On a sweltering day in May 2010, Blackpool achieved the impossible dream. The Seasiders booked their ticket to the Premier League in a thrilling play-off final win, with all the riches that came with it. Twenty-four hours later, while everybody else was celebrating, the Oystons were meeting to plan how they would take it. Ian Holloway and his side fought bravely for survival, becoming the nation's second team with their swashbuckling style. Behind the scenes, the club was falling apart. Buckets collected rain leaking through the training ground roof. The manager's office could have the heat or lights on, just not at the same time. The Oystons paid themselves nearly GBP30m. It took five years for Blackpool to suffer three relegations back to the basement of the Football League. When fans hit back, they were sued. Chairman Karl Oyston told a fan he was on a 'never ending revenge mission'. How Not to Run a Football Club is the inside story of how one family nearly ran a football club to its death. And how a community brought it back.

Tracing Canadian men's soccer's emergence from global obscurity to international powerhouse, featuring insight from star players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. The last time Canada qualified for a men's World Cup was in 1986. For a generation afterwards, the Canadian national men's soccer team struggled in obscurity, an afterthought in a country that was not yet soccer-mad. The twenty-first century brought a wave of soccer passion and expertise to this frozen country -- and a crop of new superstar players who lifted the forgotten team into the international spotlight. Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David are now internationally known names, and soccer a national obsession. Through interviews with players and coaches, Joshua Kloke tracks the rise of men's soccer in Canada from darkness to the world stage in 2022. This is the inside story of how the best team in Canadian soccer history grew from disappointment to international fame.

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.

'Illuminated by finely turned phrases and vivid insights' - Richard Williams, Guardian Sports Books of the Year. Thierry Henry - gifted, charismatic and a genuinely world-class footballer - has passed into Arsenal legend as the hero of a team that finally ended Manchester United's dominance. But as he approached the autumn of his career, Thierry's crown began to slip - from the infamous 'Hand of Gaul' incident to a dismal World Cup 2010 campaign. Suddenly, a player who Arsene Wenger once dubbed 'the greatest striker ever', a man who had spent his career at the very top of the game, began to learn how lonely such a position could be. Drawing from numerous interviews and impeccable sources, as well as his own observations over the course of Henry's entire career, award-winning author Philippe Auclair has produced the most complete portrait of the Arsenal hero ever to be written. Clear-eyed, lyrical and passionately argued, Thierry Henry: Lonely at the Top is as raw, shocking and thought-provoking as it is celebratory of Henry's outstanding flair and talent.

Whether it was helping Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win three consecutive NBA titles in the 1990s, or showing up to a book signing in a dress and full makeup, Dennis Rodman has always distinguished himself as one of the great and most polarizing personalities in the sports world. The controversial and flamboyant former basketball star is back in the national spotlight once again with I Should Be Dead By Now. This riveting book from the two-time best-selling author details Rodman's struggles in life since he stopped playing in the NBA, including the breakup of his marriage to movie and TV star Carmen Electra, and his problems with alcohol. I Should Be Dead By Now is a look at the life of one of America's most recognizable sports stars as he journeys beyond the court and into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

"Take a minute to slip into the mind of one of the world's greatest soccer players and imagine a stadium around you. Picture a performance under the lights and mentally play the perfect game."

Technique, speed and tactical execution are crucial components of winning soccer, but it is mental toughness that marks out the very best players - the ability to play when pressure is highest, the opposition is strongest, and fear is greatest. Top players and coaches understand the importance of sport psychology in soccer but how do you actually train your mind to become the best player you can be?

Soccer Tough demystifies this crucial side of the game and offers practical techniques that will enable soccer players of all abilities to actively develop focus, energy, and confidence. Soccer Tough will help banish the fear, mistakes, and mental limits that holds players back. Soccer psychology consultant Dan Abrahams shares the powerful techniques that have helped him develop reserve team players to become international players, and guided youth team players from slumps to first team contracts.

Covering the mental triumphs of some of the world's leading players - Soccer Tough will help you become the best player you can be. Soccer Tough is for amateur and professional players of all levels, as well as coaches. This book explores how the best soccer players in the world think and gives the reader step-by-step ways to do the same.

John Harris's arrival at Bramall Lane laid the foundations for the appearance of some of the greatest players in Sheffield United's history. In his second full season in charge, the Blades were promoted back to the first division. Ain't Got a Barrel of Money is the story of Harris and those who came after him, building a team that would challenge for a place in Europe, the decline that followed and the inevitable sale of many of the club's finest players. In 1975, they finished sixth in Division One, playing some of the most exciting football in the country. Currie, Woodward, Colquhoun, Speight, Hemsley and Badger were all household names. But within six years Sheffield United had gone from the brink of greatness to the ultimate humiliation - relegation to the fourth division, for the first and only time in the club's wonderful history. Filled with anecdotes and memories from many of those who were there, both on the field and on the terraces, this book captures the highs and lows of being a Sheffield United fan.

