Sport

Bukayo Saka has the world at his feet. Since breaking through the ranks at Arsenal, the young forward has gone from strength to strength, helping his team lift the FA cup for a record 14th time. His versatile style of play means he can help his team all over the pitch. Discover how the boy born in Ealing, went on to represent England at Wembley in the Euro 2020 final, achieved his dream of representing his country at such a young age and overcame adversity to become the ultimate football hero.

Ultimate Football Heroes is a series of biographies telling the life stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world and their incredible journeys from childhood fan to superstar professional player. Written in fast-paced, action-packed style these books are perfect for all the family to collect and share.

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Discover how this defensive midfielder from Brazil overcame family struggles, balancing his home life with a burgeoning football career to hone his skills. From playing in the Sao Paulo youth academy and representing Brazil in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup to signing for Manchester United and becoming a crucial member of the Brazil National Team.

Ultimate Football Heroes is a series of biographies telling the life stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world and their incredible journeys from childhood fan to superstar professional player. Written in fast-paced, action-packed style these books are perfect for all the family to collect and share.

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Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s superstar forward, and he is on a mission to become the best player in the world. This exciting book follows his adventures across the world – from the heat of Egypt to the magic of Rome, the roar of Anfield stadium and – finally – his big chance in a Champions League Final.

Ultimate Football Heroes is a series of biographies telling the life-stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world and their incredible journeys from childhood fan to super-star professional player. Written in fast-paced, action-packed style these books are perfect for all the family to collect and share.

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A Love Letter to Football is the story of how the beautiful game, from the litter-strewn pitches of the grassroots to packed stadiums at the top of the sport, can help carry us through our darkest days.

In 2016, Mark Davies was diagnosed with a rare and incurable blood cancer. A lifelong supporter of Middlesbrough Football Club, his devotion to the club and passion for a game so cherished by billions of people has been essential in helping him navigate the uncertainty of diagnosis and treatment. It’s been a fundamental part of his life in other ways too, from dealing with depression to fatherhood, not to mention some of the trials and tribulations of life’s broader challenges.

This honest, funny and entertaining account of a life-changing experience, love for a football club and the way the game has been a bedrock throughout his life underlines that football may not be more important than life and death, but the joy and ecstasy it can bring – even for a Middlesbrough fan – really can help when times are hard.

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The full story of the man who brought unprecedented – and since unmatched – success to Liverpool FC

Bob Paisley was the quiet man in the flat cap who swept all domestic and European opposition aside and produced arguably the greatest club team that Britain has ever known. The man whose Liverpool team won trophies at a rate-per-season that dwarfs Sir Alex Ferguson’s achievements at Manchester United and who remains the only Briton to lead a team to three European Cups.

From Wembley to Rome, Manchester to Madrid, Paisley’s team was the one no one could touch. Working in a city which was on its knees, in deep post-industrial decline, still tainted by the 1981 Toxteth riots and in a state of open warfare with Margaret Thatcher, he delivered a golden era – never re-attained since – which made the city of Liverpool synonymous with success and won them supporters the world over. Yet, thirty years since Paisley died, the life and times of this shrewd, intelligent, visionary, modest football man have still never been fully explored and explained.

Based on in-depth interviews with Paisley’s family and many of the players whom he led to an extraordinary haul of honours between 1974 and 1983, Quiet Genius is the first biography to examine in depth the secrets of Paisley’s success. It inspects his man-management strategies, his extraordinary eye for a good player, his uncanny ability to diagnose injuries in his own players and the opposition, and the wicked sense of humour which endeared him to so many. It explores the North-East mining community roots which he cherished, and considers his visionary outlook on the way the game would develop.

Quiet Genius is the story of how one modest man accomplished more than any other football manager, found his attributes largely unrecorded and undervalued and, in keeping with the gentler ways of his generation, did not seem to mind. It reveals an individual who seemed out of keeping with the brash, celebrity sport football was becoming, and who succeeded on his own terms. Three decades on from his death, it is a football story that demands to be told.

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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM EUROS CHAMPION AND BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR BETH MEAD

WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMESSPORTS BOOK AWARDS AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2023

With foreword by Ian Wright & afterword by Jermain Defoe

Beth Mead is one of the world’s most talented footballers – Golden Boot winner and Player of the Tournament at the UEFA Euro 2022, England Player of the Year 2021-22, Arsenal Player of the Season 2021-22, and runner-up for the 2022 Ballon d’Or. But long before this, Beth was just an ordinary kid from Hinderwell, North Yorkshire who wanted to play football.

