by Martin Hannan

As the first British player to score a goal in European club competition in 1955, Hibs hero Eddie Turnbull holds a unique place in soccer playing history. In Eddie Turnbull: Having a Ball, he charts his extraordinary career and tells the story of his eventful life so far. Turnbull explains how he became one-fifth of the most celebrated forward line ever to grace Scottish soccer—the Famous Five of Hibernian FC—and reveals how he had to wait until he was 82 to be awarded his first international 'cap,' despite having played for Scotland nine times throughout the 1940s and 1950s. After his playing career ended, Turnbull achieved lasting fame as manager of Aberdeen and his beloved Hibs. Turnbull's Tornadoes beat Jock Stein's Celtic side to lift the Scottish League in season 1972–73 and won the Drybrough Cup twice, in 1972 and 1973. During his decade with Hibs, Turnbull also managed George Best, and here he tells all about his turbulent time with the late great legend. In this engrossing memoir, Turnbull candidly explains why he walked away from soccer in 1980, recounts many entertaining behind-the-scenes stories, and gives his diagnoses of the ills of the modern game. Foreword by former Manchester United, Aberdeen, and Scotland internationalist Martin Buchan.