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The Language of the Game
- How to Understand Soccer
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
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The Language of the Game
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Publisher's summary
Just in time for the 2018 World Cup, a lively and lyrical guide to appreciating the drama of soccer.
Soccer is not only the world's most popular sport, it's also one of the most widely shared forms of global culture. The Language of the Game is a passionate and engaging introduction to soccer's history, tactics, and human drama. Profiling soccer's full cast of characters - goalies and position players, referees and managers, commentators and fans - historian and soccer scholar Laurent Dubois describes how the game's low scores, relentless motion, and spectacular individual performances combine to turn each match into a unique and unpredictable story. He also shows how soccer's global reach makes it an unparalleled theater for nationalism, international conflict, and human interconnectedness.
Filled with perceptive insights and stories both legendary and little known, The Language of the Game is a rewarding listen for anyone seeking to understand soccer better.
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Story5 out of 5 stars 21
This is the story of the greatest achievement in the history of international football. After decades of failure, Spain won the European Championship in 2008 and then the World Cup in 2010. At Euro 2012 they became the first team to win three consecutive tournament titles. Graham Hunter was inside the dressing room as the players celebrated after the finals of the World Cup and Euro 2012.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Insider look masterclass
- By Peter on 08-07-15
By: Graham Hunter
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How to Watch Soccer
- By: Ruud Gullit, Sam Herman
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 110
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4 out of 5 stars 90
Ruud Gullit knows better than anyone else that to understand soccer you have to understand strategy. When he started playing soccer, his only "strategy" was to get the ball, outrun everyone else to the other end of the field, and score. At first it served him well, but as he advanced through the sport, he learned that it takes much more than speed to make a winning team.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Gerald Kearney on 03-24-17
By: Ruud Gullit, and others
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The Missing Ring
- How Bear Bryant and the 1966 Alabama Crimson Tide Were Denied College Football's Most Elusive Prize
- By: Keith Dunnavant
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story5 out of 5 stars 31
Very few institutions in American sports can match the enduring excellence of the University of Alabama football program. Across a wide swath of the last century, the tradition-rich Crimson Tide has claimed twelve national championships, captured 25 conference titles, finished 34 times among the country's top ten, and played in 53 bowl games.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic
- By John Rogers on 03-29-18
By: Keith Dunnavant
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Forty Million Dollar Slaves
- The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
- By: William C. Rhoden
- Narrated by: William C. Rhoden
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 357
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 306
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 303
From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says former New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, Black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built. Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's Forty Million Dollar Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of Black athletes in the United States.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Book and Narrator Review
- By Leonor on 12-26-17
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Why Soccer Matters
- By: Pele, Brian Winter
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
Soccer. Football. The beautiful game. The world’s most popular sport goes by many names, but for decades, fans have agreed on one thing: the greatest player of all time was Pelé. Now the legendary star, ambassador, and humanitarian shares a global vision for what soccer can accomplish. Now he shares his story, his experience, and his insights on the game for the very first time. Before Messi, before Ronaldo, before Beckham, there was Edson Arantes do Nascimento - known simply as Pelé.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Pele that will win your heart.
- By Montholon on 12-24-20
By: Pele, and others
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The National Team (Updated and Expanded Edition)
- The Inside Story of the Women Who Dreamed Big, Defied the Odds, and Changed Soccer
- By: Caitlin Murray
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 182
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 160
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Story5 out of 5 stars 158
The US Women’s National Soccer Team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, set record TV ratings, drawn massive crowds, earned huge revenues for FIFA and US Soccer, and helped to redefine the place of women in sports. But despite their dominance, and their rosters of superstar players, they’ve endured striking inequality: low pay, poor playing conditions, and limited opportunities to play in professional leagues.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Too much swearing
- By Rebecca Sheldon on 01-23-20
By: Caitlin Murray
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The Football Ramble
- By: Marcus Speller, Pete Donaldson, Luke Aaron Moore, and others
- Narrated by: Marcus Speller, Pete Donaldson, Luke Aaron Moore, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 100
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
Downloaded over 10 million times a year, The Football Ramble podcast has established itself as the essential independent voice of football punditry. The weekly podcast has resonated with supporters around the world, and their sold-out live shows have been a massive hit with supporters. This audiobook is a collaboration by all four presenters and tackles the real issues from fans you won't see or hear on Sky Sports - or anywhere else, for that matter.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Performance
- By Amazon Customer on 11-15-16
By: Marcus Speller, and others
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Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica
- A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972
- By: Michael Davies, Roger Bennett
- Narrated by: Roger Bennett, Michael Davies
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
Soccer has been America's Sport of the Future since 1972. The Men in Blazers are two English-born, soccer-obsessed broadcasters who have savored the dizzying growth of the game along with millions of Americans, as if it was a rollicking, sporting telenovela playing out in real life. Written in such a way that fully immerses Americans in the history and culture of the world's game, their Encyclopedia Blazertannica relives the careers of such greats such as George Best, Maradona, Beckham...and Alexi Lalas.
