“But there isn’t much else most club managers can do to push their teams up the table. After all, players matter much more. As Johan Cruijff said when he was coaching Barcelona, “If your players are better than your opponents,… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“The theory of the “wisdom of crowds” says that if you aggregate many different opinions from a diverse group of people, you are much… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
Even before 2007, this half of a small island was the richest football country on earth. In 2005-2006 the Premiership's total revenue was about… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“It’s sad to say, but it is much easier selling, for example, a crap Brazilian than a brilliant Mexican. The Brazilian gets across the… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“Entrepreneurs who dip into soccer also keep making the same mistakes. They buy clubs promising to run them “like a business” and disappear a… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
Football is not merely a small business, it's also a bad one. Anyone who spends any time inside football soon discovers that just as… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
Chelsea's players, coaches and agents are now football's wealthiest millionaires. Surely the billions taken from the Russian people by an oligarch in questionable privatisations… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
It seems that soccer tournaments create those relationships: people gathered together in pubs and living rooms, a whole country suddenly caring about the same… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“Aulas spotted early that most soccer fans everywhere are much more like shoppers than like religious believers: if they can get a better experience… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“you are brought face to face with the great question about the soccer coach: Does he really matter? It turns out that coaches or… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“Stars of Recent World Cups, or European Championships Are Overvalued The worst time to buy a player is in the summer when he’s just… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
“Because soccer clubs are the only businesses that get daily publicity without trying to, they treat journalists as humble supplicants instead of as unpaid… — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
Other than sports, only war and catastrophe can create this sort of national unity. — Simon Kuper Copy Share Image
