Fútbol with Grant Wahl

Latest Episodes:

Sam Stejskal on MLS is Back; Dr. Celine Gounder on MLS & the Virus Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

With MLS starting its bubble tournament in Orlando, Grant interviews Sam Stejskal (at 6:30), who covers MLS for The Athletic and co-hosts the podcast Allocation Disorder on the Total Soccer Show feed. They discuss the impact of Covid-19 on Dallas and Nashville and what to look for soccer-wise, and then Stejskal tells his career story and explains his strategies for covering MLS as a growing league with complex roster rules.

Before that, Grant speaks to his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, a CNN medical analyst and host of the Epidemic podcast. She shares an expert's opinion on the wisdom of MLS staging a bubble tournament in virus hotspot Florida, as well as why she thinks there should have been a longer quarantine time upon arrival in Florida for MLS teams.

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

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Jordan Gardner Interview; Daryl Grove on the Soccer Weekend Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Jordan Gardner, the American co-owner of Denmark's FC Helsingor, which clinched promotion to the Danish second tier by the narrowest of margins on Saturday (at 26:45). The San Francisco-based Gardner, who led an American investor group that bought the club a year and a half ago, tells the story of what he has learned trying to bring American business approaches to a team in Denmark. He also explains how Covid-19 has forced his club to adapt—and why he had to alter his initial hopes of developing a raft of young American players there.

Before that, Grant raps with Daryl Grove of our partner The Total Soccer Show, about the soccer weekend that was, including why Chelsea and Manchester United are the most fun English teams to watch right now; whether Bayern Munich can keep its current phenomenal form after a long break when the UEFA Champions League resumes in August; whether Lionel Messi might seriously consider leaving Barcelona after next season; whether any NWSL team can challenge dynasty North Carolina Courage; and how we're feeling about the Covid-threatened MLSisBack tournament that's supposed to start on Wednesday.

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

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Sarah Gorden Interview; Plus Chris Wittyngham on Soccer News Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews Chicago Red Stars defender Sarah Gorden (at 19:06) about the NWSL Challenge Cup and the emotional week her team has had with internal talks over Black Lives Matter in the wake of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police and the global protests that have followed. Gorden discusses why she wants the national anthem to be played before games, reads her powerful Instagram post about why she kneels and explains what the week has been like inside her team. She also talks about her story in soccer, what it's like to be a mom and model, and how real change can happen.

Before that, Grant catches up with Chris Wittyngham of the Chelsea Mike'd Up Podcast on the latest news in the soccer world, including Chelsea's 3-2 loss to West Ham, Christian Pulisic's continued good form, the logjam for a Champions League spot in the Premier League, the club uncertainty for Weston McKennie and Antonee Robinson, the rising Covid cases in the MLS bubble and the big TV audience and good game in the NWSL Challenge Cup.

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

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Andrés Cantor Interview; Taylor Rockwell on the Soccer Weekend Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

Grant interviews the legendary broadcaster Andrés Cantor (at 28:19), who just celebrated his 20th anniversary with Telemundo Deportes. Cantor tells some amazing stories about his career, including his origins in Argentina, moving to California with his family as a teenager and how he got into the commentating business. He also drops some classic tales about being with 19-year-old Diego Maradona in LA in 1979 involving Muhammad Ali and a high-speed test drive of a Chevy Camaro.

Before that, Grant discusses the soccer weekend with Taylor Rockwell of the Total Soccer Show, our partner show. They talk about Christian Pulisic's standout week, a great week for U.S. coaches in Europe (Jesse Marsch and Pellegrino Matarazzo), the games and anthem protests of the NWSL Challenge Cup, Australia/New Zealand winning the hosting rights to the 2023 women's World Cup, the majesty of Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and much more.

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

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Luis Miguel Echegaray Interview; Chris Wittyngham on the Soccer News Jun 25, 2020

Show notes

Grant teams up with his old partner from Sports Illustrated, Luis Miguel Echegaray (at 21:40), to catch up on what it means to have soccer back in the midst of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. They also talk about the chance for soccer to get new eyeballs in the U.S. as the only pro team sport going for the next month.

Before that, Chris Wittyngham of the Chelsea Mike'd Up podcast joins up to discuss the latest soccer news, including Liverpool's destruction of Crystal Palace, Atalanta's big comeback win against Lazio, Real Madrid staying a hair ahead of Barça atop La Liga, the Thursday naming of the women's World Cup host country for 2023, and the start of the NWSL Challenge Cup this Saturday.

