Inverting the Pyramid (reissue)
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-29 08:53:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jonathan Wilson
- ISBN：1474609295
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Szymon Korytnicki
，
fajne
Roger Marc Bond Choquette
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At 400 pages， it is still dense。 As you'd expect， Wilson takes you through development of different formations， and the almost circular nature of progress。 But he also tells the story of soccer。 As much as a technical manual， this is a history about the people who made the game。 We inherit from broken men sacrificing it all to win a game （or create something beautiful on the field）。 Inspired stuff， well worth anyone's time。 At 400 pages， it is still dense。 As you'd expect， Wilson takes you through development of different formations， and the almost circular nature of progress。 But he also tells the story of soccer。 As much as a technical manual， this is a history about the people who made the game。 We inherit from broken men sacrificing it all to win a game （or create something beautiful on the field）。 Inspired stuff， well worth anyone's time。 。。。more
Caio Santos
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Texto muito bem escrito， viajando pelo tempo e pelas nações que influenciaram os desenvolvimentos táticos。 O livro só peca por uma espécie de eurocentrismo， notadamente por ser uma "autocrítica" aos ideais ingleses de futebol。 Apesar de discorrer bem sobre o futebol brasileiro/argentino/uruguaio， passa muito tempo falando sobre a Inglaterra （talvez mais do que o necessário） e separa apenas uma parte de um capítulo para falar sobre a África， por exemplo。 O começo é um pouco cansativo， mas começa Texto muito bem escrito， viajando pelo tempo e pelas nações que influenciaram os desenvolvimentos táticos。 O livro só peca por uma espécie de eurocentrismo， notadamente por ser uma "autocrítica" aos ideais ingleses de futebol。 Apesar de discorrer bem sobre o futebol brasileiro/argentino/uruguaio， passa muito tempo falando sobre a Inglaterra （talvez mais do que o necessário） e separa apenas uma parte de um capítulo para falar sobre a África， por exemplo。 O começo é um pouco cansativo， mas começa a valer a pena quando as táticas se desenvolvem em algo que reconhecemos no futebol de hoje。 Ansioso por ler as obras mais específicas do autor。 。。。more
Estevão Lopes
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Well written and researched， could be boring but the author managed to tell it in a very interesting way。
Fernando Romero Nuñez
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Quite possibly the best football book ever written。 Certainly the best football tactics book ever written。 The size and quality of the investigation that's gone into this is amazing。 Having read the original， I found the updated version a tad bloated。 Lots of bits about previously excluded teams and people that seem to be there just to add pages and information， and don't add anything of value to the book。 And， of course， Wilson's take on matters jumps of the page。 But， even with those new and o Quite possibly the best football book ever written。 Certainly the best football tactics book ever written。 The size and quality of the investigation that's gone into this is amazing。 Having read the original， I found the updated version a tad bloated。 Lots of bits about previously excluded teams and people that seem to be there just to add pages and information， and don't add anything of value to the book。 And， of course， Wilson's take on matters jumps of the page。 But， even with those new and old drawbacks， it's a fantastic book， and a must for all football fans。 。。。more
mdma
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leitura obrigatória p quem gosta de futebol。 passa p todos os cantos do mundo explorando a história tática p explicar como tudo se tornou oq eh hoje。 a leitura eh rápida e fluída， algo que eu confesso que não esperava。 muito se fala do futebol brasileiro e a visão do mundo a fora sob o nosso jeito de jogar。 esperava gostar mas não tanto。
Simon J Alvey
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Finally getting round to reading the signifier of the modern football hipster。 I can't claim a great knowledge of the actual meat of football tactics， but it is a great book about how people look to overcome challenges in new ways， and more importantly is packed full of wonderful stories about the sort of characters that litter the history of football。 All written by the most interesting voice in football working today， so all in all， as good as everyone says Finally getting round to reading the signifier of the modern football hipster。 I can't claim a great knowledge of the actual meat of football tactics， but it is a great book about how people look to overcome challenges in new ways， and more importantly is packed full of wonderful stories about the sort of characters that litter the history of football。 All written by the most interesting voice in football working today， so all in all， as good as everyone says 。。。more
Hamidur
