Who was the greatest Jewish footballer ever? A question to leave even the most historically literate football experts scratching their heads.

And yet before the Holocaust, Jewish superstar players were at the heart of the European game. So too were the visionary Jewish coaches reinventing tactics, the Jewish trailblazers who professionalized the sport and the elite Jewish referees trusted with the biggest matches. Watching over it all in packed stadiums were celebrated Jewish sports writers and passionate and raucous Jewish fans.

Digging Deep excavates a destroyed civilization. Setting exhilarating sporting triumphs against the gathering darkness of twentieth-century Europe, it restores these forgotten men to their rightful place in the football pantheon. More than a sports book, this is a journey through the beautiful game into the savage reality of the Holocaust – tracing human sagas that speak of ambition and glory, identity and belonging, terror and murder.

David Bolchover is an internationally published author. Digging Deep follows on from the success of his previous book, The Greatest Comeback, a biography of the great Jewish football coach and Holocaust survivor Béla Guttmann. The title was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and has been translated into several languages. David has also written numerous op-eds and articles for various publications, including The Times, The Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Sunday Times.