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Zonal Marking
- From Ajax to Zidane, the Making of Modern Soccer
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
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Publisher's summary
A mazy dribble through the recent history of European soccer, showing how shifting styles and influence have shaped the game.
In the early 1990s, the Dutch footballing philosophy was worshiped across the continent. Then the baton passed to the Italians, who clearly boasted Europe's strongest league. But when France started winning everything at international level its national academy became the template for others, until suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Europe's most revered player and manager both hailed from Portugal. Next, Barcelona and Spain won everything during a very obvious four-year period of dominance, before tiki-taka's decline meant Bayern and Germany took control. Finally, Europe's most successful coaches found themselves competing in England, introducing a brilliant cacophony of styles to the Premier League.
Zonal Marking is a glorious travelogue through soccer's triumphant styles and characters.
Featured Article: The Best Soccer Audiobooks for Avid and Prospective Fans
Soccer definitely has game. It’s played by more than 200 million people around the world, and it's the world's most-viewed sporting event. If you're in America, Canada, Ireland, or Australia, you probably call it soccer, and if you live in most other parts of the world, you call it football. Whether you're a casual player, a serious fan, or just interested in learning more about the game and its staying power, these audiobooks capture what makes soccer such a sensation.
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Story
The task facing Steve Stricker at the 2021 Ryder Cup was enormous. It was his job, as the American captain, to stare down almost 40 years of Ryder Cup history, break a pattern of home losses that had persisted almost as long, and reverse the tide of European dominance in one of golf's most tense and emotional events. This was the epitome of a must-win, but it was also something more—in the entire 93-year history of the event, no American side had ever faced this kind of pressure.
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Entertaining and informative
- By Dustin Joseph on 04-03-24
By: Shane Ryan
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The Master
- The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer
- By: Christopher Clarey
- Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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There have been other biographies of Roger Federer, but never one with this kind of access to the man himself, his support team, and the most prominent figures in the game, including such rivals as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick. In The Master, New York Times correspondent Christopher Clarey sits down with Federer and those closest to him to tell the story of the greatest player in men's tennis.
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Roger, voiced by Schwarzenegger
- By S. Armour on 08-27-21
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Blood, Sweat and Chalk
- Inside Football's Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today's Game
- By: Tim Layden
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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The modern game of football is filled with plays and formations with names like the Counter Trey, the Wildcat, the Zone Blitz, and the Cover Two. They have become part of the sport's vernacular, and yet for many fans they remain just names, often confusing ones. To rectify that, Tim Layden has drilled deep into the core of the game to reveal how these chalkboard X's and O's really work on the field, as well as where they came from and who dreamed them up.
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doesn't translate great to audiobook
- By Mbriggs on 02-18-15
By: Tim Layden
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The Captain Class
- The Hidden Force That Creates the World's Greatest Teams
- By: Sam Walker
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Several years ago, Sam Walker set out to answer one of the most hotly debated questions in sports: What are the greatest teams of all time? He devised a formula, then applied it to thousands of teams from leagues all over the world, from the NBA to the English Premier League to Olympic field hockey. When he was done, he had a list of the 16 most dominant teams in history. At that point he became obsessed with another, more complicated question: What did these freak teams have in common?
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Dates and names
- By Hunter on 11-28-21
By: Sam Walker
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America's Quarterback
- Bart Starr and the Rise of the National Football League
- By: Keith Dunnavant
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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No one can touch Bart Starr's record setting 5 NFL Championships including 3 straight. America's Quarterback tells the story of the man who helped create the legend of Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers. This biography traces Starr’s life from childhood in Alabama to stardom in Green Bay and beyond. Not a simple sports story, Dunnavant traces the story of one man reaching for the American dream while professional football emerged from the shadows to capture the nation’s imagination.
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awesome
- By Anthony nyman on 03-30-15
By: Keith Dunnavant
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A Giant Win
- Inside the New York Giants' Historic Upset over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII
- By: Tom Coughlin, Greg Hanlon - contributor, Eli Manning - foreword
- Narrated by: Donald Corren, Tom Coughlin
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Super Bowl XLII was the greatest upset in NFL history. In A GIANT WIN, Coach Tom Coughlin recounts the strategies and people that made it possible. Coach Coughlin reveals the intricacies of the game, revealing details only a coach would know. He also details, more than ever before, his relationships with some of the greatest, most iconic players of those Giants teams, like Eli Manning and Michael Strahan.
