The #1 international bestseller... Named the #1 Soccer Book by Football.com... Named a Top 5 Book of the Year by the NSCAA Soccer Journal. Soccer iQ is the first book for soccer PLAYERS!

If we could recommend only one book for players, parents and coaches, Soccer iQ would be that book. Football.com

If you have a child involved with soccer, Soccer iQ is a must-read. ModernDadTopics.com

An excellent World Cup companion Scott Arnold

Exceptional book for all ages! Coach Mark

This book helped us win the Missouri State Championship. Coach Ryan

In a world saturated with books about how to coach soccer, Dan Blank finally gives players a book on how to think it. Standing on two decades of collegiate coaching experience, Blank has catalogued soccer's most common mistakes and provides simple, connect-the-dots solutions to help players solve their soccer problems. Soccer IQ is soccer's first text book for players; an almanac of smarter soccer decisions intended to flatten out the learning curve. It covers everything from hunting rebounds to the value of the toe-ball; from playing in the rain to the world's dumbest foul. Blank tells his story from the familiar and humorous voice of a coach who has endured years of stress at the hands of his players. Written in plain-spoken language, Soccer IQ is an easy read and a quick-fix to the most common yet critically important soccer problems. Includes a bonus chapter on the college recruiting process.

If you dream of being the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, the next Alex Morgan or Sophia Smith, of playing for Manchester United or Real Madrid, of playing in the MLS, the Premier League or for a World Cup - then Soccer iQ is the book for you.

Finally someone wrote this book! If every soccer player read Soccer IQ, every coach would be a lot happier. Mark Francis - Head Coach University of Kansas

Dan Blank has just written soccer's first definitive text book. Colin Carmichael - Head Coach Oklahoma State University

This book has immediately become required reading for my team. I'll take 30 copies. Steve Nugent - Head Coach UNC-Greensboro

Soccer IQ may the best practical soccer book I have ever read. There's no fluff. Just nuts and bolts principles that we teach every day. It'll solve a lot of your soccer problems. Steve Holeman - Head Coach University of Georgia

Grab your soccer ball and calculator and get ready to delve into the numbers and math behind the world's most popular sport.

Whether you call it soccer or football, the beautiful game wouldn't be the popular game it is without numbers. From the clock counting up the seconds to positioning your feet at the right angle for the perfect dribble, this book reveals the ways digits and math are part of the game. Read about soccer greats from all over the world racking up points, championships, and even Olympic medals. Learn how goalies use geometry to guard the net and check out cool graphics that show the probability that a goalie will be able to stop a penalty kick. Soccer fans everywhere will get a kick out of this number-focused look at the game, jam-packed with sports trivia, awesome photos, and fun activities at the end of every chapter.

Nothing has brought English soccer more immediately into the American mainstream than Ted Lasso, which captivated the nation in thirty-four episodes over three seasons. But before there was Jason Sudeikis's lovable and, at first, hapless AFC Richmond, there was Watford Football Club, a team from the outskirts of London with barely enough fans to fill its stands--and which, in the mid-1970s, was languishing in 92nd place at the bottom of the last division of the English Football League. That is, until rock superstar Elton John--who, with his dad, had followed the team as a boy--bought the lowly franchise and, with legendary manager Graham Taylor, transformed the luckless football club into a top-seeded Premier League team. Inspiring, funny, and ultimately heartbreaking, Watford Forever recalls the improbably tender relationship between Elton John and Taylor, a straight-talking former fullback, who together beat the odds and their personal demons to save a club and a struggling community.

Take a minute to slip into the mind of one of the world's greatest soccer players and imagine a stadium around you. Picture a performance under the lights and mentally play the perfect game.

Technique, speed and tactical execution are crucial components of winning soccer, but it is mental toughness that marks out the very best players - the ability to play when pressure is highest, the opposition is strongest, and fear is greatest. Top players and coaches understand the importance of sport psychology in soccer but how do you actually train your mind to become the best player you can be?

Soccer Tough demystifies this crucial side of the game and offers practical techniques that will enable soccer players of all abilities to actively develop focus, energy, and confidence. Soccer Tough will help banish the fear, mistakes, and mental limits that holds players back. Soccer psychology consultant Dan Abrahams shares the powerful techniques that have helped him develop reserve team players to become international players, and guided youth team players from slumps to first team contracts.

