Synopses & Reviews
Although soccer hadand#160;long been the worldand#8217;s game when Michael J. Agovino first encountered it in 1982, here it was just a poor cousin to American football, to be found on obscure UHF channels and in foreign magazines. But as Agovino himself passionately pursued soccer, Americans got wise and turned it into one of the most popular sports in the country. Agovinoand#8217;s love affair with soccer is a portrait of the gameand#8217;s culture and an intimate history of the sportand#8217;s coming of age in the United States.
Agovinoand#8217;s quest takes him from the unkempt field in the Bronx where he taught himself to play to some of the sportand#8217;s most storied venues and historic matches. With Agovino we travel from school fields to Giants Stadium, then from England to Germany, Italy, and Spain, along the way taking in the final days of the North American Soccer League, the 1994 World Cup, and the birth of Major League Soccer. Offering the perspective of fan, player, and journalist, Agovino chronicles his obsession with the sport and its phenomenal evolution.and#160;
Review
"Those who like or study soccer, and would like to read different perspectives about it, will find much to savor."—Russell Eisenman, MultiCultural Review
Review
"It is worth every minute of your time to read this collection. You will never see, or experience football (soccer) the same way again."—Marc Jolley, Sports Literature Association
Review
"The first truly global survey of writing on the global game. . . . The collection gives a powerful reminder to Anglo-Saxon literary cultures that football—the most global cultural phenomenon of all—has a rich, multivocal literary tradition."—David Goldblatt, Times Literary Supplement
Review
"It is worth every minute of your time to read this collection. You will never see, or experience football (soccer) the same way again."-Marc Jolley, Sports Literature Association
Review
"I admit a bias. Im a soccer fan. If you are, too, this is the book for you. And if you arent, and you give The Global Game a chance, the light may yet shine upon you."—Bill Littlefield, Only A Game
Review
"As much social commentary as a compendium of soccer tales and soccer reflections, this delightful collection is essential reading for the soccer fan and those interested in soccer and sport generally in a global environment. . . . Bringing a variety of writings together in one volume is a credit to the editors, who provide an excellent introduction for each entry."—Library Journal
Review
"From locations that span the stadiums of Burma and Iran to the northern lights over Greenland to the remotest areas of Sierra Leone, the writers celebrate the players, fans, rituals, and politics of the world's most popular sport."—Duke Magazine
Review
"This anthology's successful use of essays, memoirs, and poetry demonstrates the varied language of soccer."—Gabe Logan, Journal of Sport History
Review
and#8220;For those who admire the beautiful game, this is an intimate and wonderfully written account of a sport that is increasingly shaking Americaand#8217;s soul out.and#8221; and#8212;Colum McCann, National Book Award Winner and author of Let The Great World Spin and Dancer
Review
and#8220;More than just one manand#8217;s thirty year obsession with the sport, The Soccer Diaries is also the American odyssey of the sport itself, from the obscurity of late night cable channels to the so-called respectability of literary magazines and blogs, all told in the very personal voice of an author often unsure about the journey both he and the game are on, torn between his desire to share football with the whole world and his fear of its dilution in its saturation. In short, The Soccer Diaries is the incredible journey of the beautiful game over the last three decades. And itand#8217;s an education for even the most fanatical of supporters.and#8221;and#8212;David Peace, author of The Damned Utd and Red or Dead
Review
and#8220;For more than thirty years, Michael Agovino has been keeping a very keen eye on the worldand#8217;s most popular sport. When he was a kid, soccer in America was viewed as a vaguely subversive pursuit for commie potheads and diminutive foreigners in knickers. Now, itand#8217;s a game that permeates every cranny of the world, even the United States. Here is a delightful, briskly readable memoir of sports obsession that deftly cuts across decades and culturesand#8212;with one manic, maddening, miraculous sport at its center.and#8221;and#8212;Hampton Sides, best-selling author of Ghost Soldiers and
Hellhound on his TrailReview
andquot;Agovinoand#39;s passion rings clear throughout this well-written book.andquot;andmdash;Kirkusand#160;
Review
"Agovino (The Bookmaker, 2008) clearly wants to make his own contribution to the canon, and now he has one, a thoughtful and enjoyable narrative of his passion for the game."and#8212;Keir Graff, Booklist
