Miasanrot.com FC Bayern Podcast

2020 was cozy wasn't it? A pandemic, a gigantic explosion in Beirut, a presedential election and, oh yeah... that pesky little virus... Cozy times indeed. As we all know, in footballing terms it was actually really fun for us Bayern fans! So as the first episode of the year, we wanted to look back at this wild, historic year, applying our treble-format to every topic. Don't worry, while we of course do talk about the most obvious picks, we did try to broaden the scope to a more specific discussion. We did record this episode before the Cup-exit, so maybe today we wouldn't be quite as enthusiastic looking into the future. But who could've seen that game coming...

Remember when Bayern games were still fun? Yeah, we do neither. Things just don't look the same without Kimmich. So why is Roca not playing? Why is Bayern conceding every game and will Douglas Costa ever put in a good cross? This and many more is at the heart of our fourth episode.

It was the talk of the town, dare I say the talk of the whole world. Yes, after much anticipation, a hard-fought battle and some losses, Bayern once more overcame their eternal rival Borussia Dortmund! Huh? What's that? An election? Joe Biden? Beating some Donald Trump? Nah, never heard of those guys! The only thing of note having happened on Saturday was a game of football. Nothing more! In a game of ups and downs Bayern won the game but lost their most important midfield-player. Marc, Maurice and Daniel discuss how the win was achieved, how Flick might cope without Kimmich and what Dortmund is still missing right now. Honestly, we were talking so much about BVB this time, you might think you'll be listening to a Dortmund-podcast.

From routing Atlético to clinging on to dear life against Moscow and Cologne: Bayern's season thus far is a rollercoaster. We are looking for the reasons. Additionally, after we had looked at all of Bayern's new signings in the last episode, we check how they're doing in their first weeks in Munich. This episode has been recorded on Sunday, so don't be surprised to hear the word "yesterday" being thrown around describing the Cologne match. We're hoping to reduce the amount of time between recording and releasing an episode. As I gain more experience in editing, things will hopefully get a lot smoother! We're hoping for a lot of helpful feedback! Maybe you could review us on iTunes? If you're looking for other formats like MP3, take a look at Miasanrot.com. At last, does anybody need an upload on YouTube? We can look into that.

It's been a hot minute (well a bit more than two years, to be precise) but now, finally, the Miasanrot.com podcast makes a (hopefully) dashing return! Susie sadly won't be on the podcast, but we hope we'll do her legacy justice. This is my (Daniel) first podcast to be on and to edit, so please excuse my nervousness and a few issues here and there in the beginning, I'm hopeful things will ease themselves into a successful routine. In the first episode Marc, Maurice and Daniel are taking a deep dive through all of Bayern's signings this summer. They were so plentiful in the end, that it's pretty easy to lose track of all the signings Salihamidžić did in these last days, so we're here to break them all down.

Instead of what might have been a rather expected double to send of Jupp Heynckes, instead Bayern never seemed able to catch their breath after suffering defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi finals. Mia San Rot's Marc Almstedt and Maurice Hauss join host Susie Schaaf to chat about the last two matches and more. Just glancing over the disappointing (yet, meaningless) Stuttgart game, the trio take a bite in to the DFB Pokal against Frankfurt. Future Bayern trainer Niko Kovac set his XI perfectly, while the group feel like the out-going Heynckes might have started a more effective Startelf. Individual mistakes also came in to play in the loss in Berlin, before the crew talk about some pretty contentious VAR decisions from referee Felix Zwayer. A talk about the misguided anger at certain players by a large part of fandom is discussed, as well as how muted the ceremonies at the Allianz Arena and Marienplatz seemed to be this year. Susie and Marc debate Maurice's season-end grades for the entire senior squad, before they all take a glance in to the future. Will Kovac play a 3-5-2 next season? With rumors swirling around some of Bayern's starters, who is really on their way out? Before they close down the last podcast of the season, the team discusses a couple of listener questions before giving their very early expectations for next season. Thank you, as always, for listening! And in case you think you'll be without the podcast this summer? You are in luck! The MSR team will be recording for World Cup competition-- with an emphasis on all Bayern players representing their respective nations. Mia san mia. Danke, Jupp!