Covering the mental triumphs of some of the world's leading players - Soccer Tough will help you become the best player you can be. Soccer Tough is for amateur and professional players of all levels, as well as coaches. This book explores how the best soccer players in the world think and gives the reader step-by-step ways to do the same.

Everything kids need to know to play smarter, more enjoyable soccer--for ages 8 to 12

Coach Andrew Latham has over 20 years of experience teaching kids soccer. In this soccer book for kids 8-12, he sets young athletes up for soccer success with straightforward strategies and tips about everything from goal setting and staying fit to pre-game prep and mental motivation. He preps players to be their best with this handy guide and tactics book that shows them how to develop their skills on and off the field.

This soccer coaching book for kids includes:

• A range of basic and more advanced techniques so kids can practice and progress at their own pace.
• Diagrams and illustrations that explain how to pass the ball, stay onside, get in scoring position, and more.
• Player profiles that highlight six superstar soccer players, like Lionel Messi and Mia Hamm.

Soccer lovers will improve their game and have more fun with Soccer Smarts for Kids.

Fully revised and updated, this fifteenth-anniversary editionn soccer book chronicles the evolution of the sport and how it has affected the lives of players, coaches, and fans-perfect for those who adore the timeless game.

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.

'I love Tifo' Ian Wright
'Tifo are great' Alan Shearer
'Tifo have changed the game when it comes to football analysis' Elis James

RULE #1: DON'T WATCH THE BALL

Yes, football is about stars, goals and glory. But it's also about the intense calculations and movements being made by the twenty-one other players on the pitch. It's about the ticking clock, and the bellowing fans, and their impact on player psychology. It's about the coach, the club owner, and the director of football, who are watching, scouting and scheming from the side-lines. It's about money and data, about geopolitics and architecture, and even about climate change.

Football is the most popular sport in the world, and Tifo Football is one of the world's most popular football channels. In this short, illustrated guide, its creators share fifty-two simple 'rules' for understanding and enjoying the beautiful game-both on and off the pitch.

Covering the key concepts, tactics and philosophies that are shaping the sport today, How to Watch Football reveals surprising new perspectives on familiar elements of gameplay, while highlighting lesser-known aspects of the industry and its history.

Whether you're a casual fan or a football obsessive, the fifty-two golden rules in this pocket-size guide will deepen your delight in the world's favourite sport.

What Makes Messi and Ronaldo the Greatest of All Time?

Can You Become a Legend, Too?

Discover the electrifying world of soccer like never before with Super Strikers: Amazing Stories for Young Athletes About Soccer Legends Like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe, and Haaland. Whether you're a budding soccer player, a young fan, or someone chasing big dreams on and off the field, this book will ignite your passion and inspire greatness.

Do you dream of dribbling like Messi, scoring goals like Ronaldo, or dominating the game like Haaland? Super Strikers dives into the remarkable journeys of the world's biggest soccer stars-how they went from ordinary kids to living legends on the global stage.

Inside, you'll uncover:

⚽ Unforgettable Moments: Relive iconic goals, jaw-dropping comebacks, and record-breaking feats.

⚽ Behind-the-Scenes Stories: Get a glimpse into the lives, struggles, and triumphs of Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe, and Haaland.

⚽ Did You Know? Fun facts and trivia that will wow your friends and teammates.

⚽ Life Lessons from Legends: Discover how these soccer icons overcame challenges through grit, perseverance, and teamwork-and how you can apply their lessons in your own life.

Designed for readers aged 8-14, Super Strikers is more than just a book-it's an exciting journey into the heart of soccer. Whether you're a fan or a player, you'll be inspired to dream big and play hard.

Perfect for kids, young athletes, and entire soccer teams-this book makes an unforgettable gift for the young soccer star in your life. Even if you've never kicked a ball, these stories will leave you inspired to chase your dreams and score big in life!

Are you ready for kick-off? The game-changing stories of Messi, Ronaldo, and today's top soccer stars are just a click away.

Add to cart now-and let the legends guide you to greatness!

Messi is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.

The humble and shy youngster from a working-class family in Rosario, Argentina, who was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 11, would become one of the most famous footballers of all time and realise a boyhood dream by captaining Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022.

