Picture-Perfect Goals

For years now, journalist Javier Cáceres has been interviewing the most famous football players in the world. One evening, he had the idea of giving the player he was interviewing a notebook and a pencil, and asking them to draw their best, most important, or most spectacular goal. The outcome is a unique collection of more than 100 drawings that not only give new meaning to the idea of a “picture-perfect” goal, but also write a kind of history of football.

From Pelé to Franz Beckenbauer, from Kai Havertz to Emerson – behind all of their goals is a moment of pride and endless glory, a memory that can never be erased. In brief, accompanying texts, they explain why they chose their goal. Each drawing offers readers a chance to recollect, to debate with friends, and maybe even to recreate some of the goals on the football pitch.

With classic goals by Pelé, Pep Guardiola, Rudi Völler, Marco van Basten, Carlos Valderrama, Lilian Thuram, Davor Šuker, Zico, Xavi, Hristo Stoichkov, Roberto Carlos, Michel Platini, Gary Lineker, Michael Laudrup, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Figo, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Alessandro del Piero, Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, Xabi Alonso, Kai Havertz, and many more.

»Buy this football book. A great idea. And a labour of love to make it happen.« Barney Ronay, chief sports writer for the Guardian 

»Been waiting for years for this book from [Javier Cáceres]. It’s a labour of love and a work of art. Quite literally. Dozens of players (Pelé, Di Stefano, Charlton, Zico, Weah, Platini, Beckenbaur…) draw the goal that meant the most to them. A fascinating and beautiful thing.« Sid Lowe, football correspondent for the Guardian

»Picture-Perfect Goals is not just about goals or the attempt to recreate a goal scored on the football field in the form of a sketch. Rather it’s about the moving, bizarre, or unusual moments that made these goals into something special.« Paul Ingendaay, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

»This book tells of incredible long-range shots, artful feats of dribbling and beautiful bits of teamwork … picture-perfect goals in the truest sense of the word … goals that tell stories.« Julian Ignatowitsch, BR 24

»The collection is made with love and the line-up is impressive … a work of art full of works of art.« Florian Haupt, NZZ am Sonntag

»A text and picture book of world football like nothing else.« Peter Kümmel, DIE ZEIT