Lesson no.1 Lull him into a false sense of security by pretending to be in the same location as him and offering to meet him for a beer. Then, when you have to cancel last minute for that unexpected emergency, he'll have no idea that you're actually in his bedroom using his wife's back to balance your phone on while you text him. Works every time.
I'm attempting to teach my little un to read but I may need lessons myself first as I can't get my head around phonics. "Sound out the word darling" then the first word I tried with her was 'we' and it doesn't bloody work. Try explaining that Wu Eh = we. Screw you phonics!
If you want a great football based book which is much more than that try The Miracle of Castel Di Sangrio by Joe McGinnis. Its a true story about a small italian village team that made it all the way to Serie B and the story of that season. Its a brilliant read.