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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > Football (Soccer, Association football) > General
SHORTLISTED FOR FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR & BEST SPORTS WRITING AWARD AT THE 2025 SPORTS BOOK AWARDS A TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR AN IRISH INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR Fully updated to cover Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid, the Manchester City charges case and the events of the 2024/25 season. 'Important, perfectly timed and hugely necessary.' The Guardian 'Football needs this book. A monumental piece of investigative journalism.'Irish Times 'A must-read on how modern football works.' Ian Wright 'Brave, forensic and utterly gripping.' Tom Holland ______________________________ The definitive account of how capitalism and the world's elite corrupted modern football. As the 2022 World C up in Qatar drew to a close, there was a bitter undercurrent to Argentina's triumph. Throughout the tournament, numerous allegations of sportswashing and financial misconduct had been made against the state of Qatar, moving what had previously been a smaller conversation into the worldwide spotlight. The question had been asked, who really owns and runs football? Journeying from Abu Dhabi to Newcastle, and onto London, Paris, Moscow and New York, journalist Miguel Delaney investigates the allegations of sportswashing and misconduct in the beautiful game. The result is a gripping account of how football has been taken over by the world's wealthiest businessmen, state-backed corporations, media tycoons and oilrich oligarchs. From Neymar's £198 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain and Abu Dhabi's construction empire in Manchester to failed Financial Fair Play constraints and the dawn of the European Super League, Miguel draws on exclusive interviews and unprecedented access to key stakeholders to produce an all-encompassing exposé of modern footballs highest echelons. Authoritative, riveting and eye-opening, States of Play reveals how football has become a tool for the world's elite.
Success, failure, heroism, stupidity, talent, skulduggery - Upton
Park has seen it all. If supporting his club for fifty years has
taught Brian Williams one thing it's that football fans defi nitely
need a sense of humour - how else would they cope with the trials
and tribulations that are part and parcel of cheering on their
team? In this frank and funny take on the travails of a die-hard
football supporter, Williams takes a nostalgic look back at some of
the great players, great triumphs and great calamities that have
marked West Ham's time at Upton Park, exploring the club's
influence on its fans, the East End and football as a whole over
the course of a lifetime. A Fever Pitch for the Premier League
generation, Nearly Reach the Sky is an anecdotal journey through
the seminal goals, games, fouls and finals, told with all the
comedy, tragedy and irrationality fans of any team will recognise.
This is a witty, fond, passionate and poignant tribute to the end
of an era at Upton Park, as well as a universal meditation on the
perks and perils of football fandom.
The Masterful, Definitive History of Argentinian Soccer Lionel
Messi, Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stefano: in every generation
Argentina has uncovered a uniquely brilliant soccer talent. Perhaps
it's because the country lives and breathes the game, its theories,
and its myths. Argentina's rich, volatile history-by turns sublime
and ruthlessly pragmatic-is mirrored in the style and swagger of
its national and club sides. In Angels with Dirty Faces, Jonathan
Wilson chronicles the operatic drama of Argentinian soccer: the
appropriation of the British game, the golden age of la nuestra,
the exuberant style of playing that developed as Juan Peron led the
country, a hardening into the brutal methods of anti-futbol, the
fusion of beauty and efficacy under Cesar Luis Menotti, and the
emergence of all-time greats. Praise for Inverting the Pyramid
"Here, for the first time in decades, is a top-notch soccer book on
how soccer is actually played on the field." -Simon Kuper "An
outstanding work...The soccer book of the decade." -Sunday Business
Post
Football fans love nothing more than to read about their favourite
teams. Although this book is aimed at young teenagers they will
delight all ages with their mixture of funny and enlightening
stories and will give hours of pleasure discovering quirky facts
about your favourite team. Each title is also augmented with a
selection of sketches by the young sketch artist Becky Welton that
depict some of the stories within.
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