Soccer's Most Wanted™ II: The Top 10 Book of More Glorious Goals, Superb Saves, and Fantastic Free-Kicks

Jeff Carlisle

Potomac Books, Inc., Feb 1, 2009 - Sports & Recreation - 270 pages

Soccer is the world’s game, more popular than any other sport. Fans fill stadia, and players strive to perform at the highest levels for them. Soccer’s Most Wanted™ II presents more of the best and brightest, funniest and freakiest, and the highs and lows of soccer. It highlights the crazy incidents and interesting bits of trivia that have helped make soccer (football to the rest of the globe) the most-watched sport on the planet.

Everyone remembers the World Cup winners, but what about the best teams who fell just short? And what about the great players who never got to appear on the world stage? Then there is the burgeoning American game, thanks to the steady progress of Major League Soccer and the strides made by the country’s respective national teams.

Jeff Carlisle presents all that and more in fifty top-ten lists chock full of entertaining stories. He covers strange injuries, bizarre bookings, and some of the more colorful feuds worldwide. He discusses the greatest players to travel from the MLS to overseas and lambastes the biggest flops who came to MLS assuming glory and fell flat on their faces. He covers European leagues and players too, from the EPL to Serie A and everything in between. Through it all he presents the game as only a true follower can, with an expertise gained through years of coverage. Soccer’s Most Wanted™ II brings the beautiful game to life!

Contents

• In the Beginning American Style: 1
• The US Open Cup: 7
• Tales from the Crypt: 13
• We Knew Them When: 19
• The Cradle of Coaches?: 24
• Yanks Abroad: 29
• Great Moments in Yanks Abroad History: 33
• MLS Firsts: 37
• Other MLS Milestones: 42
• Great Moments in MLS Playoff History: 47
• The Graduates: 53
• Top MLS Imports: 57
• Foreign Flops in MLS: 62
• A League of Their Own: 66
• World Cup Qualifying Heartbreak: 70
• Great Players Who Never Played in a World Cup: 75
• Best Teams That Didnt Win a World Cup: 82
• Most Capped Men: 90
• Most Capped Women: 95
• The Other Competitions: 100
• Ageless Wonders: 105
• Precocious Talents: 110
• Great Keepers: 114
• Dynasties: 119
• Size Doesnt Matter: 124
• The Innovators: 128
• Ghosts in the Goalmouth: 133
• Goalkeeper Gaffes: 138
• Keepers Who Scored: 143
• Emergency Keepers: 148
• Super Subs: 152
• Most Expensive Players: 157
• Weird Transfers: 162
• Infamous Owners: 167
• Under Pressure: 173
• Not So Happy Families: 177
• Divided Loyalties: 183
• Bizarre Bookings: 190
• Busted: 195
• Bizarre Injuries: 201
• Penalty Kick Trivia: 205
• Animal House: 210
• Lies Damn Lies and Urban Legends: 215
• Match Fixing and Betting Scandals: 221
• Fair Play: 228
• The Rogues Gallery: 233
• Misbehaving Mascots: 237
• Soccer Celebrities: 242
• Soccer Cinema: 246
• Celebrations: 251
• Bibliography: 257
• Index: 259
• About the Author: 269

About the author

Jeff Carlisle has quickly established himself as one of the premier soccer writers in the United States. He is a regular contributor to the ESPNsoccernet website and was among the site’s main writers during the 2006 World Cup, when he provided extensive coverage of the U.S. men’s national team. He also covers MLS for ESPN, writing numerous articles about the league’s teams and players. He lives in Menlo Park, California.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Soccer's Most Wanted™ II: The Top 10 Book of More Glorious Goals, Superb Saves, and Fantastic Free-Kicks; Most Wanted™
• Author: Jeff Carlisle
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc., 2009
• ISBN: 1597971936, 9781597971935
• Length: 270 pages
• Subjects: Reference / Trivia; Sports & Recreation / Soccer