First and Last: How I Made European History With Hibs is the fascinating autobiography of Jackie Plenderleith, the only surviving player from the first British side to compete in the European Cup. A graceful yet tough-tackling defender, Jackie takes us back to 1955 and describes what it was like for a 17-year-old coal miner's son to witness first-hand the awkward birth of the global phenomenon now known as the Champions League and his role in helping Hibernian reach the semi-finals. The former Scotland international relives his time playing alongside the Edinburgh club's legendary 'Famous Five' forward line, and reveals how it felt to line up against the incomparable Ferenc Puskas twice in the space of two days while in South Africa. Captain of the British Army team during his national service, a team-mate to Denis Law at Manchester City and the proud possessor of international caps from schoolboy to senior level, Jackie played an important part in football's past and, with typical good humour, he has plenty to say about its future.

Stoke City: Minute by Minute takes you on a tumultuous journey through the Potters' remarkable history. Relive all the breathtaking goals, heroic penalty saves, Wembley wins, game-changing incidents, sending offs and other memorable moments in this unique by-the-clock guide. From the glory days of Stanley Matthews, the celebrated Tony Waddington era, Lou Macari's beloved team, Tony Pulis's promotion to the Premier League and Mark Hughes's 'Stokealona' side, this book covers everything. Featuring goals from Freddie Steele, Jimmy Greenhoff, John Ritchie, Mark Chamberlain, Mark Stein, Mike Sheron, Peter Thorne, Ricardo Fuller and Peter Crouch, plus countless others - the book is crammed with thrilling memories from kick-off through to the final whistle. Revisit the Potters' most spectacular modern feats and learn things you didn't know about the club's incredible past - from goals scored in the opening seconds to those last-gasp, extra-time winners that have thrilled generations of fans at the Victoria Ground and Bet365 Stadium.

A regional take on the story of club football, but from a distinctly white rose viewpoint. It captures intriguing, surprising and tragic events, and is filled with inspired characters from all the teams in the county, from the origins of the code through to its current metamorphosis.

The hugely entertaining autobiography of one of the most popular and highly respected managers in the English Football League. Mention West Ham United FC and the name Harry Redknapp immediately springs to mind. The Hammers' boss is an institution in the game; his experience of English football in the Nineties from the perspective of one club is unsurpassed. His was a controversial appointment, as he took over as manager at West Ham in 1994 to succeed former favourite Billy Bonds. But Redknapp broke the mould: he was one of the first Premiership managers to recruit heavily from abroad, and he gives a refreshing insight into how such players as Raducioiu, Dani, Boogers and other foreign buys adjusted - or in many cases, failed - to adapt to the frenetic pace and unique culture of English football. More recently he has proved a shrewd investor in British talent. The likes of Trevor Sinclair, Neil Ruddock and Ian Wright have ensured that the Hammers have been a force to be reckoned with throughout this season's Premiership campaign. Away from football, Redknapp recalls his narrow escape from a near-fatal car accident in 1990 and the unique relationship with son Jamie, a quality player for Liverpool and England who is now married to pop star Louise. In an extra chapter to the original hardback edition, Harry comments on the Hammers' performance during the 1998-99 season, and reveals the truth behind the many colourful and often controversial incidents that have beset the East End club in recent months.

Physical training is a key part of preparing to play soccer (football) at any level, but organising a genuinely effective training programme requires both an understanding the physiological principles involved and a practical knowledge of the demands of the game.

This book provides clear guidelines, an evidence base and a theoretical framework for proven effective soccer training.

Includes:

• planning seasonal training to peak at the right time
• training for strength, speed, aerobic and anaerobic fitness
• designing appropriate sessions for training and rehabilitation
• best methods for recovery from exercise and reducing injury risk
• preparation for play in different environmental conditions
• evaluating the effectiveness of training programmes
• diet, sleep, lifestyle, young players and long-term development.

Clear explanations of the physiological concepts and sport science research evidence are given throughout, and the book contains many examples to illustrate the training principles in practice. This is an essential text for students of the game and a valuable resource for coaches, physical trainers and sport scientists working in soccer (football).

