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Football Book
Discover the world's best teams and biggest competitions with the ultimate visual guide to football, fully updated to include the results of the 2018 World Cup.
Are you a keen player, a lifelong supporter, or simply an armchair football manager? The Football Book has something for everyone, packed with stats and facts. From the history of football to the most recent tournaments, The Football Book reveals the story behind the game.
Profiling more than 65 of the world's best sporting nations, including the winners of the 2018 World Cup, France, the biggest names in club football, and looking at techniques from free-kicks to block tackling, this is the ultimate guide to the beautiful game.
Previous ISBN: 9780241317631
Are you a keen player, a lifelong supporter, or simply an armchair football manager? The Football Book has something for everyone, packed with stats and facts. From the history of football to the most recent tournaments, The Football Book reveals the story behind the game.
Profiling more than 65 of the world's best sporting nations, including the winners of the 2018 World Cup, France, the biggest names in club football, and looking at techniques from free-kicks to block tackling, this is the ultimate guide to the beautiful game.
Previous ISBN: 9780241317631
Hardcover
Published November 1, 2018
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,068 books2,083 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 13, 2020
I think some of the information was wrong, as it showed that Lionel Messi only has 4 ballon d'ors but everyone knows he has 6!
April 29, 2020
I give this book four stars out of five mainly because it is trying to combine so much into one book and I would have perhaps liked it to be more focused thus maintaining 5-star interest throughout. But you can’t argue with the presentation or the content of the book.
As stated this book fits a lot in. Indeed the book’s intro mentions it is trying to cover the game “in full, from the relative merits of zonal and man-marking to the most amazing terrace chants. Within its pages you will learn how to bend the ball like Beckham, meet the dog who found the World Cup hidden in a suburban garden, and discover how a Madagascan league game could possibly have finished 149-0.” It is this fullness that means the book will be amazing in some places, clearly worthy of a 5-star rating, and less-amazing (although all football is obviously amazing) in other places, for example the section taking me all around the world, even to many obscure countries, was not the most interesting to me.
The contents are:
* The World’s Game – goes back to 1500 BCE then onto the formation of the modern game
* How the game is played – covering things like rules of the game, including diagrams for the offside rule, and player positions
* Teamwork – covers developments in formations, and strategies
* Individual Skills – for example how to control the ball, warm up exercises, a chapter that is good for football coaches of kids as it goes back to basics, breaking down turns and tricks into easy steps
* Planet Football – a round the world tour of top clubs and countries (I learnt that there is a team called Robin Hood from Surinam, a team called Cong FC in Vietnam and a team called The Strongest in Bolivia)
* The competitions – history of the cups, e.g. the World Cup
* The records – showing winners of the continental and global competitions over time (not including Liverpool for the 2019 Club World Cup).
Presentationally the book is excellent, as you’d expect from DK, with a vivid orange cover in the style of the iconic adidas Tango ball, and licensed, full-colour images throughout (although with a filter applied to all the artwork). It also comes with a massive wallchart for Euro 2020 (this now being out-of-date due to Euros being postponed a year because of coronavirus pandemic). The infographics perhaps could have been improved with a bit more thought to colour, e.g.chart showing Portuguese league wins has Benfica as blue, Porto as green and Sporting as red, but the colours could have been switched to match the teams’ main kit colours for a more instant visual.
In terms of the age-group this is aimed at some reviewers have said it is “more for younger readers” however I would have to disagree. There is plenty of content here and it is not dumbed down. Perhaps these reviewers have reviewed based on the beginning of the book where it goes into the history and the basics of football which maybe is more for people who are new to the game, but the book as a whole is definitely suitable for adults as well as kids.
In terms of accuracy there is a lot in here but there appear to be very few mistakes to me, although there are a few (e.g. the World Cup 1986 pages say Gary Lineker “remains the only England player to win the Golden Boot at a World Cup” but the 2018 World Cup pages talk about Harry Kane becoming “only the second England player to win the Golden Boot”). But definitely fewer mistakes than I've seen in other similar books.
Overall the book is 5-star in places but some sections were not as appealing to me, so 4-stars overall.
As stated this book fits a lot in. Indeed the book’s intro mentions it is trying to cover the game “in full, from the relative merits of zonal and man-marking to the most amazing terrace chants. Within its pages you will learn how to bend the ball like Beckham, meet the dog who found the World Cup hidden in a suburban garden, and discover how a Madagascan league game could possibly have finished 149-0.” It is this fullness that means the book will be amazing in some places, clearly worthy of a 5-star rating, and less-amazing (although all football is obviously amazing) in other places, for example the section taking me all around the world, even to many obscure countries, was not the most interesting to me.