From being placed in the local boys’ team as a child because her mum wanted her to run off her boundless energy, to joining Middlesbrough FC’s Centre of Excellence and making her professional debut at Sunderland, Beth and women’s football have come a long way.

Now, Beth shares the challenges that shaped her, what she faced on the journey to the top, and the life events that made her stronger – from being dropped from the England squad and receiving devastating family news, to finding her best form under the guidance of Jonas Eidevall and Sarina Wiegman. Filled with positive lessons and an exclusive account of England’s triumphant Euros campaign, Beth offers readers of all ages a heartfelt, behind-the-scenes look into her remarkable journey to glory.

Empowering, inspirational and honest, this is Beth’s story.

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Sports Book Awards Autobiography of the Year
Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award
The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year
The Times Sports Book of the Year
Telegraph Football Book of the Year

‘Ferris’s wonderful memoir represents a twin triumph. He has endured every kind of setback in life but has invariably reinvented himself; and his writing is a pure pleasure.’ The Sunday Times

‘Enough depth and humanity to make your average football autobiography look like a Ladybird book.’ Telegraph

‘A masterpiece of the genre’ Brian McNally

‘Football memoirs rarely produce great literature but Ferris’s The Boy on the Shed is a glistening exception.’ Guardian

‘Fascinating and stylishly told.’ David Walsh, The Sunday Times

The Boy on the Shed is a story of love and fate. At 16, Paul Ferris becomes Newcastle United’s youngest-ever first-teamer. Like many a tricky winger from Northern Ireland, he is hailed as ‘the new George Best’.

As a player and later a physio and member of the Magpies’ managerial team, Paul’s career acquaints him not only with Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish and Bobby Robson, Ruud Gullit, Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer but also with injury, insecurity and disappointment.

Yet this autobiography is more than a tale of the vagaries of sporting fortune. It begins during ‘The Troubles’ in a working-class Catholic family in the Protestant town of Lisburn, near Belfast. After a childhood scarred by his mother’s illness and sectarian hatred, Paul meets the love of his life, his future wife Geraldine.

Talented and carefree on the pitch, shy and anxious off it, he earns a tilt at stardom. His first spell at Newcastle turns sour, as does his return as a physio, although obtaining a Masters degree shows him what he could achieve away from football.

When Paul qualifies as a barrister, a career in Law beckons. Instead, a craving to prove himself in the game draws him back to St James’ Park as part of Shearer’s management triumvirate – with unfortunate consequences.

Written with brutal candour, dark humour and consummate style, The Boy on the Shed is a riveting and moving account of a life less ordinary.

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‘Insightful, often joyous, and hugely entertaining’ Roddy Doyle

‘One of our country’s great footballers, and definitely our most beautiful’ – John Giles

The #2 Irish Bestseller

“Being a footballer was my destiny.”

After being expelled from school for playing football for his country, fifteen-year-old Liam Brady travelled to London to join Arsenal, and soon became an indispensable part of their glorious 1970s team. Rightly considered one of the Republic of Ireland’s best-ever footballers, he went on to enjoy successes with Juventus, Sampdoria and West Ham, as well as managing Celtic and Brighton and Hove, and becoming assistant manager of his national team. Today he is best known for his much-respected TV punditry and searingly intelligent insights into the game he adores.

Full of honest insights, amusing anecdotes and recollections of extraordinary times, with Born to be a Footballer Brady delivers a compelling story of a fifty-year career that is unparalleled in Irish sport.

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Alan Dicks’ football career spanned the second half of the 20th century.

During those fifty years the game fundamentally changed and Dicksy was there, playing his part, when history was made.

• In Chelsea’s first ever League title win in 1955.
• Double promotion glory alongside Jimmy Hill at Coventry City in the 1960s.
• Boss at Bristol City for thirteen extraordinary years until 1980.
• And managing teams around the world.

At Ashton Gate, he built a side on a shoestring budget and an indestructible spirit, becoming a national figure.

A living legend to Robins’ fans, taking the club up to the top flight after a sixty-five-year wait, it’s part of an amazing football tale of a time when loyalty meant more than money.

Football has waited over thirty years to hear his story. Finally, here it is.

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