Soccernomics

Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
October 2009     ISBN: 1568584253

These are some of the questions that every soccer fanatic has asked. Soccernomics answers them. Written with an economist's brain and a sports writer's skill, it applies high-powered analytical tools to everyday soccer topics, looking at data in new ways, revealing counterintuitive truths about the world's most loved game. It all adds up to a revolutionary way of looking at soccer that could affect the way the game is played internationally.

"A brainteaser of a book for any beach-bound soccer fan."
—Bloomberg News' 50 Favorite Business Books

"I strongly recommend you read Soccernomics. Kuper and Szymanski have done what many have long argued is impossible – bring valuable, objective analysis to soccer. As an avid fan of the game and a firm believer in the power that such objective analysis can bring to sports, I was captivated by this book.”
-Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A's

"A blend of Freakonomics and Fever Pitch, bringing surprising economic analysis to bear on the world's most popular sport...a thought-provoking, often amusing read."
—Bloomberg News

"Quite magnificent, a sort of Freakonomics for soccer."
—The Guardian

"The book is not just a collection of analytics. It is well argued too. Szymanski, an economist, knows his stuff, and Kuper, a born contrarian...is incapable of cliché. It also contains some great stories and previously unknown nuggets, such as how Brazil won the 2002 World Cup with a one-handed goalkeeper, or why Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final."
—Financial Times

Simon Kuper has lived (and played and watched soccer) in France, Holland, Germany, the USA and England, and has written on soccer for publications all over the world, including at The New York Times. He now works for the Financial Times. He studied history and German at Oxford University and supports Ajax Amsterdam, but not all that passionately. His book, Soccer Against the Enemy won the William Hill Prize for sports book of the year in Britain. He lives in Paris.

Stefan Szymanski is Professor of Economics and MBA Dean at Cass Business School in London. Tim Harford has called him "one of the world's leading sports economists." He lives in London.