Show and Highlights Podcast of worldfootballdaily.com
World Football Daily is back in a big way! Oliver and Rafa come back to the microphones to kick it as only this Brit and American can! Our guest for the day is the Telegraph's very own Jeremy Wilson. Jeremy joins the show to talk about the Premier League at the midpoint of the season, coming in to the new year. Arsenal are atop the table and we get his thoughts on how they might be able to stay there. We also look at who have the biggest opportunity to make it into a Champions League spot out of the top 8 teams in the standings as it really is any one's to win. Jeremy and Ollie also look at the January transfer window which just kicked off, with a couple of moves to talk about already. Who will win and who will lose come the close of the window, Jeremy tells us his teams to keep an eye on. Rafa joins the program to talk about his massive hangover to start the new year. The boys also talk about the re-start to Italian and Spanish football, looking especially close at the dominance of Juve and Napoli in the league, but dropping out of Champions League play none-the-less. Plus, we look at Messi's potential move away from Barcelona and how likely that might be. So much to catch up on, so get ready for a hell of a pod.
And Arsenal will be top of the Premier League at the end of 2013. The question of whether or not they will finish at the top of the heap at the end of the season is still yet to be seen. Suddenly, Liverpool FC are in a riot over their recent run of form. Some are literally calling for the head of Manager Brendan Rogers. Sherwood and his Spurs cruised to all three points, but the question is whether or not they will take the Europa League serious, and can they finish top four? Hull City get a huge result against Fulham who have seemingly lost their identity this season. It's a Premier League-centric show today. Thanks to Ollie for coming together to deliver today's show.
So we hope you have been enjoying your holidays, cause Rafa sure is. Ollie on the other hand is hard at work trying to bring you some of the best content possible. So what can you expect from Ollie? How about some epic Boxing Day football coverage. Some historical moments coming out of the day after Christmas and Ollie talks about it all. From Rooney's 150th, to a record breaking come back, to a referee scandal in Manchester. Ollie also brings you exclusive content from Manager Tony Pullis, US and Aston Villa goal keeper Brad Guzan and Paul Lambert. Again, we are doing our best to deliver over the holidays. Hope you enjoy.
The midweek edition of World Football Daily is here and lucky for us, there is some Champions League football to talk about, as well as a handful of other football matches, stories and topics to kick about as well. For example, did you hear about Rangers progressing on past Berwick Rangers in the Ramsdens Cup in Scotland? Ya, bet you missed that gem. Our guest for the day is Richard Whittle, Serie A commentator who was the voice you Americans heard on BeIN Sports when you watched the Roma match at the weekend. We welcome back the Serie A with Richard, looking at the new faces who look to make a big impact on the league. Will Rafa Benitez and Napoli find success after some massive makeovers over Summer? Is Fiorentina a legitimate content for the title? And has Juventus beefed up their squad depth looking to win the Champions League, only to stumble when it comes to retaining their league title? So many questions we need to ask Richard. Let's not forget about the Spanish Super Cup!
It's the tremendous Tuesday edition of World Football Daily and today, we are simply gorged with football. No matter what you want to watch, it seems like the football is endless. Our guest for the day is the legendary Spanish football writer Graham Hunter. Graham joins us looking back at week two in la Liga. Atletico Madrid have had a blazing start to the season thus far, but we ask Graham whether or not this team can be out and out title contenders. While we are talking about Atleti, we bring up a little Spanish Super Cup with Graham as well and see what we can expect from Atletico Madrid and Barcelona come Wednesday. Finally, we wrap up our Spanish football discussion with Real Madrid and their win on Monday night, as well as their ongoing transfer saga with Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspurs. Rafa joins the program to talk a bit of Manchester United and Chelsea and the giant clash that ended in a nil-nil draw. Rooney makes a massive impression on the game, but will he make his mind up to where he will be for the remainder of the season? We'll discuss it in today's program.
