Teambuilding: The Road to Success [Paperback]

Rinus Michels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

All the facets of the team building process, including team tactics and psychology, are included down to the minutest detail. Also included is how youth talent, per age group category, should be developed. And finally, how to set up training sessions to achieve the best results. All the chapters are interspersed with examples from Rinus Michels' personal experiences as a trainer. At the same time he gives a reference framework for everyone who is, on a daily basis, involved with the team building process: from youth and professional coaches to managers in the business world. Because of these unique examples, most of which were never published, this will be a fascinating book for anyone involved in a team building process.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

For the past 35 years, Rinus Michels has been involved in the absolute top of international soccer. The FIFA Coach of the Century developed the principles of Total Soccer first at Ajax and then with the Dutch National Team in World Cup 74. His credentials as the coach of Ajax, FC Barcelona, FC Koln, and the Dutch National Team are impressive.

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Reedswain (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890946737
• ISBN-13: 978-1890946739
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Michels Worthy of Title - "FIFA's Coach of The Century", February 2, 2004

By 

Michael J. Alward (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teambuilding: The Road to Success (Paperback)

Rinus Michel's book, together with Bert Van Lingen's book "Coaching Soccer" provide the framework of the "Dutch Vision" of how to coach soccer. This book is a fantastic resource for any soccer coach at any level, any convenor at the youth soccer level, or any person tasked with administering a soccer program.

Michels explains the vital importance of small-sided (4v4) games in teaching young players how to play soccer, establishes objectives for the technical development of young players by age group, discussed systems of play, and gives real-life examples of how to manage the dynamics of professional and international teams.

This may well be the most important soccer book ever written.

4.0 out of 5 stars Indepth look at "Total Soccer", June 15, 2008

By 

Ronaldo A. Carballo (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teambuilding: The Road to Success (Paperback)

What can be said about Rinus Michels that hasn't already been said about the creator of 'Total Soccer'. Having said that I can only give this book four stars due to Mr. Michels' ramblings sometimes. Yes, it is a somewhat difficult book to read. My advice is to get you a notepad and pen to write down the many golden gems found in this book.

Half-way through the book I realized that I was reading the thoughts of a genius. Section after section I found the answers to some of my questions I had regarding the tactics, training, and methods of professional teams (some applicable up to the U12 level.) I have no doubts that the reader's coaching methods will be positively affected due to the knowledge that Mr. Michels shares in this book.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Coach - Average Book, August 4, 2006

By 

David Gustafsson "Posa Serenius" (Götene, Sweden) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Teambuilding: The Road to Success (Paperback)

This book is certainly not a "page-turner" and sometimes I barely wanted to open it, just looking forward to a more interesting coaching book.

Rinus Michels was probabaly a very good coach and had great success with the Dutch national team as a coach during 70s (reached WC FInal 1978 in Argentine) and 80s and obviously has had a great impact on the evolution of Dutch soccer including sucessfull wotk with the Dutch FA and Dutch Youth soccer.

He mentions a lot of interesting things that can be worth taking into account about how the Dutch youth setup is working and what things are important to know about youth soccer in general. I.e At what age you should do that and don't do that

But this book hardly contains any really good exercices to improve your teambuilding. There are only a few exercises in the book and no pictures or diagrams to help you really understand what the exercises is all about. Overall, teambuilding is a broad topic but I felt I would have gained more experience and insight in teambuilding reading this book.

It should also be known that this book mostly cover dutch soccer and that sometimes can be a bit frustrating. For a genuine soccer fan you would have anticipated that he would have learned a lot from his time as a coach of FC Barcelona but barely mention that spell of his life in "Teambuilding". But I suppose he writes about what he knows best.

I don't want to say that you sholdn't read this book because there is always something that you learn with a soccer coaching book that you can apply in soccer on a daily basis. There are always things to pick up but there are for sure better books out there if you want to be a better soccer coach.