As you watch the operatic divers vs. the staunch journeymen in the World Cup final rounds this week, Columbia econ professor and U.S. soccer chief Sunil Gulati will be the most important man you’ve never heard of (thanks, Abhi):

“He’s the single most important person in the development of soccer in this country…” Gulati is linked to all these events…

• the… 1999 [USA] Women’s World Cup championship…
• the men’s team’s quarterfinal finish at the 2002 World Cup…
• the U.S.-hosted ‘94 World Cup…
• the USA making its first World Cup in 40 years in 1990…
• the launch of a national men’s pro league…
• the explosion of youth soccer… [Link]

Gulati hails from Allahabad and came to the U.S. at age 5 when his dad earned a Ph.D. here. His sports econ class, which sounds like loads of fun, has rock star status with Columbia undergrads:

… Gulati teaches a senior seminar on sports economics, which has featured guest speakers including NBA Commissioner David Stern. The class is so popular, students clamor for admission…

… the night before registration, [a student] slept in a corridor for 13 hours to secure a spot. The author then mused that he finally could relate to friends at Duke, who camp out for basketball tickets… Duke has the Crazies; Columbia, the Gulatzies. [Link]

He’s dedicated to creating new generations of Punjabi-Mexicans, including li’l Emilio and Sofia Gulati:

Gulati explains how he met his wife, Marcela, when soccer and his life once again intersected. A mutual friend, who now works for FIFA, introduced them. They met when Gulati was at an airport in Mexico (Marcela’s home country) on the way to Acapulco for the 1995 Mexican League draft. The couple has two children, Emilio, who at 8 has the soccer bug as bad as his father, and 1-year-old Sofia, who will surely be in cleats sometime soon. [Link]

Sepia Mutiny reported on Gulati’s election.

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