Chasing the Game: America and the Quest for the World Cup

by Filip Bondy

A tantalizing account of the triumphs and travails of the U.S. men’s soccer team in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, set within the historical context of American soccer on the global stage

The U.S. men’s soccer team was a huge disappointment at the World Cup in 2006, but a newly constituted team exceeded all expectations in June 2009 with their inspired play at the Confederations Cup in South Africa—where they upset the number one team in the world, Spain, and lost late in the championship game to a supremely talented Brazilian squad. Their impressive showing gave fans, including the ever-loyal Sam’s Army, a renewed sense of hope that when the team plays up to its capabilities, the Americans can compete with anyone in the world.

In Chasing the Game , Filip Bondy describes the U.S. team’s path to qualifying for this year’s World Cup—to be held on the African continent for the first time ever, in South Africa in June 2010. Bondy also reveals the back-and-forth saga that resulted in the hiring of Bob Bradley as the American coach, and serves up engaging profiles of several core players, including the U.S. national team’s all-time leader in scoring and assists, Landon Donovan, acrobatic goalie Tim Howard, hip-hop devotee and opportunistic goal-scorer Clint “Deuce” Dempsey, up-and-comer Jozy Altidore, and the coach’s son, the reticent yet dependable Michael Bradley.

Chasing the Game also recounts the glorious highlights of past World Cup matches, like the U.S. men’s team’s stunning 1–0 victory over England in 1950 and the 2002 team’s advance to the quarterfinals, as well as heartbreaks like the fiasco in 2006, when the U.S. mustered only four shots on goal in three games. Finally, Bondy also traces the origin of soccer and the evolution of the game in the U.S., chronicling how soccer academies like the one in Bradenton, Florida, have impacted the game at both the youth and national levels.

It’s all here for the first time in one book—the complete story of American soccer on the global stage.

Genres: Sports, Soccer, Nonfiction, Football

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2010

Reviews

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the non fiction book Chasing the Game by Filip Bondy I really enjoyed it. The book gave good background information about soccer’s development in the United States. This book follows the story of the men’s national team through their successes and their downfalls. We see the world through the eyes of the American national team, The underdogs of society in soccer. Donovan is easily my favorite player on the team. When things just seem to be heading for devastation an unlikely source of help arrives and qualifies the Americans to a chance in winning the World Cup. The Americans end up tying their first World Cup game against England with a score of 1-1. The interactions between the team reminded me so much of the book losing is Not an Option. The games were very well described making me feel very connected to their story as it was as if I was experiencing this with them. A must read if a fan of soccer.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy crap! This took me a long time to read. It's not a bad book at all. I started reading this book as I was beginning a new job in a new city. Then I packed it away when I moved. I only recently picked it back up to finish. The book follows the path the American national soccer team took to get to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Along the way, the author covers a great deal of history of soccer in the United States. There was a ton I learned from such as how the entire process to be included in the Cup is incredibly convoluted and challenging with soccer matches all over the world that are rarely covered in newspapers in this country. There's eye-opening facts such as U.S. Soccer schedules games in stadiums throughout the U.S. that often don't have large minority populations so there are always large American crowds rooting for the U.S. team. There are so many more things that are revealed about this sport. I think you have to be a soccer fan to really enjoy this book, because if you aren't, you are going to find this read a bit of a slog and dry. I kind of wish the book had covered the entire 2010 World Cup because the book gets the reader to South Africa and then stops. I was waiting for more. I hope the author is working on a sequel of sorts because it would interesting to read.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable look at the United States' history of participating in the World Cup. It gives a brief look at the early tournaments, gives the right amount of attention to the 1950 defeat of England and spends the overwhelming majority of the time discussing things from the qualification process for Italia 90 through the qualification and seeding/draw for South Africa 2010. Bondy includes everything and everybody from the early players like Harkes, Wynalda and Meola up through the current stars like Donovan, Bradley, and Bocanegra. He goes in depth with the coaches, the presidents of the USSF, etc. Well done and very interesting if you're a fan of US soccer. I also like Bondy's non-linear telling of the story. He might be talking about a qualifier in 2008 in one chapter and then a match from France 98 in the next chapter. It works very well for setting the context of where the team is today.

[blueneon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun and easy to read. It gives good background information about soccer's development in the United States. Not really an in depth book but great for casual readers who just want to have some understanding of soccer in the US. The book ends right before the start of the 2010 World Cup.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author brings a solid level of knowledge of the game of American football. The book focuses on the pre-2010 World Cup edition of the national team, but also brings a solid amount of history of the development of the sport in the U.S., along with the progression of the national team from its earliest beginnings.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good profile of various members of the US Men's National Soccer Team prior to the 2010 world cup. It doesn't follow every member of the team, nor does it get deep into the soccer philosophy of all of the coaching staff, but it's a cool overview and a good narrative. It'll remain a bit fixed in time, though, considering the US's solid, but not outrageous performance in the tournament.

[Jack · Rating 1 out of 5]

sooooooooo many typos. very difficult to read.