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Love Coach Coughlin Story
- By Alison on 02-29-24
By: Tom Coughlin, and others
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NFL Century
- The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League
- By: Joe Horrigan
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the 100 years since that fateful day, football has become America’s most popular and lucrative professional sport. The former scrappy upstart league that struggled to stay afloat has survived a host of challenges to produce American icons like Vince Lombardi, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. It is an extraordinary and entertaining history that could be told only by Joe Horrigan, former executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and perhaps the greatest living historian of the NFL.
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Details of the formation and growth of the NFL
- By Donald J. Bentley on 03-17-24
By: Joe Horrigan
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Strokes of Genius
- Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played
- By: L. Jon Wertheim
- Narrated by: Edward Bauer
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 2008 Wimbledon men's final, Center Court was a stage set worthy of Shakespearean drama. Five-time champion Roger Federer was on track to take his rightful place as the most dominant player in the history of the game. He just needed to cling to his trajectory. So in the last few moments of daylight, Center Court witnessed a coronation. Only it wasn't a crowning for the Swiss heir apparent but for a swashbuckling Spaniard.
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Nostalgia at its best
- By komenak on 03-03-24
By: L. Jon Wertheim
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Spain
- The Inside Story of La Roja's Historic Treble
- By: Graham Hunter
- Narrated by: Graham Hunter
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of the greatest achievement in the history of international football. After decades of failure, Spain won the European Championship in 2008 and then the World Cup in 2010. At Euro 2012 they became the first team to win three consecutive tournament titles. Graham Hunter was inside the dressing room as the players celebrated after the finals of the World Cup and Euro 2012.
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Insider look masterclass
- By Peter on 08-07-15
By: Graham Hunter
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The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL
- The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
- By: Sean McIndoe
- Narrated by: Sean McIndoe
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.
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Great and funny book on the NHL
- By LSmith on 01-11-19
By: Sean McIndoe
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The Barcelona Complex
- Lionel Messi and the Making—and Unmaking—of the World's Greatest Soccer Club
- By: Simon Kuper
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all 32 NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. Journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world.
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Fantastic
- By steve finkelstein on 10-27-23
By: Simon Kuper
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Scorecasting
- The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won
- By: L. Jon Wertheim, Tobias Moskowitz
- Narrated by: Zach McLarty
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing from Moskowitz's original research, as well as studies from fellow economists such as bestselling author Richard Thaler, the authors look at: the influence home-field advantage has on the outcomes of games in all sports and why it exists; the surprising truth about the universally accepted axiom that defense wins championships; the subtle biases that umpires exhibit in calling balls and strikes in key situations; the unintended consequences of referees' tendencies in every sport to "swallow the whistle," and more.
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Fascinating book!
- By Wayne on 10-22-16
By: L. Jon Wertheim, and others
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Soccer iQ (2 Book Series)
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Amazon's top two soccer-coaching books have been combined to create one amazing audiobook! Soccer iQ Vol. 1 is an Amazon best seller and an NSCAA Soccer Journal Top 5 Book of the Year! Football.com rated these books number one and number two in its list of the Top 14 Soccer Books for Players and Coaches!
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Masters of Modern Soccer
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In Masters of Modern Soccer, Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl asks: How do some of the game's smartest figures master the craft of soccer? By profiling players in every key position (American phenomenon Christian Pulisic, Mexican superstar Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, Belgium's Vincent Kompany, Spain's Xabi Alonso, Germany's Manuel Neuer) and management (Belgium coach Roberto Martínez and Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc), Wahl reveals how elite players and coaches strategize on and off the field and execute in high pressure game situations.
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Great for coaches!
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How to Watch Soccer
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Ruud Gullit knows better than anyone else that to understand soccer you have to understand strategy. When he started playing soccer, his only "strategy" was to get the ball, outrun everyone else to the other end of the field, and score. At first it served him well, but as he advanced through the sport, he learned that it takes much more than speed to make a winning team.
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Great book
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Pep Guardiola
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For three extraordinary seasons at Bayern Munich, Marti Perarnau was given total access around the German super club - to its players, its backroom staff, its board members and, above all, its manager, Pep Guardiola. In the follow-up to his critically acclaimed account of Guardiola's first full season at Bayern, Pep Confidential, Perarnau now lifts the lid on the Catalan's whole tenure in Bavaria.
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Total story. Total football. Total Pep.
