Richard O. Smith Unbeatables

Annotation

Shy boy Amadeo reigns supreme at table football in his local cafe. Taking on all comers he is one of "the unbeatables" with his loyal team of tiny foosballers. But there's another "unbeatable" in town. Aggrieved by his only ever defeat at the hands of Amadeo in a foosball match when they were kids, Flash the town bully returns to seek revenge. Not only does he destroy the foosball table, but he challenges Amadeo to a game of actual football. Amadeo has never played real football - and Flash, with his insatiable quest for glory, has subsequently risen to become the world's most famous soccer star. With the future of the village at stake and his foosballers scattered, the situation looks hopeless for Amadeo. Unless he can recruit the help of his eccentric fellow villagers and the girl he loves, Lara, to take on the world's best football team captained by his nemesis Flash. And unless the foossballers can be reunited. "It'll be like Barcelona against a non-league team with an injury crisis," predicts Lara. What nobody predicts, however, is how Amadeo's foosballers will affect the game... The Unbeatables novel is the ultimate fantasy football story. Expanding upon the original movie, the novel includes additional adventures and characters. Written for young adults (and not so young adults), the book is a scintillating, action-packed 90 minutes of end-to-end incident, comedic flair, goalmouth scrambles and dubious off the ball challenges on the ethos of the modern game. Praise for The Unbeatables: "The witty dialogue and banter makes for some very funny moments, while the digs at the excesses of modern footballers will ring true to followers of the Beautiful Game." - Radio Times"The Unbeatables is great fun for young and old." - Daily Express"Nice jokes at the expense of FIFA, overpaid prima donna footballers and slimy agents." - Daily Mail"Lively and consistently funny." - Irish Times"An utterly charming gem. Deft one-liners. Back of the net!" - Irish Independent