The contents are:
* The World’s Game – goes back to 1500 BCE then onto the formation of the modern game
* How the game is played – covering things like rules of the game, including diagrams for the offside rule, and player positions
* Teamwork – covers developments in formations, and strategies
* Individual Skills – for example how to control the ball, warm up exercises, a chapter that is good for football coaches of kids as it goes back to basics, breaking down turns and tricks into easy steps
* Planet Football – a round the world tour of top clubs and countries (I learnt that there is a team called Robin Hood from Surinam, a team called Cong FC in Vietnam and a team called The Strongest in Bolivia)
* The competitions – history of the cups, e.g. the World Cup
* The records – showing winners of the continental and global competitions over time (not including Liverpool for the 2019 Club World Cup).
Presentationally the book is excellent, as you’d expect from DK, with a vivid orange cover in the style of the iconic adidas Tango ball, and licensed, full-colour images throughout (although with a filter applied to all the artwork). It also comes with a massive wallchart for Euro 2020 (this now being out-of-date due to Euros being postponed a year because of coronavirus pandemic). The infographics perhaps could have been improved with a bit more thought to colour, e.g.chart showing Portuguese league wins has Benfica as blue, Porto as green and Sporting as red, but the colours could have been switched to match the teams’ main kit colours for a more instant visual.
In terms of the age-group this is aimed at some reviewers have said it is “more for younger readers” however I would have to disagree. There is plenty of content here and it is not dumbed down. Perhaps these reviewers have reviewed based on the beginning of the book where it goes into the history and the basics of football which maybe is more for people who are new to the game, but the book as a whole is definitely suitable for adults as well as kids.
In terms of accuracy there is a lot in here but there appear to be very few mistakes to me, although there are a few (e.g. the World Cup 1986 pages say Gary Lineker “remains the only England player to win the Golden Boot at a World Cup” but the 2018 World Cup pages talk about Harry Kane becoming “only the second England player to win the Golden Boot”). But definitely fewer mistakes than I've seen in other similar books.
Overall the book is 5-star in places but some sections were not as appealing to me, so 4-stars overall.
November 10, 2018
‘The Football Book’ published by DK is a comprehensive compendium of Football, from the history of ancient ball games, to how the game is played, even the results of the 2018 World Cup. This is a visually outstanding information book with graphics of team players, maps, diagrams of the evolution of the pitch and text boxes filled with statistics. Each double-page spread is set out in an easy to read format, just right for a quick read, to find relevant information about teams from across the globe, tactics and techniques.
Four thousand years ago, the Chinese played cuju with two teams and a ball kicking towards a fixed goal. Spectator ball sports developed in Mesoamerica three thousand years ago. Football has evolved over the centuries into a variety of different games with five players a side, beach football, freestyle, indoor games and Paralympic football. Detailed descriptions of how the game is played, each players positions and quotes from famous players are included in ‘How the Game is played.’
The footballer’s anatomy looks at strength, height, shape, muscular structure and discusses the hypothetical ideal player. This includes Beckham’s right foot, Rinaldo’s upper body and Maradona’s left foot! Detailed diagrams of spectacular moves, spins and turns, shooting for goals, heading the ball, all help players both young and older to study the techniques.
Planet Football takes us across the globe with the FIFA Confederations and its more than 200-member countries divided into six geographical areas. Starting with the English clubs and an inside look at Wembley Stadium, we branch out across the United Kingdom then into Europe. Australia’s Stat Attack describes the Socceroos our national team, the A-League teams, and the origin of the Old School teams Sydney City was founded in 1939. ‘The Football is packed with data and statistics, finishing with the International Awards and Records, including Women’s World Cup Winners; Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year and Club World Cup winners.
‘The Football Book’ is a most comprehensive, all-inclusive visual encyclopedia of football perfect for sports fan, families to delve into, armchair players and anyone who loves the game.
Four thousand years ago, the Chinese played cuju with two teams and a ball kicking towards a fixed goal. Spectator ball sports developed in Mesoamerica three thousand years ago. Football has evolved over the centuries into a variety of different games with five players a side, beach football, freestyle, indoor games and Paralympic football. Detailed descriptions of how the game is played, each players positions and quotes from famous players are included in ‘How the Game is played.’
The footballer’s anatomy looks at strength, height, shape, muscular structure and discusses the hypothetical ideal player. This includes Beckham’s right foot, Rinaldo’s upper body and Maradona’s left foot! Detailed diagrams of spectacular moves, spins and turns, shooting for goals, heading the ball, all help players both young and older to study the techniques.
Planet Football takes us across the globe with the FIFA Confederations and its more than 200-member countries divided into six geographical areas. Starting with the English clubs and an inside look at Wembley Stadium, we branch out across the United Kingdom then into Europe. Australia’s Stat Attack describes the Socceroos our national team, the A-League teams, and the origin of the Old School teams Sydney City was founded in 1939. ‘The Football is packed with data and statistics, finishing with the International Awards and Records, including Women’s World Cup Winners; Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year and Club World Cup winners.
‘The Football Book’ is a most comprehensive, all-inclusive visual encyclopedia of football perfect for sports fan, families to delve into, armchair players and anyone who loves the game.
December 8, 2022
242 - 2022
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews