Beyond The Pitch

Anto is joined by a very special guest who has a tremendous view of one of the most important influences in the game due to his concepts and ideas on football that were once considered revolutionary or unacceptable within the sport. Michel Mommertz began his football career inside Dutch Football, became the youngest player in history signed to a professional contract, and after injuries cut his playing days short would become the right hand man to legendary youth team guru and abstract thinker Wiel Coerver in his most early days before he became known as a popular brand and gained wide-scale acceptance. In fact, it was during these days when Coerver was largely rejected and pushed aside by conventional wisdom in the Netherlands where it was largely believed that existing methods were already cutting edge based on its own tradition of success on the heels of its Total Football era. As a former defender who came up through the Dutch National system, played at a number of clubs in both Holland and in the Far East, Michel soon follows Coerver off to Dubai where the and the legend develop some of the first youth academies in the Gulf States for Dubai based club Al Wasl and where the bulk of the Coerver theories come to life at last. What makes this episode so special is that Michel was among the first assistants to work intimately alongside Coerver, understands the full range of his challenge for acceptance in the main stream, what made the man tick and why he was so compelled with his vision. Also revealed here is the many layers of work Coerver completed beyond what we know today in the marketplace and why what is not known about this work will reshape what we think of Coerver once the intermediate, advanced and experimental exercises are released. You will also learn that some of this work is underway in the Far East with a company called Sports 3D where some next-generation applications are being assembled today to revolutionize how young players and even clubs and federations will approach the very concept of youth development in the coming years. Not only is Michel one of the top Coerver experts in the game today, but also has his KNVB coaching licenses TC 3 and TC 2 equivalent to UEFA B and has been a youth coach for 23 years and conducts football skill clinics around the world. Featured in this episode is also his opinions on the obstacles to successful youth development today, how parents complicate the process, why technology looks to be the right answer longer term as coaches are becoming less and less important over ideas and devices and we even make a pitstop to discuss the days of Diego Maradona at Al Wasl last season, another wonderful moment to revisit a playing legend in this sport.

Anto is joined by Spanish football correspondent Sid Lowe to take a deeper look at the smoldering aftermath of the Jose Mourinho clash with Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas to examine its scope and ramifications and motivations cast against the current competitive landscape facing the club in its quest for a tenth Champions League trophy, an almost obsession. We examine the gears, the Mourinho history and formula and what is at stake to determine if his recent tactics in benching his famous goalkeeper has some important logic to it. We look into the core of the Real Madrid squad where three important Spanish players all have huge roles on this team and dig into how exactly Jose Mourinho would be able to manage this set of players given their world reputation and the scope of their achievements. This is the kind of changing room that Mourinho has never dealt with before, and given their scope, the logic behind some of the drastic managerial tactics are as much as a reflection of the desperate situation and the size of the challenge before this team if it hopes to win that tenth trophy. This is also a clear reflection of a kind of playbook Mourinho where he has revealed an aggressive, deliberately confrontational approach as the final days were upon him. This occurred at Chelsea, at Inter and only now plays itself as explosive only because this is Real Madrid and these are hugely successful Spanish national team players who come together with Barcelona players to reach their objectives. We also examine the Barca ramifications from his history, whether he can only win battles with Barcelona and not the war and whether what we ultimately learn for his career, beyond the trophies, is what Mourinho tells us about each of the football cultures in which he performed. Also discussed here is the challenge for Malaga in the transfer window, a surprising surge for Rayo Vallecano and a follow up on the Real Mallorca story now that its president, Jaume Cladera, has resigned from his post and whether Joaquín Caparrós can keep them from relegation, which might even be more destructive than recent institutional and financial problems.

