Derek Niven – författare

Derek Niven sets out to tell the history of the Lisbon Lions from a completely new slant. This book is not just about an immortalised game of football which took place on 25 May 1967 in the Estádio Nacionale in Lisbon. It seeks to tell the story of the unsung men and women who made the 16 players that are the Lisbon Lions through the extraordinary tales of their family histories.

In this the 55th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions and the 135th anniversary of Brother Walfrid''s first meeting at St Mary''s Chapel in the Calton to form the Celtic Football & Athletic Association take a journey through the family and social history of a team of young Bhoys who made world history. The reader will find the legend of the "30 square miles" will stretch over 3,000 square miles.

Following on from Derek Niven''s first book in the ''Pride Series'', Pride of the Lions, a genealogical history of the Lisbon Lions, he turns his attention to the great football managers Scotland has produced in Pride of the Jocks. Once again, this book is not just about the footballing achievements of Scotland''s greatest managers. It tells the story of the unsung men and women who made the 16 greatest managers, through the extraordinary tales of their family histories. Read the astonishing family histories behind Scottish managerial greats such as: Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Jock Stein OBE, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenny Dalglish and many more famous managers. The previous book Pride of the Lions commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions winning the European Cup in 1967. In some small way, Pride of the Jocks commemorates the 60th anniversary of the terrible Munich Air Disaster and the 50th anniversary of Manchester United winning the European Cup - both synonymous with the legendary Sir Matt Busby. The sequel to Pride of the Jocks is the new book Pride of the Bears, which tells the extraordinary family histories behind the 1972 Rangers ECWC team that became the Barca Bears.

This book stands as a humble tribute to all the men and women who helped shape the Rangers players who won the ECWC in Barcelona on that May night in 1972, in this the 50th anniversary of that famous victory. Following on from Derek Niven''s genealogical histories of the Lisbon Lions and the greatest Scottish football managers, he turns his attention to the heroes of Rangers European Cup Winners Cup victory in Pride of the Bears. Like its predecessors this book is not just about the footballing achievements of that famous Rangers team; it tells the story of the unsung people who made those players, through the extraordinary tales of their family histories. Find out the histories behind all the glorious medal winners of 1972 including Peter McCloy, Sandy Jardine, John Greig, Alex MacDonald, Colin Stein, Willie Mathieson and all the other Rangers greats of the Barca Bears.

HEROES OF MORE THAN A FOOTBALL FIELD 

Continuing Derek Niven''s popular and successful ''Pride Series'', Pride of the Hearts tells the fateful and tragic histories of the 16 Hearts players who signed up for McCrae''s Battalion, the 16th Royal Scots, during the Great War. Learn of the desperate battles they fought on the Somme and at Arras, too many of them paying the ultimate sacrifice. The book also gives a fascinating insight into the genealogical histories of the Hearts players, taking the reader back into the players'' Scottish, English and Irish ancestries.

Pride of the Hearts commemorates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal British Legion in 1921. It follows on from Pride of the Lions, Pride of the Jocks and Pride of the Bears all published by Derek Niven.

The Wembley Wizards of 1966

Following on from Derek Niven''s genealogical histories in his Pride Series of footballing greats, Pride of the Three Lions turns its attention to the achievements of the England team who won the FIFA World Cup at Wembley in 1966.

It tells their stories from the viewpoint of the unsung people who made them, journeying through periods of profound social changes, poverty, World Wars, and the Great Depression.

These tales of family history help to crystallize what shaped these young Englishmen into a team that especially wanted to beat their arch-rivals, West Germany, on that sunny afternoon on 30 July 1966 at Wembley Stadium.