what position that referred to? Have you ever wanted to learn the abilities needed by each player on the pitch including the position you play in now or potentially want to play in the future? Are you a parent that is a bit confused by the differences of each spot on the field that your child plays? Well, if any of these situations describe you, you are not alone. Coaches of soccer are decent at assigning positions such as goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward in addition to whether that player should be on the left side, right side, or center of the field. Sadly, coaches do not often teach the more advanced positions and what each player in that role must do. It is all well and good if your team is consistently winning and outperforming the other team. However, if your team is not always winning by a few goals, the positioning could be upgraded to effectively use the skills of each player on the team. Outcomes of learning the positions explained in this book: -Understand some of the history on how positions came to be in the modern game. -Learn the specialties of each role to determine your best fit on the field. -Find the tactical position to take your team to the next level. Why does learning these things matter? Well, building your knowledge grows your confidence. Self-esteem is key for any soccer player, coach, or parent and building the belief in yourself and your child will allow them to play to the level you know they can. You may think those are all well and great, but "how can a book really deliver on increasing the positioning of yourself, son, daughter, or team?" "Why not just watch a YouTube video to see it too?" Excitingly, this book lays out step-by-step what you should work on and the most important keys to being able to perform in each position. Yes, other author's may glance over the different types of players but never describe and explain the exact role based on each team's needs. This book does exactly that. Also, though YouTube can be used to compliment a book because videos show visual representations of the positions covered (though this book has pictures too), each video is often unorganized and the order in which you watch the videos is NOT structured at all. This book provides that structure to ensure that you are not just getting a little information in one spot and some knowledge in another without being able to understand the entire positional picture of how each part works together. It is time for your knowledge of Soccer Positions to go to the next level. Become the player, coach, or parent that changes every game from here on out. Pick up your copy today by clicking BUY NOW.

If readers have ever wondered how soccer players "bend it like Beckham," they'll enjoy this unique look at the science behind the world's most popular sport. Detailed text, fact boxes, sidebars, and diagrams help readers understand the many ways scientific concepts are applied on the soccer field. Readers also learn how scientific knowledge is put to use along with the other areas of STEM – technology, engineering, and math – to help soccer players train, avoid injury, and heal more quickly if they do get hurt. Full-color photographs place readers in the middle of the action on the pitch.

This volume investigates the way in which football supporters around the world express themselves as followers of teams, whether they be professional, amateur or national. The diverse geographical and cultural array of contributions to this volume highlights not only the variety of how fans express themselves, but their commonalities as well. The collection brings together scholars of North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa to present a global picture of fan culture. The collection shows that while every group of fans around the world has its own characteristics, the role of a football fan is laced with commonalities, irrespective of geography or culture. This book was previously published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.

Football clubs across the world continue to embody many of the collective symbols, identifications and processes of connectivity which have long been associated with the notion of ‘community’. In recent years, however, the very term ‘community’ has become the focus of renewed interest within popular discourse and amongst academics, politicians and policy makers. It has become something of a ‘buzz’ word, wheeled out as both a lament to more certain times and as an appeal to a better future: a term imbued with all the richness associated with human interaction. ‘Community’ has also been employed increasingly within football, for instrumental reasons concerned with policy and stadium redevelopment, and in broader rhetoric about clubs, their localities and fans. This book brings together a range of key debates around contemporary understandings of ‘community’ in world football. Split into four sections, it considers political and theoretical debates around football and its connection with community; different national and ethnic football communities; instrumental uses of football to bridge gaps within and between groups; future directions in the football and community debate. This book was published as a special issue of Soccer & Society.