Welcome back to the Monday edition of World Football Daily. Today, we are giving England the complete coverage it deserves. Our first guest of the day is Robbie Earle from the NBC Sports Network. First things first with the new NBC talent. We want to know what we can expect from NBC with this season's coverage of the English Premier League. We also jump into the weekend's fixtures, looking for the stories that really stand out, including the massive stumble from Manchester City. Spurs get an edgy 1-0 win as the Bale move still looms over the club. We also get Robbie's take on the strange situation with Willian's move to England and the Chelsea hi-jacking. Our second guest of the day is Daily Mail Chief Football writer Neil Ashton. Neil joins our program to look forward to the Manchester United v Chelsea FC match tonight. So much riding on Moyes' first big clash as United's boss, and Jose Mourinho is not likely to go easy on him. We also sort out whether Jose really thinks that the United position should have been his. Neil also helps to explain the implication of the result. Rafa joins the show to poke a bit of fun at Ollie for Milan's start to the season. The boys also discuss other Serie A matches that stood out, as well as some interesting results from Major League Soccer and la Liga.
The Friday edition of World Football Daily is here and we welcome the start to the new Serie A season. Both the boys are looking forward to this season in Italy with high expectations. Our guest for the day is Italian football editor for Goal.com, Carlo Garganese. Carlo helps us look at what we can expect from the league this year, particularly who might challenge the Old Lady. Fiorentina have a lot of potential and even more talk from the Italian media with regards to really challenging for the title, but we also look at Roma and how they plan to respond to the pillaging of their talent over the Summer. And will AC Milan start this season off better than last? Carlo will try to answer all these questions. Rafa join the program to give his two pence on Serie A and play a bit of IKTS with Ollie.
With one co-host on the sideline, Jimmy Conrad invites super sub and KICKTV producer, Ben Kamlet, on to the show and act as moderator for all of the questions that Jimmy hasn't answered in months. Ben's soothing NPR voice sets the stage as Jimmy discusses who are the hardest forwards to play against, how to play a perfectly weighted pass, which position kids should be playing when they're young to help them become the best players that they can be, and a whole lot of other stuff. In short, this shit is educational so tune in now.
Phil Schoen of the new BeIn Sports channel dishes all the need to know information regarding a shift in football coverage here in the states, as well as world wide.
First up, we have the Spanish Football Editor at Goal.com International. All the transfer moves and rumors and other news coming out of Spain.
DC United and the Major League Soccer All-Star's head coach Ben Olsen joins the program. We get to talk about the upcoming All-Star game against reigning European Champions Chelsea, as well as talk about the Crew at the weekend and the new owners in town.
Due to co-host Frank Kuzava's loyalty to his son's baseball team as they march through their Little League playoffs, which is the first sign that he's not only a cool dude, he's a good dad, the other guy who talks on the show, Jimmy Conrad, invited the soccer writer for The Sporting News, Brian Straus, to fill in and fill in he did! Jimmy and Brian talked shop about Chris Wondolowski's chance to set the MLS single scoring record and their reasons about why he can't replicate that form with the National Team, the future development of Geoff Cameron as he makes his move to Stoke City in the English Premier League, if Michael Bradley will go down as one of the best players that America has ever produced, and the MLS All-Star Game against Chelsea. It's 25 pretty good minutes. Check it out.
We talk to former England U-21 Goalkeeper, Matt Murray who talks with Ollie about numerous things in football from making the jump from player to coach, to helping out Wayne Hennessey who is recovering from the same injury that took Matt out of the game.
Today we look at the shift in economic power in world football with ESPN writer Leander Schaerlaecken. With more and more players taking the money and heading to league in Brazil and China, will the beautiful game stay beautiful? Leander joins us to give his thoughts.
Oliver and Rafa are joined by the Chicago Fire's young defender and regular in the starting 11, Austin Berry. We talk about his jump in to the Pros and how his first year is treating him and we look forward to his clash against Aston Villa.
