Liverpool FC On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the club's glorious past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable diary of Reds history - with an entry for every day of the year. From the acrimonious Victorian foundation of the club to the 21st century's heady European and FA Cup victories, the Anfield faithful have witnessed the First Division triumphs of the '20s and '40s turn into an avalanche of silverware in the '60s, '70s and '80s - and they have also witnessed tragedies. Pivotal days in history which saw the airing of 'You'll Never Walk Alone', the completion of multifarious Doubles and Trebles and the shock retirement of Bill Shankly all form a backdrop against which Liverpool greats - Kevin Keegan, Ian Rush and Billy Liddell, Steven Gerrard, Tommy Smith and Kenny Dalglish - loom larger than life.

Magical Magyars tells the remarkable story of the legendary Hungarian football team of the 50s, a side whose breathtaking technical skills and passing-and-movement style of play changed the very way the sport was played. Author David Bailey traces the team's origins and details how communist Hungary, a tiny nation impoverished and subjugated by one of the most brutal Stalinist regimes in the Soviet empire, was able to produce a football team that was the envy of the sporting world, and so very nearly world champions. Captained by the genius that was Ferenc Puskas, the Magical Magyars walked a tightrope between being the regime's darlings and providing the beleaguered Hungarian people with a sense of national pride during their darkest days. The team enthralled, dominated and revolutionised world football - until its own demise was brought about by a revolution of a different kind. Weaving in threads of friendship and betrayal, tactics and politics, the quest for glory and upheaval, here is a football story quite unlike any other.

Liddell at One Hundred celebrates the life of Liverpool and Scotland legend Billy Liddell. Born in Fife in 1922, Billy made the move from Scotland to Liverpool at 16, but the Second World War delayed his debut. After serving in the RAF as a navigator, he returned to football and won the league with Liverpool in his first full season with the club after the war. A diehard Red, Billy spent his whole career with the club, scoring 228 times in 534 appearances between 1938 and 1961. He remains the oldest goalscorer in Liverpool's history and their fourth-highest scorer of all time. Liddell spent a decade playing for Scotland and has the honour - alongside Stanley Matthews - of being one of only two men to represent a Great Britain XI more than once. A true sportsman and consummate professional, he was never booked or sent off in his entire footballing career. Liddell at One Hundred brings you the inside story of his life from those who knew him best - friends, supporters, family members and former team-mates.

What is talent? How do you get the best out of yourself? What are the secrets of leadership? In Edge, Ben Lyttleton gets unprecedented access to some of the world's top football clubs to discover their innovative methods for developing talent - and reveals how we can use them in our everyday lives. Elite teams now look for an edge by improving the intangible skills of their players 'above the shoulder'. Liverpool's approach to talent will make you more creative. Chelsea's culture will improve your resilience. Didier Deschamps will improve your leadership skills. Xavi Hernandez will help you make better decisions. But how? Football is the most hot-housed, intense, financially profitable talent factory on the planet. It's time we woke up to the lessons it can provide. We all want to have an edge. This is your chance to find one...

A Deeper Shade of Blue charts the tumultuous years of Chelsea Football Club between 1972 and 1977 when the glittering cup-winning side of the early 70s was broken up, and stars such as Peter Osgood and Alan Hudson departed, along with manager Dave Sexton. It was an era that saw Chelsea relegated to the Second Division while massive debts pushed them to the brink of extinction. But the Blues bounced back with the birth of Eddie McCreadie's brash, young and exciting side, led by the precociously talented Ray 'Butch' Wilkins. McCreadie guided the club back to the First Division only to leave acrimoniously in bizarre circumstances - a golden opportunity spurned by the club's owners. A Deeper Shade of Blue is the eagerly awaited sequel to Neil Fitzsimon's Rhapsody in Blue. It reveals how the author made the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood as a Chelsea supporter during those turbulent times. We discover how the innocence of youth was replaced by the harsh experience of growing up in 1970s England.

Football has never seemed so distant from its fans. Many have been alienated by the greed and shameless self-interest of the Premier League, and no one can predict how the global game will look post-pandemic. In Whose Game Is It Anyway?, Sunday Times best-selling author Michael Calvin searches for a reason to believe. Written at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, the book is a thought-provoking, deeply personal account of the role sport - and particularly football - plays in everyday life. Part memoir, part manifesto, it takes the reader on a tour of the world's greatest sporting occasions and into its outposts in sub-Saharan Africa, the Amazon Basin and the Southern Ocean. Drawn from Calvin's experience as an award-winning sportswriter, covering every major sports event over 40 years in more than 80 countries, it offers first-hand insight into such icons as Muhammad Ali, Maradona and Sir Bobby Charlton. With settings ranging from a jungle clearing to a township in apartheid South Africa, this is sport as you've never seen it before.

