"As Americans increasingly embrace soccer, one of the country's most respected sports columnists has been covering the world's signature tournament for three decades. In Eight World Cups George Vecsey of The New York Times pulls back the curtain on the beautiful game. Blending witty travelogue with action on the field--and shady dealings in the back rooms--Vecsey offers an eye-opening, globetrotting account of the last eight World Cups, chronicling the United States team's slow, episodic rise while evidence of corruption grows in the sport's executive suites. Vecsey immerses himself in the great national leagues, historic clubs, devoted fans, and passionate rivalries and gives us his up-close impressions of charismatic stars like S