Champions League Dreams

Author: Rafa Benitez
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 9780755363643
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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 book 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.

A Season on the Brink

Author: Guillem Balague
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 1409138143
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 147

Book Description
Biographical Portrait of Liverpool's Spanish football manager Rafael Benitez and an extraordinary season for the club. When Rafael Benitez was appointed manager of under-achieving Liverpool at the start of the 2004-2005 season, the reaction of many fans was 'Who the **** is Rafael Benitez?'. The Liverpool fans had grown used to French manager Gerard Houllier but he had been a fan of the club himself since his days as a teacher on Merseyside. A Spaniard with admittedly a wonderful record at Valencia was going to take over management of Liverpool's famous Boot Room and try and win over a disillusioned Kop. But in one season, Benitez's importation of Spanish players, coaching methods and diet has led to a revolution, even usurping Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, whereby the team has ended the season winning the ultimate trophy for any European club - the European Champions League. No fan will ever forget the comeback from a 3-0 deficit to a 3-3 scoreline, then dramatic success in the penalty shoot-out. This is the story of Rafa's remarkable success.

Rafa Benitez

Author: Paco Lloret
Publisher: Dewi Lewis Publishing - Dewi Lewis Media
ISBN: 9780954684372
Category : Soccer
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
On 25 May 2005, Liverpool FC won the Champions League Final in one of the most memorable and extraordinary nights of English football. Benitez surpassed his fantastic Spanish success with Liverpool FC. This authorised biography is a vivid and lively account of both his personal and professional life, from his early days up to his most recent successes. Author Paco Lloret has been a sports journalist for over 20 years. He first met Benitez in 1996 and has been in frequent contact since, giving him a privileged viewpoint of this extraordinary manager.

Champions League Dreams

Author: Rafa Benitez
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 0755363639
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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.

Groove Armada

Author: John Williams
Publisher: Mainstream Publishing
ISBN: 9781845961374
Category : Soccer managers
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This book examines the developing connections between English and Spanish soccer by looking at key figures--players like Beckham, Owen, and Woodgate, and managers such as Mourinho at Chelsea. It focuses in particular on manager Rafa Benitez, formerly of Valencia, now Liverpool, and the struggles he faces in the British game.

From Guernica to Guardiola

Author: Adam Crafton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471157156
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 417

Book Description
As Pep Guardiola shatters records and confounds the norms of English football and players such as David De Gea and David Silva light up the national game, Spanish stars are transforming the way English football is conceived. But the origins of this particular Spanish invasion date back to 1937, when the Spanish Civil War led to a stream of refugees fleeing their country for the safe haven of England. Their families reveal how the refugees learned the game here, before returning to Spain where one would score Real Madrid’s first goal in the Bernabeu stadium and another would be the first man to conceive of Barcelona’s vaunted La Masia academy that would later launch stars such as Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez. In recent years the reputation of Spain’s footballers has grown, and every club craves a sprinkling of tiki-taka magic. Through dozens of exclusive interviews, Adam Crafton has spoken to many of the key Spanish figures who have come to England and he creates a compelling portrait of their impact on the English game. We discover how and why it is that some players, such as Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina and Juan Mata, have had great success here, while others have toiled so painfully. But this is not just a footballing story, pure and simple. Crafton provides the historical and social context that helps to explain how the relationship between the two nations is constantly changing, yet always close. For anyone who enjoyed Jonathan Wilson’s Inverting the Pyramid or Sid Lowe’s Fear and Loathing in La Liga, this book is a revealing and brilliant insight into this most benign of Spanish invasions.

