Podcasts by Forza Futbol

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Elisa, Mando and Ravi get together for a vintage edition of the " forza futbol pub talk". We went around the stories of La Liga. La Liga Pub talk Agenda 1. The Cinderella story of Mirandes 2. Barça - Valencia: Valencia's trouble with lack of creativity in the midfield 3. Barça X Athletic Copa final 4. The Striker dilemma for Spain - What if Villa cant make it? 5. The woes of Sevilla. Can Michel save them? 6. Preciado gone. Can Sporting survive? 7. Are there any other coaches on the chopping block before the end of the season?Download Standard Podcast

[caption id="attachment_33113" align="aligncenter" width="303" caption="La Liga talk with Eduardo Alvarez of ESPNSoccernet.com"] [/caption] We welcome back Eduardo Alvarez of ESPNSoccernet.com to do a La Liga round-up, the transfer window happenings and much more. Eduardo writes the weekly quiniela column on ESPNSoccernet.com and contributes for Radio Marca of Spain and blogs for Esporte Interativo of Brasil. You may follow the "only trilingual spanish football commentator" on Twitter at @EdAlvarezSpain Agenda : 0. Transfer window deals - best worst 1. The state of La Liga. Do you feel the league is less competitive? Why? 2. The race for 3rd and 4th. Are Valencia, Athletic, Atletico and Malaga Champions League material? 3. What do you think will happen at Zaragoza? 4. The story of Mirandes 5. Are you surprised by Barça's away form and why? 6. Do you think Mou will stay another year at Madrid? 7. Who is the most improved player for you this year? 8. Who is the revelation of the year? 9. How are you Quinela predictions coming along? And a lot more interesting stuff. ThanksDownload Standard Podcast

We talked to Arch Bell, an expert on 2nda division (aka Liga Adelante). Arch is a regular contributor on ESPN Soccernet, La Liga Weekly and a host of the Austin's Futbol En Vivo-91.7FM among other things. You may follow Arch on twitter at @ArchBell. 1. Segunda vs Primera - what is the difference? 2. Candidates for promotion to Primera 3. The excitement brought out by the play-off system for the last promotion spot. 4. What are the suprise teams in Segunda this season? 5. The biggest disappointments of this season. 6. The story of Mirandes - Pablo Infante, the Pichichi of Copa del Rey. 7. What are the biggest problems in Segunda division? 8. Lack of exposure to the Segunda clubs beyond Spain 9.  Arch's candidates for relegation and promotion 10. Copa del Rey recapDownload Standard Podcast

We recorded this at the beginning of the year, but then week#1 got canceled. Republishing it! WithMonchismen and Adam from oohBetis!Download Standard Podcasts

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Elisa and Ravi talked to Javier Hernandez aka @JavierJotah of Madrid, the La Liga stats analyst for Whoscored.com. We talked about how Javier got into stats and various questions around La Liga stats. Duration 55 min 1. How did you get into stats? 2. Which stats are intrinsic to La Liga 3. Impact of Barça Madrid's numbers on overall stats of La Liga 4. How do you differentitate between good stats and manipulated stats? 5. How and where do you get your data from? 6. Whar are thats stats you look at to rate GKs, defenders. midfielders and strikers? 7. Why is rating midfielders so hard? 8. Who is the best crosser in La Liga (you will be surprised by the answer.) 9. Do Premier League teams rely more on stats analysis than La Liga teams? 10. MediaPro has its own package called MediaCoach which they are trying to make all teams use it 11. Coaches tapes 12. Best performers of La Liga - GKs, defenders, midfielders, strikers 13. La Liga talk predictions 7.Download Standard Podcast

Elisa and Ravi chatted with  VillarrealUSA 's Allen Dodson who is well versed in all things financial about the Villarreal's season so far as well as the various financial aspects of La Liga. Changes to the Beckham Law, the Doyen Groups increasing influence, Valencia's deal with Bankia group. 1. Villarreal - 17 min Season Financial results Molina hire Valencia game  - positives, negatives Molina's challenges 2. Financial state of La Liga - 16 min No money across the league for winter transfer window Overall revenues of all teams except Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are flat - about 7 teams including Champions League and Europa League entrants Valencia, Villarreal, Atlético, Sevilla have no sponsors New government and changes to the tax laws : "Beckham law" going away? Who will be the most affected by changes to the Beckham law? Will there be an exodus of Spanish stars to other leagues like EPL? Teams under tremendous pressure to pay wages on time for players The different strategies of survival employed by La Liga clubs 3. The mysterious Doyen Group and other similar 3rd party ownership schemes - 14 min Increasing influence of Super agents like Jorge Mendes Lack of oversight on the part of LFP to oversee these Granada's curious relationship with Udinese The limitations and disadvantages of the multitude of the provincial clubs in Spain Is SAD (Sociedad Anonima Deportiva aka Limited Liability Co) the root cause 4. Valencia's deal with Bankia -13 min How does the deal work? Does this attract more foreign owners or investors to buy them? What does a foreign investment group look for in a club to make an investment decision? We hope you enjoy this podcast. You may find and archive of all our podcasts at iTunes or  PodbeanDownload Standard Podcast

