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  • Zonal Marking

  • The Making of Modern European Football
  • By: Michael Cox
  • Narrated by: Colin Mace
  • Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (38 ratings)

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Zonal Marking

By: Michael Cox
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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Publisher's Summary

An insightful, comprehensive and always entertaining appreciation of how European football has developed over the last three decades by the author of the much heralded The Mixer.

Continental football has always cast a spell over the imagination. From the attacking flair of Real Madrid of the 50s to the defensive brilliance of the Italians in the 60s and onto the total football of the Dutch in the 70s, the European leagues have been where the game has most evolved and taken its biggest steps forward. And over the last three decades, since the rebranding of the Champions League in 1992, that pattern has continued unabated, with each major European footballing nation playing its part in how the game’s tactics have developed.

From the intelligent use of space displayed by the phenomenal Ajax team of the early 90s, to the dominance of the highly strategic Italian league in the late 90s and onto the technical wizardry of Barcelona’s tiki-taka, the European game continues to reinvent the tactical dimension of the game, creating blueprints which both club and national teams around the world strive to follow.

In Zonal Marking, Michael Cox brilliantly investigates and analyses the major leagues around Europe over specific time periods and demonstrates the impact each has made on how the game is now played. Highly entertaining and packed full of wonderful anecdotes, this is the first book of its kind to take an overview of modern European football, and lays bare just how much the international language of football can be shaped by a nation’s unique identity.

©2019 Michael Cox (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"An excellent recent history of European football." (New Yorker

"A wonderful overview of tactical development in European football." (Matthew Syed, The Time)

"A fascinating assessment of football in 2019." (Observer)

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  • Vik
  • 23-03-2020

Wow What a book

This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to understand football from a tactics point of view. How teams play over a period of time and how they are influenced. Mr Cox is a wonderful author and there are lots of takeaways in this book.
This is a great book.

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Just Brilliant

I loved this book, an incredible insight into tactics, history and evolution of the modern game.
If you love football you are probably going to find this book fascinating.

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Excelente

Excelente resumen y evolución del fútbol desde el fútbol total de Holanda al día de hoy.

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For any football fan!

Zonal Marking goes through all the various iterations of country and league styles of play. Giving insight of the key players and managers who shaped the way the beautiful game is played. Great listen!

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