The Soccer Diaries: An American’s Thirty-Year Pursuit of the International Game
Agovino fell in love with soccer on August 7, 1982, in an unlikely place: Giants Stadium (where he saw an all-star game with global greats). From that day, he was hopelessly infatuated, watching obscure games on a snowy TV, hunting down match tickets, and, ultimately, making pilgrimages overseas. Though partial to Italy’s AS Roma and their national team, the author is ultimately a fan, not of teams, but of the game itself, its culture, its context, and, above all, its people. Within sections charting soccer’s evolution in the U.S. (“The Dark Ages,” “The Renaissance,” “The Enlightenment”), chapters chronicle games watched, trips taken, and people met, as well as books, articles, and films voraciously devoured. Throughout, Agovino (The Bookmaker, 2008) clearly wants to make his own contribution to the canon, and now he has one, a thoughtful and enjoyable narrative of his passion for the game. --Keir Graff