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While I have been a fan of the game for a while， I was more of a passive viewer rather than an active one。 I was fortunate enough to watch the club of my childhood， FC Barcelona， go through its Golden Age but never quite understood what exactly made the team of 2009 or 2011 so good back when those teams lifted the Champions League trophy。 And then when I did understand the tactical aspects of what made those teams click， I felt lost because I couldn't place the tactical evolution in a timeline。 While I have been a fan of the game for a while， I was more of a passive viewer rather than an active one。 I was fortunate enough to watch the club of my childhood， FC Barcelona， go through its Golden Age but never quite understood what exactly made the team of 2009 or 2011 so good back when those teams lifted the Champions League trophy。 And then when I did understand the tactical aspects of what made those teams click， I felt lost because I couldn't place the tactical evolution in a timeline。 Where did the False 9 come from？ When did pressing begin as a tactic？ And I had more questions after the recent humiliations in the past few years of the Champions League when the questions became what had gone wrong and how did everyone figure us out？Jonathan Wilson does an excellent job of describing the history， the lineage of various tactical setups， how the game has changed due to changes in laws （offside laws， banning the backpass） etc。 It's an essential read for anyone who not only enjoys watching the game but also wants to understand the underlying theoretical concepts， evolutions， and the history of the game。My only two complaints about it are that Wilson has a tendency of describing in too much details the personal lives of the players or managers at times。 While it does make it easier to relate to them， sometimes they can be tiresome。 The other one is the two really long chapters on English pragmatism。 Reading about football can already be difficult and it's not easy when the topic is mainly about theories of how to exploit space on the pitch， why did some countries go for the passing game etc。 but the English chapters really didn't need to be that long when most of the content is about how much England failed at keeping up with the times and not about their own contributions。 But he's British and the prologue gives an idea of why he wrote the book so it's understandable。The epilogue was excellent as Wilson anticipated the questions his readers would have about the modern game in 2017 （might also be because he puts the Barça of Guardiola on a pedestal but I'd like to think I'm not so biased）。 。。。more
David Ball
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As someone who has played and studied the game of football intensely for thirty years， Jonathan Wilson’s Inverting the Pyramid is a revelation。 I have followed the English game particularly closely over this period， and know it quite well， and have taken an active interest in the major international tournaments that alternate every couple of years。 Wilson’s book does a nice job filling in the history of the game before my time。 In fact he goes back to 1872 when teams lined up 2-3-5 （two defender As someone who has played and studied the game of football intensely for thirty years， Jonathan Wilson’s Inverting the Pyramid is a revelation。 I have followed the English game particularly closely over this period， and know it quite well， and have taken an active interest in the major international tournaments that alternate every couple of years。 Wilson’s book does a nice job filling in the history of the game before my time。 In fact he goes back to 1872 when teams lined up 2-3-5 （two defenders， three midfielders and five forwards）。 It’s a remarkable feat of scholarship as he explores in great detail the evolution in tactical thinking since the game’s inception and the key managers at the forefront of each change。 It’s a very global perspective: every major footballing nation has played its part （often contributing in a way that reflects its national identity）， but you also learn about some minor nations that have had a disproportionate impact on the game， places like Austria and Hungary in the 50s， and USSR in the 1960 and 70s。 The highlights to me were learning about some of the game’s revolutionary thinkers， such as Hugo Miesl， Bela Guttmann， Victor Maslov， Rinus Michels， Valeryi Lobanovskyi and Arrigo Sacchi。 I felt a particular kinship with Lobanovskyi of Ukraine and his systematic use of data， and Sacchi of Italy and his desire to produce a team of collective football intelligence。 These are two figures I would like to learn more about。I was also amused by Wilson’s scathing criticism of the English approach to the game， where for the better part of a hundred years the country’s main tactics， if you can call them that， have been based physical strength， effort， set pieces， aerial battles， long balls， and kick and chase rather than passing， possession， and playing into space。 I’ve often thought watching the English national team that the English have no clue how to play football - Wilson’s account confirms my suspicions。 Part of the reason for the country’s abysmal track record since 1966， is this rudimentary approach was practically codified by the FA back in the 1980s based on ‘research’ performed at the time by Charles Hughes and Graham Taylor into the factors that went into scoring goals and winning matches。 Apparently the vast majority of all goals are scored with three passes or less in the build up， so anything more is a waste， at least in England。 Get rid of the ball quickly and shoot often （as one in ten of all shots go in， apparently） was the coaching mantra for many years - it’s no wonder the English have had such little success with such a negative， reductive approach。 Despite its compelling content， I did have a couple of criticisms of the book: first， there was v ery little mention of the modern managers like Alex Ferguson of Man United and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal， who have had record breaking success， at least on a domestic level。 Second， at times I found the sheer number of people we’re introduced to and the terminology used to describe ever-evolving positions to be convoluted and perplexing。 Is a centre-half a forward or a defender - it was never clear to me （although there are dozens of historical match game lineups included for illustrative purposes which helped somewhat）。 Regardless I learned a great deal about how football should be played， and how it shouldn’t， and encouragingly have many new avenues to pursue to further my understanding the game。 。。。more