Review
"[Agovino's] ability to tell about his journey from a variety of perspectives (fan, player, and journalist) and experiences is the reason why this is one of the top soccer titles."and#8212;International Soccer Network
Review
"Agovino leaves the reader with a deep understanding of the growth of soccer fandom in the United States from the 1980s through 2012. Well written and engaging, Agovino's text is a valuable addition to a burgeoning American soccer canon that will continue to grow with the sport's popularity."and#8212;Matthew S. Tettleton,
AethlonReview
andquot;Agovinoandrsquo;s journey will make soccer fans reflect on their own path on the lifelong love affair they have with the game they just canandrsquo;t quit, no matter when that path started.andquot;andmdash;Jon Arnold, Goal
Review
andquot;[The Soccer Diaries] offers more than an insightful account of American soccerandrsquo;s evolution over the past three decadesandmdash;it also hits a chord with anyone whoandrsquo;s enjoyed meeting fascinating characters at pickup games, whoandrsquo;s discovered new friends and previously unfamiliar cultures through soccer, and experienced the emotional roller-coaster of soccer fandom.andquot;andmdash;Mike Woitalla, Soccer America Daily
Synopsis
The worlds most popular sport, soccer, is also one of the planets prevalent cultural expressions, celebrated and debated as an art form, observed with ritual and passion. Thus it has inspired literary efforts of every sort, from every corner of the globe, by women and men. The writings gathered in this volume reflect the universal and infinitely varied ways in which soccer connects with human experience. Poetry and prose from Ted Hughes, Charles Simic, Eduardo Galeano, Günter Grass, Giovanna Pollarolo, 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature Winner Mario Vargas Llosa, and Elvis Costello—to name but a few—take us to a dizzying array of cultures and climes. From a patch of ground in Missoula, Montana, to a clearing in a Kosovo forest, from the stadiums of Burma and Iran to the northern lights over Greenland to remotest Sierra Leone, these writers show us soccers stars and fans, politics and rituals, as well as the games power to encourage resistance, inspire faith, and build community.
Synopsis
Includes "The Empty Pleasure" by 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature Winner Mario Vargas Llosa
The world s most popular sport, soccer, is also one of the planet s prevalent cultural expressions, celebrated and debated as an art form, observed with ritual and passion. Thus it has inspired literary efforts of every sort, from every corner of the globe, by women and men. The writings gathered in this volume reflect the universal and infinitely varied ways in which soccer connects with human experience. Poetry and prose from Ted Hughes, Charles Simic, Eduardo Galeano, Gunter Grass, Giovanna Pollarolo, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Elvis Costello to name but a few take us to a dizzying array of cultures and climes. From a patch of ground in Missoula, Montana, to a clearing in a Kosovo forest, from the stadiums of Burma and Iran to the northern lights over Greenland to remotest Sierra Leone, these writers show us soccer s stars and fans, politics and rituals, as well as the game s power to encourage resistance, inspire faith, and build community."
About the Author
John Turnbull is a freelance writer on soccer and an editorial consultant. He maintains www.theglobalgame.com, a soccer Web site with an accent on womens soccer, media, and culture. Translator and author Thom Satterlee is associate professor of English at Taylor University. Alon Raab is a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Davis, and the author of articles, reviews, and interviews. Contributors: Rafael Alberti, Eduard Bass, Nalinaksha Bhattacharya, Hebe de Bonafini, Lawrence Cann, Bridget Carson, Hernán Casciari, Elvis Costello, Edilberto Coutinho, Erik Eggers, Friedrich Christian Delius, György Dragomán, Philippe Dubath, Álvaro Enrigue, Eduardo Galeano, Günter Grass, Einar Már Guðmundsson, William Heyen, Miroslav Holub, Ted Hughes, Ian Jack, Elísabet Jökulsdóttir, Ephraim Kishon, Simon Kuper, Anatoly Kuznetsov, Driton Latifi, Donna J. Gelagotis Lee, Mario Vargas Llosa, Subcomandante Marcos, Javier Marías, Andrew Marshall, Stanley Matthews, Christopher Merrill, Mássimo Moratti, Lady Murasaki, Mark Nuttall, Giovanna Pollarolo, Julio Ramón Ribeyro, Paul Richards, Klaus Rifbjerg, Nelson Rodrigues, María Graciela Rodríguez, Umberto Saba, Matilde Sánchez, Thom Satterlee, Rogelio Ramos Signes, Charles Simic, Antonio Skármeta, Osvaldo Soriano, David Starkey, Gay Talese, Crispin Thomas, Bea Vidacs, Luiz Vilela, Sarah Wardle, Chao Yueh-chih, and Uroš Zupan.