HH

'A gripping, unsettling and authoritative portrait of football's original dark genius - brilliantly researched and superbly told.' – GUILLEM BALAGUÉ A wonderfully compelling biography... This is a story that, once read, you can't forget.' – DUNCAN HAMILTON, THREE-TIME WILLIAM HILL AWARD WINNER THE STORY OF FOOTBALL'S MOST NOTORIOUS COACH Nicknamed 'Il Mago' (The Wizard) after bringing European Cup glory to Inter Milan in successive years, Helenio Herrera was hailed as one of the finest minds in football. This explosive book explores the enigma of the incredibly charismatic 'HH': a philanderer, charlatan, trash-talker and serial winner mired in controversy. His stellar career was halted by the death of one of his star players and his subsequent trial for manslaughter. 'HH' revolutionised football coaching. Preparing his teams meticulously, he was obsessed with his players' mental toughness and introduced idiosyncratic psychological techniques. He made his name as a coach, winning La Liga twice with both Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, but it was his move to Inter in 1960 that propelled him to stardom. His team won three scudetti in the mid-1960s and were only denied a third European Cup by Jock Stein's Celtic in 1967. HH reveals how Herrera was the original master of the game's dark arts. In Spain he introduced a regime of performance-enhancing drugs, and he continued this practice in Italy, which eventually led to his downfall. Featuring interviews with those who knew Herrera well – including Fabio Capello, Sandro Mazzola, Ian St John and Denis Law – HH is a fascinating story of deceit and intrigue, bloodshed, sex and glorious football. The psychological warfare he waged against other teams has seen him portrayed as the 'original José Mourinho' and he was distrusted by his peers, such as Santiago Bernabéu, and Bill Shankly, whose Liverpool side controversially lost to Inter in the 1965 European Cup semi-final. Herrera also exerted enormous mental and physical pressure on his own players. In Spain he introduced a regime of performance-enhancing drugs, and he continued this practice in Italy, which eventually led to his downfall. Having joined Roma in 1968, his role in the untimely death of their young striker, Giuliano Taccola, brought scrutiny of his methods. Taccola's 'white death', or heart failure associated with alleged doping, led to Herrera being charged with manslaughter and his coaching career never recovered. Featuring interviews with those who knew Herrera well, including Fabio Capello, Sandro Mazzola, Ian St. John and Denis Law, HH is a fascinating story of deceit and intrigue, bloodshed, sex and glorious football, set against the backdrop of the Franco dictatorship in 1950s Spain and 1960s Italy's la dolce vita era.