Kicking Back

"This is a great account of the life and career of a man I respect immensely. A fascinating read." - Ian Wright

"A searingly honest account of a fascinating football story. Nedum tells it like he played, with nothing left out." - Guy Mowbray, Match of the Day

"A frank, thought-provoking and compelling insight into one of football's most articulate voices." - Rory Smith, New York Times chief soccer correspondent

'My identity is built on conflicts, and I'm proud of who I am ... I can walk through the rest of my life with something to say.'

Nedum Onuoha was not a typical footballer. A young black Mancunian picked by the Manchester City Academy aged ten, he was determined to continue his education despite the lure of a career under the floodlights. Fiercely intelligent on and off the pitch, Onuoha developed into a talented defender and played his part in City's meteoric rise. He was at the Etihad Stadium when they won their first Premier League title - as an opposition player for QPR, having left the Blues just four months earlier.

In this characteristically forthright book, Onuoha reveals what goes on behind the scenes at top-tier clubs. Stuffed with insights into household names like Stuart Pearce, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Roberto Mancini and Harry Redknapp, this is football and its most famous figures as you've never seen them before.

Kicking Back is also the story of one man's search for identity: as a footballer, as a black man in England and as an outsider in the US during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. What is it like to receive horrific racist abuse while doing your job? And how has football utterly failed the black community? Onuoha provides a damning assessment of the sport's authorities, finally claiming his voice as he dives deep into a life spent on the pitch.

Auteur

Nedum Onuoha first appeared for Manchester City at the age of seventeen, and went on to play more than 400 games in a professional career that ended in 2020 at Real Salt Lake in the MLS. He was captain of the England Under 21s and QPR, where he spent more than six years. Born in Nigeria, Nedum moved to Manchester at the age of five, and was the first player to be signed by the City Academy. He grew up in a poor part of the city as his parents made huge sacrifices to give Nedum and his sisters a good education, and he carried on studying for his A-Levels after making his first team debut. He is now a sought-after pundit for a number of leading broadcasters.

Texte du rabat

"Writing this book is my way of showing that perhaps there's a lot more to see when we take in perspectives we never previously considered. Because, after all, we are not all the same, but when you think about it, why should we be?"

Nedum Onuoha was not a typical footballer and never wanted to write a typical footballer's autobiography. While other members of the Manchester City Academy were working towards their compulsory qualifications in the canteen at the training ground, Nedum was in school, studying for his GCSEs, then A-Levels, a rare player that combined a formal education with his rise to the first team of one of the most famous clubs in world football. He was there for the seismic changes at Manchester City, and when they won their first Premier League title - as an opposition player having left the club just four months previously.

Kicking Back is more than just a tale of those he played alongside, and under. His views on Stuart Pearce, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Roberto Mancini and Harry Redknapp are characteristically forthright of a man who's now a notable broadcaster for the BBC, ESPN and more; but this is also a book about identity. Nedum's has been shaped by the experience of being a black man of Nigerian descent growing up - initially as an outsider in Manchester - and then living in the US during the Black Lives Matter protests; and also of a black footballer that faced horrific racist abuse in his career. While his assessment of how football and society have failed the black community is damning, he is also able to provide insights into his family life that are deeply personal, particularly the recollections of his mother, who passed away in 2012.

In his book, Nedum reflects on those moments on the pitch that shaped his career, but also those off it that formed the opinions he shares so frankly. His story is not just that of a footballer, but a black man who has spent a lot of his life in environments where there are few faces like his own.