Fútbol with Grant Wahl

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MLS Commissioner Don Garber Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Ahead of Saturday's MLS Cup final between Columbus and Seattle, Grant has an entertaining conversation with commissioner Don Garber about a number of topics: The intriguing possibilities of an MLS-Liga MX merger; the landscape for MLS as it heads toward a new domestic TV contract after the 2022 season; the hardest thing personally for Garber during a difficult 2020; the challenges of recently laying off 20% of the employees at MLS headquarters; what he's most excited about for 2021; the possibilities of invoking force majeure and starting a new CBA negotiation with MLS players; his thoughts on how MLS handled Freddy Adu in the early 2000s; and making the case for why an investor should spend $500 million to start an MLS team when it would cost less to buy a top-flight team in Europe.

This episode of Fútbol with Grant Wahl is brought to you by Fanatiz. On Fanatiz, you can watch all the action in Spain’s La Liga and other international leagues and tournaments live and on-demand from your mobile phone, tablet or directly on your TV with the Fanatiz app. Fanatiz features channels you know, like BeIN Sports in English and Spanish, GolTV and many more. And it only costs as little as $7.99 a month.

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

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Hertha Berlin's Arne Friedrich; CBS's Luis Miguel Echegaray Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

Grant has two fun interviews on this episode. The first is with Arne Friedrich (at 3:48), the sporting director for Hertha Berlin. Friedrich, who played in two World Cups for Germany and also for the Chicago Fire, explains how he got the job at Hertha; the challenge of trying to build a trophy contender with newly infused investment in the club; the allure of bringing players to one of the world's great capitals; and his love for the United States, where he's friends with athletes like Steve Nash and still owns a house in Los Angeles.

The second interview is with Luis Miguel Echegaray of CBS Sports (at 25:38), who talks about his new five-days-a-week podcast called Qué Golazo! Echegaray, who used to host video shows and podcasts with Grant at Sports Illustrated, discusses CBS's soccer strategy; what he's covering on his new podcast; and how he's supported by fellow CBS soccer hires Fabrizio Romano, Aaron West, Jimmy Conrad, Heath Pearce, Jonathan Johnson, James Benge and others.

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

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Landon Donovan Interview Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews USMNT legend Landon Donovan about a number of topics, including his decision as San Diego Loyal coach to take his team off the field in a game it was leading after one of his players was abused with a homophobic slur; what he learned as a manager during his first season; and his thoughts on the LA Galaxy, USMNT and the passing of Diego Maradona.

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

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Ted Lasso's Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

Grant geeks out with Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt (at 9:50), who star in the brilliant show Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. They discuss the virtues of Midwestern kindness; the challenge of developing characters from Ted Lasso's origins as a short comedy sketch; the risk that comes with the show's ambitions; Brendan's history of living in Amsterdam and meeting John O'Brien; the anticipation for Seasons 2 and 3 (which have already been green-lit); the real-life coaching inspirations for the Ted Lasso character; and much, much more.

Before that, Grant honors the genius of Diego Armando Maradona, who passed away at age 60 last week.

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

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Parma's New Iowa-Based Owner Kyle Krause; Chris Wittyngham on Insane MLS Playoffs Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Kyle Krause (at 17:26), the new Iowa-based owner of Italian top-flight club Parma. Krause, who's of Italian origin and has owned the Des Moines Menace for the past two decades, explains why he wanted to buy Parma, his plan for the club in the coming years and where he sees Serie A going in the big picture.

Before that, Grant and Chris Wittyngham break down the craziness of the weekend's MLS playoff elimination games, including the wild penalty shootout wins by Orlando City (thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of outfield player Rodrigo Schlegel) and Kansas City (thanks to Penalty Rain Man Tim Melia).

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

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Kate Abdo of CBS Sports; Grant's New Freddy Adu Podcast Series Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews his old friend and former work teammate Kate Abdo of CBS Sports (at 24:08) about how CBS is approaching its UEFA Champions League coverage; how she's dealing with working from London despite living in Los Angeles; what she has learned about studio pundits Roberto Martínez, Jamie Carragher, Alex Scott and Micah Richards; how she learned languages well enough to do simultaneous interview interpretation in Spanish, German and French (and soon Italian); and how she ended up having a global wanderlust despite growing up in a family that rarely traveled from Manchester, England.

Before that, Grant and Chris Wittyngham discuss Grant's new podcast series American Prodigy: The Freddy Adu Story from Blue Wire Podcasts and break down what they learned from the USMNT's friendlies against Wales and Panama.

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

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Salzburg's American Head Coach Jesse Marsch Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

Grant has an in-depth conversation with Red Bull Salzburg's American head coach, Jesse Marsch, about his experience in the UEFA Champions League group stage so far; why exactly he thinks group foe Bayern Munich is the world's best team right now; why he expects to lose star 20-year-old Dominik Szoboszlai during the January transfer window; his hopes for new Salzburg signing Brenden Aaronson of Philadelphia; his thoughts on the response to his comments saying Frank Lampard underestimated Christian Pulisic because he's American; why he thinks it's a good thing to bring American "arrogance" to European soccer; his interest in the USMNT coaching job at some point; and his take on Bild's report that he's one Dortmund's top three candidates to replace Lucien Favre (who's out of contract at season's end).

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

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Interviews with Sergiño Dest and CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

Grant has two intriguing interviews in this episode. The first is with Sergiño Dest, the 19-year-old right back for the USMNT and FC Barcelona, ahead of Thursday's MNT friendly against Wales. Dest talks about his excitement over being with the national team this week, his belief that the U.S. could do big things at upcoming World Cups, why he decided to play for USA over the Netherlands and what it has been like to meet and play with Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

Then (at 12:54) Grant interviews Alejandro Domínguez, the Paraguayan president of CONMEBOL, the South American soccer confederation. Domínguez tells the story of why he decided to go to the University of Kansas and explains how he became the most powerful figure in South American soccer after the FIFA-gate crisis in 2015. He discusses the potential for another combined Copa América tournament involving teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, whether we might ever see U.S. clubs in the Copa Libertadores and what his confederation is trying to do to grow women's soccer in South America.

If you’d like to try Fanatiz for yourself, you can get a free week-long trial by going to fntz.co/Grant-FZ.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

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Seattle Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer, whose team has been to three of the last four MLS Cup finals, winning two of them. Schmetzer goes into detail about how he prepares his team for the one-and-done playoffs, why he thinks the Sounders have taken the next step in recent years and answers what he thinks lies ahead in his contract negotiations with the club. Schmetzer also goes into great detail about his intimate connection to the Seattle soccer culture over the years, from youth soccer to turning pro out of high school for the NASL Sounders to coaching the USL Sounders (while having two other jobs on the side) to taking over from Sigi Schmid as the MLS Sounders head coach in 2016 and winning the MLS Cup title that year.

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

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Arlo White of NBC Sports Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Arlo White, the lead commentator for NBC Sports' production of the English Premier League. They talk about Arlo's role in Ted Lasso and the remarkable public response to the show; this Sunday's Man City-Liverpool showdown; the wide-open Premier League start; Leicester City's rise to 2nd place; Arlo's Inside the Mind interviews with Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Harry Kane and other top figures; his plans with the Chicago Fire and the NBC Olympics coverage; and his love for the United States.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

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