SoccerPod
The soccerPod hosts long-form, heart to heart interviews with past legends of the game of soccer. There is a massive market for soccer in the United States today, but it wasn’t always this way. We go back in time and talk to legends from the prior era, whose stories are not well known in the United States. We talk about playing with no shin guards, the apparent impossibility of a straight red card and smoking cigarettes at halftime. We talk about the legendary games they were a part of, the goals they scored and the trophies that they won. But we also explore the time and culture in which our guests grew up – whether it was, as a kid - seeing the Berlin Wall go up in their backyard, or going to sleep to the sounds of IRA bombs in 1980’s Belfast. From childhood through their professional careers, on to where they are today – our guests’ have all had interesting rides – and we explore them here.
For those who love it, the beautiful game connects us all. So relax, kick back and if you are into soccer talk with a nod towards nostalgia – or you just want to hear some fascinating stories that will make you laugh - give us a go.
Episodes
28 episodes
Salvatore Schillaci - Versione Italiana
Toto Schillaci è morto l'anno scorso dopo una lunga lotta contro il cancro. Quando gli ho chiesto che tipo di cancro stesse combattendo, ha riso e con un sorriso nel suo inglese stentato ha risposto ad alta voce: "Yerrikay! (la sua pronuncia di...
Salvatore Schillaci - English Version
Toto Schillaci died last year after a long fight with cancer. When I asked him what kind of cancer he was battling, he laughed and with a smile in his broken English loudly replied – ‘Yerrikay! (his pronunciation of Eric) I no longer have a rec...
Steve Sampson
As I talked to Steve Sampson, I was very much reminded of the coaches of my youth in the 80s and 90s. I smirked nostalgically as I heard words like: accountability, preparation, and culture.If you Google Steve Sampson, of the first 10 ar...
Cobi Jones
Freeman Jones was a black, PhD-educated scientist in Jim Crow America, who was the lead of his team. However, when his company opened up the facility for tours for investors or the public, he was kindly asked by ownership to exit the facility a...
Gary Mabbutt
Gary Mabbutt is a real legend of that historic club – Tottenham Hotspur of North London – but Gary was quite lucky to get that far as he nearly died as a boy while at his youth club. He did not die of course, but was diagnosed with ...
Dean Windass
2025 Season, here we go! A bit late, but hey - I'm a child of divorce. Dean Windass was never really an elite player at the top flight of English football. He is a legend of Hull City – that Yorkshire club with great his...
Tab Ramos
I always smile big when I get to speak to an old US National Team guy – of all the players and characters from around the world that I’ve sat with - they are my favorite lot, because they did it here and they did it first. No player...
John Fashanu
In 1984, John Fashanu, a black Englishman of Nigerian descent, signed with the British club: Millwall FC; an openly racist club at that time. The semi-official chant the supporters sing from the crowd is: ‘We are Millwall, No One Likes Us, No O...
Bruno Conti
He was known as ‘the mayor of Rome’ – and he was such a great player that later in his career the great Pele would go on to say that he was the best player in the 1982 World Cup. But Bruno Conti had a very humble start – his home vi...
Wes Morgan
If you love sports and you love sports stories, then it is hard to do much better than Wes Morgan, and the absurd story of the 2015 Leicester City Silver Foxes. They were 5000-1 odds against winning the title. But it may as well hav...
Gabby Agbonlahor
Gabriel Agbonlahor is the all time leading scorer for Aston Villa Football Club – he is a true legend there and we dive into his time there - but when I think of Gabby I think of this - It’s an interesting time for a player when it...
John Harkes
He was the best American soccer player when America could care less about soccer.Today, the most talented 21 year old American player – we know that guy. He is probably quite famous, rich and playing at a massive club. This was no...
Andreas Brehme
This is a really sad one for me – Andreas Brehme tragically passed away this week – at the age of 63 in his home town of Munich. If you do not know of Andi, he is a true legend of German football - having scored one of the biggest g...
Ray Parlour
Ray played 15 years for Arsenal. And he was there for the arrival of the great Arsene Wegner – and he would go on to bring some of the greatest players to ever grace the Premier League - Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera to na...
Jay DeMerit
There are currently some 13000 players in the youth system of English premier league clubs. Of these 13000 players – the best youth players in the country - less than 1% - way less - will ever see the field for a premier league side. ...
Ossie Ardiles
If you are an American soccer fan of roughly my age – mid 40’s - you may remember a movie called: Victory, with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine - directed by the great John Huston. The film is set in WW2 where a group of war priso...
Paul Merson
Paul Merson is one of the most popular soccer pundits in the UK. And his voice and childlike enthusiasm serves as nice commentary to go with some of the biggest moments of recent English football. He is a legend at mighty Arsenal as...
Bruce Murray
If you have children that play youth soccer, I hope you will give a listen to Bruce Murray. He has a brain condition called CTE. In his 30’s he began forgetting things, he developed a sensitivity to light and began to develop a prob...
Tisha Venturini
The women’s game has come a long way in the US. The female stars of today make millions of dollars and play in front of sold out American stadiums. But it was not always so. The generation prior to them – of which Tisha Venturini wa...
Colin Hendry
What do you call a Scotsman in the 2nd round of the World Cup? - A referee. Paul Gascoigne told me that joke in loving gest of his friend, Colin Hendry – whom he has a bit of history on the pitch with. ...
Pierre Littbarski
When Pierre Littbarski was an infant - age one, the Berlin Wall was put up right behind his family home. He remembers as a boy going through ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ and smuggling food to friends and family who found themselves on the wrong side of...
Gaizka Mendieta
The great Gaizka Mendieta on the podcast this week - we talk the curious refereeing at the 2002 World Cup, back to back Champions League finals, the superiority of Spanish cuisine over British, 1980's American heavy metal music and more...
Mickey Thomas
Mickey Thomas is my kind of character. He comes from a poor village in Wales where football was everything. As a boy, he dreamt of following in the footsteps of his hero – George Best – and he was talented enough to accomplish this – playing in...
