Luciano Wernicke – författare

Lionel Messi is often called the best player of all time. He holds 46 titles, including one World Cup and four European Champion League titles and eight Ballon d’Ors, the highest individual honor in soccer. In 2024, he won Major League Soccer’s MVP award. But who is the player behind these impressive stats? What makes Lionel Messi so great? Take a dive into Messi’s background -- his beginnings as a youth player, his struggles to reach the top, and even his thoughts on his soccer career. Read this amazing story of a player who has had a momentous -- and no doubt lasting -- impact on the Beautiful Game.The Lionel Messi Story is the perfect book for any Messi and football fan!

Why Is Soccer Played Eleven Against Eleven? reveals one hundred facts of soccer history and rules that are either unknown or little known, such as why soccer is played eleven against eleven, why soccer matches last 90 minutes, who the first coach was, how the referee appeared, and who invented goal nets, red and yellow cards, the penalty, and the penalty shoot-out. Included in this book are funny and weird anecdotes, such as the case of a player who scored a goal...without ever having stepped on the pitch…making this book the complete resource on the beautiful game of soccer.Millions of soccer fans will find all the answers to any question they could possibly have—including those they may not have thought of—in this amusing, yet informative, book by journalist Luciano Wernicke.

Unforgettable Soccer is a fun book about soccer. Rather than putting the magnifying glass on great champions and memorable matches, it instead examines the more obscure soccer tales, rescuing incredible feats and masterful mistakes from oblivion—incredible feats such as the soccer player who scored all four goals in a game that ended 2-2. Or crazy stories about a Danish referee who stopped a match to look for the dentures he had lost. The reader will even find a story about a defender who was reprimanded even though he was already dead! Within these pages are entertaining stories that will seem almost too unbelievable to be true. Written in a fun and lighthearted manner, Unforgettable Soccer tells the soccer stories that should be told, making it a must-have for every soccer fan.

Lionel Messi is often called the best player of all time. He holds 46 titles, including one World Cup and four European Champion League titles and eight Ballon d'Ors, the highest individual honor in soccer. In 2024, he won Major League Soccer's MVP award. But who is the player behind these impressive stats? What makes Lionel Messi so great? This book takes a deep dive into Messi's background, examining his beginnings, his struggles to reach the top, and even his thoughts on his soccer career. With Messi's arrival to Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2023, the most popular sport in the world experienced a revolution in the US. More stars from Europe, South America, and Africa followed, and the matches were soon televised on more channels and platforms than ever before. The explosive success of MLS motivated Time magazine to name Messi the greatest sports figure of 2023. To fully understand how Messi influenced MLS, this book takes a dynamic and in-depth look into his playing history his beginnings, his career successes, his own personal stories, as well as what other players think of Messi's career. This is the amazing story of how one of the world's greatest soccer players revolutionized MLS.

Why Is Soccer Played Eleven Against Eleven? reveals one hundred facts of soccer history and rules that are either unknown or little known, such as why soccer is played eleven against eleven, why soccer matches last 90 minutes, who the first coach was, how the referee appeared, and who invented goal nets, red and yellow cards, the penalty, and the penalty shoot-out. Included in this book are funny and weird anecdotes, such as the case of a player who scored a goal...without ever having stepped on the pitch…making this book the complete resource on the beautiful game of soccer.Millions of soccer fans will find all the answers to any question they could possibly have—including those they may not have thought of—in this amusing, yet informative, book by journalist Luciano Wernicke.

Unforgettable Soccer is a fun book about soccer. Rather than putting the magnifying glass on great champions and memorable matches, it instead examines the more obscure soccer tales, rescuing incredible feats and masterful mistakes from oblivion—incredible feats such as the soccer player who scored all four goals in a game that ended 2-2. Or crazy stories about a Danish referee who stopped a match to look for the dentures he had lost. The reader will even find a story about a defender who was reprimanded even though he was already dead! Within these pages are entertaining stories that will seem almost too unbelievable to be true. Written in a fun and lighthearted manner, Unforgettable Soccer tells the soccer stories that should be told, making it a must-have for every soccer fan.

The Dark Side of the Copa Libertadores uncovers the sinister, violent and corrupt goings on that bubble beneath the surface of this famous South American football tournament.By acclaimed Argentine journalist, screenwriter and author Luciano Wernicke, whose books have been published in 30 countries and translated into 18 languages.This gripping book:Delves into the dark side of the most important football club tournament in South AmericaTells of nefarious goings on away from the pitch, including coercion or 'hiring' of referees, threats to rivals and other measures used to gain an unfair edgeReveals the ingenious tricks, traps and ferocious threats used by sports leaders, drug traffickers and political entities to obtain a sporting resultIs brimming with colourful stories and amusing anecdotes: the footballer sent off twice in the same match wearing two different shirts, the priest who scored a winning goal and the brave midfielder who had a mishap in his shorts when he blocked too hardThe Dark Side of the Copa Libertadores charts the successes and miseries, heroes and villains, laughter and tears, screams and silence that have punctuated the tournament since its inception in 1960.

