How to Be a Footballer

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This book is not just about football, it’s also a story of how someone can wrestle with alcohol addiction whilst at the same time playing at the very top-level of the game.

However, we have found that some of the best football books are by lesser-known players such as Alan Stubbs, Danny Higginbotham and Muzzy Izzet which are just as entertaining, mainly down to their honest, descriptive stories and accounts of their footballing past. Of course, the big hitters such as Roy Keane’s book or Robbie Savage’s book are heavily publicised and rightly so as they are not only controversial but highly entertaining. Part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 80’s, Nicol tells numerous funny anecdotes about life in the Anfield dressing room in a time when the game was full of characters and not overpaid prima donnas.This riveting, passionately written inside story of the England team and its fans during Italia 90 made ‘football literature’ mean more than daft ghosted biographies. “There had been good football books before,” recalls Davies, “but they were rare, and there’d been bugger all in the 1980s.

The only negative point of the book in our opinion is that he doesn’t talk as much about his 20 year playing career as maybe he should have, considering that he made over 400 first-team appearances. Gillespie comes across in the book as a really decent man who unfortunately has a really sad story to tell.This is a powerful book which is full of opinions on his former side Arsenal and their failings in the Premier League in recent years and also the England national side and their inability to perform at major tournaments. Merson’s rollercoaster ride of drinks, drugs and gambling which plagued him throughout his entre career is recounted in a poignant but funny way and the book is littered with laugh out loud anecdotes. Even more remarkable than winning the trust of England boss Bobby Robson and his players was persuading a major publisher to take a gamble on a genre that didn’t yet exist. Davies then wrote the book in just eight weeks after the World Cup to hit the Christmas market. “It’s still incredibly vivid to me,” he adds. “I’ll never forget being in Turin.” David Winner

The main focus of the book is on his time at Liverpool which included the glory years of the mid 2000’s but this book will definitely appeal to fans of other clubs. Hamilton recalls, “I stayed well into the autumn afternoon and left hopelessly drunk on Bell’s Whisky. We never got to the champagne. My notebook was choked with stories.” One thing to note is that there are a few swear words within the book therefore it’s not suitable for some of Ronaldo’s younger fans. This book can be compared to how Steven Gerrard led his footballing career, no-nonsense, straight-laced and relatively drama free – this is not one of those football books which lift the lid on scandal and secrets. In September 2016, Ruud Gullit released his book How to Watch Football his masterclass on how to ‘read’ the game.

With a foreword from Arsene Wenger, Ray Parlour’s book is extremely well-written, easy to read and gives a great account of life as a Premier League footballer in the 1990’s. The longest-serving Liverpool FC player in the history of the club, Jamie Carragher released his long-awaited autobiography in 2009 whilst still an active player. This isn’t one of those football books full of amusing stories from the dressing room, (although there are of course some funny ancedotes), it’s more of a book on leadership skills, qualities and values and how you can lead a team of people to success. Paulo dreams of becoming a football star and escaping his life of poverty. His all-boys neighbourhood team don’t think that girls can play football, but when one of his teammates is injured, the only chance they have of succeeding is if his sister Maria steps in to save the day. This beautifully illustrated picture book provides an insight into life within a Brazilian favela and will inspire young girls to be the hero of their stories. 5. Booked by Kwame Alexander The notorious prankster caused mischief at pretty much every club he played for and he recounts his stories in typical light-hearted fashion.

This isn’t one of the longest football books and you’ll find it really easy to read so don’t be surprised if you finish it within a couple of days.This book was written before he resigned as England’s manager after the Telegraph’s well-publicised sting operation. If you’re someone who would much rather listen to a book than read one, why not try the 30 day trial through Audible which gives you two free audiobooks to keep regardless of whether you keep the subscription or not. Although the majority of the book details the funnier things that happened during his time as a footballer, Bullard also describes the heartbreak of the serious knee injuries that plagued him throughout his colourful career.