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Arguably the world's most popular sport, soccer has its own colorful lore, still little known in a nation only now beginning to give the game its due. This book offers the perfect opportunity to catch up on soccer's rich historyand to discover some of the funniest, most ironic, outlandish, and tragic stories ever to come out of the world of sports. Taking readers as far afield as the Faeroe Islands, Thailand, Madagascar, Belarus, Bhutan, and the North Pole, the selections inSoccer Storiesrange from the strange (Brazilian players paid in cattle by their cash-strapped club) to the wild (the Mexican prison warden who threw open all the cell doors in celebration of a World Cup victory) to the comical (the referee who ejected himself). Here is the plane crash that wiped out the Italian team on the eve of its fifth straight national championship; the spiteful African club that scored 149 goals against itself in one game; and the youngster who banked a shot into the goal off a passing seagull. As lively as it is informative,Soccer Storieswill engage fans of all levels.
The perfect read for the football-mad kid in your life *WINNER of the Telegraph Children's Sports Book of the Year, 2020* Do you think you know everything there is to know about football? Have you heard of ... * The psychic octopus who could predict the winner? * The Lancashire Lasses who became the best kept secret of women's football? * The dog detective who saved the World Cup trophy? * The superstar footballer who never actually played football? Discover the most incredible, sometimes ridiculous, and always completely unbelievable football stories you never knew. From bestselling author Matt Oldfield, this is part of the Unbelievable Football series - showcasing true tales from the world's favourite game where there's everything to play for and anything can happen.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then Jeff will begin ... The universally-loved, award-winning host of Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday and Channel 4's Countdown, and author of the bestselling Jelleyman's Thrown a Wobbly, returns with a Jackanory-style, football-flavoured narrative which gathers together the funniest, weirdest, most tragic, most heart-warming, under-the-radar stories of the football season. The book is stuffed to the gunnels with behind-the-scenes revelations, opinions and personal anecdotes from Jeff, and has a strong leaning towards the absurdities of both the highest levels and the grass-roots of the game. From the Macclesfield goalkeeper booked for using a golf tee to take his goal kicks, to the unintelligible ranting and raving of South American dictator chairmen. Let Jeff be your trusted guide through the madness of the football season, and let Jeffanory supply you with a veritable treasure trove of great anecdotes to take to the pub.
George Best recalls the moments in his life that have given him the greatest pleasure - the jokes, pranks and anecdotes in his footballing life. Managers, players, referees and officials, and his beloved Manchester United are all featured here.
Celebrate the Euros with the perfect gift for young England football fans! Think you know everything about the Three Lions and the Lionesses? Have you heard of . . . - The naughty pitch-invading dog that stole the show at the 1962 World Cup? - The English amateurs who achieved Olympic Gold? - The spy who snuck into training? - The Lost Lionesses who made it big in Mexico? - The infamous World Cup handball that sealed England's fate? The beautiful game has always reigned supreme in England. These incredible and sometimes ridiculous stories may give you some idea of why. From penalty pain to unbelievable comebacks, discover some of the best true tales of our beloved national teams. Compiled by bestselling author Matt Oldfield, this is the third book in the award-winning Unbelievable Football series and the perfect gift for young football fans everywhere. Now includes the story of when the Lionesses came roaring back at the European Championships 2022.
What is the purpose of history today, and how can sporting research help us understand the world around us? In this stimulating book, Nicholas Piercey constructs four new histories of early Dutch football, exploring urban change, club members, the media, and the diaries of Cornelis Johannes Karel van Aalst, a stadium director, to propose practical examples of how history can become an important democratic tool for the 21st century.Using early Dutch football as a field for experimental thinking about the past, the four histories offer new insights into the lives, interests and passions of those connected to the sport in the 1910s and the cities they lived in. How did the First World War impact on Dutch football? Were new stadia a form of social control? Is the spread of the beautiful game really a good thing? And why was one of the sport’s most prominent figures more concerned with potatoes? These stories of early Dutch football suggest how vital sport and history can be in shaping our lives, perceptions and actions, and why we need to challenge the influence they have today.
Gina tries to be the star of the soccer team at her new school, but her teammates do not like her showoff moves.
In THE BEST OF TIMES George Best recalls the moments in his life that have given him the greatest pleasure, the loudest laughs, the banter, pranks and anecdotes that make up a life in football that is as high-spirited and fun-loving as it is successful. Managers, players, referees, and officials from all walks of the game and of course his beloved Manchester United, from the Busby-Babes to Ryan Giggs, feature in this affectionate, generous and hilarious look at football from one of the greatest and most well-loved players the game has ever produced.
Unforgettable Soccer is a fun book about soccer. Rather than putting the magnifying glass on great champions and memorable matches, it instead examines the more obscure soccer tales, rescuing incredible feats and masterful mistakes from oblivion—incredible feats such as the soccer player who scored all four goals in a game that ended 2-2. Or crazy stories about a Danish referee who stopped a match to look for the dentures he had lost. The reader will even find a story about a defender who was reprimanded even though he was already dead! Within these pages are entertaining stories that will seem almost too unbelievable to be true. Written in a fun and lighthearted manner, Unforgettable Soccer tells the soccer stories that should be told, making it a must-have for every soccer fan.
A curated selection of football stories from journalist Philip Micallef over a 35-year career covering Australian football. The highs, the lows, the good, the bad and the ugly.