The Sunday Times Bestseller

The exclusive behind-the-scenes story of the Mauricio Pochettino revolution at Spurs, told in his own words

Since joining the club in 2014, Mauricio Pochettino has transformed Tottenham from underachievers into genuine title contenders. In the process, he has marked himself out as one of the best managers in the world. He has done so by promoting an attacking, pressing style of football and by nurturing home-grown talent, fully endearing himself to the Spurs faithful along the way.

Guillem Balague was granted unprecedented access to Pochettino and his backroom staff for the duration of the 2016-17 season, and was therefore able to draw on extensive interview material with Pochettino, his family, his closest assistants, players such as Dele Alli and Harry Kane, and even a very rare conversation with Daniel Levy to tell the manager's story in his own words. From Pochettino's early years as a player and coach to his transformation of Tottenham into one of the best teams in England, the book uniquely reveals the inner workings of the man and of his footballing philosophy. It also lays bare what it takes to run a modern-day football team competing at the highest level over the course of a single campaign. The result is the most comprehensive and compelling portrait of a manager and of a club in the Premier League era.

About the Author

Guillem Balague is an award-winning football author, journalist and presenter who works regularly for BBC Radio 5 Live, LaLiga TV and the American network CBS. In his previous role at Sky Sports, he was a key fixture of their Spanish football coverage for over twenty years, known for his regular appearances on Sky Sports News,
'Revista de LaLiga', his punditry work and being the go-to man for anything relating to the Spanish transfer market. He has his own YouTube channel, 1.2m+ followers on social media, his own podcast (Pure Football) and gives Master Classes in journalism at UCFB University in Wembley (London) and the Etihad stadium in Manchester.

He wrote the bestselling A Season on the Brink, an insider's account of Liverpool's 2004-05 Champions' League winning campaign. In November 2012, he published the first international biography of Pep Guardiola, based on conversations with him, shortlisted for Football Book of the Year, as were his following four books. The following year, he published Messi: The Definitive Biography, the first complete biography of the Argentinian star. As well as two ebooks (diaries of the 2012 European Championships and the 2014 World Cup), he published the Official History of FC Barcelona in the autumn of 2014. In November 2015, he wrote Cristiano Ronaldo: the Biography which won the Football Book of the Year Award at the British Sports Book Awards and the Best Football Book of 2016 in Poland. His latest books Brave New World - Inside Pochettino's Spurs and Maradona were Sunday Times bestsellers in the UK. He is also chairman of non-league Biggleswade FC.

Follow Guillem at:
- www.guillembalague.com
- www.facebook.com/guillembalague
- www.instagram.com/guillembalague
- www.twitter.com/GuillemBalague

Reviews
Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs reads like it is the start of something, a self-aware manager exploring some bold ideas and exciting potential . . . Pochettino comes over, above all, as a man who puts enormous stock in working relationships, trust, and comfort in his environment . . . But mostly there are detailed insights into the impressive workings of a football manager * The Times *
Mauricio Pochettino may be the most interesting coach currently working in England, perhaps even Europe. The author is granted unprecedented access to see the inner workings of one of the success stories in the Premier League in recent years * i news, The 10 Best Football Books of 2017 *
An essential piece of reading for anyone keen to understand how someone goes about transforming a football club * FourFourTwo *
An unparalleled insight into one of the most exciting managers working in football * Independent *


Awards
Short-listed for British Sports Book Awards 2018 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781474615457
Author Guillem Balague
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publisher Orion Publishing Co
Weight(grams) 300g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 26mm