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
"Wangerin presents a remarkable history of soccer in America. The seventh book in Temple’s 'Sporting' series is one of the best recently published soccer books. Wangerin (Soccer in a Football World) provides a look at American soccer from the inside—not simply the records and statistics but the behind-the-scenes evolution of the U.S. game through club, college, and pro soccer. Also featured is the role of the city of St Louis in the rise of American soccer. VERDICT Best of all, Wangerin’s passion for the game combined with his keen insight make his book an essential read for soccer and sports fans everywhere. Highly recommended."
—Library Journal
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
From bestselling author David Wangerin, a history of America's curious relationship with the "beautiful game"
Synopsis
In Distant Corners, his follow-up to Soccer in a Football World, David Wangerin details several of the people, places, and events that shaped American soccer history. Despite its struggle for popular acceptance, soccer in the United States has a rich history. Wangerin profiles Tom Cahill, the almost-forgotten "father of American soccer," and writes passionately about the 1979 North American Soccer League season, the high-water mark of the game in the twentieth century.
Wangerin shows how the American appetite for soccer has ebbed and grown over the years, chronicling the game at the college and professional levels and describing the city of St. Louis's unique historic attachment to the sport. Wangerin believes that the time is ripe for American fans to look into their own history and recognize the surprisingly deep connection their country has to soccer.
About the Author
David Wangerin was born in Chicago, grew up in Wisconsin, and moved to the United Kingdom in 1987. He is the author of Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game (Temple) and for more than twenty years has contributed to the British soccer magazine When Saturday Comes. He lives in central Scotland, where he has developed an affection for Raith Rovers.
Table of Contents
Worthy Diversions. An Introduction
1. "Here they come!"
2. Foreign bodies and freezing fans
3. Bullets
4. Mild Bill
5. Dash, Desperation and Deviltry
6. California Gold
7. Shot Out in Jersey