Jimmy is back from Poland and Ukraine where he was covering the Euros for KICKTV, Frank is back from coaching Little League baseball in Kansas City, and JC's ASS is back and looking tan after spending some time at nude beach. So tune in to hear Jimmy and Frank discuss when the US will produce the next Andrea Pirlo, the difference in levels between playing for your club and playing for your country, why Geoff Cameron should've started versus Brazil, John Hackworth taking over for Peter Nowak in Philly, and some other stuff. You could learn something.
Because they prefer briefs over boxers, Jimmy and Frank wanted to be brief with this summary: They talk about the U.S. men's soccer team overall and specifically if Jose Torres makes Michael Bradley better, they chat about why MLS teams don't care about the U.S. Open Cup like they should, and LA Galaxy defender and good friend of the show, Todd Dunivant, tries to help us understand why the Galaxy are terrible this year. Maybe you should listen.
Jimmy and Frank take you on another one of their patented adventures as they explore how you adapt to playing with new teammates once you've been traded in Major League Soccer or get called in to the U.S. Men's National Team. Also, they investigate why forwards stop making runs for their teammates and the negative effects of always being in shape without giving your body a rest during the off-season. Also x 2, they welcome D.C. United player/coach, Josh Wolff, on to the show to dissect the inner workings of DC's success this season and what it means to be a player and a coach. We promise you'll get smarter after this one.
Against all odds and despite what the haters are saying about Jimmy's hair and Frank's lack thereof, the super cool co-hosts continue to pump out quality podcast after quality podcast and this week they invite one of the hottest goalkeepers in MLS on to the show, Chivas USA's Dan Kennedy, who should be getting a look with the U.S. Men's National Team but isn't. Also, they take questions from the fans in the always popular Facebook Face-Off, which involves navigating the waters of aging Serie A stars who want to come to MLS, who will be the Sir Alex Ferguson of the league, why rookies always hit a wall, and much, much more. We double dog dare you to listen.
Here is a Cliff Notes version of the show: Jimmy and Frank take questions from the fans and touch upon subjects ranging from losing streaks to expansion to erectile dysfunction to hotshot, arrogant soccer players who think they have it all figured out and they welcome Philadelphia Union Youth Technical Director and former MLS Cup MVP, Alecko Eskandarian, to the program to discuss concussions, youth soccer, his date with Kim Kardashian, and the infamous handball moment of MLS Cup 2004. It's must-see TV!
The return of Jimmy and Frank has brought the show full circle, who realized the errors of their way, and have now made the show shorter and more enjoyable. They focus on answering the hard-hitting soccer questions from you, the fans, and conducting top-notch interviews like this one with a very special mystery guest. Listen or die.
Casey comes in early to interview Everton's Steven Pienaar who opens up about his time at Spurs, his return to Everton and playing under Moyes. We also discuss his brilliant goal in the thrilling 4-4 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, i.e. scheduling conflicts, Jimmy had to scramble to get this show posted and asked some rivals from a competing podcast, Andrew Wiebe and Nick Firchau from MLSSoccer.com and the MLS Extratime Podcast, to come on the show and discuss whether Kansas City will go undefeated the whole year, why retroactive refereeing might work on paper but sucks when acted upon in real life, and if the MLS All-Star Game is the most American thing that MLS can do. Also, Jimmy speaks in hushed tones in the Facebook Face-Off for no apparent reason but we found it to be incredibly relaxing. Check it out, b******.
It's the Jimmy and Frank show! We're talking Jimmy f***ing Conrad and Frank motherf***ing Kuzava! And this week they talk about why the Galaxy is so bad this year, the choice adjectives used by Houston Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark on an unsuspecting ball boy, and who is truly responsible for the U-23 Olympic qualifying disaster. Also, they welcome the current assist leader in Major League Soccer, Sporting Kansas City midfield maestro, Graham Zusi, on to the show and he discusses how he fought through adversity in the first few years of the league, how much time he spends on his hair, and why Sporting will most likely go undefeated this year. Check it out.
Major League Soccer has seen Sporting Kansas City off to a blistering start. Part of that being the form of Midfielder Graham Zusi who joins Martin and Sophie ahead of their clash at this weekend with Galaxy.
