Ever wondered which goal Frank Lampard is proudest of, who Jürgen Klopp thinks will manage Liverpool in the future, what Rio Ferdinand thinks of Man United in the post-Ferguson years or exactly how many grey cashmere jumpers Pep Guardiola owns? In this collection of frank and funny conversations between footballers and their biggest fans, these vital questions (and many more) are finally addressed. A Game of Two Halves shows a different side to some of the biggest names in football, reminding us of the common ground we all share. This project is published in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with the goal of raising both funds for and awareness of their work with child refugees. Featuring forewords by Raheem Sterling and Gary Lineker and interviews between Jürgen Klopp & John Bishop Pep Guardiola & Johnny Marr Lucy Bronze & Clare Balding Frank Lampard & Omid Djalili Rio Ferdinand & Rachel Riley Ian Wright & Wretch 32 Héctor Bellerin & Romesh Ranganathan Steven Gerrard & David Morrissey Gary Lineker & Fahd Saleh Eric Dier & David Lammy John McGlynn & Val McDermid Vivianne Miedema & Amy Raphael

Professional football is one of the most popular television 'genres' worldwide, attracting the support of millions of fans, and the sponsorship of powerful companies. In A Game of Two Halves, Sandvoss considers football's relationship with television, its links with transnational capitalism, and the importance of football fandom in forming social and cultural identities around the globe. He presents the phenomenon of football as a reflection postmodern culture and globalization.Through a series of case studies, based in ethnographic audience research, Sandvoss explores the motivations and pleasures of football fans, the intense bond formed between supporters and their clubs, the implications of football consumption on political discourse and citizenship, football as a factor of cultural globalisation, and the pivotal role of football and television in a postmodern cultural order.

After ten years in New Zealand, Joe Bennett asked himself what on earth he was doing there. Other than his dogs, what was it about these two small islands on the edge of the world that had kept him - an otherwise restless traveller - for really much longer than they seemed to deserve? Bennett thought he'd better pack his bag and find out. Hitching around both the intriguingly named North and South Islands, with an eye for oddity and a taste for conversation, Bennett began to remind himself of the reasons New Zealand is quietly seducing the rest of the world.

Football Yesterday and Today is a photo book in the iconic style of America Yesterday and Today, with the past in evocative black and white side by side with the present in vivid colour. This nostalgic look back to the present-day allows the modern fan to see just how much things have moved on over the years but not much has altered. Images of the past are strangely different yet oddly familiar: times may change but football remains the great game it always was.

The popular actor and comedian shares his observations on why things are the way they are while sharing his offbeat opinions about the meaning of life and his personal role in it. Reprint."

Football has evolved enormously since Nagendra Prasad kicked a ball 150 years ago. Unlike any other sport, football has left a socio-cultural-economic influence throughout our quest for independence and onto the journey of becoming the world's largest democracy. From Mohun Bagan's 1911 IFA Shield win igniting a nationalist movement to the Indian footballing family's newest child, Bengaluru FC envisaged in a corporate suit, A Game of Two Halves gives its readers a chance to turn back the clock and revisit the glorious days of 11 clubs that made Indian club football invaluable.

NOMINATED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2022 'Superbly insightful' - FourFourTwo 'Hugely enjoyable.' - Henry Winter, Chief Football writer, The Times 'A brilliant read.' - Jamie Carragher ------ Complex, overlooked and misunderstood, football's centre-halves rarely take centre-stage. Leo Moynihan's long overdue celebration of this much-maligned position explores the unique mindset and last-ditch, bone-crunching tackles of the traditionally bruising hard man, hell-bent on destroying glory. Football is often romanticised as 'The Beautiful Game'. If that's true, then the game's centre-half might be considered the unsightly pimple on the end of its otherwise perfectly formed nose. The stopper is the last line of defence, the big man with small ideas, the lump who lumps it. Thou Shall Not Pass (from a command England captain Terry Butcher shouted before every match) celebrates the football position where brutal characters are loved for their hard-hitting tackles and bruising mentality, and yet laughed at for their apparent lack of skill. Covering the long and illustrious history of the centre-half, Thou Shall Not Pass takes the reader into the muddy penalty area frequented by our protagonists, into their domain. The places they head the ball, the places where they tackle, the places in which they will stop at nothing to stop a forward. What makes a defender approach the game the way they do? What makes them different from those whose sole purpose is flair? Featuring exclusive interviews – including those with Virgil van Dijk, Jamie Carragher, Terry Butcher, Mark Lawrenson, Darren Moore, Steph Houghton, Tony Adams, Frank Leboeuf and Dion Dublin – and packed with rich and highly entertaining anecdotes, the book explores all aspects of the position and investigates the mentality of those who ply their trade there.