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1 out of 5 stars
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complete horsecrap
- By Jordan on 06-07-18
By: Michael Davies, and others
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The Perfect Pass
- American Genius and the Reinvention of Football
- By: S. C. Gwynne
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 360
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 315
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Story5 out of 5 stars 316
New York Times best-selling, award-winning historian S. C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how Hal Mumme and Mike Leach - two unknown coaches who revolutionized American football in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s - changed the way the game is played at every level, from high school to the NFL. Hal Mumme is one of a handful of authentic offensive geniuses in the history of American football. In 2015 ESPN Magazine, the nation's leading sports magazine, called him the single most influential football coach in the last quarter century.
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3 out of 5 stars
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The Perfect Pass
- By Little Pecan on 09-29-16
By: S. C. Gwynne
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Golden Days
- West's Lakers, Steph's Warriors, and the California Dreamers Who Reinvented Basketball
- By: Jack McCallum
- Narrated by: Jack McCallum
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
In Golden Days, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum uses these two teams - the Jerry West/Wilt Chamberlain/Elgin Baylor Lakers and the Stephen Curry/Kevin Durant/Draymond Green Warriors - to trace the dynamic history of the National Basketball Association, which for much of the last half century has marched memorably through the state of California. Tying together the two strands of McCallum's story is Hall of Famer West, the ferociously competitive Laker guard who later became one of the key architects of the Warriors.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very interesting and fun to read
- By Joe on 06-12-18
By: Jack McCallum
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The Year of the Pitcher
- Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age
- By: Sridhar Pappu
- Narrated by: Leon Nixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
The Year of the Pitcher is the story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season, which culminated in one of the greatest World Series contests ever, with the Detroit Tigers coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cardinals in Game Seven of the World Series. In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation's hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Misleading Title
- By Paul on 01-25-19
By: Sridhar Pappu
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The Breaks of the Game
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 266
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
A New York Times best seller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This book is a must read for all NBA junkies.
- By Kyle on 06-13-18
By: David Halberstam
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Attitude
- Develop a Winning Mindset on and off the Court
- By: Jay Wright, Michael Sheridan, Mark Dagostino, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Sheridan
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 175
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 172
In this behind-the-scenes look at the making of a champion, the coach of the Villanova University men's basketball team shares his competitive and cooperative philosophy along with lessons from his coaching career and the story of his personal road to success.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Nova Nation !
- By Anonymous on 11-16-17
By: Jay Wright, and others
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The End of the Perfect 10
- The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics' Top Score from Nadia to Now
- By: Dvora Meyers
- Narrated by: Elise Arsenault
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
It was the team finals of women's gymnastics in the 2012 Olympics, and McKayla Maroney was on top of her game. The 16-year-old US gymnast was performing arguably the best vault of all time, launching herself unimaginably high into the air and sticking a flawless landing. When her score came, many were baffled: 16.233. Three-tenths of a point stood between her and a perfect score. If that vault wasn't perfection, what was?
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2 out of 5 stars
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Book's great--reader's performance is TERRIBLE
- By AB on 12-14-18
By: Dvora Meyers
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Russell Rules
- 11 Lessons on Leadership from the 20th Century's Greatest Winner
- By: Bill Russell, David Falkner
- Narrated by: Rif Hutton
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story5 out of 5 stars 23
Bill Russell has been hailed as the greatest team player of the 20th century. As a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player, he is one of the most important basketball players ever, and with 11 championships as player and coach of the Boston Celtics, he is one of basketball's greatest winners. Russell Rules offers inspiring lessons on commitment, personal integrity, team ego, and craftsmanship that are as relevant to the entrepreneur or parent as they are to the athlete.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Clear & Concise but with Depth
- By Kenneth Downing on 12-18-23
By: Bill Russell, and others