Planet Fútbol with Grant Wahl

Latest Episodes:

Mourinho Replaces Pochettino at Spurs; Epic Libertadores Final; Chicago Fire Rebrand Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

Grant and Luis Miguel break down a busy week, including Tottenham's decision to fire Mauricio Pochettino less than six months after making the Champions League final and replace him with José Mourinho; Man City's important 2-1 win over Chelsea; Flamengo's thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory over River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final; and the Chicago Fire's controversial rebrand (and why Grant thinks a real Chicago turnaround, Kansas City-style, would help fans get over a not-great badge switch).
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Yael Averbuch West, Former USWNT Player, Techne Futbol Founder, NWSLPA Executive Director Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

Grant sits down with Yael Averbuch West, a former USWNT player, University of North Carolina star and 10-year club pro who these days works as the executive director of the NWSL Players Association and owns the soccer training app Techne Futbol. She talks about how she's able to wear so many hats, why she had to step aside from playing in the NWSL, and what daily life is like for the rank-and-file NWSL player.
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USMNT Crisis Eases (Just A Bit), Man City-Chelsea Preview, Zlatan's MLS Legacy Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

You'd think things would be quiet during a FIFA window, but that's hardly the case this week. Grant and Luis Miguel break down the USMNT's 4-1 win over Canada (which could have been Gregg Berhalter's last game); Earnie Stewart's strange all-is-well-here press conference; Mexico's 3-0 win at Panama; El Tri's run to the Under-17 World Cup final; Zlatan Ibrahimovic's MLS legacy; MLS moves involving Thierry Henry, Darwin Quintero, Brian Fernández and Darlington Nagbe; the fight for the final spots in Euro 2020; the reported switch to England of longtime USWNT high-performance coach Dawn Scott; and Saturday's Man City-Chelsea game, which is huge for City.
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Landon Donovan on Why He's Becoming The San Diego Loyal Manager, Plus His USMNT Opinions Nov 14, 2019

Show notes

Grant sits down with Landon Donovan to talk about why he decided to become the manager of the new San Diego Loyal USL team that starts play in 2020, why he wanted to name a woman (Carrie Taylor) as one of his assistants, what his aspirations are as a coach and what he'll do if owner Landon Donovan has issues with coach Landon Donovan. Donovan also shares his frank opinions on the state of the USMNT under Gregg Berhalter.
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Liverpool Takes Down Man City; Seattle Wins the MLS Cup; Lewandowski by the (Insane) Numbers Nov 11, 2019

Show notes

Grant and Luis Miguel break down a huge soccer weekend on both sides of the Atlantic, including Liverpool's 3-1 victory over Man City in the game of the season (so far) of the Premier League; Seattle's 3-1 win over Toronto to win the Sounders' second MLS Cup title; Christian Pulisic's fifth goal in the last three Premier League games for Chelsea; Arsenal's continuing troubles after a deserved 2-0 loss at Leicester City; the remarkable scoring form of Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, who now has 23 goals in 18 games this season; and the first two victories of Vlatko Andonovski's tenure with the USWNT (with Carli Lloyd being the main storyline).
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The Guardian's David Squires, The World's Premier Satirical Soccer Cartoonist Nov 07, 2019

Show notes

Grant has a lively conversation with The Guardian's David Squires, the world's top satirical soccer cartoonist, about how he creates his biting (and hilarious) weekly cartoons that have focused on the English Premier League, the men's and women's World Cups and soccer in Australia (where the Englishman is based). Squires tells the story of how he got started in the business and why he loves tweaking the absurdities of the modern soccer world.
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Looking Ahead to Liverpool-Man City; Pulisic Scores Again; MLS Cup Final Preview; More Racism In Italy Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

Grant and Luis Miguel break down the come-from-behind wins by Liverpool and Manchester City and look forward to Sunday's showdown between the Premier League leaders. They also discuss another goal-scoring performance by Christian Pulisic in Chelsea's victory, this Sunday's MLS Cup final between Seattle and Toronto, the U.S. Under-17 World Cup fiasco, the departure of Niko Kovac from Bayern Munich and two more incidents of racial abuse in Italian soccer.
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Dan Altman on The Best Goalkeepers Today Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

Dan Altman, the creator of the free soccer data site SmarterScout.com, speaks with Grant about data analytics and goalkeeping, answering a bunch of intriguing questions. Who are the best shot-stoppers in world soccer today? Who are the best goalkeepers with outfield skills? Which keepers are overrated and underrated in the data? What makes Brazilians Ederson and Alisson so good? And who are the top keepers in MLS and on the USMNT?
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Pulisic's Chelsea Hat Trick; Dest Chooses USA; MLS Semifinals Preview; North Carolina's NWSL Dominance Oct 28, 2019

Show notes

Grant and Luis Miguel hail Christian Pulisic's breakthrough hat trick for Chelsea and Sergiño Dest's decision to play for the USMNT and break down Liverpool's comeback win against Spurs, as well as the misery at Southampton (9-0 home losers to Leicester) and Arsenal (where the home fans booed captain Granit Xhaka). On the MLS front, they discuss two mouthwatering semifinals in LAFC-Seattle and Atlanta-Toronto, and Grant shares from his experience covering the NWSL final in North Carolina, where the host Courage beat Chicago 4-0.
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Kashif Siddiqi on Football For Peace and Going On Loan to a Team in Kashmir Oct 24, 2019

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Grant interviews Kashif Siddiqi, the player/diplomat who co-founded the NGO Football For Peace. Siddiqi, whose organization has drawn support from Prince William, Pelé, Ronaldinho, Mesut Özil and the United Nations, explains the soccer and non-soccer reasons why he decided to go on loan next week to the team Real Kashmir, located in the region disputed by Pakistan and India and the site of recent unrest as India has moved to exert control there.
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