The Great Uncrowned: Football's Most Celebrated Losers is the story of football's ultimate bridesmaids, those clubs that were good enough to win the major prizes but, for various reasons, didn't. In an age when victory is all too often viewed as the be all and end all, this book celebrates the teams that were beaten by bad luck, limited resources or an outstanding set of players. From early 20th-century runners-up from Lancashire and Wales to flamboyant teams from Europe and South America, near-misses can be found anywhere in the world. Some have been forgotten, pushed aside by the elitist nature of modern football. Others have passed into history and are rarely revisited. As well as reviving the exploits of great players and impressive teams, The Great Uncrowned also provides context around the development and social position of each side and asks if football needs a structure that provides more winners and fewer losers.

*** 'Footie book of the year.' - The Sun TROY DEENEY is best known as Watford FC's former captain and a thorn in Arsenal's side. But behind the successful and gritty football persona is a remarkable story of resilience. In this brutally honest and inspirational memoir, Troy shares what it was like to grow up on Europe's largest council estate, where his mum worked three jobs and his father, a notorious drug dealer, was frequently in and out of prison. He shares stories of self-sabotage, from simply not turning up to Aston Villa's football trials as a teenager, playing while drunk to being imprisoned for affray at the height of his career. But Troy never gave up, even when it meant playing professional football with an ankle tag. He went on to score 20+ goals in three successive seasons and became the Club Captain, an FA Cup finalist, promotion winner and Watford's record scorer. He also became an outspoken player advocate and - in an age of bland footballer interviews - is a sought after voice on football and footballers today. Engaging, endearing and insightful, this book is where Troy comes to terms with his turbulent past.

Glory, Glory Lane is the life-affirming history - including a momentous last season - of a world-famous football stadium, home to Tottenham Hotspur for 118 years. A Victorian structure turned wraparound 21st-century all-seater, it became a theatre of dreams for supporters all attracted by teams which played the 'Spurs way' to achieve glory. The Lane gave a stage to a conveyor belt of legends from Cameron to Alli via Nicholson, Blanchflower, Greaves, Hoddle and Klinsmann. It provided unforgettable memories in unforgettable atmospheres - heart-lifting, heart-breaking, nerve-racking. Its story veers from founders obsessed by Harry Hotspur to Harry Kane via Harry Redknapp; through matches, personalities, ground developments and threatened closure, all with first-hand accounts. It's hard to imagine how a new GBP750m stadium can ever replace the edifice which shut its gates for the last time after Spurs played Manchester United in May 2017, having created a daunting legacy.

He may live in Madrid but he continues to make front-page headlines. This is David Beckham's own story of his career to date, for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England, and of his childhood, family and private life. Featuring David's first full account of a turbulent year in Spain, on and off the field, and England's fortunes in Euro 2004. This is Beckham's fascinating life story in his own words. His rise through the ranks at the biggest club side in the world. His complex relationship with United boss Alex Ferguson. The England story, from being vilified by the nation before returning as the prodigal son to eventually captaining his country. His acrimonious falling-out with his manager and departure from Old Trafford in June 2003. And starting a new chapter of his life on foreign soil in the glare of the world's press. Now from Beckham himself, we gain a vivid and eye-opening insight into the family man behind the famous footballer, the international model and fashion leader. He describes how he first met and then married ex-Spice girl Victoria Adams, and the upbringing of their two children Brooklyn and Romeo. How his family's every step is monitored by a posse of newshounds and paparazzi. Also, the influence of his parents, growing up as a shy youngster in the family home, and how their subsequent split affected him. Intimate and soul-searching, this is the real David Beckham like we have never seen before. NEW FOR THIS PAPERBACK EDITION: - Beckham's first season with Real Madrid from within the dressing room, with key stories on the likes of Figo, Roberto Carlos and Zidane. - His exclusive reaction to the sensational allegations about his private life; their effect on his relationship with Victoria and a reappraisal of their living arrangements. - England and Euro 2004: the players' threatened strike in support of Rio Ferdinand; Eriksson as England boss; and all the behind the scenes stories leading up to and including the Finals in Portugal. - One year down the line, does Beckham have any regrets about leaving Manchester United? And is there any truth in the rumours that he is unsettled in Madrid?

The contributions here cover the major socio-economic, political, cultural and sporting dimensions of the 1998 World Cup. It is set within the sporting context of the history and organization of French football and the French tradition of using major sporting events to focus world attention.

What separates the good from the truly great players? How do football managers get the best out of their team? How do you come back from a crushing defeat to win? In How to Win The Secret Footballer teams up with The Secret Psychologist to crack the secrets of success and share with us the tricks and tips that keep the best players at the top of their game. Exploring the winning mindset from confidence to concentration, exposing the successes, the failures and the frauds, this inspirational, funny and thought-provoking book will shock and entertain. And while most of us will never dribble like Messi or strike like Suarez, we can learn to think like them -- and aim to succeed at football, and at life.

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.

