In Inverting the Pyramid, Jonathan Wilson offers a masterly global history of the world's game, from unruly beginnings to contemporary strategy. He analyses the 2022 World Cup, charting the influence of the great Spanish, German and Portuguese tacticians of the last decade, whilst pondering the effects of football's increased globalization and commercialization.

Inverting the Pyramid has been called the Big Daddy (Zonal Marking) of soccer tactics books; it is essential for all soccer aficionados.

Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di St'fano: in every generation Argentina has uncovered a uniquely brilliant soccer talent. Perhaps it's because the country lives and breathes the game, its theories, and its myths. Argentina's rich, volatile history -- by turns sublime and ruthlessly pragmatic -- is mirrored in the style and swagger of its national and club sides. In Angels with Dirty Faces, Jonathan Wilson chronicles the operatic drama of Argentinian soccer: the appropriation of the British game, the golden age of la nuestra, the exuberant style of playing that developed as Juan Perón led the country into isolation; a hardening into the brutal methods of anti-fútbol; the fusing of beauty and efficacy under César Luis Menotti, and the emergence of all-time greats.

Praise for Inverting the Pyramid

Here, for the first time in decades, is a top-notch soccer book on how soccer is actually played on the field. -- Simon Kuper

An outstanding work. . . . The soccer book of the decade. -- Sunday Business Post

The story of what is arguably Israel's foundational murder trial--a tale of multiple identities and loyalties. --Joshua Cohen, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of The Netanyahus

Pleases on several levels: as an adventure tale, a star-crossed romance and a detailed period piece. --The Wall Street Journal

It's 1933, and Ivor Castle, Oxford-educated and Jewish, arrives in Palestine to take up a position as assistant to the defense counsel in the trial of the two men accused of murdering Haim Arlosoroff, a leader of the Jewish community in Palestine whose efforts to get Jews out of Hitler's Germany and into Palestine may have been controversial enough to get him killed.

While preparing for the trial, Ivor, an innocent to the politics of the case, falls into bed and deeply in love with Tsiona, a free-spirited artist who happened to sketch the accused men in a Jerusalem café on the night of the murder and may be a key witness. As Ivor learns the hard way about the violence simmering just beneath the surface of British colonial rule, Jonathan Wilson dazzles with his mastery of the sun-drenched landscape and the subtleties of the warring agendas among the Jews, Arabs, and British.

And as he travels between the crime scene in Tel Aviv and the mazelike streets of Jerusalem, between the mounting mysteries surrounding this notorious case and clandestine lovemaking in Tsiona's studio, Ivor must discover where his heart lies: whether he cares more for the law or the truth, whether he is more an Englishman or a Jew, and where and with whom he truly belongs.

Jonathan Wilson and Scott Murray provide a forensic analysis of ten key Liverpool games that have shaped the club's fortunes over the last century: from the long-lost triumphs of Tom Watson (a 19th-century Bill Shankly) to 1970s European triumphs over the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach and the mind-blowing 2005 comeback against AC Milan.

Aston Villa v. Liverpool
April 1899

Wolves v. Liverpool
May 1947

Liverpool v. Leeds
FA Cup final, May 1965

Liverpool v. Crvena Zvezda
November 1973

Liverpool v. Borussia Mönchengladbach
European Cup final, May 1977

Liverpool v. Roma
European Cup final, May 1984

Liverpool v. Nottingham Forest
April 1988

Everton v. Liverpool
February 1991

Roma v. Liverpool
February 2001

AC Milan v. Liverpool
Champions League final, May 2005

From Cruyff's Total Football to the epic rivalry between Guardiola and Mourinho, a gripping chronicle of the rise and fall of Barcelona's dominance in world soccer.

Barcelona's style of play -- pressing and possessing -- is the single biggest influence on modern soccer. In The Barcelona Inheritance, Jonathan Wilson reveals how and why this came to pass, offering a deep analysis of the evolution of soccer tactics and style.

In the late 1990s, Johan Cruyff's Dream Team was disintegrating and the revolutionary manager had departed, but his style gave birth to a new generation of thinkers, including Pep Guardiola and JosÃ(c)ourinho. Today, their teams are first and second in the Premier League, marking the latest installment in a rivalry that can be traced back twenty-five years.

