Football Soccer Memoir

Even people who don't know football know Pelé. The best of a generation of Brazilian players universally acknowledged as the most accomplished and attractive group of footballers ever to play the game, he won the World Cup three times and is Brazil's all-time record goalscorer. But how did this man - a sportsman, a mere footballer, like many others - become a global icon? Was it just by being the best at what he did, or do people respond to some other quality?

Hope Solo is the face of the modern female athlete. She is fearless, outspoken, and the best in the world at what she does: protecting the goal of the U.S. women's soccer team. Her outsized talent has led her to the pinnacle of her sport - the Olympics and the World Cup - and made her into an international celebrity who is just as likely to appear on ABC's Dancing with the Stars as she is on the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and Vogue.

The story of one of the most recognisable and successful players in world football. Didier Drogba is renowned for his heading ability, sharp shooting and sheer strength. He has played for his native Ivory Coast and for clubs in France, China and Turkey, but it is as a Chelsea striker that he is best known. His feats with Chelsea, with whom he still plays, have made him a cult hero among supporters.

In a frenetic seven-year spell at the outset of his senior managerial career, Mickey Harte led Tyrone to four Ulster Championships and three All-Irelands. It was a run that shifted football’s balance of power, changed the way the game would be played for more than a generation and cemented his reputation as one of the most transformative figures in GAA history. Then, in January 2011, the visitation of a shocking tragedy changed everything: Mickey’s daughter, Michaela, was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius.

Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodríguez, Diego Costa, David de Gea, José Mourinho... they all have one name in common: Jorge Mendes. The Portuguese soccer super agent, pulls the strings and manages the flow of millions of Euros in the global Fútbol (soccer) market.

Jürgen Klopp is the charismatic German manager who single-handedly overthrew the accepted order in German football, taking Borussia Dortmund from nowhere to back-to-back Bundesliga titles and the Champions League final. He had long been admired in the Premiership and was finally wooed by Liverpool in the belief he could bring back the glory days to the Kop. Klopp is revered as a master tactician with his own unique playing philosophies.

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.

A New Formation is not a book about football and racism. Jacobs and his co-contributors—including authors Musa Okwonga and Aniefiok Ekpoudom and sports broadcaster Jeanette Kwakye MBE—eschew the standard frameworks of trauma and oppression that are foisted upon Black narratives and seek to move beyond discussions of diversity, identity and representation. Featuring interviews with legendary players such as Ian Wright, Anita Asante and Andy Cole, they draw upon broader social and cultural history to examine Black footballers in contexts larger than themselves.

The full story of the man who brought unprecedented - and since unmatched - success to Liverpool FC. Bob Paisley was the quiet man in the flat cap who swept all domestic and European opposition aside and produced arguably the greatest club team that Britain has ever known. The man whose Liverpool team won trophies at a rate-per-season that dwarfs Sir Alex Ferguson’s achievements at Manchester United and who remains the only Briton to lead a team to three European Cups.

Jamie Vardy, the free-scoring talisman behind Leicester City's Premier League champion title, has become a modern against-the-odds footballing hero the world over. Rejected as a teenager by his boyhood club, Sheffield Wednesday, Jamie thought his chances had gone. But from playing pub football and earning £30 a week at Stocksbridge Park Steels while working in a factory, his impressive performances and hard work saw him rise again.

Pep Guardiola is the most successful and sought after football coach in the world. After being appointed first-team manager in 2008, he transformed Barcelona into arguably the greatest club side of all time, winning an unprecedented 13 trophies in four years. Following a shock sabbatical from the game, he replaced Jupp Heynckes at the helm of Bayern Munich at the start of the 2013-14 season, twice winning the Double in his three years in charge.

Italy's ultras are the most organised and violent fans in European football. Many groups have evolved into criminal gangs, involved in ticket-touting, drug-dealing and murder. A cross between the Hells Angels and hooligans, they're often the foot-soldiers of the Mafia and have been instrumental in the rise of the far-right. But the purist ultras say that they are insurgents fighting against a police state and modern football. Only amongst the ultras, they say, can you find belonging, community and a sacred concept of sport.

As FIFA's most decorated female football manager and a former player, Sarina Wiegman has led both the Netherlands and England women's national teams to historic victories. She stands out as a true pioneer in the game, and her coaching philosophy has earned her a reputation as one of the most successful coaches in football history. This personal account of Sarina's life journey begins with her early passion for football, and covers her key moments on the pitch as well as her ascension to the top of the coaching world.

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....

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.

True Genius is the definitive family-backed account of his remarkable career published to coincide with what would have been his 75th birthday. The games, the goals, the glory. This is the untold story. Written by celebrated Manchester United author Wayne Barton, this biography goes into unparalleled depth to tell the complete story for the first time of how the lad from Cregagh, Northern Ireland, became the game's first superstar. Barton has trawled the archives and spoken to a host of former team-mates, managers, friends and close family to tell his story.

"A 10 ans, on aurait payé pour le voir jouer. Les recruteurs se pressaient autour des terrains." Dès ses débuts à l'AS Bondy, le talent de Kylian Mbappé a fait l'unanimité. Son avenir était tout tracé dans les plus grands clubs européens. De nombreux témoignages dévoilent les secrets de sa formation à l'INF Clairefontaine, puis à l'AS Monaco. "Mbappé, Le Petit Prince" raconte aussi son éclosion en Ligue des champions jusqu'à son transfert colossal au PSG durant l'été 2017.

Andrés Iniesta is the Barcelona and Spain legend, rated by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Paul Scholes as one of the greatest footballers of all time. This is the thinking fan's footballer, with a thinking fan's football audiobook. Andrés Iniesta was 12 years old when scouts invited him into Barcelona's famous La Masia academy. Shortly after he joined the club, Barca legend Pep Guardiola remarked of him, 'This lad is going to retire us all'.

You're about to discover the incredibly inspirational story of soccer superstar Lionel Messi. If you're listening to this then you must be a fan of Lionel, like so many others. As a fan, you must wonder how this man is so talented and want to know more about him. Lionel is considered to be one of the greatest soccer players ever, and it's been an honor to be able to watch him compete throughout his career. This book will reveal to you much about Lionel's story and the many accomplishments throughout his career.

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.