Mensch: Beyond the Cones Kindle Edition

Mensch : Beyond the Cones (2019) by Jonathan Harding is an interesting look at German football coaches and how German football is organised. Harding is a freelance journalist who writes about German football.Harding talks to lower league coaches, coaches at the German school for coaches, various older, very experienced coaches and looks at why Germany now has a number of young coaches having success in the Bundesliga. Harding also looks at why the German National Team failed so dramatically at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The book chapters are things like Philosoph, Erfinder, Lehrer and each chapter has a nice summary of the main point of the interview at the end. There is a lot of discussion about the new wave of young German coaches like Jurgen Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann, Dominico Tedesco and Thomas Tuchel. Harding shows how the DFB has made an effort to not only train young players but also to train coaches and set up a system where they get Bundesliga jobs after suitable experience at lower levels. Harding contrasts this to England where importing managers has become the setup and there is little space for English managers except largely in the lower parts of the league. Harding also points out how the English National Team currently has a young coach who is working out well. Mensch is a very solid book that has a lot of insight from the interviews. For anyone interested in German football it's well worth a read. It has some interesting analysis of what happened to the German National Team. The book also has value for people interested in how to train and develop leaders in an incredibly tough environment.

Great insight into the different way of coaching and teaching. Fascinating to learn more details about the German coaching pathway. The book is also littered with useful, informative coaching ideas, thoughts, and new research as it pertains to coaching at all levels . Highly recommend.

Great book that interviews a number of German soccer coaches that give insight into their lives, philosophies and what creates success.

Absolutely brilliant book. A great insight into the coaching world and has made me think a lot differently about I how I coach.

Incredible insights with many actionable takeaways for coaches. Excellent book, would recommend to all coaches.

Had this book on my kindle since it came out. After listening to the tifo podcast with Jonathan it was put to the front of the queue to be read next. It didn't disappoint. The German coaching structure is really fascinating to me. The open mindedness are traits that I try to incorporate into my own life and has made me want to read up more on many of the people interviewed for this book. Many of whom I knew little of or nothing at all about. Also as a Scotland fan it makes me worried that England are going to win a major tournament sooner rather than later. Great read.

Not a bad read, but it's just a collection of interviews thrown together. Admittedly the interviewees are the best ones to ask as they are the ones involved, whether it be players, coaches or other sports staff. If you have a basic knowledge of how the DFB and German football works, this probably won't shed any new light on it for you.

I've copied and pasted below from 2 other reviews as they pretty much sum up my own thoughts....An excellent book on German culture. Recommended if you're a grassroots youth coach in the UK. Well written and engagingFantastic insight into leadership and football in Germany. Lots of thought provoking ideas and easy to read. Would thoroughly recommend

The book provided a different spin on coaching, but a very important one. I enjoyed the book and I thought it was very well developed. With all the modern advances in the game, it’s still a matter of building human relationships and understanding the person, as well as the player.

Really thought provoking book, that provides lessons to reflect on in your own work. The research of German coaching from a wide range of experiences, which really helps to emphasise and underpin each chapter topic. A really enjoyable read, especially for someone from another sport.