Gustavo Yepez
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The most technical football book I have ever read。 Although it was a bit of a drag to finish， I now feel as if my prior knowledge of football had been confined to some sort of Plato's cave， where my view was a mere approximation of reality。 The amount of research that had to happen to bring together so many pieces of footballing history is astounding， spanning the whole history of the sport， and crossing several international borders。 There is a humongous amount of footballing lore in this work The most technical football book I have ever read。 Although it was a bit of a drag to finish， I now feel as if my prior knowledge of football had been confined to some sort of Plato's cave， where my view was a mere approximation of reality。 The amount of research that had to happen to bring together so many pieces of footballing history is astounding， spanning the whole history of the sport， and crossing several international borders。 There is a humongous amount of footballing lore in this work that you would be hard-pressed to find in a single place elsewhere。 It was a happy coincidence that I finished reading this book now， when we are seeing a resurgence of the three-at-the-back formations that I now know are just rehashed old formations from the beautiful game's not so distant past。 It is quite likely that I would never have known that if I had not read this book， which makes me think most of the highly public figures who call themselves football pundits today do not actually know about the tactical history of the sport， or simply do not care to share it。 Therefore， I am glad I took the initiative to find out on my own。 。。。more
Danas Kazlauskas
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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Football Tactics* （*But Were Afraid to Ask）。 :-）If seriously， very interesting book for those who are interested in football at a higher level （i。e。 not for people who watch football just for goals）。Two things though which would make this book even better:a） there are a lot of names for players' roles on the pitch （libero， sweeper， stopper， fantasista， trequartista， regista， playmaker， tornante， conductor etc。）， taken from several languages （English， Sp Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Football Tactics* （*But Were Afraid to Ask）。 :-）If seriously， very interesting book for those who are interested in football at a higher level （i。e。 not for people who watch football just for goals）。Two things though which would make this book even better:a） there are a lot of names for players' roles on the pitch （libero， sweeper， stopper， fantasista， trequartista， regista， playmaker， tornante， conductor etc。）， taken from several languages （English， Spanish， Italian etc。）， which are used throughout the book， but sometimes they are a bit confusing， for example some names mean the same role， but they are from different languages; one big table containing all these roles with explanations and approximate equivalents in different countries/languages would be a great addition to this book;b） more diagrams - of course this book has them， and quite a lot， but IMHO more of them would be needed， because sometimes it is hard to perceive the layout or movement of players on the pitch just reading the author's text。 。。。more
Slavo
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Čítať túto knihu je ako počúvať Marcela Merčiaka。 Dozviete sa množstvo zaujímavých faktov， ale autor vás ubije toľkými menami， výsledkami a zaujímavosti， že v konečnom dôsledku je to celkom nuda a utrpenie。
AnnBrown
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It was very informative。 I have long been passionate about football， but never looked at it from a professional point of view。 Thank you for showing me this side of the game。 I would like to stay in more detail and on the gambling side of the question - https://www。ua-football。com/en/bettin。。。 I think that any fan can earn extra money on your hobby football。 It was very informative。 I have long been passionate about football， but never looked at it from a professional point of view。 Thank you for showing me this side of the game。 I would like to stay in more detail and on the gambling side of the question - https://www。ua-football。com/en/bettin。。。 I think that any fan can earn extra money on your hobby football。 。。。more
Greg
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This book is a pretty comprehensive history of football tactics from the late 1800s through to 2006。 It spends a lot of time around 1930-50， discussing Austrian， Hungarian， and early Brazilian teams。 It was interesting， if not gripping。For the most part， the anecdotes about Sindelar， coffee houses， wandering coaches， and the intertwining of politics and football are more interesting than the talk of the subtle tactical shifts。 It felt throughout like it may have been easier to understand， say， t This book is a pretty comprehensive history of football tactics from the late 1800s through to 2006。 It spends a lot of time around 1930-50， discussing Austrian， Hungarian， and early Brazilian teams。 It was interesting， if not gripping。For the most part， the anecdotes about Sindelar， coffee houses， wandering coaches， and the intertwining of politics and football are more interesting than the talk of the subtle tactical shifts。 It felt throughout like it may have been easier to understand， say， the redeployment of an inside forward as an extra creative midfielder if I was simultaneously watching videos of the things being discussed。 However， as the book came through to the 80s and 00s， the nuance was easier to understand and the tactics came alive more。What seemed to me to be the book’s core thesis - that ‘tactical revolutions’ are often overstated and the evolution of the game is more a history of a player here and there being moved around or given a new role - rang true。 But perhaps the book would have been a damp squib if Wilson said this in the intro rather than the epilogue。 。。。more
