How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World

Das Reboot

The inside story of Germany’s journey to World Cup 2014 victory by German football expert and pundit, Raphael Honigstein

Fantastic ... Honigstein's detail is superb

Honigstein charts how fussball became the hippest version of the game

Honigstein tells the story with panache and exactly the same kind of eye for detail he's writing about

Honigstein […] is an engaging and informed guide

Illuminating and insightful… whether you are a football hipster or not, this is worth reading

German football boasts not only the World Cup, but superb writers…A fine account of how Germany reclaimed hegemony

A rich and gripping overview of how a decaying superpower worked over-time to replant and replenish its footballing roots.

Raphael Honigstein is the UK’s top expert on German football. He is a columnist for the Guardian and ESPN, writes for Süddeutsche Zeitung in Germany and appears as a pundit for BT Sport and ESPN as well as Sky in Germany. He is also a regular fixture on the Guardian’s award-winning podcast, Football Weekly. His first book, Englischer Fussball, was shortlisted for Football Book of the Year and his latest book is Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World.

‘Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win’ Gary Lineker 
 
 Packed with exclusive interviews with key protagonists, Raphael Honigstein’s book lifts the lid on the secrets of German football’s success. 
 
13th July 2014, World Cup Final, the last ten minutes of extra time. Germany forward Mario Götze, receiving a floated pass from his international teammate André Schürrle, jumps slightly to meet the ball and cushion it with his chest. Landing on his left foot, he takes a step with his right, swivels, and in one fluid motion, without the ball touching the ground, volleys it past the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper into the far corner of the net. The goal wins Germany the World Cup for the first time in almost twenty-five years. 
 
 In Das Reboot, journalist and television pundit Raphael Honigstein charts the return of German football - how did German football transform itself from its efficient, but unappealing and defensively minded traditions to the free-flowing, attacking football that was on display during the last World Cup? The answer takes him from California to Stuttgart, from Munich to the Maracaná, via Dortmund and Durban. 
 
‘German football boasts not only the World Cup, but superb writers…A fine account of how Germany reclaimed hegemony’ Guardian

A German's View of Our Beautiful Game

Englischer Fussball

A German's-eye view of our national obsession.

Enlightening and entertaining... The holy trinity of football, fashion and music has rarely been written about so well and it takes a writer from the borderland between cultures like Honigstein to open our eyes to it

Honigstein offers a perspective on England's football and its culture that is stimulating and rather fascinating

Raphael Honigstein has been covering English football since 1993, currently as a correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. He lives in London.

Wembley, 1966. 1-5, Munich, 2001. Mexico '72 and Italy '90. 
 
Bobby Moore and Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Gascoigne and Jürgen Klinsmann. 
Forty years of hurt, tabloid rabble-rousing and 'Don't mention the war'. 
 
But what do the Germans really think of us? Do they even care? 
 
In Englischer Fussball, respected journalist Raphael Honigstein gives us a German's-eye view of our national game. 
 
Starting with the origin of the modern game in the late nineteenth century, Honigstein traces the development of English football from its public-school origins to the glory years of Ramsey and beyond. Is English football really about manliness, hard work, fair play and a never-say-die attitude? Why is there so little room in our game for individual brilliance? And just why are we so hung up on beating the Germans? 
 
Provocative, incisive and ever topical, Englischer Fussball is a book that explores the difference between how we see ourselves and how the rest of the world sees us. From hooligans to sex scandals, Wayne Rooney to Stanley Matthews, it asks what football can teach us about the English national character. 
 
'Honigstein offers a perspective on England's football and its culture that is stimulating and rather fascinating' Observer

Raphael Honigstein

He's the star of the team...when you think of Liverpool, you think of Jürgen Klopp

Fascinating… There are plenty of revealing moments in the book that makes it a must-read for any fan of Klopp and his gegenpressing football

Recommended reading for all Reds fans - all football fans, even. It’s a cracking read, a detailed look at Klopp’s career and life, featuring standout interviews with a number of key figures past and present

[A] sophisticated biography… Honigstein draws a vivid picture of a compelling personality

Honigstein trace Klopp's journey from the picturesque village of Glatten...and leaves you with a vivid understanding of how he got there and why his union with Liverpool is a marriage of rare compatibility

Updated with a new chapter on Klopp's emotional final season at Liverpool 
 
Jürgen Klopp was confirmed as manager of Liverpool FC in October 2015 to a rapturous reception. His super-sized personality and all-or-nothing style of football and management made him the perfect choice to pump up the volume at Anfield and lift Liverpool out of a slump. 
 
Fans and club officials were delighted to get the coach they'd long admired from afar and eager to see the impact he would have on the club and the Premier League. 
 
Klopp is the manager to turn players into winners. He's authentic, approachable and funny, charming media and fans alike. He's also merciless and exceptionally driven, his quick temper bubbling away barely under the surface. Klopp's pitch-side passion has enthralled fans, leading to 2019's triumphant Champions League win and culminating in 2020 Premier League victory 
 
With exclusive access to Klopp's friends, family, colleagues and players, Raphael Honigstein goes behind-the-scenes at Liverpool to tell the definitive story of Klopp's career and how he brought Liverpool to victory.

Raphael Honigstein

Praise for Klopp: Bring the Noise

He's the star of the team...when you think of Liverpool, you think of Jürgen Klopp

Fascinating… There are plenty of revealing moments in the book that makes it a must-read for any fan of Klopp and his gegenpressing football

Recommended reading for all Reds fans - all football fans, even. It’s a cracking read, a detailed look at Klopp’s career and life, featuring standout interviews with a number of key figures past and present

He's the star of the team...when you think of Liverpool, you think of Jürgen Klopp

Fascinating… There are plenty of revealing moments in the book that makes it a must-read for any fan of Klopp and his gegenpressing football

Recommended reading for all Reds fans - all football fans, even. It’s a cracking read, a detailed look at Klopp’s career and life, featuring standout interviews with a number of key figures past and present

He's the star of the team...when you think of Liverpool, you think of Jürgen Klopp

Fascinating… There are plenty of revealing moments in the book that makes it a must-read for any fan of Klopp and his gegenpressing football

Recommended reading for all Reds fans - all football fans, even. It’s a cracking read, a detailed look at Klopp’s career and life, featuring standout interviews with a number of key figures past and present

Books by Raphael Honigstein

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