Download or read book Planet Football written by Andrew Godsell and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-03-07 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Planet Football profiles twelve great players, moving from Alfredo Di Stefano and Pele, stars half a century ago, to the current global presence of David Beckham and Lionel Messi. Here are the sublime skills of Eusebio and Johan Cruyff, the determined spirit of Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson, and Gary Lineker, plus the wayward genius of George Best, Diego Maradona, and Eric Cantona. Besides the contribution of these players to the development of the game, there are fascinating tales from off the pitch. Andrew Godsell is the acclaimed author of several books, including The World Cup and Europe United: A History of the European Cup / Champions League.

Download or read book The Barcelona Complex written by Simon Kuper and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-08-16 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With rare and unrivaled access, bestselling coauthor of Soccernomics and longtime Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world—and how that era is now ending FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all thirty-two NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. No wonder its motto is “More than a club.” But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona went from a regional team to a global powerhouse, becoming a model of sustained excellence and beautiful soccer, and a consistent winner of championships. Simon Kuper unravels exactly how this transformation took place, paying special attention to the club’s two biggest stars, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi, who is arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. Messi joined Barça at age thirteen and, more than anyone, has been the engine and standard-bearer of Barcelona’s glory. But his era is coming to an end—and with it, a once-in-a-lifetime golden run. This book charts Barça’s rise and fall. Like many world-beating organizations, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders access to the Camp Nou, its legendary home stadium. But after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given access to the inner sanctum and the people behind the scenes who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top. Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond soccer to understand FC Barcelona as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon.

Download or read book Pro Football s Most Passionate Fans written by Harvey " Steeler" Aronson and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2012 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professional football is the most popular sport in the United States today. With so many famous players from the past and present, some of whom achieved notoriety because of a persona they created, there are fans who have also made a name for themselves by either their work and loyalty for their team, or by creating an alter ego with respect to how they cheer or support their team. Some have incredibly wild and outrageous outfits. On game days, some of these diehard fans take longer to get themselves ready for games than the players they cheer for! The face paint, the outrageous outfits, the chants and cheers, and the attention to detail are what make these fans unique. During football season, these diehard fans can be seen each weekend as they showcase themselves in support of their team in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. In 1998, Visa sponsored a national contest to find the wildest, most loyal, and most intriguing fans for each team in the league. The award was entitled, The Visa Hall of Fans Award as fans were chosen from each team based on their submitted essays and photos. Contestants had to explain why they should represent their respective team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. At the time, a special wing in the Hall was created to honor these diehard fans. Visa awarded plaques to the winners -- originally at the Hall, and later in front of the hometown fans at each team s stadium. The Hall of Fame displayed the plaques for a year until the new class of fans was selected and their plaques were displayed. At that point, the prior year s winners had their names placed on a permanent wall plaque in the Hall of Fans wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since the days of the original Visa promotion, this group of honorees has carried on the tradition of recognizing ultimate fans each year. Some of the fans are easily recognizable by their outfits and their nicknames. Sadly, some have passed on. This book profiles and showcases many of those fans who were honored by Visa at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As you read through the book, you will undoubtedly recognize many of these famous fans. But for those fans who are not so easily recognized as some, this book s aim is to illustrate that all of the fans who were honored by Visa possess as much passion, loyalty and enthusiasm as the next. So when you watch Pro Football this season and always, keep this book handy and when the cameras pan the NFL stadiums, see how many faces you can spot from the group that calls themselves .. Pro Football s Most Passionate Fans!