'The definitive work on Diego Maradona' The 42 'One of football's greatest stories ... this is the best football book in ages' Goal 'A modern footballing classic' FHM _________________________ Anyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a football player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on November 25th 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup. Having gained access to his inner circle, Jimmy Burns traces Maradona's life from the slums of Buenos Aires, where he was born, through his great years of triumph, to the United States from where, in 1994, he was ignobly expelled after undergoing a positive drugs test. He also tells of his failed attempt to bring further glory to Argentina as coach in the 2010 World Cup, and ultimately, his tragic decline and recent death. Widely regarded as the best and most revealing account of the highs, lows, genius and flaws of arguably the greatest footballer of all time, this biography inspired Asif Kapadia's award-winning 2019 film Diego Maradona. _________________________ 'Excellent and well-researched' Sunday Times 'I finished it thinking how great it would be to make something on Diego Maradona one day' Asif Kapadia, director of Diego Maradona

Racism and English Football: For Club and Country analyses the contemporary manifestations, outcomes and implications of the fractious relationship between English professional football and race. Racism, we were told, had disappeared from English football. It was relegated to a distant past, and displaced onto other European countries. When its appearance could not be denied, it was said to have reappeared. This book reveals that this was not true. Racism did not go away and did not return. It was here all along. The book argues that racism is firmly embedded and historically rooted in the game's structures, cultures and institutions, and operates as a form of systemic discrimination. It addresses the ways that racism has tainted English football, and the manner in which football has, in turn, influenced racial meanings and formations in wider society. Equally, it explores how football has facilitated forms of occupational multiculture, black player activism and progressive fan politics that resist divisive social phenomena and offer a degree of hope for an alternative future. Focusing on a diverse range of topics, in men's and women's football, at club and international level, Racism and English Football extends and expands our knowledge of how racism occurs and, critically, how it can be challenged. This is an essential read for scholars and students working on race, ethnicity, sport and popular culture, together with those interested in the social and organisational dynamics of English professional football more generally.

This book explores issues related to the abuse of referees and match officials in sport. Drawing on original empirical research in football, rugby union, rugby league and cricket, it provides an insight into the complexities involved in the recruitment, retention and development processes of match officials from across the global sports industry. Using an evidence-based approach, the book examines why abuse occurs, the operational environments in which match officials operate, and underlying issues and trends that cut across sports and therefore can be linked to wider societal trends. It challenges global sport policy and discusses the development of an inclusive, cohesive and facilitative environment for match officials, players, coaches and spectators to ensure the future provision of global sport. Referees, Match Officials and Abuse is an invaluable resource for all students, scholars and national governing bodies of sport with an interest in match officials, sports governance, sport policy, sport management and the sociology of sport.

This book assesses association football's history and development in Ireland from the late 1870s until the early twenty-first century. It focuses on four key themes-soccer's early development before and after partition, the post-Emergency years, coaching and developing the game, and supporters and governance. In particular, it examines key topics such as the Troubles, Anglo-Irish football relations, the failure of a professional structure in the Republic and Northern Ireland, national and regional identity, relationships with other sports, class, economics and gender. It features contributions from some of today's leading academic writers on the history of Irish soccer while the views of a number of pre-eminent sociologists and economists specialising in the game's development are also offered. It identifies some of the difficulties faced by soccer's players and administrators in Ireland and challenges the notion that it was a 'garrison game' spread mainly by the military and generally only played by those who were not fully committed to the nationalist cause. This is the first edited collection to focus solely on the progress of soccer in Ireland since its introduction and adds to the growing academic historiography of Irish sport and its relationship with politics, culture and society. The chapters in this book were originally published an a special issue in Soccer & Society.

'The Europe of football' is one of the aspects of the history of European integration that has generated the smallest amount of academic research. However, the successive invention of sporting traditions with a European calling since the Belle Epoque, followed by the creation of various European cups during the interwar constitute at the same time an original form of 'Europe-building' and a lasting contribution to the creation of a European space and spirit. The target of the authors in this book is to look back on the genesis of European competitions that leads to the creation of the European cups now organised by UEFA. It also seeks to show how football has made possible the setting up of a partially transnational space through sports journalism. Lastly, through the study of the mobility and connections of football's actors, the different chapters will also try to identify the various phases of football's Europeanisation process on the old continent. It will lay strong emphasis on the anthropological, cultural, economic, political and social aspects of this history, notably the production of body techniques, representations, emblematic figures, consumption habits and their role in the larger context of international relations. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in History.

