For soccer fans, following, discussing, and
arguing about the
tactics a
manager puts into play are part of what makes the sport so
appealing This
fascinating study traces the
history of soccer tactics back from such modern pioneers as Rinus Michels, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Catenaccio, and Herbert Chapman. Along the way, author Jonathan Wilson, an erudite and detailed writer who never loses a sense of the grand narrative sweep, takes a look at the lives of the great players and thinkers who shaped the game, and discovers why the English in particular have proved themselves so “unwilling to grapple with the abstract”. This will be a modern classic of soccer writing that followers of the game will dip into again and again.