The outspoken anonymous author is back with the ultimate book to challenge conventional footballing wisdom. With his trademark wit, intelligence and candour, the Secret Footballer will guide you through formations, tactics, mind games and everything else you need to know about what it takes to be a pro. Includes: in-depth analysis of modern tactics; insight into the psychology of players on and off the pitch; tips on nutrition and fitness; how to deal with fans (including what it's like to play in each Premier League ground in England); a guide to modern footballing language; and a remarkable expose of the finances involved in the commercial game. If you want to know how to stop a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, or why exactly Rooney is worth GBP300,000 a week, or who the greatest player of all time is, you will find it all here. Fully illustrated with line drawings showing the technical aspects of the game, this will be the perfect Christmas gift for aspiring football stars and armchair pundits alike.

If you attend a soccer match in Buenos Aires of the local Atlanta Athletic Club, you will likely hear the rival teams chanting anti-Semitic slogans. This is because the neighborhood of Villa Crespo has long been considered a Jewish district, and its soccer team, "Club Atletico Atlanta," has served as an avenue of integration into Argentine culture. Through the lens of this neighborhood institution, Raanan Rein offers an absorbing social history of Jews in Latin America.
Since the Second World War, there has been a conspicuous Jewish presence among the fans, administrators and presidents of the Atlanta soccer club. For the first immigrant generation, belonging to this club was a way of becoming Argentines. For the next generation, it was a way of maintaining ethnic Jewish identity. Now, it is nothing less than family tradition for third generation Jewish Argentines to support "Atlanta." The soccer club has also constituted one of the few spaces where both Jews and non-Jews, affiliated Jews and non-affiliated Jews, Zionists and non-Zionists, have interacted. The result has been an active shaping of the local culture by Jewish Latin Americans to their own purposes.
Offering a rare window into the rich culture of everyday life in the city of Buenos Aires created by Jewish immigrants and their descendants, "Futbol, Jews, and the Making of Argentina" represents a pioneering study of the intersection between soccer, ethnicity, and identity in Latin America and makes a major contribution to Jewish History, Latin American History, and Sports History.

Bursting with action-packed pictures, fascinating facts, stats, trivia and vital World Cup information, The Big Book of the World Cup is the perfect companion to the greatest sporting show on earth. The book features an in-depth guide to each of the 32 competing nations, profiles of the star players who will be there plus a tour of Russia looking at the large geographical setting and the wonderful stadiums which will provide the backdrop for the 2018 tournament. There's a detailed analysis of England's chances under Gareth Southgate, a look at the strong challenge from traditional powerhouses Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina and a full array of the star players who will light up the tournament. Plus, the book includes a brilliant fixtures guide and scorechart to be filled in as the tournament progresses, as well as a complete TV viewing guide.

The Albion Miscellany collects together all the vital information you never knew you needed to know about West Brom. In these pages you will find irresistible anecdotes and the most mindblowing stats and facts. Heard the one about the Albion star who thought there was a different, hotter sun on a pre-season trip to Portugal? How about the winger who bought a shed off a fan during a series of corners? Or the GBP2 million acquisition who turned out to be Cyrille Regis's nephew? Do you know who gave rise to the club's 'Baggies' nickname? Why Albion officials painted a match ball with gold and stuck a stuffed thrush on top? Or which club record Lateef Elford-Alliyu holds? All these stories and hundreds more appear in a brilliantly researched collection of trivia - essential for any Baggies fan who holds the riches of the club's history close to their heart.

This book presents a state-of-the-art overview of the science underpinning talent identification and development in the world's most popular sport. It covers a broad range of topics that span the various sub-disciplines of sports science with contributions from some of the foremost scientists and applied practitioners globally. The chapters provide readers with a comprehensive insight into how sport science is helping practitioners to create more evidence-based approaches when attempting to identify and develop future generations of elite players rather than relying on tradition and precedence. The book dispels some of the myths involved in talent identification and highlights how science is playing an ever-increasing role in guiding and shaping the practices used at the most renowned professional clubs across the globe. It is a must-read for anyone involved in the game at any level including sports scientists, medical staff, coaches, and administrators. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Sports Sciences.

