The Five-a-Side Bible

2015 | Essays

In terms of participation, five-a-side football is now much bigger game than league football - with 1.5m people in the UK playing regularly. Here, British Sports Book of the Year winners Back Page Press and Freight Books collaborate on a definitive and wry guide to the highs and lows of the great British five-a-side game. Magazine style and full of the humour, anecdotes and practical information that made Back Page Press's Football Manager Stole My Life a bestseller, The Five-a-side Bible will cover sports science, tactics, nutrition, fitness warm-ups and warm-downs, but with an emphasis on fun. It will reflect the shared experiences of participants and cover everything from the crazy team names - The Neville Wears Prada, Murder on Zidane's Floor - to wacky stories of ill-discipline and injuries, outlandish excuses for not playing, kit disasters, the five-a-side archetypes and tips from pros like former England international Matt Le Tissier and current Everton winger Aiden McGeady.Fully illustrated in colour, The Five-a-side Bible will profile the best five-a-side players in the UK and provide a bucket list - including a pitch on top of a skyscraper in Shanghai and one on Copacabana beach - for those who want to take their fives obsession to the next level.

Chris Bruce (Author)