{"title":"Steven Scragg","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into football writing with Steven Scragg. Expect compelling insights into the beautiful game, offering a fresh perspective on tactics, history, and fan culture. Start browsing his collection.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"where-the-cool-kids-hung-out-book-steven-scragg-9781785316838","title":"Where the Cool Kids Hung out","description":"Where the Cool Kids Hung Out is the story of the UEFA Cup's glory years, when it was a tournament that boasted a stronger field of teams than its senior siblings, the European Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. Since then it has drifted into its poor current form as the Europa League, the Champions League having siphoned off most of Europe's biggest clubs. Yet the UEFA Cup enjoyed some very stylish years, no more so than during the two-legged final period. It was an era when Ipswich Town swept to glory, Liverpool conditioned themselves to conquer the continent, Tottenham Hotspur twice captured the cup and Dundee United came agonisingly close. It was also a time when Borussia Monchengladbach made their name, Real Madrid regenerated as a force and Serie A came to dominate. Drawing on an encyclopaedic knowledge of the tournament plus interviews with players, journalists and fans who lived and loved the competition, Steven Scragg brings you the definitive account of the UEFA Cup's halcyon days.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49505391509777,"sku":"GOR011304220","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49546502177041,"sku":"GOR011910137","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49739247878417,"sku":"NGR9781785316838","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49783566532881,"sku":"GOR012265103","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785316834.jpg?v=1750994725"},{"product_id":"in-the-heat-of-the-midday-sun-book-steven-scragg-9781801500975","title":"In the Heat of the Midday Sun","description":"In the Heat of the Midday Sun is a love letter to the 1986 World Cup. A tournament viewed via the shimmering satellite images of an age before the dawn of high-definition coverage - which was introduced four years later, at Italia '90 - it was the last World Cup where the commentaries sounded like they were broadcast from the surface of the moon. Mexico took on the tournament after Colombia failed to deliver on their host candidature, relinquishing the rights in 1983. With a devastating Mexico City earthquake just eight months before the big kick-off, it was a miracle that the Estadio Azteca was still able to be the venue of Diego Maradona's greatest and most infamous hours. As well as Argentina's most gifted son, Mexico '86 was blessed by the presence of Socrates, Platini, Francescoli, Butragueno, Belanov and Elkjaer to name but a few of the icons on display. This is the story of an evocative World Cup that seemed to be held together by Sellotape.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49521796841745,"sku":"GOR012946341","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49742010908945,"sku":"NGR9781801500975","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51309140148497,"sku":"GOR012950989","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53615058583825,"sku":"GOR014981930","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1801500975.jpg?v=1751217228"},{"product_id":"undisputed-champions-of-europe-book-steven-scragg-9781801500050","title":"The Undisputed Champions of Europe","description":"The Undisputed Champions of Europe is a trilogy-ending homage to the golden era of the European Cup. A place where the gods of the game battled for the biggest prize in club football; a place where the likes of Di Stefano, Eusebio, Best, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Dalglish, Gullit and so many others became legends, as they skated across thin ice to glory, in the colours of clubs that are now considered European royalty. An entirely different beast than the Champions League, it was a competition where you had to win your domestic league title to gain entry. With no safety net of group stages, one bad night of football was enough to send you back to square one. In contrast to today's Champions League winners - whose status as Europe's best team is regularly disputed - the winners of the European Cup truly were the undisputed kings of Europe. These are the stories and glories of football's highest achievers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49570458108177,"sku":"GOR011827876","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49743379726609,"sku":"NGR9781801500050","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1801500053.jpg?v=1751425197"},{"product_id":"tournament-frozen-in-time-book-steven-scragg-9781785315381","title":"A Tournament Frozen in Time","description":"The Wonderful Randomness of the European Cup Winners' Cup is a homage to the awkward sibling of the European Champions' Cup and the UEFA Cup. All three major European club competitions had very distinct personalities, almost like three markedly different children. While the European Champions' Cup was for the high achievers and the UEFA Cup was where the cool kids often hung out, the Cup Winners' Cup threw its own uniquely eccentric shapes. The random nature of domestic cup success was what gained entry to the tournament and this brought a richer diversity of competitor than its more celebrated counterparts. A trophy which eluded the clutches of European royalty such as Real Madrid, Liverpool and Inter Milan, it remains the only European honour of both Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, despite their contemporary financial advantages. The tournament which immortalised the likes of Magdeburg and Dinamo Tbilisi, it gave English football its first ever European glory. This is the story of the European Cup Winners' Cup.