Download or read book Build a Bonfire written by Paul Hodson and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-11-04 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How would you feel if your football club was bought by a businessman who saw your ground as real estate? And what if your ground was demolished leaving you with nowhere to play next season? Many fans believe that when Bill Archer, a Blackburn-based entrepreneur, bought Brighton and Hove Albion, he had no passion for the club or the game but rather saw an opportunity to make a profit. If so, he made the fatal mistake of misjudging football fans. In July 1995, Brighton's local daily paper led its front page with the headline 'Seagulls Migrate', announcing that the Goldstone Ground was to be sold to a property developer for £7.4 million and that 'home' games were to be played at Portsmouth. All this without one word of consultation with the fans. What followed was the biggest campaign in the history of football to save a club. Drawing on dozens of interviews with people directly involved - the fans, the FA, the players and the management - Build a Bonfire dramatically traces the progress of the two-year fight with the board: two years of despair, absurdity and solidarity. In so doing, the book not only explores implications for other clubs, in a world where the battle lines between football and money are being drawn ever tighter, but also creates a picture of that strange and wonderful thing: the football fan. And having lived through the crisis and listened to the fans, the authors can offer their Ten Essential Steps to Depose your Club Chairman, should the need arise . . .

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Football written by Rob Steen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-04 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates studying sport-related subjects as well as anyone interested in how and why football has evolved as it has. It features contributions from prominent experts in the field, authors and journalists, and covers ground seldom attempted in a single volume about football.

Download or read book Football s Better with Fans written by Antony Rickson and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2021-09-06 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Football stadiums are supposed to be packed with cheering fans. It was that way for more than 100 years until the coronavirus pandemic changed all our lives. Football managed to struggle on at some levels but without crowds - just cardboard cut-outs and fake noise instead. There was even a half measure for a while with a couple of thousand spectators allowed in. A banner at Old Trafford read, 'Football is nothing without fans', but what we discovered is that it isn't nothing, it's just better with fans there. Filled with fascinating stories, anecdotes, opinions and social media comments, Football's Better with Fans explores what it means to be a supporter. It's a light-hearted and highly dippable look at the lives of loyal fans, the fun and games they've enjoyed, their songs, banter, commitment, tattoos and traditions. The book doesn't shy away from tragedies, hooliganism or racism, but mainly it's a joyful celebration of football fandom and how we all survived when we couldn't go to games.

Download or read book Hero of the Underground written by Jason Peter and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2008-07-08 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This New York Times bestselling gritty memoir Hero of the Underground offers a no-holds-barred look at the twisted underbelly of a seemingly perfect life. Jason Peter, an All-American football player, captain of the National Champion Nebraska Cornhuskers, first round NFL draft pick. . . and heroin addict. I wasn't afraid of death. How could I be? I lived under death's shadow every day. When you swallow sixty Vicodin, twenty sleeping pills, drink a bottle of vodka, and still survive, a certain sense of invulnerability stays with you. When you continually use drugs with the kind of reckless determination that I did, the limit to how much heroin or crack you can ingest is not defined by dollar amounts but by the amounts your body can withstand without experiencing a seizure or respiratory failure. . . . I found myself contemplating death again. Only this time I wasn't going to leave it to chance. I was going to buy a gun, load the thing, place the barrel in my mouth, and blow my fucking brains out. "Had Hunter Thompson been a football player instead of a fan, this is the book he'd have written. Flat-out, mash-your-face-in-the-dirt amazing." —Jerry Stahl, author of Permanent Midnight

Download or read book Discourses in Sport Communication in Africa and the African Diaspora written by Unwana Samuel Akpan and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-07-25 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores sport communication in Africa and the African diaspora. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, it deepens our understanding of the importance of sport in African society as well as the profound and growing influence of the African diaspora in world sport, as athletes, scholars, leaders, and business and media professionals. Including contributions from leading African researchers and experts on sport in Africa across the fields of sociology, history, business, communication studies, media studies, and education, this book examines sport communication across a wide variety of contexts and countries, from the role of radio in developing awareness of the Olympic Games in Nigeria to the impact of Colin Kaepernick’s protest on journalistic practices in Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the USA. Presenting fascinating case studies such as print media and the historiography of football in Cameroon, racism in European football, and the relationship between sport, communication policy-making, and sustainable development in Africa, this book shines new light on key themes in the study of sport communication. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in social-cultural issues in sport, the business and management of sport, sport and the media, African studies, or development studies.

