Earlier this year, I went looking for soccer books to read in hotels while I was out of town reffing soccer matches. This was one of the books I chose. I was interested to learn more about tactics as I never learned any while playing in high school and hear a lot about them during the games I ref. It also didn hurt that I saw this one on Ted Lasso. I finally finished it at a tournament last weekend.
This book was overwhelming. It packs the history of tactics in with a lot of names and history, much of which I was completely unfamiliar with. It felt a bit like War and Peace for soccer. It might have meant more to someone from Europe who is more steeped in the game. In any case, I just let the names flow over me as I did my best to absorb how the game has changed.
And that was what fascinated me most, how the way the game is played has changed so much over the years. I even learned about how the rules have changed. I was unaware of the evolution of the offside rule. That one was particularly interesting to me. So despite there being so much information, I enjoyed all that I learned.
My rating: 4/5
