Robin Van Persie

Robin van Persie is one of the most talented players in world football today. An intelligent playmaker and deadly striker, he brings creativity and intelligence to Arsenal's forward line and is the first name on the Netherlands team sheet. Signed by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2004 with a view to replace Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp, Van Persie quickly established himself as an integral part of Wenger's talented side, initially plying his trade on the left side of midfield. Playing alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira, Van Persie was duly inducted into the 'Arsenal way' and developed into one of the most creative, competitive and intelligent players in the Premier League. Scoring what Wenger called the 'goal of a lifetime' against Charlton in 2006, Van Persie was asked to lead the Arsenal line following Henry's departure to Barcelona in the summer of 2007, and it wasn't long before the Dutchman inherited Bergkamp's number 10 jersey and became an integral part of the next generation of Arsenal greats. From early rifts with coach Bert van Marwijk as a young player at Feyenoord, through to establishing himself as a world class talent after Van Marwijk guided the great Oranje to the World Cup final in 2010, this is the fascinating story of a true sporting talent and one of the most naturally gifted football players of his generation.

In the summer of 2012 Robin Van Persie, or RVP as he is affectionately known by his fans, made the controversial move from Arsenal to Manchester United. As one of the Premier League's most lethal strikers he became the Gunners' eighth alltime top scorer with 132 goals, taking on the captain's armband in the process. But, on 15 August 2012, Arsenal shockingly announced they would be selling RVP to Manchester United for ?24 million. Needing to win the hearts of his new fans over, it was important the Dutch striker got off to a flying start - which he duly did, scoring with his very first shot for the club against Fulham and then bagging a hat-trick against Southampton a week later.Despite his exceptional first season with United, RVP still commands respect amongst Gunners fans, and indeed around the globe, especially in his home country of the Netherlands, as his incredible footballing prowess overcomes fierce club loyalties. Part of the Dutch side who were runners-up in the World Cup in 2010, and with over 70 appearances for his country, Robin Van Persie is one of the modern footballing greats. This is his incredible story.

Spain's breath-taking and record-breaking win over Italy in the 2012final in Kiev, Ukraine was the thrilling ending to a EURO 2012 competition that had begun back in 2010. This book is the definitive record of every one of the 271 games in both the qualification competition and the Finals tournament in Poland & Ukraine. There are tables showing the standings of each team after every round of games, so the progress of teams can be followed as they attempted to qualify. There are also full squad details for the 2012 Finals tournament plus sections on the tournament scorers.

So who is Louis van Gaal? An inflexible ex-PE teacher who only knows how to act like a dictator or a footballing visionary that has made him one of the greatest ever European managers? Wherever he has gone, Van Gaal has been accused of being a domineering disciplinarian and a control freak. He is certainly, by his own admission, a man who leaves nothing to chance. A disciple in the 1970s of Rinus Michels’ Total Football philosophy, he is a fascinating contradiction – an ultra-individualist utterly devoted to the collective effort. He believes in the team over the individual, in always having a plan and a team prepared to follow it. Van Gaal led the young Ajax team he moulded to Champions League glory in 1995, went on to win titles across Europe with Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich and served two stints as national coach of Holland. It is a career that has never been short on colour and drama – from fallouts with players to rants at the media wherever he has managed. Dutch football commentator Maarten Meijer’s has written the definitive biography of van Gaal – both the man and his methods. It offers the best psychological insight so far – from his earliest roots to his greatest triumphs – into the man given the task of returning the glory days to Manchester United. **New chapter on Louis van Gaal's first season with Manchester United**

Kane or Vardy? Pep or José? Pulis or ... anybody else? Football is a game of opinions. A world where received wisdom and the law of the hunch reign supreme. But football is becoming more intelligent. The history books may say that Leicester City winning the premier league ‘defied logic’, but if you looked more closely, they were always going to win . . . From distances run to pass success rate, shots on target to corners won, counter-attacks to tackles made, Opta, the world’s leading sports data company, records everything. But what does it all mean? And how can it add to our love of the game? From the author and statistician behind the popular OptaJoe Twitter account, what follows is a hugely entertaining and insightful guide to football in 2016, analysing data from the world's greatest teams, players, leagues and tournaments. Stats can never tell us everything, but combining cutting-edge analysis with wry humour, this book debunks countless myths peddled by pundits, managers, and even players. The ideas that follow are both surprising and satisfying, but may also leave you with the feeling that ‘yes, that’s what I was thinking all along’.

In this wonderful celebration of all that is best about the world's greatest football league, talkSPORT has taken on the challenge of listing the 100 greatest Premiership legends. Featuring contributions from many of talkSPORT's presenters, including Alan Brazil, Stan Collymore and Andy Gray, the talkSPORT team has drawn up its definitive listing of Premiership stars. Of course, being talkSPORT, nothing is straightforward and the opinions are hotly debated. Some surprising names make into the list, while others are relegated to the bottom or even fail to appear at all. Who comes out on top: Gianfranco Zola or Alan Shearer? How do you decide who's in and who's out from 20 years of footballing genius? Each of the stars is fully profiled, with surprising and fascinating information revealed about all of them, and their individual ranking in the list is fully justified. In short, this book will not only provide great football memories of moments that won leagues, spared clubs from relegation, and drew stunned silence from watching crowds, but cause much controversy - just like talkSPORT itself.