{"title":"Books by Steven Scragg","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"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":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306984059253,"sku":"9781801500050","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781801500050_26ca56aa-c308-40c7-8a91-9c8ff4a40ad4.jpg?v=1786026903"},{"product_id":"9781801507202","title":"Euro 88","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEuro 88: The Football Purists’ European Championship\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307237060981,"sku":"9781801507202","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781801507202_9e393748-442d-42da-9724-230f3f9c4e38.jpg?v=1786027106"},{"product_id":"9781836801764","title":"There are Places I Remember","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere Are Places I Remember\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom British Sports Book Awards-shortlisted author Steven Scragg.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteven, 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:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScragg pairs his own personal perspective of this unforgettable campaign with player and journalist testimonies\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInsights 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\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExplores 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\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRecollections 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\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelive 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307784089973,"sku":"9781836801764","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781836801764_0d5c6870-7a04-41f9-91d1-b87f215a5683.jpg?v=1786028439"},{"product_id":"evolution-of-an-empire-volume-one","title":"The Evolution of an Empire Volume One","description":"\u003cp\u003eA 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 \u003ci\u003eTotaalvoetbal\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507721445749,"sku":"9781836802754","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781836802754.jpg?v=1787042861"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-steven-scragg.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}