Really interesting book. ( )

Writer and journalist Simon Kuper is obviously a student of soccer, with interest in how statistical analysis is affecting the game, but in Soccer Men he creates “a group portrait of the profession,” by concentrating on people. He profiles the players, coaches, and others involved in high-level professional soccer.

Kuper’s writing can match the verve and beauty of the game itself. A free kick by Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos is “speeding well past the goal before changing its mind and bending several yards to finish in the net.” He is almost poetic at times, humorous at others, often simultaneously. Clarence Seedorf is described as “a wonderful athlete, a sort of extremely fast concrete wall who could play one-touch.” The wealthy club Real Madrid “absentmindedly buys dozens of players, who are often forgotten until they get discovered months later screaming inside closets.”

Kuper is a strong and insightful writer and doesn’t pull any punches. Argentine legend and former national team manager Diego Maradona arrives for an interview “looking as ever like a tramp who had found a nice suit and two identical Swiss luxury watches.” Michael Owen’s conduct “almost revolutionary in English soccer – involved not behaving like a half-wit.” Ashley Cole’s biography makes him feel “dirty and stupid for having read it.”

Soccer Men is a joy to read for the soccer fan with interest in the personalities of the game. ( )