Jimmy and Frank delve into the evolution of the league and what happened to all of the playmakers and target forwards, they invite the last player in MLS who has been in the league from the beginning circa 1996, Mr. Ramiro Corrales, the captain of the San Jose Earthquakes, and they answer the pressing questions from their most loyal fans. You should give it a listen.
The Sun's European Football Correspondent, Antony Kastrinakis joins Martin and Sophie to discuss the UEFA Champions League draw from this morning. Listen for your club's road to European glory.
Jimmy, Frank, and Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper and special guest, Joe Cannon, form their own wolf pack to create an entertaining discussion about, in no particular order, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Bob Bradley, the Dalai Lama, Bruce Arena, Juergen Klinsmann, Jay DeMerit, Sebastian Le Toux, Major League Soccer, how many goals Leo Messi would score in a MLS game, Sepp Blatter, Eric Wynalda, audio difficulties, Tastee Mints, cliches, and mullets. Listen at your own risk.
Sophie wraps up today's show. We were joined by Ladbrokes PR man Alex Donohue first. We also had on Joseph Sexton of Backpage Football, Assistant Coach at Seattle Sounders FC Kurt Schmid, Eurosport Writer and Bundesliga Commentator Ian Holyman, and European football writer for AFP Tom Williams. Champions League of all sorts dominates discussion.
Sophie wraps up today's show. We had on Janusz Michallik of ESPN, James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, and Cristian Nyari of the Bundesliga Fanatic.
After a temporary hiatus due to very, very poor sound in the rooms that Jimmy has been at in New York City, which has gotten better, albeit slightly, Jimmy and Frank are back and better than ever with a preview of the 17th season of Major League Soccer, they answer questions from their adoring fans and they guilt new NBC Sports Analyst, Kyle Martino, on to talk about what to look out for this year.
Continuing on with our MLS Season preview, we bring Chivas USA midfielder and college champion out of Wake Forrest, Michael Lahoud, who joins us in studio here in Los Angeles. We talk about their recent trip to Portland, we discussed the specific preparations Chivas are taking ahead of the new season, and we bring up some of the extra work Mike does on the side for various causes and charities. We thoroughly enjoy our time with Mr. Chivas Spice himself.
Our audience are lucky for this one today. The Sun's Chief Football Writer and self-proclaimed Chelsea supporter, Rob Beasley, discusses the firing of Chelsea Boss, Andre Villas Boas. We discuss the "Special One's Return", and learn that the CFC Fan Beasley has told him not to return, via email. We also get the insider information that Germany's own Joachim Loew is in talks with Roman about stepping in as new Chelsea manager.
Steve Ralston, former MLS and USMNT standout, and current coach for the Houston Dynamo, is the first guest to step on the pitch for us today.
Martin Rogers is back with another edition of the Yahoo! Soccer Podcast. Rogers focuses this week on predictions for the rest of the season. Michael Pearlman joins Rogers to give us the top to bottom predictions for the EPL table, the winner of the FA Cup and the Winner of the Champions League.
The Sports Illustrated, Blizzard, Guardian, and European Football contributor to several other media outlets, Ben Lyttleton comes on to give us a look at today's Champions League fixtures.
Ryan Taylor, from Newcastle United, joins us for a chat on how the very successful Newcastle campaign.
Join Jimmy and Frank in their, pardon the expression, frank discussion of Jimmy's move to New York City to work on YouTube's new soccer channel, Kick, and some other stuff, which includes David Beckham's new underwear line, if anyone pays attention to the MLS pre-season results and if they should, and an in-depth interview with the prolific goalscorer from the San Jose Earthquakes, Chris Wondolowski. Like always, this is a pretty cool show, but this time Jimmy tries to make it the best ever by doing his impression of a robot, thanks to his excessive nasal congestion and the questionable acoustics in the room he is recording in. Take a listen.
Orr Barouch, Midfielder, Chicago Fire, joins the show to discuss the Fire's pre-season and how the team is shaping up for the new MLS season.
Gary Al-Smith and Tom Legg join the show for a final review of the African Cup of Nations tournament. Congratulations to Zambia for winning the the contest.