Twelve of Liverpool Football Club's biggest names reflect on their most memorable games during their careers with the club. Laurie Hughes, Ian St John, Ian Callaghan, Tommy Smith, Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, Mark Lawrenson, Jan Molby, John Barnes, Mark Wright, Gary McAllister and Jamie Carragher recall contributions to memorable triumphs, including league championships, domestic cup success - such as the 1986 all-Merseyside FA Cup Final - and three of the five European Cup wins - with Carragher recalling that night in Istanbul, when Liverpool completed one of the most remarkable comebacks of all time to beat AC Milan. With a foreword by Ronnie Moran, Match of My Life is an evocative and absorbing look back at some of the great moments in the history of the most successful English club side of all time.

Seventeen Manchester United legends come together to tell the stories behind their favourite ever games for the club - enabling Red Devils fans of all ages to relive these magic moments through the eyes and emotions of the men who were there, playing their hearts out for the red shirt...Lee Martin recalls the 1990 FA Cup Final; hat-trick hero Alex Dawson describes the eight-goal semi-final thriller which landed United in the Cup Final so soon after the Munich air disaster. Ever the crowd pleaser, Dwight Yorke waxes lyrical on winning the Treble that unforgettable night in Barcelona - while Gary Pallister basks in the memory of sinking Liverpool at Anfield as United closed in on the 1997 Premier League title. Old Trafford greats Bryan Robson, Martin Buchan and Paul Scholes also turn in characteristic star performances, winding back the clock to relive treasured memories of the Match of Their Lives for United.

This ambitious and fascinating history considers why, in the space of sixty years between 1850 and 1910, football grew from a marginal and unorganised activity to become the dominant winter entertainment for millions of people around the world. The book explores how the world's football codes - soccer, rugby league, rugby union, American, Australian, Canadian and Gaelic - developed as part of the commercialised leisure industry in the nineteenth century. Football, however and wherever it was played, was a product of the second industrial revolution, the rise of the mass media, and the spirit of the age of the masses. Important reading for students of sports studies, history, sociology, development and management, this book is also a valuable resource for scholars and academics involved in the study of football in all its forms, as well as an engrossing read for anyone interested in the early history of football.

Analyzing individual and team play is essential to improving performance in soccer, but identifying the right information and putting it to good use can be tricky. This is the first book to focus entirely on match analysis in the game of soccer.
Representing an essential and unique resource, this handbook looks at the very latest in match analysis research, and at the innovative technologies being used by professional clubs. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, it documents the methods by which coaches, sport scientists and fitness coaches can improve individual and team performance in soccer. The following areas are covered:
- tactics, technical ability and physical fitness
- how to supply objective feedback to players
- how to develop specific training routines
- manual, video and computerized match analysis systems
- current research findings in soccer match analysis
By combining the latest scientific data and methods of analysis with the practical advice needed by those on the sideline, this book breaks new ground and offers a winning glimpse into the future of match analysis.

The Twentieth Anniversary Edition *WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR* Fever Pitch is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic 'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' Independent For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself. But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life where the meaningful things - like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic - have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal. 'Hornby has put his finger on truths that have been unspoken for generations' Irish Times Brimming with wit and honesty, Fever Pitch, catches perfectly what it really means to be a football fan - and in doing so, what it means to be a man. It sits side by side with the very finest football classics of the last twenty five years, from The Damned United by David Peace to A Life Too Short by Ronald Reng, but it is ultimately a book that defies categorization and can be enjoyed by all. 'Funny, wise and true' Roddy Doyle

The Little Book of England Football is the latest volume in this highly successful series of sports-themed quotes books. It is dedicated to all things wide and wonderful about the Three Lions, focusing on the words of wit and wisdom from former players, such as Bobby Moore, Gazza and Gary Lineker, to the key men in today's set-up including manager Gareth Southgate and captain Harry Kane. Ingerlund! Ingerlund! Ingerlund!

This is the ultimate guide for any football fan who wants to know everything about the "beautiful game" - from World Cup winners to football skills and techniques. Whether you are a keen player, a lifelong supporter, or an armchair football manager, this book illustrates every aspect of the most popular sport in the world. The Football Book reveals the story behind the game - from the history of the sport to the results of the Qatar 2022 Men's World Cup, and the build-up to the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Bold step-by-step artworks and jargon-free text profile the roles of players, equipment, team formations, strategies, and individual skills, while maps, quotes, and statistics give you all of the key facts on national teams, famous club sides, and iconic players, as well as the greatest competitions around the world.

