The Real Madrid Way, Steven G. Mandis
The Real Madrid Way, Steven G. Mandis
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The Real Madrid Way
How Values Created the Most Successful Sports Team on the Planet

Author: Steven G. Mandis

Narrator: Charles Constant

Unabridged: 8 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/05/2017


Synopsis

Real Madrid is the most successful sports team on the planet. The soccer club has more trophies than any other sports team, including eleven 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 analyze 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.

About Steven G. Mandis

Steven G. Mandis is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He also teaches at Columbia's Masters of Sports Management Program. His previous award-winning book, What Happened to Goldman Sachs: An Insider's Story of Organizational Drift and its Unintended Consequences, is a rigorous analysis of if, why, and how the culture of Goldman Sachs changed.

Mandis worked at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking, private equity, and proprietary trading areas. After leaving Goldman, he cofounded a multibillion-dollar global alternative asset management firm that was a trading and investment banking client of Goldman's. During the financial crisis, Mandis was a senior adviser to McKinsey & Company before becoming chief of staff to the president and COO of Citigroup and serving on executive, management, and risk committees at the firm.

Mandis is Chairman and Senior Partner of Kalamata Capital, a provider of online small business financing. Mandis holds an AB from The University of Chicago and an MA, MPhil and PhD from Columbia University. Mandis was a two sport varsity athlete in college and currently competes in triathlons, including having competed in the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Zell Am See-Kaprun, Austria; and Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco, California. He was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, given to children of immigrants who exemplify a life dedicated to community service.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Gheorghe on February 22, 2021

This book is an essential guide to Real Madrid world. The strong point of the book is the fact that the author uses comparative perspective when he discusses football (soccer) and compares it with American team sports. Also, usage of data is a very good idea when the author explained various aspects......more

Goodreads review by Kshitij on July 12, 2020

For all those who are interested to know about Real Madrid. #HalaMadrid......more

Goodreads review by Eskay on May 12, 2021

Although the book provides a few new insights into the running of a football club, the largely fawning, partisan reporting style makes it a one time read for Blancos fans only. Seems more of a paid job from the board, rather than an independent journalistic viewpoint of the club's story.......more

Goodreads review by Diego on December 05, 2018

2 stars means that "it was ok" according to goodreads' scale. And ok it was - there are definitely some interesting points here, and I surely buy into the importance of culture, values and how it can add a "competitive advantage" in various industries and certainly in football; however, this reads a......more

Goodreads review by Raúl on February 19, 2022

Un análisis de la organización empresarial y deportiva junto a la cultura del mejor club de fútbol del mundo :el Real Madrid C. F Sobre todo desde los cambios económicos que llegaron con Florentino Pérez a partir del año 2000. Análisis y comparación de la estrategia comercial y cultura del Real Madri......more