Phil and Anto are joined by ESPN FC and Portland Timbers commentator on the heels of much discussion about the Kevin Prince Boateng incident and comments by FIFA President Sepp Blatter to get underneath the moving parts and what the ramifications appear to be and whether serious talk about racism can happen now that a huge moment has arrived. We discuss how unique and important this episode really is in the struggle for equality and racial justice, why the actions by an entire team and football organization the size of AC Milan are an important step and how the evolving nature of footballers as celebrity figures almost made this event inevitable. Robbie gives us his up-close experience with racism during his playing career, how racism takes on many forms within the game itself and exactly what can be expected of football clubs to police hate speech without leaving crowds themselves accountable. We also take on the power issue in racism and examine how exactly can serious and substantive change occur when the game itself has largely held people of color at arms length with respect to the positions of real power in the game. How can football administrators, managers and sporting directors affect change when there are too few representatives that reflect the wide range of diversity found in the player pool. In part two, we look back at two key Sunday FA Cup Third Round fixtures which reaffirmed two consistent themes this season, the ongoing controversy machine that has become Luis Suarez at Liverpool and our love-hate relationship with him and how Arsenal continues to reveal itself lacking at a key moment when they are expected to dig out a result or meet an objective such as find a win without forcing a replay.

Phil and Anto are joined by former Aston Villa manager and current English football broadcaster John Gregory to take a deeper look into a number of key Premier League talking points including a moment to reflect on the job at hand for first year manager Paul Lambert at Villa Park, what he may have to do in this January window to address some clear needs at the back of the formation and if the former Norwich top man has the toughest job in the league at present. We examine the false dawn of the Liverpool result, several tough matches were defensive problems were in stark display and how the transformation of the club under his leadership will take a lot more time to gauge beyond the 21 match days already notched to date. Also in focus here is a discussion into the kind of signings that can help resuscitate a club when character players do not exist and how this, too, could help the battle that Lambert has on his hands with a number of players who are either too young to fully gel or players who have short futures with the team. We also get into the key signing of the season thus far in Robin Van Persie, its impact on Manchester United in the absence of Wayne Rooney and why RVP has made such a smooth and productive transition to his new club. We also have a look at the tremendous job Andre Villas-Boas has turned in at Tottenham after a slow start and how he is now defying expectations, how the players have bought into the plan and why perceptions about AVB are quickly evolving given how this unit has performed ahead of schedule. We also discuss the Alex McLeish appointment at Nottingham Forest that has already hit a snag of late and Rafa Benitez at Chelsea who has come into a rough situation and seems to have righted the ship in perhaps his last chance to manage a top budget club in football. John Gregory also says it like he sees it and gives a great bit of insight from the reference of a manager and has some very interesting things to say about the seven point Manchester United has at the moment, what Aston Villa should do next and the longer term ramifications of the Robin Van Persie deal and what it could deliver for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Anto is joined by Times football correspondent Oliver Kay to take a deep look at the top four candidates of the English Premier League as the January transfer window has already claimed some reinforcements for what should be the main push at a key moment in the season. In focus from the start is a Manchester United seven point gap at the top with the Robin Van Persie factor looming very large, giving Sir Alex Ferguson a much more lethal team at the top of the formation than a year ago and seemingly unstoppable given the competition at the moment. Then we move directly across to Manchester City where the Roberto Mancini-Mario Balotelli relationship is at least in the crosshairs if not coming to a much needed conclusion and we examine whether now is finally the right time to end things before it damages both men inside the club as the collateral damage might just be a team of superstars who are left largely without accountability for their own shortcomings a season removed from its first Premier League title. We also discuss Chelsea on the heels of a shock loss to bottom dweller QPR and the Demba Ba acquisition, a Spurs team under Andre Villas-Boas who must be consider an overall surprise on balance given preseason expectations and whether Liverpool is done with its business already having signed Daniel Sturridge as much needed support at striker. We spend a bit of time dissecting the four year regression at Arsenal to explore whether the need to make some much needed players buys are at an all-time high and if Everton and David Moyes have enough in them to keep close and if the Toffees might have an even bigger challenge keeping this team together as competitors will be lurking for their best, cost-effective options. Oliver Kay offers loads on SuperMario, Roberto Mancini, Andre Villas-Boas, Arsene Wenger, David Moyes and a whole lot more in this checkpoint episode as the weekend action moves to FA Cup Third Round.

