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<\/a>However, I favour on grounds of greater scope and historical resonance author-poet Ian Hamilton\u2019s self-described \u201cpanoramic football-fest\u201d anthology. Published in the same year as Hornby\u2019s book (1992), it coincided with the first season of the globally game-changing English Premier League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his introduction, Hamilton challenges the common wisdom that \u201c\u2018Thinking\u2019 books about soccer have no market because soccer fans don\u2019t think\u201d. His distinctly thought-filled collection encompasses chapters by heavyweight writer-intellectuals, revered sports journalists, managers, players, fans and ANONs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eye-catching contributions by celebrated literary figures like Albert Camus, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Amis, George Orwell and Harold Pinter do most to unsettle the cultural snobbery surrounding soccer and popular culture in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Faber Book of Soccer has all-too-apparent deficiencies, most conspicuously its total maleness and predominant Whiteness and Britishness. The editor concedes its \u201cdocumentary aspect\u201d is limited by his middle-aged perspective and cultural taste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A work both of and ahead of its time, it can still be savoured by lovers of soccer, poetry, fiction, non-fiction and journalism. A rare, readerly treat indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013David Rowe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jorge Knijnik\u2019s Tales of South American Football (Fair Play Publishing) is not just a book about sport; it is a love letter written in the key of jogo bonito. Now an academic based in Australia, Knijnik\u2019s yearning for the rhythms of his Brazilian home pulses through every chapter of this exquisitely researched non-fiction work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across 13 beautifully expressed chapters, Knijnik explores a continent where football isn\u2019t merely a pastime, it behaves like a secular religion. He masterfully frames the beautiful game against a turbulent backdrop of volatile politics, crushing oppression and urgent social revolution. The book thrives on human vignettes, tracking how the sport holds the unique, contradictory power to ignite fierce domestic rivalries while simultaneously binding communities together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knijnik\u2019s deep affection for his homeland shines brightly whether he is recalling the sheer elegance of icons such as Pel\u00e9<\/a> or breaking vital new ground by documenting the grassroots development of women\u2019s football in Bolivia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This essential, fiercely passionate read captures the literal and political heat of South American society, proving that to truly understand the continent, you must first understand its football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013Kylie A. Steel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I really like sports history and learning how sport has changed over time, which is why Jonathan Wilson\u2019s Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics (Orion) stands out to me. It\u2019s actually the book you see Coach Beard reading in Ted Lasso, so it\u2019s not just me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book follows soccer from its chaotic, rule-less beginnings in 19th century England through to the global game of the 21st century. It provides a historical context for why the game looks the way it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I enjoyed reading the examples of coaches, players and teams who have changed the game, as they developed new tactics, formations and strategies to try and beat their opponents. Explanations of why some teams value dribbling over passing, while others value improvisation and creativity over keeping possession and a rigid structure were also interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, this book helped me see football in a completely different way. Not just as a game, but as something shaped by the unique cultures, politics and people involved in it around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013Vaughan Cruickshank<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiona Crawford is one of Australia\u2019s best football writers, with a particular focus on our national women\u2019s team, the Matildas. In The Matilda Effect (MUP), Crawford tells the story of women\u2019s football in Australia in the lead-up to the 2023 FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She reflects on the sport\u2019s history, giving recognition to the game\u2019s trailblazers and showing how the success of the Matildas was not built in a day. Through Crawford\u2019s academic expertise and experience on the ground as a football journalist, we get insights from key figures, analysis of issues surrounding the women\u2019s sport movement and incredibly entertaining anecdotes that show the joy of women\u2019s football and the vibrant community surrounding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My honorable mention is Home and Away: Writing the Beautiful Game by Karl Ove Knausgaard and Fredrik Ekelund. This unique book consists of eloquent letters between two prolific literary voices written during the 2014 men\u2019s World Cup in Brazil. They are full of insightful observations, personal reflections and football passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013Kasey Symons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I first fell in love with Brazilian soccer watching the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and through the brilliance of Socrates. He was not only an extraordinary player but also a public intellectual off the field, someone who used his platform to speak out on social and political issues. At a time when Australia was absent from World Cups, Brazil naturally became my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1987, I had the unforgettable experience of playing against the Brazilian national under-17 team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Canada. We managed a 1\u20130 win in the group stage and our team went on to reach the quarter-finals. That match remains one of those formative moments where my admiration for Brazilian football met lived experience on the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time I arrived at university in 1990, during the Italy World Cup, one of my lecturers encouraged me to give a presentation on Brazilian soccer. He handed me a copy of Janet Lever\u2019s Soccer Madness: Brazil\u2019s Passion for the World\u2019s Most Popular Sport (University of Chicago Press), published in 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lever captured, with remarkable clarity, the deep passion Brazilians had for the game. What struck me most was that the book was not about tactics or famous players, but about how soccer reflected politics, class, race and culture. It remains, to this day, one of the most insightful studies of the game ever written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, Brazil are now out of the 2026 World Cup. But Soccer Madness remains remarkably relevant. The themes Lever explored, (commercialisation, media influence, nationalism, inequality and the cultural significance of football) continue to shape the global game today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013Steve Georgakis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I started junior football coaching, Horst Wein\u2019s Developing Game Intelligence in Soccer (Reedswain) became my \u201cgo to\u201d book. Importantly, Wein\u2019s book aligned football coaching with contemporary concepts of athlete-centred learning. At its core, the book explains the \u201cwhy\u201d and the \u201chow\u201d to develop the \u201cthinking player\u201d through practice, presenting game-related challenges. This type of coaching develops the player\u2019s ability to make intelligent decisions on field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wein argues that football is a dynamic, problem-solving activity requiring players to read the play, anticipate the next move and respond. Drilling players to develop particular skills doesn\u2019t develop this ability. The intelligent player is developed through games that are intentionally designed to focus on tactical understanding. Coaches should also ask questions to encourage players to reflect and refine their thinking about the play. The secret to good coaching, writes Wein is \u201cstimulation through play\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013Shane Pill<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Suzy Freeman-Greene<\/a>, Books + Ideas Editor, The Conversation<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The pain. The penalties. The hairsplitting VAR decisions and astounding off-field politics. From ageing titans to miraculous goals,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[63],"class_list":["post-14545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\n\nTales of South American Football: Passion, Revolution and Glory, by Jorge Knijnik<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nInverting the Pyramid: the History of Football Tactics by Jonathan Wilson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Matilda Effect by Fiona Crawford<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSoccer Madness by Janet Lever<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDeveloping Game Intelligence in soccer by Horst Wein<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n