There are two different segments to this one. First, host Susie Schaaf is joined by Marc Almstedt to chat about Bayern Munich's 4:1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt and next year's trainer, Niko Kovac. The chat about SGE-FCB is centered mainly on the youth that were promoted for the game and how they performed. After segueing massively off-topic-- as this podcast is wont to do-- the pair bring it back in to talk about what this match might mean for Kovac going in to the DFB Pokal final, and if there will be any lingering misgivings over the result. In the second segment, Susie is joined by an English language commentating legend-- Phil Bonney. Before the loss to Real Madrid is discussed, as well as the victory at relegated Koeln, Susie gets the rare opportunity to chat with Phil about his career in broadcasting-- when did he start, how did it all come about, and most importantly? What was his favourite match he ever got a chance to call. Moving on to Bayern's dump out of the Champions League at the hands of old foes, Madrid, Phil and Susie discuss how much criticism can be leveled at the players. Is VAR warranted in Champions League competition? And do most Bayern fans have it better than they think? Phil is based out of Koeln, so he provides a sort of overview of the season and the team's slide in to relegation, but the pair would be shocked if the Billy Goats didn't come right back up in 2019. There are plenty of bits of history, a stellar look at what it is like to do Mr. Bonney's job, and one or two errors might be mentioned (only compounded by making another error during the podcast. Haha.) It's a long one, folks. But with a character as interesting as Phil, Susie was reluctant to let him off the line. Thank you, as always, for listening! Mia san mia. Mia san Rot

Bayern got a slow start against Hannover, but eventually ran out 3:0 victors in what is now a basically meaningless Bundesliga match. And the big stuff comes in the second half of the pod where we'll discuss the 1:2 loss at home to Real Madrid, and all the news surrounding the Champions League semi final tie. Before delving in to the pair of matches, Susie and Dennis chat about their geek fandoms and why exactly the podcast was being recorded in the middle of the night in Germany. Getting back to the pressing topics, the Hannover match appears first with most of the talk pointed on U-19 Lukas Mai and his debut as the first 2000-era player for Bayern, and his signing to a professional contract. But, the pair realize nobody really is interested in this particular Bundesliga match, so they move on rather quickly… Whew. The loss to Real Madrid is the heart of the podcast-- with a few segues elsewhere-- as the duo break down the match tactically, and call out performances pretty much across the board. Might Jupp Heynckes have been able to change the match more effectively had he not been hampered by two early substitutions? Is Robert Lewandowski really a flop for Bayern? What did Madrid do particularly well? Did Franck Ribery really have a “great” match? Assessing Bayern's chances in the return tie at the Bernabeu-- and how Bayern might go through to the final are talked about before ending with some thoughts on Niko Kovac, Eintracht Frankfurt, Saturday's match and the Pokal finale. Thanks, loyal listeners, as always. We'll be back shortly! Mia san mia. Mia san Rot.

The trio got a lot wrong here. We had all pegged Schalke 04 to beat Frankfurt to progress to the DFB Pokal finals, as well as picking ‘Kusen over Dortmund in their derby match on the weekend. Beyond all of the collective bad calls, Eric, Tom and Susie discussed fandom-- in the stadiums and throughout the world-- whatever the result. We promise, there is match chat, too! Thank you, as always, for listening! And we will be back with you after la Bestia Negra vanquishes Real Madrid in Munich.

Bayern Munich had a busy week with a 0:0 draw surrounded by a couple of goalfests. Even off the pitch things got interesting as the team welcomes Niko Kovac as Jupp Heynckes' heir-apparent as well as some sad news about Arturo Vidal. Marc Almstedt joins host Susie Schaaf to run through all the good stuff. The Augsburg match is the first item on deck as the pair discuss FCA's first half press, and the general lack of lustre surrounding Bayern's sixth consecutive title win on the trot. Moving on to the Sevilla game, Marc and Susie never really thought Bayern's progression was in doubt, although the Spanish side did have their chances. The overtly physical (murderous) play of the away team would be a cause for concern, but the duo agree that FCB were able to keep their heads straight, and are entering the semifinals suffering zero suspensions (out of a possible six). The devastation of Gladbach was fun for all Bayern fans to watch-- although it did not necessarily seem like that from the start of the match. Does going down a goal early-- like Bayern is prone to do-- help or hurt the team down the stretch? The podcast closes out with the pair's opinions on the Kovac hiring, and what Arturo Vidal's injury means for the team moving forward through the crux of the season. Thank you, as always, for listening. Mia san mia.