Phil and Anto are joined by ESPN UK commentator Derek Rae to take a look at a broad range of topics including the state of the SPL this season without Rangers, the expected dominance of Celtic in their absence and how their success in the Champions League might be seen as a pathfinder for a new economic model for Scottish clubs longer term. We also touch on the remarkable job Neil Lennon has done with this team in Europe and whether speculation involving some of the younger, talented crop at Celtic Park can be retained throughout this transfer window, especially striker Gary Hooper who is attracting the most attention in this break. We also examine what could be waiting for Rangers in the near future, whether Scottish football will align to speed up this process and whether the holding pattern is the right path forward. Also discussed here is the dominance of Manchester United and Juventus in their respective leagues and whether any club can challenge them in the second half of the season. More here on Rafa Benitez at Chelsea, Paul Lambert at Aston Villa and Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool who all have their challenges in the months ahead and we examine whether each is the right man at the right time for their respective football clubs. Derek also weighs in on who might be the right candidate to replace Craig Levein as Scotland national team manager, what went wrong for him and what the next manager must be able to do seeing that Levein failed to deliver. In closing we look over a Serie A, another league that Derek tracks and follows closely, to look at very interesting season in Italy where younger players are becoming more and more part of the major discussion on a number of teams. In focus here is a league going under major transformation which exposes two major questions - whether the CHampions League is the only barometer now for Juventus and whether Italian football has now turned the corner from the destruction of Calciopoli and other scandals with a new generation of young Italians who are a real source of pride inside calcio.

Anto is joined by ChangeFIFA Co-Director and General Counsel David Larkin to take a look back at 2012 for the biggest story of the year and look ahead to 2013 with great hope that some movement can be realized in resolving many of the issues that both lead to the death of Diego Mendieta in Indonesia and what we discovered from the FIFPro Black Book last February. Simply put, the FIFPro Black Book of Eastern Europe is our big story of 2012 because for the first time the real and gritty truth about the lives of professional football players have been told in clear facts and given an honest look, including data on what percentage of them have been abused, left unpaid, threatened and even approached for match fixing. We begin, however, by closing the chapter on Mohammed Bin Hammam who had been damaged irrevocably by Sepp Blatter before the last election and examine whether his silence today is the greatest casualty from the whole affair, as his case before the Court for Arbitration for Sport clearly spells out. Nevertheless the real point of this episode is the bigger, more overriding issues uncovered by the FIFPro Black Book, what kind of information is presented within it and how it, too, has been largely marginalized over the year. But recent events in Indonesia have clearly opened the discussion once again as the many of the key elements which contributed to his demise were featured in the Black Book as huge collaborative factors. We examine what the data is telling us, how the factors all relate, how the vast football supporter culture is largely left unaware about these problems and how the top leadership class inside the game barely makes any move to address these issues, the very issues costing people their lives and the game its reputation as match-fixing feeds on these elements. Again, this is an end of year show where we look at this Big Story of 2012 quite like no other, measure the factors that are involved here and take the appropriate shots and distribute some much needed respect to a couple of news organizations who covered the FIFPro Black Book and the death of Diego Mendieta with the appropriate level of respect each story deserved.

