Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer
    Unavailable
    Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer
    Unavailable
    Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer
    Ebook429 pages6 hours

    Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer

    By George Vecsey

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "Full of humor and insight about sport and culture.... The pomp, glory, and great entertainment all get their due in Eight World Cups."—The Boston Globe

    Blending witty travelogue with action on the field—and shady dealings in back rooms—George Vecsey offers an eye-opening, globe-trotting account of eight World Cups. He immerses himself in the great national leagues, historic clubs, and devoted fans and provides his up-close impressions of charismatic soccer stars like Sócrates, Maradona, Baggio, and Zidane, while also chronicling the rise of the U.S. men's and women's teams.

    Vecsey shows how each host nation has made the World Cup its own, from the all-night street parties in Spain in 1982 to the roar of vuvuzelas in South Africa in 2010, as the game in the stadium is backed up by the game in the street. But the joy is sometimes undermined by those who style themselves the game's protectors.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMay 13, 2014
    ISBN9780805098495
    Unavailable
    Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer
    Author

    George Vecsey

    George Vecsey has written more than a dozen books, including the bestseller Stan Musial: An American Life. He joined The New York Times in 1968, wrote the "Sports of the Times" column from 1982 to 2011, and is now a contributing columnist. He was honored in 2013 by the National Soccer Hall of Fame for his contributions as one of the first columnists at a major U.S. newspaper to cover the sport. He lives in Port Washington, New York.

    Read more from George Vecsey

    Related to Eight World Cups

    Related ebooks

    Sports Biographies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Now For The World

      Jun 22, 2023

      Now For The World
      15 min read

    • Article

      The Next Step: Full-back Evolves Again

      Jul 7, 2023

      Shortly after the1994 World Cup, Jack Charlton said that he thought full-back was the most important position in football. When 4-4-2 met 4-4-2, he reasoned, the two centre-backs picked up the two opposing centre-forwards and the four midfielders can

      3 min read

    • Article

      Team By Team ITALY

      Aug 5, 2022

      Manager: Gian Piero Gasperini Key Arrivals: Demiral (Juventus), Ederson (Salernitana) Key Departures: Pessina (Monza), Sutalo (Dinamo Zagreb), Del Prato (Parma), Gollini (Fiorentina), Reca (Spezia), Lovato (Salernitana) Prediction: After three intoxi

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Ronaldo Show

      May 12, 2021

      The Ronaldo Show
      5 min read

    • Article

      Multi-club Ownership

      Apr 16, 2021

      Multi-club Ownership
      5 min read

    • Article

      Milan The Rebirth

      Sep 22, 2021

      Milan The Rebirth
      16 min read

    • Article

      Football, Bloody Hell

      Jan 11, 2024

      Football, Bloody Hell
      23 min read

    • Article

      Martin O’neill

      Dec 8, 2022

      Martin O’neill
      16 min read

    • Article

      Wønderkid

      Apr 27, 2023

      Wønderkid
      15 min read

    • Article

      Claudio Ranieri

      Jul 20, 2022

      Claudio Ranieri
      16 min read

    • Article

      Shotime!

      Oct 17, 2023

      Shotime!
      4 min read

    • Article

      How To Cheer For America

      Nov 18, 2022

      How To Cheer For America
      16 min read

    • Article

      Seven Great Reads for the 2018 FIFA World Cup

      Jun 18, 2018

      One hot night in the summer of 2002, I hosted a weird sleepover party in Brooklyn Heights. A dozen men and a wife with a saint’s patience and my alert newborn son crammed into our apartment to watch the nimble men of Brazil play a strong English side

      4 min read

    • Article

      Pele’s Legacy 1940 - 2022

      Nov 11, 2022

      Pele’s Legacy 1940 - 2022
      5 min read

    • Article

      Kicking On

      Sep 4, 2023

      Kicking On
      7 min read

    • Article

      The mother Of All Games

      Nov 25, 2022

      The mother Of All Games
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Beautiful Plan

