The Sisterhood - by Rob Goldman (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Sisterhood is the story of the first and second generations of national team players, known as the 99ers, who were the driving force behind the rise of U.S. women's soccer and who built the foundation for the team's enduring success.

Book Synopsis

For legions of soccer fans, the players on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team are the game's standard-bearers. Together their accomplishments include four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. Within five years of their inaugural match in 1985, the team was the best women's soccer team on the planet. But its rise was neither easy nor harmonious. The national team came onto the scene when team sports for women were in their infancy. The players were paid little and played to sparse crowds on marginal pitches and carried their own equipment and luggage. They faced discrimination and unequal treatment, most notably from their governing bodies, FIFA and U.S. Soccer.

The Sisterhood is the story of the first and second generations of national team players, known as the 99ers, who were the driving force behind the rise of U.S. women's soccer and who built the foundation for the team's enduring success. Rob Goldman takes the reader onto the pitch and into the minds of the players and coaches for the team's greatest victories and most heartbreaking defeats. Among those featured are players Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, and Brandi Chastain, as well as coaches Anson Dorrance and Tony DiCicco.

When the team won the '99 World Cup in front of more than ninety thousand fans at the Rose Bowl, it was the largest crowd to ever attend a women's sporting event. After Brandi Chastain's winning penalty kick beat China, everything changed. These women's soccer players were no longer outcasts; they were hard-nosed players and leaders who not only transformed women's sports but led a cultural revolution. They were trailblazers, role models, and selfless best friends. Their story, told here largely in the voices of the players and coaches who were there, is epic and inspiring.

Review Quotes

"This book can be recommended for everybody interested in soccer, peak performance sport, team-sport, as well as for sport scientists and students of sport sciences (history, psychology, sociology). Scholars, practitioners, and academics involved in sport, especially in soccer/football will have something to learn from the U.S. Women's Soccer national team."--Bente Ovedie Skogvang, Idrotts Forum-- (4/12/2022 12:00:00 AM)

"A phenomenal story of how an extraordinary group of women built the foundation for one of the most dominant teams in sports history. A fantastic read that takes you along on the journey with players who formed more than a team. They formed a sisterhood."--Kevin Baxter, Pulitzer Prize-winning sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times

"There's great history and insight here into a pivotal moment in American sports."--Marc Bona, Cleveland-- (12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"As we celebrate a new generation of savvy U.S. women's soccer players who will succeed on the pitch and off, The Sisterhood is a good reference point (and a very good read) on how the first generation to achieve such success did it."--Robert Hay, World Soccer Talk-- (11/29/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"The Sisterhood includes some of my favorite stories from the badass women whose DNA and gritty mentality are the inspiration and legacy of today's world-dominating U.S. Women's National Soccer Team."--Michelle Akers, National Soccer Hall of Fame member, Olympic and World Cup champion, and FIFA Female Player of the Century

"In The Sisterhood, Rob Goldman vividly captures the 99ers' personalities, mentality, and our love for the game and for each other. I lived this story and became a better player and person because of these women. The Sisterhood shows you why."--Kristine Lilly, National Soccer Hall of Fame member, Olympic gold medalist, and 1991 and 1999 World Cup winner

About the Author

Rob Goldman is the author of two baseball books, Once They Were Angels and Nolan Ryan: The Making of a Pitcher, and the novel Hauling Time.