Download or read book Fifteen Minutes of Fame written by Andrew Godsell and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen Minutes of Fame is a satirical commentary on contemporary culture. The book celebrates the cult of celebrity, the wonders of everyday experience, and lots in between. Andrew Godsell, with pen in hand and tongue in cheek, explores diverse subjects, as fact mingles with fiction. The enduring influence of such literary figures as Lewis Carroll, George Orwell, Samuel Pepys, J K Rowling, and Evelyn Waugh is considered. Political themes range from Thatcherism to the Con-Dem coalition, either side of New Labour. The importance of history stretches from Stonehenge, and the legends of King Arthur, to the growth of Internet genealogy. The excitement of sport is reflected in football, and the communal spirit of Sport Relief. Music by John Lennon, Madonna, Patti Smith, and Bruce Springsteen sits alongside a folk festival. The established arts of theatre and cinema combine with the emergence of Reality TV.

Download or read book Lost in the Grooves written by Kim Cooper and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-07-08 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you remember these great pop stars and their hits? Deerhoof's The Man, The King, The Girl Butch Hancock's West Texas Waltzes and Dust Blown Tractor Tunes, Swamp Dogg's Cuffed, Collared and Tagged, Michael Head's The Magical World Of The Strands, John Trubee's The Communists Are Coming to Kill Us, John Phillips's Wolf King of L.A., and Michel Magne's Moshe Mouse Crucifiction? You will when you read Lost in the Grooves, a fascinating guide to the back alleys off the pop music superhighway. Pop music history is full of little-known musicians, whose work stands defiantly alone, too quirky, distinctive, or demented to appeal to a mass audience. This book explores the nooks and crannies of the pop music world, unearthing lost gems from should-have-been major artists (Sugarpie DeSanto, Judee Sill), revisiting lesser known works by established icons (Marvin Gaye's post-divorce kissoff album, Here My Dear; The Ramones' Subterranean Jungle), and spotlighting musicians who simply don't fit into neat categories (k. mccarty, Exuma). The book's encyclopedic alphabetical structure throws off strange sparks as disparate genres and eras rub against each other: folk-psych iconoclasts face louche pop crooners; outsider artists set their odd masterpieces down next to obscurities from the stars; lo-fi garage rock cuddles up with the French avant-garde; and roots rock weirdoes trip over bubblegum. This book will delight any jukebox junkie or pop culture fan.

Download or read book Building the Yellow Wall written by Uli Hesse and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2018-08-23 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE TELEGRAPH FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 Towards the beginning of the twenty-first century, Borussia Dortmund were on the verge of going out of business. Now they are an international phenomenon - one of the most popular clubs and fastest-growing football brands in the world. Every fortnight, an incredible number of foreigners eschew their own clubs and domestic leagues and travel to Dortmund to watch football, while people from all corners of the world dream of doing the same - of standing on the largest terrace in the world, the Yellow Wall. How did this happen? How could a club that hasn't won a European trophy in twenty years so thoroughly capture people's imaginations? Building the Yellow Wall tells the story of Dortmund's roller-coaster ride from humble beginnings and lean decades to the revolution under Jürgen Klopp and subsequent amazing success and popularity. But it also tells the story of those people who have done as much for the club's profile as any player, coach or chairman - Dortmund's unique supporters.

Download or read book Football s Great Heroes and Entertainers written by Jimmy Greaves and published by Hodder & Stoughton. This book was released on 2008-10-07 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: JIMMY GREAVES was a great entertainer and a national hero as a footballer, and is held in equal affection as a television pundit and performer. Now Greavsie reveals the footballers and managers who have given him most entertainment and are his biggest heroes. Greavsie has confined his star-studded assembly to players and managers of his lifetime -- dipping fondly back into the days of Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Len Shackleton and coming up to date with in-depth analysis of modern masters like Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. Along the way he nods in the direction of his good pals Bobby Moore, Dave Mackay, Billy Wright and, of course, George Best. Footballing gods of the calibre of Pele, di Stefano, Puskas and Maradona naturally win a place in the personal Greaves Hall of Fame. You may not agree with all his selections, but if you are a true football fan you will agree that this is a book that makes you laugh and grips your attention as you take a look at some of FOOTBALL's GREAT HEROES AND ENTERTAINERS.

