Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World's Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game

I am a relative novice at watching futbol (soccer). This book was very helpful in letting me understand what I am seeing on the pitch. It is a fun and interesting read. One caution: the content is largely identical with Wahl's "Football 2.0". 2.0 is in a larger format, the Midfielder chapter has been divided into Defenders and Attacking Midfielders, chapter headings have been reworded slightly, and 2.0 lacks the useful index Masters has. If you buy both, as I did, you will be disappointed. Given the price difference, book quality, and slower delivery time for 2.0, I recommend you forego the additional midfielder information and index and choose Masters.

good read. Insightful with well laid out examples. The pace was brisk and one can get through the book quickly

I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about some of the best players in the game. It was interesting to hear how they train, what their philosophies are regarding their style of play, strategy, etc. I especially enjoyed reading about Pulisic but found all of the players very interesting. I am a Bayern and Man City fan so it was nice to read about Neuer, Alonso and Kompany. In the book, each player had a different path and a different story but all were ridiculously successful. I am now reading it with my two boys who both play soccer as I think there are so many lessons to learn here about hard work and success. All around great read.

Masters of Modern Soccer is a terrific book. As a player and fan I learned about the game, and how some of best in the game approach their jobs on, and off, the field. I recommend this book both for those who know the game well and those new to soccer. Serious fans and players will get insights into nuances of the game, and those new to the sport will learn the little things that make the difference between a good player (and manager) and a great one. Wahl has an obvious affection for the subject and for those he interviews, which makes Masters of Modern Soccer a pleasure to read.

Grant Wahl set out to discover and define the qualities, characteristics, processes, and practices of some of the greatest people in the sport of soccer. But a problem with this book is that it is already dated. Because it focused on the potential upcoming stars of the 2018 World Cup, reading about those men post-tournament one year later —especially when several have already faded from the scene— just doesn’t seem worth the time. I suppose it’s analogous to reading Bruce Arena’s biography (which I haven’t done yet). Another problem is that, if you are trying to improve your own game, you can’t really learn how to adopt the players’ traits, because the book is really at an overview level, written by someone who is not a player. It does appear from all the interviews, though, that the most important trait is ability to see the field and anticipate where all the players are, and what is going to happen next. I’m not sure that can be learned. The ability of the greatest players to think this way has been known for a very long time. Watch the movie “Bobby” about Bobby Moore, captain of Englands WC 1999 championship team. One of his teammates reminisces that at practice, Bobby Moore could close his eyes and tell you where every player on the pitch was located. For me, the best chapter was Chapter 6 on Director of Football Michael Zorc at Borussia Dortmund. He and his staff of 15 scouts have identified many top players, and are so good at it that their identification and development of young players is essential to BVB’s success on the field as well as the club’s financial stability. Transfer fees make up about 200M of their 500M euro annual budget. I really enjoyed Grant Wahl’s first book, “The Beckham Experiment”. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about “Masters of Modern Soccer”. I bought it along with a small stack of soccer books in the publishing deluge that prefaced WC 2018. I tried to read this book several times over the past year, but each time I couldn’t get past the first chapter. I finally finished it during the 2019 Women’s World Cup. I really enjoy and highly recommend Grant Wahl’s podcasts, but this book just didn’t have the masterful writing and storytelling that I’ve come to expect from him.

You can learn a lot from this book

I'm saddened that we won't get to see a sequel from Grant. The soccer world will never be the same without him.

Grant is such an engaging writer. And he managed to get wonderful insights from some terrific interview subjects. Wish the book had been longer because it was such a pleasure to read.

Great book for the soccer buff !!