Even people who don't know football know Pele. The best of a generation of Brazilian players universally acknowledged as the most accomplished and attractive group of footballers ever to play the game, he won the World Cup three times and is Brazil's all-time record goalscorer. But how did this man -- a sportsman, a mere footballer, like many others -- become a global icon? Was it just by being the best at what he did, or do people respond to some other quality? The world's greatest footballer now gives us the full story of his incredible life and career. Told with his characteristic grace and modesty, but covering all aspects of his playing days and his subsequent careers as politician, international sporting ambassador and cultural icon, PELE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY is an essential volume for all sports fans, and anyone who admires true rarity of spirit.

This book assesses the transformation of football fan culture from a gender perspective. Referring to the notions of homosociality, hegemonic masculinity and performative perspectives on gender and fandom, it investigates the processes of women entering the world of football fandom. Drawing on multidimensional qualitative and quantitative research, the book analyses different aspects of female fandom, such as women's socialisation to be a fan, building their sense of fan identity, ways of performing fandom, and gender. Also, it explores the response of male fans by shedding light on the sense-making process of a growing number of female fans in the stands and its consequences for prevailingly male football culture. This study stands out for its richness and diversity of empirical material used in order to make a significant contribution to our understanding of social dynamics related to the changing nature of female football fandom. The book is fascinating reading for researchers and students in a broad range of areas, including gender studies, sociology of sport, football, women's studies and Central Eastern European studies. It is also a valuable resource for scholars, and football and club authorities who have an interest in understanding the development of female football fandom and its impact on the male fandom community.

2021 saw the centenary of the formation of the League of Ireland, the Republic of Ireland's primary professional association football league. This new collection draws on the work of a number of leading historians of Irish soccer and seeks to examine a number of previously under-researched aspects relating to the league. The book examines the initial growth of clubs in Dublin and the Free State League's early turbulent history, while the impact of Irish players and administrators on the development of soccer clubs at home and abroad is also assessed. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, players continued to move from Dublin clubs to those in Northern Ireland and this is also discussed, particularly in light of the Troubles of 1968-1998. Despite the migration of many Irish-born players to Britain, the League of Ireland has also attracted internationally based players and the impact of this is also examined. The role of the league in the provision of players for the Irish Olympic team is also explored, as is the work of SARI in its attempts to eradicate racism from Irish sport. This publication aims to commemorate some of those who have strived to maintain the League of Ireland's presence against the backdrop of what has become the world's most attractive football league, located in Ireland's neighbour, England. It will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of Sports, History, Sociology and Politics. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal, Soccer & Society.

As the digital revolution continues apace, emergent technologies and means of communication present new challenges and opportunities for the football industry. This is the first book to bring together key contemporary debates at the intersection of football studies, leisure studies, and digital cultural studies. It presents cutting edge theoretical and empirical work based around four key themes: theorizing digital football cultures; digital football fandom; football and social media; and football (sub)cybercultures. Covering topics such as transnational digital fandom, online abuse, and gender, Digital Football Cultures argues that we are witnessing the hyperdigitalization of the world's most popular sport. This book is a valuable resource for students and researchers working in leisure studies, sports studies, football studies, and critical media studies, as well as geography, anthropology, criminology, and sociology. It is also fascinating reading for anybody working in sport, media, and culture.

The definitive biography of Cristiano Ronaldo, named Football Book of the Year at the Cross Sports Book Awards 2016 Fully updated to include the 2017-18 season and Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time, a dream he pursued from the age of just twelve when he left his humble origins on Madeira behind. It wasn't long before he had the biggest clubs in Europe knocking on his door, but it was Manchester United who won the race for his signature. Under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo developed into the complete footballer and athlete, winning three league titles and a Champions League along the way. He then became the biggest galactico of them all when he transferred to Real Madrid for a record-breaking fee. Unprecedented success in the Champions League and a record-equalling five Ballons d'Or followed, before his sensational move to Juventus in the summer of 2018. Guillem Balague, respected football journalist and expert on the Spanish game, provides the definitive account of a twenty-first-century footballing icon.

The Emergence of Football fuses sports history into mainstream economic, social and cultural history, setting the development of the people's game against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. The book challenges conventional histories of nineteenth-century football that surrounded mass games and the public schools and extends the revisionist critique of those histories with the imaginative use of new and original empirical evidence. It outlines the continuing presence of a working-class footballing culture across the century, arguing that the structure of football was a product of industrialisation, urbanisation and population growth that had resulted in a far-reaching restructuring of the class system and urban hierarchies. It was these new hierarchies and class system that gave birth to professional football by the late 1870s. It is essential reading for students of sports studies, economic, social and cultural history, urban and local history, and sociology, as well as a valuable resource for scholars and academics involved in the study of football across the world. This is an absorbing and fascinating read for any of the millions of fans of the game who are interested in the early history of football.