501 World Cup Moments is an astonishing journey through the rich history of the most important tournament in football. For almost a century, the World Cup has offered diverse stages on which artists, madmen and criminals – as the brilliant Argentine writer Osvaldo Soriano once said – have performed. Within its pages, you'll find a compelling selection of gems from across World Cup history, brimming with heroes and villains and unforgettable moments. They include the striker who stayed on the pitch despite suffering a heart attack; the pitch-invading dog that urinated on a player; the triumphant team that took a lap of honour without the cup (which was accidentally left in a bank vault); the team that qualified by winning a match against no one; and the manager who, despite winning the championship, was sad because his team conceded two goals in the final. This enthralling book is chock-full of incredible matches, amazing goals, astounding anecdotes, trivia, quotes, records and much more – from the inaugural tournament at Uruguay 1930 to Qatar 2022.

Los Juegos Olímpicos son el acontecimiento deportivo por excelencia. Desde su resurrección a finales del siglo XIX, de la mano del barón francés Pierre de Coubertin, las Olimpiadas ofrecen cada cuatro años una catarata de emociones y hazañas que a veces se convierten en mito. Al mismo tiempo, en el backstage de las contiendas, los deportistas muestran su lado más humano. Es lejos de la mirada del público que estos modernos «dioses del Olimpo» se despojan de su estado de semidivina perfección para hacerse comunes mortales que lidian con los reveses de la suerte, sufren percances desde los más esperpénticos hasta los más trágicos, enlazan el deporte con la política, sucumben al poder o a la presión del dinero, venden el honor o sacrifican por ello su carrera.Este libro recoge minuciosamente las más extraordinarias anécdotas deportivas y humanas de los protagonistas de los Juegos Olímpicos modernos, muchas de ellas tan sorprendentes que parecen concebidas por guionistas de Hollywood: un campeón de tiro que perdió la mano diestra en la guerra y educó la zurda para ganar la medalla de oro; un fondista portugués que fue atropellado por un automóvil y, diez días más tarde, ganó la maratón de Los Ángeles; un regatista que abandonó su carrera para rescatar a dos rivales que se ahogaban… Más de cuatrocientos increíbles relatos que componen un poderoso y entretenido cóctel de apasionantes y a menudo increíbles aventuras.«Nadie sabe cómo ha hecho Luciano para entrar en las Olimpiadas desde tiempos muy lejanos, cuando él ni siquiera había nacido, y nadie sabe cómo pudo escuchar todo lo que se contaba en voz bajita o no se contaba nunca, y sobrevivir a tanta indiscreción. Los lectores, agradecidos». EDUARDO GALEANO

El fútbol convoca multitudes, despierta pasiones y mueve miles de millones, pero también ha sido, desde siempre, un terreno fértil para abusos de poder, disputas políticas y tensiones sociales. Goles sangrientos reconstruye distintos episodios en los que el balón se vio arrastrado por oleadas de violencia, conflictos territoriales o intereses propagandísticos a manos de dictadores, narcotraficantes y otros siniestros protagonistas de la historia reciente. Lejos de la épica estereotipada, este libro muestra cómo, pese a ser utilizado para exaltar el patriotismo, manipular a las masas y legitimar acciones aberrantes, el deporte rey ha sobrevivido a todo aquel que ha osado intentar domesticarlo.«La victoria es una droga muy poderosa y muchos bebieron de su copa, confiados en que el efecto narcótico sería eterno. Sin embargo, su valor se diluye ante una mesa sin pan, la brutalidad de la guerra, una catástrofe, una injusticia».

Unforgettable Soccer is a fun book about soccer. Rather than putting the magnifying glass on great champions and memorable matches, it instead examines the more obscure tales from soccer, rescuing incredible feats and masterful mistakes from oblivion—incredible feats such as the soccer player who scored all four goals in a game that ended 2-2. Or crazy stories about a Danish referee who stopped a match to look for the dentures he had lost. The reader will even find a story about a defender who was reprimanded even though he was already dead! Within these pages are entertaining stories that will seem almost too unbelievable to be true. Written in a fun and light manner, Unforgettable Soccer tells the soccer stories that should be told, making it a must-have for every soccer fan. of the nature of transition in the ever-evolving game and as a teaching tool to help their teams dominate on both sides of the ball!