What Happened to the USMNT: The Ugly Truth About the Beautiful Game

by Steven G. Mandis, Sarah Parsons Wolter

Overview

An important read for those passionate about not only U.S. Soccer but fascinated by player development. This in-depth look uses unprecedented access and original data and analysis for the U.S. and other countries.

Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team had won just four World Cup matches in 72 years. While the American women's team has made World Cup victories a regular expectation, the men failed to even qualify for the 2018 tournament. 

In What Happened to the USMNT Columbia Business School adjunct professor and acclaimed author of The Real Madrid Way Steven Mandis turns his lens inward to examine what it will take for the U.S. men to achieve lasting success on the international stage.

This meticulously researched, probing investigation challenges conventional wisdom and speaks to the importance of familiarity and authenticity to cultivate an organizational identity.  

If the Italians have their cantenaccio, the Spanish their tiki-taka, the Dutch their “total football,” and the Brazilians their ginga, Mandis argues that cultivating a unique "American way" of soccer (coined the “Spirit of 1776”) is not only possible but absolutely essential. 

Finally, a source of reference that goes beyond recounting history without context or repeating opinions without facts or analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629378572
Publisher:	Triumph Books
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	519,174
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Steven G. Mandis is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business school, where he teaches in the finance and economics department. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and as a senior advisor to McKinsey. His previous books include What Happened to Goldman Sachs, The Real Madrid Way, and What Happened to Serie A. In 2015 and 2019, he competed in the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He also was invited to present how sports can be an enabler of social inclusion at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development at the United Nations. 

Sarah Parsons Wolter is a Principal at FinTech Collective. Previously, she worked at Morgan Stanley and co-authored What Happened to Serie A. A sports enthusiast and former athlete, she was the youngest member of the 2006 Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team that won a bronze medal in Torino, Italy.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

Introduction 9

Authors' Note 39

Chapter 1 1990 and 1994 World Cups: Identity and Style of Play 45

Chapter 2 An Explanation of Why, How, and Who and Expectations and Comparisons 83

Chapter 3 1998 World Cup: Team Chemistry 97

Chapter 4 2002 World Cup: Luck and Other Factors in a World Cup 125

Chapter 5 2002 World Cup: The Ugly Truth Behind the Numbers 147

Chapter 6 2006 World Cup: Is Soccer in the U.S. Really Legitimate? 163

Chapter 7 Coaches' Second World Cup Cycles: Can They Work? 179

Chapter 8 2009 Confederations Cup: Second Place at a FIFA Tournament 193

Chapter 9 2010 World Cup: U.S. Soccer Is Legitimate 213

Chapter 10 Summer 2011 to 2014: Klinsmann Arrives 239

Chapter 11 2014 World Cup: What Happened to the Why and How? 263

Chapter 12 2018 World Cup: Did Not Qualify 283

Chapter 13 Revisiting Player Identification and Development 295

Chapter 14 Making a USMNT Player 331

Chapter 15 Why Do the USWNT Win? 347

Conclusion 363

Afterword: Why Us to Try to Answer the Question and How the Book Came to Be 375

Appendix 379