Book Review: Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski

About:
Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Spain, Germany, and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S, Japan, Australia, and Even Iraq Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World’s Most Popular Sport by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski is a non-fiction book analyzing the economics of soccer around the world, but mainly in the English leagues. This is an updated edition from Mr. Kuper, a soccer writer, and Mr. Szymanski a Collegiate Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology.

• 464 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568584814

 

My rating for Soccernomics – 4
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More Books by Simon Kuper
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Thoughts:
As a fan of soccer (or futbol), not a rabid fan, but I enjoy watching and playing the game, I thought it would be great to read Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Spain, Germany, and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S, Japan, Australia, and Even Iraq Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World’s Most Popular Sport by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski to get a bit more excited in the upcoming World Cup (as if we need more excitement). I’m glad I read it, it’s a good book for any fan or even just someone who is interested in the business of sports.

The authors give a lot of credit to Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s who had the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis, and a movie by the same name. They admit that Mr. Beane has inspired them and I was surprised to find out he even consults for the English Premiere League.

The book goes into a narrative about salaries, transfer investments, players occupying management positions and more.  I especially liked the many anecdotes the authors give along with the points they are trying to make, instead of just giving a few tidbits here and there, or worst, throwing names around.

This book has tons of insights about soccer (including US soccer), with unique perspectives. I enjoyed the author dispelling many myths about the games, winners, and loser even if it got repetitive towards the end.

Buy Soccernomics from Amazon.com*
More Books by Simon Kuper
More Books by Stefan Szymanski

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account