How to Watch Soccer

by Ruud Gullit Narrated by Shaun Grindell

Overview

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. He worked his way from the Dutch junior leagues all the way to the legendary AC Milan, eventually retiring from the field to be a trainer, then a manager, and finally a commentator. Each step came with its own lessons, and its own unique perspective on the game. Having looked at soccer through just about every lens possible, Gullit is now sharing his own perspective.



Most spectators simply watch the ball, but in How to Watch Soccer, Gullit explains how to watch the whole game. He shows how every part of a match, from formations to corner kicks, all the way down to what the players do to influence the referees, is important. This exhaustive guide will change the way even the most die-hard fan watches the beautiful game.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

11/14/2016
In this meticulous compendium of soccer tactics, formations, patterns of play, and player psychology, Gullit, who was the captain of the Netherlands team that won the 1998 European Football Championship and the 1990 World Cup, provides the perspective of a former player and coach. His guide provides an insider’s take on regional styles of play and football cultures, comparing continental football to the game as it is played in England and elsewhere. Gullit’s exhaustive examples can at times feel somewhat dense; the most illuminating moments arrive when he shows how formations, patterns of play, and regional differences in referee calls contribute to wins and losses. Gullit offers reasonable advice for players, coaches, and fans willing to sift through his many examples. For instance, “poor defenders tend to concentrate on the ball,” and individuals who want to watch a game properly are wise to shift their attention away from the ball and toward systems and patterns of play. Coaches should “start with the basics, the defense,” because what matters to a team “happens when you don’t have the ball.” Gullit’s informative guide may be too dense for those new to the sport, but players and coaches will benefit from this expert’s approach to the game. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

“HOW TO WATCH SOCCER is partly a memoir.... But this is no dishy, celebrity tell-all. Mr. Gullit earnestly plods down the path of enlightening the American audience.” —Wall Street Journal

"If you’re new to watching soccer, Gullit offers a good primer on what to watch for; if you’re more well-versed with the sport, there’s still plenty of insight to be found here" —Men's Journal

“Using myriad—though never gratuitous or self-indulgent—examples from his own career as a player and manager, Gullit peels below the surface and encourages readers to do more than simply watch the ball…. A passionate insider's approach to understanding a game that seems so simple but contains almost inexhaustible complexity.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Gullit’s remarkable insight blends personal experience at all levels to create a unique way to look at soccer and see the how and why of matches [...] this is an ideal book for both novices or fully devoted fans to enrich viewing or simply following the sport internationally" —Library Journal

“In this meticulous compendium of soccer tactics, formations, patterns of play, and player psychology, Gullit… offers reasonable advice for players, coaches and fans….”   —Publisher's Weekly

"Ruud Gullit manages to convey the sense that football is really quite simple if you’re a genius like him, but without actually being annoying. A rare talent"  —Metro

"Ruud Gullit was the best player in the world. His sheer energy could create chances"—David Winner, Author of Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"A passionate insider's approach to understanding a game that seems so simple but contains almost inexhaustible complexity. —Kirkus

Library Journal

01/01/2017
Following on the publication of fellow Dutchman Johan Cruyff's soccer autobiography, My Turn: A Life of Total Football, Gullit offers an intimate guide to the sport. With success as a player and manager (notably for the Chelsea football club) as well as a trainer and media analyst, Gullit's remarkable insight blends personal experience at all levels to create a unique way to look at soccer and see the how and why of matches—almost to the point of ignoring the who. He notes that if a player doesn't fit the dynamics of a team, all of the money used to obtain that player may well be misspent. To Gullit, individual class is the crux of soccer success, a point he clarifies with examples of players fitting the system. Sections on different national teams and new developments within the sport enhance a well-written volume that is long on perspective and short on technical aspects. VERDICT With the continuing popularity of soccer, this is an ideal book for both novices or fully devoted fans to enrich viewing or simply following the sport internationally.—Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL

Kirkus Reviews

2016-12-07
Watching the beautiful game through the eyes of one who knows. Gullit has experienced nearly everything there is to experience in the game of soccer, at every level. A former Dutch international player and star for multiple European clubs, including AC Milan and Chelsea, the author was a world and European Player of the Year renowned for his positional flexibility and a manager who brought Chelsea its first major title in more than a quarter century when they won the FA Cup in 1997. For years, he has also been an incisive and respected TV analyst. All of his credentials make him ideally situated to explain how best to understand the world's most popular sport. Using myriad—though never gratuitous or self-indulgent—examples from his own career as a player and manager, Gullit peers below the surface and encourages readers to do more than simply watch the ball. After a few short autobiographical chapters, all geared toward setting up his varying perspectives on the game, Gullit runs through the many facets of soccer, from the systems, patterns of play, and positions to overarching strategy and nitty-gritty tactics to the various teams and players who make the game so compelling. He is not afraid to dive deep into the minutiae of soccer's fine points even as he elucidates the big picture, and diagrams helpfully illustrate certain plays or modes of play. Because Gullit originally wrote the book in his native Dutch for a European audience, his perspective and many of his examples come from both the Dutch professional game and the Netherlands national side, but this shouldn't be a negative for American readers interested in soccer; it grounds him in a particular context. A passionate insider's approach to understanding a game that seems so simple but contains almost inexhaustible complexity. Read this for background and then turn to Eduardo Galeano's poetic Soccer in Sun and Shadow for further illumination.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171246532
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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