England. 1966. The World Cup. Duncan Hamilton watched England beat West Germany as an eight-year-old boy in the company of his father and grandfather. He recalls 'Wembley, spread out in the sun; the waving flags; the delirious, joy-of-all-joys moment of the final whistle; the trophy sparkling in the late afternoon light'. But, seeing the whole game again during the misery of the first Covid lockdown, finally made him realise what Alf Ramsey and his players had no inkling of, which was what came next for them. How, for many of those boys of summer, almost everything after that shimmering moment amounted to an anti-climax or a setback. How '66 was not a beginning, a guaranteed path towards more success, but a slow decline and fall, and also a disproportionate number of disappointments. And how the triumph of '66 was dulled through constant repetition, the same images always flashed before us. Hamilton recognised, too, how many myths and misconceptions had grown around the match. He decided to revisit '66, tracing the very roots of a story - as well as the hidden figures within it - that really began during the era of post-War austerity. Answered Prayers provides, at last, a full account of English football's greatest achievement and the failures that followed it. We see the institutional inability to appreciate Ramsey and his players, who were taken for granted; the political machinations of the blazered fools who ran the Football Association; the short-sighted blunderers of the Football League. With his matchless insight and descriptive power, Hamilton tells history afresh and shows us, for the first time, the scale of what was won and what was lost. PRAISE FOR DUNCAN HAMILTON 'Hamilton has a perceptively humane understanding of men for whom football was never just a game' Guardian 'A marriage of prose and detail so fine and fastidious that it takes the breath away' Independent 'Justifiably prize-winning' Mail on Sunday

When a struggling Korean football club wants to transform its fortunes, who does it turn to? A former Chelsea manager and a trio of players with Premier League experience, of course. Who Ate All the Squid?: Football Adventures in South Korea charts the year Ian Porterfield managed faltering K League giant Busan IPark. The Sunderland FA Cup legend lured three players from English football out to Korea: striker Jamie Cureton, an ex-England youth international who turned down Manchester United; Andy Cooke, a former Burnley and Stoke City forward who started his career building cowsheds; and Jon Olav Hjelde, who bolstered Nottingham Forest after achieving UEFA Champions League heroics with Rosenborg. How will the players cope with South Korea's unfamiliar culture and language? Can the Brits overcome personal demons, including car crashes, divorces and alcoholism? And does a British football revolution really stand a chance of succeeding in Northeast Asia? The book also casts a humorous glimpse at the world's game inside South Korea.

Don Howe is one of English football's great coaches, with an unrivalled record at international and club level. As right-hand man to three England managers, he helped his country to the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96 semi-finals. He helped to steer them through the 1982 World Cup unbeaten and to the quarter-finals four years later. Howe masterminded the 1970/71 double at Arsenal, where two spells as coach also brought European and further FA Cup glory. He was also an integral part of one of the greatest Wembley upsets when he helped Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' to victory over the mighty Liverpool in 1988. As a player at West Bromwich Albion, Howe won 24 international caps, but as a manager he failed to achieve the success he craved. Yet over a three-decade period, he won acclaim from many of England's finest players as a genius of the coaching profession. Through interviews with players, colleagues, friends and family, this book examines the triumphs and challenges of Don Howe's career and assesses his contribution to English football.

*** 'Footie book of the year.' - The Sun TROY DEENEY is best known as Watford FC's former captain and a thorn in Arsenal's side. But behind the successful and gritty football persona is a remarkable story of resilience. In this brutally honest and inspirational memoir, Troy shares what it was like to grow up on Europe's largest council estate, where his mum worked three jobs and his father, a notorious drug dealer, was frequently in and out of prison. He shares stories of self-sabotage, from simply not turning up to Aston Villa's football trials as a teenager, playing while drunk to being imprisoned for affray at the height of his career. But Troy never gave up, even when it meant playing professional football with an ankle tag. He went on to score 20+ goals in three successive seasons and became the Club Captain, an FA Cup finalist, promotion winner and Watford's record scorer. He also became an outspoken player advocate and - in an age of bland footballer interviews - is a sought after voice on football and footballers today. Engaging, endearing and insightful, this book is where Troy comes to terms with his turbulent past.

The Official Sunderland AFC Annual 2022 is packed with facts and stats vital for red and white fans of all ages. Featuring every first team player along with a review of the 2020/21 season, including the Papa John's Trophy Wembley win, there is plenty to keep you entertained. Quizzes and puzzles galore combine with exclusive looks at the history of your favourite club, including how the Black Cats and Stadium of Light get their names. We look ahead to the biggest games coming up in the second half of the season and, with 2022 being a FIFA World Cup year, we turn the spotlight on SAFC's World Cup connections. The Official Sunderland AFC Annual 2022 is essential reading for all Black Cats fans!

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.

'Football looked at in a very different way' Pat Nevin, former Chelsea and Everton star and football media analyst Football - the most mathematical of sports. From shot statistics and league tables to the geometry of passing and managerial strategy, the modern game is filled with numbers, patterns and shapes. How do we make sense of them? The answer lies in the mathematical models applied in biology, physics and economics. Soccermatics brings football and mathematics together in a mind-bending synthesis, using numbers to help reveal the inner workings of the beautiful game. This new and expanded edition analyses the current big-name players and teams using mathematics, and meets the professionals working inside football who use numbers and statistics to boost performance. Welcome to the world of mathematical modelling, expressed brilliantly by David Sumpter through the prism of football. No matter who you follow - from your local non-league side to the big boys of the Premiership, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A or the MLS - you'll be amazed at what mathematics has to teach us about the world's favourite sport.

