Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. Our guest this week is James Morgan, who wrote the first book we ever published as a company, back in 2010. It was called In Search of Alan Gilzean and it was nominated for Football Book of the Year. Our conversation this week is on a piece he wrote for The Herald about the day in 1964 when a bunch of Celtic players turned up in a small Donegal town to play in a lucrative summer cup competition called The Kennedy Cup. Incredibly, they actually played in disguise to protect their identities. This was less than three years before they became champions of Europe in Lisbon. It’s a fantastic, distinctively Irish tale, but the story behind it is also interesting. James’ work is always built on extensive research and I think you’ll enjoy hearing about the way he goes about building up the story. Enjoy
Read James' piece
Buy In Search of Alan Gilzean
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James Morgan: The Carfin Emeralds - How Celtic players in disguise won the Kennedy Cup

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John Greechan's top tip - get as close to the story as possible (featuring Maradona and a trip to Buenos Aires)
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Sports Writing Masterclass: John Greechan on getting close to the story

Welcome to the second episode in the new season of Between the Lines. This is Martin's chat with John Greechan on his excellent new Ange Postecoglou biography.  As always, we discuss process and explore John's research trip to Melbourne earlier this year. Enjoy
Buy the Book
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John Greechan: Revolution - Ange Postecoglou: The Man, The Methods and The Mastery

To celebrate the publication of Andriy Shevchenko's autobiography, My Life, My Football, we break down the story behind the book: why it took three years for the English language edition to reach bookstores, the significance of the war in Ukraine, what matters most to an elite footballer like Shevchenko when he tells his story, and what happens when you get two world-class strikers in the same room. This episode features Martin and Neil from BackPage and the Ballon d'Or of translation, Mark Palmer.
Find out more about Sheva's book, including where to buy it, here. 
Find out more about our cover designer, Kulbir Gharra 
Michael Cox's Athletic piece on Shevchenko, My Game in My Words
Gary Lineker's interview with Shevchenko  
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Andriy Shevchenko and the Making of My Life, My Football

In this episode, Neil and Martin talk to Mark Palmer, the translator of The Immortals, Arrigo Sacchi’s memoir of Milan’s 1988-89 season, which ended with the first of two back-to-back European Cup triumphs for the great team of Baresi, Maldini, Rijkaard, Gullit and Van Basten.  The Immortals brings to life the training diaries of Sacchi and captures in time one of the greatest club teams in football history.  In this interview, we talk about why this – and not an earlier Sacchi autobiography – was the right one for us; Mark’s task in bringing the eccentricities of Arrigo Sacchi to life; and what happened when we went to Sacchi’s hometown to meet the man himself.  Buy The Immortals here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arrigo Sacchi And The Making Of The Immortals

Author Daniel Gray and photographer Alan McCredie toured Scotland collecting pictures and that form a charming and true portrait of football in that country, from a European night at Ibrox to the Highland League.  This is Martin's conversation with Daniel about how he and Alan found their subjects and what he learned from his travels. 
Find out more about Snapshot and Nutmeg, the Scottish football periodical that Martin and Daniel mention, here. 
And please also check out the new BackPage title on Liverpool's Premier League campaign, At The End Of The Storm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Morgan: The Carfin Emeralds - How Celtic players in disguise won the Kennedy Cup

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