The worlds best soccer players are incredibly fit, fast, lean, and strong. Achieving this level of athleticism requires a rigorous soccer fitness training program applying the most effective drills, exercises, and core training methods. In Soccer: Functional Core Training, the authors present numerous drills for this training. Based on the latest the findings in sports science and on the authors long-term coaching experience, they present an extensive practical guide to help you improve your teams performance through core training, soccer specific exercises, and drills. The exercises can be used for amateurs and professional players, youth and adults alike. Your players can learn how to score the most exciting and acrobatic goals, how to tackle without fouling, and how to avoid injuries. The drills in the book create typical match situations to help your team prepare for the game and stay motivated. Many of the fitness exercises require no extra equipment and rely only on bodyweight, thus targeting many different muscles at once. The book is easy to use on the pitch and the ideal tool to turn youth players into the next Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The classic winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 'None matches this global examination for originality, breadth and sheer courage' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'If you like football, read it. If you don't like football, read it' THE TIMES Throughout the world, football is a potent force in the lives of billions of people. Focusing national, political and cultural identities, football is the medium through which the world's hopes and fears, passions and hatreds are expressed. Simon Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them. At the same time he tried to find out what lies behind each nation's distinctive style of play, from the carefree self-expression of the Brazilians to the anxious calculation of the Italians. During his journeys he met an extraordinary range of players, politicians and - of course - the fans themselves, all of whom revealed in their different ways the unique place football has in the life of the planet.

The 1988 cult classic behind football's data analytics revolution, now back in print with a new foreword and preface. Data analytics have revolutionized football. With play sheets informed by advanced statistical analysis, today's coaches pass more, kick less, and go for more two-point or fourth-down conversions than ever before. In 1988, sportswriters Bob Carroll, Pete Palmer, and John Thorn proposed just this style of play in The Hidden Game of Football, but at the time baffled readers scoffed at such a heartless approach to the game. Football was the ultimate team sport and unlike baseball could not be reduced to pure probabilities. Nevertheless, the book developed a cult following among analysts who, inspired by its unorthodox methods, went on to develop the core metrics of football analytics used today: win probability, expected points, QBR, and more. With a new preface by Thorn and Palmer and a new foreword by Football Outsiders's Aaron Schatz, The Hidden Game of Football remains an essential resource for armchair coaches, fantasy managers, and fans of all stripes.

Stuck On You charts the history of football stickers in the UK - those little bundles of self-adhesive joy that have given so much to so many since Panini burst on to the scene in the late 1970s. Immerse yourself in a story of bitter rivalry, media moguls and the seedy underbelly of what can be a surprisingly murky business. Discover how upstarts Merlin took on the might of Panini and beat them at their own game - only for the Italian giants to hit back with the weight of nostalgia behind them. But ultimately you're invited to wallow in wistful memories of swapping in the school playground, shinies and recurring doubles. Featuring interviews with many of the industry's leading historical players and images from some familiar and lesser-known collections, Stuck On You is a must-read for anyone who has ever spent months, if not years, hankering after the St Mirren badge.

This quiz book covers the fascinating journey of Hibernian Football Club throughout the past 142 years. Offcial club historian Tom Wright has used his comprehensive knowledge of the sport and the team to devise over 600 questions spanning from the early days of the club to the present. This is the perfect book for fans of all ages to learn more about the history of one of Scotland's greatest football teams.

No Longer Naive is an in-depth look at the history of African football at the game's greatest showcase event. As football grew globally over the 20th century and the World Cup became the zenith of the sport internationally, Africa was left trailing, both through a lack of organisation and exclusion by the powers that be. In 1974, Africa's 'best' team, Zaire, were humiliated on the world stage, creating a negative perception of African football. Teams from Africa were often labelled naive in their approach to football, but gradually African nations repaired their reputation. This led to increased participation, vastly improved players and famous victories over the world's best - culminating in the tournament being hosted on the continent for the first time in 2010. However, while great strides have been made on the pitch, greed, in-fighting, violence and the whiff of corruption behind the scenes have undermined progress. African sides are no longer naive, but are we any closer to seeing a team from Africa lift the World Cup?

