Jonathan Wilson’s Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics is an absolute must-have for anyone with any association with the beautiful game. It breaks down the game, the real action at the field, like no other text has ever done.
When it says history in its title, it really means just that, taking the technical part of the sport back to the 1870s. Every tactical innovation from every part of the world is carefully dissected, showing its influence (or lack thereof) on the modern game.
From Total Football to Barca’s intelligent passing scheme, this book explains them all in great detail. Some names like Rinus Michels are easily identified by fans, but the likes Herbert Chapman, Boris Arkadiev, Martim Francisco, and Viktor Maslov are reserved for only those hardcore supporters. That is until the reader finishes this book as these names will become very familiar and commonplace.
Tactical influences came from just about everywhere, from Scotland to Brazil to Uruguay to Argentina and everything in between. Even Hungary and Russia contributed something to the sport we know today.
Scholarly research makes this a “one stop shop” for tactics and the history of the game. It brings dozens of texts and all the experts together in one place. It truly is a definitive, yet easy to follow, resource for football tactics. Players, coaches, historians, and fans can all find something to take away from this incredible read. All of this is just in time for the World Cup in Brazil.
