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Matchdays
by Ronald RengThrough the life story of Heinz Hoher, player, coach, manager, scout and sports director, Ronald Reng tells the dramatic story of the rise of the Bundesliga over the last fifty years since it was founded in 1963.
During that period, football has grown from a game where a club's directors, puffing on cigars, would join the players in their dressing room at half time, to today's highly paid environment, where Red Bull are trying to break into one of the most successful sporting brands in the world. From a country struggling to cope with the Nazi legacy in the 1960s, Germany has emerged as an economic and sporting powerhouse of Europe.
Matchdays recreates the daily life of professional footballers from a different era, when match-fixing, doping and even guns all played their part in the training ground. Hoher himself spent two decades as a manager, once icing up the pitch at his ground to get a game cancelled, and making his living playing cards after he was sacked from the sport he loves.
Already a major bestseller and award-winning book in Germany, Matchdays reveals the truth behind the rise of German football and is sure to fascinate anyone interested in understanding a nation and its rise to the top of the sporting ladder.
Das Reboot
by Raphael Honigstein"A beautiful story, expertly told. " --Per Mertesacker, Arsenal defender and member of the German national team, winners of the 2014 World Cup Estádio do Maracanã,
July 13, 2014, the last ten minutes of extra time in the World Cup Final: German forward Mario Götze jumps to meet a floated pass from André Schürrle, cushions the ball with his chest, and in one fluid motion volleys the ball past the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.
The goal wins Germany the World Cup for the first time in almost thirty years. As the crowd roars, Götze looks dazed, unable to comprehend what he has done.
In Das Reboot, Raphael Honigstein charts the return of German soccer from the dreary functionality of the late 1990s to Götze's moment of sublime, balletic genius and asks: How did this come about? The answer takes him from California to Stuttgart, from Munich to the Maracanã, via Dortmund and Amsterdam. Packed with exclusive interviews with key figures, including Jürgen Klinsmann, Thomas Müller, Oliver Bierhoff, and many more, Honigstein's book reveals the secrets of German soccer's success.
Soccer Without Borders
by Jürgen Klinsmann and Erik KirschbaumA GAME-CHANGING AND FASCINATING BOOK ON HOW TO USE WISDOM FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO CREATE A LASTING, POWERFUL SOCCER TEAM, BY ONE OF THE SPORT'S MOST ICONIC AND EFFECTIVE COACHES
Jurgen Klinsmann, head coach of the U.S. men's national soccer team, has become a household name after the United States' unprecedentedly strong run at the 2014 World Cup. Klinsmann's reputation is that of a maverick, of an unconventional leader who isn't afraid to challenge traditional notions of coaching, and who will breathe new life into foundering programs through sometimes unpopular -but resoundingly successful -new tactics.
In Soccer Without Borders, journalist Erik Kirschbaum lays out Klinsmann's vision for making the U.S. men's soccer team a dominant world power for the first time in its history. Featuring fascinating insights gleaned from Klinsmann's decades of dedicated study - both as a professional striker and as coach of the German national team - this book is an immersive and unparalleled road map for how to build a winning team in the most competitive professional sport on the globe, as well as an infectious tribute to "the most beautiful game" by one of its most adroit students.
One Goal
by Amy BassIn the tradition of Friday Night Lights and Outcasts United, ONE GOAL tells the inspiring story of the soccer team in a town bristling with racial tension that united Somali refugees and multi-generation Mainers in their quest for state--and ultimately national--glory.
When thousands of Somali refugees resettled in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town, longtime residents grew uneasy. Then the mayor wrote a letter asking Somalis to stop coming, which became a national story. While scandal threatened to subsume the town, its high school's soccer coach integrated Somali kids onto his team, and their passion began to heal old wounds.
Taking readers behind the tumult of this controversial team--and onto the pitch where the teammates vied to become state champions and achieved a vital sense of understanding--ONE GOAL is a timely story about overcoming the prejudices that divide us.
