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 […]
reviews
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
A wave of documentaries tackle American soccer
Decades ago, the NFL made a remarkable discovery — marketing through myth-making and story-telling. The NFL Films unit changed the way pro football was viewed. Passes sailed through the air in slow motion before arriving at their targets with a backdrop of thrilling orchestral music that was far more engaging than what passed for “classical” […]
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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.
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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. […]
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The Soccer America Library
The 2026 World Cup has sparked an unprecedented amount soccer publishing.
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.
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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 […]
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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
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Joe Machnik: An American soccer renaissance man releases his memoir
Many have chronicled American soccer, but you’ll not find one with first-hand experience in so many aspects of it as Joe Machnik.
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A soccer literature golazo: Ian Plenderleith’s short stories deliver the genre’s magic
The Last Amateur’s soccer themes range from the grassroots to the multi-billionaire dollar industry.