'Football looked at in a very different way' Pat Nevin, former Chelsea and Everton star and football media analyst Football - the most mathematical of sports. From shot statistics and league tables to the geometry of passing and managerial strategy, the modern game is filled with numbers, patterns and shapes. How do we make sense of them? The answer lies in the mathematical models applied in biology, physics and economics. Soccermatics brings football and mathematics together in a mind-bending synthesis, using numbers to help reveal the inner workings of the beautiful game. This new and expanded edition analyses the current big-name players and teams using mathematics, and meets the professionals working inside football who use numbers and statistics to boost performance. Welcome to the world of mathematical modelling, expressed brilliantly by David Sumpter through the prism of football. No matter who you follow - from your local non-league side to the big boys of the Premiership, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A or the MLS - you'll be amazed at what mathematics has to teach us about the world's favourite sport.

A complete history of women's football, from its Victorian games beginning in 1881, to the plans for England to host the Euro Finals in England 2022, this book demonstrates how women's football began as a professional sport, and has only recently returned to these professional roots in the UK. This is because there was a fifty-year Football Association 'ban' on women playing on pitches affiliated to the governing body in England. The other British associations followed suit. Why was women's football banned in 1921? Why did it take until 1969 for a Women's Football Association to form? Why did it take until 1995 for England to qualify for a Women's World Cup? Answers to these key questions are supplemented across the chapters by personal accounts of the players who defied the ban, at home and abroad, along with the personal costs, and rewards, of being footballing pioneers.

King Klopp: Rebuilding the Liverpool Dynasty is the story behind Jurgen Klopp's success at Liverpool. Since Klopp's appointment as head coach in October 2015, the club has grown exponentially, swiftly becoming the dominant force in English and European football. But how was the team's rebirth achieved in just a few short years? Experienced football scout and opposition analyst Lee Scott takes an in-depth look at the tactical concepts underpinning Liverpool's success - revealing who does what, how and why. Discover the secrets of the game model developed by Klopp as well as the roles of key players in realising his master plan. Never afraid to experiment, Klopp has refined his game model year on year to the point where Liverpool dominate through their control of space as much as through their pressing and intensity. It's been some ride for Liverpool fans, but beyond the silverware and marquee wins lies an even more intriguing story - the story of a tactical evolution.

"Top man... I thought that I'd lived a colourful life until I read about Karl's adventures" - MICKEY THOMAS, WREXHAM AFC & WALES "Certified Twitter legend" - LADBIBLE Karl Phillips is just one of the lads - roofer by day, pilsner drinker by night. But as Bootlegger, he's scored hundreds of thousands of hits on YouTube with his hilarious matchday vlogs and keeps a huge number of followers on social media hooked with his humorous musings on life, work, the Flamethrower and his beloved Wrexham AFC. He even has a beer named after him - Wrexham Lager's iconic Bootlegger 1974 Pilsner, which has made its way onto the shelves of major supermarkets. From tough beginnings with teenage parents to a string of jobs in local factories, whether smearing butter on his headmaster's office window or getting a round of golf in during his shift as a street-cleaner, duckin' around shooting videos in football grounds and pubs across the UK or slightly overdoing it in holiday spots around the world, or in the throes of any of the other hilariously random antics described here, the Captain doesn't take himself too seriously and is mellowing with age, like a fine pilsner!

What does it mean when a hit that knocks an American football player unconscious is cheered by spectators? What are the consequences of such violence for the participants of this sport and for the entertainment culture in which it exists? This book brings together scholars and sport commentators to examine the relationship between American football, violence and the larger relations of power within contemporary society. From high school and college to the NFL, Football, Culture, and Power analyses the social, political and cultural imprint of America's national pastime. The NFL's participation in and production of hegemonic masculinity, alongside its practices of racism, sexism, heterosexism and ableism, provokes us to think deeply about the historical and contemporary systems of violence we are invested in and entertained by. This social scientific analysis of American football considers both the positive and negative power of the game, generating discussion and calling for accountability. It is fascinating reading for all students and scholars of sports studies with an interest in American football and the wider social impact of sport.

The fighting McAteers: that's how the McAteer family of title-winning boxers were known throughout Birkenhead, across the Mersey from Liverpool. But for eleven-year-old Jason McAteer, growing up in the shadow of Liverpool FC, football became the dream. After signing with Bolton Wanderers at the age of twenty-one, the call to the international scene followed with the Republic of Ireland and, soon after, to his beloved Liverpool FC. The dream had become a reality. From his time with the Irish World Cup squad of 1994 to those tumultuous days in Saipan in 2002; on through his decision to leave Liverpool for Blackburn Rovers; his move to Sunderland, and the depression he fell into after finishing his professional career with Tranmere Rovers, Jason McAteer looks back with characteristic honesty and humour on his life - the jokes, the matches, and the personalities. This is the real Jason McAteer: a little bit bruised, a little bit battered. But still fighting.

