Gianni Mininni

The Team: a Soccer Novel Gianni Mininni

Why this book? Thanks to my soccer past, I chose to be a coach and give individual and group soccer lessons so, of course, I'm promoting my activity. But there are other reasons. For example, all books teach HOW to play soccer and they do it very well for all ages of players. Thousands of pages in which everything is sectioned in the most minute detail and, because no one knows everything, I also learn something new everyday. But what is really missing is what soccer IS for the rest of the world and why, even though 17 million Americans play soccer (12 million kids), it is not popular at the professional level like basketball, football and baseball. I tried to answer this question in an indirect way, by publishing this soccer novel, in which the protagonist, Marco, struggles everyday with this problem. Another reason that pushed me, is the fact that I think those who have played at the highest levels should transfer their experience to the new generation of players. I believe it is our obligation, otherwise our experience will be lost. I'm still coaching and teaching soccer. You can reach me at giannimininni@yahoo.com or though my website CoachGianni.com.