Sport – wow, it’s such a big mistake if I don’t make a book collection about this topic, don’t you think? I bet that men we all have enthusiastic in sports, more or less, outdoors or indoors.
However, today, I’m not going to write about guidebooks, but the story-telling kind which is a good source to give you a good inspiration to start playing some sports.
Before getting started, I would like to confess that I’m a little biased of football, which means in this article, there are going to be more books focus on this topic. If you have the same interest as me, enjoy it!
However, don’t worry if you’re not a fan of football, here I’m also list out some marvelous books on other sports like golf, running and tennis. Hope you get some good books for your collection.
Now, without further ado, let’s get straight into it!
1. The Flea – The Amazing Story of Leo Messi
First up is a book talking about many wonderful stories of my favorite football player’s life – the Golden Boy Leo Messi.
During his young age, Messi had always dreamed of being the next generation of the legendary – Maradona. He soon revealed his talents and joined the La Masia Academy where they trained out the young players of the world’s top soccer team in Barcelona.
By his efforts and determination, Leo Messi has realized his childhood dream. And sooner, he has become one of the most famous players in the world. This book is a must-read book if you’re a fan of Messi. Or, at least, you care about football and want to get some positive inspiration.
2. My Turn: A Life of Total Football
This is the autobiography of the Dutch football legend – Johan Cruyff, whose life and style have greatly influenced many football stars and leading football clubs for decades.
Johan Cruyff embodies a football philosophy that nowadays, it dominates and leads the coaching and competition styles of all the top clubs in the world.
Might people argue about whether Cruyff is the greatest player of all time or not (in fact, he is always in the Top 3 in many football charts!), but no one can deny that he is the player who has changed the nature of this sport!
“My Turn” leads the readers through Johan Cruyff’s lucrative career, as a young boy playing football in the streets of Amsterdam and waiting for the famous Ajax club to look forward to.
Later, this teenage boy became Ajax Captain, the inspiration for the team to win eight Dutch national football championships and three European Cups.
Cruyff won the European Golden Ball three times, the first time in 1971, when he was 24 years old! In 1973, Cruyff moved from Ajax to play for the Spanish club FC Barcelona with a world recorded transfer fee at that time.
He then helped the Catalan national team win the national championship for the first time since 1960, and later left many impressive to the whole Spanish football. At the 1974 World Cup, Cruyff made an enormous contribution to the Dutch team for the first time in their history.
Cruyff’s influence and legacy, however, was not in the cups and trophies he had won, but in the style of playing football he had displayed and then applied to the teams under his coaching: FC Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam.
His vision of Total Football has completely changed the way of playing football around the world, and the dizzying agility of this style has become the secret of the success of the most popular teams. Cruyff is a great talent in the football world, both inside out.
3. Manchester United: The Biography
The book chronicles the extraordinary journey of the club that was born in Newton Heath’s railroads which had become the European champion.
The key moments in Manchester United’s history through the way of drawing on people’s memories from the players and managers to the fans and staff has harnessed and reproduced a fascinating history of the best football club in England.
Milestones in the history of Manchester United are re-enacted: From the players who died in the plane crash in Munich in 1958 were the best of all of Busby’s “children”; became the first English team to win European titles in 1968 (with Bobby Charlton and George Best); to the dominance of clubs in the Premier League and even the controversial sale of the US tycoon – Malcolm Glazer.
Those who have been fascinated by the mesmerizing play of the Red Devils as Old Trafford certainly cannot miss a glorious history, an honored journey but full of thorns of Manchester United.
With a respectable record: 19 times becoming Champion in British Football, 11 FA Cup wins and 3 UEFA Champions League trophies, the red football team really deserves to be one of the most successful in the country.
Through this book, you will orderly undergo the ups and downs in Manchester United’s great history, understanding their difficulties as well as their tireless efforts to be repeatedly the world champion.
4. Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub
Like the books written about celebrities or other famous units, ” Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub” also recounts the success in the history of this legendary team.
What’s more, it also contains things that have never been told or have been forgotten, about the internal conflicts as well as the plot-twist decisions that have made a great Arsenal as today.
In addition, the book features important characters alongside with their roles in this team’s history, from coaches, management, board of directors and even the supporters.
Not only talking about Arsenal as a grass pitch legend, the book also approached this team in terms of a business. Thus, it dives deeply into the financial mist that obscures the image of the Gunners.
Or, present criticism for financing the construction of the new stadium, the deep division of public opinion is summarized through the image of Coacher – Wenger and the Vice President – David Dein. Also, it discusses about the success in the transferring philosophy of “buy in cheap, sold in expensive” of the team.
Therefore, through the telling of the Arsenal stories, the book also pays closer attention the bad sides of financial situation which are not really nice at all
Now, you might wonder why such delicate stories are known by these two authors Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher, right?
For those who don’t know, Alex Fynn is a director of Saatchi & Saatchi Group, which is a football professional. He has been the mentor for many clubs in the media and marketing, including Arsenal. He was honored by The Sunday Times as “the godfather of the English Premier League.”
And Kevin Whitcher, he is now the editor of The Gooners – the Arsenal’s most influential fan magazine.
Both authors have also collaborated on other books on Arsenal but this one – ” Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub “is highly appreciated and loved.
5. Barca: Journey to the glory of the greatest team in the planet
Throughout the history of football, we have witnessed many outstanding teams and individuals standing on top of glory and winning the hearts of countless fans. It was Brazil’s football king Pelé in the 1970s, Diego Maradona in Mexico 1986 and “the Dutch fly” in the 80-90s of last century.
