Michael Owen: Off the Record Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Michael Owen: Off the Record Book

Boy wonders come and boy wonders go, but Michael Owen has made the giant leap from sensational teenage star into one of the most consistent and respected strikers in world football - and he's still only 24 at the time of writing his new autobiography, Off The Record. A child goal-machine in North Wales who went on to acheive at all levels of the game – defying expectations at the ease with which he took each step upwards - Owen has seemingly been the star turn since he was in diapers. The decision to move from Liverpool to Real Madrid this season, and the fleeting shadow this has cast over his sun, is for now, the last chapter in the Owen legend. Owen first scaled the peak of public and professional esteem at the 1998 World Cup. His breathtaking solo strike against Argentina was an exposition of youthful audacity, skill and self-belief beamed repeatedly around the world - but as Off The Record reveals, the TV pictures only tell half the story. Did you know that at the crucial moment, after Owen had waltzed through the Argentine defence into the area, an inrushing Paul Scholes optimistically demanded the ball with a shout of "Scholesy's!"? Or that, afterwards, with England knocked out on penalties and his team-mates crushed by the loss, Owen confesses to greeting his family with a broad smile of self-satisfaction, having succeeded in his own performance? The fundamental selfishness of the top striker is a recurring theme for Owen, and makes for fascinating reading - but will win him few friends. Warts and all autobiography is the modern standard of course, and while chapters in Off The Record are primarily concerned with simply correcting public stories about England abroad, Owen's gambling, his problems with one-time Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, and the suicide of Owen's interior designer Mike Flynn, it is the frankness of acknowledging the underlying 'me first, team second' reality which makes the usual procession of achievements and frustrations really come alive. Not for nothing, one suspects, does the book end with an exhaustive statistical account of Owen's career. Every England appearance is there. But only the Liverpool games he actually scored in. --Alex HankinRead More

from£N/A | RRP: £8.99
* Excludes Voucher Code Discount Also available Used from £N/A
  • Amazon

    For a collection of 10 postcards, this publication is very good value. Each one is a colour shot of the young striker in a different pose, covering his leisure, training and playing activities. Detachable so you can send them to all your friends who also love the Liverpool and England international, the "stubbs" have colour pictures and, as an added bonus, a multitude of facts and information on the back. So, once you've posted them out to everyone you know, you still have a lasting memento of the young Michael Owen's career. --Amazon.co.uk

  • Amazon

    Revealing the highlights and pitfalls of being a professional footballer, this autobiography contains the author's personal reflections on eight years in the game, including two World Cups, two European Championships and goalscoring records for club and country. It also exposes the inside story of England's 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.

  • Play

    Michael Owen reveals the highlights and pitfalls of being a professional footballer in his first official autobiography which contains his personal reflections on eight years in the game including two World Cups two European Championships and goalscoring records for club and country. It is updated to include his first full season with Real Madrid. After his famous goal against Argentina in France '98 Michael Owen was forced to grow up almost overnight his sudden fame propelling him to stardom to the extent that the hopes of a football nation now rest on the slender frame of this 26-year-old. In his autobiography Owen is forthright in his views on the game: he reacts to the accusations of diving his susceptibility to injury and his alleged gambling addiction; he writes candidly about his career at Liverpool from Roy Evans to Gerard Houllier and the reasons behind him leaving the club that made him as a player; and he talks about his ambitions for the England team and his new club Newcastle.He is also opinionated about his England striking partnership with Wayne Rooney and the threat from Jermaine Defoe; his complex and at times difficult relationship with coaches such as Glenn Hoddle Kevin Keegan and Sven-Goran Eriksson; and he has strong views on the thug culture still rife in English football. Outside of the game he talks openly for the first time about the death threats to him and his family his relationship with childhood sweetheart Louise Bonsall - including her serious injury from a riding accident - and their baby Gemma as well as his passion for horse racing and betting. Exclusive to this paperback edition there are two new chapters covering Owen's dramatic transfer to Real Madrid the frustrations of his first season in La Liga and the reasons for his return to England. The book will also expose the inside story of England's 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.

  • 0002189402
  • 9780002189408
  • Michael Owen
  • 15 May 2006
  • HarperSport
  • Mass Market Paperback (Book)
  • 352
  • illustrated edition
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click through any of the links below and make a purchase we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Click here to learn more.

Would you like your name to appear with the review?

We will post your book review within a day or so as long as it meets our guidelines and terms and conditions. All reviews submitted become the licensed property of www.find-book.co.uk as written in our terms and conditions. None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.

All form fields are required.