Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game (Sporting) by David Wangerin

An interesting history of how soccer developed in the United States. Beginning with the the sport's early start in North America in the 19th century, to the repeated attempts to launch a professional league -- i.e. the American Soccer League (1921-32), the infamous NASL (1968-84) and the current-day MLS -- this book is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in knowing the history of footie in the U.S.


3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Why The Leafs Suck And How They Can Be Fixed by Al Strachan

I hate the Toronto Maple Leafs. Part of this is due to being a Senator fan. If truth be told, however, I mostly hate the Leafs because they have insulted, mocked, screwed over, abused and flipped the bird to their fans for decades, while their sadomasochistic fans continue to cheer them on.

In this book, Al Strachan chronicles the horror that is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whether it's blowing a chance to have Wayne Gretzky as a player (unbelievable), Scotty Bowman as part of management (amazing) or Don Cherry as a coach (OK, that wasn't such a bad outcome), the Leafs have, time and again, chosen poorly.

The scouting team and drafting choices of the Leafs have also been abysmal. Here are just some of the players that the Leafs overlooked in the draft over the past 30 years: Bobby Clarke, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier Mike Bossy, Darryl Sutter, Jarri Jurri, Grant Fuhr, Dominik Hasek, Luc Robitaille, Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne, Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Saku Koivu, Evgeni Nabokov, Miikka Kiprusoff, Zdeno Chara and Martin Havlat .

How would things have been different for the Leafs if they had picked one or more of these players in the draft? Considering how incompetent the Leafs have been with trades, they probably would have traded them for a 32-year-old over the hill player!

By the end of the book I felt something that I had never felt before for Leafs fans, namely, pity. For how can you be angry at a group of people who been abused, kicked down, laughed at and treated like garbage by their own team for so long. Which made me ask yet again, why does anybody cheer for Toronto?

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer by Beau Dure

A sports tale can be written in many different ways. Among the most common: the unimaginative stats dump (e.g., “the Yankees won 5-6 with nine hits and two errors for their third straight win"); the superlative (e.g., “the heavens opened and the angels sang when Messi scored with his exquisite right foot”); and the academic-cum-fan analysis, which consists of discussing sports in a political, social, historical and/or cultural context

In this book, Beau Dure makes use of all three of the above techniques. At its best, this book provides a convincing analysis of how Major League Soccer has not only survived but also started to thrive in the North American landscape. At its worst, however, this book contains too many passages that are pure, 100 per cent boring stats dump, coupled with the odd superlative that overstates the role of MLS.

If you are a fan of soccer (like me) then you will find this book interesting. For those who are not enamoured with footie, however, this work is likely not for you.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Star-Spangled Soccer: The Selling, Marketing and Management of Soccer in the USA by Gary Hopkins

This book reminds me of MLS soccer games: flashes of brilliance here, a little show of fervent passion there, but way, way too many mistakes to be considered a top-rate work. At his best, Gary Hopkins makes a convincing case that soccer has a very bright future in the United States. For instance, in one part of the book, he argues that if a super league was formed in the United States with such clubs as Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United and Boca Juniors, it would likely rival the attendance figures -- though not TV audience -- of the NFL, and surpass the audience for MLB, NBA and the NHL. For proof of this, one simply has to look at the phenomenal attendance figures for friendly matches by super clubs that have become a regular fixture during the North American summer. With this and other arguments, Hopkins makes a convincing case that the U.S. already has a large soccer fan base. (It goes without saying, of course, that the MLS is still not tapping into this potential).

The key problem with this work, however, is its horrible editing. Intriguing charts and fascinating arguments are all too often undermined by numerous typos and incorrect figures. If this were a college thesis and I were the teacher, I would give it an A- for content, but an F for style due to all the spelling mistakes and other stylistic errors.

2 out of 5 stars

The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America by Grant Wahl

In 2007, David Beckham (former captain of the English national team, and star player for Manchester United and Real Madrid), shocked the sports world by announcing that he had signed a multi-million dollar contract with the LA Galaxy of MLS. The ensuing circus saw the Galaxy rake in millions and millions of dollars in ticket and jersey sales, while the actual team collapsed on the playing field. This intriguing book details the absurdity of the Beckham Experiment, while raising the omnipresent question of whether Beckham's move to the U.S. had anything to do with soccer at all.


4 out of 5 stars

More Than Just a Game: Soccer vs. Apartheid: The Most Important Soccer Story Ever Told by Chuck Korr

During the dark, terrible days of apartheid in South Africa, numerous political prisoners (including Nelson Mandela) were imprisoned in Robben Island, located off the coast of Cape Town. This hell hole is now known the world over as an infamous symbol of the former racist white regime.

What is less known, however, is how the political prisoners at Robben Island were able to form (despite all the odds) a full functioning soccer league that provided hope to the imprisoned men. Fighting brutal and racist prison authorities, the inmates slowly won the right to form their own league, complete with a referees union, a football association, dedicated fans and most importantly full functioning football clubs. Among the leagues participants who were imprisoned at Robben Island were Jacob Zuma, the current president of South Africa, a couple of future cabinet ministers, a future constitutional judge, and numerous academics and business tycoons who rose to prominence in post-apartheid South Africa.

This remarkable organization, known as the Makana Football Association, would later be given honorary membership in FIFA in recognition of their courageous struggle against apartheid. This remarkable tale is truly breathtaking, and was an inspiration to the jailed men. (Thanks to the success of the soccer league, the prisoners eventually were able to organize other sports, such as a rugby league, tennis and athletics).

That being said, If there is one critique of this book it is that it has a slightly academic feel. Rather than allowing the characters to tell this wonderful story, this book reads at times like a university paper. Despite this small flaw, however, this story is a wonderful tale of how sport can be an empowering force in the fight for social justice.

3 out of 5 stars

Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski

This is a delightful (and surprisingly insightful) look at the world of international soccer. Modeled on the bestseller Freakonomics, this book debunks numerous myths that exist in the football world. For instance, according to one popular folk tale, many distraught fans kill themselves after their team is eliminated from a major competition. In reality, international soccer tournaments actually decrease the number of suicides in participating countries. Then there is the myth of underachieving England whose national team repeatedly lets their country down. This "reality", however, hides the fact that England has been punching above its weight for a very long time.

Then there is the cliche prediction, which has been given for decades now, that an Africa team will one day win the world cup. According to the books authors, however, China, the United States, Japan and even Iraq -- yes Iraq -- are a better bet to win future world cups than any team from Africa. Like Freakonomics, Soccernomics is a captivating read that truly captures the imagination and the intellect, and is a very fun read.

4 out of 5 stars