Introduction

Close soccer matches and tight title fights are rarely decided by players'' technical skills or their coaches'' tactical measures. The most significant impetus comes from an area that is often mentioned but difficult to grasp: mental strength, personality, and team cohesion after special victories. 

Using current scientific knowledge and illustrated by many examples, this book describes the mental and cognitive processes that determine victory and defeat in soccer. Several interviews with well-known soccer coaches, managers and former players complement these findings from psychology and sport science.

It deals with phenomena such as the home field advantage, creativity on the field, extreme emotional situations, the limits of visual perception, group dynamics and modern leadership. Well-known myths (e.g. Don''t let the player who has been fouled shoot the penalty) will be discussed and debunked. Every soccer enthusiast should read this book in order to understand which phenomena can genuinely be game-changing and which ones cannot.