{"product_id":"the-soccer-100-the-athletic-hardcover","title":"The Soccer 100 -- The Athletic, Hardcover","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA celebration of the beautiful game and its 100 greatest players, from the pre-World War II exploits of Dixie Dean to the modern-day genius of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese players left legacies, redefined the game with trademark skills, and grew into national icons. They have their stats--the goals, the wins, the trophies--but, more importantly, they have their stories. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne World Cup winner owned a nightclub that briefly transformed a corner of industrial Germany into one of the hippest places around. An Austrian forward's death is still shrouded in mystery. A striker who might have become a telephone technician had he not been spotted playing soccer was eventually elected president of his country. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd there are unanswered questions. How did Pelé's Brazil shirt from the 1958 World Cup quarterfinal go missing in a Welsh school? Which goalkeeper was so good that one opponent considered scoring against him akin to \"winning a trophy\"?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrough extensive research and interviews, \u003cem\u003eThe Athletic\u003c\/em\u003e soccer staff, led by Oliver Kay and James Horncastle, discovered angles and tales that shine a new light on the sport's most compelling characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey faced an impossible riddle, too: Of the thousands of players to hit the pitch, who is the best? Their efforts to find the answer took the foremost sports newsroom on a journey, and what emerges is more than a ranking. Through all-new, vivid portraits of each athlete, \u003cem\u003eThe Soccer 100\u003c\/em\u003e is a tribute to the greatest players to have ever graced the most popular sport on the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Athletic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e William Morrow \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11\/18\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 784\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2.51 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9.12\" H x 6.4\" L x 2.05\" W\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780063412675\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Flowerburst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50521903202608,"sku":"9780063412675","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2712\/8368\/files\/9780063412675.jpg?v=1774820146","url":"https:\/\/flowerburst.co\/products\/the-soccer-100-the-athletic-hardcover","provider":"Flowerburst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}