The Time of My Football Life:

by David Picken

David Picken was born in England but spent much of his adult life in Hong Kong and Australia and, like many Australian football fans, promised himself that if Australia made it to the 2006 World Cup in Germany - he'd be there. The Time of My Football Life (or how I spent my long service leave) is David's journey to the tournament. Join him in his quest to find tickets - both legally and maybe not-so-legally (hello Jack Warner!) - his travels and beer-tasting through Germany, the ups and downs of following his two teams, and his thoughts about the eventual winners of that tournament in what was literally the time of his football life.

138 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2019

Reviews

[April Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging account of one fan’s personal experience of being at the 2006 World Cup. It reads as a travelogue as well as a sports book and has a warm and witty style that makes it an enjoyable read.

[James Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your typical football book about the World Cup. It's personal and quirky.The feelings, thoughts and opinions of the author are interesting and insightful on many occasions as the tournament progresses. You get a feel for the whole event. I particularly liked the tickets on the train incident. How did all those Afghani tickets get in the tout's pockets? Were they the only football association where tickets went astray? For the fans of football and any large sporting events this is disappointing, but it shows the power of greed and financial gain. But read on and enjoy this personal view of a great event. Jim from Aus.

[Jason Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love football books and am an avid collector of the genre. I really enjoyed Davids fan account of the 2006 World Cup. I am not sure Australia will have a better ride or a better team than they did that year. After a 32 year absence the amount of Aussies that wanted or tried to get to games in Germany was immense.

Davids ability to get tickets, get around Deutschland and immerse himself in the fan experience is certainly an enjoyable journey. It's the perfect book for lovers of the world game, the Socceroos or those that have travelled overseas to witness major sporting events.

[Dale Ipsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful travel book on Dave's travels to the World Cup.. You don't need to love football (socccer) to love the book, but if you do - even better.

It's the buskers, travels, and even corruption of a world cup that keeps you reading.