The Footballer's Journey

The Footballer's Journey

Author: Dean Caslake

Publisher:

Published: 2014-03

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9781909125513

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Many youngsters dream of becoming a professional footballer. But football is a highly competitive world where only a handful will succeed. Many aspiring soccer players don't know exactly what to expect, or what is required, to make the transition from the amateur world to the 'bright lights' in front of thousands of fans. The Footballer's Journey maps out the footballer's path with candid insight and no-nonsense advice. It examines the reality of becoming a footballer including the odds of 'making it', how academies really work, the importance of attitude and mindset, and even the value of having a backup plan if things don't quite work out. Filled with real life stories from current, and former, professionals across different leagues, The Footballer's Journey provides honest guidance and practical tips on what is required to give yourself the best possible chance of turning the dream into a reality. Learn: - How likely a professional career really is - The importance of sacrifice - How commitment and focus will pay dividends - The value of education and having a back-up plan - Why rejection is not the end of the world, and how disappointment can drive you forwards


When Footballers Were Skint

When Footballers Were Skint

Author: Jon Henderson

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1785903853

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Shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2019 Long before perma-tanned football agents and TV mega-rights ushered in the age of the multimillionaire player, footballers' wages were capped – even the game's biggest names earned barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends such as Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews shared a bond of borderline penury with the huge crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were a world away from the pristine lawns of the game's modern era. Instead of the gleaming sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes every bit as modest as those of their supporters. Players and fans would even sometimes be next-door neighbours in a street of working-class terraced houses. Based on the first-hand accounts of players from a fast disappearing generation, When Footballers Were Skint delves into the game's rich heritage and relates the fascinating story of a truly great sporting era.


Season of Life

Season of Life

Author: Jeffrey Marx

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2007-11-01

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1416584811

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The bestselling inspirational book in which the author reunites with a childhood football hero, now a minister and coach, and witnesses a revelatory demonstration of the true meaning of manhood—Season of Life is a book that “should be required reading for every high school student in America and every parent as well” (Carl Lewis, Olympic champion). Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football star and volunteer coach for the Gilman high school football team, teaches his players the keys to successful defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Love? A former captain of the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, Ehrmann is serious about the game of football but even more serious about the purpose of life. Season of Life is his inspirational story as told by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jeffrey Marx, who was a ballboy for the Colts when he first met Ehrmann. Ehrmann now devotes his life to teaching young men a whole new meaning of masculinity. He teaches the boys at Gilman the precepts of his Building Men for Others program: Being a man means emphasizing relationships and having a cause bigger than yourself. It means accepting responsibility and leading courageously. It means that empathy, integrity, and living a life of service to others are more important than points on a scoreboard. Decades after he first met Ehrmann, Jeffrey Marx renewed their friendship and watched his childhood hero putting his principles into action. While chronicling a season with the Gilman Greyhounds, Marx witnessed the most extraordinary sports program he’d ever seen, where players say “I love you” to each other and coaches profess their love for their players. Off the field Marx sat with Ehrmann and absorbed life lessons that led him to reexamine his own unresolved relationship with his father. Season of Life is a book about what it means to be a man of substance and impact. It is a moving story that will resonate with athletes, coaches, parents—anyone struggling to make the right choices in life.


Sacre Bleu

Sacre Bleu

Author: Spiro Matthew

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2021-05-11

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1785905872

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Remember when Zinédine Zidane lifted the World Cup in 1998? Kylian Mbappé doesn't. The forward wasn't born when the French team first became world champions. But it was Mbappé's unique talent that helped France reach the summit of world football once again in 2018, erasing years of failure, rancour and shame. For Les Bleus, the road between these two highs was blighted by bitterly painful lows. Zidane's headbutt; a players' strike; infighting and recriminations; even sex scandals and blackmail. Mbappé witnessed it all as he honed his prodigious talent in the banlieues of Paris, and his story embodies France's journey from disaster to triumph. In Sacré Bleu, Matthew Spiro traces the rise, fall and rise again of Les Bleus through the lens of Kylian Mbappé. Featuring a foreword by Arsène Wenger and interviews with leading figures in French football, Spiro asks what went wrong for France and what, ultimately, went right.


No Hunger In Paradise

No Hunger In Paradise

Author: Michael Calvin

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2017-04-20

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 1473537916

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Shortlisted for the British Sports Book Awards 2018 “What’s your dream, son?” A six year-old boy, head bowed, mumbles the eternal answer: “Be a footballer....” Steadman Scott, football’s most unlikely talent scout, smiles indulgently, and takes him in from the street. He knows the odds. Only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play organised youth football in England will become a Premier League pro. That’s a success rate of 0.012 per cent. How and why do the favoured few make it? What separates the good from the great? Who should they trust – the coach, the agent or their parents? Michael Calvin provides the answers on a journey from non-league grounds to hermetically sealed Premier League palaces, via gang-controlled sink estates and the England team’s inner sanctum. He interviews decision makers, behavioural specialists, football agents and leading coaches. He shares the hopes and fears of players and their parents. He exposes bullying and a black economy in which children are commodities, but remains true to the dream.