From the controversy that surrounded Aberdeen FC's first cup semi-final, through the triumphant European golden era of the 80s to their long-awaited return to glory with their League Cup win in 2014, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all. Aberdeen's isolation as a northerly football outpost has helped to forge their own remarkable story, as reflected in the games covered in this book. The Dons have a rich 115-year history that has been defined by their achievements on foreign shores rather than by battling local rivals. An irresistible cast list of club legends - manager Alex Ferguson, Gordon Strachan and Joe Harper, Willie Miller, Jim Leighton and Duncan Shearer - comes to life in these thrilling tales of goalscoring feats, Hampden glory and triumphs on foreign fields. As the club enters a new era, with relocation from their spiritual home of Pittodrie edging ever closer, Aberdeen Greatest Games reflects on unforgettable moments in the club's history that are guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

Hearts On This Day revisits the most magical and memorable moments from the club's distinguished history, mixing in a maelstrom of anecdotes and characters to produce an irresistible Jambos diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's humble, romantic origins in Edinburgh's Old Town, to coming within a hair's breadth of extinction at the hands of a Russian megalomaniac, to ultimate redemption in a record-toppling Championship campaign. Hearts fans have experienced each and every gamut of emotion in the club's 140-year history. The team were the first in Britain to sign up en masse for the Great War. While cup wins, a never-bettered 132-goal title-winning campaign, memorable European nights against such luminaries as Locomotive Leipzig, Bayern Munich, Austria Vienna, Bordeaux and Basle all feature alongside a raft of Tynecastle legends.

Essential World Cup Reading | Featured in The New York Times' 'What to Read During the World Cup' Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg offer a deeply reported account of the intertwined sagas and legacies of two of the greatest soccer players of all time-Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo-examining how their rivalry has grown from a personal competition to a multi-billion-dollar industry, paralleling the stunning rise, overwhelming excesses, and uncertain future of modern international soccer. For over fifteen years, almost any conversation about international soccer has always come back to two players-Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo-undoubtedly the greatest of their generation but with styles, attitudes, and fanbases that couldn't be more different. For millions of people around the world "Messi or Ronaldo?" isn't simply a barroom argument, or an affirmation of fandom, so much as a statement of philosophy, of values, of what global soccer is today and of what it will be tomorrow. Now Wall Street Journal reporters and co-authors of The Club, Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, unite the stories of Messi and Ronaldo into a single modern epic of global sports, detailing how one rivalry changed both the game and the business of international soccer-forever. Based on dozens of firsthand accounts and years of original reporting, Messi vs. Ronaldo weaves together the stakes, color, and characters at the heart of each man's story, going inside the locker rooms and boardrooms where their legends were forged and revealing off-field drama as gripping as anything that happened on it. From their contrasting origin stories to their divergent career arcs and their conflicting reputations, these players have built their successes on opposite paths, yet each, in his own way, offers a riveting tale of triumph and excess. Taken together, their story embodies the astronomical growth of international soccer, how social media has revolutionized the power of sports celebrity, and how the desire to capitalize on the billions of dollars these players represent electrified some of the most storied clubs in Europe-Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United among them-and cost them almost everything. With the 2022 World Cup almost certain to be the last for both of these figures, Messi vs. Ronaldo offers a deeply researched look at their legacy and grapples with the impact that their talents have had on the game for better and for worse. Much more than a retelling of the dual accomplishments of these great players, this is truly a biography of a rivalry, one that has become a crucial lens for understanding the past, present, and future of global soccer.

Football, in many ways, is a visual endeavour. From the visual experience within the stadium itself to worldwide media representations, from advertisements to football art and artefacts: football is much about seeing and being seen, about watching, making visual and being visualised. The FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa has turned into a perfect example of the visual dimensions of football. Stadiums have been built and marketed as tourist attractions, mass media and internet platforms are advertising South African cities and venues, logos and emblems are displayed and celebrated, exhibitions are organised in museums world-wide. This book explores the social, cultural and political role of football in Africa by focusing on the issue of its visibility and invisibility. The contributions consider the history and present of football in different parts of Africa. They examine historical and recent pictures and images of football and football players, as well as places and spaces of their production and perception. They analyse the visual dimensions expressed in sports infrastructure, football media-scapes, and in expressive and material arts. This book thus contributes to the growing interest in football in Africa by exploring a new field of research into sports. This book was previously published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.

