Eriu has acquired Born to be a Footballer, memoir of the legendary Liam Brady
Deirdre Nolan, Publishing Director of Eriu, the new Dublin-based imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired world English language rights to Born to be a Footballer from Tim Bates at Peters Fraser & Dunlop following an eight-way auction.
Born to be a Footballer outlines Liam’s stellar career, from his childhood in Dublin to his incredible feats in an Irish shirt, his infamous FA Cup Final win with Arsenal in 1979, and on to glory in Italy, with teams including Juventus and Inter Milan before returning to London and West Ham.
Thrilled to be publishing the memoir, Nolan said that Brady’s career “makes for compelling reading—his insights into the beautiful game are second to none.”
As a manager Brady worked with Celtic, Brighton and Hove Albion, and the Republic of Ireland, and was Head of Youth Development at Arsenal until 2013. He has been a popular pundit with RTÉ Sport since 1998.
“During lockdown I had the inclination to reflect on my life in football, and how good it’s been to me,” Brady said, “in football you’re bound to have your ups and downs, but I regret very little of my career in the professional game. I have great memories and experiences from my fifty years in the sport.”
Liam Brady was born in Dublin in 1956 into a footballing family. Having displayed great potential as a young player he was recruited to Arsenal at the age of fifteen, and enjoyed huge success with the club until his move to Juventus in 1980.
He continued his career in Italy playing with Sampdoria, Internazionale and Ascoli before returning to London and joining West Ham in 1987. With the Republic of Ireland he won 72 international caps over a 16-year career, and is considered one of the greatest footballers the country has ever produced.
Brady is a major signing for the new imprint run by Nolan, with plans to publish 10-12 titles each year for the flourishing local market, spanning adult and children’s fiction, and non-fiction. Eriu is part of the Black and White Publishing Group, Bonnier Books UK’s newly announced adult trade division led by Tim Whiting.
Born to be a Footballer will be published in the UK and Ireland on 12 October, 2023.
