Sportbiografier

One of the most surprising footballstories you will ever read: the life of George Robledo, the forgotten foreigngenius of English football.

True story of a wee Glasgow guy who left school with no formal qualifications and had many jobs before ending up running a business in Australia and New Zealand. There are many coincidences along the way, including meeting famous people and also people from growing up - some I'd not seen or spoken to for 50 years! And also family who have a habit of dying on certain days. Set initially in Glasgow and moving around the city, encountering many strange day-to-day scenarios and events to ending up on a beach in Sydney and then on to Redland Bay in between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Jobs at this time took me all around Australia and New Zealand with trips also to Japan and four times per year back to the UK for a week for company meetings. Birthdays in later life were special times with my 40th in Glasgow, 50th on the Gold Coast and 60th in Melbourne at the famous horse race. My disabled brother, Alexander, was my hero growing up and still is after his achievements in the world of darts. Read about his exploits and be mesmerised by where he ended up having such a short sports career. My family have been strong throughout and my friends are all wacky, but in a really funny kind of way. If you are still wondering about this book, then just let me say - I would like to thank my parents for the gift of life. And thank the gift of life for me having so much fun. Thank fun for giving me a wonderful life. Thank a wonderful life for the opportunity to write this book. Thank this book for giving other people the chance to enjoy my life.

This is a deeply researched biography of the new face of tennis. A man who, at a tender age has achieved more than the stars of the previous generation did at his age. At just 19 years of age, Carlos Alcaraz won the US Open and became the world's youngest number one in the game. At only 21 he had four Grand Slam titles.For Carlos Alcaraz, everything - from his charm to his star power to his tennis mojo - starts with a smile. It's a performance free of cynicism and radiating happiness.But does the smile mask a more complex character? One who grew up in humble circumstances in a small village in Murcia. A man with strong family traditions who has a tattoo of his grandfather's favourite saying - 'Cabeza Corazon y cojones (brain, heart and balls) - inked on his left wrist. Mark Hodgkinson talks to those who know him best - including his coaches, family friends, old teachers, and competitors - to provide a fascinating insight into the spartan showman of tennis and a GOAT in waiting.

From a youth team player at Scunthorpe to the England Manager's job, by way of Liverpool, Newcastle and Hamburg, Keegan considers the extravagant highs of a football man who touched the game with genius, who was never sacked in his life, and who came within an ace of triumph as a manager.

This is a deeply researched biography of the new face of tennis. A man who, at a tender age has achieved more than the stars of the previous generation did at his age. At just 19 years of age, Carlos Alcaraz won the US Open and became the world's youngest number one in the game. At only 21 he had four Grand Slam titles.For Carlos Alcaraz, everything - from his charm to his star power to his tennis mojo - starts with a smile. It's a performance free of cynicism and radiating happiness.But does the smile mask a more complex character? One who grew up in humble circumstances in a small village in Murcia. A man with strong family traditions who has a tattoo of his grandfather's favourite saying - 'Cabeza Corazon y cojones (brain, heart and balls) - inked on his left wrist. Mark Hodgkinson talks to those who know him best - including his coaches, family friends, old teachers, and competitors - to provide a fascinating insight into the spartan showman of tennis and a GOAT in waiting.

Matt Jansen had it all. He was young, quick, audaciously skilful and, at the turn of the millennium, regarded as one of the most intelligent attacking talents in English football. His potential seemed boundless. After bursting onto the scene with Carlisle in 1997 and helping his hometown club win promotion, Sir Alex Ferguson had tried to lure him to Old Trafford - but foreseeing only bench spot at United, Jansen instead opted for Steve Coppell's Crystal Palace. In 1998, he moved to Blackburn, where he formed an attacking triumvirate with Andy Cole and Damien Duff, and proved himself to be a constant threat for Blackburn and a lethal finisher, scoring 16 times in the 2001/02 season and earning himself a place in Sven Goran-Eriksson's England squad. Widely tipped to be part of England's campaign at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Eriksson instead surprised many with his conservative selection of Martin Keown over the rising star; Keown wouldn't play a single minute at the tournament and England would crash out to ten-man Brazil - but Jansen didn't see a minute of it. While England battled it out in the Far East, Jansen had taken a holiday to Rome where he was involved a serious traffic accident. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and slipped into a six-day coma. Jansen survived and, astonishingly, he was back playing for Blackburn just four months later. Physically he may have felt he was ready to return to top-flight football, but mentally he was nowhere near. Battling the spectre of the accident, he was unable to recapture the instinctive genius that had previously defined him. In an effort to reignite his career, he joined Coventry, Bolton and then Wrexham but he was never able to find his former footballing self and was finally forced to admit that his playing days were over. He has since channelled his energies into a new career as a coach - proving to be wise, erudite and compassionate in his new role, but also a continuing object of fascination for those who wonder what might have been. This is the story of a career destined for the stratosphere, cruelly snatched away by the vagaries of fate. Brilliant, bold, and at times brutal in its honesty, this powerful tale of shattered dreams and a life rebuilt is a testament to an inspiring, unconquered soul.

The most complete and rounded picture of Matt Busby - the man and the manager - ever written, from an author widely regarded as the best Manchester United historian alive today. Contains never-before-heard interviews with Matt Busby, Sir Alex Ferguson and other key Manchester United figures.

