Rock 'n' Roll Soccer by Ian Plenderleith

There was so much more to the NASL than cheerleaders, fireworks and razzmattaz – but in the good old US of A, there’s no reason you can’t throw them in for good measure! Plenderleith’s (US-based British writer for When Saturday Comes, the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, Soccer America) superbly researched, fact-packed book sets out not only to recap the excesses we know about, but also to remind us and celebrate that,Â with so many of its innovations it was ahead of its time.

The NASL, for the uninitiated, was the USA’s first stab at a nationwide soccer league that ran from the late 1960’s to the mid 1980’s, and likeÂ so manyÂ rock ‘n’ roll bands of the same era, theyÂ endeavoured (not by design)Â to burn out rather than fade away. However, teasing myself with a chapter at a time, I was able to sustain my interest in a subject I personally lacked a depth of knowledge of. Thicker than a whale omelette, I suspected I would struggle with a book of over 400 pages (my problem with a short attention span not a weakness of the book’s composition). Rock ‘n’ Roll Soccer – The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League is quite a publication. Some of the interesting rule changes weren’t a failure but didn’t survive FIFA’s scorn – especially the penalty shootout and the 35 yard offside line.Think you know the story of American soccer and more specifically the NASL? Well, you probably don’t certainly not to the extent that Ian Plenderleith does anyway.

Some things became widely accepted – especially the use of more substitutes, and moving to more points for a win. One of the most interesting stories from the NASL was the variety of rule changes. Few of the teams could make money and most played in stadiums that were far too large. It’s fairly clear that the NASL expanded too quickly and was too optimistic about future success. No one really cares who won championship, its about the surreal journey along the way.īy spreading the gospel of soccer and promoting it extensively in schools, the NASL arguably laid the foundations for the sport’s tremendous popularity in America today at grassroots levels. This is not an easy task and he wisely avoids a chronological narrative. It’s real quality is Plenderleith’s ability to zoom in and out of the on-pitch action while keeping the reader engaged. The structure of the book works really well.

Rock 'n' Roll Soccer by Ian Plenderleith