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This in-depth examination of soccer takes listeners on a tour across the world and throughout history, introducing the many people who have attempted to shine a light onto and innovate a sport that, in many ways, is still stuck in the Dark Ages. This deep dive into the rise of analytics in soccer—a sport where tradition reigns supreme—shows how revolutionary tactics and underexplored metrics are breaking the beautiful game wide open.
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Fascinating story about sports and analytics 
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Soccer iQ (2 Book Series)
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Amazon's top two soccer-coaching books have been combined to create one amazing audiobook! Soccer iQ Vol. 1 is an Amazon best seller and an NSCAA Soccer Journal Top 5 Book of the Year! Football.com rated these books number one and number two in its list of the Top 14 Soccer Books for Players and Coaches!
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Soccer GOLD
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Masters of Modern Soccer
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In Masters of Modern Soccer, Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl asks: How do some of the game's smartest figures master the craft of soccer? By profiling players in every key position (American phenomenon Christian Pulisic, Mexican superstar Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, Belgium's Vincent Kompany, Spain's Xabi Alonso, Germany's Manuel Neuer) and management (Belgium coach Roberto Martínez and Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc), Wahl reveals how elite players and coaches strategize on and off the field and execute in high pressure game situations.
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Great for coaches!
- By Amazon Customer on 09-29-18
By: Grant Wahl
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How to Watch Soccer
- By: Ruud Gullit, Sam Herman
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
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Ruud Gullit knows better than anyone else that to understand soccer you have to understand strategy. When he started playing soccer, his only "strategy" was to get the ball, outrun everyone else to the other end of the field, and score. At first it served him well, but as he advanced through the sport, he learned that it takes much more than speed to make a winning team.
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Great book
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By: Ruud Gullit, and others
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Pep Guardiola
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For three extraordinary seasons at Bayern Munich, Marti Perarnau was given total access around the German super club - to its players, its backroom staff, its board members and, above all, its manager, Pep Guardiola. In the follow-up to his critically acclaimed account of Guardiola's first full season at Bayern, Pep Confidential, Perarnau now lifts the lid on the Catalan's whole tenure in Bavaria.
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Total story. Total football. Total Pep.
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The Ultimate Soccer Coaching Tactics Bundle
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Five soccer training books in one. Includes the books: Practice Soccer at Home, Soccer Mastery, Basic Soccer Drills for Kids, Soccer Numbers, and Soccer Defensive Drills.
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Definitely Recommend!
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Soccernomics
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Why does England lose? Why does Scotland suck? Why doesn't America play the sport internationally... and why do the Germans play with such an efficient but robotic style? Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, Soccernomics reveals the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer.
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Interesting but older version of the book
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The Ball Is Round
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In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport - now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.
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Dry and Boring
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Revolution
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November 2019. Unai Emery’s final game as Arsenal manager sees the Gunners languishing eighth in the league. Appointed in the dying embers of the Wenger years, Emery’s 18 months as Arsenal boss has seen the team and the club go backwards – playing unimaginative, pragmatic football, and recently losing to London rivals Chelsea in the final of the Europa League. Something had to change; a fresh head with fresh ideas. A new leader.
By: Charles Watts
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The Barcelona Inheritance
- The Evolution of Winning Soccer Tactics from Cruyff to Guardiola
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- Narrated by: Charlie Anson
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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 an 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 birthed to a new generation of thinkers, including Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho. Today, their teams top the Premier League, marking the latest installment in a rivalry that can be traced back 25 years.
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Too much about the “Special One”
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By: Jonathan Wilson
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The Club
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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 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
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Read don't listen
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By: Joshua Robinson, and others
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Pep’s City
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Over three seasons in England, Pep Guardiola has built something the Premier League has never seen before: a team that dominates games like no other, scoring goals and collecting points and trophies at record-breaking pace. Throughout that journey, the Spanish journalists Lu Martín and Pol Ballús have been embedded with the club, reporting this inside account of how a phenomenal team was constructed: from the recruitment of Guardiola himself, to the backroom staff that provide the platform for his team and the superstar players that have set a new standard in British football.
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Great listen!
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By: Lu Martín, and others
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Expected Goals
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Football has always measured success by what you win, but only in the last twenty years have clubs started to think about how you win. Data has now suffused almost every aspect of how football is played, coached, scouted and consumed. But it’s not the algorithms or new metrics that have made this change, it’s the people behind them. This is the story of modern football’s great data revolution and the group of curious, entrepreneurial personalities who zealously believed in its potential to transform the game.
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Trove of information
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What's Wrong with US?