The thrashing of BVB is up first as Susie muses just how terrible Dortmund have been playing of late. After a few giggles, the trio discuss Bayern's verticality of play and how a lot of their goals came from interceptions. The midfield trio of Thomas Mueller, James Rodriguez and Javi Martinez is widely praised, but what does this mean for Thiago Alcantara? Moving on to Sevilla, Maurice and Susie ponder whether Jupp Heynckes' starting XI was the correct one for this match, the awesomeness of *that* Martinez tackle, and the very poor play of Juan Bernat. Sevilla would be unable to keep up their first half furious pace, and the podcast team shows some love for Thiago's winning goal. Franck Ribery's silly early yellow card is also chatted about, and well as how his emotions tend to dictate how FCB plays. They end the episode with another very funny round table discussion over who the next Bayern coach will be. Thank you, as always, for joining us! Mia san mia.

It's far more interesting to talk about a loss than it is to chat about wins for Bayern Munich, so the pair treat this (relatively) short podcast as such. First up is the standard HSV butt-kicking that FCB have handed down over the last couple of seasons: Is this the year the clock actually stops in Hamburg? Is losing them to 2. Bundesliga a great loss? While Thomas Mueller had a fantastic match, is Hamburg the correct team for him to be judged on? Next the duo travel to the seething crowds in Istanbul, but sadly, with Bayern being up 5:0 in the first leg, the result was already a foregone conclusion. But, wait! The star of the show was a cat! (And no, to all who asked, it was not Susie's cat.) The loss to Leipzig brings up plenty of questions from Jupp Heynckes' selection, to what in the world was going on with Sebastian Rudy, but the one thing that was definitely agreed on by both Maurice and Susie was that Bayern wholly deserved to take a loss here. Of course this comes from a place of extreme privilege noting that Bayern will be holding the Meisterschale very soon. Segueing nicely from there, the pair ask some legitimate questions about Joachim Loew's German National team selection, like: Why was Rudy called up? There's the usual banter over “who would you rather?” as the DFB now will truly start to take some shape with the side they'll bring to Russia. Thank you, as always, for listening in! We'll rejoin you for a round-up after the friendlies with the hope that no one gets hurt before getting back into the heart of the season. Mia San Mia!

The win over Freiburg was not quite as glorious as the Hinrunde victory, but it was still impressive. Especially noting that fact that Bayern played an unfamiliar XI. But before the trio delve in to tactics, Adrian gives a run down of the SCF season so far, and what the team's reasonable targets are. A 4-1-4-1 without any true wingers is discussed, and with it the suitability of a Juan Bernat/David Alaba left side. The seemingly weekly topic of Arturo Vidal at single pivot rears its ugly head again, before the chat turns a bit more positive as the Sandro Wagner/Thomas Mueller duo proved to be refreshingly fruitful. Moving on past the Freiburg game, the topic switches to the World Cup and the chances for Wagner and Nils Petersen to get to Russia. Along that vein, Sven Ulreich is also making a name for himself to do the same. The podcast closes out with the group kiboshing the Streich to Bayern rumor as ludicrous, before bringing up Jupp Heynckes' public approval of Thomas Tuchel as his successor, and what that might mean for Bayern Munich going forward. Thanks, as always, for listening! Mia san mia.

The pair also discuss the always-present Robert Lewandowski transfer rumors, as well as the possibility of Malcolm coming to the club from Bordeaux. Sadly, they end this week with the horrible news of Kingsley Coman's surgery. The conversation about the Besiktas match largely revolves around the first half of play where FCB couldn't really get it going despite being a man up, then moving on to chatting about Hertha Berlin's ultra-defensive set-up, and how the Reds found it very difficult to pick that lock. Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben didn't exactly make cases for a contract extension with their play against Berlin, while Chris and Susie decide that they can allow Lewandowski his less-than-clinical goal scoring record for all the positives that he brings to Bayern's XI. Speaking of Lewandowski, the duo chats about his change in management and what that could possibly mean going forward for the club. Also discussed: what options might be available if the Polish striker decides to leave. The Malcolm to Bayern rumors are heating up, and with that they look at who next season's wing players might possibly be before moving on to the terrible news of Kingsley Coman's ankle surgery. Is Bayern's treble season dashed? How much can Jupp Heynckes depend on Ribery going forward? What changes in formation might Heynckes put forth to deal with the loss of such an emerging talent? Thanks, as always, for listening in! We'll be back with you next week. Mia san mia.

