The untold story of Real Madrid: one of the most incredible turnarounds in sports and business history. Real Madrid is the most successful sports team on the planet. The soccer club has more trophies than any other sports team, including 11 UEFA Champions League trophies. However, the story behind the triumph goes beyond the players and coaches. Generally unnoticed, a management team consisting mostly of outsiders took the team from near bankruptcy to the most valuable sports organization in the world. How did Real Madrid achieve such extraordinary success? Columbia Business School adjunct professor Steven G. Mandis investigates. Given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, Mandis is the first researcher to rigorously ana- lyze both the on-the-field and business aspects of a sports team. What he learns is completely unexpected and challenges the conventional wisdom that moneyball-fueled data analytics are the primary instruments of success. Instead, Real Madrid's winning formula both on and off the field, from player selection to financial management, is based on aligning strategy with the culture and values of its fan base. Chasing the most talented (and most expensive) players can be a recipe for a winning record, but also financial disaster, as it was for Real Madrid in the late 1990s. Real Madrid's management believes that the club exists to serve the Real Madrid community. They discovered that its fans care more about why the team exists, how their club wins, and whom it wins with versus just winning. The why, how, and whom create a community brand and identity, and inspire extraordinary passion and loyalty, which has led to amazing marketing and commercial success—in turn, attracting and paying for the best players in the world, with the values the fans expect. The club's values and culture also provide a powerful environment for these best players to work together to win trophies. The Real Madrid Way explains how Real Madrid has created and maintains a culture that drives both financial and on-the-field success. This book is an engrossing account of the lifetime of one of the greatest clubs in the most popular sport in the world, and for business and organization leaders, it's an invaluable inside look at a compelling alternative model with lasting competitive advantages that can deliver superior and sustainable returns and performance.

‘A history of modern Spain told through one of world football's most intense rivalries’ Independent ‘Sports Book of the Year’ Sunday Times It’s Messi vs Ronaldo, it’s Catalonia vs Castilla. It’s the nation against the state, freedom fighters vs Franco’s fascists. It’s majestic goals and mesmerising skills, red cards and bench brawls. It’s the best two teams on the planet going face to face and toe to toe. It’s more than a game. It’s a war. It’s Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Only, it’s not that simple. From the wounds left by the civil war to the teams’ recent global domination, historian and expert on Spanish football, Sid Lowe lifts the lid on sport’s greatest rivalry. Lowe has spoken to the biggest names and the forgotten heroes who defined their clubs. Men like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruyff as well as the only survivor of the most politically charged game in history, the Barcelona striker who knocked Madrid out of the European Cup for the first time ever, and the president who celebrated his club’s defining moment by taking a midnight dip in the Thames. By exploring the history, politics, culture, economics and language, while never forgetting the drama on the pitch, Lowe demonstrates the symbiotic nature of the relationship between these two football giants. In doing so he reveals the human story behind this explosive rivalry.

An important read for those passionate about not only U.S. Soccer but fascinated by player development. This in-depth look uses unprecedented access and original data and analysis for the U.S. and other countries. Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team had won just four World Cup matches in 72 years. While the American women's team has made World Cup victories a regular expectation, the men failed to even qualify for the 2018 tournament. In What Happened to the USMNT Columbia Business School adjunct professor and acclaimed author of The Real Madrid Way Steven Mandis turns his lens inward to examine what it will take for the U.S. men to achieve lasting success on the international stage. This meticulously researched, probing investigation challenges conventional wisdom and speaks to the importance of familiarity and authenticity to cultivate an organizational identity. If the Italians have their cantenaccio, the Spanish their tiki-taka, the Dutch their "total football," and the Brazilians their ginga, Mandis argues that cultivating a unique "American way" of soccer (coined the "Spirit of 1776") is not only possible but absolutely essential. Finally, a source of reference that goes beyond recounting history without context or repeating opinions without facts or analysis.

A look at soccer superstar David Beckham, the Real Madrid team he joined in 2003, and at how this combination has forever changed the face of the world's most popular sport.

'Does culture create competitive advantage? Case closed in this compelling analysis of sporting success. Read it.' – James Kerr, bestselling author of Legacy. In The Barcelona Way, sports psychologist Prof. Damian Hughes draws on exclusive insight into FCB as well as first-hand research from organizational psychology, to set out a method to create your own high-performance culture. At the heart of FCB’s winning culture are a set of principles, epitomized by Pep Guardiola, Johan Cruyff, Lionel Messi and many other FCB legends, which govern how to nurture talent, prepare for change and provide the best environment to build a culture of sustained success. These principles: Big Picture, Arc of Change, Repetition, Cultural Architects, Authentic Leadership are at the heart of FCB’s unprecedented domination of football, and are the key to developing high-performance cultures in any team-based organisation across every industry. The Barcelona Way is a hugely practical must-read that sets out a clear plan, based on the same principles, for you to create a culture of success and get the best of yourself and your team.

When Steve McManaman joined Real Madrid in 1999 he was, according to his former manager, 'the first of Los Galacticos' -- the nickname given to the increasingly starry line-up at the premier Spanish team. Soon the ex-Liverpool star was playing alongside Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane and Beckham. It was an astonishing turnaround for a club that had been struggling to live up to its enormous reputation, and Steve was there to witness the most intense and interesting period of its development -- winning the league and two European Cups along the way. Written with the DAILY TELEGRAPH's Sarah Edworthy, who contributes her own insights through original interviews with the key players at Madrid, EL MACCA is not just a highly entertaining memoir of four years at the biggest club in Europe. Thoughtful and candid, it is also a fascinating insight into the process of playing -- and succeeding -- overseas.

Shortlisted for Biography of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards When Laurie Cunningham played for England in an under-21s match against Scotland in 1977, he became the first black footballer to represent England professionally. Two years later, he would become the first Englishman to play for Real Madrid. In a time when racist chants flew from the stands, Cunningham's success challenged how black players were perceived, paving the way for future generations. But Cunningham was more than an exceptional footballer who could play like a dream. He was a dandy with a love of funk music and bespoke suits, as easily graceful on the dance floor as he was on the pitch. Different Class is a portrait of an important but unsung figure who brought glamour to the game at a particularly dark point in its history. Many know Laurie Cunningham’s name but not his story; now they will know both.