The Messi Effect: How the Global Legend Changed the Future of American Soccer by Paul Tenorio, St. Martin’s Press. “Signing Messi in 2023 was meant to be a wrecking ball to break through the league’s structure,” Paul Tenorio writes of Inter Miami’s signing of the somewhat storied Argentine No. 10. While fiscal conservatism and owner […]
Ian Plenderleith
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Book review: The story of Kylian Mbappé is only half told
When Mbappé moves from home in his early teen years from hometown club Bondy, in the Parisian suburbs, to the French academy of excellence at Clarefontaine, he’s not just homesick but also no longer the best player.
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
The Alan Rothenberg Book: An important contribution to the canon of U.S. soccer history
The Big Bounce: The Surge That Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer By Alan Rothenberg (Triumph Books) Before we start to read Alan Rothenberg’s life story, both Julie Foudy and Alexi Lalas tell us upfront that the man who has done so much for the U.S. game is “a visionary.” Rothenberg directly contradicts that view. […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
When our sport mirrors a turbulent world: ‘The History of the World in 12 Soccer Matches’
Stefano Bizzotto’s writing boasts that lightness of touch that makes reading what it always should be — an educative pleasure.
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Simon Kuper’s ‘World Cup Fever’: A considered and personal reflection of the tournament’s evolution
• World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments By Simon Kuper (Pegasus Books) When I went to my first World Cup in 1990 to watch Scotland with my dad and a couple of mates, it took me half a morning to organize. I booked two weeks leave and phoned the Italian sales rep of the magazine […]
Posted inFree Preview
Simon Kuper’s ‘World Cup Fever’: A considered and personal reflection of the tournament’s evolution
WANT TO SHARE THIS ARTICLE? • World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments By Simon Kuper (Pegasus Books) When I went to my first World Cup in 1990 to watch Scotland with my dad and a couple of mates, it took me half a morning to organize. I booked two weeks leave and phoned the Italian […]
Posted inFree Preview
Karl-Heinz Granitza’s engaging biography shines a German spotlight on the Chicago sports hero’s legacy in American soccer
WANT TO SHARE THIS ARTICLE? The number of readable books about American soccer history are few and far between. All the more shame that this engaging biography of the Chicago Sting’s prolific and charismatic striker, Karl-Heinz Granitza, has so far only been published in German, Granitza’s native country. It deserves a place on any bookshelf […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Karl-Heinz Granitza’s engaging biography shines a German spotlight on the Chicago sports hero’s legacy in American soccer
‘He made it his personal crusade that the game should grow and thrive to new heights. Not just in Chicago, but in every last nook and cranny of this country
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Managing Kids: It’s all about player power these days
An excerpt from the “Managing Kids,” a short story in Ian Plenderleith‘s latest book of soccer fiction: “The Last Amateur and Other Stories Paperback.”
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Can Soccer Sadness be countered by Hope?
There’s always room at the grassroots for coaches, referees, administrators and activist supporters.