Messi's popularity around the globe remains undiminished, adored by millions of football fans who put rivalries aside to salute this incredible footballer. He has won every major honour there is to win, including the coveted Ballon d'Or on a record seven occasions and a record two World Cup Golden Ball awards.

His incredible career is mostly centred around his 21-year stay with Barcelona where is revered as a footballing god. Now playing for Paris St Germain, the Argentine genius continues to take the beautiful game to unchartered levels which has spanned a glittering career of more than 20 years - he is, quite simply, a maestro with the gift to do the seemingly impossible.

I have fun like a child in the street. When the day comes when I'm not enjoying it, I will leave football.
Lionel Messi on retirement

I start early, and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.
Messi on Twitter, 13 August 2018

There is only one Messi.
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager 2018

The Club is the inside story of how English soccer's Premier League became the wildest, richest, most popular sports product on the planet, a narrative that is part Great Expectations, part Game of Thrones, in equal measure. (Roger Bennett, NBC Sports, Men in Blazers)

This is a sports and business tale of how money, ambition, and twenty-five years of drama remade an ancient institution into a twenty-first-century entertainment empire. No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold.

Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly two hundred countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.

Deeply researched and drawing on one hundred exclusive interviews, including the key decision makers at every major English team, The Club is the definitive and wildly entertaining narrative of how the Premier League took over the world.

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.

Updated with a new epilogue detailing Messi and Argentina's remarkable victory in the 2022 World Cup, 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.

Understand the sport of soccer and encourage your kids to have fun

Youth Soccer For Parents For Dummies explains how you can prepare your children to play and enjoy the sport of soccer, whether they play recreationally or at the elite youth level. Get up to speed on the basic rules, and learn to keep kids interested and motivated in a sport that's great for their physical and mental health. This ultimate parents' guide covers the rules, player positions, and strategies, including what gear your kids need to start playing. You'll learn coaching and refereeing basics, too, so you'll be ready to get involved. Plus, this book has tips on deciding which program and level makes sense for your child, evaluating travel soccer programs and specialized training camps, dealing with coaches (good and bad), and supporting your kid from the sidelines.

• Discover the basics of soccer and learn how to get kids started at any age
• Learn basic soccer drills to help your kids practice on their own
• Keep your kids motivated, even when they're injured or disappointed
• Help kids prevent injuries and participate in coaching and team management
• Navigate the competitive landscape of soccer at the teen level

Parents with children of all ages will find tips, advice, support, and encouragement in Youth Soccer For Parents For Dummies. Part soccer book, part parenting book, this guide can help you get your kids started and support them all the way through college.

This is the ultimate guide for any football fan who wants to know everything about the beautiful game - from World Cup winners to football skills and techniques.

Whether you are a keen player, a lifelong supporter, or an armchair football manager, this book illustrates every aspect of the most popular sport in the world.

The Soccer Book reveals the story behind the game - from the history of the sport to the results of the Qatar 2022 Men's World Cup, and the build-up to the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Discover everything there is to know on football with this fantastic guide, featuring:

- A fresh graphic style illustrates everything from beach football to block tackles.
- Stats and fact boxes profile players, managers, fans, national teams, and club.
- Special features highlight great matches, stadiums, and football culture.
- Top 5 boxes provide an alternative look at the best and worst of the game

Bold step-by-step artworks and jargon-free text profile the roles of players, equipment, team formations, strategies, and individual skills, while maps, quotes, and statistics give you all of the key facts on national teams, famous club sides, and iconic players, as well as the greatest competitions around the world.

From the hosts of the popular podcast and tv show Men in Blazers, comes their completely scientific, 100% definitive, defend-to-the-death list of the greatest soccer players of all time.

Every fan has their own list of the 100 soccer players they consider the greatest ever to play the game. A list based on triumphs, sublime moments of skill, superhuman tenacity, and telenovela-esque backstories. To the list-maker, that 100 feels objective. Unequivocal. An absolute truth.

This is one such list.