The Return of King Kenny - Liverpool FC's 2010-2011 Season from a Fan's Perspective (Unauthorised)

Author: Oliver Smith
Publisher: Punked Books
ISBN: 1908375108
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
"At over 100,000 words, The Return of King Kenny is the most comprehensive guide yet published to Liverpool Football Club's 2010-2011 season, arguably the most tumultuous of any in the club's history. The previous lacklustre year had ended with the sacking of Rafael Benitez, which led the author of this book to believe that things could only get worse... Of course, Benitez was replaced by Roy Hodgson, who had achieved the phenomenal feat of getting Fulham to the 2010 UEFA Europa League final. To his credit, Oliver had doubts from the start that Roy Hodgson could successfully make the step up to a bigger club such as Liverpool FC, and Oliver's ideal appointment at this time would have been a certain 'King Kenny'... Yet Liverpool were still owned by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who were certainly not a "safe pair of hands", as under their stewardship, Liverpool FC came dangerously close to the brink of administration... Oliver Smith cuts through the broken promises, the bluster, and the red tape to provide a scintillating account of the events that could have wrecked Liverpool FC forever. With the stunning purchase of Liverpool FC by John W. Henry's New England Sports Ventures (NESV), Oliver was finally able to detect a little bit of that "golden sky' so promised by the Kop's famous anthem. However, with Liverpool FC having the worst start to the season since the 50s, with an accompanying drop into the Premier League relegation zone, more drama was to come, culminating in the crowning of a legendary Anfield hero as King..."--

An Epic Swindle

Author: Brian Reade
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 1623655366
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
An Epic Swindle is the inside story of how Liverpool FC came within hours of being re-possessed by the banks after the shambolic 44-month reign of American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. It is the tale of a civil war that dragged Britain's most successful football club to its knees, through the High Court and almost into administration. Players Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher tell of their anger at the broken promises, as well as their pain at watching loyal fans in open revolt. Manager, chief executive, board members, leading fans and journalists reveal the turmoil at a revered sporting institution run by two men at war with each other, who trampled Liverpool's cherished traditions into the gutter. No story sums up the naked greed at the heart of modern football quite like Hicks' and Gillett's attempt to turn a buck at Liverpool. No-one has had as much access to the truth, or tells it with as much passion, wit and insight as Brian Reade. An Epic Swindle is the riveting story of how close one of the great football clubs came to financial implosion.

Rafa's Way

Author: Martin Hardy
Publisher: Decoubertin Books
ISBN: 9781909245662
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The noise grew. Everywhere you looked Newcastle fans were on their feet, United, at last, in song. St James' Park was rocking, a noise that carried down from the cathedral at the top of the hill, down through the city. It felt like a celebration. It wasn't. Newcastle -- facing Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the 2015/16 Premier League season -- had already been relegated. The fervent atmosphere was instead a final call of support for the manager, Rafa Benitez. It was only his tenth game in charge -- not enough time for him to steer Newcastle clear of relegation -- yet the St James' crowd were imploring him to stay. The Spaniard had fallen into the hearts of the people of Tyneside. Spurs -- second in the league before kick-off -- were beaten 5-1. A club was stirring back to life. The job at hand though, was huge: galvanise and resurrect a club and its football obsessed city. He had to strip away years of neglect, breathe life into flawed structures, clear dressing rooms, rebuild belief, attempt to give the people of Newcastle their pride back. Rafa's Way tells the story of the remarkable Championship campaign that followed, the turnaround in the fortunes of Newcastle United and the dramatic promotion. It charts Benitez's overhaul of everything within a troubled club, his impact on its city, and how he immersed himself in a community that persuaded him to stay, and could not bear to see him leave. Rafa's Way talks in-depth to Benitez, about his beliefs and the challenge he faced, to the players, the key men in black and white stripes who made Newcastle United champions, and delves into the very heart of a football club as it emerged from the ashes.

Whistle Blower

Author: Mark Clattenburg
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 1472282043
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
The outspoken and hard-hitting autobiography of one of the most highly-rated, recognisable and controversial football referees of modern times. Mark Clattenburg found himself in the centre circle, whistle in hand, at the start of 450 Premier League matches during a highly eventful 13-year career in football's top flight. He has shaken hands with, issued red and yellow cards to, and been sworn at by hundreds of players. He has been screamed at and shared jokes with dozens and dozens of managers. And he's felt the wrath of thousands upon thousands of irate fans. His autobiography is the ultimate guide to what it's really like to be in the referee's spotlight. It offers numerous intriguing insights into the daily trials and tribulations, the acute stresses and strains, of a top-flight referee. Clattenburg takes the reader into the referee's room, the players' tunnel and out on the pitch to experience precisely what a referee goes through on match day.