Ten great books about soccer to read during COVID-19 and beyond

Following up on our previous post of the Best Soccer Movies and Documentaries to watch during COVID-19 and beyond, we continue the series of recommendations from staff and friends around the soccer world to bring this list of 10 great books about The Beautiful Game.

This list is not even close to complete, but should be great to get you started in print or Audible.com, or however you get your read on.

If you have your own favorites, please let us know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or by email here

Enjoy!

Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

Sir Alex saw Manchester United change from a conventional football club to a major business enterprise, and he never failed to move with the times. He has a lot to offer any aspiring coach, manager, or even business leader in this book. More on: Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

Among the Thugs

Among the Thugs: The Experience, and the Seduction, of Crowd Violence is a 1990 work of journalism by American writer Bill Buford documenting football hooliganism in the United Kingdom. More on: Among the Thugs by Bill Buford

Fever Pitch

(WARNING: Tottenham Hotspur fans are not allowed to read this book) A memoir by best selling global author Nick Hornby that does a great job at explaining why the game is so engrained in so many cultures around the world. This book was made into two movies… One actually about soccer made in 1997 starting Colin Firth. And another woeful attempt to adapt the story to baseball (Red Sox instead of Arsenal), staring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon. More on: Fever Pitch

How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

Amazing book that overlays the globe’s biggest rivalry games with regional culture and ethnic communities (and division). If you ever though soccer has prevented conflicts outside the stadiums, this book deeply examines how soccer (football) has avoided more wars and defined modern civilization more than most realize, while providing a very solid foundation for understanding why the biggest rivalries around globe mean so much to so many. More on: How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

Inverting The Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics

Inverting the Pyramid is a pioneering soccer book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe. More on: Inverting The Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics

Soccer IQ: Volumes 1 and 2

SoccerWire Contributor Dan Blank may have more soccer books on Amazon than any other author, and these two volumes are a great place to start learning. You can get these books separately, but Audible is offering a 2-in-1 package, so why not? More on: Soccer IQ: Volumes 1 and 2

Soccernomics

The MONEYBALL of soccer. Anything more to say? More on: Soccernomics

The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer

Nearly up-to-the-minute look by author and American soccer freelance journalist Caitlin Murray at the current generation of the U.S. Women’s National Team, their success, groundbreaking, and struggles for equality. More on: The National Team: The Inside Story of Women Who Changed Soccer

Training Soccer Champions

Anson Dorrance’s top-notch bible on what makes a champion player. The 22-time College Champion and 1991 Women’s World Cup winning coach has a unique dedication to his craft that anyone can learn from. Famous Quote? “If you don’t come in fit, I will cut you.” If Mia Hamm says it’s a good book, it must be true!   More on: Training Soccer Champions

Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup: A Historical and Cultural Reality Check

Guest columnist on SoccerWire, prolific soccer book author and major newspaper columnist Beau Dure makes the case that the United States is too fractious, too litigious, too wrapped up in other sports, and too late to the game; to ever win a men’s World Cup. More on: Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup: A Historical and Cultural Reality Check