The study of association football has recently emerged as vibrant field of inquiry, attracting scholars worldwide from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. "Soccer As the Beautiful Game: Football's Artistry, Identity and Politics," held at Hofstra University in April 2014, gathered together scholars, media, management, and fans in the largest ever conference dedicated to the game in North America. This collection of essays provides a comprehensive view of the academic perspectives on offer at the conference, itself a snapshot of the state of this increasingly rich scholarly terrain. The diversity of approaches range from theory to pedagogy to historical and sociological engagements with the game at all levels, from the grassroots to the grand spectacle of the World Cup, while the international roster of authors is testimony to the game's global reach. This collection of essays therefore offers a state of the field for soccer studies and a road map for further exploration. The chapters originally published as a special issue in Soccer & Society.

Little Wonder is the story of Brian Flynn, the stylish yet tenacious midfielder from Port Talbot who, in the 1970s and '80s, enjoyed a successful top flight playing career with Burnley and Leeds United - where is still held in great affection by fans of both clubs - before moving on to Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Bury, Limerick and finally to Wrexham as player manager. Flynn also won 66 caps for Wales and played a pivotal role when the rejuvenated national team reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships and were denied a place at the 1978 World Cup by Joe Jordan's infamous 'hand of god' at Anfield. Lovingly crafted by Leon Barton, Little Wonder is also the story of Flynn's 12 years as a club manager with Wrexham where, with solid team-building and cup heroics, he left a legacy that was subsequently squandered, and his two-year spell at Swansea City when he saved the club from relegation from the Football League and whose immense contribution was subsequently built upon to stunning effect. It is Brian Flynn's managerial legacy to Welsh international football, however, that has won him the plaudits of fellow managers, former teammates, the players themselves, and the Welsh nation when, as intermediate team manager under John Toshack, Flynn identified, nurtured and developed the 'golden generation', a group of talented teenagers and Welsh 'Anglos' who went on to become, at Euro 2016, most successful Welsh team in 140 years. Brian Flynn may only stand at 5 foot and 4 inches, but this small man from the town of steel has made a giant contribution to football and Little Wonder is his story.

This is the first in-depth global study of women's football across the world. This collection considers women's football, in fifteen countries worldwide, in a global context, and analyzes its progress, challenges and problems it has faced.

It shows how women's football has made a significant contribution to the emancipation of women's football in many countries. It also traces the evolution of women's football in face of resistance, rejection and prejudice and describes women footballer's struggle for equal rights in a male dominated football world.

The Fix: How the First Champions League Was Won and Why We All Lost is an engrossing examination of the 1992/93 UEFA Champions League season. In 1980s Europe, revolution was in the air and the corridors of footballing power were not immune from the forces sweeping the continent. The breakup of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the USSR gave UEFA a problem. There were more national teams and league champions than their post-war competitions were designed to handle. Rather than the collapse of communism, the bigger headache for administrators was the success of capitalism. Gordon Gekko-styled businessmen like Silvio Berlusconi (AC Milan) and Bernard Tapie (Marseille) were beginning to involve themselves in football with less than benign motives. Against the backdrop of constant threats from the continent's most powerful clubs to form a breakaway super league, the UEFA Champions League was born. The Fix looks at that infamous first season, from its humble beginning on a Faroese hillside to its ultimate conclusion in a French courtroom.

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.

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.

An entertaining and effervescent history of the English Premier League told through the words and quotations of its players, managers, their contemporaries and the media. Relive the highs and lows, the drama and fun of 25 years of the Premier League through this exceptional compilation, which brings together the very best quotes, comments and soundbites to tell the story of each incident-packed season. Remember Kevin Keegan's on-air meltdown? Or Paolo Di Canio's shove? How about those jaw-on-the-floor goals like Tony Yeboah's volley or Sergio Aguero's last gasp title-winning goal for Manchester City? And what about some of those teams that set the competition alight - like swash-buckling Newcastle, all-conquering Manchester United and Arsenal's fabled 'Invincibles'? All the Premier League's sensational stories, extraordinary incidents and dazzling moments are told here through the voices, views and reflections of the managers and players involved. 'You Can't Win Anything With Kids' also provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy some of the funniest, most insightful and sometimes perplexing soundbites from the last 25 years, from the endlessly amusing spat between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger to Jurgen Klopp's off-the-wall reflections, Eric Cantona's deeply philosophical musings and, of course, Alan Hansen's profoundly misplaced pronouncements...

