Bøger af Grant Wahl

"The definitive collection of beloved late journalist Grant Wahl's work, and a masterclass in the art of sportswriting After Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collapsing in his press seat during a quarterfinal match, tributes to Wahl poured in from around the globe. Wahl was beloved for good reason-he was kind, generous, and unflinching in the face of injustice. He was also clearly one of the best journalists covering sports of his generation. Spanning four decades of storytelling, World Class collects for the first time the finest work of Grant Wahl, from his college thesis to his twenty-five years of reporting at Sports Illustrated to his deeply personal work for Fâutbol with Grant Wahl for Substack. Grant was the multi-tool modern sportswriter: clear and direct; able to write long, short, or in between; cosmopolitan; socially aware. He never talked down to the reader but at the same time refused to sell them short. He was keen to shed light and unafraid of the heat his work might generate. Arranged thematically, World Class demonstrates how Grant's career aligned with the evolution of sportswriting. Included are explorations of soccer subcultures from F.C. Barcelona to the dusty sandlots of Nacogdoches, Texas, as well as accounts of trophy lifts that have a first-draft-of-history definitiveness. Some pieces capture prodigies early in their careers, like LeBron James and Christian Pulisic; others lift the voices of the women athletes to whom Wahl paid early attention-stars like Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe. The book showcases the daring and important positions Wahl took in Qatar in the weeks before he died, supporting migrant workers and LGBTQ+ people. More than a collection of Grant Wahl's best work, World Class is a portrait of a journalist at the height of his powers, always evolving with the times, revealed by the stories he found and the unflinching way he told them"--

Through extensive interviews with one player in every key position on and off the pitch - including Manuel Neuer, Vincent Kompany, Xabi Alonso, Chicharito, Christian Pulisic, Roberto Martinez and Michael Zorc - Grant Wahl (Sports Illustrated) breaks down the technical and tactical revolution that has transformed modern football.

In 2007, David Beckham, the golden boy of soccer, shocked the international sports world when he signed a five-year contract with an American team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Under the direction of his manager, Simon Fuller, the mastermind behind American Idol and the Spice Girls, Beckham was ready for a monumental challenge and a risky adventure-ready, as Fuller put it, to earn his stripes Stateside. Could he pull off what no player had ever accomplished (including Pelé in the 1970s) and transform soccer into one of the most popular spectator sports in America? It was a bold experiment: failure meant a team, a league, a sport, and Beckham himself might miss their chance to hit primetime in the U.S.With unprecedented access to the Galaxy and one-on-one interviews with Beckham, veteran Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl focuses on the inner circle of the experiment: Beckham, Galaxy leading scorer Landon Donovan, Simon Fuller, controversial former coach Ruud Gullit, outspoken former Galaxy president Alexi Lalas, and Mrs. Victoria "Posh Spice” Beckham. Wahl takes readers behind the scenes, on the road with the team and inside the locker room, to reveal just what happened on and off the field when the most renowned player in the world left the glamour of European soccer to play in a country that has yet to fully embrace the sport. We find out what his teammates really think of their superstar captain, who was calling the shots behind the scenes, how Beckham's management conducted a shadow takeover of the Galaxy organization, and if the team plans to embrace him-or not-when he returns from AC Milan for the 2009 season.The Beckham Experiment is a no-holds-barred account of ego clashes and epic winless streaks, rivalries and resentments, big gambles and great expectations, cultural and class collisions, and ultimately the volatile mix of celebrity and professional sports. As Beckham embarks on his third season with the Galaxy, the question remains: even for a player the caliber of David Beckham, are some goals out of reach?