David Winner (born 5 December 1956) is an English author and journalist. He lives in
Kilburn, London.
His best-known books are ''Those Feet: An Intimate History of English Football'' (2005), and ''
Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football'' (2000).
''Brilliant Orange'' was shortlisted for the
William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 2000. The book explains why the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
players of the
Netherlands play beautifully but lose their most important matches. Winner connects football to other elements of Dutch life and culture, such as their flat flooding-prone land, unusual taste in art, and their experiences in World War 2.
''Around the World in 90 Minutes (plus extra time and penalties)'' (2007) was based on his journey to 13 countries during the four weeks of the 2006 World Cup.
His quirky travel book ''Al Dente: Madness, Beauty & the Food of Rome'' (2012) was described by Pen Vogler in The Observer,
unday 11 March 2012as being "like a fusion of Coleridge's Table Talk and Marinetti's The Futurist Cookbook, peopled with eccentric film-makers, anorexic saints and wafer-making nuns".
He recently wrote a biography of footballer
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was moved to main striker and then to second striker, where he remained throughout his playing ...
, co-written with Jaap Visser, and based on interviews with Bergkamp. The English edition, "Dennis Bergkamp, Stillness and Speed", was long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2013. The Dutch edition, published by Uitgeverij Carrera, is entitled "Dennis Bergkamp: de biografie".
He most recently was the
ghostwriter of
Rio Ferdinand's 2014 autobiography
#2Sides.
Winner also co-wrote ''The Coming of The Greens'' (1988) (with
Jonathon Porritt), a study of
environmentalism in the
United Kingdom and biographies for children of Archbishop
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
,
Raoul Wallenberg,
Peter Benenson (founder of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
) and
Eleanor Roosevelt.
Together with
Lex van Dam he translated a book about
Johan Cruyff, The Netherlands best-ever footballer titled ''Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff, The ABC of an Obstinate Maestro'' by
Frits Barend and
Henk van Dorp.
Winner supports
Arsenal football club.
References
1956 births
Living people
English sportswriters
British Jews
People from Kilburn, London
Johan Cruyff
{{england-writer-stub