Brilliant Orange The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer
by David WinnerBrilliant Orangeis a book about Dutch soccer that's not really about Dutch soccer. It's more about an enigmatic way of thinking peculiar to a people whose landscape is unrelentingly flat, mostly below sea level, and who owe their salvation to a boy who plugged a fractured dike with his little finger. If any one thing, Brilliant Orangeis about Dutch space, and a people whose unique conception of it has led to some of the most enduring art, the weirdest architecture, and a bizarrely cerebral form of soccer-Total Football-that led in 1974 to a World Cup finals match with arch-rival Germany, and continues with its intricacy and oddity to mystify and delight observers around the world. "In the hot summer of 1975 Wim van Hanegem was offered the chance to leave his beloved Feyenoord and join the French club Olympique Marseilles. . . He couldn't decide what to do. . . So he turned to his dog: 'We can't decide. It's up to you now. If you want to go to Marseilles, bark or show me. ' For several minutes the dog and Van Hanegem stared at each other. The dog didn't move. 'OK' said Wim, 'he doesn't want to go. We're staying. " The cast stretches from anarchists and church painters to rabbis and skinheads, and of course, to Holland's beloved soccer players, whose eccentricities are wryly detailed by David Winner through hilarious anecdotes that call to mind Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. As idiosyncratic as its subject, quirky and provocative, Brilliant Orangereaches out to the reader from an unsuspected place and never lets go. "Occasionally a book comes along that you fall in or out of love with on the basis of nothing more than the contents page . . . Brilliant Orangeis one of those strangely informative books that will even entertain those who have little interest in either soccer or the Netherlands. " (The Economist)
The Ugly Game
by Jonathan Calvert and Heidi BlakeThis meticulously reported account by two award-winning, investigative journalists at Britain's The Sunday Times explains how the 2022 World Cup was secured for Qatar--a key element in the ongoing, international FIFA controversy.
When the tiny desert state of Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, the news was greeted with shock and disbelief. How had a country with almost no soccer infrastructure or tradition, a high terror risk, and searing summer temperatures, beaten more established countries with stronger bids? The story behind the Qatari success soon developed into a global news sensation.
In 2014 The Sunday Times Insight team in the UK spilled the secrets of a bombshell cache of hundreds of millions of secret documents, which were leaked by a whistleblower. In forensic detail, they reported how Mohamed Bin Hammam, Qatar's top soccer official, used his position to help secure the votes that Qatar needed to win the bid. The investigative team spent three months painstakingly piecing together Bin Hammam's activities and reporting on cash handouts, lavish junkets, and evidence of payments to soccer officials around the world.
Now in this remarkable book by The Sunday Times journalists at the center of the investigation, Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert, comes a comprehensive account of what happened and who was involved. A bestseller in the UK, The Ugly Game is undoubtedly the biggest sporting story of recent times.
The Second Half
by Roddy Doyle and Roy KeaneIn an eighteen-year playing career for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest (under Brian Clough), Manchester United (under Sir Alex Ferguson) and Celtic, Roy Keane dominated every midfield he led to glory.
Aggressive and highly competitive, his attitude helped him to excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005.
Playing at an international level for nearly all his career, he represented the Republic of Ireland for over fourteen years, mainly as team captain, until an incident with national coach Mick McCarthy resulted in Keane's walk-out from the 2002 World Cup.
Since retiring as a player, Keane has managed Sunderland and Ipswich and has become a highly respected television pundit.
As part of a tiny elite of football players, Roy Keane has had a life like no other. His status as one of football's greatest stars is undisputed, but what of the challenges beyond the pitch?
How did he succeed in coming to terms with life as a former Manchester United and Ireland leader and champion, reinventing himself as a manager and then a broadcaster, and cope with the psychological struggles this entailed?
In a stunning collaboration with Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, THE SECOND HALF blends anecdote and reflection in Roy Keane's inimitable voice. The result is an unforgettable personal odyssey which fearlessly challenges the meaning of success.
The Fall of the House of FIFA
by David ConnIn 2015, FIFA-the multibillion dollar governing body of the world's most-loved sport-was brought down by allegations of industrial-scale bribes, kickbacks, money laundering, racketeering and tax evasion.
Beginning with early morning raids in Zurich and the indictment of twenty-seven executives by the US Department of Justice, the rottenness at the core of FIFA seemed to extend throughout all of soccer, from the decision to send the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar to lesser known cases of embezzlement from Trinidad to South Africa.
David Conn writes the definitive account of FIFA's rise and fall, covering in great detail the corruption allegations and the series of scandals that continued to shake the public's trust in the organization.
The Fall of the House of FIFA situates FIFA's unraveling amidst revealing human portraits of soccer legends such as Michel Platini and Franz Beckenbauer and features an exclusive interview with former president Sepp Blatter. Even as he chronicles the biggest sport scandal of all time, Conn infuses the book with a passionate love of the game, delivering an irresistible read.
Angels with Dirty Faces
by Jonathan WilsonThe Masterful, Definitive History of Argentinian SoccerLionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stéfano: in every generation Argentina has uncovered a uniquely brilliant soccer talent.
Perhaps it's because the country lives and breathes the game, its theories, and its myths. Argentina's rich, volatile history—by turns sublime and ruthlessly pragmatic—is mirrored in the style and swagger of its national and club sides.
In Angels with Dirty Faces, Jonathan Wilson chronicles the operatic drama of Argentinian soccer: the appropriation of the British game, the golden age of la nuestra, the exuberant style of playing that developed as Juan Perón led the country, a hardening into the brutal methods of anti-fútbol, the fusion of beauty and efficacy under César Luis Menotti, and the emergence of all-time greats.
Long Distance Love
by Grant FarredGrant Farred is a lifelong soccer fan. He has been rooting for one team -- Liverpool (England) Football Club -- since he was a child.
Long Distance Love explains how "football" opened up the world to a young boy growing up disenfranchised in apartheid South Africa.
For Farred, being a soccer fan enabled him to establish connections with events and people throughout history and from around the globe: from the Spanish Civil War to the atrocities of the Argentine dictatorship of the 1970s and '80s, and from the experience of racism under apartheid to the experience of watching his beloved Liverpool team play on English soil.
Farred shows that issues like race, politics, and war are critical to understanding a sport, especially soccer.
And he writes beautifully, with candor and lyricism.
Long Distance Love does for soccer what C. L. R. James's Beyond a Boundary did for cricket: it provides poetry and politics in equal measure, along with insights on every page.
Alex Ferguson
by Alex FergusonSir Alex announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United after 27 years in the role. He has gone out in a blaze of glory, with United winning the Premier League for the 13th time, and he is widely considered to be the greatest manager in the history of British football.
Over the last quarter of a century there have been seismic changes at Manchester United. The only constant element has been the quality of the manager's league-winning squad and United's run of success, which included winning the Champions League for a second time in 2008.
Sir Alex created a purposeful, but welcoming, and much envied culture at the club which has lasted the test of time. Sir Alex saw Manchester United change from a conventional football club to what is now a major business enterprise, and he never failed to move with the times. It was directly due to his vision, energy and ability that he was able to build teams both on and off the pitch. He was a man-manager of phenomenal skill, and increasingly he had to deal with global stars.
His relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance, was excellent and David Beckham has described Sir Alex as a father figure. Over the past four years, Sir Alex has been reflecting on and jotting down the highlights of his extraordinary career and in his new book he will reveal his amazing story as it unfolded, from his very early days in the tough shipyard areas of Govan.
Brian Clough
by Jonathan WilsonThe final word on Brian CloughIn this first full, critical biography, Jonathan Wilson draws an intimate and powerful portrait of one of England's greatest football managers, Brian Clough, and his right-hand man, Peter Taylor. It was in the unforgiving world of post-war football where their identities and reputations were made - a world where, as Clough and Taylor's mentor Harry Storer once said, 'Nobody ever says thank you.'Nonetheless, Clough brought the gleam of silverware to the depressed East Midlands of the 1970s. Initial triumph at Derby was followed by a sudden departure and a traumatic 44 days at Leeds. By the end of a frazzled 1974, Clough was set up for life financially, but also hardened to the realities of football. By the time he was at Forest, Clough's mask was almost permanently donned: a persona based on brashness and conflict. Drink fuelled the controversies and the colourful character; it heightened the razor-sharp wit and was a salve for the highs of football that never lasted long enough, and for the lows that inevitably followed. Wilson's account is the definitive portrait of this complex and enduring man.
I Am Zlatan
by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Lagercrantz and Ruth UrbomDaring, flashy, innovative, volatile--no matter what they call him, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of soccer's brightest stars. A top-scoring striker with Paris Saint-Germain and captain of the Swedish national team, he has dominated the world's most storied teams, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and AC Milan. But his life wasn't always so charmed.
Born to Balkan immigrants who divorced when he was a toddler, Zlatan learned self-reliance from his rough-and-tumble neighborhood. While his father, a Bosnian Muslim, drank to forget the war back home, his mother's household was engulfed in chaos. Soccer was Zlatan's release.
Mixing in street moves and trick plays, Zlatan was a wild talent who rode to practice on stolen bikes and relished showing up the rich kids--opponents and teammates alike.
Goal by astonishing goal, the brash young outsider grew into an unlikely prodigy and, by his early twenties, an international phenomenon.
Told as only the man himself could tell it, featuring stories of friendships and feuds with the biggest names in the sport, I Am Zlatan is a wrenching, uproarious, and ultimately redemptive tale for underdogs everywhere.
Doctor Socrates
by Andrew DownieSocrates was always special. A hugely talented athlete who graduated in medicine yet drank and smoked to excess, he captained the 1982 Brazil team, one of the greatest sides never to win the World Cup. The attacking midfielder stood out - and not just because of his 6'4" frame. Fans were enthralled by his inch-perfect passes, his coolness in front of goal and his back heel, the trademark move that singled him out as the most unique footballer of his generation.
Off the pitch, he was just as original, with a dedication to politics and social causes that no player has ever emulated. His biggest impact came as leader of Corinthians Democracy - a movement that gave everyone from the kitman to the president an equal say in the running of the club. At a time when Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship, it was truly revolutionary.
Passionate and principled, entertaining and erudite, Socrates was as contradictory as he was complex. He was a socialist who voted for a return of Brazil's monarchy, a fiercely independent individual who was the ultimate team player, and a romantic who married four times and fathered six children.
Armed with Socrates unpublished memoir and hours of newly discovered interviews, Andrew Downie has put together the most comprehensive and compelling account of this iconic figure. Based on conversations with family members, close friends and former team-mates, this is a brilliant biography of a man who always stood up for what he believed in, whatever the cost.
Winning at All Costs
by John FootThe 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France was a down-and-dirty game, marred by French superstar Zidane's head-butting of Italian defender Materazzi.
But viewers were also exposed to the poetry, force, and excellence of the Italian game; as operatic as Verdi and as cunning as Machiavelli, it seemed to open a window into the Italian soul.
John Foot's epic history shows what makes Italian soccer so unique. Mixing serious analysis and comic storytelling, Foot describes its humble origins in northern Italy in the 1890s to its present day incarnation where soccer is the national civic religion.
A story that is reminiscent of Gangs of New York and A Clockwork Orange, Foot shows how the Italian game - like its political culture - has been overshadowed by big business, violence, conspiracy, and tragedy, how demagogues like Benito Mussolini and Silvio Berlusconi have used the game to further their own political ambitions.
But Winning at All Costs also celebrates the sweet moments - the four World Cup victories, the success of Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, the role soccer played in the resistance to Nazism, and the great managers and players who show that Italian soccer is as irresistible as Italy itself.
World Cup 2018 Russia Essential Guide
by Ultimate World Cup BooksLooking for the definitive World Cup 2018 guide amidst a sea of soccer books? The World Cup 2018 Russia Essential Guide provides a helpful outline to all 32 teams and their standings as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2018.
After three years of qualification matches, the FIFA World Cup 2018 will open on June 14, 2018, in Moscow, Russia. Divided into eight groups of four teams each, these 32 teams will be vying for the most prestigious trophy in world soccer.
The World Cup 2018 Russia Essential Guide includes informative summaries of each group and valuable context on their chances in the tournament, making it the perfect reference for every soccer fan as they watch the World Cup Russia 2018 this summer.
The Big Fix
by Brett ForrestCan the most beloved sport in the world beat the corruption that threatens to tear it apart?
Known as the "beautiful game," soccer is the world's most popular sport, crossing borders and language barriers to entertain billions. But underneath it all--the raucous fans in the stadiums; the beloved players; and FIFA, the international governing body with a membership of 209 national associations--is a scandal that threatens to make soccer the ugliest sport in the world. An underworld of international gambling rings, corrupt players and officials, and shadowy figures preys on the far-flung edges of the game, making match-fixing in soccer one of organized crime's new, profitable businesses.
Now, for the first time, journalist Brett Forrest takes us inside the $700 billion international soccer betting market. In 2013 Europol revealed that more than 700 international matches have been fixed since 2008. Forrest pulls back the curtain, exposing a web of nefarious dealings across the world, even on U.S. soil, with opportunistic fixers bribing players, influencing officials, and staging fake matchups, while Asian criminal syndicates pull the strings.
No match is safe--not even the World Cup tournament--especially while local law enforcement officials lack the resources and the will to investigate. But one man has taken on this criminal enterprise: Chris Eaton, a hardheaded Australian, longtime Interpol director, and the former head of security for FIFA. Forrest follows Eaton's journey from local beat cop to FIFA's security chief for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was at this competition that Eaton first grasped the extent of match-fixing and the threat it posed to the game. From that point on, Eaton made it his mission to track down the elusive perpetrators: fixers who shed identities, crisscross borders, and target players and clubs on behalf of international criminal syndicates.
Filled with headline-making revelations, The Big Fix is a must-read for soccer fans and true crime aficionados. The story brings us inside Chris Eaton's hunt for the world's biggest fixers and their backers--from the roots of fixing in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, to FIFA headquarters in Zurich and World Cup preparation in South Africa and Qatar, to fixing's expansion into nearly every country in the world--and the fight to save the beautiful game.
Luis Suarez
by Luis SuarezLuis Suárez was a young boy already in love with football by the time his family moved from the countryside to Uruguay's capital, Montevideo. The guile and trickery of the street kid made an impact with the country's biggest club, Nacional, before he was spotted by Dutch scouts who brought him to Europe.
Suárez was lured from Ajax to Merseyside by another iconic number 7, Kenny Dalglish. From that moment, he terrorised Premier League defences, driving a resurgent Liverpool towards their most exciting top-flight season in 24 years. But there is another side to Luis Suárez: the naturally fiery temperament which drives his competitiveness on the pitch. There was the very public incident with Patrice Evra of bitter rivals Manchester United, and the biting of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, for which Suárez received eight- and ten-match suspensions respectively.
Then during the World Cup finals in Brazil, in a physical encounter against Italy, he bit defender Giorgi Chiellini on the shoulder. Banned from football for four months, derided by the press, he left Brazil in the most testing of circumstances.
In the summer's final twist, he became one of the most expensive footballers of all time, moving from Liverpool to Barcelona.
In Crossing the Line, Luis Suárez talks from the heart about his intriguing career, his personal journey from scrapping street kid to performer on football's biggest stage, and the never-say-die attitude that sometimes causes him to overstep the mark.
Eight World Cups
by George VecseyOn the eve of the 2014 World Cup, New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey offers a personal perspective on the beautiful game Blending witty travelogue with action on the field--and shady dealings in back rooms--George Vecsey offers an eye-opening, globe-trotting account of the last eight World Cups.
He immerses himself in the great national leagues, historic clubs, and devoted fans and provides his up-close impressions of charismatic stars like Sócrates, Maradona, Baggio, and Zidane, while also chronicling the rise of the U. S. men's and women's teams.
Vecsey shows how each host nation has made the World Cup its own, from the all-night street parties in Spain in 1982 to the roar of vuvuzelas in South Africa in 2010, as the game in the stadium is backed up by the game in the street. But the joy is sometimes undermined by those who style themselves the game's protectors.
With his characteristic sharp reporting and eye for detail, Vecsey brings this global event to vivid life and has written a perfect companion for the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Secret Diary of Mario Balotelli
by Bruno Vincent'He's a total rock 'n' roller. There's a bit of Mario in all of us - well, maybe not Gary Neville - but the rest of us most definitely.' Noel Gallagher
He may be football's latest superstar, but Mario Balotelli is just as famous off the pitch for his eccentricity and extraordinary antics.
From the time he let off fireworks in his bathroom to the notorious bib incident, he's rarely out of the news.
But in his secret diary* (not his actual secret diary), as we follow Mario through one turbulent football season and the trail of mayhem he leaves in his wake, we discover that the headlines only tell half the story.
Whether he's hiding Silvio Berlusconi in his basement, patrolling the streets of Manchester as a caped crusader or trying to be the first Premiership footballer to go to the moon, the truth is stranger, and much funnier, than we could have expected.
Mammoth Book of the World Cup
by Nick HoltAn all-encompassing, chronological guide to football's World Cup, one of the world's few truly international events, in good time for the June 2014 kick-off in Rio de Janeiro.
From its beginnings in 1930 to the modern all-singing, all-dancing self-styled `greatest show on Earth?, every tournament is covered with features on major stars and great games, as well as stories about some less celebrated names and quirky stats and intriguing essays.
Holt's focus is very much on what takes place on the field, rather than how football is a mirror for economic corruption, or how a nation's style of play represents a profound statement about its people, or how a passion for football can lift underpaid, socially marginalised people out of poverty.
From the best World Cups, in 1958 and 1970, to the worst, in 1962 and 2010, he looks behind the facts and the technical observations to the stories: the mysterious sins of omission; critical injuries to key players; and coaching U-turns. He explains how England's World Cup achievements under Sven-Göran Eriksson, far from being a national disgrace, were actually quite impressive, and looks at why Alf Ramsey didn't take Bobby Charlton off in 1970, but this is no parochial, jingoistic account.
The book also asks why Brazil did not contribute in 1966, despite having won the previous two tournaments and going on to win the next one? Why the greatest players of their day did not always shine at the World Cup ? George Best and Alfredo Di Stefano, for example, never even made it to the Finals. Why did Johann Cruyff not go to the 1978 World Cup? And why did one of Germany's greatest players never play in the World Cup?
There are lots of tables, some filled with obvious, but necessary information, but others with more quirky observations. Alongside accounts of epic games, there are also brief biographies of all the great heroes of the World Cup.
Stamping Grounds
by Charlie ConnellyStamping Grounds follows the Liechtenstein national football team through their defeat-strewn qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup.
Drawn in a group with Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria and mighty Spain, it was hard to see the principality's part-time players scoring even one goal, never mind adding to its meagre international points total. So what motivates a nation of 30,000 people and eleven villages to keep plugging away despite the inevitability of defeat?
Travelling to all of Liechenstein's qualifying matches, Charlie Connelly examines what motivates a team to take the field dressed proudly in the shirts of Liechtenstein despite the knowledge that they are, with notably few exceptions, in for a damn good hiding.
Sampling the delights of Liechtenstein's capital, Vaduz, such as the Postage Stamp Museum, the State Art Museum and, er, the Postage Stamp Museum again, Connelly provides an evocative and witty account of the land where every year on National Day the sovereign invites the entire population into his garden for a glass of wine.
The Game of Their Lives
by Geoffrey DouglasIn the summer of 1950, a most unlikely group was assembled to represent its country in the first soccer World Cup since World War II. The Americans were outsiders to the sport, the underdogs of the event, a 500-to-1 long shot. But they were also proud and loyal men -- to one another, to their communities, and certainly to their country. Facing almost no time to prepare, opponents with superior training, and skepticism from the rest of the world, this ragtag group of unknowns was inspired to a stunning victory over England and one of the most thrilling upsets in the history of sports.
Written by critically acclaimed author Geoffrey Douglas, and now a film directed by David Anspaugh ( Hoosiers ), The Game of Their Lives takes us back to a time before million-dollar contracts and commercial endorsements, and introduces us to the athletes -- the Americans -- who showed the world just how far a long shot could really go.
Bloody Confused!
by Chuck CulpepperChuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout . . . then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing!) world of English soccer.
After covering the American sports scene for fifteen 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. "
Writing in the vein of perennial bestsellers such as Fever Pitch and Among the Thugs, Chuck Culpepper brings penetrating insight to the vibrant landscape of English soccer--visiting such storied franchises as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool . . . and an equally celebrated assortment of pubs.
Bloody Confused! will put a smile on the face of any sports fan who has ever questioned what makes us love sports in the first place.
Splashdown
by Chris AshtonFrom try scoring records to controversial celebrations, Chris Ashton has had an amazing year. Announcing his star presence with an awesome 85-metre try against Australia, Chris burst onto the scene and has lit up Twickenham.
In his new book he delves into the England rugby team's renaissance, a victorious Six Nations campaign, the build-up to the Rugby World Cup and the tournament itself in New Zealand. From dynamic tries on the pitch to behind-the-scenes life on tour, this is the story of England's Rugby World Cup journey from the player everyone is talking about.