The Barcelona Inheritance is a book about the tactics, the personalities, the friendships, and, in one case, an apocalyptic falling-out that continue to shape the game today.

Since 1930, the World Cup has become a truly global obsession. It is the most watched sporting event on the planet, and 211 teams competed to make it into the 2022 tournament. From its inception, it has also been a vehicle for far more than soccer. A tool for self-mythologizing and influence-peddling, The World Cup has played a crucial role in nation-building, and continues to, as countries negotiate their positions in a globalized world.

The Power and the Glory is a comprehensive history of the matches and goals, the tales of scandal and triumph, the haggling and skulduggery of the bidding process, and the political and cultural tides behind every tournament. Jonathan Wilson details not merely what happened but why, based on fresh interviews and meticulous research. The book is as much about the legends of the sport, from Pelé to Messi, as it is about the nations that made them, from Mussolini's Italy to partitioned Germany to controversy-ridden Qatar.

Brimming with politics, heart, and drama, on and off the pitch, The Power and the Glory is the definitive story of the greatest cultural event of our time.

The story of what is arguably Israel's foundational murder trial--a tale of multiple identities and loyalties. --Joshua Cohen, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of The Netanyahus

Pleases on several levels: as an adventure tale, a star-crossed romance and a detailed period piece. --The Wall Street Journal

It's 1933, and Ivor Castle, Oxford-educated and Jewish, arrives in Palestine to take up a position as assistant to the defense counsel in the trial of the two men accused of murdering Haim Arlosoroff, a leader of the Jewish community in Palestine whose efforts to get Jews out of Hitler's Germany and into Palestine may have been controversial enough to get him killed.

While preparing for the trial, Ivor, an innocent to the politics of the case, falls into bed and deeply in love with Tsiona, a free-spirited artist who happened to sketch the accused men in a Jerusalem café on the night of the murder and may be a key witness. As Ivor learns the hard way about the violence simmering just beneath the surface of British colonial rule, Jonathan Wilson dazzles with his mastery of the sun-drenched landscape and the subtleties of the warring agendas among the Jews, Arabs, and British.

And as he travels between the crime scene in Tel Aviv and the mazelike streets of Jerusalem, between the mounting mysteries surrounding this notorious case and clandestine lovemaking in Tsiona's studio, Ivor must discover where his heart lies: whether he cares more for the law or the truth, whether he is more an Englishman or a Jew, and where and with whom he truly belongs.

In Budapest in the 1920s and 1930s, a new school of soccer emerged that became one of the most influential in the game's history, shaped by brilliant players and coaches who brought mathematical rigor and imagination to the style of play. But with the onset of World War II, many were forced into exile, fleeing anti-Semitism and the rise of fascism.

Yet their legacy endured. Against the backdrop of economic and political turmoil between the wars, and in spite of extraordinary odds, Hungary taught the world to play.

Expect all the trademark humour of their hugely successful live shows, plus:

- Max Rushden and Barry Glendenning's blind date

- Mark Langdon's 'World of Meat'
- Jonathan Liew's 'You Are the Ref'
- Ben Fisher's 'Guide to Carparks'
- Snakes and Blatters, a thrilling new board game set in the Machiavellian world of FIFA politics
- Philippe Auclair's no-holds-barred account of everything that is wrong at FIFA [redacted]
- And an exclusive David Squires cartoon

Edited by Jonathan Wilson, the annual will feature the full pod line-up of: Barry Glendenning -- Max Rushden -- Barney Ronay -- Jonathan Liew -- Suzie Wrack -- Nicky Bandini -- David Squires -- Jordan Jarrett-Bryan - Elis James - Nedum Onuoha - John Brewin

The final word on Brian Clough

In this first full, critical biography, Jonathan Wilson draws an intimate and powerful portrait of one of England's greatest football managers, Brian Clough, and his right-hand man, Peter Taylor. It was in the unforgiving world of post-war football where their identities and reputations were made - a world where, as Clough and Taylor's mentor Harry Storer once said, 'Nobody ever says thank you.'

