Why was Liverpool like a living football museum? How do you improve the probability of saving a penalty? What's the difference between an 'improver' manager and an 'importer' manager? Is the sigmoid curve the most important tool a footballer can have? And what can we learn from Victorian philanthropists?
These are just some of the questions that Brad Friedel addresses in his intelligent, observational style as he thinks outside the box and takes us across continents and inside football in a way that only he can.
Goalkeepers have an unusual view of the world, but Brad Friedel's is more unusual than most. Not surprising, considering he travelled nearly one million miles in a five-year battle to win a work permit to play in the Premier League. More than this, he got an education. First as a student at UCLA and then travelling the world earning $35 a day against the likes of Brazil and Argentina; living and playing in Denmark, Turkey and the USA; and developing his own ideas and views for his football academy.
This uplifting and inspirational story takes you deep into the world of Premier League football and in doing so puts the glamour into true perspective. Brad Friedel has little time for the materialistic culture which surrounds professional football. Because he believes in loyalty, he has turned down lucrative contracts and took a 60 per cent pay cut to join Blackburn Rovers. Yet he is one to grasp opportunity and he made a surprise move to Aston Villa at the age of 37.
He is a visionary footballing philanthropist who has more interest in changing the world than changing his image. This book shows there is another way for footballers.
