After the world cup ended last month I decided I needed to learn more about the World’s game. Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski provide an interesting look into soccer, especially from an economic view point. As I knew very little about the sport prior to reading this book it is hard to judge. However, it seems to be full of little bits of interesting soccer knowledge. For example, the country with the best record against Brazil is Norway. These two teams have played 4 times, Norway won twice and tied twice. Interesting too, is that Norway is the most soccer crazy country in the world.
I just finished it myself – I think I mentioned it in a soccer thread. Those Norwegians are indeed crazy about soccer!
The insights into English soccer are right on the money. You hear some of the same explanations for the being thrown about for England, France and Italy’s dismal performances at the World Cup (ie: too many foreign players in the domestic leagues). The Soccernomics guys show how that not only are foreign players not the cause of bad World Cup performances, those foreign players actually help the national leagues by raising the level of competition.
Their conclusions about penalties are right on too – people whine about how penalties aren’t really fair, but they show how statistically, penalties don’t really have much of an effect on the outcome of games.
I loved the story about the penalty shootout at the Champions League final too – I watched that match, and had no idea about the science and methodology behind it!
Great book! I listened to it in audiobook format, then had to grab the ebook, so I could have the charts and graphs and stuff for reference.
Heh, Norway just beat France in a friendly as well 
But at least France finally played Benzema (and Diarra). I take it any French player from the World Cup was effectively kicked off the national team.
I guess they won’t translate that book in French. It wouldn’t be worth it anyway since the lack of basic understanding of soccer by anyone who speaks that language. What is needed is “Le Football 101” or “Le Foot Pour Les Nuls” ( Soccer for Dummies).
Another book you soccer fanatics might enjoy is Declan Hall’s, “The Fix” it looks how international criminal organizations have started to latch onto the world of football and make huge profits out of it.
amazon.ca/Fix-Soccer-Organiz … 0771041381
Haven’t had occasion to find it yet (at least at a price that is more in line with my spending wishes 
but I may have to spend the full freight soon)
By all accounts it’s quite a good read and quite an eye opener.
On a different topic of soccer, I wonder how long it will be before we get Rogers Sportsnet One on the ole sat dish, some kind of bickering boing on between Rogers and the rest of the tv providers in Canada, so today which was launch day was only available on Rogers cable apparently, they had the top match of the day today in the EPL exclusively.
Though we do get a free preview of Sentata Sports for the next two weeks or so, which should give soccer fans a good fix.
Also I see that the Score is covering Serie A now,
for those looking further onto the continent for their fix (pardon the pun)
Or trolling for dummies.
Your only contribution to every soccer thread is to tell people why you don’t like soccer. And that you only ever watch it once every 4 years, and then only a little bit. Get over it already.
Fox Sports World has Serie A and English Premier League, and GolTV has La Liga, Bundesliga, and lots of South American soccer.
The Score always has at least one English Premier League game a week as well, though they’re usually early. TSN usually covers Champions League.
I usually only follow La Liga religiously. Maybe because it is only once a week, and at a decent time. I try and watch Benfica on the Portuguese station whenever my father reminds me that they’re playing, but that’s not often either. I think that’s why I got into La Liga - one game a week and you can follow a team the whole season.
Then there’s all the online stuff – I doubt there’s a game that you can’t watch online if you’re willing to spend a few minutes looking for it.
I guess it worked since you couldn’t leave it alone.
Um, you brought it up.
If you don’t have anything to contribute other than to say “I don’t have anything to contribute” then why reply at all? As for the French thing, didn’t you read the post directly above yours?
Well I’m sorry that this place is becoming too serious for poking fun at old stuff. I thought it was an htmf tradition to sometimes post off-topic comments.
I wonder if the new serious attitude of sticking to the topic only applies to soccer threads, or if it has something to do with the new look of the forum.
I think you’re taking the French-hand-ball thing way too seriously and personally. Don’t worry, BigThumb, we know you wouldn’t use your thumb to score a goal.
Besides, Henry’s off to play in New York, so won’t be cheating in a real league anytime soon I’m sure they won’t even recognize him there.
And the entire French national team has been fired, so that’s good for those of us who are fans of French players (like Benzema and Diarra) who didn’t make the cut before.
I think the English National Team should read this book as well.
Hey Dave, don’t they make the point in the book that Capello actually has the best record ever for an England manager? Despite the dismal showing at the World Cup, he has the best win/loss record of all the recent (post-WW2) managers, doesn’t he? I guess that may change now of you add in the World Cup matches.
Ok, looked it up in the book, but it’s apparently not there – I think the Audiobook version is newer than the print version. Anyway, yeah, Capello has the best record ever of England managers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_na … m#Managers
Which is probably why they kept him on despite the World Cup performance.
[quote=“MiG”]Hey Dave, don’t they make the point in the book that Capello actually has the best record ever for an England manager? Despite the dismal showing at the World Cup, he has the best win/loss record of all the recent (post-WW2) managers, doesn’t he? I guess that may change now of you add in the World Cup matches.
Ok, looked it up in the book, but it’s apparently not there – I think the Audiobook version is newer than the print version. Anyway, yeah, Capello has the best record ever of England managers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_na … m#Managers
Which is probably why they kept him on despite the World Cup performance.[/quote]
And related they write:
“England now seems to have accepted the need for continental European know-how. The current England manager, the Italian Fabio Capello, is like one of the overpaid consultants so common in development economics, flying in on business class to tell the natives what to do. His job is to teach the English some of the virtues of western European soccer.”
The point being that soccer is no longer their [the English] game. It is the World’s game and the English had better learn to learn from the best in the world, regardless of their nationality. At least that is what I understand from this book.
Yeah, absolutely. The authors make the point about it being good to have foreigners (better competition, exposure to different styles) is counter to the accepted wisdom that England does badly because they have too many foreigners in their leagues.
Capello is awesome in that he’s one of those managers who is an absolute scientist when it comes to managing teams. He’s the guy who famously sat David Beckham on the bench at Real Madrid.
Speaking of England’s failure: bit.ly/dgXEcx
[quote]Jose Mourinho has blamed England’s woeful World Cup performance in South Africa on the players arrogantly believing their own hype.
… the team hadn’t learned from 44 years of failure.
'They made the same mistake as always when people are talking about England being able to reach the final or win the title.
‘They listened to it and played like they were already advanced from their group. But they were also unlucky to meet a powerful Germany at that point.’[/quote]
Basically, everything the authors of Soccernomics said
Mourinho turned down the opportunity to coach England a few years ago.