Net Gains

INSIDE THE BEAUTIFUL GAME’S ANALYTICS REVOLUTION

BY RYAN O'HANLON

Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game’s Analytics Revolution takes readers on a tour across the world and throughout soccer history, introducing the many people who have attempted to shine a light onto and innovate a sport that, in many ways, is still stuck in the Dark Ages. This deep dive into the rise of analytics in soccer—a sport where tradition reigns supreme—shows how revolutionary tactics and underexplored metrics are breaking the beautiful game wide open.

By exploring how massive institutions built on billions of dollars can function for so long without any kind of introspection—and what happens when people from the outside attempt to question the status quo—author Ryan O'Hanlon, staff writer at ESPN, shows how time and again experts, managers, coaches, players, and fans feel they know the best approach for any given team or player, and yet get undermined by the complexity of the game—and human behavior.

To tell this globe–trekking story, O'Hanlon takes readers inside the front offices and analytics departments of the top professional leagues’ most cutting–edge clubs and profiles a misfit cast of number–crunchers, behavioral economists, tech insiders, and managers all working to move beyond the philosophical side of soccer and uncover the hard truths behind possession, goals, and developing talent.

Selling Points

CONNECTED AUTHOR: O’Hanlon is a staff writer for ESPN, has a strong personal platform on social media, and has ties to the Ringer, GQ, FiveThirtyEight, and Shea Serrano.

WORLD CUP TIMING: Publication will coincide with the hype train leading up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off in November 2022 and goes through December.

MONEYBALL FOR SOCCER: O’Hanlon offers a groundbreaking, character–rich narrative of how soccer clubs around the world have adopted the analytics revolution that first swept baseball.

GLOBAL REACH: Interviews with managers, coaches, and scouts from teams in the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the MLS, as well as multiple national teams give the book international appeal.

SPECIFICATIONS

* 288 pages

* WIDTH: 6" - 152mm

* HEIGHT: 9" - 229mm

* Hardcover with jacket

PUB MONTH: OCTOBER 2022 SPORTS, BUSINESS, HISTORY, NONFICTION

ISBN 978-1-4197-5891-1

US $27.00