Kicking Back

'A searingly honest account ... 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 'Nedum Onuoha's autobiography is considerably more compelling than most of those by more decorated players.' - When Saturday Comes *** Nedum Onuoha was not a typical footballer. 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. 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 failed the black community? Onuoha provides a damning assessment of the sport's authorities as he dives deep into a life spent on the pitch.

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.