Ricky H. to release book.

Ricky H. to release book.

EXCLUSIVE: Bubbly former TV football presenter Liz Deep-Jones is back and this time she�s written her first book about chasing football dreams. To see more pics of Liz and Maradona...

�I�ve always had a great passion for football, especially after the 1998 World Cup where I was a reporter [for SBS TV]. My love for football is insurmountable,� she told au.fourfourtwo.com.

�So, someone approached me after the Johnny Warren children�s book Jasper Zammit to see if I was interested in writing a book about girls playing football.

Lucy ZeeZou�s Goal is due out this September and its release should coincide with the start of the new women�s A-League, which is set for a Spring kick-off.

�I�ve always wanted to write something that empowers young girls to chase their dreams. And this book is about a girl who bleeds football...it�s in her veins.�

As well as being a first time author, Deep-Jones is also a UNICEF ambassador and a TV and documentary producer these days, but many will remember her work on SBS TV�s football coverage, where she worked for over a decade.

And it�s her football background informs much of what the book is about. �Lucy goes on this incredible journey in the book. And in the book, she feels most comfortable on the football field.

�I�ve never written a book before so it was a big challenge from the start. But if you follow your passion in life, what you love, you�ll achieve your dreams.�

A Sydney FC fan, mother of two junior players and wife of Dunbar Rovers footballer Derek, Deep-Jones adds that her book is about empowering youngsters � particularly young girls - to play the number one sport for kids in Australia.

�For me, the Matildas personify many of these sentiments. Those girls have to work full-time or study and in order to follow their dreams they have to do all sorts of jobs.

�I watch a lot of football and the book really came from a lot of my life experiences. It�s about trying to chase something that they are passionate about. And never give up following your passion.�

Deep-Jones�s passion for football has taken her across the globe as a TV reporter. One highlight for her was being invited to Diego Maradona�s TV chat show in Buenos Aires on the occasion of the icon�s 40th birthday, as she explains.

�After months of sending emails and phone calls, we finally got a chance to visit Diego on the set of La Noche Del Ten [The Night Of The Ten] for a documentary I was involved in.

�It was a two hour show and he presented this show live off the top of his head. No auto-cue. He was so confident and of course, in Argentina, he is a God. And only when you experience being around him that you actually see how revered he is.

�He arrives on the amphitheatre-like-set from a helicopter after being at a Boca Juniors game to celebrate his birthday.

�And they have about 20 cameras on set because he goes whatever he wants to. It�s all off the cuff.

�The day we were there, he was supposed to do a live cross with [singer] Shakira on the show. But Diego was late.

�While most people would be devastated to have lost an interview like hers, he just waltzed in two and a half hours later. It didn�t matter for him.

�And I was lucky to meet his father too (see photo gallery). I was very determined to see Diego on his birthday. I�m very determined...I don�t let anything stop me.

�And that�s what the book is about. Following your dream.�

Deep Jones isn�t the only football personality releasing a book. Two A-League coaches � David Mitchell and Ricki Herbert � are also set to release their own books in the near future.

With a chapter written by FM titled Changing Rooms We Have Shared.

I think it's more likely to be a book about Ricki, than one by him.