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Gary Lineker: A Portrait of a Football Icon
Bloomsbury presents
Gary A Portrait of a Football Icon
by Chris Evans read by Simon Darwen
'Full of pace and style, just like its subject ... a vivid, nostalgic reminder of Lineker’s greatness as a player' - Leo McKinstry
'Skilfully crafted – there is not much more you can ask from a biography' – Patrick Barclay
ENGLAND CAPTAIN. WORLD CUP HERO. SERIAL GOALSCORER. MATCH OF THE DAY HOST. FOOTBALL ICON.
As player and pundit, Gary Lineker has been a prominent figure in English football for more than 40 years. He scored 48 goals in 80 games for England – coming within a penalty of being the country’s record goalscorer – and is the only player to have topped the goalscoring charts at three different clubs. He famously never received a red or yellow card, and hosted the BBC’s Match of the Day for 25 years.
This enlightening biography – the first for 30 years – follows Lineker’s career, from the school report which said, 'He concentrates too much on football’ to his phenomenal goalscoring record and development as a media personality. Through meticulous research and interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches, journalists and commentators, journalist Chris Evans reveals the inside stories and backroom anecdotes from his early days at Leicester City; the big-money moves to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; and the highs and lows of spells at Barcelona and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan.
Gary Lineker always played with a smile on his face and an assassin’s touch in front of goal, while his charm and playful humour won over millions on TV. This biography provides a fascinating insight into one of English football’s most popular characters.
'Full of pace and style, just like its subject ... a vivid, nostalgic reminder of Lineker’s greatness as a player' - Leo McKinstry
'Skilfully crafted – there is not much more you can ask from a biography' – Patrick Barclay
ENGLAND CAPTAIN. WORLD CUP HERO. SERIAL GOALSCORER. MATCH OF THE DAY HOST. FOOTBALL ICON.
As player and pundit, Gary Lineker has been a prominent figure in English football for more than 40 years. He scored 48 goals in 80 games for England – coming within a penalty of being the country’s record goalscorer – and is the only player to have topped the goalscoring charts at three different clubs. He famously never received a red or yellow card, and hosted the BBC’s Match of the Day for 25 years.
This enlightening biography – the first for 30 years – follows Lineker’s career, from the school report which said, 'He concentrates too much on football’ to his phenomenal goalscoring record and development as a media personality. Through meticulous research and interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches, journalists and commentators, journalist Chris Evans reveals the inside stories and backroom anecdotes from his early days at Leicester City; the big-money moves to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; and the highs and lows of spells at Barcelona and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan.
Gary Lineker always played with a smile on his face and an assassin’s touch in front of goal, while his charm and playful humour won over millions on TV. This biography provides a fascinating insight into one of English football’s most popular characters.
- GenresFootball
Audible Audio
Published January 30, 2025
6 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Chris Evans
121 books22 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 7, 2025
I already knew a good amount of the stories/facts in this book (I am an avid listener of Gary’s ‘the rest is football’ podcast, and I am a thorough researcher!), but it was still nice to get a full picture biography and to hear a few new (to me) stories.
One issue I did have with the book was with the formatting. I didn’t like that the start of some chapters effectively ‘spoiled’ what was going to happen in the chapter. Luckily it didn’t affect me TOO much as I mostly already knew what would happen. But for example, I couldn’t remember whether Gary broke Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring record, and it felt disjointed to be told at the beginning of the chapter that he didn’t beat it, only to then read a chapter which tells us the build up as if we don’t already know that information.
Overall though I would recommend this book, especially to someone who doesn’t know too much about Gary’s career and wants a good overview.
I am quite sad again now about Gary leaving match of the day - I will have to go and rewatch the end of his last episode🥲🥲
One issue I did have with the book was with the formatting. I didn’t like that the start of some chapters effectively ‘spoiled’ what was going to happen in the chapter. Luckily it didn’t affect me TOO much as I mostly already knew what would happen. But for example, I couldn’t remember whether Gary broke Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring record, and it felt disjointed to be told at the beginning of the chapter that he didn’t beat it, only to then read a chapter which tells us the build up as if we don’t already know that information.
Overall though I would recommend this book, especially to someone who doesn’t know too much about Gary’s career and wants a good overview.
I am quite sad again now about Gary leaving match of the day - I will have to go and rewatch the end of his last episode🥲🥲
December 29, 2025
Gary Lineker.
A true footballing icon.
I watched him for the last 25 years heading up MoD - Match Of The Day.
Before then he was the frontman and main striker for the three lions national team for a number of years. Great goal scorer, 3xgolden Booth winner.
From the biography Gary started his footballing career at Leicester City, then moved to Everton before joining Barcelona and a family move to Spain.
Joined Tottenham hotspurs before moving across to Japan to join a Japanese team in their newly started football J-league.
We follow him during the different world cups as well as European championships.
A true humble footballing legend who never got a red card during his career, beat that one!!
Played in Spain for Barcelona and for Japanese Nagoya Grampus Eight team in their J- league. Though he had his first serious injury while in Japan that cut his playing career shorter then planned.
Good read if you are into football ⚽️ 👍.
A true footballing icon.
I watched him for the last 25 years heading up MoD - Match Of The Day.
Before then he was the frontman and main striker for the three lions national team for a number of years. Great goal scorer, 3xgolden Booth winner.
From the biography Gary started his footballing career at Leicester City, then moved to Everton before joining Barcelona and a family move to Spain.
Joined Tottenham hotspurs before moving across to Japan to join a Japanese team in their newly started football J-league.
We follow him during the different world cups as well as European championships.
A true humble footballing legend who never got a red card during his career, beat that one!!
Played in Spain for Barcelona and for Japanese Nagoya Grampus Eight team in their J- league. Though he had his first serious injury while in Japan that cut his playing career shorter then planned.
Good read if you are into football ⚽️ 👍.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews