Confessions of a Soccer Nobody: Summer Reading
Confessions of a Soccer Nobody is our home here on Daddy's Sugar Ball for all things soccer and Harrisburg City Islanders. If you want to see anything in this weekly post, please drop us a line at EditorsDSB@gmail.com.
Going to the beach this summer and not sure which books on the beautiful game to bring? Well, the Soccer Nobody has compiled your summer reading list (on a four star scale):
Morbo: the Story of Spanish Football by Phil Ball – 3 stars – A great region-by-region look at soccer in Spain. Focuses on the “morbo,” or impassioned rivalry, that fuels the sport. A nation divided by regional identities is united in futbol, and Ball deftly combines firsthand experiences with historical insight. His methods are interesting, such as interviewing taxi drivers throughout the city of Seville, but how he can cast judgment on the Sevilla-Betis rivalry without experiencing the derby himself? Published in 2003, the chapter on the national team is now dated following Spain’s triumphs in the European Championship and World Cup. Still, a great look at Spanish culture and soccer.
Africa United: Soccer, Passion, Politics and the First World Cup in Africa by Steve Bloomfield – 3 stars – Fascinating travelogue about Africa and its relationship to soccer. While Bloomfield neglects some important football-playing nations, such as Cameroon and Ghana, his attention to some of Africa’s minnows is commendable. He also includes first-hand accounts of national and club-team matches, presenting a multifaceted study of soccer in ten African nations.
Barça: the Year of Living Gloriously by David Ross – 2 stars – Exhaustive match-by-match summary of F.C. Barcelona’s historic 2008-09 season in which they won six major trophies: the Spanish league, the Spanish cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. Includes the attendance and lineups of every match, including preseason friendlies, with summaries of every goal, booking, and match event. Perhaps a book that only true Barcelona fans could enjoy—a highlight video might suffice instead—but very ambitious and well done.
Chasing the Game: America and the Quest for the World Cup by Filip Bondy – 2 stars – A quick read chronicling the United States’ qualification for the 2010 World Cup. Offers some interesting insight into the U.S. Soccer Federation but Bondy didn’t seem to have much access to the team or players, meaning the book feels disconnected from the events as they unfold. This work probably has no shelf-life with the World Cup over.
Can We Play You Every Week? A Journey to the Heart of All 92 Football League Clubs by Max Velody – 2 stars – This book is exactly what its title suggests: a glimpse at every English league club. These snapshots are brief, typically three to five pages in length, and some are better than others. Neither an exhaustive encyclopedia nor a compilation of punditry, this work features some witty observations by Velody in the vein of Nick Hornby and When Saturday Comes. Yet it ultimately feels a little skimpy in format and content, tarnishing an otherwise solid survey of the British scene.
The Beckham Experiment: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America by Grant Wahl – 3 stars – Fascinating look at Beckham’s decision to play in MLS. Wahl threads interviews with narrative, providing an enjoyable behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Galaxy, Beckham, and soccer in America. The book could use a new postscript to update the performance of the team and Beckham since the 2008 season, but a pleasant surprise (a new afterword appears in the paperback edition; however this review is based on the original hard-cover version).
When Saturday Comes: The Half Decent Football Book by various contributors – 3 stars – An encyclopedia of British football compiled by the staff of When Saturday Comes, one of the best-written and engaging soccer periodicals on the market. If you’re not interested in every club in the United Kingdom, or if you feel no affinity to British culture, this book is not for you. But if you enjoy the writing of Nick Hornby or Ian Plenderleith, this is a great A to Z guide of British football (current only through the 2005-06 season, the year the work was published).
Giggsy: the Biography of Ryan Giggs by Frank Worrall – 1 star – Poorly written, boring account of Giggs’ sporting exploits. Unable to match the brilliance of Giggs’ career, Worrall offers little insight into the man or his motivation, and recounts only tedious details of his match performances without drama, passion, or narrative panache. Dull and uninspiring biography that even the most diehard Giggs fan should avoid.
Manchester United: the Biography by Jim White – 3 stars – Surprisingly enjoyable history of the club that contextualizes United’s evolution within that of the city of Manchester and British culture as a whole. At times, White takes for granted the reader’s familiarity with United, but an informative account and good read nonetheless.
Throw-Ins
•
Reading United defeated MPS Portland (2-1) and the Ottawa Fury (3-2) this weekend to claim the PDL Eastern Conference title. With the wins, Reading advances to the PDL national semifinals in Portland, Oregon, where they’ll play the Portland Timbers U-23s on Friday. Reading’s performance at the Eastern Conference championships in Ottawa was all the more remarkable considering that they had only thirteen players available due to injuries and visa problems. The club received additional honors on Monday when Matthew Hedges, Luke Mulholland, and Charles Sapong were named to the PDL All-Eastern Conference team.
• The Timbers will host the national championships by virtue of their perfect 16-0-0 regular-season record (Reading went 10-2-4). Led by forward Brent Richards (University of Washington, 14 goals, 2 assists) and midfielder Freddie Braun (University Louisville, 5 goals, 8 assists), Portland outscored their opponents by a 53-6 margin and will prove a daunting opponent for Reading United. The Baton Rouge Capitals will play the Thunder Bay Chill in the other semifinal on Friday. Thunder Bay is led by former Harrisburg City Islander Brandon Swartzendruber, the PDL’s leading scorer (15 goals, 5 assists) who was not re-signed by the City Islanders after scoring four times for them in 2009.
• The City Islanders could have used Swartzendruber’s goal-scoring prowess this weekend as they dropped a road match against the Richmond Kickers, 2-0. With captain Dustin Bixler suspended due to yellow card accumulations, the defense was constantly pressured while the offense failed to string together many chances. Although mathematically alive in the USL-2 playoff race, the loss all but extinguished Harrisburg’s postseason aspirations. The City Islanders trail the Pittsburgh Riverhounds by seven points in the standings and must win their remaining three games to overtake them. The playoff hopefuls square off on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
• The Philadelphia Union signed the City Islanders’ J. T. Noone last week, although Noone probably will finish the season in Harrisburg on loan before joining the Union full-time. He has played in 20 matches for the Isles, registering 1 goal and 4 assists in all competitions. Noone also appeared for Philadelphia in numerous exhibition games and training sessions, and becomes the second City Islander to make the jump from the USL-2 directly to MLS, as Tiyi Shipalane joined D.C. United from Harrisburg last season.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
Going to the beach this summer and not sure which books on the beautiful game to bring? Well, the Soccer Nobody has compiled your summer reading list (on a four star scale):
Morbo: the Story of Spanish Football by Phil Ball – 3 stars – A great region-by-region look at soccer in Spain. Focuses on the “morbo,” or impassioned rivalry, that fuels the sport. A nation divided by regional identities is united in futbol, and Ball deftly combines firsthand experiences with historical insight. His methods are interesting, such as interviewing taxi drivers throughout the city of Seville, but how he can cast judgment on the Sevilla-Betis rivalry without experiencing the derby himself? Published in 2003, the chapter on the national team is now dated following Spain’s triumphs in the European Championship and World Cup. Still, a great look at Spanish culture and soccer.
Africa United: Soccer, Passion, Politics and the First World Cup in Africa by Steve Bloomfield – 3 stars – Fascinating travelogue about Africa and its relationship to soccer. While Bloomfield neglects some important football-playing nations, such as Cameroon and Ghana, his attention to some of Africa’s minnows is commendable. He also includes first-hand accounts of national and club-team matches, presenting a multifaceted study of soccer in ten African nations.Barça: the Year of Living Gloriously by David Ross – 2 stars – Exhaustive match-by-match summary of F.C. Barcelona’s historic 2008-09 season in which they won six major trophies: the Spanish league, the Spanish cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. Includes the attendance and lineups of every match, including preseason friendlies, with summaries of every goal, booking, and match event. Perhaps a book that only true Barcelona fans could enjoy—a highlight video might suffice instead—but very ambitious and well done.
Chasing the Game: America and the Quest for the World Cup by Filip Bondy – 2 stars – A quick read chronicling the United States’ qualification for the 2010 World Cup. Offers some interesting insight into the U.S. Soccer Federation but Bondy didn’t seem to have much access to the team or players, meaning the book feels disconnected from the events as they unfold. This work probably has no shelf-life with the World Cup over.Can We Play You Every Week? A Journey to the Heart of All 92 Football League Clubs by Max Velody – 2 stars – This book is exactly what its title suggests: a glimpse at every English league club. These snapshots are brief, typically three to five pages in length, and some are better than others. Neither an exhaustive encyclopedia nor a compilation of punditry, this work features some witty observations by Velody in the vein of Nick Hornby and When Saturday Comes. Yet it ultimately feels a little skimpy in format and content, tarnishing an otherwise solid survey of the British scene.