The Footballer Who Could Fly

The Footballer Who Could Fly

Author: Duncan Hamilton

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1846059801

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"Without football, we were strangers under the same roof. With it, we were father and son'. Inspired by his father's devotion to Newcastle United and the heroes of yesteryear, such as Jackie Milburn, Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards, Hamilton recreates a distant, bygone age and charts the progress of post-war British football to the present day. From the hardscrabble 1940s and the 'never-had-it-so-good' 50s, right through to how the dowdy-looking First Division of the 80s transformed itself into the slick, money-driven Premiership that is so familiar to us today. Hamilton writes about the some of its most sublime players, from George Best to Lionel Messi, and some of its most respected managers, from Bill Shankly to Sir Alex Ferguson. But at the heart of "The Footballer Who Could Fly", is Hamilton's exploration of the bond between father and son through the Beautiful Game, and how football became the only live connection between two people who, apart from their love of it, were wholly different from one another. From the two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year comes a personal and affecting story that beautifully captures one of the most important three-way relationships in a man's life. Father and son and football."--Amazon.com.


How Not to Be a Professional Footballer

How Not to Be a Professional Footballer

Author: Paul Merson

Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Published: 2011-04-04

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 0007424957

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An anecdote-driven narrative of the classic footballer's ‘DOs and DO NOTs’ from the ever-popular Arsenal legend and football pundit Paul Merson, aka ‘The Merse’.


The Italian Job

The Italian Job

Author: Gianluca Vialli

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0553817876

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From Vialli, one of Italy's most famous footballers as well as a former manager of England's Chelsea F.C., and Marcotti, the UK correspondent for Corriere dello Sport and football columnist for The Times, comes this unique journey to the heart of two great soccer cultures.


Footballer: My Story

Footballer: My Story

Author: Kelly Smith

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-07-19

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1446488594

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All Kelly Smith ever wanted to be was a footballer. Blessed with brilliant talent which she honed with hours of practice, it was soon clear to all who saw her that Kelly was the best women’s footballer that this country had ever produced. Yet for this shy girl from Watford, it would be a long and difficult journey to the pinnacle of the world game, and one which would involve the hardest of challenges. After starting drinking to mask her loneliness thousands of miles from home in the United States, a series of career-threatening injuries led to severe depression and a battle with alcoholism. But with the fighting spirit that was so essential on her path to be Britain’s first women’s professional player, Kelly bounced back to inspire Arsenal to countless trophies and become England’s record goalscorer. Footballer: My Story is the inspirational tale of a woman with a drive to succeed. It is the unique inside story of a star in a sport enjoyed by millions yet often not granted the recognition it deserves. And as she nears the end of a glittering playing career, it is the story of how Kelly Smith became what she always wanted to be. A professional footballer, in a professional league.


Road Map to a Successful Football Career

Road Map to a Successful Football Career

Author: Bayonle Arashi

Publisher:

Published: 2020-04-29

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13:

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If you think that the title of this book is too good to be true, then you need to get a copy for yourself right now!I've been living football (soccer) my entire life, from playing as a young man to working in football around the world for over two decades, and to my current position in the U.S. Soccer Federation. I've seen the path that starts with childhood practices and leads directly to becoming an individual that makes their living by playing the beautiful game. I understand how they traveled this path, and I can show you what I've learned.An ideal roadmap for prospects that are serious about football, this book is a great way for children as young as seven, teenagers, and parents to get introduced to the sport and culture surrounding it.I've watched thousands of individuals start training as children and go on to play for clubs, colleges, and professional teams all across the world. In my experience there are very predictable and consistent ways that motivated players can succeed, and I want to share those ways with you.In this book you'll find: -How to find college and university scholarships-Best methods for acing a university-level team tryout-How to find talent scouts-Guide to playing overseas at the youth and adult levels-How to directly contact major football clubs-Guidelines for successful training regimens at any level-The qualities of a good agentThe path to a life of professional soccer can be exciting, but it also comes with its pitfalls. As you read through the book, I'll outline some of the things that could possibly derail your success. When you're armed with knowledge, you'll be able to focus on growing your talent and pursuing your passion. I'll show you the pitfalls to watch out for, such as: -How to spot an unethical or unqualified agent-How to avoid being taken advantage of as a professional athlete-Dangerous habits that can interfere with your training regimenIf you or your child is serious about going from an average hobbyist to a successful, elite-level footballer, I'll show you a roadmap that nobody else is offering. As an added bonus, after you've ordered this book, I'll send you vital contact info for over 2,000 American and Canadian university coaches, giving you unparalleled access to some of the best talent around.