Soccer is called “the beautiful game” because of its simplicity and popularity; Unlike ice hockey or baseball, it can be played on a patch of ground with nothing but a bunch of rags. However, soccer, like any other human activity, reflects more about the people who play it than a mere scorecard or trophy. Simon Kuper’s new book Soccernomics delves into the world of the most popular game on the planet to understand trends, suggest reasons for the current global hierarchy, and suggest the next nations to become superpowers in global competition.
Kuper begins with a simple question. Football in modern parlance began as a football association between British clubs and universities. A workers’ game, it lacked the “gentlemen” rules of cricket and emphasized physical play and stamina over strategy and positioning. England therefore had an initial advantage of up to a century and a half over some nations, but they boast only one World Cup victory in the last hundred years. Why, Soccernomics asks, did the Titans fall?
The book delves into this topic. It was never a case, Kuper argues, of England underperforming but rather over-performing: The tiny island nation is too small to support a large talent pool, too cold to sustain a year-long game, and too isolated from competitors to forge improvements. Explore the financial decisions English clubs make and explain their poor performances over and over again.
The book also addresses the question of football on the world circuit.
The economy and performance are linked throughout the text. Should the big clubs sign great players for a lot of money? Should an organization function as a business or as a model for success on the court? Can a franchise expect a fashion gamer to repeat its success? Often, Kuper goes against conventional thinking, using rational examples of statistical trends rather than the subjectivity of fanatics and ownership.
Soccernomics emphasizes how different countries are about to explode. Nations like England, France and Italy have a large talent pool and a history of success, but the recent conquests of what were then considered inferior countries in football have shown that the hegemony is crumbling. The rise of African countries and Asian powers like Japan and South Korea comes to mind. Such surprises, Soccernomics says, are sure to be the norm rather than the exception in the near future of the sport.
For those who have a passion for the beautiful game, Soccernomics is a brilliant and highly informative book to be part of anyone’s collection of books or literature on soccer.
2011 Moira G. Gallaga ©