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We kick-off the 2012 podcast season with some love to the "Pericos" on the eve of the Catalan Derby on Sunday at the Cornella. We have Mark from DC, Nick (aka @PERICOZ on twitter) all the way from Australia and our resident Perico Mando. We discussed the length and breadth of all things Espanyol in this pod. Duration : 65 min 1. Intros and how each of the gentlemen have become 'pericos' 2. Impressions on the season so far, positives, concerns etc. 3. Financial health of the club. Espanyol board said they need 8mil to balance the books. Will there be some player sales in January? 4. Will the good showing of youngsters like Thievy, Weiss and Alvaro continue in the 2nd half of the season? Are there any concerns? 5. What do you make of Alvaro's performance so far? 6. Any upcoming players that we need to look out for? 7. The Derby  - How will the game play out? Does Espanyol have a chance? 8. Predictions for the Derby 9. Predictions for the season finish 10. Espanyol's chances in the Copa del Rey 11. The loyalty and the importance of Pochetino to Espanyol 12. Can Pocchetino be the Sir Alex of Espanyol? Download Standard Podcast

[caption id="attachment_36759" align="aligncenter" width="297" caption="Interview with Tim Stannard"][/caption] Elisa and Ravi had the pleasure of talking to one of the most popular english writers of Spanish football, Tim Stannard aka @LaLigaLoca. Tim is based in Madrid contributing regularly to FourFourTwo Magazine with the daily La Liga Loca blog and Football365.com, as well as featuring in When Saturday Comes and UEFA Champions League magazine. He also works as a TV producer for a football show and has an intense dislike for Flamenco music and chickpeas. Contactable by email at laligaloca@yahoo.co.uk Topics: Duration 60 min. 1. Clasico - aftermath - did you expect it to go the way it transpired? - do u think Madrid can beat Barça in any of the future clasicos of this season? - Cristiano's funk against Barça - what is your theory on it? - Mourinho - what do you think of him after 1.5 years? Has his aura diminished a bit due to the clasico losses? - Should he win Copa or La Liga and not Champions League, will he stay for 3rd year? 2. Back in October, there was some noise about the new stadium plans of Barça 8 Madrid - will they just become even more stronger and the gap widen? - Atleti's stadium move plans 3. What do you think of Mourinho playing Pedro Mendes (Jorge Mendes' son) in the Champions League, on loan from Sporting and not even a starter in defense at Castilla? - Are they trying to pump his value before selling him for a higher price? 4. What do you think of the Jorge Mendes effect on Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid and Atletico? 5. What is going on with Reyes? Can you pinpoint the main issue at Atleti? 6. Can you give our listeners a summary of the Del Nido court case in Malaga? 7. What do u think of Bankia's deal to give further loan to Valencia and waive off its huge debt in return for property? 8. What do you think about the Málaga project? 9. What is your take on the Villa injury? How would you describe his relationship with Pep and Messi prior to the injury? 10. The Marca/As shenanigans 11. Do you see Madrid or Barça signing anyone in the winter transfer window? 10. Do you like the noon kickoffs? 11. Villarreal - Garrido 12. Predictions for La Liga - Relegation - La Liga, Copa, Champions League and the Euro Cup 2012 13. Spain - Torres situation - Will Raúl be back in the Spain set-up? 14. the "Guti" phenomenon Subscribe and enjoy all of Forzafutbol podcasts on your iPod, iPad etc via iTunes Here is Tim's article on fourfourtwo.com about Del Nido that he mentioned at the end of the podcast Past catches up with Del NidoDownload Standard Podcast

