Football | Renato Fantoni

THE BEAUTIFUL MIND GAME

Football is a common denominator that acts like a language connecting millions of people across the world. It creates interest and sparks emotions in a way that regular conversations usually fail to do.

THE BEAUTIFUL MIND GAME takes metaphors and tactics from the pitch and applies them to work and home life in a powerful coaching experience.

The book accurately describes the life of football.

Nigel Howe

Chief Executive, Reading Football Club

Describes the influences of the game from a fan’s perspective. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Gary Mabutt MBE

Former Captain, Tottenham Hotspur

Yes mate, I like it.

Jack Wilshere

Footballer for Arsenal, 2008-2018

From Hare to Tortoise Eternity

Three months ago I made my debut as a walking footballer. Gis and I (we are both 58, he needs reminding, I never do), arrived at The Hive at 6.55 pm on a typically cold February evening and along with a ‘real football’ coach and four or so other people we warmed up...

False Starts?

The 2013-2014 Season in the English Premiership is all but nine days old and the other Euro leagues somewhat younger. The oddest thing is that very few of the participants actually know who their teams even are. This is all because the so-called ‘transfer window’ is...

The Glass Ceiling Stadium

As regular readers will know, one of my agendas in this blog is to use football as a channel for discussing seemingly unrelated but nonetheless important subjects. I’ve been minded for some time to discuss and give air to women’s football (and indeed I’ll do this...

The Foundations of Football Identity lie Deeper than Those Of The Stadia

The current name change argument at Hull City is more than just a name. But why such a big deal? Fewer than four years ago Assem Allam a Hull resident and Higher Education educated business tycoon bought the controlling stake in Hull City football club. Since...

The World Cup Who Fell To Earth (is Joe Lycett a bully?)

If he was entirely fair in picking on David Beckham. His reasoning is that Beckham has benefited financially and image-wise as a gay icon, he even wore a dress once, and according to Lycett, ought to have condemned both FIFA and Qatar.

Football; The sport of Apollo. It’s a messenger that speeds up when the journey’s end is near

As The Football World Cup is damned on the front pages for financial corruption and sexual exploitation and lauded on the back pages in anticipation of the forthcoming on-the-pitch carnival, it can still offer valid parallels for life and work. As a coach who extols...

Beginnings of Ends, Ends of Beginnings, Tortoises, Hares and all that…

It’s not just a matter of timing, it’s about knowing where to start the timing from too. Some years ago I had the privilege of meeting the athlete Roger Black. He had given a talk about his career and after the talk, I grabbed him and asked a few questions about...

“Allow me to beat myself up -it’ll save you the trouble”. 8th October 2013

It seems that the ongoing arguments about whether Spurs fans can/should call themselves the ‘Y ‘word will continue unresolved for the time being. My intention here is to keep as objective as possible and add some new thoughts. For a well written and brief outline, I...

YOU MAKE AN OLD MAN VERY HAPPY

This is code for saying that I kicked opponents and demonstrated toughness and gamesmanship. My colleagues liked it and to be honest, I enjoyed their plaudits.