English Soccer

After covering the American sports scene for 15 years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world - the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, “It was like childhood, with beer.”

On 27th February 2022, after 170 matches in charge, promotion to the Premier League and some of the most exhilarating football the English game has ever seen, Leeds United parted company with their most beloved and successful manager in a generation: Marcelo Bielsa. His parting gift was to embrace the crowds of adoring fans who turned up to say thank you as he left the club's training ground for the final time.

For the Anfield faithful, Jamie Carragher represents everything that is great about Liverpool Football Club, prompting the Kop to sing 'we all dream of a team of Carraghers'. The club's vice-captain, longest-serving player and one of a select band of players to have made more than 500 appearances for the Reds, Carra never gives less than 100 per cent for the cause. He is the embodiment of old-fashioned football values - a rarity in the modern game - honest and uncompromising. The Liverpool defender takes us deep into the heart of Anfield.

Physical conditioning is the foundation for any sport, but especially for the fast-moving game of soccer. I wrote this audiobook so that you would have the nutritional knowledge and the training wisdom to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the game.

DeRo is the life story of one of the greatest athletes Canada has ever produced. Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Dwayne De Rosario wasn’t expected to make it out of high school, let alone to the top of soccer world. As part of a family of five, growing up in a one-bedroom apartment, he had to work for everything he had and sometimes that meant doing things he realized he didn’t want to do. It was soccer that saved him from a life on the street.

Learn to: Get a handle on soccer rules and regulations. Grasp the basic moves and plays. Improve dribbling, passing, and other skills. Appreciate this popular pastime. Learn the basics, improve your game knowledge, and reach your soccer playing goals. Do you get a kick out of soccer? Whether you're a youth league player, a soccer parent, or a World Cup fan, here at last is the book you've been waiting for.

Whether it is a manager being sacked, the signing of a new star player, television rights negotiations, player misconduct or multi-million-pound club takeovers, lawyers remain at the heart of all football business dealings. Written by leading Premier League lawyer Daniel Geey, who has dealt with all these incidents first hand, this highly accessible book explores the issues - from pitch to boardroom - that shape the modern game and how these impact leagues, clubs, players and fans.

Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer. His future was clear, he'd become a teacher like his brothers. There was only one problem with this - Pat was far too good to avoid attention. Raised in Glasgow's East End, Pat loved the game, playing for hours and obsessively following Celtic. But as he grew up, he also loved Joy Division, wearing his Indie 'gloom boom' coat and going on marches - hardly typical footballer behaviour!

Anyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a football player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on 25th November 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli, where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup.

The definitive, shocking account of the FIFA scandal - the biggest international corruption case of recent years, spearheaded by US investigators, involving dozens of countries, and implicating nearly every aspect of the world’s most popular sport, soccer, including its biggest event, the World Cup.

In the decade since his mega-selling memoir I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he has played at Paris Saint-Germain (2012-2016), Manchester United (2016-2018), LA Galaxy (2018-2019) and Milan (2020-). This outrageous and hilarious follow-up is bursting with personal confessions and revealing anecdotes about the world's best players and managers. Packed with revelations, in Adrenaline, we hear for the first time what Zlatan really thinks about his time in the Premier League and what it was like to score that glorious bicycle kick against England.

When victory is within reach and the game is in its final moments, some players seize the moment and make themselves legends. From stunning goals in injury time to breathtaking saves in shootouts, some of soccer's greatest moments are chronicled in vivid fashion here. You've got a front-row view of the action.

Why does an international footballer with the World at his feet decide to take his own life? On November 10, 2009, the German national goalkeeper Robert Enke stepped in front of a passing train. He was 32 years old. Viewed from the outside, Enke had it all. Here was a professional goalkeeper who had played for a string of Europe's top clubs, including Jose Mourinho's Benfica and Louis Van Gaal's Barcelona. Enke was destined to be his country's first choice for years. But beneath the veneer of success lay a darker story.

Technique, speed, and tactical execution are crucial components of winning soccer, but it is mental toughness that marks out the very best players - the ability to play when pressure is highest, the opposition is strongest, and fear is greatest. Top players and coaches understand the importance of sport psychology in soccer but how do you train your mind to become the best player you can be? Soccer Tough demystifies this crucial side of the game and offers practical techniques that will enable soccer players of all abilities to actively develop focus, energy, and confidence.

Arguably the most famous Canadian athlete on the planet, Alphonso Davies has been the subject of global attention after bursting onto the scene as a fifteen-year-old soccer sensation. Since then, he's won every trophy imaginable with German giant FC Bayern Munich and helped Canada reach the men's World Cup for the first time in thirty-six years. Based on years of original reporting and extensive interviews with his friends, family members, teachers, coaches, teammates, and others from his inner circle, Alphonso Davies: A New Hope paints a complete portrait of the soccer star.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Play as a successful soccer player. This means that you accept the huge responsibility of being the midfielder and commit to playing well. This position can lead the team to either victory or crushing defeat. Like most things in life, it's up to you to choose which direction you go. The tasks of a midfielder are critical on the field. The midfielder must be able to move the ball selectively, build strong attacks, defend the ball skillfully, and go the extra mile to score as many goals as possible.

As the coach, you are the leader of the team and should lead by example. The harder you work, the harder your team will work. There is not a perfect way to coach and it normally takes time to find the style that works best for you and motivates your players. This book will help you in that process. This book is not intended to be a complete guide on coaching because if you have ever coached, you realize that everything to know could not be contained in one book. It will help you become the coach that changes every game, the coach whose team every player wants to be on.

In My Life in Football Keegan tells the story of his remarkable rise through the sport, from the Peglers Brass Works reserve team in Doncaster to helping Liverpool become the kings of Europe, winning a Bundesliga title with Hamburg and captaining England. Keegan was recognised around the world as one of the sport's genuine superstars and remains the only Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or twice....

In 2014, the conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine began - and top football club Shakhtar Donetsk has since been in exile. This book tells their story; inevitably a story of the conflict and the recent Russian invasion but also a testament to the power of the game and the will of the players. It is ultimately a footballing story, exploring the experience and meaning of being a Shakhtar player through the lens of a country in the shadow of a huge aggressive neighbour.

Third-grader Aven Green is an expert soccer player. She even has her own top secret moves! But when her friend Sujata joins the team, Aven has a hard time learning to help the new player shine. When the time comes to choose a new team captain, will Aven learn to share the spotlight and understand what it means to be a team player?