Harry
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One for the purists and football fanatics。 A deep dive into the history of football tactics that there would seem to be very little reason to pick up if you're not a committed football fan。 I found it fascinating because I'm all of the above。 One for the purists and football fanatics。 A deep dive into the history of football tactics that there would seem to be very little reason to pick up if you're not a committed football fan。 I found it fascinating because I'm all of the above。 。。。more
Leif
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More history of tactics than most will be looking for， but， for the right reader， this is a great find。 Wilson is the kind of amateur historian whose journalistic curiosity leads him to writing more accessible， careful sketches than many professionals。 While he's never as dry as an academic would be on the subject， Inverting the Pyramid does get bogged down from time to time in its many waves of details， and I for one would have appreciated more passages that survey and guide readers through the More history of tactics than most will be looking for， but， for the right reader， this is a great find。 Wilson is the kind of amateur historian whose journalistic curiosity leads him to writing more accessible， careful sketches than many professionals。 While he's never as dry as an academic would be on the subject， Inverting the Pyramid does get bogged down from time to time in its many waves of details， and I for one would have appreciated more passages that survey and guide readers through the tactical developments and geographical regions discussed。 Wilson's focus is an expanding radial as he considers - adding inclusively - England， then Europe， the South America， then Africa， albeit quite briefly。 There's a bit too much insider's knowledge demanded， and the flow is uneven， but on the whole this is a good book。 。。。more
Brandon Swann
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Author's note: Mike Breen "Bang！ Bang！" type day。 To Calvin， I say 🤗 Review: A historical textbook of the beautiful game's tactics。 I have a great respect for the herculean efforts of Wilson and co。 to bring this comprehensive work to life， yet I can't deny I often found Inverting the Pyramid a slog to read。 You have to come to the table ready to be baptized in the endlessly spiraling and turbulent waters of high-level soccer tacticization。 Author's note: Mike Breen "Bang！ Bang！" type day。 To Calvin， I say 🤗 Review: A historical textbook of the beautiful game's tactics。 I have a great respect for the herculean efforts of Wilson and co。 to bring this comprehensive work to life， yet I can't deny I often found Inverting the Pyramid a slog to read。 You have to come to the table ready to be baptized in the endlessly spiraling and turbulent waters of high-level soccer tacticization。 。。。more
Mark Swift
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Rating: 2。5/5It's an admirably researched book， impressive for its level of detail and scope， but is it an enjoyable read？ Only really on occasion。 There were sections I really got into， but also plenty of times where I had to fight to stay with it。 I used to listen to the Football Weekly podcast before following AC Jimbo to the Totally Football Show， and I remember as a pundit on the former Jonathan Wilson was very much a walking football encyclopedia， so it probably comes as no surprise that h Rating: 2。5/5It's an admirably researched book， impressive for its level of detail and scope， but is it an enjoyable read？ Only really on occasion。 There were sections I really got into， but also plenty of times where I had to fight to stay with it。 I used to listen to the Football Weekly podcast before following AC Jimbo to the Totally Football Show， and I remember as a pundit on the former Jonathan Wilson was very much a walking football encyclopedia， so it probably comes as no surprise that he wrote a book like this。 However， the same could be said about fellow football journalist， author and podcast pundit Michael Cox， and I found his books The Mixer and Zonal Marking far more accessible and entertaining， yet still full of interesting tactical information。I'm glad I read Inverting the Pyramid but I'd never go back to it。 。。。more
Amin Delshad
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I rue the money granted to this idiot to write a book。 If you take out the thousands of names and irrelevant （and almost entirely not interesting） stories， you get like 20 pages of contetn that actually is related to the subject of the book。One of the most important virtues of a researches is knowing what material to omit in the final report， instead of bluh bluh bluh。And one more thing， only the most stupid lazy journalists see natinal games as the narrative of the history of the game。
John Holmes
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A good history with some interesting passages but it dragged in the middle， perhaps because the subtleties coupled with the unfamiliar characters limit the accessibility。 The latter sections from the 80s onwards are more engaging。 Accounts of theory and anti-theory around longball， the decline of the traditional striker and the rise of Bielsism stick out。
