Reddit reviews Football Against the Enemy

Inverting the Pyramid - Jonathan Wilson
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Teambuilding: the road to success - Rinus Michels
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The Coaching Philosophies of Louis Van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches - Henny Kormelink and Tjeu Seeverens
Louis van Gaal, Frans Hoek, Co Adriaanse and fitness coach Bobby Haarms discuss their training methods and philosophies in this book full of creative ideas for soccer coaches at any level.

Dutch Soccer Secrets - Peter Hyballa & Hans-Dieter te Poel
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Attacking Soccer: a tactical analysis - Massimo Lucchesi
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Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
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The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong - Chris Anderson, David Sally
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Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper
Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them.

Simon Kuper is one of the best writers in football. Anybody who likes this should read The Football Men: Up Close with the Giants of the Modern Game, Soccernomics or Football Against The Enemy.

Also I hate when footballers are labelled idiots. It requires extreme intelligence to be a top class player. Not "book learning" intelligence or even basic common sense, but extreme intelligence nonetheless. It's no different to how a top tier Physics academic might not be able to book a hotel room online. They are brilliant in their field, bit sometimes dim in other areas.

There's a really great book by Simon Kuper called Football Against the Enemy. It goes through a lot of bigger European clubs and their history with political identities, etc. It's absolutely my favorite book about the sport that I've ever read.

I posted this in the past to the same question:

Well there's a massive picture book type thing called A Photographic History of English Football which should be recommended more often than it is. It's one of those Guinness Book of Records sized books that might have trouble fitting on a shelf but it covers every aspect of the history of the English game (and thus the history of football itself). The pictures are extremely good too, especially the ones from the 1900s.

For a more in-depth study of football across the world, Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy is definitely one of my favourites though it's a little outdated now. However, Kuper travels round Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas interviewing key personnel in some of the bigger Clubs in the area and tells their history. His chapter on Dynamo Kiev and their Cold War era function as a funnel between East and West is worth the price of the book alone in my opinion.

In terms of autobiographies, I have always recommended Sir Bobby Robson's Farewell but not Goodbye as he tells the story of his journey from working in a coal mine in North East England to playing for his country and eventually nurturing the talents of some of the most important people in football now on and off the pitch. Most of all his personality shines through and the man is a hero to me and many others.

If you want a more technical autobiography then Rinus Michel's Teambuilding is the go to standard. Not strictly an autobiography and more a technical book but he intersperses it with his own experiences and you really get the feeling of how the greatest coach in the history of the game came to believe the things that he did.

If you like quirky but thought provoking books then Football and Chess might pique your interest. I'm a great believer in the vast similarities between chess and football on a tactical level and the author shared the same sentiment. Not the best written book in the world but it's gets your noggin ticking over and makes you reassess your ideas on the game which is always the best thing a book can really do for you.
Also as a fan of Italian football and culture, Gianluca Vialli/Marcotti's book The Italian Job is one of my favourite football books ever and extremely thought provoking on the differences in the football cultures in England and Italy and how both can learn from each other.

On the psychological side, I've recently read Inside the Mind of a Manager which was interesting. I can't say that I agreed with all of the conclusions and think the quotes were a little cherry picked but it's a good read for people who want to know more about what the modern manager actually does for a living and the people interviewed for the book are some of the best maangers alive today.

Lastly, if you really want to look at the business side of the game and how it is changing then I would recommend Ferran Soriano's book GOAL! The Ball doesn't go in by chance. Soriano is Man City's current CEO and former Barca CEO so he's certainly been there and done it on the business front and many of his ideas ion that book are beginning to be realised now. He recently did a lecture about it which skimmed over the ideas but the book delves into it deeper and tells stories from his time at Barca.
If you want more of a narrative and less of a business lecture then former Crystal Palace Chairman Simon Jordan's book, Be Careful What You Wish For is an excellent read. Be aware that Jordan is obviously bitter about his time at Palace and tries to settle some old scores here but outside of that it's a semi interesting look at his time at the Club and the problems he faced in implementing his business strategies.

Miracle of Castel di Sangro

Football Against the Enemy

The best football book I've ever read was Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

tl;dr It's a 1994 book from a young British journalist who visited 22 countries in the early '90s and wrote about their football cultures.

He examines issues like Dynamo Kiev being involved in the illegal trade of ex-Soviet military hardware, and why when West Germany's Olaf Thon gave his shirt to a Dutch player (can't remember which one) in the wake of a Dutch win over West Germany in the '88 Euro semi-final, the Dutch player subsequently used it as toilet paper.

The chapter on the Rangers vs Celtic rivalry is comparatively pretty tame. There is some pretty messed-up hatred going on in the football world.

if the politics of different european clubs interests you, this book is fascinating. i can't recommend it enough. probably my favorite book written on the sport. Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper

You're right. I shouldn't have worded it that way so I've added a little correction. I remember reading, here I think, that the game was the first time that a lot of people saw the tension manifested as a massive act of collective violence. One thing let to another and boom big war.

If that's wrong, I bow to your superior knowledge.