Sam Pilger
Featured Columnist I

Sam Pilger

Syndicated Writer

About

Sam is an experienced sports writer who has written for over 70 magazines and newspapers in more than 20 countries, including The Times Magazine, Esquire, Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph, FourFourTwo and The Cricketer.

Sam has interviewed hundreds of leading sports people including David Beckham, Sir Alex Ferguson, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, Paul Gascoigne, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, George Best, Sebastian Coe and Ryan Giggs.

He was deputy editor on the Official Manchester United Magazine in the mid-1990s where he regularly interviewed the players and manager while covering the team in Barnsley, Barcelona and Brazil. He moved on to become deputy editor of the world’s leading football magazine FourFourTwo.

Sam has worked as a freelance writer since 2001 and covered World Cup finals, Champions League finals, Super Bowls, European Championships, the NBA, and the 2012 Olympics in London.

He has written several critically acclaimed books, including Manchester United Best XI, For Club and Country with Gary and Phil Neville, The Treasures of Manchester United, The Ashes Match of My Life, Victory –The Battle for the Ashes 2005, and is currently editing the Official Sachin Tendulkar Opus.

Sam has also worked as a freelance copy writer for many of the world’s leading brands including Nike, FC Barcelona, Mercedes and Carlsberg, and written the scripts for several versions of EA’s FIFA series.

You can follow him @sampilger

Short List

  • Favorite Athletes

    Sammy Mcilroy, Norman Whiteside and Bryan Robson were my childhood heroes, and since then others I have enjoyed watching include Eric Cantona, Mark Hughes, Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Pat Cash, Roger Federer, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Luol Deng, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Mark Taylor and Glenn McGrath.

  • All-Time Sports Moment

    Those 10 days in May 1999 when I witnessed United win the Treble at Old Trafford, Wembley and the Nou Camp, and Steve Waugh reaching a century against England with a boundary from the last ball of the day at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2003. (The football team I help manage, the Glebe Under-8 Pumas getting their first win also comes pretty close.)

  • Most Memorable Game Attended

    1999 FA Cup semi-final replay, Manchester 2, Arsenal 1 at Villa Park; Wonderful Beckham goal, Bergkamps’ deflected equaliser, Roy Keane’s sending off, Schmeichel saving Bergkamp’s penalty in the last minute, and then Ryan Giggs scoring a rather good goal.

  • Pele or Maradona?

    Simply because I saw him play, Maradona.

  • Federer or Sampras?

    The grace and beauty of Roger Federer. I was fortunate enough to be there on Centre Court to see him win his first Wimbledon title in 2003, and then his sixth one in 2009. He simply toyed with opponents before deciding when to finish a point.

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