Written with the same signature Men in Blazers humor found in their New York Times bestseller Encyclopedia Blazertannica, and accompanied by Nate Kitch's iconic photographic illustrations, Men in Blazers share the stories of household names like David Beckham and Alex Morgan, along with cult icons such as Garrincha, the Brazilian star of the 1960s who was born with one leg six inches shorter than the other, and Briana Scurry, a trailblazer who paved a path for young Black soccer-playing women. Page by page, you will revel in the depictions of players you adore, discover tales you have never heard, and experience vivid stories of dreams, loyalty, perseverance, creativity, and luck. Together, they form an alternative telling of the history of soccer, tracing the evolution of the men's and women's games around the globe, one unlikely, unbelievable, unforgettable career at a time. Thanks to the transcendent career arcs depicted within, Gods of Soccer is rife with tales that will make readers' hearts soar. Encourage them to dream. And then quickly rush off to make their own lists.

FOR READERS OF: Complete Book of Soccer, The Baseball 100, Encyclopedia Blazertannica, and Reborn in the USA

A COMPANION TO MEN IN BLAZERS PODCAST AND SHOWS: This is the perfect companion for avid fans of the Men in Blazers podcast, one of the largest soccer podcasts in the world, and their weekly NBC show.

A GREAT GIFT: Surprise the soccer fans in your life or introduce someone to the sport with God's of Soccer. This will make a fantastic gift for both novice and die-hard players and soccer fans of all ages.

Fully updated - includes the full story of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.

The Official History of the FIFA World Cup is the definitive inside story of the 22 FIFA World Cups to have taken place since the inaugural tournament in 1930. Packed with stunning photography, unique official documents and in-depth statistics, it is a must-read for any football fan around the world.

No other event in the sporting world can rival the glamour, impact, fervent following and universal appeal of the FIFA World Cup. This unique official book tells the stories behind the scenes, as well as analyzing the most famous incidents. It features the biggest stars and many previously unknown ones too, all with a unique worldwide point of view.

In soccer, most goals are scored with your feet. But as Johan Cruyff noted, soccer is fundamentally a game you play with your brain. Technical skills are essential tools, to be sure, but (like any tools) they are useless without a clear understanding of how, when, and why to apply them.

In Play with Your Brain, Travis Norsen helps you develop your soccer brain by providing a deep and detailed explanation of some of the game's basic principles. Aimed at intermediate-to-advanced youth soccer players and their coaches (as well as parents who want to understand the game more deeply), the book presents eight key soccer concepts in illuminating detail, showing what and how, but also clearly explaining why. Specific topics include the value of possession, the importance of horizontal and vertical spacing, why the direction you face is as important as where you are and where you're going, the nature and value of speed, pressuring with a purpose, and why defense - the science of generating turnovers - requires a coordinated team effort. The book contains more than fifty detailed diagrams illustrating these principles in various concrete applications, and is written in a style that is simultaneously accessible and lucid.

Whether you are a youth soccer player who wants to develop your game to the next level, a volunteer coach who needs a clear vision of where to lead your team, or a soccer parent who just wants to more clearly comprehend your kid's passion, this book will provide the systematic understanding you want and need.

En estas p ginas Ferran Soriano, quien tuvo un exitoso desempe o como Vicepresidente y Director General del F.C. Barcelona, expone con claridad c mo hacer de un club de f tbol una empresa exitosa, usando para ello las mismas estrategias, herramientas de gesti n y sentido com n que se usa en las grandes empresas del mundo. Soriano habla con amenidad de estrategia, liderazgo, desarrollo de equipos ganadores, gesti n del cambio e innovaci n. Con ingeniosas comparaciones, expediciones a la selva o panader as, acabamos sabiendo c mo Beckham fue el Mickey Mouse del Manchester United o c mo Zidane gener un tsunami de inflaci n en toda una industria. Con claridad, ejemplos indiscutibles y la ayuda de Goethe, Carles Puyol, Picasso, Eto'o, Michael J. Fox, Leo Messi, Carl Jung, Al Pacino, Guillermo de Ockham, el doctor House, Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola o Ronaldinho, entre much simos m s, el autor ofrece un cuadro completo de teor a, pr ctica, ejemplos y an cdotas. La pelota no entra por azar es no solo un texto imprescindible para todos aquellos a los que les interesa el f tbol (como gestores, entrenadores, jugadores o aficionados), sino tambi n un libro revelador para cualquiera que desee llevar adelante un negocio o dirigir equipos en una organizaci n. FERRAN SORIANO, nacido en Barcelona en 1967, es licenciado en Administraci n de Empresas y MBA. Tiene 20 a os de experiencia como empresario, consultor y ejecutivo en m s de diez pa ses de Europa y Am rica, en las industrias de productos de consumo, telecomunicaciones, aviaci n y f tbol. Fue Vicepresidente y Director General del F tbol Club Barcelona en el periodo 2003-2008. Ha dado conferencias alrededor del mundo y escrito sobre f tbol y gesti n. Actualmente es el CEO del Manchester City F.C. en Inglaterra y asesor del Consejo del Club Am rica en M xico.

