You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Viking is publishing a book by Dutch footballer Ruud Gullit, intended to "change the way we see – and enjoy – the beautiful game".
How to Watch Football will be published in September in the UK and Commonwealth, after Joel Rickett, publisher at Viking, acquired world rights from Corrinne Goodall Management. It will be published simultaneously in Holland by Ambo Anthos, and in 2017 in the US by Penguin.
Gullit, born in Amsterdam, was captain of the Netherlands side that won Euro 88, and played in the 1990 World Cup. He is the winner of the FIFA Ballon D’or, a consecutive European Cup champion and two-time World Football Player of the Year. He has managed in the Premier League, Eredivisie and MLS and is also a sports analyst for the BBC and Sky, among other broadcasters worldwide.
His book will blend insight from his playing days with "tactical nous" to reveal hidden patterns on the pitch and exploring the answers to such questions as, "How a lone striker can be more effective than three?" and "Why do the best defenders never need to make a tackle?" Ranging across European football, it aims to demonstrate the difference between watching the game and knowing it.
How to Watch Football is out on 8th September (hardback and e-book).