Books. This medium that we adults still hold close to our chests, but which the rising generation doesn't quite understand. The medium, which gave us both entertainment and a temporary refuge when the real world was untenable, is on its way to dying out. I think that's a shame.
And that's exactly why it's so important to write about sports. Because we know that girls are better at reading than boys, and maybe boys are more interested in sports than girls? Maybe it's a prejudiced assumption on my part, but still; all potential entrances to the world of books must be applauded and met with open arms. And here's our contribution; our top 5 list of sports books you should check out;
Table of Contents
1. Open – An Autobiography
Open is an extraordinarily honest and revealing autobiography in which Andre Agassi tells the story of his life both on and off the tennis court. He describes a childhood marked by enormous pressure from his father, who forced him into the sport through brutal and intense training regimens. Already as a child, Agassi develops an ambivalent relationship with tennis: he becomes extremely good, but at the same time he hates the sport he is destined to master.
The book follows his journey from youthful rebellion and identity confusion to becoming one of the world's best tennis players. Agassi provides insight into the constant physical and mental strain that comes with life at the top, and he honestly describes defeats, injuries, inner turmoil and the struggle with his own self-image. At the same time, he also shows glimpses of the glamour, triumphs and special moments that come with being a superstar.
A key theme in the book is his search for meaning beyond tennis. He tells how the people around him – coaches, friends and later his wife – help him find direction and balance. He gradually learns to reconcile himself with both the sport and himself, and he uses his position to create something more meaningful than titles, including through charity work and involvement with young people.
Open stands out because it is more than a sports biography; it is a poignant and reflective tale of identity, pressure, ambition and self-acceptance. Agassi shows that even behind great success there can be deep insecurity – and that the journey to inner peace can be just as demanding as the road to the top.
2. A life too short – The Tragedy Of Robert Enke
The book tells the story of Robert Enke — one of Europe's most promising football goalkeepers — and paints an honest, deeply human and tragic portrait of his life, both on and off the football pitch. From the outside, he seemed to have it all: he had played for several of Europe's top clubs, including clubs such as Benfica and Barcelona, and he was the captain of Hannover 96, as well as being part of the German national team.
Yet behind the success lay a struggle. Through detailed research — based on Enke's own diaries, letters, conversations with family, friends, teammates, and his coaches — author Ronald Reng provides an intimate and respectful insight into his inner life: the fear, uncertainty, self-doubt, and persistent depression that characterized him for many years.
The book shows how a seemingly perfect life did not protect against mental illness. A widower's deep grief — including the loss of his young daughter — left its mark, and no matter how much help he sought and how hard he tried, he was unable to combat the dark thoughts.
Reng also paints a picture of a humble, reflective and introverted man who stood in contrast to the stereotype of football stars: Enke was not concerned with glam or status — he was modest, loyal, dedicated and had a big heart.
Ultimately, the story ends in tragedy: On November 10, 2009, Robert Enke took his own life — at just 32 years old. In doing so, he shocked the football world, but his story and battle with depression also sparked an important conversation about mental health in elite sports, with hopes for greater understanding and openness about mental illness.
A Life Too Short is therefore not "just" a sports biography — it is a moving, painful and important story about human dignity, vulnerability and how wrong things can go when inner pain is hidden behind a facade of achievement and success.
3. Power in the shirt – a football journey through a Europe in war and crisis
The book is based on a strong wonder: can we understand modern Europe through football — and the crises and power lines that characterize it in our time? The author lets his own interest in and affinity for football become the gateway to a journey that goes through several European countries — Great Britain, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, and on to other edges of the football and power landscape.
On this journey, he experiences everything from the biggest top matches with the world's best players to the wildest fan cultures — but it's not just the glamour and entertainment of football that takes center stage. Throughout the book, he examines how football today has become a "blood money-financed community" where billionaires, states and major economic powers attempt to control both the sport and people's longing for community.
Through meetings with supporters — in everything from European cities to local clubs — the author outlines a deeper narrative: This is not just a sport, but an expression of broader societal conflicts. The book points out how football can function as an arena for identity, loyalty and belonging — but also as a channel for nationalism, capital interests and questions of power.
