Always Believe

Olivier Giroud, Dominique Rouch

Description

Always Believe is the gripping autobiography of Chelsea, Arsenal and France star Olivier Giroud. Join him on a remarkable journey, from playing for a small club in southern France to achieving top-flight glory there and in England, before lifting the World Cup with the French national team. Giroud shot to prominence in 2011/12 as the top scorer in France's Ligue 1, netting 21 goals to help Montpellier to their first-ever top-flight title. After signing for Arsenal in 2012, he rewarded the Gunners with 73 goals in 180 games and helped them to three FA Cup wins. He is also the French national team's second-highest scorer. Now at Chelsea, Giroud is still hungry for success. But what about the sacrifices he's made along the way? The pressures of being under the spotlight and having to cope with a constant stream of criticism and questions around his selection for the national side? Usually a private person, Giroud holds nothing back as he shares all the highs and lows of a stellar career at the game's top level in this tell-all book.

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 04 octobre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801500364
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2021
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Sir Geoffrey Hurst and Norman Giller, 2021
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Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801501286
eBook ISBN 9781801500364
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Introduction by Sir Geoff Hurst MBE, One over the Eighty
1. Muhammad Ali, Floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee
2. Gordon Banks, Soared like Superman and could catch pigeons
3. Sir Roger Bannister, Broke the four-minute mile and saved lives
4. Franz Beckenbauer, Der Kaiser ruled with regal splendour
5. George Best, What a pity George was not born ugly
6. Serge Blanco, The smoking gun of rugby
7. Usain Bolt, The fastest man on the planet
8. Bj rn Borg, When the Iceborg melted
9. Ian Botham, The cricketer who now Lords it over us all
10. Don Bradman, The nearest thing to sporting perfection
11. David Campese, The goose-stepping Aussie
12. Wilt Chamberlain, A tall story about Wilt the Stilt
13. John Charles, Gentle Giant who became King John
14. Bobby Charlton, A name known and revered around the world
15. Jim Clark, The sheep farmer who came over the hill
16. Sebastian Coe, The elegant running pride of Great Britain
17. Denis Compton, Compo enjoyed the worlds of football and cricket
18. Henry Cooper, Enery hooked first place in the popularity stakes
19. Colin Cowdrey, The Master used his bat like Goya with a brush
20. Johan Cruyff, Cruyff turned football into a total triumph
21. Alfredo Di St fano, The Blond Arrow hit his target
22. Duncan Edwards, Tragic Busby Babe lives on in the memory
23. Gareth Edwards, Miner s son who tried all the time for Wales
24. Herb Elliott, Master miler who beat the sands of time
25. Eus bio, The Black Panther who pounced for Portugal
26. Godfrey Evans, The wicketkeeper who dived like Frank Swift
27. Juan Manuel Fangio, Man of mystery Fangio was an F1 maestro
28. Roger Federer, Fed Express delivers perfect service
29. Tom Finney, Following in the footsteps of the Preston Plumber
30. Andrew Flintoff, Freddie had us doubled up at his exploits
31. Jimmy Greaves, The greatest goalscorer, yet I finished up the World Cup hero
32. Lewis Hamilton, Who d you think you are, Lewis Hamilton?
33. Michael Holding, The Test in which England fell to Whispering Death
34. Roger Hunt, Stamina of a cheetah but never a cheat
35. Len Hutton, 364 reasons why Pudsey Bear hugged the headlines
36. Pat Jennings, The man with bucket hands could catch everything
37. Michael Johnson, Golden hero of the track who did it his way
38. Michael Jordan, Save the Last Dance for court king Jordan .
39. Jason Kenny, Jason has the Midas touch on his bike
40. Jim Laker, The Test in which Australia got Lakered
41. Brian Lara, The batting Prince who scored a Lara Lara runs
42. Rod Laver, Rockhampton Rocket was grand Grand Slammer
43. Denis Law, The day I wrecked Denis Law s round of golf
44. Carl Lewis, Marmite Man became the modern Jesse Owens
45. Jonah Lomu, All Blacks colossus who used England s defenders like doormats
46. Diego Maradona, I was a stunned witness to Diego s hand of God
47. Rocky Marciano, REAL Rocky was the Twentieth Century Caveman
48. Stanley Matthews, Wizard of Dribble had defenders and spectators spellbound
49. Peter May, Classics master P.B.H. made much more than an initial impact
50. John McEnroe, Supermac s tennis talent trumps his tantrums
51. Colin Meads, Pinetree packed awesome power
52. Lionel Messi, Meeting the new Maradona
53. Bobby Moore, Everybody but nobody knew the REAL Bobby Moore
54. Gerd M ller, Der Bomber, who had an unquenchable thirst for goals
55. Rafael Nadal, Tennis wins as King of Clay Rafa turns his back on a football career
56. Jack Nicklaus, The Golden Bear finished a fair way ahead of the field
57. Pel , The King of Football has built a monument of goals
58. Martin Peters, The Ghost who could haunt defenders from any position