      May 15, 2020

      The Beautiful Plan
      7 min read

    Reviews for Eight World Cups

    4/5

    34 ratings10 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      It was a pleasant read, but quite forgettable. I have an interest in sports writing, and not too much historical knowledge of soccer, so I had expected to find it a bit more interesting.
    • 4/5
      In Eight World Cups, New York Times sportswriter George Vecsey reflects upon over twenty years of covering soccer's biggest event. Vecsey has spent over four decades writing for The Grey Lady and wrote the "Sports of the Times" column from 1982 through 2011, which largely focused on the broader off-field impacts and aspects of athletics. His new book offers a very personal account of covering the World Cup and his experiences following legendary teams and players such as Diego Maradona and Socrates. It is an intelligently-written recent history of the World Cup and while it is likely to tread upon some familiar territory for most readers, it is still a worthwhile pickup for soccer fans and those interested in the international phenomenon of the event.Eight World Cups is largely structured chronologically with Vecsey describing highlights from the 1982 World Cup onwards. The book is largely a personal recounting of Vecsey's experiences at various World Cups rather than a broad overview of the events. Due to some fundamental laws of physics, he wasn't able to be at every game and he had to be selective in what games he attended. I found this "limitation" to help prevent the book from becoming a collection of basic summaries of each World Cup. He often becomes attached to certain teams and cities and tries to catch as many of their games as possible. Additionally, he generally chooses well (i.e. interesting/good teams with interesting/good players) and its not like the reader is ever mired in absurdly detailed descriptions of the rather inept Greece team in 1994 or something. Vecsey shares personal encounters with English hooligans and other fans, interviews with players and referees and anecdotes about the culture and quirks of the hosting countries. He strikes a very nice balance between describing the games themselves as well as off-field issues such as refereeing, the treatment of players, and the murky internal politics of FIFA. Writing for an American newspaper, Vecsey pays a good bit of attention to the American squads as well. He also weaves the history of the U.S. National Men's and Women's teams between the World Cup chapters and their remarkable evolution since he started covering the sport.Vecsey is a gifted writer who describes the matches with lyrical and detailed prose that showcases his knowledge and passion for the sport. I especially enjoyed the chapters on the earlier World Cups that I was much less familiar with. His recollections of more recent events contained fewer new insights as they covered events I was already pretty familiar due to the humongous amount of press coverage and scrutiny garnered by the World Cup. I still enjoyed these portions, just not as much as those that preceded them. In SumA recommended read for soccer fans looking for a fun read with some intellectual heft. Die-hard soccer fans well-versed in the history of the sport may not find that many new insights, but casual fans and those just interested in the spectacle of the World Cup should pick up Eight World Cups. 7/10
    • 5/5
      I would recommend this book, not only to fans of the beautiful game, but also to fans of beautiful writing, even if you have little interest in soccer. George Vecsey recalls his experiences at each of the prior eight FIFA World Cup Finals in wonderful detail. Recounting his experiences both inside the stadiums and as he traveled around the host nations. As a younger soccer fan, it was fantastic to read about past stars from someone who saw them play. Along the way he also describes the inner workings and controversies of FIFA and includes the story of the growth of soccer in America, including the metamorphosis of the USA men's national team. This is easily one of the best sports books I've ever read.
    • 4/5
      This was a very enjoyable trip through the last 8 world cups starting in Spain in 1982 and continuing all the way through South Africa in 2010. The author did an excellent job of hitting the highs and lows of each of the tournaments as well as documenting the growth of the US National Team program. In addition, the descriptions of his travels throughout the host country gave glimpses of each country and the local attitude toward the World Cup.As someone who was a soccer referee for a few years in high school and played in rec leagues all the way into college this quick overview of recent soccer history whetted my appetite for more. This book could well be an entry point into soccer history for casual fans as well as a nice addition to the library of serious fans.As the 2014 World Cup approaches I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking to get into the World Cup spirit.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book. As the 2014 World Cup approaches, the book's relevance increases: it is a very good precis of the last few decades of the global tournament's history. For long-time fans there will be many familiar moments to savor again. For new fans it's easy to follow along with the author as his love for and knowledge of the game grows over time.The writing style is agreeably casual. There aren't a numbing flood of statistics; some familiarity with the world game's major leagues and stars is useful, but the author makes sure to introduce them with some background.I will recommend this book to fans of the game as well as sports-lovers, world travelers, and people looking for something new.
    • 4/5
      This book may not be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am newly getting back into being a soccer fan after having been introduced to this sport by my then boyfriend in the 1970's. I remember learning that Americans cannot play soccer and additionally remember sandlot soccer games between ethnicities such as Iranians versus Greeks. I attended NASL games of the Washington Diplomats. Does anyone remember them? Then my interest in this sport lapsed. Until...the 2014 World Cup. I found that watching the international games on high definition television and into which advertisements could not be inserted was great fun. I loved the rivalries between players of different nations. I called Germany as the best team (and they won that year), but I was proud of how well the USA team did. Sufficiently proud to continue following soccer and wishing to learn more about it.A friend brought me this book to place in my Little Free Library, but I had to scan through it first. Then I had to read few pages. Then I had to read a few chapters. I was intrigued...so I had to finish the book completely!I love that this book was written by a sports writer so that I could get an unbiased look at the various teams that have played in World Cup competition. I really enjoyed learning names of outstanding players and even recognizing some. I was also intrigued by things that I didn't know...such as the brutality of the game is not "unsportsmanlike conduct", but a true facet of how the game is played by the best of players. I was also interested in learning how we came to have Jürgen Klinsmann as the coach of the U.S. team. For me, this was a fascinating read. Thank you to my friend for sharing this book with me. I now hope to share it with others.