In the early years of the 21st century, the world of football has named its new legendary: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, along with the Barcelona club and their tiqui-taca tactic that had blown up the Europe.
The Golden age of Barcelona nowadays, with its own unique football style, has given us a model that, if not unique, is certainly not going to be found anywhere another competitor that could be on par with them.
Barcelona – the best football club in the world today, with the greatest players in their generation and possibly the greatest of all time. The book you have in hand is an unlikely story of the journey that the best and most favorite team in the world redefines the sport of the king, creating a style of football to attract millions of die-hard fans.
The book opens with the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, which is also the precursor to the debate over whether or not Barca were the greatest team in the world at the moment. And then the journey to find the answer to the question: Are they the greatest team of all time?
We will also be exploring the secrets of the dressing room, exploring the insights of Pep Guardiola’s team development strategy as well as the exciting story of Great people who have made a part of Barca’s history: Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pique …. and “the legendary age 24” Lionel Messi.
No one has made them so hard, but Barça deserves that title. During their managerial career, they were the best opponents that other teams have ever faced.
Graham Hunter is a world-renowned journalist who covers all of Spain’s football as well as FC Barcelona for Sky Sports, the BBC and many other newspapers and magazines around the world.
His link with the team is huge and he is the only English-speaking reporter to be allowed interviewing Pep Guardiola during the time period he took the role of the club’s coach.
Maybe after reading the book, everyone will have their own answers to the questions above. But anyway, there is one thing that cannot be denied, that is the great contribution of Barcelona to the football world in recent years.
As Graham Hunter wrote: What surpasses all the most eloquent arguments, even for teams that have been beaten under the advances of the Guardiola, is that Barca has brought a flaming fire. That’s enough for you to trust and devote to this book.
6. ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running
A whole brand-new program that combines between walking and the core principles of the Thai Cuc Kungfu to create maximum physical and mental fulfillment.
Danny and Katherine – famous trainers on walking and running – teaches us about walking techniques that are very helpful, helping to improve mental, emotional and physical health. Similar to Pilates, yoga and Thai Cuc Kungfu, the Ayurvedic walking focuses on body alignment and cognition while strengthening core muscles.
Ayurvedic walking helps you get the best fit in your body shape, regardless of age and ability to practice. It balances and makes proper posture to help you keep balance better. Besides, this sport advocates core areas, making back and knee pain fade out while helping you walk faster, farther and less energetic.
There’re more, Ayurvedic walking gives various choices from a list of twelve helpful walking styles such as heart-warming, walking, or walking meditation to keep our walking program fresh.
And last up, it helps you move forward. Make walking at any distance a pleasant, enjoyable experience, whether you are a beginner or a pedestrian.
7. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Living off the world through Copper Canyon, Mexico, the Tarahumara aboriginal people have forged the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest.
That enthusiasts the Journalist veteran – Christopher McDougall – who is also a runner often getting injuries to set out to find their secret.
Along the way, he takes readers from Harvard University’s lab into the hot, burning valley, to the pinnacle peaks across North America, the hometown of super-human joggers pushing the body to extremes and finally, the century running contest taking place at Copper Canyon between the most active jockeys in the United States and the Tarahumara joggers.
McDougall’s unbelievable story not only becomes attractive but also energizes your body to realize from the depths inside that you were born run.
“Born to Run” is not a textbook on jogging!
You will not find in-depth technical knowledge of jogging, or exercises, tutorials in here to help you run faster and farther. Instead, Christopher McDougall leads the reader into a story that goes beyond space and time, to the ends of the Earth, back to the ancient history of mankind, to find out that jogging is one of the most basic human instincts.
Woven into such journey is the story of specific individuals who have a normal social life like each of us, but when the foot on the running shoes and surf down the trail, they are suddenly transformed into supernatural beings, with the ability to run at super-long distance in the unimaginable time.
And to confront modern-day superheroes, Christopher found a perfect adversary, a tribe hidden deeply in the high Sierra of Mexico who have retained the traditional style and lifestyle as their ancestors in thousands of years ago, the Tarahumara.
The book’s climax is a timeless, award-winning runner-up, among the best modern-day joggers of the United States, and indigenous people representing the original joggers.
While telling the story of the supernatural, Christopher McDougall has deftly portrayed himself, an introductory runner, into the narrative. Therefore, anyone who reads Born to Run will find somewhere in his own shadow in the book.
The book is not only an adventure, an exploration of the origins of running, but also portraying true emotions, thoughts, emotions, joys and sorrows of rotating characters step by step.
For those who have never jogged, the book can be an answer to the question, “What’s the run for?” Or “What’s good about running?”, And for those who fell in love with running, the book is an epic, both romantic, majestic and full of pride of a species “Born to run.”
8. The Art of Doubles: Winning Tennis Strategies and Drills
Why do some pairs look like rigid wooden soldiers and other couples who look like dancers with synchronized moves and are composed for the sound of music that only they can hear? All of that happens on the tennis court – will they move here? How do they know where they are going?
There are basically three types of pairs: The active players create opportunities; the players only see what happens and the ones from what the hell happened.
Have you ever played against a pair that does not look particularly good and their ability seems to be worse than you, they do not have any winning serve or win many times, but when all is gone, they do not let you score many points, especially the last point?
Doubles are not about strong forehand shots, winning serves and not about the way the winners impressing their audience. It is a refined and elegant play, with moves and shadows that often make other players feel naive or simply to be beaten to failure.
Whether you are a die-hard fan of football or a player, I hope that through this collection of sport books, there’s at least one publication giving you good inspiration to feed your love, enthusiastic and motivation to develop your career. Besides, hope they help your free time more entertaining and joyful.