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

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ESPN's Hérculez Gómez; Plus Daryl Grove of Total Soccer Show Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

Grant has a fascinating conversation with ESPN's Hérculez Gómez (at 32:38) on his inside stories from the 2010 USA World Cup team on the 10th anniversary of the tournament. He goes game by game, from England to Slovenia to Algeria to Ghana and everything before and after that stood out to him.

Before that, Grant discusses a busy soccer weekend with show partner Daryl Grove of the Total Soccer Show. They discuss a standout weekend for Americans Abroad, including Gio Reyna's first Dortmund start (and phenomenal assist), Christian Pulisic's important goal for Chelsea, solid performances by Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie and the impending promotion to the German Bundesliga by Stuttgart manager Pellegrino Matarazzo.

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

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Lothar Matthäus Interview; Chris Wittyngham on Soccer News Jun 18, 2020

Show notes

Grant has a fun interview with his old friend Lothar Matthäus (at 18:12), who won the FIFA World Player of the Year award, captained the 1990 World Cup-winning West Germany side and won the European Championship and the UEFA Champions League in a remarkable 22-year pro career. They talk about a range of topics, including the 30-year anniversary of the '90 World Cup triumph, what Matthäus talks about with old rival Diego Maradona when they meet up (classic games and Diego's weight issues!), Bayern Munich's 8-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga, Alphonso Davies, Tyler Adams, Kai Havertz and much, much more.

Before that, Grant speaks with show producer Chris Wittyngham of the Chelsea Mike'd Up podcast about the restart of the Premier League, David Luiz's very bad day, Napoli's triumph over Juventus in the Coppa Italia final, Weston McKennie's continued lone bright spot in a very bad stretch for Schalke and Adams playing well in central midfield for Leipzig but still dropping points. They also discuss fan blobs in La Liga, Germany's superiority over England in fake fan noise and the nonsense of fake card-waving ad-driven fans in Italy.

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

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BONUS EPISODE: NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

The NWSL will be the first U.S. pro contact sports league to resume play when its 25-game Challenge Cup starts in Utah on June 27, with all games on CBS Sports and Twitch platforms. Grant speaks to first-year NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird about how the tournament came together; how Baird and her staff landed Verizon as a multi-year league sponsor; how she has dealt with an extremely challenging first three months on the job; how the league will be looking out for player safety; how the league will support its players and policies during the Black Lives Matter protests and beyond; how her previous jobs at the NFL and the USOPC have prepared her for her current gig; how she's managing the differing interests of NWSL owners; and how the NWSL is looking at continued expansion interest, even during a pandemic.

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

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Jürgen Klopp Interview; Taylor Rockwell, Zack Goldman & Nathen McVittie Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

The Premier League is back on Wednesday, and Grant has a blockbuster interview with Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp (at 0:45) as the Reds get closer and closer to their first English title in 30 years. Klopp discusses a range of topics, including his thoughts on the coronavirus response and Black Lives Matter; the little things he loves about football that he missed the last three months; how many more seasons his front three of Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino (all 28 years old) can stay at the top together; and how the most prolific-hugging coach in world sports will handle being told he can't hug people due to social distancing.

Then Grant speaks to Taylor Rockwell of our partner the Total Soccer Show about the weekend in soccer (at 20:20) and finishes the show with an interview of Common Goal's Nathen McVittie and Zack Goldman (at 40:25), multitalented guys who designed the branding and identity of this podcast.

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

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Gabriele Marcotti of ESPN Jun 11, 2020

Show notes

Grant has a wide-ranging interview with one of his dearest friends, Gabriele Marcotti of ESPN. They talk about his new book with Gianluca Vialli, Goals: Inspirational Stories to Help Tackle Life's Challenges; the influence that attending college in the U.S. and consuming American media has had on his work in England; the career decision he made to focus less on news-breaking and more on well-informed punditry; his thoughts on MLS 25 years after writing about the start of the league at Columbia Journalism School; the rise of cosmopolitanism in the English Premier League; how he approaches a typical work week; and some of the things he's interested in doing career-wise in the future.

Grant and Gabriele have covered World Cups together going back to 1998 and shared a house with other journalists during World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

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

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