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So, I’ve updated my Barca book for the first time since it was published in February 2012.

This edition – with a new jacket featuring Lionel Messi’s iconic celebration in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley – contains a substantial new epilogue containing a fresh perspective on the end of Pep Guardiola’s reign at the club; the transition to Tito Vilanova and the tragic death of Pep’s former assistant from cancer.  There is also a new section on the brief reign of Tata Martino and a reflection on the untimely passing of Johan Cruyff, the Godfather of the modern Barca era. In total, about 40 extra pages have been added to the original edition.

The book is available everywhere, but I would urge you to buy directly from us. Two reasons – firstly, this will guarantee that you’ll receive the new edition. If you order from elsewhere, there’s a possibility of receiving the original. Secondly, we make a little more money if you buy from us. Margins are increasingly tight in publishing and buying direct helps us keep writing, publishing and producing the Big Interview podcasts. Click the ‘buy direct’ button below and the book will be with you shortly.

Thanks!

Graham

Buy Direct

Matt Le Tissier was the ultimate Local Hero (great film, btw).  He signed for Southampton at 16 and stayed for his whole career. His exquisite talents would have allowed him to grace a higher stage, but trophies and money were never his motivation.

In part one, Matt talks about his End Blyton-esque childhood on Guernsey, his passion for cricket, the art of penalty-taking and scoring the last-ever goal at the Dell.
Guys like Matt are a reminder of why we all love football so much. And I hope you enjoy this conversation with a legend of the British game as much as I did.

Graham

This episode was made possible by Nordoff Robins. We met Matt before Nordoff Robins’ annual football fundraising dinner in London. It’ s a charity we’ d like you to think about. Nordoff Robins offer music therapy to help children with a wide range of acute difficulties. As always, this podcast is free, but if you think this chat is worth £1 or more, please go to
www.nordoff-robins.org.uk and hit ‘ donate’

Well, what a first weekend of Premier League football… and a worthy winner of the first ‘Graham Hunter Podcast Challenge’. ‘Goucho23’ (winning team below) stormed to victory with some big performances from Tadic and Redmond in midfield, who both played key roles in Southampton’s 1-1 draw with Watford. Sergio Aguero’s strike in Man City’s 2-1 win over Sunderland also helped his cause.

As well as £25, ‘Goucho23’ will get a shout-out on the next ‘Big Interview’ podcast.

My 85th-placed finish – out of 213 entrants – was no more than a solid start to my FanDuel career. I had loftier ambitions around 3.45pm on Saturday, as I sat 4th on the leaderboard, but it only went one way from there. I am delighted to have edged out Big Interview producers Martin BackPage – 105th – and Neil BackPage -199 – whose policy of choosing former Falkirk players backfired on him.

For this Saturday, I’ve remained loyal to one or two of my big point-scorers from last week. Kyle Walker has earned another run-out, so too David Silva. I had the pleasure of catching up with Darren Fletcher in Manchester this week. He’s in again, along with his West Brom team-mate Jonny Evans, a player I rate very highly.

And what about that front three? Aguero, Costa, and my old pal Fernando Llorente (below), whose company I have enjoyed when I’ve covered Spain at big tournaments.

Let’s play!

Graham

Join in by picking your team for opening day at FanDuel. Use promo code BIGINTERVIEW and then join the GRAHAM HUNTER PODCAST CHALLENGE in the ‘competitions’ list. It’s £1 to play, there’s lots of cash prizes and the winner gets a shout-out on the podcast.

 

 

 

Use bonus code BIGINTERVIEW here

When did Spain emerge as international contenders? If you asked the players who won Euro 2008 and began an unprecedented tournament treble for the national team to name one turning point, my guess is the result would be decisive: Spain v Italy, quarter-final, Vienna, June 22, 2008.

Going into this game, Fernando Torres described the quarter-finals as “our brick wall”. He was under-selling it.

Spain had exited from major tournaments with eight teams remaining in 1986, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2002. At World Cup USA in 1994, they had done so at the hands of the Italians, in the last competitive fixture between the nations. That game became infamous for Mauro Tassotti’s elbow on Luis Enrique, which remodeled the face of the now Barcelona manager and would lead to an eight-game ban for the Italian. However, at the time it went unpunished, at 1-1, and caused Spain to lose their cool and then the game.

So before the transformation in their playing style was validated by glory, here was the acid test: could Spain beat the curse of the quarters? Could they beat the reigning world champions? And if it got close, did they have the mentality to get over the line?

What follows, from my book about Spain’s three wins in 2008, 2010 and 2012, is what happened next.

Click here to read the inside story of the 2008 quarter final

After the publication of Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World (2012), Neil and Martin at BackPage asked if I had another story I wanted to tell. The thought of taking on another project was daunting to say the least, but my access to the Spain team over the last decade made them the obvious subject matter.

Over three consecutive tournaments, I was offered incredible access to the squad. That Spain won all three – at the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, plus the South Africa World Cup –  made the insight and access I gained all the more privileged (I even ended up in the triumphant World Cup winning dressing room in Soccer City!). I simply had to tell this story (particularly as BackPage had taken my family hostage and locked me in a room with just a laptop).

You know when a book makes grandiose claims to gives you behind-the-scenes access to a tantalising subject? This does. It takes you into the dressing room, on to the training ground; on the team bus; into the canteen; inside the hotels and on to the pitch. You’ll hear the team talks that inspired Spain to victory plus the inside stories from Fernando Torres, Xavi, Iker Casillas, David Villa, Cesc Fàbregas, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué and more.

If you’ve read Barca and not this, I urge you to take the plunge. The pictures of Xavi, Sergio Ramos, Iniesta and Vicente Del Bosque are with the hardback version. The paperback is out now – and is half the price (£9.99). It’ll whet your appetite for this summer’s Euros and, together with my first book, give you an overall picture of an unprecedented era in Spanish football.

Enjoy!

Graham

p.s. Click here for exclusive video diaries we shot to accompany the book