The Beckham Experiment: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America by Grant Wahl – 3 stars – Fascinating look at Beckham’s decision to play in MLS. Wahl threads interviews with narrative, providing an enjoyable behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Galaxy, Beckham, and soccer in America. The book could use a new postscript to update the performance of the team and Beckham since the 2008 season, but a pleasant surprise (a new afterword appears in the paperback edition; however this review is based on the original hard-cover version).When Saturday Comes: The Half Decent Football Book by various contributors – 3 stars – An encyclopedia of British football compiled by the staff of When Saturday Comes, one of the best-written and engaging soccer periodicals on the market. If you’re not interested in every club in the United Kingdom, or if you feel no affinity to British culture, this book is not for you. But if you enjoy the writing of Nick Hornby or Ian Plenderleith, this is a great A to Z guide of British football (current only through the 2005-06 season, the year the work was published).
Giggsy: the Biography of Ryan Giggs by Frank Worrall – 1 star – Poorly written, boring account of Giggs’ sporting exploits. Unable to match the brilliance of Giggs’ career, Worrall offers little insight into the man or his motivation, and recounts only tedious details of his match performances without drama, passion, or narrative panache. Dull and uninspiring biography that even the most diehard Giggs fan should avoid.Manchester United: the Biography by Jim White – 3 stars – Surprisingly enjoyable history of the club that contextualizes United’s evolution within that of the city of Manchester and British culture as a whole. At times, White takes for granted the reader’s familiarity with United, but an informative account and good read nonetheless.
Throw-Ins
•
Reading United defeated MPS Portland (2-1) and the Ottawa Fury (3-2) this weekend to claim the PDL Eastern Conference title. With the wins, Reading advances to the PDL national semifinals in Portland, Oregon, where they’ll play the Portland Timbers U-23s on Friday. Reading’s performance at the Eastern Conference championships in Ottawa was all the more remarkable considering that they had only thirteen players available due to injuries and visa problems. The club received additional honors on Monday when Matthew Hedges, Luke Mulholland, and Charles Sapong were named to the PDL All-Eastern Conference team.• The Timbers will host the national championships by virtue of their perfect 16-0-0 regular-season record (Reading went 10-2-4). Led by forward Brent Richards (University of Washington, 14 goals, 2 assists) and midfielder Freddie Braun (University Louisville, 5 goals, 8 assists), Portland outscored their opponents by a 53-6 margin and will prove a daunting opponent for Reading United. The Baton Rouge Capitals will play the Thunder Bay Chill in the other semifinal on Friday. Thunder Bay is led by former Harrisburg City Islander Brandon Swartzendruber, the PDL’s leading scorer (15 goals, 5 assists) who was not re-signed by the City Islanders after scoring four times for them in 2009.
• The City Islanders could have used Swartzendruber’s goal-scoring prowess this weekend as they dropped a road match against the Richmond Kickers, 2-0. With captain Dustin Bixler suspended due to yellow card accumulations, the defense was constantly pressured while the offense failed to string together many chances. Although mathematically alive in the USL-2 playoff race, the loss all but extinguished Harrisburg’s postseason aspirations. The City Islanders trail the Pittsburgh Riverhounds by seven points in the standings and must win their remaining three games to overtake them. The playoff hopefuls square off on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
• The Philadelphia Union signed the City Islanders’ J. T. Noone last week, although Noone probably will finish the season in Harrisburg on loan before joining the Union full-time. He has played in 20 matches for the Isles, registering 1 goal and 4 assists in all competitions. Noone also appeared for Philadelphia in numerous exhibition games and training sessions, and becomes the second City Islander to make the jump from the USL-2 directly to MLS, as Tiyi Shipalane joined D.C. United from Harrisburg last season.
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
Posted by Soccer Nobody at 8/3/2010 8:00 AM 
Categories: Confessions of a Soccer Nobody, Books You Missed
Tags: Philadelphia Union Harrisburg City Islanders Portland Timbers David Ross Phil Ball The Beckham Experiment Africa United Ryan Giggs Max Velody Chasing the Game PDL Morbo Barça the Year of Living Gloriously World Cup Filip Bondy When Saturday Comes J.T. Noone Jim White Reading United Can We Play You Every Week Steve Bloomfield Manchester United Frank Worrall David Beckham Giggsy Grant Wahl
Categories: Confessions of a Soccer Nobody, Books You Missed
Tags: Philadelphia Union Harrisburg City Islanders Portland Timbers David Ross Phil Ball The Beckham Experiment Africa United Ryan Giggs Max Velody Chasing the Game PDL Morbo Barça the Year of Living Gloriously World Cup Filip Bondy When Saturday Comes J.T. Noone Jim White Reading United Can We Play You Every Week Steve Bloomfield Manchester United Frank Worrall David Beckham Giggsy Grant Wahl
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