First up are the Bundesliga matches, both not entirely pleasant or comfortable 2-1 wins for FCB. The Schalke match veered into wildness at times, but Bayern's wild man-- Vidal-- would be there to take control. The Wolfsburg game came with its own set of problems as the Reds fielded an unfamiliar line up. Next, Anup fields questions from Marc and Susie about both the U17 and 19 teams, how their structure is coming along, and who might we see in the senior side over the next few seasons. Manuel Neuer's trip to Thailand, and his injury are discussed at length, as well as his treatment by Dr. Mueller-Wohlfahrt (and probably a bit too much about stem cell treatments). The trio leave off with a roundtable discussion on who might be leaving (or staying at) the club next season. Sorry for the delay on this one, folks, but it's a heck of an episode. Thanks for joining us, as always, and we will be back to chat with you next week. Mia san mia.

Susie and MSR's Chris talk about those two matches, plus a bit about future coaching decisions and just what is going on with the Bundesliga these days. Mainz is first as Chris explains their midfield press and how it made life difficult for Bayern initially while Susie questions using a ‘B” side here and bringing out all the guns for the Paderborn game. Sandro Wagner's first start is worth a mention, but the pair first segue off to chat about the ever-evolving news on who Bayern Munich's next trainer will be. A very tidy 6-0 victory to reach the semi finals of the DFB Pokal competition is on deck as Susie and Chris discuss what went so much better for FCB here than against Mainz 05. The podcast closes out with a couple of quite important topics: 1) As the team comes to full fitness, who will be starting week in and week out? 2) What the heck is wrong with the Bundesliga this season? Why can't anyone even attempt to catch up to Bayern at this point? Thank you, as always, for tuning in! We'll catch up with you after a very tasty Schalke match! Mia san mia. P.S. Please rate us on iTunes!

Bayern Munich made a rather remarkable comeback against Hoffenheim after going down 2:0, but whatever tactics could be discussed would always be eclipsed by Sandro Wagner's hilarious goal on the day. Going beyond that, the trio discusses the Leon Goretzka transfer, as well as Serge Gnabry's return to Bayern, before getting in to the heart of the futures for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery at the club. Who is leaving in the summer gets some mention until the team talks Uli Hoeness' fangirling over Jupp Heynckes. Are his quotes about “no plan B” posturing, or? It's a very entertaining episode that covers a lot more than we initially thought it might. (Or, at least, Susie thinks so.) We hope to be back with you after the Paderborn Pokal match, and as always — thank you for listening! Mia san mia.

The Bremen match is discussed first by the pair with Jupp Heynckes' top-heavy 4-1-4-1 drawing scrutiny. It was an entertaining match (if you're not a Bayern supporter). Ronan takes on the role of devil's advocate here, as Susie picks apart the space around Javi Martinez and Franck Ribery's over-earnest effort. Leon Goretzka is finally coming to Bayern from Schalke in July as the team talks about his meaning to Schalke and Bayern, how Bundesliga teams eat each other, and a return to FC Bayern Germany. Ronan and Susie answer a listener's question about their opinion on FCB “missing out” on Alexis Sanchez and the possible pairing of he and Arturo Vidal (and that exit rumor) before talk turns to the new Nations League competition and what it all means. To be honest, Susie forgot it was even happening, but Ronan breaks it down in a way that everyone can understand. This episode is short and sweet-- tidy, even. Thank you, as always, for listening! We'll be back to chat again after the Hoffenheim match. Mia san mia.

After getting the unmentionables out of the way, Eric and Susie get in to the match, discussing tactics by Heiko Herrlich going forward. Answering questions from @BundesPL, we talk about about Leverkusen's three man backline. After all the chat about the match, we talk about the Bayer/Monsanto and the Bayern/Qatar ties, we delve a little bit in to to politics of sport. And there are no solutions. Eric and Susie chat about a whole lot, including California's natural disasters and the care there of. Just go ahead and listen, you won't be disappointed. Check it out. We'll be right back with you soon. Mia san mia.

