THE LONG GAME

World Cup contenders at last?

Its subtitle notwithstanding, Schaerlaeckens’ well-researched book opens with enlightening chapters about soccer’s popularity in America a century ago. More than 45,000 fans filled a New York stadium for a 1925 game. But “administrative bickering” hampered the sport’s development. The Great Depression “killed it off.” The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team’s long run of failing to qualify for the World Cup ended in 1990. The nation has since developed numerous elite players, but has never come close to winning a World Cup. Why not? The seasoned soccer writer offers several persuasive answers. High-profile coaches have made woeful tactical moves. The American system long prized size and speed over “clever and gifted players who could run all day.” Also, there’s still a relative lack of “high-level youth academies” in the U.S. Although Dallas-Fort Worth is more populous than Madrid, the Spanish capital “has twelve times as many spots for elite youth players.” Schaerlaeckens smartly blends accounts of key tournaments with locker-room color. He notes that a love triangle involving two 1990s American stars didn’t exactly help team chemistry; nor did superstar coach Jürgen Klinsmann’s unaccountable decision to cut high-scoring Landon Donovan in 2014. Six of Schaerlaeckens’ chapters are profiles of contemporary U.S. players. These read like competent magazine articles that don’t always mesh with the book’s broader scope. One precocious player, his mother still in her 20s, leaves home to train full-time with pro instructors. Another, signed by an Italian team, douses Continental cuisine with ranch dressing. Given that most of these chapters go deep on moderately accomplished players who may soon be forgotten by many fans, they’re apt to be less durable than the rest of this solid book.

An authoritative, strenuously timely history of America’s efforts to compete with traditional soccer powerhouses.