What Happened to the USMNT: The Ugly Truth About the Beautiful Game

by Steven G. Mandis, Sarah Parsons Wolter

An important read for those passionate about not only U.S. Soccer but fascinated by player development. This in-depth look uses unprecedented access and original data and analysis for the U.S. and other countries.

Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team had won just four World Cup matches in 72 years. While the American women's team has made World Cup victories a regular expectation, the men failed to even qualify for the 2018 tournament. 

In What Happened to the USMNT  Columbia Business School adjunct professor and acclaimed author of The Real Madrid Way Steven Mandis turns his lens inward to examine what it will take for the U.S. men to achieve lasting success on the international stage.

This meticulously researched, probing investigation challenges conventional wisdom and speaks to the importance of familiarity and authenticity to cultivate an organizational identity.  

If the Italians have their cantenaccio, the Spanish their tiki-taka, the Dutch their “total football,” and the Brazilians their ginga, Mandis argues that cultivating a unique "American way" of soccer (coined the “Spirit of 1776”) is not only possible but absolutely essential. 

Finally, a source of reference that goes beyond recounting history without context or repeating opinions without facts or analysis.

Genres: Sports, Football, Soccer

384 pages, Hardcover

Published May 18, 2021

Reviews

[Ethan Zakrewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take away: be us. Be cohesive. Play hard. Love the game. Don’t pretend to be European.

[Benjamin Trice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read but not as revealing or revolutionary as I wanted it to be.

[Tommy Segi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a college textbook - if you like that more straightforward, data driven style, you will like this book. He goes through every USMNT World Cup match from 1990-present. Lot of information and analysis. I loved it.

[Colin Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I was sent a copy of the book with three book sleeves so that alone merits a five-star review.

Second, I read this book during the 2021 May-June international break in which the USMNT loss to Switzerland and beat Honduras, Mexico (in quite the thriller) and Costa Rica in the span of two weeks. Just to add some context to my comments.

The 2010 World Cup was the event that solidified soccer as my favorite sport to watch. I was already a casual Liverpool fan but this developed a fascination with the US National Team. The vuvuzelas constantly buzzing, the insane swerve of the Adidas Jabulani match balls, Donovan's last minute goal against Algeria to clinch the round of 16. I bought my first USMNT jersey (Bocanegra) and started my path as a fan. However, my knowledge of the history of both the USMNT & USWNT started there.

This book provided a comprehensive history of the USMNT and a covers a decent amount of the USWNT's history as well. Starting in 1990 and moving all the way up to the friendlies played in November of 2020, Mandis provides information about the players, statistics, trends and national sentiment towards soccer in the US.

I typically don't do pro-con lists but this book is a very niche read and I feel like it would provide a better summary if you are looking to read it.

PROS:
- Many younger soccer fans' knowledge of the sport relies on experience, this book provides a great history of the USMNT
- Introduces the Spirit of '76 (Based on the Revolutionary War) and speaks to the need of the USMNT to rediscover that identity
- Gives a great progression of the USMNT from a group of amateur, college kids and professionals playing in the 1990 World Cup, to our current team of players at top clubs throughout the world trying to qualify for the 2022 World Cup
- Comprehensively covers how soccer has grown as a sport in the United States
- Discusses the use of dual-national players and the evolution of international soccer with recruiting players across the world that have a link to a nation
- Analyzes the timing of World Cup rosters and players, focusing on the USMNT previous cycles with old and new players

CONS:
- A lot of tables that cover statistics that seem to be grasping at data to back up statements
- Drags a bit in the beginning about the interpersonal relationships between the USMNT in the 90's

Overall the takeaways from this book couldn't come at a better time. After the USMNT failed to qualify from the 2018 World Cup, there were questions about the identity of a USMNT player, the type of system the team should play in, the grit, emotion and mentality that the team was playing with. What was the role in the MLS in developing USMNT players, should pay-to-play still be a focal point in how players are discovered, is the USSF trending in the right direction?

This book helped put a name to what the team should be looking to progress back to: the Spirit of '76. Understanding the history of the team helps contextualize the underdog status of the USMNT; Playing games with high energy, good defense and opportunistic set pieces. Seeing the USMNT beat Mexico in that manner to win the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League in what had to be the most entertaining, wild USMNT game I have ever watched, made me believe in that Spirit of '76 again. This book reinvigorated me (well also with the accompanying USMNT matches in 2021) to be excited to watch the USMNT qualify for the 2022 World Cup and their subsequent performance on the world's largest stage.

[JCB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially starting out erratic, repetitive, and stat heavy, with an overwhelming amount of (sometimes confusing) footnotes that threaten the reader with a drowning amount of data, the book thankfully settles down after the intro into a fascinating look at the US Men’s Soccer team - although the dependency on footnotes picks up again alarmingly in the last several chapters.

Every game since the 1990 edition of the team is analyzed, every relationship explored, and most backstories are explained; as a result, the overall effect the book has is more than any US fan could hope for.

Moreover, many other major football countries are included in the overall US analysis; as well as the USWNT, and the development of women’s soccer throughout the world (in fact, a similar study of the women’s team could be more interesting than this one).

But there are flaws. A bit of repetition as mentioned, some errors (e.g. Wynalda did NOT score against Austria in the WC); plus most of the charts are too small to be legible (and really not needed anyway since the author tells you THOSE stats right before presenting the chart). Moreover, the style is a bit clunky, with some timelines a bit unclear.

All in all though, while the book doesn’t rank up there with other books such as ‘How Soccer Explains the World’ and ‘The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup’, the book is entertaining, informative, and recommended.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A numbers-heavy analysis of how the last 20 years of US Men's soccer has led to a team that could be described as adrift after missing consecutive World Cups. Interesting detail and explanations, though at times it felt repetitive.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read

I like the stats about playing in top 5 leagues and bringing familiar teammates together to the USMNT. I didn’t like the generalizations about where people were from and the conclusion about the “why” was a bit hokey.

[Dan Baum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of interesting stats and observations about specific players and World Cups. Explains a lot but ultimately over written. While the primary point is a good one, it’s drilled home repeatedly and could have been said in far fewer pages.

[Chris Ahrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read for any US soccer fan