Adam
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My third Jonathan Wilson book， and I got a lot out of it。 Despite enjoying the other two I read， I expected to find it quite boring， based on comments from The Guardian's Football Weekly podcast， which I regularly listen to。More of a history book than a deep technical analysis （which I expected）， Inverting the Pyramid takes us through the approx 150 year old journey of football， and the formations and tactics employed by famous teams。 Each chapter， roughly， is dedicated to a team， often narrowin My third Jonathan Wilson book， and I got a lot out of it。 Despite enjoying the other two I read， I expected to find it quite boring， based on comments from The Guardian's Football Weekly podcast， which I regularly listen to。More of a history book than a deep technical analysis （which I expected）， Inverting the Pyramid takes us through the approx 150 year old journey of football， and the formations and tactics employed by famous teams。 Each chapter， roughly， is dedicated to a team， often narrowing down on the coach， their experiences， and how they developed their style of game。 I particularly found interesting how Wilson looked at the social climate of the team's environment and how that may have influenced their play style。Whilst enjoyable， I prefered the other two books， Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina， and The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Football Shaped the Modern Game， which were more of a deep dive into perspective teams and histories of football of a specific period， and country。 You can see where each chapter Wilson has turned into an entire book。 I look forward to picking up more of his books， and hope he continues to write more。 Lying on the couch on Sunday afternoon， I chuckled when I turned the final page and looked at my watch to read 4:42。 。。。more
Duncan Scott
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Thoroughly well researched， and reads a little treat， definitely not a broad page-turner， but if your a massive nerd for fitbaw like myself you'll love it。 Also it's obviously not up to date as it's a book and not an ongoing blog， so some of criticisms of it are massively unjustified。 Thoroughly well researched， and reads a little treat， definitely not a broad page-turner， but if your a massive nerd for fitbaw like myself you'll love it。 Also it's obviously not up to date as it's a book and not an ongoing blog， so some of criticisms of it are massively unjustified。 。。。more
Ícaro Medeiros
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Recomendo ler no Kindle。 Passagens passáveis， como uma ênfase desnecessária ao futebol Inglês de um lado e momentos pedagogicos， brilhantes ou divertidos na mesma medida。
Philip Carter
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This is possibly the best football book out there， it explains the evolution of football tactics in a way that is easy to follow and gives even the most avid of football fan a greater understanding of this side of the game。
Ujan Dutta
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Evolution of football through the various decades starting from using 2-5-3 formation to the post Cruyffian era of total football has been illustrated exquisitely！！ Jimmy Hogan's play making， Brazilian dominance， Micheal's total football， Sacchi's tactics， Guardiola's brilliance - all has been captured beautifully in this book！ A must read for any football fan！ Evolution of football through the various decades starting from using 2-5-3 formation to the post Cruyffian era of total football has been illustrated exquisitely！！ Jimmy Hogan's play making， Brazilian dominance， Micheal's total football， Sacchi's tactics， Guardiola's brilliance - all has been captured beautifully in this book！ A must read for any football fan！ 。。。more
Edgar
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Man， I don't know about this book。 It's extremely dense but full of very interesting information。 It just really wasn't that enjoyable to read。 For really intense soccer nerds only。 Man， I don't know about this book。 It's extremely dense but full of very interesting information。 It just really wasn't that enjoyable to read。 For really intense soccer nerds only。 。。。more
DerLaubbaum800
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Very interesting book， that not also teaches you about the history of tactics but also about parts of footballs history。 The only negative is that sometimes player names are spelled wrong。 For example: Burruchaga/BurrachagaRonald/Ronaldo KoemanChris/Chirs WaddleZubizarreta/Zubizaretta
Jonathan Griffin
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A five star book should change the individual as a reader。 Jonathan Wilson’s incredibly well-researched page turner has given me a greater appreciation of tactical advancements in the beautiful game， it has put me onto a number of other reading materials， it has enhanced my love for Brazil （58 and 62） and Ajax （71-72） and it has given me a new respect for Sacchi and Malofeev。 A belting read。
Runan Lin
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Oh boy do I feel like a nerd for reading this and finding out how football （NOT soccer） evolved from Scotland and England’s 2-3-5s to the modern 3-2-4-1s with inverted wing backs mezzalas and trequartistas。It also does talk about the general history of football in Europe and the Americas。 Very well-written history book and I would say that it is definitely worth a read if you’re interested in the drawing-board side of the sport。
Nikolai Laba
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