66 on 66 provides a unique perspective on what, 50 years on, remains the greatest occasion in English sporting history. Countless words have been written and spoken about this extraordinary match which made national heroes of the team and its manager. Yet this book eschews those men who sported the Three Lions that day and, instead, talks to dozens of other people who were present. For the first time, one book collects together the fans, the journalists, the celebrities, the musicians, the police officers, the ball boys and the officials who all witnessed that famous, wonderful match. Their stories are accompanied by newly-taken, world-class photographs making 66 on 66 the definitive record of England's World Cup glory.

'How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson is an insightful and interesting book packed with leadership ideas and real life examples taken from the cutting edge of sport that apply in leading any top team or business. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those currently in leadership positions and those aspiring to get there, as Damian Hughes draws out the inspirational qualities required from one of the greatest managers in football.' Stuart Lancaster, England Head Coach, Rugby Football Union In How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson, Professor Damian Hughes distils the primary lessons of Ferguson's phenomenal success as manager at Manchester United and show how you can apply them to you own personal goals. You will learn about Ferguson's approach to people-management, changing mind-sets, visualisation, building confidence and embracing change - all techniques at the heart of turning Manchester United into a winning machine. You will also discover how he remained at the forefront of one of the world's most competitive industries and how to make this count with your own ambition. You will also discover the techniques that Ferguson employed to extract the finest qualities from his team, and discover how to lead other individuals and teams in their pursuit of success within changing times. With exercises for you to work on, drawing from Professor Hughes's practical and academic background within sport, organisation and change psychology, How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson is the perfect handbook for the business of winning and managing success.

Sir Alex Ferguson said that his brief as Manchester United manager was to "knock Liverpool off their f*****g perch". After over 2,000 games and 25 seasons, this year he finally succeeded. Following an endless supply of trophies, none meant more to United's global legion of fans than their 19th league title - simply because it finally put Liverpool in their place. It has taken Sir Alex 25 years to establish United as the leader of the championship pack. When Alan Hansen captained Liverpool to their most recent championship in 1990, the tally read 18-7 in Liverpool's favour and few would have given the Scot a prayer of capturing one championship, never mind 12. In "19", award-winning journalist Harry Harris looks back at all the title winning seasons and analyses each one from the viewpoint of a player who distinguished himself in that title year, building up to the record title and an in-depth analysis of the 2010-11 season and how United finally surpassed Liverpool. The book looks at the record through the eyes of those who took part in each of them, or who observed them from close quarters. "19" features exclusive interviews with Arthur Albiston, Alan Brazil, Steve Bruce, Garth Crooks, Gary Pallister, Paul Parker, Lee Sharpe, Gordon Taylor, Dave Whelan, Ray Wilkins.

This book is the first comprehensive study on history, culture, and business of football in Asia. Football has been a symbol of the modern invention, a catalyst of local, national and regional identities, all time favourite among kids and youths, and even a harbinger for cultural globalization and consumerism in Asia. The economic growth and the current proliferation of football culture in Asia make it imperative to examine the complex relationship between the globalization of football and the local appropriation. The essays in the book deal with various topics on football in Asia from history of football in Asia, football and local, national and regional identities, to commercialization of football cultures, global mobility and athletes migration, and then new Asianism and football. This book argues that football in Asia contributes to reconfiguring both national and regional identities among football fans in the active interconnection with the global flows of football and cultural globalization without homogenizing Asian identities into a cosmopolitan one.

This is the textbook to presents football s implication and influence on Asian populace and social changes while using football as a lens assessing the modern development and current diversification of Asia.

This book was published as a special issue of Soccer and Society."

An Ode to Four Four Two: Football's Simplest and Finest Formation examines how coaches in Europe, and particularly England, settled on the 4-4-2 formation to build iconic teams which would dominate both domestically and in Europe. Formations have continually evolved since the birth of the game in the mid-19th century. From teams playing with four or five forwards, to the modern era of teams with just the one, arguably the greatest formation has been 4-4-2. Some of the greatest teams have lined up in this multi-functional system. Flick through the football history books and it is filled with teams like AC Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool, Leeds United and Barcelona, all enjoying glorious eras playing 4-4-2. But it isn't just the elite of world football. Who can forget Leicester City, led by Claudio Ranieri, reviving the system against all odds to outperform the Premier League's big six to claim a historic title in 2016? Author John McNicoll looks at how and why these teams used the formation to such effect. How they dominated in their era to stand out from the rest. It is the story of how teams, both big and small in status, have played the system to perfection.

The Football Fans Quizbook is the ultimate test of all-round football knowledge. With over 1000 questions covering domestic, international, Continental, and world competition, some questions are straightforward, some are hard and others cunningly cryptic. Ideal for family, friends, or fellow fans on that tension-filled journey to a crucial away game, The Football Fans Quizbook will always give fans' brains a taxing workout!

