The first-ever cultural, tactical and historical history of the goalkeeper, from the award-winning author of Inverting the Pyramid

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In this first-ever cultural history of the 'loner' between the posts, Jonathan Wilson traces the sometimes dangerous intellectual and literary preoccupations of the keeper, and looks at how the position has secured a certain existential cool.

He travels to the Bassa region of Cameroon, which has produced two of Africa's greatest keepers, and also to Romania to talk to Helmuth Duckadam, who saved four penalties for Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup final. His absorbing tactical and technical insights into football history even take us back to the days when matches were contested without a man between the sticks.

THE OUTSIDER is the definitive account of the most mysterious of footballing personalities - the goalkeeper.