This book presents an overview on sport history research in Europe by giving insights into various topics between Europes south and north. Examples are physical activities in the middle ages in Cordoba, bullfighting in Spain, aspects of football in various countries to winter sports in France. Football is mainly looked at in the period of the late 1930s to the 1940s, a period of dictatorship in many European countries. This is shown at the example of the German press coverage of German-Danish sport collaborations and the identity of Spanish football during this time. A further focus are the Olympic Games. This topic is taken up in two articles: One discusses as its main subject the famous painting 'Sport Allegory/The Crowing of the Athletes' created by the father of Pierre de Coubertin, the other one has a more current content and shows stakeholders and challenges of the European Youth Olympics in 2015. Besides these broad topics, a focus is put on research in sport history by reflecting on historical frameworks and various methodological approaches. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue in The International Journal of the History of Sport.

WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2022 - SPORT 'This book is a work of art about football's works of art... Loved it.' - Kevin Day, broadcaster 'A beautiful showcase of such a distinctive part of the game's culture... impossible not to get lost in the book' - Miguel Delaney, The Independent 'Gorgeous to behold... Unmissable' - Danny Kelly, TalkSPORT radio presenter 'I absolutely love this book' - Jules Breach, football presenter On high-rise buildings, street corners and stadium walls in countries around the world, eye-catching murals pay tribute to footballing greats. From Messi and Ronaldo to Rapinoe and Cruyff, these striking displays are remarkable testaments to the awe and affection fans feel for these football legends and cult heroes. Join renowned football writer and broadcaster Andy Brassell as he explores this fascinating phenomenon. Offering a fresh, highly visual perspective on the global game, Football Murals is the first book to celebrate these towering works of art. Beckenbauer and Cruyff, Rooney and Ronaldinho, Totti and Salah, Zlatan and Zidane - being honoured with a mural cements a player's place in a club's heritage and links them to the heart of the community. This richly illustrated book showcases the most impressive examples, explores their inspirational qualities and examines what they say about these icons and their sport. Written and curated by respected football writer Andy Brassell, this ground-breaking book features more than 100 murals from around the world, capturing the scale, grandeur and wit of this powerful and popular art form. Through a series of short essays and extended captions, Andy shares the players' stories, discusses the cultural politics and explains just why these men and women have been immortalised in mural form. Covering such diverse topics as Home Town Glory, Football Fame and The Cult of the Coach, Football Murals addresses the issues important to fans worldwide. It spans Marcus Rashford's inspirational mural in a Manchester suburb, the George Best tribute on the East Belfast estate where he was born, the 15-foot depiction of Megan Rapinoe in St Paul, Minnesota, and the Naples 'shrine' to Diego Maradona.

In a world where so many books by and about footballers are little more than bland PR exercises, Full Timebreaks the mould decisively. Stripping away the facade of what we think life must be like for an international football star, Paul Kimmage reveals a different story when it comes to Irish footballer Tony Cascarino. Scarred by his childhood, haunted by indiscretion and troubled by a secret from his past, Cascarino is struggling to find answers as he speeds towards the most terrifying juncture in sport: the end. As Cascarino opens up about his fears, crippling loss of confidence and sexual indiscretion, no wonder The Timesvoted it one of the Top Ten football books of all time and Eamon Dunphy said of it: 'If it were fiction this book could win the Booker Prize.'

Comprehensive and thorough exploration of components in elite and professional football. Present's a great level of real world, practical information associated with research, specifically discussing job duties, with attention to different areas of sport and how to use the technology in the field All contributors are leading practitioners working in elite soccer

This handy guide to the greatest carnival of kick-a-ball the planet has ever seen won't just give you all the essential factual dope, but will dare to tell you all the things others won't.

The Scottish Cup: Celtic's Favourite Trophy is the story of Celtic's love affair with football's oldest prize. The club first won the cup in 1892, an achievement that meant so much to the young side and their struggling, oppressed community. In the years that followed this special trophy became entwined with the club's identity through many unforgettable moments. Jimmy Quinn scored the first hat-trick in a Scottish Cup final in 1904, there was Patsy Gallacher's extraordinary goal in 1925, a record attendance when Celtic lifted the cup in 1937, Willie Wallace's brace of goals en route to Lisbon in 1967, two remarkable comebacks in the 1980s, and Odsonne Edouard's heroic turnaround in 2019. The book goes beyond the cup finals, recalling the tough games in the early rounds, including the more spectacular encounters with Rangers and Aberdeen. Romance, drama and passion are all bound up in Celtic's annual quest for the cup, involving great players, from the Sandy McMahon era to the days of Scott Brown.