Gone are the days when writing about soccer simply involved reporting on the score of a match and describing its key moments with a series of rote, overused phrases. We are arguably in a golden age of soccer writing. From bitingly humorous blog posts to long form essays and meticulously researched books, there is a wide range of high quality writing out there about the beautiful game. Some of it will move you, some of it will fascinate you, some of it will make you laugh out loud, and much of it will make you see the game in a new light.
Below are 15 of the best writers currently plying their trade with soccer publications of one form or another.
1. David Peace
David Peace is a man of singular vision and one of the most unusual living soccer writers. His most well-known work, The Damned United, is a dark and comical novel that has reached a wide audience thanks to a film adaptation and a growing cult following, but his most singular and striking achievement as a writer is perhaps his latest novel, Red or Dead. In it, Peace devotes roughly 750 pages to the imagined internal thoughts of the late great Liverpool manager Bill Shankly over the course of his career and subsequent retirement. Written in a repetitive, sometimes hypnotic style, it is more an epic poem than a conventional novel, detailing every game, every player, every goal overseen by Shankly over the course of his 15-year Liverpool tenure. Reading it is hard work, but as is the case with many a weighty tome by an ambitious writer, it is a rewarding experience.
Read This: Why I Took On Bill Shankly
2. Brian Phillips
Brian Phillips is an excellent writer capable of mingling vivid poetic imagery with meticulously researched factual detail. He writes about a wide range of subjects for Grantland, and soccer features heavily in his output. For a fine example of his work, see his piece on soccer and World War I in which he draws out the context of a photograph and then expands on its themes, pulling together various disparate facts and images to create a remarkably cohesive article full of fascinating detail and beautiful prose.
Read This: Soccer in Oblivion
3. Nick Hornby
Soccer is lucky to have a writer like Nick Hornby in its corner. His memoir Fever Pitch is one of the finest things written about soccer fandom, and Hornby’s unchallenging, extremely likeable style appeals to a broad range of people regardless of the level of their obsession. His soccer writing extends beyond his infamous memoir, however, and he has written a number of soccer-related articles throughout his career. His piece on the complicated relationship that many English fans have with their national team is a fine example. As you would expect from a Hornby piece, its information is conveyed through the filter of personal experience and it is full of warmth, wit, and astute observation.
Read This: Soccer, According to England
4. Jonathan Wilson
Jonathan Wilson, who writes regularly for the Guardian, is also the editor of a quarterly journal of soccer writing called The Blizzard. His ambitions as a writer about soccer go far beyond what is generally considered the norm. He launched The Blizzard because he was interested in going deeper than the constraints of the mainstream media allow. The result is a rare marriage of beautifully designed literary journal and sports writing. When it comes to tactical analysis, Wilson is without peer. His book Inverting the Pyramid is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of the game on a deeper level. And, while it is a book concerned with technical aspects of the game, there is always enough context and anecdotal history to make it accessible and enjoyable.
Read This: Coaching’s Greatest Seminar: How Louis van Gaal Shaped Five Top Managers
5. Simon Kuper
Simon Kuper has authored and co-authored a number of widely read books, including the immense Soccernomics. In the world of soccer writing, he is without doubt one of the leading lights and there are very few writers who write as eloquently as Kuper about the game of soccer. The following few lines from one of the essays that make up his book Soccer Men make a good case for this: “Soccer is best understood as a dance for space. The team that can open spaces when it attacks, and close down spaces when it defends, generally wins.” Kuper’s ability to dissect the elements of the game in a simple and detached manner, while still retaining a poetic sensibility, make his words a joy to read. And, like Jonathan Wilson, he is not afraid to go deep, to be meticulous in his research, and to give his reader a broad context while exploring the minutiae of his subject matter.
Read This: Soccer Explains Nothing
6. Grant Wahl
This list is somewhat UK-heavy, but there are a number of talented American writers dedicated to covering soccer, and no one among them is as respected and well-known as Grant Wahl. Wahl’s book The Beckham Experiment was the first soccer book to make the New York Times bestseller list, and he has covered the game for long enough to be considered a veteran in the field. One of Wahl’s most widely read articles, “The World’s Team,” in which he takes the reader behind the scenes at FC Barcelona, is a great example of his work. It is deep with history, and Wahl’s ability to peel back the curtain and take the reader inside his subject matter makes for a captivating reading experience.
Read This: The World’s Team
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