What’s Wrong with Us?: A Coach’s Blunt Take on the State of American Soccer After a Lifetime on the Touchline

Former U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) coach Arena argues for an overhaul of how soccer is managed in the United States in this coach’s memoir cum road map to making America competitive on the world soccer stage. Clearly, this would have been a different book had the Arena-managed USMNT not failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and the bulk of the book is a straightforward and fairly good coach’s memoir. Arena depicts the human side of managing elite athletes, and a host of inside-the-dressing room moments add color, as when the national team sang an impromptu karaoke version of “My Way” on the team bus after losing to Germany in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. Arena’s prescription to fix soccer is commonsensical and hinges mostly on hiring people to run the league and national team who have a better technical understanding of the sport and can do more to develop young players. G the book’s title, the relative lack of pages dedicated to the topic is disappointing. USMNT fans will definitely want to pick this up, but those looking for a comprehensive plan for reform will find only an outline of one here. (June)