Rating:  Summary: Content & theory excellent, pictures & diagrams not as good Review: This is my current favorite book on soccer. The quotes from Sun Tzu (The Art of War) are very appropriate. The book goes from the very general, a thorough discussion of space and its importance in war and on the pitch, to the very specific. Catlin concentrates much more on the concept of roles as opposed to positions. When teams recognize that functional roles are much more important than positions and when the team members learn that they should be interchangable, the dynamics of play can become much more interesting. Also helpful is the fact that the most important points are clearly highlighted, making it easy to focus on each of them as a teaching point. I have developed a fairly large soccer library, and this book, even with its flaws, is one of the best. Clif Brittain
Rating:  Summary: Content & theory excellent, pictures & diagrams not as good Review: This is my current favorite book on soccer. The quotes from Sun Tzu (The Art of War) are very appropriate. The book goes from the very general, a thorough discussion of space and its importance in war and on the pitch, to the very specific. Catlin concentrates much more on the concept of roles as opposed to positions. When teams recognize that functional roles are much more important than positions and when the team members learn that they should be interchangable, the dynamics of play can become much more interesting. Also helpful is the fact that the most important points are clearly highlighted, making it easy to focus on each of them as a teaching point. I have developed a fairly large soccer library, and this book, even with its flaws, is one of the best. Clif Brittain
Rating:  Summary: In depth understanding of how soccer is played. Review: This is the only book I've found that breaks the game of soccer into it's primary components showing how to think about the game. This is useful for the player and coach (U11 or so and above).
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