The Soccer Games and Drills Compendium is a comprehensive compilation of 350 realistic drills and games that facilitate high-quality design and quick implementation of modern soccer training. The many drills are divided into technical, tactical, and fitness-based focus areas. Individual focus areas cover basic training content, such as passing, dribbling, shots on goal, feints, juggling, and 1-on-1 situations, followed by focus areas with differentiated and advanced content, such as transitioning and reacting, chaos and action, game start variations, active defense, tournaments, and topics on tactical training. In addition, this book includes exercises for soccer-specific speed training, athletic and endurance training, indoor training, goalkeeper training, and team building.In this compendium you will find a wide variety of soccer-specific training exercises, and the graphics and practice-oriented design make it an optimal resource for taking effective training content and implementing it on the field. The many variations included with the drills and games make this compilation ideal for training players at all performance levels and age groups.

Soccer, or football, attracts vast numbers of passionate fans from all over the world; yet clinical psychology is yet to study it in depth. In this book, David Huw Burston, a consultant football psychology and performance coach, uses a phenomenological research method inspired by Amedeo Giorgi to consider what we can learn from the spirit of the game, and how this can be used positively in the consulting room and on the field of play. By examining detailed qualitative research with professional soccer players of both sexes, Burston identifies and considers nine particular themes, including the family, god, heroes and dreams, and discusses how what we can learn from the game of football and team culture can be applied to Jungian analysis today. This book bridges the gap between clinical psychology and sport, outlining potential shortfalls in current youth development in sport, as well as discussing how traditional Jungian archetypes can be identified in everyday settings. It will be of key interest to researchers from both the fields of analytical psychology and sports studies.

The World Cup as World History uses football’s premier event to analyze modern sports and world history. William D. Bowman traces the history of a tournament that has become a global phenomenon that generates intense political, economic, and cultural interest and profound discussions about racial, ethnic, and gender identity in the contemporary era. By focusing on the World Cup, the book keeps a tight thematic focus that allows for an integrated discussion of the core issues of globalization, money and finance, sport as spectacle, race and gender, and contemporary politics.

The World Cup as World History uses football’s premier event to analyze modern sports and world history. William D. Bowman traces the history of a tournament that has become a global phenomenon that generates intense political, economic, and cultural interest and profound discussions about racial, ethnic, and gender identity in the contemporary era. By focusing on the World Cup, the book keeps a tight thematic focus that allows for an integrated discussion of the core issues of globalization, money and finance, sport as spectacle, race and gender, and contemporary politics.

The ten most momentous days in the history of Scottish football, by ten of Scotland's best historians and journalists. several of whom are award winners.

'Compelling from start to finish...Downie does full justice to an extraordinary life' Pete Davies, author of All Played Out. A stunning new biography of Socrates, the iconic captain of the greatest Brazil side never to win the World Cup. Socrates was always special. A hugely talented athlete who graduated in medicine yet drank and smoked to excess. The attacking midfielder stood out - and not just because of his 6'4" frame. Fans were enthralled by his inch-perfect passes, his coolness in front of goal and his back heel, the trademark move that singled him out as the most unique footballer of his generation. Off the pitch, he was just as original, with a dedication to politics and social causes that no player has ever emulated. His biggest impact came as leader of Corinthians Democracy - a movement that gave everyone from the kitman to the president an equal say in the running of the club. At a time when Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship, it was truly revolutionary. Passionate and principled, entertaining and erudite, Socrates was as contradictory as he was complex. He was a socialist who voted for a return of Brazil's monarchy, a fiercely independent individual who was the ultimate team player, and a romantic who married four times and fathered six children. Armed with Socrates' unpublished memoir and hours of newly discovered interviews, Andrew Downie has put together the most comprehensive and compelling account of this iconic figure. Based on conversations with family members, close friends and former team-mates, this is a brilliant biography of a man who always stood up for what he believed in, whatever the cost. 'Brilliantly written and researched. Amazing life.' Alex Bellos, author of Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life

Meet the crews who think nothing of using tear gas, meat hooks, home-made bombs and worse. They come from all corners of the globe: from Brazil, Croatia, Argentina, Italy... and for these football hooligans, their team is their life. In a quest to find the most fanatical football hooligans on the planet, author Dominic Utton visited nine countries in three months with Danny Dyer, and the team behind the hit TV series. Shot at, stoned, glassed and tear-gassed, he survived gunfire in Brazil and a riot in Poland. Full of spine-chilling encounters, extraordinary characters and brutal clashes, The Real Football Factories shows that football hooliganism is alive and kicking all over the world.