Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson

Why aren’t English players as technically gifted as their South American counter-parts? How has Russian socialism shaped their footballing style on the pitch? Does the beautiful football of Brazil’s samba style find its origin with the Scots’ decision to implement a passing game? Wilson answers all these questions and more. Fascinating too, are the long enshrined attitudes to the game, which Wilson exposes, explains, and charts. The breadth of his discussion is refreshing, drawing in influences from right across the world, gladly encompassing the contribution of nations outside of the game’s ‘heavyweights’. The research that has gone into this book is staggering (the healthy bibliography attests to this) as too is Wilson’s commitment to the objective evaluation of contributions to the game. The text is supplemented by numerous diagrams and images – an excellent way to conceptualise some of Wilson’s points, and also break up what might otherwise be rather dense chunks of text. Exploring different formations and positions, this is an insightful, scientific/historical look at the game and its development. From the origins of the game to its current genus, Jonathan Wilson objectively measures the contribution of individuals globally, from the powerhouses of South American football like Argentina and Brazil, to countries whose history is less synonymous with the beautiful game – Belgium, Austria, and the like. Inverting the Pyramid has been called the 'Big Daddy' (Zonal Marking) of soccer tactics books it is essential for any coach, fan, player, or fantasy manager of the beautiful game.Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics (2008) by Jonathan Wilson is an analysis of how football tactics have evolved over the years and how the attitudes of different nations and coaches have helped shape the style of their nation’s teams.

Inverting the Pyramid provides a definitive understanding of the tactical genius of modern-day Barcelona, for the first time showing how their style of play developed from Dutch 'Total Football', which itself was an evolution of the Scottish passing game invented by Queens Park in the 1870s and taken on by Tottenham Hotspur in the 1930s. Through Jonathan Wilson's brilliant historical detective work, we learn how the South Americans shrugged off the British colonial order to add their own finesse to the game how the Europeans harnessed individual technique and built it into a team structure how the game once featured five forwards up front, while now a lone striker is not uncommon. Inverting the Pyramid is a pioneering soccer book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe. 'An outstanding work.the book of the decade.' ( Sunday Business Post)

Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson