iBooks Top Soccer Ebooks

The best selling soccer ebooks at the Apple iBookstore. The chart of the most popular soccer iBook best sellers updated daily.

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Sports Ebook Best Sellers

Soccer Ebook Best Sellers

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How to Win the Premier League - Ian Graham Cover Art

How to Win the Premier League

How to Win the Premier League The Sunday Times Bestselling Inside Story of Football's Data Revolution by Ian Graham

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND A FINANCIAL TIMES , SUNDAY TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 'The best book on football I have ever read' Daniel Finkelstein 'Fascinating and educational. An enjoyable and informative read' Sir Kenny Dalglish 'Deserves a place among the great modern books on football' Sam Wallace, chief football writer, Telegraph ______________________________ The insider account of the data revolution that has swept through the modern football world written by one of its key architects, Ian Graham. Between 2012 and 2023, Ian Graham worked as Liverpool FC's Director of Research. His tenure coincided with the club’s greatest period of success since the 1980s, including winning the Premier League in 2020 – Liverpool’s first league title after an agonising three decades. Here for the first time, Graham reveals the fascinating data that informed some of the club’s most pivotal moments of the past decade, from the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager in 2015 to the signing of Mohamed Salah in 2017. Along the way, he shares groundbreaking insight into the modern game, including how a season largely played behind closed doors transformed our understanding of home team advantage, or why the GOAT (greatest of all time) might not be who you think. And, in a game that is increasingly dominated by an elite few, Graham charts a path for the future where a data-savvy competitor will always find the edge. ______________________________ 'A fascinating, witty and remarkably insightful account of Liverpool's reinvention and a clear-eyed, detailed explanation of the inner workings of modern football. Nobody is better qualified to tell either of those stories than Ian Graham, who stands as one of the most (quietly) significant figures in the recent history of the club and the sport' Rory Smith, author of Expected Goals and Chief Soccer Correspondent, New York Times 'Never before has the data revolution in football been described so well from the inside.' Christoph Biermann, author of Football Hackers ‘ How to Win the Premier League gives you three books for the price of one: a book about all of the silly inefficiencies plaguing European football, a book about what it's like to be empowered to use outside-the-box thinking to help turn your boyhood club into the best team in the world, and a book about how football actually works. If he really wanted to, Ian could easily put me out of a job.’ Ryan O’Hanlon, author of Net Gains and staff writer ESPN *A Sunday Times bestseller August 2024

2

Las pizarras del fútbol - Pedro Sáez Cover Art

Las pizarras del fútbol

Las pizarras del fútbol Equipos, jugadores y entrenadores que revolucionaron el deporte rey ​ by Pedro Sáez

De la pizarra al mito: cómo nacen las revoluciones del fútbol. Los equipos, los genios y las ideas que cambiaron para siempre el deporte rey. Un recorrido por las tácticas y partidos que hicieron historia. ¿Por qué algunos equipos se convierten en leyendas y otros se diluyen en el recuerdo? ¿Cómo un simple ajuste táctico puede modificar el rumbo de un partido? ¿Hasta qué punto una idea puede transformar la historia del fútbol? Pedro Sáez desgrana el deporte más amado del planeta para revelar los secretos de cada gol, de cada sistema y de cada cambio de paradigma sobre el campo; un recorrido por los esquemas y estrategias que marcaron una época y una reflexión sobre la genialidad, el fracaso y la belleza del juego. De La Máquina de River al Pep Team de Guardiola, pasando por la Naranja Mecánica o el Inter de Helenio Herrera, este libro analiza las innovaciones que revolucionaron el fútbol para siempre: las pizarras imposibles, el falso nueve, los laterales que volaron antes de tiempo y los genios incomprendidos que, sirviéndose de creatividad y obsesión, transformaron el caos en orden. Porque detrás de cada pase, de cada movimiento y de cada dibujo en una pizarra, late un pensamiento capaz de reinventarlo todo. EN ESTE LIBRO APRENDERÁS SOBRE: • La Máquina de River Plate, y cómo puso la primera piedra del juego moderno. • El Inter de Herrera, que demostró que defender también podía ser un arte. • La Naranja Mecánica, capaz de adelantarse a su tiempo y reinventar el fútbol antes que nadie. • El Milan de Sacchi, que convirtió la táctica en una ciencia exacta. • El Barça de Cruyff, y cómo transformó la posesión en una forma de pensar. • El Porto de Mourinho, y su frialdad, capaz de ganar campeonatos. • El Barça de Guardiola, como representación de la perfección futbolística. • El instinto de Zidane, que mostró el camino a la eternidad con el Real Madrid. ¿Hacia dónde se dirige el fútbol, cuando parece que ya todo está inventado?

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The Little Book of Gaelic Football - Andy Watters & Neil Loughran Cover Art

The Little Book of Gaelic Football

The Little Book of Gaelic Football by Andy Watters & Neil Loughran

Ireland's love affair with Gaelic Games in general, and Gaelic football in particular, has never dimmed. Through the lean days of hunger and emigration, through the champagne-mojito-flavoured years of the Celtic Tiger and on after it slunk away with its tale between its legs, Ireland's love affair for 'our games' has endured. Fact-packed but light-hearted in style, this reliable reference book and a quirky guide reveals little-known facts and Gaelic football along with details of classic matches, statistical records, famous players, amusing anecdotes, and the general history of the game. This can be dipped into time and time again to reveal something new about this ancient game.

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Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition) - Simon Kuper & Stefan Szymanski Cover Art

Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition)

Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition) Why European Men and American Women Usually Win—and American Men Don’t (Yet) by Simon Kuper & Stefan Szymanski

Updated 2026 World Cup Edition In this modern classic, a leading sportswriter and an acclaimed sports economist apply high-powered analytical tools to everyday soccer topics.  “ Soccernomics is the most intelligent book ever written about soccer.” ― San Francisco Chronicle  Why do clubs almost always lose money—and does it mean some will disappear? Why doesn’t America dominate the sport internationally? Do coaches actually even matter? These are the questions that most consume soccer fans—and Soccernomics holds the answers.    Soccernomics is a revolutionary way of looking at soccer that has helped to change how some of the world’s biggest clubs are run. Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology, and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, experts Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski reveal the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer.    This 2026 World Cup edition is updated throughout, including a brand-new chapter discussing MLS, Messi joining Inter Miami, and the rise of soccer in the United States. Soccernomics remains essential reading for anyone in search of a strategic, systematic perspective on the game.

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Messi - Guillem Balagué Cover Art

Messi

Messi The must-read biography of the World Cup champion, now fully updated by Guillem Balagué

'I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi' Diego Maradona FULLY UPDATED TO INCLUDE THE 2022 WORLD CUP TRIUMPH & MESSI'S TRANSFER TO INTER MIAMI As Lionel Messi raised the World Cup triumphantly into the air, the world watched on in awe. Messi's final peak conquered; his final dream achieved. It was the fairy tale ending to a glittering career. Yet despite delivering Argentina their third World Cup, Messi's time at Paris Saint-Germain came to a dramatic conclusion, and Miami awaited the Argentinian legend. Guillem Balagué has had unprecedented access to Messi's inner circle including the player himself: his coaches, team-mates and family. From tracing the origins of Messi's precocious talent in Rosario, Argentina, to chronicling his peerless seventeen-season career at Barcelona, and his tumultuous Parisian adventure, Guillem takes us behind-the-scenes of Messi's World Cup triumph and his long-desired move to the MLS. This is an epic, authoritative and compelling account of an enigmatic footballing genius. 'I can tell my grandkids one day that I coached Lionel Messi' Pep Guardiola

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The Greatest Show on Earth - Andrew Downie Cover Art

The Greatest Show on Earth

The Greatest Show on Earth The Inside Story of the Legendary 1970 World Cup by Andrew Downie

Shortlisted for Football Book of the Year in the Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year Award The 1970 World Cup is widely regarded as the greatest ever staged, with more goals per game than any World Cup since. But more than just the proliferation of goals was the quality of the overall football, as some of the finest teams ever to represent the likes of West Germany, Peru, Italy and England came together for a tilt at the world title. But at the heart of the tournament were Brazil; captained by Carlos Alberto and featuring legends like Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Tostão, the 1970 Seleção are often cited as the greatest-ever World Cup team. Using brand new interviews alongside painstaking archival research, Andrew Downie charts each stage of the tournament, from the preparations to the final, telling a host of remarkable stories in the players' own words. The result is an immediate, insightful and compelling narrative that paints a unique portrait of an extraordinary few weeks when football hit peaks it has seldom reached since. This is Mexico 1970. Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth.

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A Beautiful Game - Tom Watt Cover Art

A Beautiful Game

A Beautiful Game The World's Greatest Players and How Soccer Changed Their Lives by Tom Watt

Foreword by Arsene Wenger, Introduction by David Beckham Soccer writer and bestselling author of My Side, Tom Watt, talked to the world's top soccer players about growing up and falling in love with the game: Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Gilberto Silva; England's David James and Scotland's Craig Gordon; Italy's Fabio Cannavaro, Spain's Iker Casillas, and France's Franck Ribéry; South Africa's Benni McCarthy and Nigeria's Nwankwo Kanu; USA's Landon Donovan and Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura; and the world's most famous player, David Beckham. A Beautiful Game tells their stories, in the players' own words—stories of boys who would grow up to be heroes for a new generation of young players and fans. They look back to their childhoods: to their family homes, to their schoolrooms, to the friends they grew up with, and to the places where they first played the game that has made them stars. Combining stunning photographs with the world's greatest players sharing their personal stories of how soccer transformed their lives, this inspiring book is an intoxicating celebration of the "beautiful game."

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Football's Great War - Alexander Jackson Cover Art

Football's Great War

Football's Great War Association Football on the English Home Front, 1914–1918 by Alexander Jackson

As modern football grapples with the implications of a global crisis, this book looks at first in the game's history: The First World War. The game's structure and fabric faced existential challenges as fundamental questions were asked about its place and value in English society. This study explores how conflict reshaped the People's Game on the English Home Front. The wartime seasons saw football's entire commercial model challenged and questioned. In 1915, the FA banned the payment of players, reopening a decades-old dispute between the game's early amateur values and its modern links to the world of capital and lucrative entertainment. Wartime football forced supporters to consider whether the game should continue, and if so, in what form? Using an array of previously unused sources and images, this book explores how players, administrators and fans grappled with these questions as daily life was continually reshaped by the demands of total war. From grassroots to elite football, players to spectators, gambling to charity work, this study examines the social, economic and cultural impact of what became Football's Great War.

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The Soccer 100 - The Athletic, Oliver Kay & James Horncastle Cover Art

The Soccer 100

The Soccer 100 by The Athletic, Oliver Kay & James Horncastle

A celebration of the beautiful game and its 100 greatest players, from the pre–World War II exploits of Dixie Dean to the modern-day genius of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi These players left legacies, redefined the game with trademark skills, and grew into national icons. They have their stats—the goals, the wins, the trophies—but, more importantly, they have their stories. One World Cup winner owned a nightclub that briefly transformed a corner of industrial Germany into one of the hippest places around. An Austrian forward’s death is still shrouded in mystery. A striker who might have become a telephone technician had he not been spotted playing soccer was eventually elected president of his country. And there are unanswered questions. How did Pelé’s Brazil shirt from the 1958 World Cup quarterfinal go missing in a Welsh school? Which goalkeeper was so good that one opponent considered scoring against him akin to “winning a trophy”? Through extensive research and interviews, The Athletic soccer staff, led by Oliver Kay and James Horncastle, discovered angles and tales that shine a new light on the sport’s most compelling characters. They faced an impossible riddle, too: Of the thousands of players to hit the pitch, who is the best? Their efforts to find the answer took the foremost sports newsroom on a journey, and what emerges is more than a ranking. Through all-new, vivid portraits of each athlete, The Soccer 100 is a tribute to the greatest players to have ever graced the most popular sport on the planet.

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Soccer in Sun and Shadow - Eduardo Galeano Cover Art

Soccer in Sun and Shadow

Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano

One of Sports Illustrated 's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time—a history of soccer that "stands out like Pelé on a field of second-stringers" ( The New Yorker ). The beautiful game deserves a beautiful book, and Eduardo Galeano—one of Latin America's most acclaimed authors—has written it. From Aztec champions sacrificed to appease the gods, to the goals that were literally scored into wooden posts in Victorian England, to Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup, Soccer in Sun and Shadow is a history of the sport unlike any other. Galeano portrays the irruption of South American soccer that made the game sublime: the elegant, mischievous, joyful style based on deft dribbling, close passes, and quick changes in rhythm, perfected by poor black children who had no toy but a rag ball. He describes the superstitions that vex players, the martyrdom of referees, the exquisite misery of fans, the sad denouement of stars past their prime. Striding across the pages are players born with the ball—and entire nations—at their feet: Arthur Friedenreich, the son of a German immigrant and a black washerwoman, who first brought Brazilian style from the slums into the stadiums; Brazil's Garrincha, whose body, warped by polio, could make the ball dance; and the Dutch great Ruud Gullit, who campaigned against apartheid on and off the pitch. And, of course, Beckenbauer, Pelé, Cruyff, and Maradona, a man blessed with "the hand of God" and a left foot equally as divine. Soccer in Sun and Shadow traces the rise of the soccer industry and the concurrent voyage "from beauty to duty": attempts to impose a soccer of lightning speed and brute force, one that disdains fantasy and forfeits play for results. Eduardo Galeano, who describes himself as "a beggar for good soccer," gives the world's most popular sport all the poetry, passion, and politics it deserves.

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Soccer For Dummies - Tom Dunmore & Scott Murray Cover Art

Soccer For Dummies

Soccer For Dummies by Tom Dunmore & Scott Murray

Flick, fake, and dribble your way to soccer mastery Prepare for the World Cup or learn the rules for your own indoor or outdoor league, with  Soccer For Dummies . We cover the world’s most popular sport from one end of the field to the other, starting with the history of soccer and the basics of the game. Discover the positions on the field, the best tactics for winning, and the skills the players (including you!) need in order to dominate. This update to the comprehensive guide introduces you to all the soccer greats and up-and-comers whose moves you’ll want to know. You'll find extensive coverage of women's soccer, including women’s world cup, the NWSL, Women’s Super League, and the UEFA Women’s Championship, and get descriptions of various leagues around the globe, and the lowdown on where you can find soccer games and resources, online and elsewhere. Learn how soccer got to be the #1 most popular sport in the world Get up to speed on the world’s best leagues, teams, and players, so you can follow and enjoy the World Cup Discover tips on playing and coaching, plus fun soccer facts and resources for learning more Become the ultimate soccer fan with your newfound knowledge of the game Soccer For Dummies is for anyone who wants to learn more about soccer, the rules, how the game is played, how professional leagues operate around the world, and how to follow them.

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The Power and the Glory - Jonathan Wilson Cover Art

The Power and the Glory

The Power and the Glory The History of the World Cup by Jonathan Wilson

A definitive new history of the world’s most watched sporting event—just in time for the 2026 tournament​   "Wilson is the game’s pre-eminent popular historian."— Observer (UK) An Irish Times Best Sports Book of the Year Since 1930, the World Cup has become a truly global obsession. It is the most watched sporting event on the planet, and 211 teams competed to make it into the 2022 tournament. From its inception, it has also been a vehicle for far more than soccer. A tool for self-mythologizing and influence-peddling, The World Cup has played a crucial role in nation-building, and continues to, as countries negotiate their positions in a globalized world.    The Power and the Glory is a comprehensive history of the matches and goals, the tales of scandal and triumph, the haggling and skulduggery of the bidding process, and the political and cultural tides behind every tournament. Jonathan Wilson details not merely what happened but why, based on fresh interviews and meticulous research. The book is as much about the legends of the sport, from Pelé to Messi, as it is about the nations that made them, from Mussolini’s Italy to partitioned Germany to controversy-ridden Qatar.    Brimming with politics, heart, and drama, on and off the pitch, The Power and the Glory is the definitive story of the greatest cultural event of our time.

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Brazil's Dance with the Devil - Dave Zirin Cover Art

Brazil's Dance with the Devil

Brazil's Dance with the Devil The World Cup, The Olympics, and the Struggle for Democracy by Dave Zirin

One of the Boston Globe 's Best Sports Books of the Year: "Incisive, heartbreaking, important and even funny" (Jeremy Schaap, New York Times –bestselling author of Cinderella Man ).   The people of Brazil celebrated when it was announced that they were hosting the World Cup—the world's most-viewed athletic tournament—in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics. But as the events were approaching, ordinary Brazilians were holding the country's biggest protest marches in decades. Sports journalist Dave Zirin traveled to Brazil to find out why. In a rollicking read that travels from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the fabled Maracanã Stadium to the halls of power in Washington, DC, Zirin examines Brazilians' objections to the corruption of the games they love; the toll such events take on impoverished citizens; and how taking to the streets opened up an international conversation on the culture, economics, and politics of sports. "Millions will enjoy the World Cup and Olympics, but Zirin justly reminds readers of the real human costs beyond the spectacle." — Kirkus Reviews

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Arsenal - Anton Rippon Cover Art

Arsenal

Arsenal The Story of a Football Club in 101 Lives by Anton Rippon

A history of the Gunners told through in-depth biographies of the team's key players on and off the pitch, from its late 19th century beginnings to today. Arsenal: The Story of a Football Club in 101 Lives tells the history of the team through the biographies of key individuals associated with the club from its formation in the gas-lit days of Victorian Britain through to the present day. From David Danskin, the Scottish mechanical engineer and footballer who was the driving force behind the team raised at Dial Square, a workshop at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, to Arsene Wenger, the longest-serving and most successful manager in Arsenal's history. The in-depth stories of the characters—players, managers, chairmen—here paint a fascinating picture of how the club—indeed, the game of football itself—has developed from workers playing for fun to today's multi-million-pound business.

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The Big Bounce - Alan Rothenberg Cover Art

The Big Bounce

The Big Bounce The Surge That Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer by Alan Rothenberg

"Alan Rothenberg was just what soccer needed in the 1990s. Like any true visionary, he had the ability to look around corners and peer into the future and see things that others didn't." — Alexi Lalas, from his foreword A whirlwind, insider account of soccer's hard-won growth in the United States  as told by industry veteran and Major League Soccer founder Alan Rothenberg Recent years have brought home a startling truth: soccer is no longer an also-ran among top U.S. sports.  How did we get here? How did we go from having multiple professional soccer leagues flounder  to having Major League Soccer prove to its doubters that it's here to stay? How did we evolve  from barely having a Women's National Team  to a golden era of women's soccer with a captivating style of play, great stars, and unforgettable moments? It took great  belief  as well as power, tenacity, and and a willingness to approach the sport through the lens of big business. In the crucial fifteen years when US soccer made its most important moves— from 1984 to 1999— the pivotal figure behind the scenes was Alan Rothenberg:  soccer commissioner for the 1984 Olympics, chairman of the men's World Cup in 1994, president of U.S. Soccer from 1990 to 1998, founder of Major League Soccer, and chairman of the 1999 Women's World Cup. Rothenberg tells his story for the first time in this definitive account of the Big Bounce that propelled American soccer out of its Wild West past and into the international elite ranks, sharing little-known details of what really happened and why, from the radical to the farcical. As U.S. soccer fans gear up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil, The Big Bounce chronicles an era of foundational growth for this rapidly growing sport.

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Standing Alone - Sam Lee, Daniel Taylor & Oliver Kay Cover Art

Standing Alone

Standing Alone Stories of Heroism and Heartbreak from Manchester City's 2020/21 Title-Winning Season by Sam Lee, Daniel Taylor & Oliver Kay

A team of writers for The Athletic chronicles Manchester City Football Club's 2020–2021 season and their return to the top in this collection of articles. In season 2020/21, as Premier League football struggled to find its feet, one team rose above all others.  Standing Alone  is the story of Manchester City's return to the pinnacle of English football and their journey to a first Champions League final. An irresistible team, led by the greatest coach of his generation, Pep Guardiola, fighting not only for all four trophies, but for a place in history. Throughout this extraordinary season of breathtaking football, they were followed by another team of elite talents, carefully assembled to leave the competition trailing in their wake: the sportswriters of  The Athletic.  The result is an immersive, real-time account of an untouchable Premier League win, yet another League Cup triumph and, finally, crushing defeat as history beckoned in the final of the Champions League.  The Athletic  team tell this story through expert analysis and exclusive interviews with players and staff; pivotal games in the season are brought to life; key characters are profiled, including Sergio Aguero, a legend whose time is running out, and Ruben Dias, emerging as England's Player of the Year. If you are a Manchester City fan, a fan of the scintillating football they play, or just a fan of great sportswriting, you'll want to replay a unique season with  Standing Alone .

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Liverpool - Anton Rippon Cover Art

Liverpool

Liverpool The Story of a Football Club in 101 Lives by Anton Rippon

A history of the team as told through stories of 101 players and managers who guided it through lows and highs to success. Liverpool: The Story of a Football Club in 101 Lives  tells the history of the Anfield club through the biographies of key individuals associated with the Merseysiders from their formation in the gas-lit days of Victorian Britain through to the present day. From John Houlding, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool who was the founder of the club in controversial circumstances, to their greatest manager Bill Shankly, and the great players who have worn the famous red shirt throughout its history, the in-depth stories of the characters— players and managers—here paint a fascinating picture of how the club—indeed, the game of football itself—has developed from workers playing for fun to today's multi-million-pound business. "This wonderful book looks specifically at 101 men who have dominated the club and its successes and failures from the club's formation through to the present day. No self-respecting Liverpool fan should be without this book!" —Books Monthly

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Three Lions On The Shirt - Dave Bowler Cover Art

Three Lions On The Shirt

Three Lions On The Shirt Playing for England by Dave Bowler

The first critical biography of the English national football team. From Stanley Matthews to Bobby Moore to Michael Owen, all the icons of the English game have worn the famous white shirt. It is those players and their achievements that make the shirt special and still make England the nation the rest of the world wants to beat. Three Lions on the Shirt is a history of the England team throughout the last century. From back in the days when players received a match fee of 10/- for an international, and were selected from the likes of Wednesday Strollers, Clapham Rovers and Darwen, through the post-war humiliation at the hands of the USA and Hungary to England's finest moment in 1966; from the disappointment of the seventies and the eighties to the relative renaissance of the nineties, Dave Bowler chronicles the vicissitudes of a team lambasted and worshipped in equal measure. Three Lions on the Shirt is the first critical biography of the national team: it features original interviews with over fifty plays and managers, past and present, including Tom Finney, Geoff Hurst, Gary Lineker, Rodney Marsh, Cyrille Regis, Les Ferdinand, the Neville brothers and Paul Merson.

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Travels with Nelson - David Smith & Nelson Ruseler-Smith Cover Art

Travels with Nelson

Travels with Nelson A Father-Son journey to the World Cup by David Smith & Nelson Ruseler-Smith

Father and son make a dream come true by going to World Cup 2014 for a month together, seeing games from day one all the way to the Final. Experience the high and lows with them, as Mum's country reaches the Final; as Dad's country goes out disastrously ; as Nelson's Team USA challenges the world's best; as they have their match tickets stolen; as they drive through a flood with fans of the opposing team; as they play Soccer in the Maracana, walk out on the hallowed pitch, and meet the next Messi; as they laugh, cry, celebrate and mourn. This is a book not just for all football fans -- but for every parent and child who dream of an adventure together. All of it written by Dad, a lifelong journalist, and son Nelson, a High School freshman.

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The Club - Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg Cover Art

The Club

The Club How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports by Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg

The Club is the inside story of how English soccer’s Premier League became the wildest, richest, most popular sports product on the planet, "a narrative that is part Great Expectations, part Game of Thrones, in equal measure." (Roger Bennett, NBC Sports, Men in Blazers)   This is a sports and business tale of how money, ambition, and twenty-five years of drama remade an ancient institution into a twenty-first-century entertainment empire. No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly two hundred countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul. Deeply researched and drawing on one hundred exclusive interviews, including the key decision makers at every major English team, The Club is the definitive and wildly entertaining narrative of how the Premier League took over the world.

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The Long Game - Leander Schaerlaeckens Cover Art

The Long Game

The Long Game U.S. Men's Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts by Leander Schaerlaeckens

The gripping account of the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s winding saga from obscurity to the global stage as they stand on the brink of a seminal World Cup in 2026 For almost half a century, the U.S. men’s national team existed on the fringes of world soccer—out of sight, out of mind, and, more often than not, out of the World Cup. Between 1950 and 1990, the program toiled in irrelevance, a collection of part-timers playing before empty bleachers. Then, things began to shift, and today’s U.S. men’s team is loaded with young and pedigreed talent, expected to make its mark at the 2026 World Cup. The story of this team’s rise to prominence is a dramatic journey, with setbacks, buffoonery, misunderstandings, glory, and a wide, eccentric, talented cast of characters. With unprecedented access to former and current national team players, coaches, and administrators, Schaerlaeckens traces the sport’s evolution in the U.S.—from its outsider status to its modern foothold—and the challenges that have shaped the men’s national team along the way. From systemic obstacles in youth development to an American sports culture that expects instant dominance, he explores why success has been elusive, and why that might finally be changing.  With insight, wit, and razor-sharp storytelling, The Long Game is an unforgettable look at the past, present, and uncertain future of American soccer— and the team that could redefine it all.

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The Ball is Round - David Goldblatt Cover Art

The Ball is Round

The Ball is Round A Global History of Soccer by David Goldblatt

The definitive book about soccer, from the author of The Games: A Global History of the Olympics. There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of soccer are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final. In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.

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How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius - Nick Greene Cover Art

How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius

How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius What Architects, Stuntwomen, Paleoanthropologists, and Computer Scientists Reveal About the World's Game by Nick Greene

A brilliant and entertaining deconstruction of the most popular sport in the world, just in time for the 2026 World Cup in North America, from the bestselling author of How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius After reading this fun book, you’ll never look at soccer the same way again. In How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius, Nick Greene calls on a turf manager, an expert on color theory, and a landscape historian to understand the field itself, a paleoanthropologist to talk kicking, and an Anglican priest to explain schisms—how American football, soccer, and rugby could all develop from the field games of rowdy 19th-century British schoolboys. Greene delves deep into what defines the game, how it developed, and what happens during a match’s 90 minutes (and then some). His expert commentators include a domino toppler, a developmental neuroscientist, an art historian, a civil engineer, and more. Along the way, Greene reveals how understanding the hidden logic of the game—from the science of a perfect kick to the design of the pitch—can transform the way you watch, making every pass, play, and decision more meaningful. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or new to the sport, this is a book that deepens your appreciation of what’s happening on the field and why it matters. On the surface, soccer seems like the simplest of games: one ball, two teams, two goals, and (preferably) some grass. There’s a reason it’s the first team sport little kids learn to play. But the closer you look, the more you dig into the game’s history, the more infinitely complex and complex the picture becomes.  

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The Real Madrid Handbook - Rab MacWilliam Cover Art

The Real Madrid Handbook

The Real Madrid Handbook A Concise History of Real Madrid by Rab MacWilliam

The ultimate guide to Real Madrid. The Real Madrid Handbook is an entertaining compendium of fascinating facts, match coverage, stories, personalities and trivia from the biggest club team on the planet. Rab MacWilliam traces the history of Real Madrid from the early 20th century, examining its progress in the domestic cup and league, and analyses the impact that the Republic, the Spanish Civil War and the repressive authoritarian aftermath had on the club. He relates how the stunning success in European football in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s was one of the factors that helped to ease Spain's integration into Europe and explores the club's rise to become one of the most skilful and dominant teams in the global game over the last thirty years. Fascinating, informative, irreverent and insightful, The Real Madrid Handbook is the perfect guide to the history of this extraordinary club.

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Whatever It Takes - Bonita Mersiades Cover Art

Whatever It Takes

Whatever It Takes The Inside Story of the FIFA Way by Bonita Mersiades

As the 2022 World Cup nears, this book has lost none of its relevance or power. It remains the only book written by an insider about the corrupt 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process. In the years since the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, many fine legal minds, investigators, journalists and others have attempted to find out just how Russia, and especially Qatar, managed to pull it off. As with almost everything to do with the entire World Cup bidding process conducted by FIFA, there is even more to the story than merely about how two nations won. Much more. This book lifts the lid on how a bid for the greatest show on earth, the FIFA World Cup, works from the inside - an inside that involves what is now known as the murky, corrupt goings-on of world football administration. As US Senator Richard Blumenthal said, comparing FIFA to the mafia "is almost insulting to the mafia". It's the inside story of a losing bid team and the characters around it. It's the inside story of how the 'FIFA Way' - as former US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch referred to it - works. And it shows that when it comes to the greatest prize in world football some people will do whatever it takes.

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Perfect Pitch - Nate Bukaty & Rustin Dodd Cover Art

Perfect Pitch

Perfect Pitch How Kansas City Became the Heart of American Soccer and Landed the World Cup by Nate Bukaty & Rustin Dodd

When the World Cup comes to the United States in the summer of 2026, it will be the first time the tournament has been played in America in 32 years. It will also be the first time the tournament is held in Kansas City, Missouri, For Kansas City, it will be one of the biggest moments in the city's history. It will also be the culmination of a decades-long story: How Kansas City, an overlooked city in the Midwest, became the heart of American soccer. In Perfect Pitch, Nate Bukaty and Rustin Dodd chronicle this surprising and delightful evolution, tracing the history of soccer in Kansas City and how that history laid the foundation for a group of local sports executives, city officials, politicians, and rabid fans to lead an improbable bid to host the World Cup. A true underdog tale, Kansas City's emergence as a soccer capital is symbolic of the larger national story of how America grew from a soccer-skeptical nation to a country with its own unique and vibrant footballing culture. Featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to key figures who spurred this soccer renaissance, Perfect Pitch is a heartwarming romp for fans of the beautiful game.

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Solo - Hope Solo Cover Art

Solo

Solo A Memoir of Hope by Hope Solo

The Glass Castle meets A League of Their Own in Solo, a candid and moving memoir about family, loss, and reconciliation from Hope Solo, the supremely talented, headline-making goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national soccer team. During the 2011 Women’s World Cup, Solo became an idol, role model, and sex symbol to a new generation of young American sports enthusiasts, inspiring the kind of intense devotion not seen since the days of Mia Hamm. An Olympic gold medalist and arguably America’s sexiest athlete, Hope has been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated (twice), in ESPN: The Magazine, and as a contestant on the hit ABC television show Dancing with the Stars, and her poignant, compelling, and profoundly inspiring personal history will score big with her legion of fans.

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Among the Thugs - Bill Buford Cover Art

Among the Thugs

Among the Thugs by Bill Buford

They have names like Barmy Bernie, Daft Donald, and Steamin' Sammy. They like lager (in huge quantities), the Queen, football clubs (especially Manchester United), and themselves. Their dislike encompasses the rest of the known universe, and England's soccer thugs express it in ways that range from mere vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities. Now Bill Buford, editor of the prestigious journal Granta, enters this alternate society and records both its savageries and its sinister allure with the social imagination of a George Orwell and the raw personal engagement of a Hunter Thompson.

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Soccer Rules and Positions In A Day For Dummies - Michael Lewis & United States Soccer Federation, Inc. Cover Art

Soccer Rules and Positions In A Day For Dummies

Soccer Rules and Positions In A Day For Dummies by Michael Lewis & United States Soccer Federation, Inc.

Soccer basics in a day? Easy. Do you get a kick out of soccer, but need to brush up your knowledge on the key elements of the game? Look no further! Soccer Rules & Positions In A Day For Dummies quickly brings you up to speed on one of the most popular sports in the world. From essential information on the sport to expert coverage of the game's rules, regulations, and players, this book provides invaluable insight to new and veteran fans alike. The essential information you need to understand and enjoy soccer Expert coverage of the game's rules and regulations Helpful breakdowns of soccer positions and their roles in offense and defense Online component takes readers beyond the book with bonus content and features Get set to impress your friends with your newfound knowledge in no time!

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Solo - Hope Solo Cover Art

Solo

Solo A Memoir of Hope by Hope Solo

"My family doesn't do happy endings. We do sad endings or frustrating endings or no endings at all. We are hardwired to expect the next interruption or disappearance or broken promise." 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. But her journey—which began in Richland, Washington, where she was raised by her strong-willed mother on the scorched earth of defunct nuclear testing sites—is similarly haunted by the fallout of her family history. Her father, a philanderer and con man, was convicted of embezzlement when Solo was an infant. She lost touch with him as he drifted out of prison and into homelessness. By the time they reunited, years later, in the parking lot of a grocery store, she was an All-American goalkeeper at the University of Washington and already a budding prospect for the U.S. national team. He was living in the woods. Despite harboring serious doubts even about the provenance of her father's last name (and her own), Solo embraces him as fiercely as she pursues her dreams of being a world-class soccer player. When those dreams are threatened by her standing within the national team, as when she was famously benched in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup after four shutouts and spoke her piece publicly, we see a woman of uncompromising independence and hard-won perseverance navigate the petty backlash against her. For the first time, she tells her version of that controversial episode, and offers with it a full understanding of her hard-scrabble life. Moving, sometimes shocking, Solo is a portrait of an athlete finding redemption. This is the Hope Solo whom few have ever glimpsed. Signed poster inside.

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The Keeper - Tim Howard Cover Art

The Keeper

The Keeper A Life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them by Tim Howard

In this inspiring, down-to-earth memoir the revered goalkeeper and American icon  idolized by millions worldwide for his dependability, daring, and humility recounts his rise to stardom at the 2014 World Cup, the psychological and professional challenges he has faced, and the enduring faith that has sustained him. In The Keeper, the man who electrified the world with his amazing performance in Brazil does something he would never do on a soccer field: he drops his guard. As fiercely protective about his privacy as he is guarding the goal on the field, Howard opens up for the first time about how a hyperactive kid from New Jersey with Tourette’s syndrome defied the odds to become one of the world’s premier goalkeepers. The Keeper recalls his childhood, being raised by a single mother who instilled in him a love of sports and a devout Christian faith that helped him cope when he was diagnosed with Tourette’s in the fifth grade. He looks back over his fifteen-year professional career—from becoming the youngest player to win MLS Goalkeeper of the Year to his storied move to the English Premier League with Manchester United and his current team, Liverpool’s Everton, to becoming an overnight star after his record-making performance with the United States Men’s National Team. He also talks about the things closest to his heart—the importance of family and the Christian beliefs that guide him. Told in his thoughtful and articulate voice, The Keeper is an illuminating look at a remarkable man who is an inspirational role model for all of us. The Keeper is illustrated with two 8-page color photo inserts. Go behind the scenes of a legendary career and discover the faith that fueled it: A Story of Overcoming Adversity: Howard’s unfiltered account of growing up with Tourette’s Syndrome and OCD, and how he turned his challenges into strengths on the world stage. The 2014 World Cup: A thrilling, firsthand look at his record-breaking 15-save performance against Belgium that turned him into an American icon overnight. Life in the Premier League: Candid stories from his time with two of the world’s biggest clubs, Manchester United and Everton, from locker room tensions to championship glory. Unshakable Christian Faith: An honest reflection on how his devout faith has been his anchor through professional pressure, personal struggles, and the highs and lows of a life in the spotlight.

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Coming Out to Play - Robbie Rogers & Eric Marcus Cover Art

Coming Out to Play

Coming Out to Play by Robbie Rogers & Eric Marcus

A history making memoir of the first openly gay professional athlete in North America, now the producer of Fellow Travelers and My Policeman “Rogers made history.” — Sports Illustrated Robbie Rogers knows better than most that keeping secrets can crush you. But for much of his life Robbie lived in paralyzing fear that sharing his big secret would cost him the love of his family and his career as a professional soccer player. So he never told anyone what was destroying his soul, both on and off the field. While the world around Robbie was changing with breathtaking speed, he knew that for a gay man playing a professional team sport it might as well be 1958. He could be a professional soccer player.  Or he could be an out gay man. He couldn’t do both.  Then at the age of twenty-five and after nearly stepping away from a brilliant career—one that included an NCAA Championship, winning the MLS Cup, and competing in the Olympics—he chose to tell the truth. But instead of facing the rejection he feared, he was embraced—by his family, by his teammates, and his fans.  In Coming Out to Play, Robbie takes readers on his incredible journey from terrified teenager to a trailblazing out and proud professional soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, who has embraced his new identity as a role model and champion for those still struggling with the secrets that keep them from living their dreams.

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The Numbers Game - Chris Anderson & David Sally Cover Art

The Numbers Game

The Numbers Game Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong by Chris Anderson & David Sally

Moneyball meets Freakonomics in this myth-busting guide to understanding—and winning—the most popular sport on the planet. Innovation is coming to soccer, and at the center of it all are the numbers—a way of thinking about the game that ignores the obvious in favor of how things actually are. In The Numbers Game , Chris Anderson, a former professional goalkeeper turned soccer statistics guru, teams up with behavioral analyst David Sally to uncover the numbers that really matter when it comes to predicting a winner. Investigating basic but profound questions—How valuable are corners? Which goal matters most? Is possession really nine-tenths of the law? How should a player’s value be judged?—they deliver an incisive, revolutionary new way of watching and understanding soccer.

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So Paddy Got Up - Andrew Mangan, Amy Lawrence, Philippe Auclair, Paolo Bandini, Michael Cox, Nigel Brown, James McNicholas, Leanne Hurley, Tom Clark, Tim Clark, Jim Haryott, Stuart Stratford, Sian Ranscombe, Andrew Allen, Jake Morris, Julian Harris, Kieron O'Connor, Tim Stillman, Tim Bostelle, Tim Payton, Chris Harris, Nick Ames, Tim Barkwill, John Cross, Jonathan Swan & David Faber Cover Art

So Paddy Got Up

So Paddy Got Up An Arsenal Anthology by Andrew Mangan, Amy Lawrence, Philippe Auclair, Paolo Bandini, Michael Cox, Nigel Brown, James McNicholas, Leanne Hurley, Tom Clark, Tim Clark, Jim Haryott, Stuart Stratford, Sian Ranscombe, Andrew Allen, Jake Morris, Julian Harris, Kieron O'Connor, Tim Stillman, Tim Bostelle, Tim Payton, Chris Harris, Nick Ames, Tim Barkwill, John Cross, Jonathan Swan & David Faber

So Paddy Got Up is a unique collection of writing about Arsenal Football Club. Edited by Andrew Mangan, founder of Arseblog, it features bloggers, writers and journalists reminiscing, eulogising, analysing and waxing lyrical about everything from the club’s humble origins to where it finds itself now, from great players to great managers, from tactics to fans to stadia to kits, amongst many other things. It’s by far the greatest Arsenal anthology the world has ever seen.

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Why Soccer Matters - Pelé & Brian Winter Cover Art

Why Soccer Matters

Why Soccer Matters A Look at More Than Sixty Years of International Soccer by Pelé & Brian Winter

Pelé—legendary footballer and humanitarian—explores the sport’s recent history and shares his most inspiring experiences, heartwarming stories, and hard-won wisdom. “I know in my heart that soccer was good to me, and great to the world....I saw, time and again, how the sport improved countless millions of lives, both on and off the field. For me, at least, that’s why soccer matters.” The world’s most popular sport goes by many names—soccer, football, the beautiful game—but fans have always agreed on one thing: The greatest player of all time was Pelé. Before Messi, before Ronaldo, before Beckham, Pelé had a stunning twenty-year career, where he was heralded as an international treasure. His accomplishments on the field proved to be pure magic: an unprecedented three World Cup championships and the all-time scoring record, with 1,283 goals. Since retiring, he has traveled the world as soccer’s global ambassador, relentlessly promoting the positive ways soccer can transform young men and women, struggling communities, even entire nations. This is Pelé’s legacy, his way of passing on everything he’s learned and inspiring a new generation. In Why Soccer Matters , Pelé details his ambitious goals for the future of the sport and, by extension, the world.

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Beckham - David Beckham & Tom Watt Cover Art

Beckham

Beckham Both Feet on the Ground: An Autobiography by David Beckham & Tom Watt

Perfect for fans of the hit Netflix docuseries, Beckham. The autobiography of arguably the world’s most celebrated sports icon, David Beckham—a classic rags to riches saga of a boy, born into a poor East End London family, with prodigious talent and a father who believed in him and supported him until he became the most gifted athlete of his generation and his nation’s captain. In his own words, Beckham talks about the pressures of celebrity, his controversial and celebrated career, his marriage to Victoria Beckham and family, and, of course, life as the world’s best-known soccer player. In Beckham, the ordinary guy who fate decided would be lifted to glory tells the story of how it all happened. How does a boy from the East End become a global icon, England captain, and half of the world’s most famous celebrity couple? The Class of ’92: The inside story of his legendary journey at Manchester United under the guidance of iconic manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Captain of England: The pride and pressure of leading his nation on the world's biggest stage, from the heartbreak of the 1998 World Cup to glory. Posh and Becks: A candid look at his marriage to Victoria Beckham, life in the celebrity spotlight, and his devotion to his family. Transfer to Real Madrid: The stunning, behind-the-scenes story of his controversial departure from the club he loved and the next chapter of his celebrated career. Both Feet on the Ground: The real story from the man himself—a tale of hard work, loyalty, and the unshakable belief that took a boy from East London to global stardom.

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Red Card - Ken Bensinger Cover Art

Red Card

Red Card How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World's Biggest Sports Scandal by Ken Bensinger

The definitive, shocking account of the FIFA scandal—the biggest corruption case of recent years—involving dozens of countries and implicating nearly every aspect of the world’s most popular sport, soccer, including the World Cup is “an engrossing and jaw-dropping tale of international intrigue…A riveting book” ( The New York Times ). The FIFA case began small, boosted by an IRS agent’s review of an American soccer official’s tax returns. But that humble investigation eventually led to a huge worldwide corruption scandal that crossed continents and reached the highest levels of the soccer’s world governing body in Switzerland. “The meeting of American investigative reporting and real-life cop show” ( The Financial Times ), Ken Bensinger’s Red Card explores the case, and the personalities behind it, in vivid detail. There’s Chuck Blazer, a high-living soccer dad who ascended to the highest ranks of the sport while creaming millions from its coffers; Jack Warner, a Trinidadian soccer official whose lust for power was matched only by his boundless greed; and the sport’s most powerful man, FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who held on to his position at any cost even as soccer rotted from the inside out. Remarkably, this corruption existed for decades before American law enforcement officials began to secretly dig, finally revealing that nearly every aspect of the planet’s favorite sport was corrupted by bribes, kickbacks, fraud, and money laundering. Not even the World Cup, the most-watched sporting event in history, was safe from the thick web of corruption, as powerful FIFA officials extracted their bribes at every turn. “A gripping white-collar crime thriller that, in its scope and human drama, ranks with some of the best investigative business books of the past thirty years” ( The Wall Street Journal ), Red Card goes beyond the headlines to bring the real story to light.

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Lionel Messi - Belmont & Belcourt Biographies Cover Art

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi An Unauthorized Biography by Belmont & Belcourt Biographies

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of his generation. In fact, although still so young, he has been dubbed by many fellow professionals as "The Best Player to Ever Grace the Sport." Most fans are aware of his successes on the field, but in order to truly understand Lionel Messi, you must first understand where he came from. Lionel Messi: An Unauthorized Biography explores Messi's upbringing and details his breakthrough onto the world stage, all the way through his 2012 loss to Real Madrid. Messi's exceptional talents have fans and critics alike wondering where his career will take him next. Inside, you will discover where it all started and learn why so many fans love Messi so much. From family to soccer to the future, all you need to know about Lionel Messi is right here, right now, in the most up to date coverage of Lionel Messi's life. This book also includes all of Lionel Messi’s statistics.

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KISS: Keep it Simple Soccer: How to coach youth soccer - John Barry Cover Art

KISS: Keep it Simple Soccer: How to coach youth soccer

KISS: Keep it Simple Soccer: How to coach youth soccer by John Barry

Keep it Simple Soccer was written to provide a new coach with all the information they need to manage and coach youth soccer at a basic level in a short amount of time.

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Wayne Rooney: My Decade in the Premier League - Wayne Rooney Cover Art

Wayne Rooney: My Decade in the Premier League

Wayne Rooney: My Decade in the Premier League by Wayne Rooney

‘My Decade in the Premier League’ is Wayne’s first hand account of his 10 years playing at the highest level in English football – and for the biggest club in the world. This is his inside story of life on the pitch for Manchester Utd; the League titles, FA Cups, League Cups and Champions League adventures. A must for any Utd fan. Wayne Rooney is widely regarded as one of the leading football players of his generation. A talisman for Manchester United, since his transfer to them in 2004, Rooney is their star player and the first name on the team sheet. In the 10 years since he made his debut as a 16 year old for Everton, he has acquired trophy after trophy, accolade after accolade and headline after headline. ‘My Decade in the Premier League’ is the inside account of life as a Premier League footballer from the man every one wants to hear from. This is his story, in his words. From gracing the ground at Goodison as an excitable 16 year old to lifting the Champions League trophy with Manchester United. From the emotional high of scoring the winner against Manchester City with that overhead bicycle kick to the crushing low of the thrashing City handed out at Old Trafford in the 2011-12 season. This is a book for the fan who would kill to get just 30 seconds on the pitch at The Theatre of Dreams – to run on the famous turf and score in front of the Stretford End. ‘My Decade in the Premier League’ gives a real insight in to what goes in to being part of the biggest club in the world; the training pitch, the dressing room, the manager, the coaches and, most importantly, the buzz of crossing that white line and hearing the 76,000 strong crowd chant your name. In intricate, emotional detail Wayne talks about every season he has spent in the Premier League and how it feels to be one the most celebrated footballers on the planet. About the author Wayne Rooney was born in Liverpool in October 1985. He was only nine when he was spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton playing for boys' club Copplehouse in the local Walton and Kirkdale Junior League. In his last season with them he scored 99 goals before joining the Everton academy. He was the youngest scorer in Premier League history in 2002, at the age of 16, and the youngest to score for England, age 17. He joined Manchester United in August 2004 for a fee of £20 million. He has 27 international caps and 10 goals to date.

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Pray - Nick Hornby Cover Art

Pray

Pray Notes on a Football Season by Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby, author of the bestselling soccer classic Fever Pitch , offers an insightful account of an extraordinary sports season. Concentrating on a number of significant games in British soccer during the 2011–2012 season, Hornby chronicles the emotional, political, and societal highlights and woes that played out on the field. There were alleged racist clashes, revealing the deep cultural fissures still present in British life. There was a fairy-tale return for the legendary Thierry Henry, and the terrifying collapse of Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba, clinically dead for seventy-eight minutes after a heart attack. Throughout, Hornby delves into the impact of the economy on the beloved sport of Britain. As sheikhs and oligarchs buy and sell teams and players at astronomical financial levels, other teams are left behind to struggle with diminished talent. And as income inequality hits all-time highs worldwide, so it does in British soccer. It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. By the end, in May 2012, fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked, and enraged. Along the way, soccer had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law, and matters of life and death. Read all about it, and relive it, here.

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Coaching Kids to Play Soccer - Kurt Aschermann Cover Art

Coaching Kids to Play Soccer

Coaching Kids to Play Soccer by Kurt Aschermann

COACHES AND PARENTS OF SOCCER PLAYERS OF ALL LEVELS, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Revised and updated with new information, drills, diagrams, and photos, this friendly, easy-to-use, fully illustrated guide shows coaches how to run a successful soccer team -- no matter how much experience they have or what level of soccer they coach. From building a roster to making sure everyone has a ride home at the end of the game and everything in between: • SETTING UP THE FIRST PRACTICE • TEACHING THE BASICS • DEVELOPING SKILL THROUGH DRILLS AND EXERCISES • LEARNING THE RULES • ENCOURAGING FAIR PLAY AND HEALTHY COMPETITION Emphasizing that kids should have fun, stay active, and learn about team spirit and competition, win or lose, the authors detail every step of building a soccer team that plays well and plays healthy, while having a great time. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the game, Coaching Kids to Play Soccer has the answers to every coach's questions. Don't start the season without it!

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Masters of Modern Soccer - Grant Wahl Cover Art

Masters of Modern Soccer

Masters of Modern Soccer How the World's Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game by Grant Wahl

How do some of soccer’s smartest and most accomplished figures master the craft of the game? This in-depth analysis of modern soccer reveals how elite players and coaches strategize on and off the field to execute in high-pressure situations.   “A worthy addition to any soccer fan’s shelf.”— The Wall Street Journal In Masters of Modern Soccer, America’s premier soccer journalist, Grant Wahl, reveals what players and managers are thinking before, during, and after games and delivers a true behind-the-scenes perspective on the inner workings of the sport’s brightest minds.    Wahl follows world-class players from across the globe, examining how they do their jobs and gaining deep insight from the players on how goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards function individually and as a unit to excel and win. He also shadows a manager and director of soccer as they juggle the challenges of coaching, preparation, and the short- and long-term strategies of how to identify and acquire talent and deploy it on the field.    These central figures share the little details that matter, position by position:   • Attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic explains why he wears his soccer cleats a size too small to make his first touch even better.  • Forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández reveals the Mexican national team’s secret synchronized patterns that create space for him in front of the goal.  • Defender Vincent Kompany tells you why his teammates’ pressure on the ball means he can defend his man more tightly in the penalty box.  • Defensive midfielder Xabi Alonso describes his disdain for slide tackles and the tendency among even the best professional midfielders to play too closely to one another.  • Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer tells the origin story of his sweeper-keeper role, which has allowed him to redefine the position for the modern game.  • Head coach Roberto Martínez explains the differences between coaching clubs and national teams and why one of the first things he looks for in any game situation is numerical advantage.  • Director of football Michael Zorc discusses what he looks for when it comes to identifying players he can buy low and sell high, Moneyball -style, while still competing to win trophies.  The definitive analysis of the craft of soccer, Masters of Modern Soccer will change the way any fan, player, coach, or sideline enthusiast experiences the game.

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Assumptions - Melanie Codina Cover Art

Assumptions

Assumptions by Melanie Codina

What happens when a girl, set on playing by the rules ... finds a guy worth breaking them for? Leeann Bradley is a college graduate who has achieved many of her personal goals, all because she follows the rules she's set for herself. It's simple. You work hard, enjoy life, surround yourself with friends and family, avoid jumping to conclusions ... and oh yeah, don't date jocks. These rules have worked well and have taken her down the path she wants in life. So what's a girl to do when temptation, in the form of a sexy college soccer player, is placed right in the middle fo that path? Deciding when to break the rules has never been easier for Leeann. But when assumptions are made, adn more than just the rules are broken ... will she be able to find her way down that path again? And what happens when it's no longer the path she's meant to take? Until now, Jonathan Baxter had one primary focus in his life, soccer. All decision made have been based on how it could affect his ability to play. His grades, his choice of college, any type of extracurricular activities, were all carefully assessed. All of it has made playing college soccer possible. But when an injury sidelines him for the forseeable future, and jeopardizes his dreams, he has to work even harder than before. Rehabilitating his injury becomes his primary objective. Until he meets Leeann, a physical therapy assistant whose touch has the ability to make him lose focus. She has him thinking there could be more in his life--in his future--than just soccer. So what's Jonathan to do when Leeann assumes he's just like every other jock out there? He has to prove her assumptions wrong. You know what they say about people who assume, right? So what do you do when you find yourself doing just that ... making assumptions, only to find out just how wrong you were.

