Das Reboot
How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World
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4.4 • 8 Ratings
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
‘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
Customer Reviews
Scheisse
I had heard great things about this book but I was bitterly disappointed. The author is a guy I always enjoyed listening to on BT Sport. I found the book duller than a white bra in a dark wash.
I think it’s overly complicated as football often is by people who don’t understand it by people who think they understand it!
Germany won the 2014 WC as they had the best players, a (shudder)...golden generation. The book I felt did not cover in enough detail the tactics involved and how this helped a talented generation win. Yes I get the fact the academy system changed styles and perceptions etc etc but fundamentally this area is lacking from the book. Look at every country to have won a WC the main factors are having the best players and a semi-decent method of play to make it work for the team. I believe the book has over complicated this....football is cyclical....international and club. International cycles are harsher as the peak of a cycle must coincide with a major tournament for a side to be successful.
I also felt the book went through some weak chapters that where used to fill page space. It was not tight enough, was boring and didn’t contain enough anecdotes to keep the thirsty mind of a football obsessive hydrated. I, the ordinary fan do not have access to footballers. We like to hear about their rows, their humour, their insecurities.
Anyhow don’t buy the book unless you get the paper bag version and it can be used as emergency toilet roll in these covid-19 times.