Soccer Memoir

You're about to discover the incredibly inspirational story of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. If you're reading this, then you must be a fan of Cristiano, like so many others. As a fan, you must wonder how this man is so talented and want to know more about him. Cristiano is considered to be one of the greatest football players ever, and it's been an honor to be able to watch him compete throughout his career.

Every four years, Americans turn their attention to the world’s game - soccer. As recently as 1998, the USMNT merely made up the numbers at the biggest sporting tournament of all, but once Bruce Arena took over the team, American soccer started to find its footing. In the 2002 World Cup, a highly-fancied Portugal team, featuring the great Ronaldo, lost to Arena’s US team in a shocking 3-2 victory, and but for a handball that wasn’t given, they could well have knocked off eventual winners Germany.

"Quiero compartir lo que sé, lo que aprendí del juego y del deporte en general, y hacerlo no solo con los que aman el fútbol, sino también con aquellos a los que este maravilloso deporte no les es familiar, pero que también se preguntan cómo triunfar en la vida, cómo guiar y liderar un equipo hacia la victoria y de las lecciones que se aprenden de la derrota."

For the Redknapp clan, football is a family concern; it's the family business. Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer is a deeply moving, heartfelt and beautifully personal account of growing up as the second son of Harry Redknapp, and also an enchanting love letter to football.

Misconceptions have stalked Andrew Cole like a hatchet-man defender determined to cut him down to size. In the world of modern-day football, his reserved demeanour was often interpreted as surly intransigence. Alongside an aptitude for goalscoring, it was widely believed, ran an attitude problem. In Fast Forward, a candid and inspirational autobiography, Cole finally presents his side of the story.

There are just a handful of people that have been ever present for the thirty years of the Premier League, but only one person has been at the very epicentre for the entire period: Geoff Shreeves. Packed full of hilarious stories on and off the pitch—including trying to teach Sir Michael Caine how to act, a frightening encounter with Mike Tyson, as well as getting a lift home from the World Cup with Mick Jagger—Cheers Geoff is a must-listen for any fan of the beautiful game.

"From kicking a ball as a kid under the street lamps of Poplar and standing on Highbury's North Bank with my dad, to my first game at West Ham, I was born head over heels in love with football. It saved me, and 50 years on that hasn't changed one bit - I'd be lost without it...." Harry is the manager who has seen it all - from from a dismal 70s Portakabin at Oxford City and training pitches with trees in the middle to the unbeatable highs of the Premiership, lifting the FA Cup and taking on Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Behind Closed Doors by Gary Lineker and Danny Baker is a rollicking inside guide to football that shares never-before-told dressing room tales and behind-the-scenes stories from Gary and Danny’s time in football and broadcasting. Full of new and exclusive stories from Gary and Danny that have never appeared on the podcast - or anywhere - before, Behind Closed Doors is full of the intimate details of life in and around the game we all love.

Graeme Souness is a Glasgow Rangers icon and a Liverpool legend in the same bracket as Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. His Football: My Life, My Passion is a perceptive and opinionated assessment of the game which has been his lifetime obsession, drawing extensively on his incredibly rich and varied experiences as a player, manager and pundit.

In a frenetic seven-year spell at the outset of his senior managerial career, Mickey Harte led Tyrone to four Ulster Championships and three All-Irelands. It was a run that shifted football’s balance of power, changed the way the game would be played for more than a generation and cemented his reputation as one of the most transformative figures in GAA history. Then, in January 2011, the visitation of a shocking tragedy changed everything: Mickey’s daughter, Michaela, was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius.

Joel Selwood’s remarkable leadership is well-known across AFL football. Selwood will not only go down in history as an icon of the game – a record breaker – but also as a selfless leader who supported his team through one of the club’s most successful periods in its history. After Selwood was made captain of the team in 2012, Geelong made the finals in all but one season, playing in seven preliminary finals and two Grand Finals – culminating in Geelong’s tenth premiership in 2022. Now, for the first time, Selwood tells his story in his own words.

Roberto Baggio non è una figura scontata: come il protagonista di un romanzo, è un groviglio di volontà e caso, un uomo incredibilmente determinato e allo stesso tempo in balìa degli eventi. Come se tutti i suoi sforzi servissero a opporsi al destino e allo stesso tempo a compierlo (uno dei tanti paradossi con cui probabilmente il buddismo lo ha aiutato a convivere). Stefano Piri ripercorre la vita e la carriera di Baggio a partire dalla sua magica apparizione a Vicenza, quando non ha ancora vent'anni e sembra un angelo spietato che inchioda gli avversari a terra.

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." This famous quote by William Shakespeare reveals the mindset of strong achievers. But how does this apply to the all time soccer greats? Are they born great? Do they come with magical powers? Superior coaching? Crazy life experiences? To answer this question, we looked at the life history and autobiographies of 10 of the best soccer players of all time. These players have outclassed and outplayed their opponents, rose to the top, and have their names etched into soccer folklore.

Before agents and TV mega-rights ushered in multi-millionaire players, footballers’ wages were capped, with even the game's biggest names earning barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends shared a bond of borderline penury with the crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were far away from the pristine lawns of the modern era. Instead of the sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes as modest as those of their supporters.

In 2014, the conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine began - and top football club Shakhtar Donetsk has since been in exile. This book tells their story; inevitably a story of the conflict and the recent Russian invasion but also a testament to the power of the game and the will of the players. It is ultimately a footballing story, exploring the experience and meaning of being a Shakhtar player through the lens of a country in the shadow of a huge aggressive neighbour.

Eric Cantona was at Manchester United for just five years, yet his legacy and influence endure. Over that period, he became the first foreigner to be voted best player by sports journalists, was crowned player of the century by the team’s supporters and voted the most emblematic player in the Premier League during its opening decade. The Frenchman fascinated both fans of the game and those who know nothing about football, yet to a large extent he is an enigma, a hugely popular player who showed mercurial talent on the pitch, but one who remains almost unknown away from it.

For the first time, Martin O’Neill reflects on one of the most varied and successful football careers in the British Isles. He made his breakthrough playing for Distillery in Northern Ireland before joining Brian Clough’s legendary Nottingham Forest team, becoming one of the few players who made the epic journey from the Second Division to the glory years: winning the First Division championship, two League Cups and back-to-back European Cups. O’Neill represented Northern Ireland over sixty times.

Numerous newspaper and magazine articles have talked about it, and now this riveting book, We All Wore Blue, is the true account of a youth soccer team in Washington state that transformed over several seasons into a team comprised largely of immigrants from around the globe, representing a myriad of different countries, most races, and major religions. The story tells how these immigrant boys and families bonded with the middle-class White kids and their families, coming together and dealing with numerous challenges, great adversity, and racism.

A massive audience in sitting rooms, parks and pubs watched England in the 2018 World Cup. Yet as Duncan Hamilton demonstrates with style, insight and wit in Going to the Match, watching on TV is no substitute for being there. Hamilton embarks on a richly entertaining, exquisitely crafted journey through football. Glory game or grass roots, England v Slovenia or Guiseley v Hartlepool, he delves beneath the action to illuminate the stories which make the sport endlessly compelling.

DeRo is the life story of one of the greatest athletes Canada has ever produced. Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Dwayne De Rosario wasn’t expected to make it out of high school, let alone to the top of soccer world. As part of a family of five, growing up in a one-bedroom apartment, he had to work for everything he had and sometimes that meant doing things he realized he didn’t want to do. It was soccer that saved him from a life on the street.