"As North America increasingly embraces soccer, one sports columnist has been covering the world's signature tournament for three decades. George Vecsey of The New York Times pulls back the curtain on FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and the beautiful game. Blending witty travelogue with action on the field-- and shady dealings in the back rooms-- Vecsey offers an eye-opening, globetrotting account of the last eight World Cups, chronicling the evidence of corruption growing in the sport's executive suites. The great national leagues, historic clubs, devoted fans, passionate rivalries and up-close impressions of charismatic stars like Socrates, Maradona, Baggio, and Zidane.