Soccermatics

Sumpter's deconstruction of formations proved why maths and football can't live without each other. It's every football nerd's dream. * FourFourTwo * A fascinating and entertaining dive into the mathematics of the beautiful game. * The Guardian * ...Highly readable... * The Irish Times * ...You will love this book. * The Tribune * This is football looked at in a very different way. David Sumpter is mining a rich and deep seam here in Soccermatics, one that will become an increasingly important part of the game. -- Pat Nevin, former Chelsea and Everton star and football media analyst A fascinating study of the structures and patterns that underpin football matches, with revealing and surprising conclusions. -- Michael Cox, editor of Zonal Marking and Guardian Sports Soccermatics provides fresh insight into a game we've been watching all of our lives. But it's more than a book about football and is all the better for it. -- Adam Bate, football features writer for Sky Sports David Sumpter brings together his two passions, mathematics and football, in a highly original and entertaining way. The beautiful game illustrated through the beauty of mathematics. -- Philip Maini FRS, Professor of Mathematical Biology, University of Oxford

David Sumpter is Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. Born in London but raised in Scotland, he completed his doctorate in Mathematics at Manchester, and was a Royal Society Research Fellow in Oxford before heading to Sweden. Davids research has shown how mathemtiacs can be applied ot anything and everything, and in particular to social behaviour. An incomplete list of his research projects includes: pigeons flying in pairs over Oxford; clapping undergraduate students in the north of England; swarms of locusts traveling across the Sahara; disease spread in remote Ugandan villages; the gaze of London commuters; and the tubular structures built by Japanese amoebae. In his spare time, he exploits his mathematical expertise in training a successful under-tens football team, Uppsala IF P05. David is a Liverpool supporter with a lifelong affection for Dunfermline Athletic. collective-behavior.com / @soccermatics

Preface: The Kick-off Part I: On the Pitch Chapter 1: I Never Predict Anything and I Never Will Chapter 2: How Slime Moulds Built Barcelona Chapter 3: Check My Flow Chapter 4: Statistical Brilliance Chapter 5: Zlatan Ibrah Rocket Science Part II: In the Dugout Chapter 6: Three Points for the Bird-brained Manager Chapter 7: The Tactical Map CHapter 8: Total Cyber Dynamo Chapter 9: The World in Motion Part III: From the Crowd Chapter 10: You'll Never Walk Alone Chapter 11: Bet Against the Masses Chapter 12: Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is Chapter 13: The Results Are In The Full-Time Whistle Notes Acknowledgements Index