59. Lester Piggott, The Long Fellow provides fireworks all his life
60. Ferenc Pusk s, The left foot of Pusk s was all right for Real Madrid
61. Steve Redgrave, Olympian giant Steve is the hero of heroes
62. Vivian Richards, Master Blaster who brought bowlers to their knees
63. Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray tasted the sweet and sour of the fight game
64. Cristiano Ronaldo, A slice of Madeira cake for football s first billionaire
65. Ian Rush, Welsh warrior who found scoring goals gave him a rush
66. Peter Snell, Nothing snail-like about Olympic legend Snell
67. Garfield Sobers, Twelve fingers, hundreds of wickets and thousands of runs
68. Mark Spitz, The Spitz Blitz tarnished by terrorism
69. Jackie Stewart, Flying Scot who thought outside the box
70. Ben Stokes, Big Ben strikes for England but pays a heavy price
71. Sachin Tendulkar, The little artist with the power of a Sherman tank
72. Daley Thompson, A complete all-rounder and Fastest Tongue in the West
73. Torvill and Dean, Sporting perfection on ice from a golden couple
74. Mike Tyson, Rise and fall of a mean fighting machine
75. Shane Warne, The Aussie maestro who could spin a great yarn
76. Jonny Wilkinson, Jonny, my World Cup winning twin
77. Tiger Woods, Major problems that handicapped the Tiger
78. Emil Z topek, Bouncing Czech who completed the Impossible Treble
79. Zinedine Zidane, Sizzling Zizou was the Real deal as player and coach
80. Gianfranco Zola, The player I would most liked to have had serving me
Extra Time: Sir Geoff Hurst: For the Record
Photos
In loving memory of my two great club and country team-mates, Bobby Moore and Martin Peters.
AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SIR GEOFF Hurst and Norman Giller thank the indefatigable Terry Baker for his encouragement and the Pitch Publishing brother-and-sister double act, Paul and Jane Camillin, for their expertise and enthusiasm.
Thanks, too, to number one son Michael-Alan Giller and sports fanatic David Guthrie for their in-depth knowledge and safety-net checking, Duncan Olner for making us suitably jacketed; also skilled editor Gareth Davis, proofreader Cath Harris, and layout guru Graham Hales.
We have rifled through all sorts of reference points for our extensive For the Record facts and, in particular, the Guinness Book of Records, Wisden Cricket Almanack, The Ring Boxing Encyclopaedia , various Rothman s Football Annuals and the irreplaceable modern friend of authors, Wikipedia. The revered Alamy picture agency has provided many of the photographs and several have come from the private collection of the authors.
Thanks chiefly to the 80 sporting superstars featured in the following pages. They have made world history so much richer and enjoyable.
Finally, from Geoff, a public word of thanks to Judith, for always being there.
Enjoy.
INTRODUCTION BY SIR GEOFF HURST MBE
My great sporting heroes, and there is actually one over the 80!
EIGHTY! I cannot believe it. How did that happen? It seems like only yesterday that I became something of a celebrity by being lucky enough to bang in three goals to help England clinch a World Cup victory. 1966 and all that. It remains the only hat-trick ever scored in a World Cup Final. Sorry if it sounds as if I m boasting, but it is a fact of which I am rather proud. And the longer the record lasts - 55 years and counting - the prouder I get.
I entered this mortal coil on Monday, 8 December 1941, and little did I know it but the world was in turmoil and shaking with fright and fear. The day before - US president Franklin D. Roosevelt called it a date that will live in infamy - Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor and brought the United States into a war they had been studiously avoiding. And there was little Geoffrey Charles Hurst, cuddled in his mother s arms in a hospital in Lancashire, unaware that he had come into a world that had gone barmy.
All of this was 80 years ago. Where on earth has that time gone? I wondered how I could mark this special time in my life - four score years, with the emphasis on score. It was my good friend and long-term agent Terry Baker who came up with the idea of this book, and we brought renowned author and sports historian Norman Giller in to lend his expertise to the project. He has written more than 100 books, 20 of them with my old pal Jimmy Greaves, and describes himself as a boring walking record book on sport. I have talked the book to Norman and while the facts are his, the feelings are mine, as I speak from deep in my soul about the 80 sportsmen who have given me most pleasure and inspiration in my 80-year journey through life. Eighty at 80 has a nice ring to it, don t you think?
There are plenty of sportswomen who also merit a mention, but the publishers have a project under way to give them a special platform, so I shall just concentrate on the sportsmen who have most impressed and enchanted me during my mere 80 years on this planet.
Norman knows me better than most. He is one of the few people still around who reported my 1960 West Ham debut for the local paper, the Stratford Express , where he was spor