If you attend a soccer match in Buenos Aires of the local Atlanta Athletic Club, you will likely hear the rival teams chanting anti-Semitic slogans. This is because the neighborhood of Villa Crespo has long been considered a Jewish district, and its soccer team, "Club Atletico Atlanta," has served as an avenue of integration into Argentine culture. Through the lens of this neighborhood institution, Raanan Rein offers an absorbing social history of Jews in Latin America.
Since the Second World War, there has been a conspicuous Jewish presence among the fans, administrators and presidents of the Atlanta soccer club. For the first immigrant generation, belonging to this club was a way of becoming Argentines. For the next generation, it was a way of maintaining ethnic Jewish identity. Now, it is nothing less than family tradition for third generation Jewish Argentines to support "Atlanta." The soccer club has also constituted one of the few spaces where both Jews and non-Jews, affiliated Jews and non-affiliated Jews, Zionists and non-Zionists, have interacted. The result has been an active shaping of the local culture by Jewish Latin Americans to their own purposes.
Offering a rare window into the rich culture of everyday life in the city of Buenos Aires created by Jewish immigrants and their descendants, "Futbol, Jews, and the Making of Argentina" represents a pioneering study of the intersection between soccer, ethnicity, and identity in Latin America and makes a major contribution to Jewish History, Latin American History, and Sports History.

Watford FC On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the club's rollercoaster past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable Hornets diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's formation in 1881 through to the Premier League era, the Vicarage Road faithful have witnessed promotions and relegations, breathtaking Cup runs and title tilts - all featured here. Timeless greats such as John Barnes, Luther Blissett and Tony Coton, John McCelland, Ross Jenkins and Duncan Welbourne all loom larger than life. Revisit 27 August 1927, Watford's first game in blue after changing from black-and-white stripes. 15th April 1969: victory over Plymouth gained the club's first promotion to the second tier. Or 14th May 1983, when Watford beat Division One champions Liverpool in the season's final game to claim runners-up spot!

Football in Europe has undergone massive changes over the last decade. Regulating Football gets behind the headlines to look at the impact of ever increasing commercialisation and the commodification of football. The essence of the book is football as it is played, refereed, managed, bought, sold and consumed: the authors capture the life and action of the game as seen from the perspective of the numerous participants and place these experiences within a sociological, economic and legal context which reflects the increasing commodification of the sport. Exploring the ways in which the game is regulated, the authors question whether we have reached the point where commercial issues have superseded the club - and even the game of football itself. The role of players, agents, officials, governing bodies, and the media are all explored. The authors pay attention to levels of violence and racism both on and off the field in both the professional and amateur forms of the game.

*OUT NOW* THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Neville at his authentic best. [He] is the closest thing to a spokesman there is for English football.' Sunday Times 'Brilliant.' Mail on Sunday 'Gary Neville usually talks a lot of sense, and writes it too . . . Neville's words are timely.' Henry Winter, The Times 'The People's Game is [Gary's] call to mend football, harmed by the greed and selfishness of bigger clubs and associations.' Radio Times __________ The beautiful game is under threat. The greed and selfishness of the biggest clubs is harming the sport, with smaller clubs struggling for financial survival and supporters being left behind. It's time to fix football. __________ Football is the people's game. A sport accessible to everyone and enjoyed by millions around the world. But football is broken. Beneath the glamourous sheen of the Premier League, it's a game that's rusting and rotten. The growing influence and wealth of the biggest teams is harming the game, leaving fans out of pocket and smaller clubs clinging to survival. The European Super League, which looked to eradicate competition in favour of guaranteed profits, was just the beginning. This isn't what football is about. Something's got to change. Enough is enough. Gary Neville has had a front-row seat in football for over 30 years, witnessing the sport at every level - as a player, a coach, a pundit and an owner. Most of all, he's a fan. Shocked by the state of the game, Gary looks to find out how we got into this mess, who's responsible, and what we can do about it. The People's Game is Gary's vision for a brighter future. Drawing on interviews with those at the epicentre of the sport's biggest issues - from the role of ownership to the lack of funding in the football league, the rise in racism, ownership models and the future of the women's game - he explains how football has sleepwalked into this mess and offers a new path forward. With stories from his own playing career, as well as insight into some of the biggest footballing decisions in recent history, this is a total look at the game today. This is a passionate, personal and critical account of how football lost its soul, and what we can do to get it back. __________