David Winner (born 5 December 1956) is an English writer and journalist. He lives in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area in North West London, North West London, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Brent, Brent and the City of Westminster. Kilburn High Road railway station lies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) n ...

. 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 The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports writing award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. It was first presented in 1989, and was conceived by Graham Sharpe of William Hill, and John Gaustad, founder of the Sport ...

in 2000. The book explains why the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

players of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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 Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who was most recently the Assistant manager of Ajax. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was ...

, 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 A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...

's 2014 autobiography #2Sides. Winner also co-wrote ''The Coming of The Greens'' (1988) (with

Jonathon Porritt Sir Jonathon Espie Porritt, 2nd Baronet, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 6 July 1950) is a British environmentalist and writer. He is known for his advocacy of the Green Party of England and Wales. Porritt frequently contributes to ma ...

), a study of

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

Peter Benenson Peter Benenson (born Peter James Henry Solomon; 31 July 1921 – 25 February 2005) was a British barrister, human rights activist and the founder of the human rights group Amnesty International (AI); a global movement of more than 10 million pe ...

(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 that it has more than ten million members a ...

) and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

. He also translated a book about

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

, 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 The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...

References

1956 births Living people English sportswriters Jewish English writers People from Kilburn, London Johan Cruyff English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century English male writers English food writers {{england-writer-stub