Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.

From the Andes to Greenland, people just can’t seem to resist kicking a leather ball around or watching others doing the same.

The figures are staggering—approximately 250 million people play the game regularly.

In fact, if soccer players made up a nation, it would be the fourth most populous on the planet.

IF ALL THE SOCCER PLAYERS IN THE WORLD WERE TO FORM A NATION, IT WOULD BE THE FOURTH MOST POPULOUS ON THE PLANET. ,, ,

You could almost say that soccer is a universal language.

If you found yourself in a strange country with no knowledge of the local tongue, you would still be able to strike up a conversation by using a few hand gestures accompanied by the names of some prominent players.

Place one hand at chest level while saying “Pelé,” then raise it with the word “Maradona” and you’ll quickly start making friends.

An interesting observation often made about soccer is that its language is couched in military terms (such as campaigns, tactics, and captains).

Some theories claim that soccer is a surrogate for hunting—on which, of course, our ancestors depended for their survival. According to this view, a goal scored is equivalent to a kill, which would certainly explain the sense of importance surrounding the game.

Another possibility is that soccer is a kind of ritualized warfare.

It may be no accident that its popularity has coincided with an era in which young men have been less regularly engaged in war than in the past.

Both these theories have their merits but perhaps another, simpler explanation needs to be added.

Our history can be seen as the story of an ever-increasing split between our physical selves and our minds.

Soccer, however, works the other way around. By uniting the brain with the parts of the body at the opposite extremity (the feet), it temporarily heals the split.

When we play the game or identify with others who are doing so, we become whole again. And, of course, it is not just men who feel this way.

The women’s game is extremely popular as well—for every reference to a “he” in this book, a “she” can and should just as easily be substituted.

Essential Soccer Skills celebrates the sport by presenting its varied and complex skills in a clear and simple way.

It describes the relative merits of zonal and man-to-man marking, for example, and explains how to perform the perfect header.

The book goes on to unravel the complexities of the offside rule and even shows you how to spin and turn like Zinédine Zidane or “bend” the ball like David Beckham.

Essential Soccer Skills will help you appreciate what makes soccer such a great game to watch....