English Soccer

Written with author and TV writer Ivor Baddiel, in this fun and fact-packed book, Gary Lineker shares 50 of his favourite football stories that highlight the many awe-inspiring, heart-warming and eye-opening moments that have changed the game—and sometimes the world—forever. From pioneering players, trailblazing managers and incredible tales from both on and off the pitch, this book contains everything you ever wanted to know about the beautiful game.

In 1990, though no one knew it then, a fearless group of players changed the sport of soccer in the United States forever. Young, bronzed, and mulletted, they were America’s finest athletes in a sport that America loved to hate. Even sportswriters rooted against them. Yet this team defied massive odds and qualified for the World Cup, making possible America’s current obsession with the world’s most popular game. New Kids in the World Cup is the origin story of modern American soccer.

The contrast is striking. As the United States Women’s National soccer team has long dominated the sport—winners of four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals—the men’s team has floundered. They failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and three consecutive Olympics, and have long struggled when facing the world’s best teams. How could a country so dominant in other men’s team sports—and such a global powerhouse in women’s soccer—be so far behind the rest of the world in men’s soccer?

Rocky Race is living the dream: she's won a scholarship to a prestigious high school in Los Angeles, where she gets to play soccer and train for going pro. She's got an amazing best friend, and a supportive mum and brother back home in the UK. But living away from home isn't easy, and fitting in with American kids in high school is scary and new. Not to mention she has to keep her grades up if she wants to stay on the pitch! Will Rocky survive high school?

When Karma and her fellow Suburban Moms take on troublemakers, things spin out of control and somebody dies. Accidentally. It starts when a speeding car hits Karma's daughter, and the cops can't find the driver. The Moms find and punish the culprit before the police get a chance. Is this justice or vigilantism? Then teenagers expose themselves to little girls on the playground. They definitely need to be taught a lesson...Trouble escalates when an obnoxious neighbor turns out to be a wife-beater, and the moms go full-on vigilante.

Every four years, Americans turn their attention to the world’s game - soccer. As recently as 1998, the USMNT merely made up the numbers at the biggest sporting tournament of all, but once Bruce Arena took over the team, American soccer started to find its footing. In the 2002 World Cup, a highly-fancied Portugal team, featuring the great Ronaldo, lost to Arena’s US team in a shocking 3-2 victory, and but for a handball that wasn’t given, they could well have knocked off eventual winners Germany.

Mark Zupan, a quadriplegic, was facing life in a wheelchair and only limited use of all four limbs. Always a winner and a fighter, Mark refused to accept that his injury doomed him to a lifetime of passive acceptance. He fought to regain as much mobility as possible, and his indomitable spirit has helped him create a life that's truly exceptional.

Abby Wambach has always pushed the limits of what is possible. Named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people of 2015, the iconic soccer player captured the nation's heart when she led her team to its recent World Cup championship. Admired for her fearlessness and passion, Abby is a vocal advocate for women's rights and equal opportunity, pushing to translate the success of her team to the real world.

Telling the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team's story in expert prose, Pride of a Nation is a lavish tribute to one of the most beloved teams in sports, revisiting their historic four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, as well as unforgettable players across the generations, such as Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Briana Scurry, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Mallory Pugh, and more.

Overpaid players. Sunday lunchtime kick-offs. Absurd ticket prices. Non-black boots. Football’s menu of ills is long. Where has the joy gone? Why do we bother? Saturday, 3pm offers a glorious antidote. It is here to remind you that football can still sing to your heart. Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are 50 short essays of prose-poetry dedicated to what is good in the game.

Soccer has been the world’s most popular sport for the last century, and an irresistible game for political and social leaders seeking shortcuts to the hearts of their people. Sometimes it worked, momentarily, but as renowned sports journalist Luciano Wernicke writes in this fascinating and original audiobook, the game and its glories have survived them all.

How to become a better soccer player with these 10 steps.

In Soccer Passing & Receiving, there are well over 100 tips on how to pass and receive a pass with correct form, knowing what to do before receiving a pass, how to effectively shield the ball, and insights on effective crossing.

Is your soccer team getting a lot of chances but unable to score? Or you are personally unable to score goals as a striker? Take your soccer shooting skills to the next level with our audiobook. If you do not shoot, you cannot score. That lesson must be instilled into players right from the first time they kick a ball. Of course, we want every player to develop game awareness, to know when a pass is the best option, but if players become concerned about criticism if they shoot and miss, then they will be in a team that never scores. And therefore, on a team that never wins.

Becoming a dribbling wizard is far from easy, but if you have the right tools, anything is possible. I've been in your shoes many times in my soccer adventures, struggling to figure out why my skills were weaker than everyone else's. When things don't go your way, you'll start getting super disappointed, which sets off a deep slide into the black hole of despair and failure. Don't let despair and regret get the best of you! I have the perfect solution: a real-time, road-tested, dribbling blueprint where I reveal all of the secrets of dribbling I know.

A player who could hardly defend. A bleak soccer future as a bench-warmer. An athlete who lacked confidence in their game. Are you or a loved one enjoying soccer, but can’t stand not being confident on how to defend? Do you or a child have a problem stopping the team from shooting? Are you a parent or player that would love to stop the dribble of each opponent, but struggle even stopping the foot skills of one player? If any of these situations describe you, you are not alone. Coaches of soccer are good at having the team work together. Sadly, your abilities as an individual are often lost in the team’s tactics unless you are the star player on the team. The coach lets the best player do as they please but every other player must do their job, even though the coach may not always teach exactly how to do that job.

Are you ready to take your soccer game to the next level? Or just looking for ways to improve your understanding of the game? Consider the greatest players the beautiful game has ever seen. Pele and Puskas, Maradona - from the present time, Messi and Ronaldo.The likes of Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, and Dennis Bergkamp, the great readers of the game such as Beckebauer and Bobby Moore and that devastating finisher, Gerd Muller. When we try to analyze what it is that made these players so successful and held in such regard, a number of similarities come to mind.

Whether known as football or, as in the US, soccer; the ‘beautiful game’ is the most popular sport in the world. The best players earn millions of dollars per year, and the greatest clubs are icons in their regions. Children love putting down a couple of jerseys and having a kick around. Globally, it is the team sport that has the greatest public participation and, at the highest level - such as the World Cup, top leagues and cup finals - matches are watched live by tens of thousands of cheering fans.

Are you a skilled soccer player who can't make it big? Is it because of your lack of physical and mental fitness? Soccer Fitness provides an excellent way to help with soccer fitness for players and coaches. It offers examples of ways in which players can enhance their endurance for playing soccer and looks at the kind of fitness specifically needed for playing soccer at the highest level.

The English Premier League is the richest in the world, with clubs able to attract some of the best footballing talent on the planet. But who are the 10 greatest players ever to have graced the Premier League?