‘The Beautiful Game?’ by Nicholas M. Watanabe (Review)

In many countries around the world, the football season is drawing to a close, and as I bask in the reflected glory of my hometown team Coventry City’s glorious return to the English Premier League (and look forward with trepidation to this northern summer’s World Cup Finals), I’ve been adding a little football-themed twist to my reading, too. I’ve already covered one book recently, all about FIFA’s big show, but today’s choice is a slightly broader work, exploring a number of different facets of world football. Come with me, then, as we learn all about analytics, ACLs and a lot more besides, all the different factors making up a game that, truth be told, can sometimes be rather ugly… ***** Nicholas M. Watanabe is an American academic specialising in sports analytics, and The Beautiful Game? The Stories Shaping the Future of Soccer (review copy courtesy of Bloomsbury Australia) is a fascinating collection of extended essays on various aspects of the sport. In nine instalments, the…