The most magical thing about the game of football is
watching it. The moves, the stepovers, the goals, the players, the managers on
the sidelines, the fans in the stands and the several other elements in play
when a game is on. Watching it on TV is not even as enthralling as being in the
stadium live to witness history being rolled out.
Yet there’s a lot more to football than those 90 minutes games fans pay to watch.
The mind-games, the behind the scenes actions, the training
ground bust ups, the dressing room rituals, the continental adventures and a
million other things that goes on behind the camera.
Those are the things books capture. Those are the reasons
why I love reading about the game as much as I love watching it.
And if you are as enthusiastic about reading about the best
to have played the beautiful game, then you will love my ten favourite football
books of the last decade.
1.
Wayne Rooney:
My Story
Wayne Rooney: My Story
is an honest and inspiring account of a prodigiously gifted youngster and his
meteoric rise to fame and fortune. From his working-class upbringing on the
back streets of Liverpool and his Premiership debut as a sixteen-year-old
phenom to his ebullient entrance on the international scene in the 2004
European tournament and the raw drama of the 2006 World Cup.
2.
I Am Zlatan: My Story On and Off the
Field
Hate him or love him, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of
soccer’s brightest stars. A top-scoring striker with Paris Saint-Germain and
captain of the Swedish national team, he has dominated the world’s most storied
teams, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and AC Milan. But his
life wasn’t always so charmedTold as only the man himself could tell it,
featuring stories of friendships and feuds with the biggest names in the sport,
I Am Zlatan is a wrenching,uproarious, and ultimately redemptive tale
for underdogs everywhere.
3.
Andrea
Pirlo – I Think Therefore I Play
Pirlo’s profile could not be much higher, having
competed in the Champions League final in May 2015 and then embarking on a new
career signing with MLS side New York City FC in July 2015. The vibrancy, humor and vivid insight that carry Pirlo’s autobiography along confounds his image as a dead-eyed assassin on the field of play. All the big names are in there: Lippi, Ancelotti, Conte, Maldini, Shevchenko, Seedorf, Buffon, Kaka, Nesta, Costacurta, Gattuso, Berlusconi and Ronaldo (“the real one”). But they’re not always in their work clothes.
4.
The Flea - The Amazing Story of Leo Messi
The captivating story of soccer legend Lionel Messi,
from his first touch at age five in the streets of Rosario, Argentina, to his
first goal on the Camp Nou pitch in Barcelona, Spain. The Flea tells the
amazing story of a boy who was born to play the beautiful game and destined to
become the world's greatest soccer player.5. Alex Ferguson: My Biography
Sir Alex Ferguson's best-selling autobiography has now been updated to offer reflections on events at Manchester United since his retirement as well as his teachings at the Harvard Business School, a night at the Oscars and a boat tour round the Hebrides, where he passed unrecognised.
6. Pep
Guardiola: Another Way of Winning
As a footballer, Josep "Pep" Guardiola was
a much-acclaimed defensive midfielder who spent the majority of his playing
career with FC Barcelona. He was part of the great Johan Cruyff's "dream
team" that won the club's first European Cup. After retiring as a player,
Guardiola became a coach at Barcelona, succeeding Frank Rijkaard as first-team
manager in 2008. In his first season, he led the team to the treble of La Liga,
the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League, and became the youngest-ever
winning manager of that tournament. The following season the club—comprised of
global stars such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta—won six trophies in six
competitions, playing some of the most fabulous football ever witnessed. This
book tells how Pep Guardiola did it—playing the Beautiful Game and winning.
7.
Luis
Suarez - My Story: Crossing the Line
Luis Suárez was a young boy already in love with
football by the time his family moved from the countryside to Uruguay's
capital, Montevideo. The guile and trickery of the street kid made an impact
with the country's biggest club, Nacional, before he was spotted by Dutch
scouts who brought him to Europe.Suárez was lured from Ajax to Merseyside by another iconic number 7, Kenny Dalglish. From that moment, he terrorised Premier League defences, driving a resurgent Liverpool towards their most exciting top-flight season in 24 years.
But there is another side to Luis Suárez: the naturally fiery temperament which drives his competitiveness on the pitch. There was the very public incident with Patrice Evra of bitter rivals Manchester United, and the biting of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.
8. David Beckham
In his own words
and images, this is David Beckham's stunningly designed and beautifully
illustrated celebration of his 20-year soccer career
David Beckham is one of the world's
most famous soccer players and a global icon. In May of this year he
brought down the curtain on a hugely successful playing career that spanned two
decades, during which he proudly wore the shirts of Manchester United, Real
Madrid, the LA Galaxy, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and England. He captained
his country on 58 occasions, winning 115 international caps in total, an
English record for an outfield player.
9. #2Sides: My Autobiography
10. My Story – Steven Gerrard
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