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Story
Every four years, Americans turn their attention to the world’s game - soccer. As recently as 1998, the USMNT merely made up the numbers at the biggest sporting tournament of all, but once Bruce Arena took over the team, American soccer started to find its footing. In the 2002 World Cup, a highly-fancied Portugal team, featuring the great Ronaldo, lost to Arena’s US team in a shocking 3-2 victory, and but for a handball that wasn’t given, they could well have knocked off eventual winners Germany.
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Misleading Title
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By: Bruce Arena, and others
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Messi
- The Definitive Biography Fully Updated to Include Messi's First Season at PSG
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- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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The story of one of the greatest footballers of all time, Barcelona and Argentina's Lionel Messi. Despite all the fame and adulation, remarkably little is known about Lionel Messi, the modest and intensely private footballing genius. Just how did the boy from Rosario, Argentina, become the world's greatest player? Guillem Balague has had unprecedented access to Messi's inner circle: his coaches, teammates and family. In addition, Pep Guardiola has provided exclusive analysis of the player. The result is an authoritative and compelling account of the wonderful mystery that is Messi.
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In-depth look at Lionel Messi
- By Nicholas Beato on 01-16-22
By: Guillem Balague
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The Barcelona Complex
- Lionel Messi and the Making—and Unmaking—of the World's Greatest Soccer Club
- By: Simon Kuper
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all 32 NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. Journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world.
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Fantastic
- By steve finkelstein on 10-27-23
By: Simon Kuper
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Quiet Leadership
- Winning Hearts, Minds and Matches
- By: Carlo Ancelotti
- Narrated by: Richard Lumsden
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Carlo Ancelotti is one of the greatest managers of all time, with five Champions League titles to his name. Yet his approach could not be further from the aggressive theatricals favoured by many of his rivals. His understated style has earned him the fierce loyalty of players like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Candy for any leader who also loves football.
- By Christopher on 05-27-16
By: Carlo Ancelotti
What listeners say about Zonal Marking
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bts567
- 12-22-19
brilliant knowledge on football history
I learned so much about the best teams in history. very detailed history about tactics and coaches. Especially the bring-ups of the best footballers in history.
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- James Retterer
- 05-16-24
Compelling narrative
One of the best football books I’ve read. Cox’s journey through geographical histories bridges styles and philosophies, wrapped in a compelling narrative.
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- Leo Harrison
- 07-12-20
Very well written and engaging!
I loved the book as it greatly explained the different styles in European football. There were lots of great side stories and analogies that really brought out the ideas presented in the book.
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- Gautam Jagannathan
- 09-01-22
Wonderful narration of European football!
What a fantastically well researched tale of the history of European football! Loved the inter weaving of history into the tale and how Cox uses quotes of contemporaneous players coaches and journalists to embellish the story.
However, I do believe that some stories are missing from this narration. For example, the story of the "losers" - I think there are lessons that can be learned from national teams that did not do as well as expected. Belgium being a great example (although Cox did briefly touch upon another 'always the brideamaid' nation - England). The audiobook narrator was brilliant as well!
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- Matthew Evans
- 02-06-23
Perfect for any fan
Great book to learn more about the game we all know and love! Must read!
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- Syd K.
- 03-27-24
Good wonky stuff
Come for the back pass and goalie discussion, stay for the breakdown of free eights and gegenpressing
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- stephen
- 10-04-19
really really good.
great interesting succinct. brings modern football tactic up to date with interesting reference to the past
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- Rodrigue
- 07-28-21
For soccer nerds.
It was a fantastic football tactic history, with stories and passages well woven together. Some of it did become repetitive as the periods somewhat overlapped but again the author did a nice job of bringing thi gs full circle.
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- Therese O. Bartolini
- 08-03-20
A delightful look across borders at the evolving Ecosystem that is European football.
It’s easy to get absorbed into “your league” or “your team” as a modern football fan. But taking a step back and having this opportunity to browse the evolving philosophies of Europe, understand their overlaps, and admire their synthesis is just fun.
This book is well written, well paced, and a delight for any football fan.
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- Gregory Harris
- 09-14-20
Great and Accessible Depth
I am new to the world of soccer (or football) and I am trying to soak up as much as I can. There is a deep wealth of knowledge here and in less skillfull hands I would have sunk quickly to the bottom as I waded in. But Michael Cox has done wonders with the organization of this book and the layering of concepts and ideas throughout. I cannot reccomend this book highly enough.
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