I thank the sports editors at the New York Times who encouraged my soccer jones over the years—LeAnne Schreiber, Joe Vecchione, Neil Amdur, and Tom Jolly—and I thank Jason Stallman, Jay Schreiber, Fern Turkowitz, Terri Ann Glynn, and so many other colleagues for making my ongoing association with the Times so enjoyable.
The photo search has been made easier by nice people out there: Jeff Roth at the Times morgue, who was invaluable in selecting photos; John McDermott, whose great photographs grace this book and whose insights were invaluable; and Claudia Brose. (Yes, that is Roby Baggio’s low-key voice on John’s cell phone.) George Tiedemann, another great photographer on World Cup sidelines. Esther Montoro. Peter Schols. Carolyn Carbery and the Borghi and Keough families of St. Louis. Annette Shelby of International Sports Images. Matthew Lutts of AP Images. Nancy Glowinski of Reuters. David R. Zukerman.
The soccer press-box regulars and irregulars are part of this book, part of my life. Maybe it’s because we help each other get through the exotic travel, sometimes huddling to re-create key plays, but I don’t know any other sport where reporters like each other as much. (At least, I think they do.) I hope I am remembering all the soccer lifers and other friends who helped me with this book:
Greg Amante, Jack Bell, Ken Belson, Paola Beretti, Peter Berlin, Ronald Blum, Filip Bondy, Bob and Debbie Chalfin, Sean Clancy of Foley’s, Christopher Clarey, Roger Cohen for his death-defying ride on the ottoman to celebrate a Chelsea goal, Rebecca Collet, Charlie Competello and all my pals from the Times’ technology department for keeping me going, Pino DiBartolo, tanti dolci ricordi, Edward Lewin, M.D., Kenneth Ewing, M.D., former captain of Guatemala. Three nice people from FIFA over the years—Guido Tognoni, Andreas Herren, and Keith Cooper.
Paul Gardner, for blazing a trail in the New World, and for being my friend. Brian Glanville—not just for Goal! but for all the great words over the years and his advice on this book; Sunil Gulati, from the days when we watched Columbia matches in the bleachers; Sam and Jennifer Guttenplan, my Euro rellies, merci beaucoup; Colonel James Hackett, former chief of detectives in St. Louis, for memories of his playing days in that great soccer city; Phil Hersh, trilingual internationalist.
Rob Hughes, for his informed pieces in the New York Times and his counsel; Duncan Irving and Lawrie Mifflin, soccer authorities, Arsenal fanatics, coffee maker (Duncan), and, most important, great friends; Andrew Jennings: I would not want him to be on my case; Denise Kiernan; Becky Lebowitz; Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer; Ellis Levine.
Douglas Logan, who helped build a big-time league; Jeré Longman, that great reporter, for the enduring clips that inform many chapters; Massimo Lopes Pegna, American correspondent for La Gazzetta dello Sport; Major League Soccer: Commissioner Don Garber, Dan Courtemanche, and Will Kuhns; Mel Mandell, for memories of old-time East Coast soccer; Jeffrey Marcus. With fond memories, the Professor—Julio Mazzei.
Addio, Joe McGinniss. Omar Minaya, and our friends from Mama’s in Corona, Queens—Marie, Carmela, and Irene—as we watch the Azzurri in the back room. Robert Mindelzun, M.D.; Mac Nwulu, ESPN.
George Quraishi of Howler Magazine; Keir Radnedge, for tracking down the Boniek yellow card and for being one of the great voices in the sport; Alan Richman and his son Lincoln Richman, who found copies of Goal! and other World Cup documentaries; Ray Robinson, writer, editor, and friend, a wise sounding board for the process we both love; Riccardo Romani; Alan Rubin; Stratos Safioleas; Jeremy Schaap; Tom Schwarz, for introducing me to Harry Keough just in time; and so many other new friends in St. Louis.
Bob Seel, the captain; Ina Lee Selden, Altenir and Celia Silva in Rio; Dana Silverstein, Brad Smith, Clemson Smith Muñiz, Mark Starr, who always knew a good restaurant on the road; Hank Steinbrecher, Sue Sutera; Tom Timmermann, Sam Toperoff, Jamie Trecker, Jerry Trecker, Jim Trecker; Ahmet Bob Turgut, for his e-mail insights into Turkish soccer; the United States Soccer Federation: Jim Moorhouse, Neil Buethe, David Applegate, Aaron Heifetz, and Michael Kammarman, all a pleasure to work with over the years. Margaret S. Vecsey, for the astute questions; Randy Vogt, Grant Wahl, George Wilson, for riding shotgun to the tripleheader in 2010.
ALSO BY GEORGE VECSEY
Stan Musial: An American Life
Baseball: A History of America’s Favorite Game
Troublemaker (by Harry Wu)
Five O’Clock Comes Early: A Young Man’s Battle with Alcoholism (by Bob Welch)
Get to the Heart (by Barbara Mandrell)
A Year in the Sun
Martina (by Martina Navratilova)
Sweet Dreams (with Leonore Fleischer)
Kentucky: A Celebration of American Life (with Jacques Lowe)
Getting off the Ground: The Pioneers of Aviation Speak for Themselves (with George C. Dade)
Lorretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter (by Loretta Lynn)
One Sunset a Week: The Story of a Coal Miner
The Way It Was: Great Sports Events from the Past (editor)
Forever Yours, Faithfully (by Lorrie Morgan)
Joy in Mudville: Being a Complete Account of the Unparalleled History of the New York Mets
Naked Came the Stranger (1/25th authorship)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS:
Frazier/Ali
The Bermuda Triangle: Fact or Fiction? (with Marianne Vecsey)
The Harlem Globetrotters
Pro Basketball Champions
Photographer with the Green Bay Packers (with John Biever)
The Baseball Life of Sandy Koufax
Baseball’s Most Valuable Players
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Vecsey is the author of more than a dozen books, most recently 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.
EIGHT WORLD CUPS. Copyright © 2014 by George Vecsey. All rights reserved. For information, address Henry Holt and Co., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.henryholt.com
Cover design by Jamie Connell
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Vecsey, George.
Eight world cups: my journey through the beauty and dark side of soccer / George Vecsey.
pages cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9848-8 (hardback)—ISBN 978-0-8050-9849-5 (electronic copy) 1. World Cup (Soccer)—History. I. Title.
GV943.49.V43 2014
796.334668—dc23 2013042574
First Edition: May 2014
Eight World Cups Page 32