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Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer Hardcover – May 1, 2010

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

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All over the world, soccer is known as “the Beautiful Game” and is the most popular sport. But in the United States, professional soccer still has a hard time catching on. It has had some successes here. The American Soccer League of the 1920s, Pélé and other international stars in the North American Soccer League’s glamorous 1970s, the indoor soccer phenomenon of the 1980s, and the U.S. women’s win in the Women’s World Cup of 1999 all hinted that the American public is ready to embrace pro soccer. In its short history, Major League Soccer (MLS) has survived and even started to thrive, drawing steady crowds and loyal fans. In Long-Range Goals, Beau Dure profiles teams and players, including D.C. United, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu, and Coach Bruce Arena, who are all vital to MLS. Some of the triumphs include an expansion of the league and its ownership group, the contribution of MLS players to a strong U.S. World Cup showing in 2002, and the construction of soccer stadiums nationwide. At the same time, MLS has occasionally stumbled, during costly legal battles with players and seeing two teams fold, but its investors have remained strong, figured out how to make money, and support the league. From the league’s formation in 1993 to the David Beckham era, this book reveals all the action on and off the pitch: the politics, the lawsuits, the management of its teams, and the savvy business deals that helped MLS rebound. It also revels in the big personalities of its stars, the grace of its utility players, and the obstacles the league faces in meeting its long-range goals.
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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
23 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book highly entertaining and readable. They appreciate the clearer context for the creation of the league and good background information. Readers also enjoy the lengthy quotes from people on the inside.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

3 customers mention "Entertainment value"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly entertaining for a new fan of MLS.

"This was a highly entertaining read for a relatively new fan of MLS (been a fan about 3 years) - so the history of the league was a new revelation..." Read more

"Fun read about a period of American soccer history that is becoming increasingly forgotten as we live through this golden age of the soccer boom." Read more

"A great read for MLS fans and BigSoccer junkies...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a clearer context for the creation of the league than anything they have read. They say it fills that void in great detail and provides good background information on what's going on.

"...I was wrong to be apprehensive. This book provided a clearer context for the creation of the league than anything I have ever read previously and it..." Read more

"...I think it's a good mix of stats and how things worked and good back ground info on things going on...." Read more

"...This book fills that void in great detail...." Read more

3 customers mention "Readable"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and readable. They also appreciate the lengthy quotes from people inside the book.

"This is a very well-written and highly readable history of MLS...." Read more

"...I also enjoyed the lengthy quotes from people on the inside...." Read more

"Terrific history of the League. Very well written and appears to have inside knowledge of behind closed doors dealings. Strongly recommended...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2011
This was a highly entertaining read for a relatively new fan of MLS (been a fan about 3 years) - so the history of the league was a new revelation to me. The author writes an entertaining book - but at times the writing needed a little fix or cleanup - thoughts jumped around enough I'd have to re-read to clearly understand what the author was talking about. It's fun to learn how MLS was started and has grown as it's struggled to fit into its place in the world of soccer and the landscape of professional American team sports. If you have an interest in MLS, give it a try.
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2012
This is a very well-written and highly readable history of MLS. It covers all the important portions of the timeline, from the founding of the league through the players union lawsuit and the introduction of high-priced talent (yes, Beckham) into the league. From a business standpoint, you'll understand more about the unique structure of the league (the single-entity system) and from a sports standpoint, you'll get a great recap of the play on the field. One minor quibble: there could be more about supporter groups and the conflict between MLS' courting of the "family" market and the nature of supporter groups; this is covered, but this topic is important because it reflects on the changing marketing strategies for the league.

Beau is a great chronicler of soccer in the United States and his work on Twitter (@duresport,) on his website sportsmyriad.com, and on ESPNW is worth following. I await the (inevitable?) follow-up on the history of women's pro soccer leagues in the USA.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2014
The only factbook on the MLS. If you haven't noticed already, it's a no brainer. GET IT!! Fill in words...
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2010
I was a bit apprehensive about a history of Major League Soccer because I've found too many times soccer journalism in the states speaks more to the non-fan than to those that are familiar with it. I was wrong to be apprehensive. This book provided a clearer context for the creation of the league than anything I have ever read previously and it did so without catering too the leaders of US Soccer. I found it to be an honest and unbiased look at what has made Major League Soccer a most unique sporting league: Single Entity. The only criticisms were that it was a bit limited with source material and it spent a little too much time on league results - particularly for someone who was an avid follower of the league since it's inception. That being said it was a joy to read something about MLS that was not written for the non-fan.
10 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2012
I wanted to learn about the history of MLS, in particular how the founding owners, executives, coaches, and players overcame the obstacles inherent in starting a functioning league essentially from scratch in a professional sports culture that is dominated by other sports. I would say this book succeeded, although it still has many flaws.

I very much enjoyed the exploration of the origins of single-entity concept, and the descriptions of competing visions offered for the league in the beginning. I also enjoyed the lengthy quotes from people on the inside.

Nonetheless, the book doesn't delve deep enough into the interesting philosophical issues behind the origins of the league. Instead, significant portions of each chapter are devoted to summaries of who beat who in the playoffs in a given year, who scored a goal in this game, who was sent off in that game, etc. These summaries are like Cliffs Notes for someone interviewing for a job with MLS and trying to learn just enough to fake their way through, but there is no narrative tension in these summaries. The author either needs to build these narratives more convincingly or just leave them out.

In summary, given the dearth of books out there on the subject, this one works for now. But surely it can be improved upon. I think the author himself might even be the one do it, retrenching the book by building more muscle on the business core and losing the fat mentioned above.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2011
It was a very good coverage of the starting history of Major League Soccer. Having been a fan of the league from day one, it was nice to look back and remember things and maybe find out some new information. I think it's a good mix of stats and how things worked and good back ground info on things going on. If you are a MLS fan or a soccer fan in general, you should buy this book.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2013
I started watching MLS the last couple of seasons, and knew next to nothing about the league's beginning. That is understandable because compared to other professional leagues in the USA, there isn't much professional, extensive literature on the subject. This book fills that void in great detail. This isn't as much a business book as it is a very straight-forward account of the the leagues history, which I was very happy about. Highly recommended.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2010
For newcomers to the league, this book might be an interesting read that roughly summarizes the history of the 14-year old soccer league. But for fans of MLS, there are no real insights to be found here. As any fan knows all too well, there isn't a whole lot of compelling material in the short history of the league, and the book seemed padded out with long block quotes and uninteresting summaries of each MLS season. Much of these summaries seemed very similar to Dave Litterer's excellent US soccer history web page: [...]

I am a fan of the league, and of sports non-fiction, but this book did not impress too much. It had all the information I expected, but fell short of being a good read. For casual US soccer fans wondering about MLS, I be much more likely to recommend Grant Wahl's "Beckham Experiment", which gives you all the background on MLS you really need, plus offers great insight into how the league operates, and includes profiles of Landon Donovan, Alexi Lalas, Ruud Gullit, Bruce Arena, and many every-day players from the 2007/8 Galaxy team.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Larry
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 9, 2015
Good product