From the publisher:
The European Cup (La Coupe des Champions Européens) has been the pinnacle of achievement in European club football since its creation in 1956. Recast as the UEFA Champions League in 1992, it is now acknowledged as the world's premier football competition, as well as its most lucrative.
Andy Brassell spent the 2003/4 season travelling around Europe shadowing the efforts of the giants, the hopefuls, the has-beens and the might-have-beens to adapt to the constantly evolving demands the Champions League places on them.
From a balmy August night in the south of France with the fanatics of Marseille, through Lokomotiv Moscow leading the east's renaissance in the height of Russian winter, the March magic if Real Madrid's megastars, to Jose Mourinho leading FC Porto to glorious triumph in May, players, fans, and pundits describe what the competition means to them, their teams, their cities and their countries as the clubs play for increasingly higher stakes in pursuit of their holy grail.
The author:
Andy Brassell was born and raised in London. He went to his first football match in 1987 at the age of 10, when his dad took him to see Wimbledon play Everton at Plough Lane. A freelance writer and DJ, he has contributed to Champions and tribalfootball.com amongst other magazines and websites. He lives in Battersea with his girlfriend and his St Etienne toy panther, Pierre.
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