Das Reboot: How German Soccer Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World Paperback – October 6, 2015

Is this book a thunderbastard? That's the question you want answered when reading football books. Des Reboot (2015) by Raphael Honigstein looks at the rejuvenation of the German National team following poor performances in 1998 through to 2004. Honigstein is football journalist who writes for The Guardian and appears on the Football Weekly podcast and provides expertise on the Bundesliga and the German National team.The book interleaves the rejuvenation of the German National team and the German training system with the tale of Germany's 2014 World Cup win. The technique is like that of a Michael Lewis book where a narrative of a person is worked in with a description of the events around them. It works well.After the German World Cup win of 1990 the future looked bright for German football, as well as winning the World Cup the incorporation of East Germany meant that the pool of players would be even bigger and German teams even stronger. But it wasn't to be. Despite winning the 1996 Euro's the German National team was aging and falling behind other countries like France that had a better academy system.The development of the youth system by Dietrich Weise in the early 1980s and the updating of the system after France 1998 is described. The arrival of Jürgen Klinsmann and the way that he and his team including Joachim Löw greatly improved the professionalism of the national team by importing techniques from the US and from other sports is really well described.As well as the story of the World Cup in 2014 the way that the 2006 World Cup and the 2010 World Cup went is also described with interviews with Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrichs. The reflections on these tournaments provides insight into how the new German team has been formed and what changes were made for 2014.The descriptions of each game of the 2014 World Cup are very well done with tactical and personnel changes and their impacts carefully outlined. The description of the semi-final is perhaps a slight dip for the book while the final's description is a highlight.The book is a thunderbastard of a read. It's worth reading for anyone looking for a description of how national systems can change and improve football and for anyone who wants to understand how Germany went from a declining power to a World Cup winner in 16 years.

This book has excellent and vivid stories that describe Germany's transformation in football. English translation could've been better but it wasn't too much of a distraction.

First off a great read, fiction or non-fiction! Honigstein knows how to tell a story, and that's what this book is at heart - the story of how Germany recognized the error of their ways and fixed it. If you follow fütbol, you know the rest. More interestingly, if you're looking for insight into what's happening with U.S. Soccer (national team/youth development/MLS/pay-to-play/arrogance in the culture/etc.) right now and how things can change for the better, you can't find a better resource. Such an inspiring story about all things fütbol, beautifully done!!

Detailed and in-depth. This book chronicles the growth and growing pains of German football over the past two decades. Honigstein provides an entertaining and honest look at Die Mannschaft; the success and struggles of the past and the transformation to the current era. Much was to be enjoyed in this book. In particular I found the re-imagining of the national development system very interesting as well as the many colourful, insightful and open interviews and anecdotes from past and present National team members. A knowledge of German footballers and the Bundesliga would be helpful but not mandatory.

A very enjoyable read for any football fan, but even more for one who has witnessed the rise, fall and rise of the German national team through the 1980's, 90's, noughties and into the current decade. I remember the fallout from the failures at the '98 World Cup and Euro 2000 and the determination of Germany to focus on developing and nurturing youth talent so as to regain their dominant position in world football. The 2014 World Cup win was the culmination of that policy and the story of how they finally achieved this is entertaining and fascinating at the same time. Some of the key players in the World Cup winning side are discussed as well, which was really interesting as I knew relatively little about a few of them such as Thomas Muller or Mario Gotze. Highly recommended.

Honigstein is well known as an expert on German football writing in English language. His style is measured and analytical and grasp of English is excellent.The story is mainly about how Germany won the World Cup in 2014 and Honigstein traces the root of this victory back to in the late 90s when the disappointment over the national team's performance in major tournament led to a major rethink on the German football. This rethink ultimately led to a revolution in the German football in terms of training, organization and playing style. Honigstein reveals some major personalities who contributed to this remarkable turnaround. Juergen Kilnsmann figures prominently in the story as well some visionary coaches.For me the most interesting part of the book was the 2 sections where Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich. Being ex-players they were more forthcoming in describing their experiences with the national team. Their stories reveal some of the tactical aspects of the German team as well as the preparation of the team for the World Cup. This episode throws some light on the National Coach Joachim Low's thinking and philosophy.

Well written with interesting perspectives from interviews with coaches and players. The author does a nice job of developing the main characters in the development of the build up to the World Cup. I enjoyed how the author related each stage of the 2014 World Cup to specific events or decisions that took place to lead the team to that moment. As a youth coach, I appreciated the analysis of fundamental playing style changes that Germany made under the influence and direction of coaches such as Klopp and Lowe during the period between 2000 and 2014.