Book

Description

Gary Lineker’s saying: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win” is strongly disproved in this book. Football (soccer) is no simple game. In fact, football is probably the most complex of all games — a complexity that sometimes needs mathematical methods. As such, this book has its fair share of mathematical content, but mathematics itself is definitely not a necessity. Some knowledge of basic math and game theory is useful, but not crucial to grasp the contents. ‘Always change a winning team’ discusses and provides solutions to classical questions in football such as: Should a penalty be aimed wide or centered? Why will the worst penalty executors always aim their penalties wide and (almost always) miss? Why might the best national teams choose to loose initial matches in big tournaments? How does the point system affect game play and uncertainty of outcome? How could bad teams rise to stardom by picking ingenious tactics? Why is soccer (or football as Europeans like to name it) the world’s most popular sport? Why is soccer far more unpredictable than handball? Why is the 4-5-1 system easier to pick for a manager than any other playing system? How could bad teams utilize their dedicated fans to win titles? Why is the 3-1-0 point system bad? This third edition is greatly enhanced compared to the second edition - more exercises as well as several research papers are added.