Download or read book Time Transfer written by Mark Roland Langdale and published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2019-08-07 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Time Transfer is an enchanting story about football– a game which lost its magic, and follows the trials and tribulations of Manchester United and Accrington Stanley FC.

Download or read book You Can t Win Anything With Kids written by Gavin Newsham and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Agüero'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 José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger to Jürgen Klopp's off-the-wall reflections, Eric Cantona's deeply philosophical musings and, of course, Alan Hansen's profoundly misplaced pronouncement.

Download or read book The Best Show in Football written by Andy Piascik and published by Taylor Trade Publications. This book was released on 2010-10-16 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For ten years the Cleveland Browns compiled a better record and won more championships than any team in pro football history. In their first game they set an all-time attendance record and consistently drew the largest crowds of the post-World War II era. They dominated an upstart league and then silenced their detractors by doing the same to the NFL. The Browns were led by Paul Brown, a football visionary who changed pro football. Most important among his innovations was the leading role the franchise played in the integration of pro sports. While much of their competition continued with the racial exclusion of the past, the Browns featured some of the greatest black players of all-time, men who were an integral part of the Cleveland dynasty. The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns, Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty tells the story of those players and that dynasty. Included in that story is the construction of the Browns as well as accounts of the team's many victories. Dozens of interviews bring to life the exploits of Otto Graham, Bill Willis, Marion Motley, Lou Groza, Mac Speedie, Len Ford, Dante Lavelli, Frank Gatski, and so many others. In rich detail, The Best Show in Football demonstrates why Cleveland's dynasty was the greatest ever, greater even than several teams that are usually accorded that honor. The conclusions may be surprising but the evidence is all here. And along the way author Andy Piascik provides a wonderful trip back to football's golden age.

Download or read book Blindsided written by K. C. Joyner and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2011-01-07 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book will change the way you think about professional football--in much the same way that Bill James revolutionized the analysis of Major League Baseball. The research is impeccable. The approach is irreverent. You will be 'blindsided' by what you think you know about the NFL, but don't. Warning to fantasy football lovers: You won't be able to put this book down." —Sal Paolantonio, ESPN reporter and author of The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, and Moments in NFL History "KC Joyner's theories will completely revolutionize football, cure baldness, save the whales, and bring total peace and harmony to all nations. That's why you must read Blindsided!" —Gregg Easterbrook, ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback "Too much of football literature is just tedious hagiography, but Blindsided is a book for those of us who enjoy the complex game on the field and football conversation that goes past 'my team rules.' " —Aaron Schatz, lead author and editor of Pro Football Prospectus Pro football’s statistical iconoclast, K.C. Joyner, challenges conventional wisdom with fact-based and film-based responses in Blindsided: Why the Left Tackle is Overrated and Other Contrarian Football Thoughts. If you love sports statistics or find excitement in fantasy football, you will enjoy the detailed insights and carefully researched information in this book. Scrap the typical media hype and hoopla for the real, straight-from-the-fields-and-films scoop, including information on free agents, parity, NFL business practice, Hall of Fame standards, coaching practices, historical iconoclasm, and a thorough statistical review.

Download or read book Mad for It written by Andy Mitten and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A celebration of the classic football derby matches. From the Celtic–Rangers rivalry and Tyneside derby to the biggest global clashes from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, journalist Andy Mitten uses the fans' own words and stories to illuminate the conflicts, tensions, histories and culture behind these fascinating games.