Sports Biographies Football

Why do England lose? Why does Scotland suck? Why doesn’t America play the sport internationally… and why do the Germans play with such an efficient but robotic style?

Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, "Why England Lose" reveals the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer.

There was never a player quite like Dudley before he came and there will surely never be another one. He was the most versatile player in football history, college and pro. An NFL team today suits up eight men to play the positions Bill played by himself in a single season. He won the only Quadruple Crown in NFL history, leading the league in rushing, punt returns, interceptions, and lateral passes in 1946. He also won the NFL MVP award in 1946 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though he played in the NFL at five-foot 10, 175 pounds.

When we first meet the young man at the center of this extraordinary and moving story, he is one of 13 children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or any of the things a child might learn in school. And he has no serious experience playing organized football.

Bernard Brogan’s life story is one of the most keenly anticipated Irish sport autobiographies in years. For much of the past decade Bernard Brogan was the headline act of Gaelic football for his remarkable forward play, scoring feats and role in helping transform Dublin from contenders into the most dominant team the sport has ever known. Yet despite reaching the pinnacle of the sport, Brogan has encountered his fair share of setbacks. He suffered two cruciate ligament injuries and only broke onto the Dublin senior team when he was 23.

Watford Forever is the remarkable story of Elton John's ownership of Watford FC and its transformational journey to the top of the First Division under iconic manager Graham Taylor. Perhaps most remarkably, four of the same players who had been written off as has-beens went with them all the way from the bottom to the top.

In this edition, your child can learn all about their hero, super Jack Grealish of Man City and England.

The year is 1981. And the Iowa Hawkeyes are struggling mightily to gain respectability on the football field after decades as a Big Ten Conference doormat. Hayden Fry, a larger-than-life character and river boat gambler with Texas roots, had arrived in Iowa City in 1979. Now, in his all-important third year as head coach, it’s make-or-break time for a man doggedly determined to transform a beleaguered program into a national powerhouse. Unexpectedly, Hayden and his staff sign a blonde-haired, six-foot-four quarterback named Chuck Long.

''Tebow-mania'' has fans and critics alike questioning his motives and looking for where God and his career will take him next. Inside, you will discover where it all started and learn why so many fans are ''Tebowing'' alongside their new national hero. From family to football to the future, all you need to know about Tim Tebow is right here, right now, in the most up to date coverage of Tim Tebow's life.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of All-American Murder by James Patterson, read by Peter Coleman. Aaron Hernandez was a college football All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. He was a star on the league-dominant New England Patriots, who extended his contract for a record $40 million. Hernandez’s every move as a professional athlete played out in the headlines, yet he led a secret life - one that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong so fast?

Lloris has always been an immensely popular player, commanding respect for his actions and achievements on the pitch. Behind his clean-cut image lies a tumultuous reality of personal highs and lows, revealed here for the first time. In this riveting autobiography from one of the greatest goalkeepers of the modern game, Hugo Lloris shows what made him a unique player, and why he never hired an agent but decided to make his own way in a world of sharks.

You're about to discover the incredibly inspirational story of soccer superstar Lionel Messi. If you're listening to this then you must be a fan of Lionel, like so many others. As a fan, you must wonder how this man is so talented and want to know more about him. Lionel is considered to be one of the greatest soccer players ever, and it's been an honor to be able to watch him compete throughout his career. This book will reveal to you much about Lionel's story and the many accomplishments throughout his career.

Hometown Sports Heroes, Vol. 3 is a football book on old teams containing stories, traditions, and legacies that will take you on a trip down memory lane!

But that’s exactly what Marc was. Repeatedly bullied and overweight, Marc was an unpopular kid who turned pain into fuel to transform his body, train his mind, and change the course of his entire life. What started as self-defense became an unquenchable thirst for self-improvement from pre-dawn sprints at his high school track to living in a storage closet while training for the NFL draft. It took blood, sweat, sacrifice - and his mom’s heartfelt advice - for Marc to go from an insecure boy to a professional NFL athlete.

Relive the highs (and the lows!) from fifty years of English football as recalled by some of the game's all-time great players, managers and commentators.

American Football gilt als eine der härtesten Sportarten der Welt, ihre Athleten als Mindsetmonster - zu Recht. Das Spiel kombiniert physische Härte mit mentaler Stärke wie kein anderes. Der zweimalige Super-Bowl-Champion Sebastian Vollmer weiß, worauf es ankommt, um sich in der NFL durchzusetzen. In diesem inspirierenden Buch gewährt er tiefe Einblicke in sein Mindset.

Bobby Charlton is Manchester United through and through. He was a member of the original "Busby Babes" and has devoted his career to the club, playing in 754 games over 17 years. During that period he won everything the game had to offer, played alongside such greats as Best and Law, suffered devastating defeats, and was involved in one of the greatest football tragedies of all time. Here, for the very first time, he tells the story of those United years.

As a refugee in Denmark, Khalida Popal worked to uncover widespread sexual abuse of players by the former president of the Afghanistan Football Federation - forcing FIFA and the government of Afghanistan to act. When Kabul falls Khalida is safe, but her teammates are left behind. Against all the odds, she and a small but mighty network of allies orchestrate an international evacuation strategy to save them. My Beautiful Sisters is a gripping memoir about courage, the power of teamwork against all odds and the existence of hope in dark times.

As plans for the 2020 NFL season ramped up and daily cases of Covid-19 continued to skyrocket, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a fixture on the offensive line of the Kansas City Chiefs, stepped away from the game he loved. Not only an active player but also a medical school graduate, Laurent withdrew when he realized that continuing to play—and potentially spreading the virus—was antithetical to everything he believed in.

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.

Nick Saban called his boys the “ultimate team,” but it wasn’t just because they kicked the ever-living hell out of everyone on the football field. It was because the team leveraged a power and influence born of Southern pride to push back against a hateful legacy of racism that a populist president was exploiting to divide the nation. At a time when Americans needed real leaders in the face of so much hate, the sports world answered the call and fought back for the soul of the country.