Overview

This in-depth examination of soccer takes listeners on a tour across the world and throughout history, introducing the many people who have attempted to shine a light onto and innovate a sport that, in many ways, is still stuck in the Dark Ages. This deep dive into the rise of analytics in soccer--a sport where tradition reigns supreme--shows how revolutionary tactics and underexplored metrics are breaking the beautiful game wide open. By exploring how massive institutions built on billions of dollars can function for so long without any kind of introspection--and what happens when people from the outside attempt to question the status quo--author Ryan O'Hanlon, a staff writer at ESPN, shows how time and again experts, managers, coaches, players, and fans feel they know the best approach for any given team or player and yet get undermined by the complexity of the game--and human behavior. To tell this globe-trekking story, O'Hanlon takes listeners inside the front offices and analytics departments of the top professional leagues' most cutting-edge clubs and profiles a misfit cast of number-crunchers, behavioral economists, tech insiders, and managers all working to move beyond the philosophical side of soccer and uncover the hard truths behind possession, goals, and developing talent.

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9781666616873

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Ryan O'Hanlon is a staff writer at ESPN. He has contributed to FiveThirtyEight, The New York Times, and GQ, among other publications. His newsletter, No Grass in the Clouds, examines the unknown, analytical side of soccer. He previously served as a senior editor at The Ringer. George Newbern has appeared in Father of the Bride, Father of the Bride II, Evening Star, Adventures in Babysitting, and many other films. On television, he has had roles on Scandal, Friends, Nip/Tuck, Hot in Cleveland, CSI, and more. He is also known for providing the voice of Superman in Justice League and for narrating audiobooks.

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