Coach Dorrance] knows what it takes to win, and that is very rare. He makes another kind of investment in his players beyond just training: he cares about them as people. He knows what motivates certain types of players and ties it all in to team chemistry and camaraderie.

-Mia Hamm, retired American professional soccer player and first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame (2013). She trained under Anson Dorrance (1989-1993), helping the Tar Heels win four NCAA championships.

Anson has an excellent understanding of athletes, and his theories on player development are very astute. He has had a truly remarkable career. He would be a great coach in any sport.

-Dean Smith, retired University of North Carolina men's basketball coach (1961-1997).Coaching legend Smith trained several NBA players including Michael Jordan and is a Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinee (1983).

Do you have what it takes to train champions?

In Training Soccer Champions, leading NCAA coach Anson Dorrance shares the secrets to creating and maintaining a winning team. Dorrance explains his philosophies, provides practical lessons, and reflects on his experience, offering the invaluable perspective of one of the world's outstanding coaches.

Training Soccer Champions digs deep into the psychology of the female athlete and conveys the principles of coaching to benefit average and high-performing teams alike. Field strategy, motivational techniques, team dynamics, and much more are discussed in this must-have guide to coaching. With countless championship titles and numerous awards, Anson Dorrance knows what it takes to win, and now you can too.

'I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi' Diego Maradona

FULLY UPDATED TO INCLUDE THE 2022 WORLD CUP TRIUMPH & MESSI'S TRANSFER TO INTER MIAMI

As Lionel Messi raised the World Cup triumphantly into the air, the world watched on in awe. Messi's final peak conquered; his final dream achieved. It was the fairy tale ending to a glittering career. Yet despite delivering Argentina their third World Cup, Messi's time at Paris Saint-Germain came to a dramatic conclusion, and Miami awaited the Argentinian legend.

Guillem Balagué has had unprecedented access to Messi's inner circle including the player himself: his coaches, team-mates and family. From tracing the origins of Messi's precocious talent in Rosario, Argentina, to chronicling his peerless seventeen-season career at Barcelona, and his tumultuous Parisian adventure, Guillem takes us behind-the-scenes of Messi's World Cup triumph and his long-desired move to the MLS. This is an epic, authoritative and compelling account of an enigmatic footballing genius.

'I can tell my grandkids one day that I coached Lionel Messi' Pep Guardiola

'Correia takes us around the world to examine how soccer has produced the kind of political energy that can change minds and even topple governments' Dave Zirin, Sports Editor, The Nation

'An essential read for soccer fans everywhere' Juliet Jacques, writer, filmmaker and journalist

'A fascinating journey through the game's history [as] a vehicle of change' Shaka Hislop, former player, anti-racist educator and broadcaster

Soccer is so much more than the billionaire owners and eye-watering signing fees that dominate the headlines. Look beyond the Premiership and the World Cup, the sublime brilliance of Messi and Mbappé, and you'll find a story unparalleled in the world of sport.

From England, France, and Germany to Palestine, South Africa, and Brazil, A People's History of Soccer reveals how the 'beautiful game' has been a powerful instrument of emancipation for workers, feminists, anti-colonialist activists, young people, and protesters worldwide.

Countering the clichés about soccer fans, Mickaël Correia dives into soccer countercultures born after the Second World War, from English hooligans to the ultras who played a central role in the 'Arab Spring.' With chapters on anti-fascism, the women's game, and the rise in community-owned clubs, Correia reminds us that soccer can be a powerful social and political force - as generous as it is subversive.

Mickaël Correia is a journalist at Mediapart. He is the author of several books focusing on social and ecological struggles and working-class culture. He has written for Le Monde Diplomatique, Le Canard Enchaîné, and La Revue du Crieur. His passion for soccer began when he was 4, with kickabouts on the streets of Roubaix.