Through the eyes of one of convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally's many victims, Ireland's Protected Predator takes readers on a harrowing journey through his brutal reign of terror. This shocking story explores the former basketball coach and Fianna Fä il activist's warped obsession with handcuffs and how he blackmailed powerless children into silence by threatening to circulate Polaroid images taken during these depraved attacks. Masquerading as a respected member of the community, he escaped justice for more than three decades with the help of many in our society who are meant to protect us. Jason Clancy recounts his journey from his traumatised teenage years to successfully campaigning for a Commission of Investigation to examine how Bill Kenneally was allowed to continue roaming the streets preying on innocent boys decades after admitting to torturing them. For the first time, this book delves into the more sinister question of how Bill Kenneally escaped justice for decades - and whether the those in authority positions were complicit in covering up his crimes.

Four-time New York Times bestselling sportswriter Ian O'Connor takes on four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, delivering the definitive biography of the legendary yet mysterious quarterback who has astonished, befuddled, yet always captivated fans of America's #1 sport.Aaron Rodgers is regarded by some as the most talented player to ever hold the most important job in American team sports--quarterback. He also stands among the most mysterious and polarizing figures in the modern-day national pastime that is pro football. From his controversial Covid stance to his methods of spiritual awakening to his estrangement from his family to his high-profile romances to his devastating Achilles injury a mere four plays into his New York Jets career, Rodgers has long dominated the NFL's news cycle. At thirty-nine, in search of a challenge that would rejuvenate him, Rodgers divorced the iconic Green Bay Packers of Vince Lombardi fame for the Jets, who haven't appeared in a Super Bowl since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. The trade made Rodgers the biggest story in the biggest league in the biggest market. By far.That story only got bigger when Rodgers shockingly went down on the night of 9/11, in front of a packed house that roared for him when he took the field carrying an American flag, and in front of the biggest Monday Night Football audience in ESPN history--peaking at more than 25 million viewers. As Rodgers launches his comeback and his bid to lead the Jets to a championship, acclaimed sports biographer Ian O'Connor uses hundreds of original interviews to pull back the curtain and answer the most penetrating questions about perhaps the country's most famous and most enigmatic athlete. Just like he did in his previous works on Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, Derek Jeter, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, O'Connor reveals all sides of an all-time great and delivers a portrait of a complex man and four-time NFL MVP that will forever shape the way football fans view him.

Inspired by the true story of Frankie Lucas, a young black boxer navigating the vibrant yet challenging world of 1970s London.

Out of the Darkness reveals a grittier side of football. Former Leicester and Sunderland winger Matt Piper retired aged 24, after 16 knee operations, and his life soon spiralled out of control. His daily existence became dependent on alcohol and Valium, culminating in an ugly rock bottom. But after the darkness came light.

Born prematurely, weighing less than a bag of sugar, Oisin Murphy's life has always been one of struggle. From a young age he found communion with horses. Mesmerised by their power, their spirit, he discovered a gift for the saddle.Oisin quickly established himself as one of horseracing's most prodigious talents. But reaching the pinnacle of the sport required a high-wire dance that pushed his body and mind to their breaking point. Despite a three-year streak as champion jockey, alcohol addiction lurked beneath the surface, and a string of misdemeanours saw him banned for over a year."I dealt with success and failure the same. Drink was the rock I perished on. The day I picked up the championship trophy there was no element of joy in it for me."Fast paced and searingly honest, Sacrifice follows Oisin's extraordinary journey back from the brink to recover his love for the sport and reclaim his champion jockey crown in 2024. It lays bare the realities of life as a professional jockey and the personal cost of success in a sport that demands total obsession.

Told in detail for the first time and based on exclusive interviews, get the inside story on the legendary rivalry between two of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever.The battle for NASCAR dominance was never more pronounced than when Richard Petty and David Pearson met on the track. In head-to-head competition beginning in 1960, they finished one-two an astounding 63 times (Pearson won 33, Petty 30). Petty vs. Pearson is the only book to examine this storied relationship, beginning with their pre-Winston Cup careers. Along the way, author and award-winning motorsports journalist Mike Hembree leaves no stone unturned, detailing:The drivers’ respective backgrounds—Petty earning his way up through a racing dynasty led by his father Lee; Pearson honing his chops as a DIY racer on local South Carolina dirt tracks The Carolinians’ first meeting in a Cup event in 1960The memorable battles between the two drivers, including their legendary wild finish at the 1976 Daytona 500Parallel careers that coincided with seismic changes to NASCAR, including: the advent of superspeedways, the “aero wars,” the injection of corporate money, and the arrival of a new generation of star drivers in the 1980sWhile their rivalry produced amazing finishes and tense moments, Petty and Pearson remained friends throughout. Petty vs. Pearsonexamines all aspects of the relationship, from their salad days in the sport to their respective retirements in 1986 (Pearson) and 1994 (Petty) and their lives in NASCAR beyond the driver’s seat. Throughout the riveting text, Hembree draws on original interviews with both drivers (including interviews conducted with Petty in early 2024), those who were there to witness the rivalry, and NASCAR figures who came later. The result is an entertaining and essential account of a storied rivalry—and friendship—that bridged the divide between NASCAR’s rollicking early years and the entertainment behemoth it is today.Featuring a foreword by Terry Labonte, a legendary NASCAR driver in his own right, Petty vs. Pearson is a must-have for every NASCAR fan’s collection.