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Zonal Marking - Michael W. Cox Cover Art

Zonal Marking

Zonal Marking From Ajax to Zidane, the Making of Modern Soccer by Michael W. Cox

An “excellent” ( New Yorker ) history of European soccer, showing how shifting styles and influence have shaped the game In the early 1990s, the Dutch footballing philosophy was worshipped across the continent. Then the baton passed to the Italians, who clearly boasted Europe's strongest league. But when France started winning everything at the international level its national academy became the template for others, until suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Europe's most revered player and manager both hailed from Portugal. Next, Barcelona and Spain won everything during a very obvious four-year period of dominance, before tiki-taka's decline meant Bayern and Germany took control. Finally, Europe's most successful coaches found themselves competing in England, introducing a brilliant cacophony of styles to the Premier League. Zonal Marking is a glorious travelogue through soccer's triumphant styles and characters.

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Go For The Goal - Mia Hamm & Aaron Heifetz Cover Art

Go For The Goal

Go For The Goal A Champion's Guide To Winning In Soccer And Life by Mia Hamm & Aaron Heifetz

For the more than seven million girls—from knobby-kneed tykes to high school and college stars—who are tearing across the country chasing a soccer ball and dreams of glory, there is one name that eclipses all others, male or female: Mia Hamm. With her cheetahlike acceleration and lightning-bolt shot, Hamm broke nearly every record in her sport, while galvanizing a whole generation of fans and players. Go for the Goal is not only the inspiring story of how a tiny suburban sprite became a global terror with a ball (and the world) at her feet—it's also a step-by-step or dribble-by-dribble guide for any kid with the all-American dream of making the team and becoming a champion. Filled with personal anecdotes and fully illustrated with both action and instructional photographs, Go for the Goal shows readers exactly how to master the silky skills and techniques that made Hamm and her teammates the finest women's soccer team in the world.

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The Modern Soccer Coach 2014: A Four Dimensional Approach - Gary Curneen Cover Art

The Modern Soccer Coach 2014: A Four Dimensional Approach

The Modern Soccer Coach 2014: A Four Dimensional Approach by Gary Curneen

Over the last 20 years, no sport has changed more than soccer. The modern player is technically more capable, physically faster and stronger, and has access to more coaching and sports science resources than ever before. With the high rewards associated with success, there has never been more pressure on coaches to win, develop players, and play soccer the ‘right way’. Aimed at Soccer coaches of all levels and with players of all ages and abilities The Modern Soccer Coach 2014 identifies the areas that must be targeted by coaches who want to maximize a team’s potential – the Technical, Tactical, Physical, and Mental sides to the game. Written by UEFA ‘A’ and NSCAA Premier licensed coach Gary Curneen – The Modern Soccer Coach 2014 offers contemporary focused and distilled insight into what soccer coaches need to do, and how! Filled with practical no-nonsense explanations, focused players drills and more than 30 illustrated soccer templates, The Modern Soccer Coach 2014 will help you – the modern coach - to create team performances that win match after match! - Understand how the game has changed and what areas determine success in the game today. - Create modern exercises that focus on tactical, technical, mental, and physical elements of the game. - Learn what sets coaches like Mourinho, Klopp, Rodgers, and Guardiola apart from the rest. - Develop a competitive and enjoyable atmosphere for yourself and your players. - And much more!

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The Beckham Experiment - Grant Wahl Cover Art

The Beckham Experiment

The Beckham Experiment How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America by Grant Wahl

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The book that rocked the sports world with its explosive revelations of a bitter feud between David Beckham and American star Landon Donovan—and how they overcame their differences to lead the L.A. Galaxy to the championship final, now updated with a new Afterword “Far more than merely a soccer book, The Beckham Experiment brilliantly explores—and exposes—that odd place where sports and celebrity collide.”—Jeff Pearlman, author of Boys Will Be Boys   In 2007, David Beckham shocked the international sports world when he signed a five-year contract with an American team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Could he pull off what no player had ever accomplished and transform soccer into one of the most popular spectator sports in America? It was a bold experiment: failure meant a team, a league, a sport, and Beckham himself might miss their chance to hit primetime in the U.S. With unprecedented access to the Galaxy and one-on-one interviews with Beckham, veteran Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl provides behind-the-scenes accounts, on the road with the team and inside the locker room, to reveal just what happened on and off the field when the most renowned player in the world left the glamour of European soccer to play in a country that has yet to fully embrace the sport   With The Beckham Experiment, Wahl presents a vivid account of ego clashes and epic winless streaks, rivalries and resentments, big gambles and great expectations, cultural and class collisions, and ultimately the volatile mix of celebrity and professional sports that was the Beckham experiment.

49

Cristiano Ronaldo - Guillem Balagué Cover Art

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo The Award-Winning Biography by Guillem Balagué

The definitive award-winning biography of Cristiano Ronaldo - fully updated to include the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo's explosive exit from Manchester United and his record-breaking transfer to Al-Nassr As the Qatar World Cup opened to worldwide jubilation, Cristiano Ronaldo's second spell at Manchester United reached an abrupt conclusion. It was not to be the fairy tale ending to a glittering career. Instead, over the two seasons, it had snowballed into a toxic standoff between himself, the board and newly appointed manager, Erik ten Hag. The Theatre's dream was over. On 22 November 2022, Ronaldo's contract was terminated. In this compelling account, Guillem Balagué draws on impeccable sources, first-hand interviews and unprecedented access, taking us on a journey from Madeira to Manchester, and onto Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia. From Ronaldo's tutelage under Sir Alex Ferguson to becoming the biggest galáctico of them all at Real Madrid, and captaining Portugal to the first silverware in their history at the UEFA Euro 2016, Guillem chronicles Ronaldo's career in its entirety. This is nothing less than the definitive portrait of a true icon of modern football, who has reached the very heights of the beautiful game and cemented his place as one of the greatest players of all time.

50

How To Watch Football - Tifo - The Athletic Cover Art

How To Watch Football

How To Watch Football 52 Rules for Understanding the Beautiful Game, On and Off the Pitch by Tifo - The Athletic

'I love Tifo' Ian Wright 'Tifo are great' Alan Shearer 'Tifo have changed the game when it comes to football analysis' Elis James RULE #1: DON'T WATCH THE BALL Yes, football is about stars, goals and glory. But it's also about the intense calculations and movements being made by the twenty-one other players on the pitch. It's about the ticking clock, and the bellowing fans, and their impact on player psychology. It's about the coach, the club owner, and the director of football, who are watching, scouting and scheming from the side-lines. It's about money and data, about geopolitics and architecture, and even about climate change. Football is the most popular sport in the world, and Tifo Football is one of the world's most popular football channels. In this short, illustrated guide, its creators share fifty-two simple 'rules' for understanding and enjoying the beautiful game-both on and off the pitch. Covering the key concepts, tactics and philosophies that are shaping the sport today, How to Watch Football reveals surprising new perspectives on familiar elements of gameplay, while highlighting lesser-known aspects of the industry and its history. Whether you're a casual fan or a football obsessive, the fifty-two golden rules in this pocket-size guide will deepen your delight in the world's favourite sport.

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