It's been a bit of a slog to close out the Hinrunde; thankfully Susie Schaaf has ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko and Mark Lovell to help her disseminate a couple of close calls and some great front office business. Before the trio delve in to the Stuttgart and Dortmund matches, Sandro Wagner's signing is discussed, as well as Kingsley Coman's contract extension. Somehow this all leads to a great chat about who Bayern's next trainer may be (we promise it all makes sense!). On to Stuttgart, as Susie questions her guests about that Niklas Suele penalty call before getting in to what VfB did right. And it wouldn't be a Mia San Rot podcast without questioning the pairing of Arturo Vidal and Corentin Tolisso. The highlight of the podcast is the Pokal match and Stefan is, of course, the BVB expert. The three run down an abysmal first half for Dortmund, a stagnant second half for Bayern, and a bit of squeaky-bum-time towards the end of 90 minutes that just might have been a 2:2 draw. Is Jupp Heynckes purposefully throttling the tempo to just do enough to get the job done running to the end of the first half of the season? Why? Was Peter Stoeger's defensive sub in the first half a wise move? All those questions are answered before both Mark and Stefan opine on where they see Munich and Dortmund at the business end of the Rueckrunde. Thank you, as always, for listening in! We'll be doing some fun recordings over the break-- so please stay tuned! Meanwhile, we are wishing you and yours the happiest holiday season; however you celebrate and who you hold near and dear. Mia san mia.

To parse this, Susie welcomes Marc Almstedt and Randall Hauk to the podcast. Getting into the Frankfurt victory, they do a lot of talking about Arturo Vidal and whether he is a detriment or valuable to Bayern. Jupp Heynckes' passive tactical approach to the match is also discussed before some well-deserved praise of goalkeepers Tom Starke and Sven Ulreich. Koeln is Randall's team, so much of the focus comes from that angle. Very organized defensively, he opines the Billy Goats can take a small victory in their narrow defeat. Susie asks him about the club post-Peter Stoeger, and what is his opinion on Stoeger's subsequent hiring at Borussia Dortmund. The group winds down the podcast with a bit of nerdiness on their favorite comic book heroes and a Star Wars/Star Trek you-pick-em. Thank you, as always for tuning in! We'll be back with you after the BVB Pokal showdown. Mia san mia.

Hannover is up first as the trio discuss the midfield dominance of James Rodriguez and Javi Martinez in the 3-1 victory. They rue Bayern's conversion troubles while praising the opposition for taking a run at the home side, and give oodles of praise to Kingsley Coman and James under Jupp Heynckes. Moving on to PSG, they discuss whether Sebastian Rudy was the right guy for the single pivot, Corentin Tolisso's fantastic match and how Heynckes completely outfoxed Unai Emery with his very un-Bayern-like tactics before Susie and Fletcher wildly, yet entertainingly, segue off course to chat about yellow and red cards. Maurice brings it back together by talking about the defensive work of Coman and Franck Ribery against Paris, before they move on to discuss the arbitrariness of the newly released ESPN FC 100 rankings with a definite bias towards the Bayern players included. Thank you for listening! Mia san mia.

Host Susie and guest Tobi run through a trio of matches that saw Jupp Heynckes finally suffer his first defeat during his fourth tenure at Bayern Munich while getting a few words in about Bayern Munich's Annual General Meeting and the persistent rumours of Sandro Wagner as Robert Lewandowski's back-up. Before the breakdown of Bayern's breakdown in form, the few interesting points of the Jahreshauptversammlung are discussed; namely: Why are people that don't live in Germany members of the club? What is and is not liked about the plans for the new stadium seating? How in the world did Munich manage to wrangle 46mil euro for Douglas Costa? (And a little bonus bit at the end.) Then it's on to a rather typical win for FCB over Augsburg. Although the pair does mention an uncommon(ly good) performance from Arturo Vidal, it's fairly cut-and-dry before they move on to the next two games. A terrible first half at Anderlecht is agreed upon, but the manner of which it happened is not, but both Susie and Tobi could definitely agree on how devastating the losses of Thiago and Arjen Robben to injury played out in the match and the next. Continuing on the downward slide Bayern's form has taken of late-- painfully obvious at Gladbach--, Susie and Tobi rue the lack of creative options available to the club currently, chat about Niklas Suele's no-good-very-bad day, and debate a much better second half for the visitors. Thoughts on Sandro Wagner close out Episode 12, with a little about TV shows and what Susie can't stand while watching Game of Thrones. Thank you, as always, for listening. Mia san mia.

