Inverting The Pyramid: The History Of Football Tactics (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
Very interesting but still lacked many examples that needed to be highlighted.. one of them, which is fundamental to me, is the dilemma of a classic winger or an inside forward. I still liked seeing my country Egypt highlighted in the success of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations as a model of going back to a three-man-back line.. however the name of Hassan Shehata, the coach then, was not even mentioned. The pivotal role of Aboutrika wasn't highlighted either. Still the same for teams that could spring surprises at some World Cups like Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. He highlighted France tactics in their way to win Euro 2000 and ignored what happened when the same team with nearly every detail got a first round exit in the World Cup two years later. There are many questions whether if tactics are the main factor of success and whether success can be achieved with the other factors in absence of tactics. Helenio Herrera's sad end with Inter Milano was something similar to that but still this point needed further detailing.Overall the book is just great, but we, readers, always seek perfection just in the way coaches did. Jonathan Wilson's "Inverting The Pyramid" is precisely what it says it is — a history of soccer tactics. But while there is plenty of more technical information about formations, who ran what and why, the book is more than just that. It's really about the evolution of soccer and its various styles. We learn who influenced what and why. What Wilson has found is the perfect balance between the personalities, teams and tactical breakdown that makes this book extremely readable, entertaining and a must-read for soccer/football/futbol fans.What Wilson really captures well, despite jumping around from continent to continent and this decade to that decade, is the seamless flow of the game's evolution. While there were moments in time and locations that were watershed moments, it is how those breakthroughs and changes interacted with the greater world at large — and the sociopolitical factors of the time — to ultimately affect how soccer was and is played.The book starts with the sports birth in England and Scotland and follows it from there, traveling into Eastern Europe and into South America before heading back to Europe for some of the breakthroughs of the last 40 years or so. While some developments are well known, others are less so — I had no idea the important influence of Hungary, Austria and later Russia in some of the sport's developments.I read this read both for pleasure and personal knowledge as well as some background information for a magazine story I'm writing. It was a great read on all levels, and I highly recommend it to all soccer fans with more than just a casual interest in he game.
What do You think about Inverting The Pyramid: The History Of Football Tactics (2008)?
Dense, a pre-existing sense of soccer's history would have certainly helped ease the reading.
—rellikrepeerc
Loved this book. It gave me a new appreciation and understanding of tactics.
—nbee
Precise history of the evolution of soccer tactics.
—Zamalii
