U.S. Men's Team: New Stars on the Field (World Soccer Legends) - Hardcover

Jökulsson, Illugi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789211807 ISBN 13: 9780789211804

Publisher: Abbeville Kids, 2014

Synopsis

World Soccer Legends
Everything you need to know about most exciting clubs and the best players on the planet.

U.S. Men's Team
100 years of U.S. soccer!
Biographies of current stars including Altidore, Dempsey, and Donovan and the next generation of American soccer legends
Read all about the U.S. Team’s six back-to-back World Cup appearances
Fun facts and all the stats on the new stars on the field!

A portion of the book’s proceeds are donated to the Hugo Bustamante AYSO Playership Fund, a national scholarship program to help ensure that no child misses the chance to play AYSO Soccer. Donations cover the cost of registration and a uniform for a child in need. AYSO Soccer is a family experience and an opportunity to create memories for a lifetime. The positive environment of AYSO is the right place for kids to learn soccer, but it’s also where they learn important life lessons, social skills and get active.

About this title

About the Author

Illugi Jökulsson is a published author born in Iceland on April 13, 1960. His credits include Alex Morgan (World Soccer Legends), Neymar, Messi, and Ronaldo.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Native Mesoamericans probably played the first real ball games in the Americas. They developed undeniably brutal games p played with large rubber balls as early as 1500 BC. When settlers from England arrived in Massachusetts in the early 17th century they discover the native Algonquian tribes playing a game called pasuckuakohowog, which translates to "a gathering to play ball with the foot." This game seems to have died out as the natives were pushed inland by the new arrivals.
 The Europeans brought with them different ball games, mostly variations on large scale types of football. In England, the first football rules were drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848 and then in 1863 the English Football Association was founded. It standardized the various rules then in use and this date marks the formal beginning of "association football."
 Soon, both the early "association football" and the English rugby were being played in the U.S. Rugby was evolving into what has since been called American football and therefore "association football" was abbreviated as "soccer." The term originated in England but came to be used mainly in the U.S. and Canada.

PASUCKUAKOHOWOG was played on large beached or wide open spaces. The two goals were half a mile wide and up to one mile apart. The sizes of the competing teams varied, 500 players was common and there are reports of ups to 1,000. The game was quite violent and players often had to quit with broken bones or other serious insures. They wore war paint and even discussed themselves to avoid retaliation after the games, which could last for hours and even into the next day.
 It has to be said that at the time football and similar ball games in Europe were no less violent, and sometimes even more so. But after each game of pasuckuakohowog the two teams sat down with the spectators for a large celebratory feast. Now, that would be something after exciting World Cup soccer games!

About this edition

• Publisher: Abbeville Kids
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0789211807
• ISBN 13: 9780789211804
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 64