Sophie welcomes Goal.com's Eric Gomez to the hot-seat behind the mic and we're quite titillated to have him. ACN's round table with Gary Al-Smith and Tom Legg. EPL review with Martin and Dean Jones of the People, and Tim Stannard of 4-4-2 all in today's show.
A.J. de la Garza, Defender, LA Galaxy, joins the show from the start to talk about the Galaxy defending their title ahead of the new season.
With Jimmy and Frank knee-deep in other life commitments, which may or may not be to each other since it's legal in some states, Jimmy saved this incredibly candid interview with New England Revolution head coach, Jay Heaps, from a few weeks ago just for this occasion. Among other things and without giving away the ending, Jimmy asks Jay how the hell he got the job without any legitimate coaching experience, how he tells his former teammates/current friends that they don't fit into the plans anymore, how he manages the salary cap in an MLS world where the rules change daily, and if the rumors of the Krafts being cheap are true. So, in summation, this interview might be the best one we've conducted so far and we've conducted a lot of kick ass interviews. Tune in, enjoy, and you'll probably learn something.
In anticipation for the Tottenham vs. Man City clash on Sunday, we are honored to have the Spanish-Dutch left footed wizard, none other than Tottenham's own, and World Cup finalist, Rafael Van der Vaart, on the show this morning with Martin and Sophie! We are extremely pleased to be able to call Rafa our first "player-guest" of 2012!
We are firstly joined by Benny Feilhaber, from the New England Revolution, to discuss his preparations for the upcoming MLS season.
We always appreciate when people write in. Here are just a couple emails from our audience. Feel free to write in to the show@worldfootballdaily.com email account with your thoughts, opinions, rants and raves.
Editor at SuperSport and African football writer for several other media outlets including ESPN and the BBC, Gary Al-Smith joins the show to discuss the sobering topics of 74 people dead after an Egyptian football match.
Due to their inability to fend off the peer pressure since everyone else has been talking about it, Jimmy and Rafa rap at length about who is better, Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey. After that back-and-forth, they dissect Tim Ream's move from the New York Red Bulls to Bolton and what fans should realistically expect from the transfer. Then they answer questions from their peanut gallery in the always entertaining, "Facebook Face-off." And, finally, they invite special guest and U.S. Women's National Team star, Heather Mitts, on to the show to discuss the London Olympics and what happens to women's soccer in this country now that they have no professional league to play in. Seriously, we think you'll like this one so tune in.
In their combined desire to strive to be the best in all things, Jimmy and Frank invite soccer gambling expert, Mark Gotcher, on to the show to discuss, among other things, why they should quit their job and just bet on soccer full time like he does. Then, after satisfying the degenerate part of their brains, the dynamic duo hem and haw about the last two games involving the U.S. Men's National Team, Philadelphia hosting the 2012 MLS All-Star Game, the complete and utter domination of CONCACAF opponents by the U.S. Women's National Team, and if a laser pointer would really burn out your retina. Check it out. You could learn something.
Sophie Nicolaou spent a healthy amount of time with the US Women's national team squad while there were here in Los Angeles. He are two interviews from her time at training. The first one is of Christie Rampone. The second is of Heather O'Reilly. Both shed some light on topics not really discussed elsewhere in football.
"Boosted by the return of co-host, Frank Kuzava, after his sojourn at the NSCAA Convention and MLS SuperDraft in Kansas City, Jimmy revels in stories from his past, which include how long into an MLS preseason it took him to realize that his team wasn't as good as he hoped or wanted, which players he thought were going to be good and weren't and vice versa, and a whole lot of other stuff. Jimmy and Frank also laugh a few times at their own expense during the very popular segments, "Frankly, The News," "The Facebook Face-off," and "The Finer Points Of The Game," as well as hash out the state of the New York Red Bulls, the pronunciation of his name, and if Juergen Klinsmann is better than Bob Bradley with Fox Soccer columnist, Ives Galarcep. So listen now, you jackals."