But before they dug into those two topics, Susie and Maurice chat about how they came by their Bayern fandoms, the possibility of an alternate World Cup tournament and Robert Lewandowski's new hair don't. Finally getting into the good stuff, the pair discuss the highly entertaining Dortmund - Bayern match and why it wasn't the tactical masterclass we're used to seeing from these two sides when they match up. The 1:3 score would end up being flattering for an FCB side that managed to be clinical when it counted, and the excellent performances of Kimmich, Ulreich, Coman, Alaba, Suele and Robben get mentioned as well as a superior match from Pulisic. Moving on to the Nationalelf, Maurice introduces the 58 men that might have a shot at traveling to Russia next summer as he and Susie try to pare down that list to a workable 26-man practice squad and a final 23-man roster (all the while keeping in mind that Jogi Loew is going to do exactly what Jogi Loew does). They close out the episode briefly discussing the World Cup pots and ideal and not-so-ideal draws that Germany might face. We are happy to be getting back to club football, though, and will be back with you after the Augsburg match. Thank you, as always, for listening! Mia san mia.

Bayern Munich are still grinding out wins in a nearly impossible schedule lately, but they have managed to qualify for the third round of the DFB Pokal, rise to the top of the Bundesliga standings, as well as reaching the Round of 16 in Champions League competition. Before delving into the Leipzig game, Maurice and Susie discuss the merits of drawing Dortmund in the third round of the Cup and what ramifications it has for the German football watching public on the whole. But then they hop on a Leipzig match that happened to be much less controversial than the last time the two teams met, despite yet another red card for RBL. Jupp Heynckes' utilization of a 4-3-3 is discussed as well as how Bayern executed their matchplan more successfully than in the Pokal match. (Hint: it's the midfield!) Celtic is next and the duo marvel over the wonderful atmosphere in Glasgow while also wondering why FCB aren't giving their all over 90 minutes the last few times out. Is it the tough schedule? Is it injuries? Did Heynckes have an eye on Dortmund? Going past that, Maurice and Susie discuss Bayern's XI, the merits of Kingsley Coman over James Rodriguez on the left, a bloody lovely day for Javi Martinez (ha!), and who was responsible for Callum MacGregor's equalizer. Before they say “adieu!”, the pair briefly discusses the upcoming Dortmund match and Peter Bosz' problems with his new squad. Thank you for listening, as always, and the podcast will be back after BVB before heading into the international break. Mia san mia.

Host Susie Schaaf is joined by Christopher Ramm of Mia San Rot and guest Rick Joshua from Schwarz und Weiss and Bayern Central returns as the trio discuss two narrow victories for Bayern Munich. There are similarities between the two matches -- notably the opposition's press and the Arturo Vidal / Corentin Tolisso midfield pairing -- but the group still managed to split the two up. HSV comes up first as they chat about Markus Gisdol's effective team press and how it interrupted the flow of Bayern going forward. Susie wonders if James Roriguez' performance might have been better had he not been so isolated by the midfield as the team calls into question the timing of his substitution for Thomas Mueller. Before the actual Leipzig match, all go on a roundtable and answer the oft-asked fan question if Bayern need/want a backup for Robert Lewandowski. Getting to the the Pokal, first up is referee Felix Zwayer's abysmal performance (ranked), and then they tuck into the second hard fought victory. Leipzig's 4-2-2-2 press is considered and how it effectively made FCB use their wings, before the trio discuss the relative goalkeeping merits of Man-Of-The-Match Peter Gulasci and Sven Ulreich over the course of the game and the nearly perfect penalty shootout for Bayern. Susie, Chris and Rick close out the podcast discussing Heynckes' substitutions against RBL and how they effectively closed out the opposition before ruminating on what the four-time Bayern trainer will do against that very same team on Saturday. Thank you, again, for listening! We will be back with you after the mid-week Champions League Celtic match. Mia san mia.

