Soccer Men: Profiles of the Rogues, Geniuses, and Neurotics Who Dominate the World's Most Popular Sport - Softcover

Kuper, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1568586876 ISBN 13: 9781568586878

Publisher: Nation Books, 2011

Synopsis

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 Arsčne Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jorge Valdano, Lionel Messi, Kaká, and 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.

About this title

About the Author

Simon Kuper is one of the world's leading writers on soccer. He is the coauthor of the national bestseller Soccernomics and author of Soccer Against the Enemy, which won the William Hill Prize. He is a columnist and feature writer for the Financial Times and lives in Paris.

Review

The Herald (UK)
“Kuper always listens, but only rarely quotes verbatim.  The [athlete] is a subject rather than a talking head.  This approach produces an excellent result... his sureness of purpose allows him to devote his energies to producing something regularly insightful and sometimes very, very funny.”

FourFourTwo Magazine(UK)
“Hugely enjoyable...Kuper’s knowledge of the global game is second only to the vitality of his writing.” The New Yorker, Book Bench Blog
“[S]prightly, skeptical, and vastly informative... Style, in soccer as in prose, is less the product of “personal expression” than of poise, discipline, patience, and infinite care. . . . Watching Messi or Lampard (or any of the players included in “Soccer Men”) after reading Kuper is a bit like going back to Shakespeare’s sonnets after reading Helen Vendler’s book on them. He turns us into more alert, more intelligent, more grateful spectators of the beautiful game.”

Mother Jones
“Kuper’s effortless wit and keen sense of irony make Soccer Men well worth the read.”

Alan Black,

About this edition

• Publisher: Nation Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1568586876
• ISBN 13: 9781568586878
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336