Simon Kuper

'At last, football has its answer to Freakonomics' The Tipping Point and The Undercover Economist. Football truly is the world’s favourite game, followed in over 200 countries by hundreds of millions of people pouring their hearts and souls into supporting their chosen team every week. But behind the passion are questions that all true football aficionados want answered: has football spending spun out of control? How much do managers matter? Is hosting a World Cup a poisoned chalice? Fully revised and updated ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Soccernomics is the revolutionary guide from an economist and a sports writer who answer all these questions and more.

Updated 2026 World Cup Edition In this modern classic, a leading sportswriter and an acclaimed sports economist apply high-powered analytical tools to everyday soccer topics "Soccernomics is the most intelligent book ever written about soccer." ―San Francisco Chronicle Why do clubs almost always lose money--and does it mean some will disappear? Why doesn't America dominate the sport internationally? Do coaches actually even matter? These are the questions that most consume soccer fans--and Soccernomics holds the answers. Soccernomics is a revolutionary way of looking at soccer that has helped to change how some of the world's biggest clubs are run. Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology, and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, experts Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski reveal the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer. This 2026 World Cup edition is updated throughout, including a brand-new chapter discussing MLS, Messi joining Inter Miami, and the rise of soccer in the United States. Soccernomics remains essential reading for anyone in search of a strategic, systematic perspective on the game.

‘Magnificent… Freakonomics for football’ – Guardian Football truly is the world’s favourite game, followed in over 200 countries by hundreds of millions of people pouring their hearts and souls into supporting their chosen team every week. But behind the passion are questions that all true football aficionados want answered: has football spending spun out of control? How much do managers matter? Is hosting a World Cup a poisoned chalice? Fully revised and updated ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Soccernomics is the revolutionary guide from an economist and a sports writer who answer all these questions and more.

Tsitata Kogda gollandets Jokhan Krojff zametil, chto "futbol - eto igra, v kotoruju sleduet igrat golovoj", on vovse ne imel v vidu, chto eju nado otbivat mjach. Simon Kuper i Stefan Shimanski O chem kniga O skrytykh faktorakh, mekhanizmakh i tekhnologijakh, opredeljajuschikh sportivnye rezultaty v futbole. O tom, kakikh igrokov sleduet pokupat komandam; stoit li derzhat vozrastnykh futbolistov; cbornye kakikh stran imejut shansy stat v buduschem chempionami, a kakim nadejatsja ne na chto; kak statistika pomogaet vratarjam otbivat penalti i mnogoe drugoe. Pochemu kniga dostojna prochtenija Populjarno, na osnove fakticheskikh dannykh, avtory knigi razvenchivajut rasprostranennye zabluzhdenija o futbole. Kniga otvechaet na samye ostrye voprosy mirovogo futbola, interesujuschie vsekh ot bolelschikov i sponsorov do trenerov i igrokov komand. Ona pokazyvajut, kakimi imenno ekonomicheskimi, kulturnymi i demograficheskimi nitjami futbol svjazan s...

Simon Kuper's New York Times bestseller Soccernomics pioneered a new way of looking at soccer through meticulous empirical analysis and incisive -- and witty -- commentary. Kuper now leaves the numbers and data behind to explore the heart and soul of the world's most popular sport in the new, extraordinarily revealing Soccer Men. Soccer Men goes behind the scenes with soccer's greatest players and coaches. Inquiring into the genius and hubris of the modern game, Kuper details the lives of giants such as Ars Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jorge Valdano, Lionel Messi, Kak and Didier Drogba, describing their upbringings, the soccer cultures they grew up in, the way they play, and the baggage they bring to their relationships at work. From one of the great sportswriters of our time, Soccer Men is a penetrating and surprising anatomy of the figures that define modern soccer.