The Striker and the Clock Hardcover by Georgia Cloepfil

Product Details

• Publisher: Riverhead Books (2024-07-16)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 208 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780593714881
• Item Weight: 283.5 grams
• Dimensions: 8.32 x 5.37 x 0.82 cm

An illuminating perspective on the life of an athlete and the pursuit of excellence outside the spotlight.

Georgia Cloepfil played professional soccer for six years, on six teams, in six countries. In those years, the sport became more than a game—it was an immersive yet transient way of life. In South Korea, she lived and practiced in an isolated island compound next to an airport. In Australia, she coached youth teams on the side to pay her rent. In Lithuania, she played in the European Champions League, to empty stadiums and little fanfare. She lived out of a single suitcase, chasing better opportunities and the euphoria of playing well.  

The Striker and the Clock is a beautiful examination of the joy and pain of serious athletics. It’s also an eye-opening look at the still-developing world of professional women’s soccer. Written in ninety short passages—reflecting the ninety inexorably passing minutes of a soccer match—the book is a love letter to a maddening sport and a reflection on the way it has shaped a life. In vivid prose, it portrays the athlete as an artist, debating how much of herself to devote to her craft. 

This finely wrought, singular book celebrates the complex appeal of sports and the fulfillment found in fleeting moments of glory.

About the Author

Georgia Cloepfil is a writer and former professional soccer player from Oregon. Her work has appeared in The Yale Review, The New York Times Magazine, n+1, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the University of Idaho and works at Whitman College.