Champions League Dreams


Book Description

This is a stimulating and deeply insightful football narrative by Rafa Benitez which focuses on the legendary manager's dramatic six Champions League campaigns with Liverpool. Rafa expertly navigates fans through intriguing European adventures that embrace the triumph and despair of two Champions League finals, three semi-finals and five quarter-finals in what was a golden era for the Anfield club - an era that supporters felt gave them their pride back after years in the wilderness. What sets this apart is the unique ways in which Rafa allows fans into his high-pressured world, the fascinating glimpses he offers of a top manager's thought processes and decision making during the cut and thrust of a high-octane European campaign. Understand how a great manager prepares for, then executes, a master-plan for European success.




Red Mist: A Fan's View of the 2014/15 Season


Book Description

AFTER the heartbreak of last year's near miss, Kopites anticipated Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool taking one step further and winning their first title since 1990. But what followed was one of the most tumultuous seasons in the club's history. Luis Suarez was embroiled in the third biting incident of his career at the World Cup, and was reluctantly sold to Barcelona. His replacement was the equally controversial Mario Balotelli. And with the season at its lowest ebb, the bombshell was dropped that arguably Liverpool's greatest ever player, Steven Gerrard would be leaving. Experience all the trials and tribulations from the perspective of an obsessive LFC fan featuring articles from The Liverpool Way, Red All Over the Land and We Are Liverpool fanzines. Packed with honesty and dark humour, Red Mist is an intense examination of what exactly went wrong at Anfield this season both on the pitch and behind the scenes."




World Football Club Crests


Book Description

An illustrated exploration of the design, meaning and symbolism of world football club crests. Why is there a devil shown on the crest of Manchester United? Which club's crest motto is 'To Dare Is To Do'? And whose emblem depicts a bear and a strawberry tree? From the seahorses of Newcastle United to the royal crown of Real Madrid, via the riveting hammers of West Ham United, Valencia's famous bat design and German club St Pauli's unofficial skull-and-crossbones emblem, there is a story behind every crest, a tale of identity. Covering more than 200 clubs from 20 different leagues, World Football Club Crests explores the design, meaning and symbolism of the game's most famous club crests to reveal why the badges look as they do. This carefully curated collection charts the continuing evolution of the designs and describes the changing styles, varied influences and remarkable controversies that have shaped football's most iconic crests. These important symbols of football heraldry will never be viewed in the same way again.




Ronaldo – 2014 Updated Edition


Book Description

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of football’s all-time greats: a FIFA Ballon d’Or winner with pace, trickery and extraordinary goalscoring ability. Driven by an insatiable desire to be the best he possibly can, he has inspired first Manchester United and then Real Madrid to some of the proudest achievements in each club’s recent history, and continues to push himself on to greater things each season. Luca Caioli, author of the bestselling Messi, tells the inside story of this global superstar both on and off the pitch, featuring insights from those who know him best: coaches, teammates, girlfriends and even the man himself. Ronaldo is a unique behind-the-scenes look at a true great of the game, updated to include the turbulent yet brilliant 2012/13 campaign.




Ronaldo – 2013 Edition


Book Description

From the author of the bestselling Torres and Messi, a revealing new biography of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. When a young Portuguese player with sublime abilities arrived at Manchester United in 2003, Alex Ferguson put the no. 7 shirt – once worn by Best, Cantona and Beckham – on his back without hesitation. The expectation was clear, and Cristiano Ronaldo didn't disappoint. Ronaldo won the FIFA World Footballer of the Year in 2008, the first Premier League player ever to do so. Since his record-breaking £80m move to Real Madrid, his goal-scoring flair has continued and made his on-going rivalry with Barcelona's Lionel Messi even more intense. Luca Caioli tells the inside story of this global superstar both on and off the pitch, unveiling the life of one of modern football's great players as never before.




Draft Dreams In The Making


Book Description

Millions of basketball players outside the United States dream of one day playing in the NBA. Thousands of those youngsters make their way onto the radars of NBA scouts patrolling the globe on the lookout for the next Drazen Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Those talent observers criss-cross Europe and the rest of the world and watch prospects playing at both club and national team competitions - and that both at the youth and senior levels. "Draft Dreams In The Making" is a compilation of articles written by David Hein about many of the international players who have shined at one or more of those competitions and have either declared themselves for the 2020 NBA Draft or are automatically eligible - those 1998-born players. The articles in this book were published on the websites for the events where the players were competing - be it FIBA, Euroleague Basketball and Basketball Champions League events. Not all international players who are in the 2020 draft pool are included in this book - solely those about whom an article was written. Hopefuly you enjoy this book as much as the author did writing the articles in it.




Ronaldo – 2018 Updated Edition


Book Description

A three-time winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo's status as a footballing superstar is unquestionable. His insatiable desire to succeed and to improve himself year-after-year has seen him win almost everything there is to win in the game, including his first international silverware: a Euro 2016 winner's medal. Here, Madrid-based journalist Luca Caioli tells the inside story of the global superstar, featuring insights from those who know him best: coaches, teammates, girlfriends and even the man himself. Updated to include all the action from the 2016/17 season, the year after he claimed his third Champions League winner's medal and became the tournament's all-time top goalscorer. Ronaldo lays bare the career of a modern footballing icon.




Ronaldo – 2015 Updated Edition


Book Description

Cristiano Ronaldo is known throughout the world for his devastating ability and his carefully crafted image. A two-time Ballon d’Or winner with his own fashion label, he is every inch the modern superstar, but behind the glamour lies one of the most dedicated athletes the sport has ever known. Luca Caioli, author of the bestselling Messi, tells the inside story of the Real Madrid star whose determination has driven him to the very top of his game, featuring insights from those who know him best: coaches, teammates, girlfriends and even the man himself. Updated to include all the action from his hugely successful 2013/14 campaign, Ronaldo offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of football’s all-time greats.




Ronaldo – 2016 Updated Edition


Book Description

Season after season, Cristiano Ronaldo continues to prove that he is one of football's true greats. A three-time winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or and the man whose astonishing goalscoring feats have fired much of Real Madrid's recent success, he is driven by an insatiable desire to succeed and to improve himself year after year. Here Madrid-based journalist Luca Caioli tells the inside story of the global superstar, featuring insights from those who know him best: coaches, teammates, girlfriends and even the man himself. Updated to include all the action from 2014/15 – a campaign in which he claimed the European Golden Shoe for a record fourth time – Ronaldo lays bare the career of a modern footballing icon.




Ronaldo – 2017 Updated Edition


Book Description

Season after season, Cristiano Ronaldo continues to prove that he is one of football’s true greats. A three-time winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or and the man whose astonishing goalscoring feats have fired much of Real Madrid’s recent success, he is driven by an insatiable desire to succeed and to improve himself year after year. Here Madrid-based journalist Luca Caioli tells the inside story of the global superstar, featuring insights from those who know him best: coaches, teammates, girlfriends and even the man himself. Updated to include all the action from 2014/15 – a campaign in which he claimed the European Golden Shoe for a record fourth time – Ronaldo lays bare the career of a modern footballing icon.