Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Football (American)

Often recruited before they've worn long trousers, today's footballers become superstars who earn huge amounts without ever learning much about the world beyond the training ground. But what do these Peter Pans, whose careers end just as most people's are getting going, do with the rest of their lives? Crouch speaks from his own experience and discusses with fellow former professionals too—just how do you safely release a near seven-foot striker back into the wild?

Captain, father, leader, a fearless ambassador for the causes he believes in and a world-class midfielder, Jordan Henderson is all of these things—and it is why he is one of the most widely respected players of his generation. His story will go down in legend but his story also carries an inspirational message for anyone, showing hurdles and barriers won't stop you reaching your goals. In this, his first autobiography, Jordan reveals how an early love for the game as a kid became an all-consuming passion.

Who is Erik ten Hag? With an air of unperturbability, he ignores critics, follows his own methods and relentlessly pursues perfection on the pitch. His uncanny ability to analyse and solve problems—the 'process' as Ten Hag calls it—has unfailingly led to breakthrough. There is no magic. There is only intelligence at work, personal devotion to players and near-obsessive attention to detail. Maarten Meijer's definitive biography follows Erik ten Hag, from his upbringing in the Dutch countryside to his domestic triumphs and European victories.

When a man walks on to a pitch there’s always a chance something magic can happen, that’s what keeps us coming back…’In A Man Walks On to a Pitch, Harry shares a lifetime’s experience of obsessing over football, during which he has seen it all first hand - the good, the bad and the unbelievable. Harry started in an age where players were ordinary blokes who might live on the same street as you and earn a similar wage and now manages in an era of player power.

Ultras are football fans like no others. A hugely visible and controversial part of the global game, their credo and aesthetic replicated in almost every league everywhere on earth, a global movement of extreme fandom and politics is also one of the largest youth movements in the world. Yet they remain unknown: an anti-establishment force that is transforming both football and politics. In this book, James Montague goes underground to uncover the true face of this dissident force for the first time. 

Roddy Collins is a football man—now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at 16 clubs), manager (12 clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny man: an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he'd just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he'd 'rather dig holes in the road'.

England invented football, codified it, became champions of the world in 1966 but humiliatingly then forgot how to play the greatest game of all. England took their eye off a ball they arrogantly thought they owned, allowing other nations to run off with it. It has been 50 years of hurt since Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup trophy at Wembley, and in this groundbreaking book Henry Winter addresses the state England are in on the golden anniversary of their greatest moment.

In Above the Line, Urban Meyer answers this question and many more. Pulling back the curtain on the high-profile, high-pressure world he operates in, he offers listeners a groundbreaking game plan for creating a culture of success that engages and inspires the people around them - the very game plan he followed every day in the Buckeyes' historic 2014 season.

Pete Carroll is one of the most successful coaches in football today. As the head coach at USC, he brought the Trojans back to national prominence, amassing a 97-19 record over nine seasons. Now he shares the championship-winning philosophy that led USC to seven straight Pac-10 titles.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of All-American Murder by James Patterson, read by Peter Coleman. Aaron Hernandez was a college football All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. He was a star on the league-dominant New England Patriots, who extended his contract for a record $40 million. Hernandez’s every move as a professional athlete played out in the headlines, yet he led a secret life - one that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong so fast?

Michael Oher is the young man at the center of the true story depicted in The Blind Side movie (and book) that swept up awards and accolades. Though the odds were heavily stacked against him, Michael had a burning desire deep within his soul to break out of the Memphis inner-city ghetto and into a world of opportunity. While many people are now familiar with Oher's amazing journey, this is the first time he has shared his account of his story in his own words.

Preparation is easy to praise but very hard to master. No modern coach, in any sport, understands that better than NFL veteran Tom Coughlin. He led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories with his system of relentless preparation and old-school tough-mindedness. He teaches his players that you can never guarantee a win, but you can always earn the right to win - with focus, consistency, hard work, and anticipation of obstacles. And if you’ve earned the right to win, you can sleep soundly before a big game....

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Play On by Jeff Bercovici, read by Adam Sims. Sports are about challenging our physical limits. But the greatest limit of all remains undefeated: age. We're taught to believe that ageing thwarts effort and grace, talent and grit, outstanding teamwork and individual brilliance. But a new breed of top professionals - the likes of Roger Federer, Jo Pavey and Tom Brady - are overturning long-held assumptions about the duration of primetime in a sporting career. It's not that aging causes a decline in fitness; rather, a decline in fitness causes aging.

There is nobody like Patrick Mahomes. In three seasons, he has won a Super Bowl and competed in another, earned the titles of First Team All-Pro, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and league MVP, and turned the Kansas City Chiefs from famed playoff failures into the most successful team in the NFL. With his unique and groundbreaking playing style, and winning personality both on and off the field, Mahomes has become a truly transcendent quarterback in a journey that mirrors and accentuates the rebirth of the once swingin’ cow town of Kansas City, Missouri.

Millions of people became part of Michael Oher’s story when they watched a version of him on the big screen; read his memoir, I Beat the Odds; or cheered him on from the stands. After speaking to so many of them over the years, Oher knows that more than anything, people want to believe great things can happen, even when the situation looks bleak. His story of overcoming the toughest of odds serves as their hope.

In between Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan there was Joe Namath, one of the very few sports heroes who transcended their game. The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Namath left the steel country of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, for the Deep South, where he played quarterback for Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama. Almost four years later, he signed a $427,000 contract with the New York Jets that changed football forever, transforming a crude, violent game into show business.

The brilliant young forensic pathologist had no idea that the body on the slab in front of him would change his life - and ultimately change the world. The body belonged to legendary American footballer Mike Webster, whose mental health had rapidly declined after he had stopped playing - he had ended up Tasering himself to relieve his chronic back pain and fixing his rotting teeth with superglue. Dr Bennet Omalu found that the psychosis suffered by "Iron Mike" was no accident.