Soccer might seem straightforward and simple, but it is called "the Beautiful Game" for a reason. As Jonathan Wilson shows, soccer has come a long way, from the Scottish passing game of the 1870s to Dutch "Total Football" to the ever-evolving game played around the world today. Through Wilson's historical detective work, we learn how South Americans shrugged off British colonial order to add their own finesse to the game; how Europeans harnessed individual technique and built it into a team structure; and how the traditional lineup of five forwards can be inverted in favor of a lone striker up front.