Football Soccer Memoir

Passé au travers des mailles du filet de la formation française, Antoine Griezmann n'a jamais porté le maillot d'un club hexagonal. Jugé trop frêle, il a dû s'exiler en Espagne, à la Real Sociedad, pour accomplir son rêve de gamin et devenir footballeur professionnel. Désormais star incontestée de l'Atlético de Madrid et fer de lance de l'équipe de France, le meilleur joueur de l'Euro 2016 incarne la nouvelle génération bleue.

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.

Gazza's tears in the 1990 World Cup semi-final launched the boom of interest in football that continues to this day. Suddenly, Paul Gascoigne found himself the centre of attention in a way that only George Best and David Beckham have ever experienced. So much has been written about Gazza over the years, but he has said little - until now. For the first time, he talks in depth about the key events in his life.

George Sephton's relationship with Liverpool Football Club began in 1971 when he wrote to the club secretary applying to be the stadium announcer. His first match also marked the debut of Kevin Keegan. For the past 50 years, Sephton has been at Anfield for all but a handful of home fixtures, as well as travelling with the team to major finals. From the highs of winning numerous league titles and European Cups, to the lows of Heysel and Hillsborough, Sephton has been with Liverpool through it all.

Award-winning football journalist and author Simon Hughes expertly pieces together a fascinating portrait of this enigmatic football icon. From his relationships with his teammates to what motivates him; from how the events of the past decade in Egypt have impacted his life, to what's next in his career - Chasing Salah reveals all.

The 1923 FA Cup final—aka the White Horse final—was the first football match played at the British Empire Exhibition Stadium. Although best-remembered for non-playing reasons that afternoon marked the historic opening chapter of the stadium’s long and eventful history, of the stadium soon to be known simply as Wembley. Nige Tassell chooses 100 matches—from the well known to the unusual—that have shaped Wembley's legacy and tells a lively and original alternative history of the past 100 years of football, and of Britain.

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.

In 2015 former England football star Rio Ferdinand suddenly and tragically lost his wife and soul mate, Rebecca, age 34, to cancer. It was a profound shock, and Rio found himself struggling to cope not just with the pain of his grief but also with his new role as both mum and dad to their three young children. Rio's BBC1 documentary Being Mum and Dad touched everyone who watched it and won huge praise for the honesty and bravery he showed in talking about his emotions and experiences.

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." This famous quote by William Shakespeare reveals the mindset of strong achievers. But how does this apply to the all time soccer greats? Are they born great? Do they come with magical powers? Superior coaching? Crazy life experiences? To answer this question, we looked at the life history and autobiographies of 10 of the best soccer players of all time. These players have outclassed and outplayed their opponents, rose to the top, and have their names etched into soccer folklore.

Roddy Collins is a football man—now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at 16 clubs), manager (12 clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny man: an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he'd just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he'd 'rather dig holes in the road'.

Michael Owen's new autobiography will enable him to open up about his football life for the first time and set the record straight once and for all. It promises to make for an explosive listen and one of the most hotly anticipated football books of the year. The legendary striker published his first book, Off the Record, in 2004 but feels he didn't have a voice during his playing days, and now, six years after hanging up his boots, he can finally lift the lid on what really happened during his career.

Before agents and TV mega-rights ushered in multi-millionaire players, footballers’ wages were capped, with even the game's biggest names earning barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends shared a bond of borderline penury with the crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were far away from the pristine lawns of the modern era. Instead of the sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes as modest as those of their supporters.

Jürgen Klopp's coaching career began in the German second tier at the unfashionable club of FSV Mainz 05, whom he steered to the Budesliga for the first time in 41 years. In 2008, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he won back-to-back league titles and took the club to the UEFA Champions League final. He left Germany for one of the England's most challenging jobs: to manage Liverpool, a once-mighty club that had not managed sustained success since the 1980s. It was not a task for the fainthearted. Anfield, Liverpool's home, is a temple to flamboyant attacking soccer powered by passion.

How do you win the world cup? Godlike genius or the focus of a disappointed nation's fury—the world's most prestigious tournament makes or breaks a national coach. Only 20 managers have guided their team to World Cup glory, so what are their secrets? From revolutionary tactics to hare-brained schemes, this book searches for the keys to the most exclusive club in international football.

In early March 2020 Liverpool was two wins away from an extraordinary achievement, on course for its first league title win in 30 years - since the heady days of Kenny Dalglish - and likely to seal it in the Liverpool derby against its great rival Everton. And all this an incredible two months before the season was due to end. Then, as we all know, the season was postponed. The architect of the club's great resurgence - including its 2019 UEFA Champions League win - has been Jurgen Klopp....

Sie nannten ihn das "achte Fußball-Weltwunder" - und meinten damit Gerd Müller, der als Torjäger noch heute alle Rekorde hält. Wer war dieser Mann, der vom Provinzkicker aus ärmlichsten Verhältnissen zum Weltstar aufstieg, reich wurde und dann nach einem Ausflug in das Fußballentwicklungsland Amerika alkoholsüchtig in der Gosse landete? Der Historiker Hans Woller schildert die Etappen dieser ungewöhnlichen Karriere - aus kritischer Distanz und zugleich voller Empathie. Die Geschichte des FC Bayern München ist dabei stets präsent.

What are the greatest football games ever played? Debated in every pub, stadium and dressing room up and down the country, everyone has their own opinion and their own memories of the beautiful game. Sharing his views on the greatest matches he has played in or enjoyed as a fan, Jamie Carragher takes listeners into the dressing room, on to the tour bus and out on to the pitch as he relives the defining moments of his playing career and the games that have shaped his relationship with the sport.

From the football cages of East London to broadcasting to millions, the engine powering Alex Scott's remarkable journey has always been her resilience. But thanks to a 'push-through mentality' the world has only ever seen the 'strong' side of Alex Scott. Now Alex is ready to lower the shield. In How (Not) to Be Strong, Alex shares the lessons that have shaped her, from finally confronting the legacy of a tumultuous childhood to tarnished truth behind the gleaming football trophies.

Misconceptions have stalked Andrew Cole like a hatchet-man defender determined to cut him down to size. In the world of modern-day football, his reserved demeanour was often interpreted as surly intransigence. Alongside an aptitude for goalscoring, it was widely believed, ran an attitude problem. In Fast Forward, a candid and inspirational autobiography, Cole finally presents his side of the story.

There are just a handful of people that have been ever present for the thirty years of the Premier League, but only one person has been at the very epicentre for the entire period: Geoff Shreeves. Packed full of hilarious stories on and off the pitch—including trying to teach Sir Michael Caine how to act, a frightening encounter with Mike Tyson, as well as getting a lift home from the World Cup with Mick Jagger—Cheers Geoff is a must-listen for any fan of the beautiful game.