The Lost Shankly Boy is an enthralling tale of triumph over adversity and hope amid despair. It tells the story of George Scott, a poor boy from a fishing village in Aberdeen, who dreamed of a career in football and ended up rubbing shoulders with one of the game's managerial greats, Bill Shankly. He would assemble a team to rival the famous 'Busby Babes' - his very own 'Shankly Boys'. With Tommy Smith and Chris Lawler already at the club, he would add Gordon Wallace, Bobby Graham and a 15-year-old George Scott - 'the lost Shankly Boy'. Scott provides a fascinating insight into modern Liverpool's formative years and Shankly's Anfield. His is an untold story of a dream crushed and of a career rebuilt in Scottish football and taken to new heights in the South African Premier League. The Lost Shankly Boy speaks to every kid who dreams of football glory. It is a never-say-die tale of passion, commitment and hard work that will resonate with anyone who has ever tasted the pain of rejection - only to rise again and grow stronger.

Human beings are the only creatures known to engage in sport. We are sporting animals, and our favourite pastime of football is the biggest sport spectacle on earth. The Philosophy of Football presents the first sustained, in-depth philosophical investigation of the phenomenon of football. In explaining the complex nature of football, the book draws on literature in sociology, history, psychology and beyond, offering real-life examples of footballing actions alongside illuminating thought experiments. The book is organized around four main themes considering the character, nature, analysis and aesthetics of football. It discusses football as an extra-ordinary, unnecessary, rule-based, competitive, skill-based physical activity, articulated as a social (as opposed to natural) kind that is fictional in character, and where fairness or fair play - contrary to much sport ethical discussion - is not centre stage. Football, it is argued, is a constructive- destructive contact sport and, in comparison to other sports, is lower scoring and more affected by chance. The latter presents to its spectators a more unpredictable game and a darker, more complex and denser drama to enjoy. The Philosophy of Football deepens our understanding of the familiar features of the game, offering novel interpretations on what football is, how and why we play it, and what the game offers its followers that makes us so eagerly await match day. This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the world's most popular game or in the philosophical or social study of sport.

'The reason they're so popular, is because they're so good!' Chris Evans 'The F2 are unbelievable - what they do is not possible!' - Pele HOW TO BECOME THE PERFECT FOOTBALLER WITH THE BESTSELLING FOOTBALL INFLUENCERS We are The F2. And this is Ultimate Footballer. We have scoured the planet and analysed what components you need to become the perfect footballer: the speed of Mbappe, the dribbling of Hazard, the tekkers of Neymar and the tackling of Ramos. If you want to add skills like the OEzil bounce pass, the Messi soft scoop and the Neymar rainbow, then look no further. And this time we reveal the secret tips told to us by the top Pros behind the scenes. And once you've put your ultimate footballer together, you can compare with ours. Who has the best? You decide. There's a free app to download that will make the pages come to life with exclusive videos, tricks and games. So, what are you waiting for? Open, read, learn, download and get out on the pitch and practise.

Unlike most professional football players, Alex Morgan did not start playing club football until she was 14. But her talent was so obvious that only three years later she was called up to the U.S. women's under-20 team. That was just the beginning of a history-making career that led her, most recently, to a second World Cup title as co-captain of the U.S. women's team. This new edition of Alex Morgan - revised and updated from cover to cover - follows every step of her journey, not only as a football player but also as a best-selling author, an actor, and so much more! Also available in the World Soccer Legends series: Megan Rapinoe ISBN 9780789213655

The game of football has played a key role in shaping and cementing senses of national identity throughout the world. As any seasoned traveller can attest, the quickest entry into most cultures is by talking football or attending a match. The game is a prism for both witnessing and interacting with identities and cultures. Aware that the game may afford a space for expressing or organizing protest and dissent, powerful groups the world over may attempt to harness the forces of populist nationalism provided by football. This book examines football in 18 countries.