First up, the crew discusses Heynckes' return and the team's potential before they get in to the Freiburg match. How did the 2013 iteration of Bayern Munich fare four years later? David Alaba and Kingsley Coman seem to be coming around nicely, but is a match where Christian Streich's Freiburg never really looked to go forward a good test? Moving on, the trio chat about the Celtic match and the merits of Sebastian Rudy over Javi Martinez at defensive midfield. FCB's high team press is mentioned with a special shout out to Arjen Robben as the Dutchman provided a remarkable defensive performance. Susie questions the lack of control at the second half, and whether it was Arturo Vidal's doing, but Christopher and Maurice are thinking the team is just looking ahead. (It gets a little tasty here, folks.) They all get on board the Joshua Kimmich hype train-- wondering if he might eclipse legend Philipp Lahm-- before they question Brendan Rodgers' decision to start without Celtic's most potent offensive player, Moussa Dembele. Words on Sven Ulreich (and two clean sheets!) close out the podcast as Bayern faces brutal matches in the next coming weeks: RB Leipzig in Pokal and the league, followed by a top-of-the-table Dortmund match. Thank you, as always, for listening! We'll be back with you after the Leipzig Pokal encounter. Mia san mia.

The trio discusses Willy Sagnol's disappointing debut as Bayern trainer in the 2:2 draw with Hertha Berlin before they get down to business. The ideas flow freely as they chat about Heynckes' legacy, suitability and how the team can positively move forward from a highly disruptive month. Thank you, as always, for listening! Mia san mia.

Host Susie Schaaf is joined by French Football Weekly and IBWM editor Jeremy Smith, as well as Mia San Rot's very own Tobi, to chat about the Wolfsburg draw and the PSG loss. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss? Ha! Behind those two matches lurks the elephant in the room as we say “Arrivederci!” to Carlos Ancelotti and his rather brief tenure at Bayern Munich. The Wolfsburg draw is regrettably glanced over as the team had their minds solely on Paris and the calamity there and the next day. After discussing PSG, the trio get down to the Ancelotti firing. Who's the interim coach? Are Bayern going to hire Thomas Tuchel? What does this mean for the hope of Julian Nagelsmann? As always, thank you for listening. Mia san mia.

Before the chat about the Mainz match begins, Susie apologizes for putting a jinx on Manuel Neuer in Episode 3. The discussion moves to the match, but more importantly talks about Joshua Kimmich on the ascendant and Franck Ribery's declining role. Next, we take a break from the men and move to the women as Jolle breaks down some huge preseason changes for the Frauen and how the team has looked over their first two matches. The ladies also discuss some national team business as the DFB side just narrowly beat the Czech Republic 1:0. Back to the men, and the Schalke match, which turned out to be a little more complicated than the breezy victory over Mainz. Man of the match James Rodriguez rightly features here, before the trio discusses which Schalke player got owned more on the day. The last segment answers some listener questions as Bettina, Chris and Susie rate Bayern's centerbacks, rate Carlo Ancelotti as a coach and talk about how to improve FCBs defense. Episode 5 will come after the PSG Champions League showdown, and perhaps some very strong opinions will shift. Well, we'll see. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. Mia san mia.

We were so sorry not to be able to provide you with a podcast last week, but host, Susie Schaaf, was bunkering down for Hurricane Irma. She got out of the storm relatively unscathed, so we were able to bring you a surprisingly great episode. On short notice. Susie is joined by Christopher Ramm to chat about the Hoffenheim loss, the Anderlecht win (that felt anything but) and the general attitude in the club. All things are not rosy at Bayern currently, and the pair opine-- whether right or wrong-- on formations, on player attitudes, and whether Carlo Ancelotti sees through the season. (And maybe a bit about Julian Nagelsmann…) Let us know you you feel! We love to hear what you think!

The rumour mill is still open as Renato Sanches might yet be on his way out, but Thomas Mueller's public comments about his particular skill-set — and Carlo Ancelotti's ambivalence towards it — dominate the second half of the podcast. Everyone's least favourite international break is upon us as questions about James Rodriguez' call up for Colombia are addressed, before the trio top it all off with their Champions League Group B predictions. (Everyone, root for Jan to be right!) Our podcast is now available on iTunes. If you like to subscribe more direct, make sure to get our MP4 or MP3 feed.

A breakdown of the Bayer Leverkusen match comes first, followed by questions that linger over the 4-3-3 (or whatever it is Carlo Ancelotti is doing these days). The trio discuss Renato Sanches' troubles in detail, before moving on to Bayern's brand spanking new academy. It's all topped off with our collective thoughts on the league-wide fan protests.