Soccer Memoir

In 2012, Hakeem al-Araibi was a promising young player on Bahrain's national football team when he was arrested for attacking a police station during the Arab Spring, despite television footage showing him playing soccer at the time of the alleged attack. After three months of torture and wrongful imprisonment, Hakeem was released. He fled the country and made his way to Australia, where he was granted refugee status. Hakeem made a life here and was playing for the suburban Pascoe Vale Football Club, in Melbourne. He thought he was safe.

**Narrated by the author!** Roger Bennett is bringing his skills as one of the best soccer commentators in the world to the audio edition of his best-selling book WE ARE THE WORLD (CUP). Experience Bennett’s intimate story of how soccer has shaped him and the world, direct from the man who...

Recent years have brought home a startling truth: soccer is no longer an also-ran among top U.S. sports. How did we get here? How did we go from having multiple professional soccer leagues flounder to having Major League Soccer prove to its doubters that it's here to stay? How did we evolve from barely having a Women's National Team to a golden era of women's soccer with a captivating style of play, great stars, and unforgettable moments?

Growing up Jewish in London with a difficult home life, Jonathan Wilson had plenty of reasons to feel he didn't belong, and one reason to feel certain he did: football. Wilson discovered his love for the game as a young boy; through his adolescence and adulthood and well into his later years it remained an important part of his life.

Geoff Shreeves is a giant of football. From reporting pitchside on the biggest matches to his iconic appearances in EA's FIFA series, Geoff's warmth, humour and expertise have made him a constant fixture of the sport. In this audio edition of Cheers Geoff!, read by the author himself, Geoff...

A history making memoir of the first openly gay professional athlete in North America, now the producer of Fellow Travelers and My Policeman “Rogers made history.” —Sports Illustrated Robbie Rogers knows better than most that keeping secrets can crush you. But for much of his life Robbie...

How do some of soccer’s smartest and most accomplished figures master the craft of the game? This in-depth analysis of modern soccer reveals how elite players and coaches strategize on and off the field to execute in high-pressure situations. “A worthy addition to any soccer fan’s...

In early March 2020 Liverpool was two wins away from an extraordinary achievement, on course for its first league title win in 30 years - since the heady days of Kenny Dalglish - and likely to seal it in the Liverpool derby against its great rival Everton. And all this an incredible two months before the season was due to end. Then, as we all know, the season was postponed. The architect of the club's great resurgence - including its 2019 UEFA Champions League win - has been Jurgen Klopp....

There's another side to Australian Football League legends such as Jason Dunstall, Shane Crawford, and James Hird, not to mention Kevin Sheedy's little quirks. Have you heard the story about the time Sheeds had to play the part of one of the Three Little Pigs? Or how hysterical chickens found their way into Bomber Thompson's new car during training? Who put white powder in the Essendon doctor's bag that was then detected at the airport? And why is John Platten a 'footy-trip legend'?