Nonetheless, Clough brought the gleam of silverware to the depressed East Midlands of the 1970s. Initial triumph at Derby was followed by a sudden departure and a traumatic 44 days at Leeds. By the end of a frazzled 1974, Clough was set up for life financially, but also hardened to the realities of football. By the time he was at Forest, Clough's mask was almost permanently donned: a persona based on brashness and conflict. Drink fuelled the controversies and the colourful character; it heightened the razor-sharp wit and was a salve for the highs of football that never lasted long enough, and for the lows that inevitably followed. Wilson's account is the definitive portrait of this complex and enduring man.

Growing up Jewish in London with a difficult home life, Jonathan Wilson had plenty of reasons to feel he didn't belong, and one reason to feel certain he did: soccer. Wilson discovered his love for the game as a young boy; through his adolescence and adulthood and well into his later years it remained an important part of his life.

Soccer became Wilson's international passport, helping him find friends and community and solace all over the globe, from England to Israel to the US. Whether working on a kibbutz or teaching literature to young Americans, traveling through Russia or raising children, the sport remained a constant in his life.

Kick and Run is a gripping, funny, sometimes heartbreaking account of a life well lived and a game played, if not always masterfully, then certainly with the utmost passion.

Achieved at the height of the Crusades, the Christian conquests of Santarém in 1147 by King Afonso I, and of Alcácer do Sal in 1217 by Portuguese forces and northern European warriors on their way by sea to Palestine, were crucial events in the creation of the independent kingdom of Portugal. The two texts presented here survive in their unique, thirteenth-century manuscript copies appended to a codex belonging to one of Europe's most important monastic library collections accumulated in the Cistercian abbey of Alcobaça, founded c. 1153 by Bernard of Clairvaux. Accompanied by comprehensive introductions and here translated into English for the first time, these extraordinary texts are based on eyewitness testimony of the conquests. They contain much detail for the military historian, including data on operational tactics and the ideology of Christian holy war in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Literary historians too will be delighted by the astonishing styles deployed, demonstrating considerable authorial flamboyance, flair and innovation. While they are likely written by Goswin of Bossut, the search for authorship yields an impressive array of literary friends and associates, including James of Vitry, Thomas of Cantimpré, Oliver of Paderborn and Caesarius of Heisterbach.

Achieved at the height of the Crusades, the Christian conquests of Santar m in 1147 by King Afonso I, and of Alc cer do Sal in 1217 by Portuguese forces and northern European warriors on their way by sea to Palestine, were crucial events in the creation of the independent kingdom of Portugal. The two texts presented here survive in their unique, thirteenth-century manuscript copies appended to a codex belonging to one of Europe's most important monastic library collections accumulated in the Cistercian abbey of Alcoba a, founded c. 1153 by Bernard of Clairvaux. Accompanied by comprehensive introductions and here translated into English for the first time, these extraordinary texts are based on eyewitness testimony of the conquests. They contain much detail for the military historian, including data on operational tactics and the ideology of Christian holy war in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Literary historians too will be delighted by the astonishing styles deployed, demonstrating considerable authorial flamboyance, flair and innovation. While they are likely written by Goswin of Bossut, the search for authorship yields an impressive array of literary friends and associates, including James of Vitry, Thomas of Cantimpr , Oliver of Paderborn and Caesarius of Heisterbach.

Praise for Jonathan WIlson:
'SUPERB' The Observer
'EXCELLENT'ESPN
'INSIGHTFUL' When Saturday Comes
'EPIC' Evening Standard
'FASCINATING' Independent

A definitive history of Manchester United told through the 10 key football matches that have shaped the club

Award-winning football writer Jonathan Wilson has crafted a compelling analysis of Manchester United's history through the ten landmark games that have shaped the club's fortunes - from the first time they lifted the FA Cup in 1909, beating Bristol City, to the FA Cup victory of 2016 that proved to be Louis van Gaal's last match in charge. In doing so, he identifies the pivotal moments in the club's rise to becoming one of the foremost teams in world football.

With his trademark tactical acumen, Wilson goes back to the games themselves and subjects them to forensic examination, re-evaluation and reassessment, going beyond the white noise of banal player quotes and instant judgements to uncover what really happened. The result is a unique football history of one of England's greatest and most famous clubs.