This book is the complete guide to all of the games played by Hearts in European competitions since the club become only the third Scottish team to enter the European Cup. With contributions from several prominent Hearts players and celebrity fans, including Ken Stott and Scott Wilson, From Athens to Zagreb will evoke forgotten memories amongst fans of all ages.

From using football to promote peace on the gangland streets of Medellin, to building a global network of 'Football for Good' organisations, Jurgen Griesbeck is now, through Common Goal, leading transformational change across the football industry. Set up in partnership with World Cup-winner Juan Mata - and with the likes of Megan Rapinoe, Mats Hummels, Pernille Harder, Paulo Dybala. Jurgen Klopp, Casey Stoney, Julian Nagelsmann and even entire competitions and clubs already taking the one per cent pledge of earnings - Common Goal aims to reconstruct football's role in society and put purpose, people and the planet at the heart of the game. This incredible story of one of the world's leading social entrepreneurs captures Jurgen's passion, drive and leadership, and presents a hopeful vision for the future of football, with contributions from some of the most disruptive, innovative and progressive thinkers in the game - the Radical XI. This remarkable book shows how the power of football can - and must - be unleashed for social change.

The King of White Hart Lane is the authorised life story of Alan Gilzean, the legendary, world-class Tottenham Hotspur, Dundee and Scotland footballer. Exclusive insights provided by his family, closest friends and colleagues add to the author's own experience to reveal Gilzean, the man and the player. A reserved, charming and intelligent individual who shunned the limelight off the field, Gilzean played with a swagger as a maker and taker of goals, especially alongside Jimmy Greaves at Spurs. We discover how the native of the Perthshire town of Coupar Angus became one of the greatest performers in the history of both his clubs. Gilzean emerged a Scottish folk hero having scored the winning goal against England in front of 133,000 at Hampden Park - and was later welcomed back with open arms by the game after ending a self-imposed exile during which the uninformed conjured often defamatory myths. The elegant striker dubbed 'Nureyev in Boots' left us on Sunday, 8 July 2018. There will never be another like him.

Presenting an empirically underpinned synthesis of research and theory, while offering guidance for applied practitioners, this is the first book to comprehensively map the psychology of learning, playing, and coaching the world's favourite sport. The book provides a complete analysis of key topics that capture the broad range of football psychology such as personality, motivation, cognition, and emotion; coaching and team essentials; psychological skills for performance enhancement; and developing players in youth football. Including contributions from a range of international researchers, each chapter provides a review of the relevant literature, key theories, real-world examples, and reflections on how knowledge can be applied in practice. Split into four sections, the book covers a diverse range of topics relevant not only to coaching and performance but also to personality development and health promotion. Essential reading for any student, researcher, or professional in the area, the book is the most cutting-edge overview of how psychology can explain and improve the way football is both played and understood.

Second Yellow: More Adventures of our Footballing Heroes brings you more funny, fascinating and downright baffling tales gleaned by authors John Smith and Dan Trelfer from their unflagging research of over 240 footballer autobiographies. Together, they have pored through the works of genuine legends, cult heroes and players they can only dimly recall from their 1983 Panini sticker albums to find stories and facts that will delight, shock and confuse - sometimes all at once. There's the chairman who owned a ventriloquist's dummy called Algernon. There's the Liverpool legend who set a team-mate's wife's hair on fire. There's the Arsenal star who confronted some innocent fans with a samurai sword. And there's the Ipswich hero who took on Sylvester Stallone in an arm-wrestling contest - possibly inspiring Stallone's half-forgotten epic Over The Top. This book covers all the bases of the typical footballer's life: love, violence, gambling, horrific injury, banter (it's mostly banter) and, apparently, pigeons.

How did George McCluskey become one of Celtic F.C.’s most memorable football players? What binds the fans and players and creates this strong sense of belonging? And what does the Irish diaspora have to do with Celtic F.C.? George McCluskey was one of the key strikers for the Hoops in the ‘70s and ‘80s, a successful time in the club’s history. He did not only score for his team, but changed the entire game in favour of Celtic more than once. In this account of his life story told by his close friend Aidan Donaldson, George McCluskey is praised as the embodiment of the Celtic spirit. His individual history is intertwined with the history and mentality of the club. However, George McCluskey did not only influence Celtic F.C. but also other clubs he played for and the people he has met during his life. This book takes you on a journey through the development of the club from its very beginning, as well as exploring the evolution of football in general. How did we get from football legends like George McCluskey to football celebrities like David Beckham? What did professional football look like back then, what constitutes it nowadays? This timely book will appeal not only to Celtic supporters, but to anyone interested in the development of professional football. His exuberant celebration depicted on the cover of the book remains iconic in the eyes of Celtic supporters today. His Cup winning goal led inadvertently to a riot and the banning of alcohol in Scottish football grounds.