Zen Golf

From the bestselling co-author of Soccernomics comes the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful football club in the world - and how that envied position now hangs in the balance. Bar a is not just the world's most popular sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organisations on the planet. With almost 250 million followers on social media and 4 million visitors to its Camp Nou stadium each year, there's little wonder its motto is 'More than a club'. But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona has transformed from regional team to global powerhouse, becoming a model of sporting excellence and a consistent winner of silverware. Simon Kuper unravels exactly how these transformations took place. He outlines the organisational structure behind the club's business decisions, and details the work of its coaches, medics, data analysts and nutritionists who have revolutionised the sporting world. And, of course, he studies the towering influence of the club's two greatest legends, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi. Like many leading global businesses, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders a view behind the scenes. But, after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given unprecedented access to the inner sanctum and to the people who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top. Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest successes and upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond football to understand Bar a as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon. "I began my research thinking I was going to be explaining Barca's rise to greatness, and I have, but I've also ended up charting the decline and fall."

Take control of your fitness and training with this easy-to-use handbook to building a stronger core. This simple guide includes more than 150 core-strength exercises, each with clear explanations and illustrations so that you can perfect your technique. Step-by-step visuals for exercises and stretches will help you work out correctly and safely, while focused explanations and anatomical diagrams of the body will deepen your knowledge of the science behind your workout. Customise your routine according to your goals and fitness level by using the suggested training programmes and visual exercise directories. Improve your general mobility, strength, and flexibility or focus on improving your core for a specific sport - such as football, running, and many more. Strengthen your physique pre- and post-pregnancy or simply beat the physical symptoms of desk work! Whether you're thinking about going to the gym for the first time or looking to take your workouts up a level, Core Strength Training is an easy-to-follow guide that will help you to know your body, its muscles, and how core training can work for you.

If you want to burn fat, build lean muscle, and get strong, you need this step-by-step guide to strength training! Introducing Strength Training, your new go-to guide for a stronger and sculpted body. This fantastic fitness book incorporates top tips and tricks to building lean and strong muscle to create your dream body! With tonnes of training techniques to teach you everything you need to know about strength training, bodybuilding and more, including how to plan workouts, how to bulk up, how to cut fat, how to use nutrition to maximize the benefits of your hard work, and how to take advantage of the essential mind-muscle connection to get the results you're seeking. Join the journey to becoming your strongest self today!

Alfredo Di Stefano, Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistua, Juan Roman Riquelme, Lionel Messi... Argentina has produced some of the greatest footballers of all time. But the rich, volatile history of Argentinian football is made up of both the sublime and the ruthlessly pragmatic. Jonathan Wilson, having lived in Buenos Aires, is ideally placed to chart the sport's development in a country that, perhaps more than any other, lives and breathes football, its theories and its myths. Fully revised and updated, this new edition looks at the contrasting evolution of Argentinian football over the last ten years; from the chaos and violence of the abandoned 2018 Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors to the revitalised national side under manager Lionel Scaloni, which triumphed at the 2019 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup. Angels with Dirty Faces is the definitive history of a great footballing nation and its many paradoxes.

Covering every aspect of the game, this is the ultimate self-improvement guide for every player - from the novice to the experienced club golfer. Showing readers exactly what it takes to achieve an effective - and repeatable - golf swing, this book works systematically through every type of shot, from tee shots, iron play, pitching, and chipping, to coping with bunkers and putting. Each section includes a test to establish your level of ability and provides a series of progressive exercises designed to develop your technique. A section on the ten most common faults that can creep into your game shows you how to fix them quickly and efficiently. The Complete Golf Manual also shows you routines to help you think more decisively on the course and deal with high-pressure situations. An invaluable reference section advises you on buying equipment, including custom fitting, guides you through all-important golf etiquette, clearly explains golf's most important rules, and defines all the key golfing terms.