Back after a week’s vacation, Dan Loney and I pick up with Episode 13 of Four At the Back by looking at the US Nats’ shocking run to the Confederations Cup final, the potential demise of the Xtreme Soccer League and third-round results in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, plus we talk to soccer historian and author Roger Allaway about his new book, Corner Offices & Corner Kicks.

The XSL’s death (they’re calling it a “one-year hiatus”) would consign it to the indoor soccer mortuary along with the original MISL, the NPSL, the CISL, the EISL, the WISL, the second MISL and the AISL. Fear not, we will still have the NISL and the PASL. What will happen to the XSL teams (including the longest-running pro team in America, the Milwaukee Wave) is stil to be seen.

Allaway’s book looks at the similarities between two American soccer dynasties of very different eras: the New York Cosmos of 1971-84 and Bethlehem Steel FC of 1911-1930. No doubt you’ve heard of the Cosmos, but if you don’t know the story of Bethlehem Steel, you’re missing out on a fascinating chapter of our country’s soccer history. You can order the book through Amazon.com.

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