In this episode, Neil and Martin talk to Mark Palmer, the translator of The Immortals, Arrigo Sacchi’s memoir of Milan’s 1988-89 season, which ended with the first of two back-to-back European Cup triumphs for the great team of Baresi, Maldini, Rijkaard, Gullit and Van Basten. The Immortals brings to life the training diaries of Sacchi and captures in time one of the greatest club teams in football history. In this interview, we talk about why this – and not an earlier Sacchi autobiography – was the right one for us; Mark’s task in bringing the eccentricities of Arrigo Sacchi to life; and what happened when we went to Sacchi’s hometown to meet the man himself. Buy The Immortals here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Daniel Gray and photographer Alan McCredie toured Scotland collecting pictures and that form a charming and true portrait of football in that country, from a European night at Ibrox to the Highland League. This is Martin's conversation with Daniel about how he and Alan found their subjects and what he learned from his travels. Find out more about Snapshot and Nutmeg, the Scottish football periodical that Martin and Daniel mention, here. And please also check out the new BackPage title on Liverpool's Premier League campaign, At The End Of The Storm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Returning to Between the Lines is Ben Reiter, author of Astroball, to talk about how the story he reported took a shocking turn - and how he went after it in a brilliant new six-part podcast, The Edge.The incredible rise of the Houston Astros from the worst team in baseball to world champions is the story that made Ben's name. When, in November 2019, news of a cheating scandal engulfed the organisation and tarnished their achievements, Ben decided he had to return to the story to discover what happened and what, if anything, he had missed.The result is, in our opinion, the sports podcast of 2020 and you don't need to be a baseball fan to understand or enjoy it.Finally, please check out our latest title, produced in association with The Athletic: At The End Of The Storm - stories from Liverpool's historic title win. It's the perfect gift for the Liverpool fan in your life - and it's out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry Winter returns to Between The Lines to talk about an interview he did with Nigel Pearson, in which the two men went hiking across Dartmoor and swam in a chalk pit. It makes for great copy and is testament to Winter's skill at relationship building and what he sees as the power of The Times, under whose masthead he writes. Aspiring and developing sportswriters listen up - Henry's breakdown of his intro to this piece is a lesson from the best in how to set up what he calls 'the shop window'.Finally, please check out our latest title, produced in association with The Athletic: At The End Of The Storm - stories from Liverpool's historic title win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin talks to Sebastian Moffett about Japanese Rules, his examination of the intersection of Japanese culture and its emergent football scene at the start of the 21st Century.It's a book Martin leant on while researching his own work on Shunsuke Nakamura and he asks Sebastian about the time he spent living and working in Japan, the techniques he used in the interviews for the book and how it impacted his life and career.Find out about our latest book - At The End of the Storm: Stories From Liverpool's Historic Title Win Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is the story behind our first Spotify Original podcast, which is out today! It is called 'Mutiny at Hearts' and tells the story of arguably the most explosive press conference in British football history in October 2006 - when three Hearts players led by club captain Steven Pressley turned on the club's megalomaniac owner, Vladimir Romanov.The episode is available exclusively on Spotify.EnjoyLISTEN TO MUTINY AT HEARTS ON SPOTIFY NOW Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin’s chat with Oliver Kay about Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football’s Lost Genius. It’s one of Martin’s favourite sports books of the last decade and that’s why this episode is a bit longer than most… plenty to cover!EnjoyBuy Forever YoungBuy At the End of the Storm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt McGinn, author of Against the Elements: The Eruption of Icelandic Football, picks Don McRae's boxing classic Dark Trade as his all-time favourite sports book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a new episode of Between the Lines. This is Martin's conversation with Matt McGinn about his excellent book Against the Elements: The Eruption of Icelandic Football. This is one of the most well researched and interesting sports books of 2020 and if you’ve ever wondered why Iceland have enjoyed such recent success at international tournaments, then this will tell you how it happened. And here’s a clue: it’s not just the indoor facilities. As always, the story behind the story is what we focus on and you’ll hear how Matt interviewed Icelandic musicians and powerlifters, and even spent time aboard a fishing trawler as he sought to capture the elements of Icelandic characters which have bred their sporting success.EnjoyBUY AGAINST THE ELEMENTSBUY AT THE END OF THE STORM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Martin's chat with James Pearce, the brilliantly connected Liverpool writer for The Athletic. A lot of James' writing makes up our latest book, At the End of the Storm, which also featured in last week’s episode – and is released today. The book is a collection of pieces from The Athletic telling the story of Liverpool’s historic title triumph, and James is the star of the show.You’re going to hear a little bit about James’ background and how his years at the Liverpool Echo primed him for taking his coverage of the club to a new level when he joined The Athletic in the summer of 2019. You’ll also hear him break down a piece he wrote after Liverpool’s Super Cup win over Chelsea in August. This is a brilliant episode with a writer at the peak of his power. EnjoyBuy At the End of the Storm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.