The Sisterhood: The 99ers and the Rise of U.S. Women's Soccer

by Rob Goldman

For legions of soccer fans, the players on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team are the game’s standard-bearers. Together their accomplishments include four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. Within five years of their inaugural match in 1985, the team was the best women’s soccer team on the planet. But its rise was neither easy nor harmonious. The national team came onto the scene when team sports for women were in their infancy. The players were paid little and played to sparse crowds on marginal pitches and carried their own equipment and luggage. They faced discrimination and unequal treatment, most notably from their governing bodies, FIFA and U.S. Soccer.

The Sisterhood is the story of the first and second generations of national team players, known as the 99ers, who were the driving force behind the rise of U.S. women’s soccer and who built the foundation for the team’s enduring success. Rob Goldman takes the reader onto the pitch and into the minds of the players and coaches for the team’s greatest victories and most heartbreaking defeats. Among those featured are players Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, and Brandi Chastain, as well as coaches Anson Dorrance and Tony DiCicco.

When the team won the ’99 World Cup in front of more than ninety thousand fans at the Rose Bowl, it was the largest crowd to ever attend a women’s sporting event. After Brandi Chastain’s winning penalty kick beat China, everything changed. These women’s soccer players were no longer outcasts; they were hard-nosed players and leaders who not only transformed women’s sports but led a cultural revolution. They were trailblazers, role models, and selfless best friends. Their story, told here largely in the voices of the players and coaches who were there, is epic and inspiring.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, Soccer, Sports

320 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2021

Reviews

[Jane Shambler · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK just so you know we in the UK call Soccer Football. So please accept my apologies if I revert to the English name for this sport.

I am a big fan of both women's and men's game. Have been since I was a small child. I requested this book because I was a little annoyed by the USA's goal celebration when they beat England at the world cup. So I thought this may help me understand them better. Just so you know it didn't and I'm happy enough to forgive them.

This book takes you on a journey from founding the team, the characters involved from the start to retirement. I enjoyed some of the interviews. I felt at times things that should have been discussed in more detail were often brushed aside and never mentioned again. For example I feel all players should be treated the same regardless of gender.

If you love football, especially if you are an aspiring young female player then you should give it a go. It's interesting but I feel things of importance was skimmed over. Which in my opinion was a shame. For this I give this 3.5 stars.

[Anne Evangelista · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lifelong women’s soccer fan, I really loved reading this. I grew up as women’s soccer was really becoming a thing in the US and remember watching the 99ers and how much of an impact it had on me. The author provides some amazing insight into specific players and off the field encounters while also walking you through game play of some of the biggest moments in USWNT history. I really loved some of the soccer history I hadn’t heard before, especially surrounding rules and equipment. And the personal touch of having stories about individual players and team connections on and off the field was something I hadn’t seen in a book like this before.

Would highly recommend to any fan of US Women’s Soccer!

Thank you so much to University of Nebraska Press and NetGalley for letting me access this ARC!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Nebraska Press for an ARC of The Sisterhood: The 99ers and the Rise of U.S. Women's Soccer in exchange for an honest review.

As a young girl who loved playing soccer, I grew up watching and emulating the 99ers. Around that time, I read every article and book I could get my hands on, in addition to watching any interviews and TV specials I could find. Now, decades later, I was looking forward to reading a new book about this team. While I enjoyed the interviews, the overall story left much to be desired.

This book has the potential to be great, but in my opinion it needs some additional editing and polishing. The order of the story was disorganized and chaotic. It almost seemed as if several interviews were vaguely tied together from recycled sources. For example, there were chapters detailing the outcomes of tournaments, and in the middle of a game recap, an unrelated story was wedged in. Issues of racial bias, sexualization of female athletes, harassment of players by coaches, and soccer politics that affected playing time were all briefly touched on, before being shelved to discuss an outcome of a game. Then, the respective issue would be briefly touched on in a later chapter, but again only enough to scratch the surface and move on. In the chapter about Tiffeny Milbrett, there is an entire paragraph that is repeated. Transitions from chapter to chapter were rocky, with some previewing the next chapter, and others that abruptly cut off. The ending seemed abrupt as well, jumping from Foudy and Hamm's victory against US soccer regarding their post-world cup tour in 1999, to Tony DiCicco's death and celebration of life in 2017.

Overall, I liked the book, because I love the game of soccer and have personal memories of watching the 99ers play. However, I think it could be even better with some thoughtful editing and organization. I'm keeping in mind that I read an advanced reader copy prior to publication date, so hopefully some of these issues will be worked out before the official release.

[David Hirning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, as I love this team and the history of the USWNT in general. I once interviewed Julie Foudy, captain of the 1999 team, when she was still a Stanford student (that's her on the cover, in the middle). I loved certain things about it, especially all the great anecdotes. But... the book was sloppily edited and contains numerous small errors and inconsistencies that eventually started to annoy me. It also relies too heavily on long quotes, without exposition or context. It's more like an "as told to" book that features some of the major characters from the history of this team -- but it's also missing some voices.

There are other books about the history of this team that I want to read, and that go beyond the "early years" that this book focuses on. I did learn a lot about the beginnings of the team, which go back to just 1985 (amazing that the USA didn't bother to put a team together until that late date). I especially loved the details about Michelle Akers, who is from my hometown (Seattle) and was such a pivotal part of the early national teams. She was actually named FIFA Player of the Century! (A fact I didn't realize until I read this book.) However, this book gets her nickname ("Mufasa" -- after "The Lion King" character, a nod to her mane of hair) wrong many, many times (spelling it "Mustafa," which is an Arabic word). A copyeditor/fact-checker is a worthwhile investment!

Still, love this team, love the stories, love the '99ers!!

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book dives into the Women's National Soccer Team and explores their founding days all the way up until the retirement of several veteran members.

As a U.S Women's Soccer fan, I was very excited to read this book and it didn't disappoint. Goldman does a great job of moving the narrative forward in a compelling way, while also going deep into many individual players and their thoughts, hopes, and motivations. I discovered a newfound respect for these soccer pioneers, reading about the various ways they were forced to fight for their team and discovering how they persevered through difficult battles in their personal lives as well. I was also dismayed to learn that the women's team was trying to fight for equal pay all the way back in the 90's, and that particular issue is still prevalent for the women's team to this day.

As for the writing, there were quite a few spelling and grammar errors in the copy of the book I read, but they didn't damper my enjoyment of the book itself. The book was also structured well, with a comprehensive epilogue that I very much enjoyed reading after getting so invested in these women and their lives.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up playing soccer and this team was some of my biggest inspiration so I had to read this book. The interviews were phenomenal, they revealed so much about what these women experienced and their journey on the team. Reading this book and knowing what is happening with the current USWNT, it shows growth and hard work over the years. I highly recommend this book to all sports lovers but mostly for the girls that look up to this team and the current team. The girls that love this sport so much and want to be in these players shoes in the future.

This book does not format correctly on Kindle, it is much easier to read on the NG app.

[Jill VanWormer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d recommend to any fans of the USWNT or women’s soccer in general. I loved the way it detailed how several players got started in soccer and detailed major games. I learned a lot about the coaching staff and players from the early days. It got a little repetitive at times, but still very interesting.

[Cindy Stamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insights into the struggles and joys of the talented athletes that pioneered the game of women's soccer in the United States. I enjoyed the stories and memories from the players and the relationships that were developed over the years.