Product Description

At the age of 28, German goalkeeper, Lars Leese was catapulted from a minor League football field somewhere near Cologne to a small industrial town in the north of England. Something of a culture shock, certainly, but nothing compared to finding himself in goal for Barnsley playing the mighty Liverpool at Anfield in front of over 45,000 spectators. Plucked from obscurity and playing in one of the most important Leagues in the world, Leese experienced in real life what thousands of boys - and men - can only dream of: stepping out of the crowd and onto a Premiership pitch. Lars Leese's foray into the wild world of professional football lasted only three years, but his journey from computer software salesman to Premiership goalie is a remarkable story. Here, Ronald Reng traces his stratospheric rise and equally alarming descent: the resulting narrative is an indispensable antidote to the traditional footballing biography and a unique - at times shocking - outsider's view of English life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92355 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 234 pages

Frank Keating, Guardian
'By far the best soccer autobiography of the year.'

About the Author
Ronald Reng has been based in London for the last five years as a freelance sports journalist. He has written about English football for, amongst others, the Suddeutsche Zeitung, and Zurich's Tagesanzeiger.

Customer Reviews

Total And Utter Class!!!
I cautiously bought this book, wondering about just how good it would be, but as i'm such a MASSIVE football fan i thought why not i'll have a try.

I got the book home and i couldn't put it down. Lars Leese's story is an amazing one and the book is written in a very skilled and personal manner.

I would recommend this to just about every football fan on the planet as it is by far one of the best books i have ever read.

'Keeper of Dreams' by Ronald Reng
A must-read for any young footballer who dreams of reaching the top, this is a vivid, but level-headed account of the spectacular rise and fall of Lars Leese, a beanpole German goalkeeper, who catapulted from playing in the very lowest reaches of a German local league, to a season in the English Premiership with newly promoted Barnsley. And then back again, with disconcerting speed.

It is a tale told with admirable honesty and generosity of spirit, and is full of detailed and intelligent observations about football culture in Germany and England. Leese (correctly pronounced 'Laser', but happy to be mispronounced in Barnsley) never shirks the truth or disguises his feelings, and the result is a compelling read.