Fútbol with Grant Wahl

Latest Episodes:

An Interview with The Cooligans Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

Grant has a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with The Cooligans, Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros, two standup comedians who recently hosted the 100th episode of their eponymous show, which airs every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 pm ET on the Fubo Sports Network. Polanco and Guerreros explain the story of how they became a partnership, why there are so many great sources of humor in the soccer world, what the word "gully" means, why they're pals with AOC and why their favorite interview guest of all time is Ali Krieger.

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

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Relevent Sports CEO Danny Sillman Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Danny Sillman, the CEO of Relevent Sports, which puts on the men's and women's International Champions Cup summer tournaments in the U.S. featuring the world's biggest clubs. Sillman explains what Relevent is trying to achieve in the U.S., why he thinks his company will be able to stage a regular-season La Liga game in the U.S. before too long and how Relevent is becoming its own media company.

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

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Sky Blue FC GM Alyse LaHue; Taylor Rockwell on a Big Weekend for USMNT Players in Europe Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Alyse LaHue (at 37:31), the general manager of Sky Blue FC, who has led a complete turnaround of the NWSL team off and on the field since taking over. LaHue tells her personal story, explains what she encountered when she took the job and how she went about making changes. Those have included moving the team's playing venue to Red Bull Arena, changing the training site and adding players like Mal Pugh, Midge Purce and McCall Zerboni. LaHue also shares her opinions on the USMNT stars moving this season to England, why she thinks it's important to have women as NWSL head coaches and why she thinks the NWSL's white players need to do more in support of Black Lives Matter.

Before that, Grant breaks down the busy soccer weekend with Taylor Rockwell of the Total Soccer Show. Topics include a big weekend for USMNT players Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Tyler Adams; the impact of NBC Sports' decision to put Premier League games behind a new paywall; Liverpool's 2-0 win at Chelsea; the similarities of Kepa Arrizabalaga to Richie Tenenbaum; Man United's 3-1 home loss to Crystal Palace; and why Columbus has been so good in MLS while San Jose and Atlanta have been so bad.

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

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Oakland Roots Co-Founder Edreece Arghandiwal Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

Grant has a fun interview with Edreece Arghandiwal, the co-founder and CMO of the Oakland Roots, which announced this week that it will move into the second-tier USL Championship next season. Arghandiwal, an Oakland native, explains the origin story of the club, which is organized around a heavy community-based ethic that taps into the identity of one of the U.S.'s most diverse cities.

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

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Fabrizio Romano Interview Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Fabrizio Romano, the Milan-based European transfer market insider who has become the closest thing to the Woj and Schefter of European football. Romano, who's only 27 years old, explains how he does his job, how the transfer market is changing, how he uses his multiple languages and what lessons he would share with aspiring journalists who want to follow his lead. He also gives an update on the transfer-market stories he's following right now in real time.

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

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Gio Reyna Interview Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Gio Reyna, one of the biggest prospects of American soccer, about his story at Borussia Dortmund as a 17-year-old, his views on the season ahead and his thoughts on his teammates and experiencing a crazy 2020 as a teen in the midst of Covid and everything else.

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

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Andy Williams on Whistleblowing at Real Salt Lake; Chris Wittyngham on Soccer News Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Andy Williams (at 42:48), Real Salt Lake's head scout and a former RSL midfield stalwart, about his courageous decision to become a whistleblower and tell The Athletic's Sam Stejskal about multiple instances of racism (including use of the . N-word) by RSL owner Dell Loy Hansen that Williams had witnessed over the years. Those details helped lead to Hansen's announcement last week that he would sell his ownership of Real Salt Lake, the NWSL's Utah Royals and the USL's Real Monarchs.

Before that, Grant breaks down the soccer news with Chris Wittyngham, including Lionel Messi's dramatic decision to stay at Barcelona against his wishes, Chelsea's Kai Havertz signing, Man United's impending acquisition of Tobin Heath and Christen Press, the appeal of UEFA Nations League, and the way forward for Atlanta United (post-Pity Martínez, Frank de Boer and potentially Ezequiel Barco) and the New York Red Bulls (post-Chris Armas).

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

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Pellegrino Matarazzo Interview; UEFA Champions League Final with Chris Wittyngham Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Pellegrino Matarazzo (at 25:34), the American manager of Stuttgart, which he led to promotion to the German top flight for this season. Matarazzo tells his story from growing up in New Jersey and playing at Columbia University to living in Germany, getting connected to Julian Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim and taking over at Stuttgart, which has an immense history.

Before that, Grant and Chris Wittyngham break down all the postgame topics from Bayern Munich's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA men's Champions League final on Sunday.

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

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CBS Sports' Micah Richards on His Story, Champions League; Chris Wittyngham on the News Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

Grant has a fun conversation (at 29:11) with Micah Richards, who has been doing studio work for CBS Sports during its coverage of the UEFA Champions League. Richards discusses his transition from playing to doing media work, how working for an American outlet has been different than working for British TV, his perspective on Man City winning the Premier League on the final day in 2012, his best Mario Balotelli stories and how he has taken the tiger out of Roy Keane when they work together in England.

Before that, Grant and Chris Wittyngham break down the news, including Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Lyon, a preview of the Bayern-PSG Champions League final, the USMNT's draw for the World Cup qualifying tournament, the continued moves of top USWNT players from the NWSL to England and MLS moving to hosting games in home venues, some of them with fans in the stands.

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

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Guillem Balague on Barcelona, Messi, Pep and More Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

Grant dials up Lisbon and connects with his dear friend Guillem Balague, who's working for CBS Sports and other outlets, and they break down all the big news from the UEFA Champions League madness. Balague, who has written books on Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, shares what he knows about Barcelona in the wake of its epochal 8-2 quarterfinal loss to Bayern Munich. That includes who the next Barça manager is likely to be, whether Messi will come back next season and what might be the likely destination of Pochettino. They also discuss Guardiola in the wake of Man City's stunning loss to Lyon and what it means for the ongoing City project. Then they break down the matchups in the two semifinals: PSG-Leipzig and Bayern Munich-Lyon.

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

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