Today’s Important Goodreads 'What We Think about Football'

Football is the world’s most popular sport inspiring the absolute devotion of countless fans around the globe. But what is it about soccer that makes it so compelling to watch, discuss and think about?.

”Simon Critchley” thinks it’s all of these and more in his book, he explains what soccer can tell us about each and how each informs the way we interpret the game all while building a new system of aesthetics or even poetics that we can use to watch the beautiful game.

Critchley addresses head on the contradiction between the form of football as association, socialism, and collective praxis, and the material content of the game which is ”money” in its most excessive and grotesque manifestations.

What We Think about Soccer

”Critchley” has made a career out of bringing philosophy to the people through popular subjects and in ”What We Think About When We Think About Soccer” he uses his considerable philosophical acumen to examine the sport that has captured the hearts and minds of millions.

He ties the sport to politics by beginning with a chapter titled “Socialism” before going on to establish what he calls ”a poetics of soccer.” He writes what is taking place in an organized team is a never ceasing dialectic between the collective activity of the group and the supportive flourishing inpidual actions of the team.

Football's data revolution has only just begun. The arrival of advanced metrics and detailed analysis is already reshaping the modern game. We can now fully assess player performance, analyse the role of luck and measure what really leads to victory. There is no turning back.

Now the race is on between football's wealthiest clubs and a group of outsiders, nerds and rule-breakers, who are turning the game on its head with their staggering innovations. Winning is no longer just about what happens out on the pitch, it's now a battle taking place in boardrooms and on screens across international borders with the world's brightest minds driving for an edge over their fiercest rivals.

Christoph Biermann has moved in the midst of these disruptive upheavals, talking to scientists, coaches, managers, scouts and psychologists in the world's major clubs, traveling across Europe and the US and revealing the hidden and often jaw-dropping truths behind the beautiful game.