At Arsenal, the club where he won the FA Cup three times, Per Mertesacker was affectionately called the "Big Friendly German." Standing at 6ft 6in, he was the defender who took fitness so seriously that he invested ten per-cent of his annual salary on personal therapists. His endurance would help him in a decade- long career with the German national team which culminated in him lifting the World Cup in 2014. In his autobiography, Mertesacker reveals the story of that summer in Brazil, expl...

Jens Lehmann is one of football's most recognisable goalkeepers. In a playing career stretching across four decades he represented three of Europe's most illustrious clubs. Winning Bundesliga and Premier League titles only tell apart of his story, however. Here, Lehmann follows a path of self-analysis, detailing his obsession with the game, an obsession which propelled him to a sporting level he felt comfortable with, albeit a level which brought intense scrutiny and–regularly – fierce cri...

WINNER OF THE 2011 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2012 FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEARWhy does an international footballer with the world at his feet decide to take his own life?On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty-two years old and a devoted husband and father.Enke had played for a string of Europe's top clubs, including Ba...

Access inside the changing room and behind the scenes that any journalist or writer would kill for - Perarnau's insights are astonishing' - Graham Hunter'Write about everything you see. Be as critical as you like' - Pep Guardiola to Marti Perarnau, summer 2013Marti Perarnau was given total access to Bayern Munich during season 2013-14. This book represents the first time in the modern era that a writer has got this close to one of the elite teams of world football. At the i...

The autobiography of three time Tour de France Green Jersey winner.Professional road cyclist Robbie McEwen will do whatever it takes to win on a bike. He is proud of his reputation as a 'competitive little bugger' and 'a bit of a hard bastard in the peloton', yet he is at pains to point out that what he's channelling is not rage or aggression but a fierce determination and razor-sharp focus. Here, in his own words, Robbie reveals what has made him one of the most successful road cyclists o...

'SPLENDID' Daily Telegraph'THOUGHT-PROVOKING' Independent on Sunday'INSATIABLE' David Goldblatt'METICULOUS' When Saturday Comes'SUPERB' Readers DigestIn this first-ever cultural history of the 'loner' between the posts, Jonathan Wilson traces the sometimes dangerous intellectual and literary preoccupations of the keeper, and l...

At 50cm square, 852 pages long and weighing in at 37kg The Official Formula 1 Opus was the biggest book on Formula One racing ever produced. The history of the sport has never been told in such depth, with so many exclusive interviews. The finest writers have been employed to capture the spirit and excitement of the most thrilling sport of them all and now the 300,000 words used to tell this amazing story are available to you in eBook format. The Official Formula 1 Opus is a joyous celebra...

Michael Schumacher is the outstanding Formula One driver of his generation and, statistically, the greatest ever. Gifted with a rare blend of superior ability and nerve that defines a champion, for 15 seasons he has left rivals trailing in his wake, winning an unprecedented seven world drivers' championships.But he is a controversial figure, feared for his ruthless tactics, despised for using extreme methods in pursuit of his goals. THE EDGE OF GREATNESS examines Schumacher's entir...

Updated to include Klopp’s final season at Anfield"It is the intensity of the football, of how the people live football in Liverpool, all the Liverpool fans around the world. It is not a normal club, it is a special club." Jürgen KloppJürgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool after nine incredible years shocked the football community. His tactical acumen, motivational skills and ability to develop young talent were instrumental in Liverpool's resu...

When the name of Theo Walcott was included in the England squad for the 2006 World Cup, shock waves ran through the football world. But no one was more surprised than Theo himself.Five years later, Theo Walcott is one of the most recognizable names in football. As the English heart of the brilliant young Arsenal team, he has become a firm favourite at the Emirates Stadium. He represents everything that is good about the beautiful game: a player with his feet on the ground, but ligh...

JüKlopp's coaching career began in the German second tier at the unfashionable club of FSV Mainz 05, whom he steered to the Bundesliga for the first time in forty-one years. In 2008, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he achieved back-to-back league titles and took the club to the UEFA Champions League final. He left Germany for one of the England's most challenging jobs: to manage Liverpool, a once-mighty club that had not managed sustained success since the 1980s.It was not a ta...

A look at the history of soccer's development in the Netherlands and how it reflects the history of the nation itself.If any one thing, Brilliant Orange is about Dutch space and a people whose unique conception of it has led to the most enduring arts, the weirdest architecture, and a bizarrely cerebral form of soccer?Total Football?that led in 1974 to a World Cup finals match with arch-rival Germany, and more recently to a devastating loss against Spain in ...