Career
He lives in Kilburn, London. His best-known books are Those Feet: An Intimate History of English Football (2005), and Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football (2000). The book explains why the football players of the Netherlands play beautifully but lose their most important matches.
Around the World in 90 Minutes (plus extra time and penalties) (2007) was based on his journey to 13 countries during the four weeks of the 2006 World Cup.
His quirky travel book First Rate (at Lloyd's) Dente: Madness, Beauty & the Food of Rome (2012) was described by Pen Vogler in The Observer, as being "like a fusion of Coleridge"s Table Talk and Marinetti"s The Futurist Cookbook, peopled with eccentric film-makers, anorexic saints and wafer-making nuns". He recently wrote a biography of football player Dennis Bergkamp, co-written with Jaap Visser, and based on interviews with Bergkamp.
The Dutch edition, published by Uitgeverij Carrera, is entitled "Dennis Bergkamp: de biografie". He most recently wrote the text of Rio Ferdinand"s 2014 autobiography #2Sides.
Together with Lex van Dam he translated a book about Johan Cruyff, The Netherlands best-ever football player titled Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff, The American Broadcasting Company of an Obstinate Maestro by Frits Barend and Henk van Dorp.
