How to Be a Footballer

How to Be a Footballer
Author: Peter Crouch
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2018-09-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1473561213

'Very funny on almost every page, wonderfully self-deprecating and very sharp on the ludicrous behaviour of the modern player' - Sunday Times 'The funniest man in British sport' - Metro **A Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year** **Shortlisted for the National Book Awards** **Longlisted for the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Autobiography of the Year** You become a footballer because you love football. And then you are a footballer, and you're suddenly in the strangest, most baffling world of all. A world where one team-mate comes to training in a bright red suit with matching top-hat, cane and glasses, without any actual glass in them, and another has so many sports cars they forget they have left a Porsche at the train station. Even when their surname is incorporated in the registration plate. So walk with me into the dressing-room, to find out which players refuse to touch a football before a game, to discover why a load of millionaires never have any shower-gel, and to hear what Cristiano Ronaldo says when he looks at himself in the mirror. We will go into post-match interviews, make fools of ourselves on social media and try to ensure that we never again pay £250 for a haircut that should have cost a tenner. We'll be coached and cajoled by Harry Redknapp, upset Rafa Benitez and be soothed by the sound of an accordion played by Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant Tord Grip. There will be some very bad music and some very bad decisions. I am Peter Crouch. This is How To Be A Footballer. Shall we?

How Not to Be a Professional Footballer

How Not to Be a Professional Footballer
Author: Paul Merson
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2011-04-04
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0007424957

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’.

How to Be a Better Footballer

How to Be a Better Footballer
Author: Andrew Henderson
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2021-05-27
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781789293258

'Passion, positivity and precision ... and always be willing to learn something new.' Athlete Andrew Henderson was just sixteen years old when a horrific rugby injury put paid to his career in the game. So he turned his attention to football - more specifically, freestyling football skills - and never looked back. Now a five-time World Freestyling Champion and the UK Freestyle football champion for eight years running, in this unique manual Andrew brings together all his expertise and advice to help make you a better footballer. Packed with step-by-step skill tutorials, tricks, tips and guidance, Andrew also reveals how hard work, dedication and flair allowed him to become a master on the football pitch and beyond. Having worked with Cristiano Ronaldo, impressed the likes of David Beckham and Neymar, to performing at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and various World Cups around the world, he is now sharing all his secrets and famous freestyling skills to help you improve your football techniques and take them onto the pitch. Interspersed with the jaw-dropping tricks, guidance on tackling, fundamental skills and tips on advancing your expertise, Andrew's passionate advice about following a dream and overcoming adversity prove that both enthusiasm and patience play a major part in any sporting arena. This isn't only about teaching the physical elements but learning from a master about how to focus your mentality to bring flair, passion and precision to your game.

I, Robot

I, Robot
Author: Peter Crouch
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2019-10-17
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 147356915X

**A Daily Mail Book of the Year** What happens on the pitch is only half the story. Being a footballer is not just kicking a ball about with twenty-one other people on a big grass rectangle. Sometimes being a footballer is about accidentally becoming best mates with Mickey Rourke, or understanding why spitting is considered football’s most heinous crime. In How to be a Footballer, Peter Crouch took us into a world of bad tattoos and even worse haircuts, a world where you’re on the pitch one minute, spending too much money on a personalised number plate the next. In I, Robot, he lifts the lid even further on the beautiful game. We will learn about Gareth Bale’s magic beans, the Golden Rhombus of Saturday night entertainment, and why Crouchy’s dad walks his dog wearing an England tracksuit from 2005. Whether you’re an armchair expert, or out in the stands every Saturday, crazy for five-a-side or haven’t put on a pair of boots since school, this is the real inside story of how to be a footballer.

The Stupid Footballer is Dead

The Stupid Footballer is Dead
Author: Paul McVeigh
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2013-09-05
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1408193752

A key guide to the tools and techniques for football intelligence that will give anyone a psychological edge, in the world of football and beyond.

Ask A Footballer

Ask A Footballer
Author: James Milner
Publisher: Quercus
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2019-10-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1529404932

'Ask a Footballer is a fine read, showcasing how an unassuming man has forged success, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup and the Champions League' Matthew Syed, The Times Ever wondered what it's REALLY like to be a Premier League footballer? My name is James Milner and I'm not a Ribena-holic. Let me share insights into what it's like being a professional footballer, across my different experiences with Leeds United, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and now Liverpool (not forgetting a six-match loan spell at Swindon). Plus my highs - and a few too many lows - playing for England. There isn't a current player who's been playing Premier League football as long as I have, and that gives me a pretty rare perspective into how the top-flight game has changed over the past seventeen years. In this book, I explain how a footballer's working week unfolds - what we eat and how we prepare for matches technically, tactically, mentally and physically - and talk you through the ups and downs of a matchday. I reveal my penalty-taking techniques, half-time team talks and the differences between playing against Lionel Messi, Wilfried Zaha and Jimmy Bullard. I've played for managers ranging from Terry Venables, Peter Reid and Sir Bobby Robson to Martin O'Neill, Fabio Capello and Jurgen Klopp. I tell you what it's like sharing a training ground and a dressing-room with team-mates such as Lee Bowyer, Mario Balotelli and Mo Salah. I also reveal the behind-the-scenes work that went into Liverpool's Champions League success - and the celebrations that followed. So this isn't an autobiography. The whole point of Ask A Footballer is that you, the fans, asked me questions and I have used my own experiences to answer them. I hope you like it, and don't find it too boring.

Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer

Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer
Author: Jamie Redknapp
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2020-10-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1472271947

'a wonderful book ... a great read' Daily Mail 'a fascinating book ... I really enjoyed it' Piers Morgan, Good Morning Britain 'a heart-warming, funny and insightful read. Perfect for a rainy day by the fire.' FourFourTwo magazine One of the Guardian's 'Biggest Books of Autumn 2020' 'A beautiful book about football, family, friendship and finding out who you really are.' JACK WHITEHALL 'One of the best books I've ever read about what it takes to become a pro.' FRANK LAMPARD For the Redknapp clan, football is a family concern; it's the family business. Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer is a deeply moving, heartfelt and beautifully personal account of growing up as the second son of Harry Redknapp, and also an enchanting love letter to football. "I'm Jamie Redknapp. Chances are my surname rings a bell. I want to introduce you to a colourful cast of characters from my formative years. Growing up, Dad and grandad 'Pop' told us tall stories from London's East End, but there was no artistic licence needed when I was actually kicking a ball about with legends like George Best, Bobby Moore, and Geoff Hurst. This book is the story of my childhood and adolescence. Like many others, I guess it's a pretty typical mix of caravans and lollies, sweaty T-shirts and paper rounds, cheese sandwiches and Glacier Mints, The A Team, E.T. and Chinese takeaways. But this is also the story of a journey through an extraordinary childhood obsession with football. One minute it was all about Shoot! magazine, endless keepy-ups and countless impromptu kickabouts. The next, I'm playing for Bournemouth Reserves against terrifying, fully-grown men. Then I got my move to Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool. I might've been living off gristly sausages and Smash potato in my dingy digs up on Merseyside, but I was living the dream. I was desperately hoping it was the start of something special. Writing Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer has helped me discover so much about myself. This book is my way of explaining who and what have made me ... well, me."

I Am The Secret Footballer

I Am The Secret Footballer
Author: Anon
Publisher: Guardian Faber Publishing
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2013-09-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1783350032

This updated edition of the bestselling and wildly popular I Am the Secret Footballer features a new introduction and an additional chapter. The anonymous writer of The Guardian's "Secret Footballer" column gives Premiere League fans an insider's look into the unseen world of professional football. It is often said that 95% of what happens in football takes place behind closed doors. Many of these stories I shouldn't be telling you. But I will. Who is The Secret Footballer? Only a few people know the true identity of the man inside the game. Whoever he is-and whatever team he plays for-TSF is always honest, fearless and opinionated. Here he takes readers past the locker-room door and reveals the inner-workings of a professional club, the exhilarating highs and crushing lows and what it's really like to do the job most of us can only dream of doing. TSF chronicles the exploits of his Premiership colleagues with a gimlet eye and frank humour. Managers, agents and players are not spared from his observations-their mindsets, their relationships with those outside the sport, their behaviour good and bad. In his inimitable style, TSF recounts entertaining and eyebrow-raising vignettes, naming names and dropping colourful details along the way.

Footballer: My Story

Footballer: My Story
Author: Kelly Smith
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2012-07-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1446488594

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.