Alumnus in The New York Times

Ian Klaus is a WUSTL Soccer alumnus (1997-1999) who can honestly claim to have played internationally. Now it might not have been in a professional league, but he has a great story of his international game.

Ian stopped by a practice last season when he was in town promoting his book, "Elvis Is Titanic: Classroom Tales from the Other Iraq" on a book signing tour. He told his story about playing in a pickup game in Iraq. The story is so good it was in the New York Times.

An excerpt is below.

If you have any other stories of WUSTL soccer players, alumni, parents or fans, we would love to feature them here. Send a message to blog@wustlsoccer.com
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International Touch Lines

By IAN KLAUS

Published: June 22, 2008

A few years ago I spent a semester teaching American history and English in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The campus of the university where I taught has both a basketball court and a soccer field. The court was always empty, but the dirt field, with lines barely visible and netless goals, was frequently filled with players in mismatched jerseys and winter jackets who lacked for nothing in confidence or joy. Soccer is a sport I’ve enjoyed all my life, and the many invitations I received to play on that field made me feel welcome, not only at the university but in that part of the world. So last summer, when I returned to the region, I suspected it wouldn’t be long before the games began again. (continue reading)