, Power in the Shirt is a personal story. The author's own reaction — the moment he realizes that he is being swept up in a fight in a kind of fight driven by economic forces he does not share — sets the tone. It is about joy, doubt, belonging, criticism and reflection: what it means to be a football fan in an era where sport is increasingly a commodity, and where money, politics and power are seriously flowing into the stands.
In the end, the book stands as more than a travelogue with stops at football stadiums — it becomes a kind of mirror for Europe in a period of crisis. It shows how football can be a gateway to reflect on identity, class, power and society — and reminds us that behind the jersey there is power, political choices and values worth questioning.
4. Enemies Until We Die – Football's Hate Showdown
In Enemies Until We Die , Magnus Borgen travels the world to experience 13 of the most famous and controversial derbies in football — from South America to Europe and Asia. You find yourself in the stands with him when, for example, River Plate meets Boca Juniors in Argentina, when the atmosphere boils between Liverpool FC and Manchester United at Anfield Road, when the rivalry burns under Borussia Dortmund's "yellow wall", or when football matches in India take on an almost religious significance, where the result of the match even determines what some supporters have for dinner.
Through Borgen's eyes, we not only get the atmosphere and intensity of matchday — we also get a deep dive into the history, politics, and social structures that have shaped the rivalries. The book shows how football can be everything from urban identity markers, symbols of class and neighborhood affiliation, to arenas where passion, pride, and hatred come together with fierce force.
But Borgen doesn’t just document the match and the atmosphere — he also tries to understand the underlying phenomenon: why these matches mean so much, why rivalries can become so intense, and why football fans are willing to sacrifice so much for “the team and the honor.” He reflects on how football is about more than sport — it’s about identity, belonging, pride, loyalty, and sometimes conflict. In that light, the derbies become a kind of mirror of society, culture, history, and human belonging. And it’s in the contrast — between fierce passion and the calm before the storm, between collective identity and individual experiences — that the book finds its strength.
All in all, Enemies Till We Die is a book about football as more than a sport. It is a journey into what makes football so much more — a global culture, an arena for emotion, community, rivalry and belonging. It is brutally honest, often fascinating, and offers insight into why seemingly innocent clashes can be ignited by history, geography, politics and human passions.
5. Pirates, punks & politics – FC St. Pauli: Falling in Love with a Radical Football Club
The book begins with the author's own awakening as a frustrated football fan: after following big clubs and seeing how football has become largely commercialized, he loses his spark. Then he travels to Hamburg, visits FC St. Pauli, at their home ground Millerntor Stadium – and discovers that football can be something more than results and money. What he finds is a club with an alternative soul; a club with a strong community, commitment and uncompromising ideology – far from football's glories and financial hustle.
Throughout the book, Davidson alternates between the history of St. Pauli – both the club and the district in which it is rooted – and his own experiences: his first visit in the spring of 2007 with his father, the subsequent matches, the atmosphere in the stands and the people he meets. St. Pauli appears not only as a football team, but as a community that stands for values: against fascism, racism, sexism and commercial abuse. The club and its supporters have a clear left-wing and anti-authoritarian profile, and put social justice, solidarity and inclusion at the center.
But the book is not an uncritical tribute — Davidson is clear that St. Pauli is also a club with challenges. When economic realities and football's increasingly strong commercial pressure knock, the club is forced to make difficult choices. Throughout the book, the fight to preserve principles — the fight against forces that want to sell "culture" for money — and how easy it can be to lose yourself when success and financial interests come into play.
On a deeper level, Pirates, Punks & Politics about more than football. It is about community, identity, resistance to conformity and capitalism, and that football — when allowed to live outside the logic of the market — can be a genuine alternative to mainstream sports. Davidson shows how football can become more than a game; it can become a way of expressing values, an arena for social change and a shared cultural experience. The book therefore becomes a declaration of love for a club that gives hope to those seeking meaning, belonging and resistance, despite an increasingly commercialized sports landscape.