    • 4/5
      Vecsey, a sportswriter for The New York Times, writes a series of essays and memories of international soccer dating back to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, tying it in with his own love of the game back to his childhood. The title is a misnomer, because Vecsey writes about Women's World Cups and Olympic games among other competitions, but the eight men's World Cup finals he attends from 1982 to 2010 are the core of the book. In addition to some lovely writing describing the games and controversies of the each World Cup, Vecsey gives a sense of the host nation where he and his wife generally set a up a home base for a month. He writes about the great players of each era from Diego Maradona to Zinedine Zidane. A major focus is the rise of the United States men's team from a non-entity to one that regular qualifies for the World Cup and is competitive. Vecsey also explores the seamy underside of FIFA and CONFACAF with the greed and corruption that runs alongside the beautiful game. All in all, this is a nice American take on World Cup football from a personal perspective.
    • 3/5
      Vecsey sketches out the past eight World Cups, from Spain (1982) to the first held on the African continent (South Africa 2010), filling in his outline with personal vignettes as journalist and budding football fan; thumbnail histories of the principal rivalries within and across specific Cups; and displaying an abiding interest in the evolution of the U.S. National Team (primarily Men's, but there are meaty bits on the Women's teams, focusing on the 1996 Olympic and 1999 World Cup champion squads). The result is an easy read hitting the conventional stories & providing agreeable descriptions of international stars (e.g. Maradona), yet with more than soundbite summaries (so, not just Hand of God or even the redemption goal later in the same match, but Maradona's history of questionable behaviour). While Vecsey doesn't shy away from extramural scandal, he focuses on a player's or team's onfield accomplishments. It makes for an easy reference, more fun than FIFA's official history pages or You Tube archives, and just as easy to dip into in an odd moment, or when prompted to relive a specific match. // Changes in World Cup play and rules, from expanding group play to 32 teams; overtime and penalty shoot-outs; use (or not) of sideline judges, and inconsistency in referees; and other seeming arcana which nevertheless had major influence over onfield play at various times. Key examples: FIFA's mind-boggling carelessness in scheduling final games of the first round on separate days, allowing collusion between Austria and Germany to eliminate Algeria (1982); awarding 3 points for a victory (1 for a tie) for the first time in 1994, finally removing the misaligned incentives for teams to focus on their standings rather than play their best football. Vecsey pointed out for me the serious concerns for FIFA viewed as a business: lack of professionalism and increasingly, lack of business ethics both in its practices and seemingly a pervasive aspect of its culture. Keep an eye on Sepp Blatter and cronies (Joao Havelange, Jack Warner), both during Brazil 2014, and leading up to Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. Already cracks appear in the aftermath of some public airing of past laundry: Blatter reversing himself to support video review of goals in 2014; and hints at moving the schedule in 2022 to avoid the beastly heat of Qatar in August, the traditional World Cup schedule. In Vecsey's view, the US Men's Team has hit stride under Juergen Klinsmann, and is poised for one of its better showings in 2014, despite drawing the Group of Death: Portugal, Germany, and nemesis Ghana. Interestingly, this effectively mirrors the party line of the US Soccer Federation ... though I have no reason to believe Vecsey presents anything than his own opinion. Certainly, it reads that way, and convincingly. But this is the taint that corruption leaves, whether FIFA's specifically or international football generally. To his credit, Vecsey consistently raises this question of corruption and questionable business practice in international football, and traces many developments over the course of his book."Over the years, I sought out the writing of Glanville and Gardner, Foer and Kuper, Galeano and Hornby." [13]Comes without the photo insert or index, and there are the scattered typos typical of an ARC.
    • 4/5
      Eight World Cups is a timely and clear-eyed view of World Cup football. Vecsey is a veteran journalist who has been writing about soccer for the New York Times since the early 1980s. The title alludes to the number of cups he has covered. With that experience comes an expert world view of the game and the personalities involved. Vecsey provides a personal view of covering the cups – a bit of football travelogue – as well as writing about the games. His observations are witty as well as astute. About the Italian team’s adherence to the “tradition of enforced celibacy” during the 1982 cup: “It isn’t the sex that weakens a footballer but rather the demand for tickets from old friends and relatives.” On the perceived lack of action in soccer that many Americans cling to: “Things happen. But you have to watch.” On the controversial and troubled Argentine striker Diego Maradona scoring a goal in the same 1986 game as his “Hand of God” goal-saving handball: “He had sinned and then sought absolution with the most developed part of his being, that is to say, his feet.”As indicated in the subtitle, Vecsey doesn’t shy away from the difficult issues. He addresses the perceived corruption, cronyism and egotism of FIFA, the poor opinion of soccer in the U.S., and the “hamster wheel of soccer,” where players now rarely get a break between their leagues, cup competitions and national team duties for some.Not only an excellent book to prepare for the World Cup about to be played in Brazil this summer, but a pleasure to read.
    • 4/5
      If Bill Bryson wrote about soccer, this would be the book. Part history lesson, part travelogue, part love letter, this concise look at the last eight World Cup soccer championships is a great way to get excited about Brazil 2014.The book covers all the major stories of the last thirty-two years in the soccer world, both on the field and off, from Maradona's "Hand of God" to Zidane's infamous head-butt and the vuzuvelas of South Africa. Mainly focusing on the U.S. team, there's also lots of coverage of the author's favorite Italian team as well as a pretty thorough examination of problems within FIFA and CONCACAF.All-in-all, a pretty nice summation of what it's been like to be a fan of international soccer, and particularly a fan of United States soccer through the highs and lows of the last three decades. Recommended to soccer fans of all ages.