Gary Lineker

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Gary Lineker: A Portrait of a Football Icon by Chris Evans read by Simon Darwen

'Full of pace and style, just like its subject ... a vivid, nostalgic reminder of Lineker’s greatness as a player' - Leo McKinstry

'Skilfully crafted – there is not much more you can ask from a biography' – Patrick Barclay

ENGLAND CAPTAIN. WORLD CUP HERO. SERIAL GOALSCORER. MATCH OF THE DAY HOST. FOOTBALL ICON.

As player and pundit, Gary Lineker has been a prominent figure in English football for more than 40 years. He scored 48 goals in 80 games for England – coming within a penalty of being the country’s record goalscorer – and is the only player to have topped the goalscoring charts at three different clubs. He famously never received a red or yellow card, and hosted the BBC’s Match of the Day for 25 years.

This enlightening biography – the first for 30 years – follows Lineker’s career, from the school report which said, 'He concentrates too much on football’ to his phenomenal goalscoring record and development as a media personality. Through meticulous research and interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches, journalists and commentators, journalist Chris Evans reveals the inside stories and backroom anecdotes from his early days at Leicester City; the big-money moves to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; and the highs and lows of spells at Barcelona and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan.

Gary Lineker always played with a smile on his face and an assassin’s touch in front of goal, while his charm and playful humour won over millions on TV. This biography provides a fascinating insight into one of English football’s most popular characters.

Critics Review

[A] fantastic book about a brilliant life ... immensely readable
Paul Ross, talkSPORT
Superb ... a brilliant, insightful read from the first page to the last.
Daniel Taylor
I have full admiration for Gary’s career, both as a goal-scoring footballer and tv front man presenter... Neither role is easy and simple.
Bob Wilson OBE
Gary figured out the secret of goalscoring – where to move, when, and what to do when he got there. Few have grasped it so well.
Alan Smith
Chris Evans has done the hard yards on Lineker’s football career, talking to former team-mates, reporters and several football managers, and taking us in some detail through long-forgotten games, a hat-trick here, a goalless defeat there, but faithfully detailing the life of a hard-working footballer at the highest level.
Roger Alton, The Times
A detailed and well-written biography about the fastest brain in the box.
Barry Davies MBE
Full of pace and style, just like its subject, this book is a vivid, nostalgic reminder of Lineker’s greatness as a player in his golden years
Leo McKinstry
An essential read
Matthew Holt, FourFourTwo
Skilfully crafted – there is not much more you can ask from a biography
Patrick Barclay
This account is like Lineker the player: fast-paced and never short of entertainment
FourFourTwo
Evans has written the comprehensive biography of probably the most prominent figure in English football of the last 40 years. Lineker has been in our lives for as long as many of us can remember, and this tells his story brilliantly.
Nick Miller
A fascinating insight into one of football’s most popular characters
Late Tackle magazine

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