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735350649105,"sku":"NGR9781785315381","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49762833301777,"sku":"GOR013778918","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49764624695569,"sku":"GOR010291273","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50206035345681,"sku":"GOR010420413","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785315382.jpg?v=1751436335"},{"product_id":"euro-88-book-steven-scragg-9781801507202","title":"Euro 88","description":"Euro 88: The Football Purists’ European Championship delves into the last major international tournament on European soil before Italia 90 – a tournament of rancour and drama blessed by the presence of Gullit, Van Basten, Belanov, Protasov, Vialli, Klinsmann, Butragueño, Elkjær, Whelan and Robson.  From England’s hypnotic self-destruction via an impressive qualification and Ireland’s heroic near-miss of a place in the semi-finals, to the Netherlands finally fulfilling their destiny in lifting the trophy against the Ukrainian-powered Soviet Union – this was a tournament that had it all.  It was a glorious summer on the pitch with Rinus Michels, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Franz Beckenbauer, Azeglio Vicini, Miguel Muñoz, Sepp Piontek, Jack Charlton and Bobby Robson bringing their nations to a high-rolling game of footballing poker. But it was set against a volatile backdrop of violent intent on the terraces and a governing body that was struggling to maintain control. Euro 88 was anything but dull.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49753908642065,"sku":"NGR9781801507202","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49946879983889,"sku":"GOR013820843","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52724118356241,"sku":"GOR014599447","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1801507201.jpg?v=1751426283"},{"product_id":"there-are-places-i-remember-book-steven-scragg-9781836801764","title":"There are Places I Remember","description":"There Are Places I Remember whisks us back to the domestic dysfunction and unexpected European glory of Liverpool's 2004\/05 season, when the Reds seemed to match every two steps forward with one to the side and one back.  From British Sports Book Awards-shortlisted author Steven Scragg.  Steven, who attended almost every Liverpool game that season and was on the terraces of the Atatürk Olympic Stadium for the final, brings us a first-hand account of one of football's most astonishing stories, with views from the pitch and press box:    Scragg pairs his own personal perspective of this unforgettable campaign with player and journalist testimonies Insights into the often frantic nature of the chaotic 2004\/05 season, as new manager Rafael Benítez attempts to build a team fit for Champions League glory amid an incredible injury crisis Explores the chemistry at play in Benítez's squad, as he sifts through the players inherited from Gérard Houllier, working out who to keep and who to discard while trying to motivate his men to an unlikely glory Recollections and experiences of supporters who were not only in Istanbul, but also took in the trips to Graz, Athens, A Coruña, Monte Carlo, Leverkusen, Turin and London  Relive the chaos as Liverpool lift 'Old Big Ears' for the fifth time, under the most ludicrous of circumstances, as Scragg brings the drama to life. A must-read not only for Liverpool supporters, but all football lovers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51629068517649,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51629068681489,"sku":"NGR9781836801764","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52979176243473,"sku":"GOR014677158","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1836801769.jpg?v=1756706915"},{"product_id":"evolution-of-an-empire-volume-one-book-steven-scragg-9781836802754","title":"The Evolution of an Empire Volume One","description":"A proud football club with five league titles to its name and twice FA Cup finalists, Liverpool had been marooned in the Second Division for five and a half years. In November 1959, the gloom deepened when manager Phil Taylor resigned. Initially linked with Matt Busby’s number two, Jimmy Murphy, Liverpool soon identified Bill Shankly as the man to set the club straight and lead it back to the First Division. Yet chairman T.V. Williams could scarcely have envisaged the empire the former Carlisle United, Grimsby Town, Workington and Huddersfield Town manager would go on to build. Transforming the Reds’ entire ethos, Shankly wrote a new visionary set of scriptures on how to play the game and how to act on Liverpool FC’s behalf – all rooted in simplicity – creating English football’s own version of the Totaalvoetbal phenomenon to come. From biff-and-bash football to pass and move, amid an ocean of tactical change sweeping the sport in the 1960s, this gripping book charts the rise and relentless roll of the Liverpool way.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52955813445905,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52955813478673,"sku":"NGR9781836802754","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781836802754.jpg?v=1772101205"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/de-de\/collections\/autor-buecher-von-steven-scragg.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}