Talking to Madrid 8 Barça fans about the Clásico is always funIt is never too late to review a clásico. The initial emotions have subsided and have given way to a colder, analytical and holistic views on the subject. Mando and Elisa had the pleasure of welcoming Ramzi from @footballmood who gave his unique Blaugrana perspective. Elisa played the Madridista part. 1. Impressions of the game from both perspectives2. Were you surprised by either lineups? - Explain3. After knowing the line-ups and before the game started did you expect what unfolded?- If yes, why?- If not, what went wrong?4. What are the positives you can take from this game?5. Everyone, including Pep(based on his presser) seemed to have expected a closer game- what went wrong Madrid?- Is there something that Madrid or Mou can do to arrest this trend vs Barça?- In the short-term : this season (return fixture, possibly CdR 8 UCL)- In the long-term : next season6. What is the near-term impact of this loss on Madrid 8 Barça?7. Will either club buy more players in the January timeline?8. Predictions on who will win the Liga, CdR 8 UCL9. Prediction for the World Club Cup? Can Santos surprise Barça? Download Standard Podcast

[caption id="attachment_33113" align="aligncenter" width="303" caption="La Liga talk with Vaishali Bhardwaj"][/caption] Elisa and Ravi had the pleasure to welcome back one of our favourite guests, Vaishali Bhardwaj, a sports journalist writing for @FourFourTwo and a lot more. Vaishali also co-hosts @BeyondthePitch's World Football Minute and produce/present the @roundupshow on @BreakLondon Radio. More on Vaishali's website and follow her on twitter @VaiBhardwaj Duration 39 min 1. How is La Liga viewed in UK overall? 2. How is the current La Liga season perceived over there? 3. TV coverage of La Liga in UK 4. How Popular is La Liga in England? 5. La Liga season - the biggest surprises 6. Best upcoming and outstanding players of this season 7. The failed move of Kevin Gameiro to Valencia " 8. Predictions for La Liga, Copa and UCL - pre 8 post clasico if they have changed 9. Benzema vis-a-vis Les Bleus 10. The exodus of talented Spanish players to the EPL - Torres, Mata, Silva, Romeu and more. 11. What is the biggest challenge for Spanish players in England? Why some of them fail like Reyes, Tevez 12.Spanish striker-crisis Subscribe to all Forza Futbol podcasts on iTunesDownload Standard Podcasts

Elisa and Ravi interviewed Professor Kelly Candaele, producer of El Clásico movie and Devin Collins a student of Kelly at Chico State University, who worked in the making of this film as translator and interviewed. You may learn more about the film, show times and how to buy the DVD at http://www.elclasico.org . We have 2 DVDs of 'El Clásico' to give away for our listeners. Please listen to the podcast for the details. Kelly and Devin talk about the motivation and their experiences in making this film. 1. What is the inspiration for doing this movie? - Why El clasico? - what other derbies/clasicos you considered (if any) before chosing Mad-Bar 2. How long did it take you to make it? - Why did you pick or how did you find certain experts IE Ray Hudson, Phil Ball, Santi Sigurola? - What kind of access or support did you get from the clubs, LFP or RFEF? What did they think of you guys, outsiders making a documentary on their most coveted game? 3. What were the biggest challenges during the production? - Describe any incident or two that was interesting or funny - Who is your favorite Barca player and why? Who is your favorite Real Madrid player and why? 4. Will you be doing a World/US tour with screenings in all major cities to promote the movie? - if yes when is the calendar out? 5. Are you a Madrid or a Barça fan? - Give your clásico prediction 6. How can our listeners find you or buy the DVD? Elisa watched the move and can vouch for that it is a fun movie. And dont forget the contest inside! the DVDs are fabulous.Download Standard Podcast

Love 'em or hate 'em all of love our Clásico. As a tribute to the big game, we invited Kari (@officialkari) who writes at Barcelona Football Blog and Gabe (@managingmadrid) of Managing Madrid for a special podcast dedicated to the Clásico. Elisa, Mando and Ravi rounded out the line-up. This is one of those podcasts, that could have gone on for another 2 hours without much effort. Thanks a lot to Kari for staying up late past midnight on the East coast and Gabe for waking up at 6 am on a holiday in Spain to record this pod. We hope you will enjoy it. This is much better than any article about the Clasico, lots of material. Enjoy!!! 1. Impressions of the Barça and Madrid seasons so far - 15 min 2. Approach of both teams to the Clásico - 32 min - Barcelona : 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 or 3-5-2? - Real Madrid: Trivote or 4-2-3-1? - Individual match-ups More questions and predictions - 30 min 3. If you were to pick one player from the other side into yours, who will it be and why? - (no Messi or Ronaldo :-) ) 4. Which player from the other side you'd rather not see him play the clasico? - (no Messi or Ronaldo, again) 5. Predictions - - Clasico - League - CL - CdR 7. If Real Madrid win the Clasico, is the title race over? 8. Should Madrid win the League and Barça win the CL, will it be considered a successful season at either club?Download Standard Podcast