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Jonathan Wilson (writer)

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Jonathan Wilson
Born
Jonathan Mark Wilson

(1976-07-09) 9 July 1976 (age 48)
Sunderland, England
Occupation(s)Author, journalist

Jonathan Mark Wilson (born 9 July 1976)[1] is a British sports journalist and author who writes predominantly for The Guardian. He is a columnist for World Soccer and founder and editor of The Blizzard. In 2024 he set up the football history podcast It Was What it Was with Rob Draper.[2] He also appears on The Guardian's football podcast, Football Weekly".[3][4]

Biography

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Wilson studied English at Oxford University and was the sports editor of the student paper, The Oxford Student.[5] He read for a Master's degree at Durham University, where he was a member of the Graduate Society.[5]

Wilson has written for The Independent, FourFourTwo magazine and The Sunday Telegraph and Sports Illustrated, and was football correspondent for the Financial Times from 2002 to 2006. He writes for The Guardian and Unherd and is a columnist for World Soccer.

In 2011 he founded the quarterly football journal The Blizzard, which he edits.[6]

Wilson was the main contributor to a feature on The Guardian website, "The Question", in which he analyzes modern trends and evolutions in football. "The Question" has included articles on the decline of the box-to-box midfielder, the importance of the modern full-back and the evolution of the defensive striker.[7] He is currently the main football columnist for The Observer.

His book, Inverting the Pyramid was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 2008,[8] and won 'Best Football Book' at the British Sports Book Awards in 2009.[9] Nine of his other books have also been shortlisted for the award. Inverting the Pyramid also won the Premio Antonio Ghirelli and was shortlisted for the German football book of the year award.[10]

His book, "Angels with Dirty Faces" won "Best Football Book" and "Best Historical Book" at the Polish Sports Book Awards (Sportowa Książka Roku) in 2018.[11] The Names Heard Long Ago won "Best Foreign Football Book" at the awards in 2023. [12]

He won FSA Football Writer of the Year in 2012, 2017, 2021 and 2024.[13][14]

Personal life

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He supports Sunderland A.F.C. in football.[15] [16][17] He plays cricket on the Authors XI team with other British writers.[18] He is also an occasional player for Hutton CC 5th XI, with whom his most memorable innings of an unbeaten 117 runs was achieved on July 9th 2022 against Belhus CC 5th XI. He appeared in Series 10 of the quiz show Only Connect as part of the Nightwatchmen team. He resides in Wandsworth, South London.[19]

Books

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  • Behind The Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football (2006)
  • Sunderland: A Club Transformed (2007)
  • Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics (2008)
  • The Anatomy of England (2010)
  • Brian Clough: Nobody Ever Says Thank You: The Biography (2011)
  • The Outsider: A History of the Goalkeeper (2012)
  • The Anatomy of Liverpool (2013)
  • Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina (2016)
  • The Anatomy of Manchester United: A History in Ten Matches (2017)
  • The Barcelona Legacy: Guardiola, Mourinho and the Fight For Football's Soul (2018)
  • The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Football Shaped the Modern Game (2019)
  • Two Brothers: The Life and Times of Bobby and Jackie Charlton (2022)

References

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  1. ^ "Jonathan Wilson – Ancestry.com". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. ^ [1] Jonathan Wilson profile Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  3. ^ Jonathan Wilson profile Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  4. ^ Jonathan Wilson article archive at Sports Illustrated Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  5. ^ a b Styles, Matt; Hill Lopez-Menchero, Tomas (8 February 2020). "Jonathan Wilson: "Football is an incredibly broad church and that's a great thing"". Palatinate. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  6. ^ About The Blizzard Archived 29 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  7. ^ "The Question" Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  8. ^ How not to look like a prize idiot: the uncertain journey of a shortlisted author
  9. ^ "British Sports Book Awards – Previous Winners". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Deutscher Fußball-Kulturpreis 2011" (PDF). Schwindkommunikation.
  11. ^ Polish Sports Book Awards 2018 – Winners
  12. ^ "Polish Sports Book Award 2023"
  13. ^ "Guardian wins at the Football Supporters' Federation awards". The Guardian. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Guardian wins FSA newspaper of the year award for eighth time". The Guardian. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Football Memories | Jonathan Wilson | Sunderland".
  16. ^ "Vox in the Box: Jonathan Wilson". 10 April 2015.
  17. ^ "IN CONVERSATION: Jonathan Wilson (Football Writer)". 30 April 2020.
  18. ^ Authors Cricket Club (2013). The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-4045-0.
  19. ^ Glendenning, Presented by Max Rushden with Barry; Wilson, Jonathan; Jarrett-Bryan, Jordan; Grove, Tom Greatrex Produced by Joel (29 November 2021). "Rangnick in, Ronaldo out and a title race to savour – Football Weekly". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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