Phil and Anto are joined by Sky News Sunrise and ITV This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes to have a bit of a discussion about Manchester United and his great friend Sir Alex Ferguson who celebrates his 71st birthday on New Years Eve. Topics include his life long support of the club, how the Manchester City dynamic has changed not only an important cross-city rivalry, but how it has altered and changed things for Manchester United, a hypothetical conversation on who could ever replace Sir Alex and just a massive Champions League evening ahead with Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo as returning threats. Whether you are a club supporter or not, Eamonn has had a front row seat to this football giant since the days of George Best and has literally seen this organization emerge as a true power while still being able to hold on to some of the almost family aspect that is reserved for its leadership. How that ethos and environment will endure will be more for a different day to discuss, but what Eamonn gives us here is a truly one of a kind look at how Sir Alex Ferguson can be beyond the normal camera glare and gives his thoughts on cavalier football at the club during his tenure and whether it can continue in the many years ahead. Although wonderfully candid about practical things such as ownership and the future, this is more about the joy of the game and being a long-term supporter for a club that has not always been at the very top. Eamonn is mostly known for his work on UK television as a journalist and presenter of many years, starting with ITV presenting Farming Ulster and Good Evening Ulster on Ulster Television, GMTV, The Sports Show, and as the main co-presenter of This Morning and for the BBC, Open Air from Manchester, How Do They Do That? and the National Lottery quiz show Jet Set for BBC One, and was the host of the Sudo-Q quiz show. But he is also Manchester United at his core and this is all about the club.

Phil and Anto are both on hand for a year-end episode of Prime Time Football with ESPN FC Press Pass analyst Janusz Michallik who helps us break down many of the key stories that have unfolded in and around this festive period. We begin first in the Premier League to discuss Liverpool and Manchester City with defensive frailties in the spotlight, breaking down each team and getting underneath what have been the causes and how the emergence of tactics with wingbacks may be contributing to more problems in the back. This includes whether Brendan Rodgers may also have to find defensive reinforcements in the transfer window and if recent comments from Roberto Mancini about his team being soft at times truly does have some merit, including goalkeeper Joe Hart. Also in focus here is the emergence of Tottenham Hotspur under Andre Villas-Boas and how new wrinkles from Gareth Bale are already paying dividends, but ask the important question always - how much longer before the elite teams of Europe come calling for his services as he continues to demonstrate that he might just be the top player in the league. Also discussed here is Zemanlandia at the break in Serie A including the task of adapting club legends Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi into the unique style that Zeman implements at each club and why bigger questions may still need to be solved in the midfield and other key offensive positions if this upward trajectory can expect to continue. In closing we also take a look at a Real Madrid squad at the break in the aftermath of the Jose Mourinho-Iker Casillas rift and try to examine whether the real problems exposed here are more one of comparing and contrasting club culture with Barcelona and why Madrid is still the great unknown in the Champions League. That is because while nobody doubts the talent and quality of Real Madrid, what every other team should fear is if somehow one of the top big game managers in football can turn things around, Real Madrid has yet to play its best football and they could focus entirely on Europe. Janusz always has a wonderful take on the biggest stories in football, and in this episode of Prime Time Football we pull up the chairs and have a go. Discover why we have awarded Janusz Michallik with the honorary title of BTP Executive Vice President of Football Common Sense.

Anto is joined by Italian football commentator Owen Neilson who covers both Serie A and Serie B for ESPN, Al Jazeera and Now TV as we head to the break for the two top levels of football on the peninsula after some crucial results for several clubs who are clearly moving in different directions. Calcio has two serious favorites in both major sectors of its football in Juventus FC and Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio at present and it does appear that they could move to substantial eight point leads while ball is still yellow, leaving next to little wiggle room for their closest competitors. The story gets no bigger, however, in the aftermath of a decisive victory by AS Roma over AC Milan where the fallout seems more destined for a thesis than a match report as all kinds of fallout are already at work for the Rossoneri including a reality lesson staring them down in the face both in terms of the loss column and the pending sales of its two last Brazilian outfield players in Pato and Robinho back to Brazil in the winter period. There are also massive questions for Internazionale and Napoli who have some clear holes to address if they want to mount a serious top three challenge, Palermo which finds itself in the relegation drop zone at the break and our two surprise teams in Fiorentina and Parma from the season preview show who continue to either entertain and/or take big points from the other traditional powers of Serie A. We also take a look at how this season continues to be influenced by managers with real ideas in the case of Montella, Zeman, Petkovic and Stramaccioni and a source of serious pride for Italians as its younger players start to leave its mark on this league in a fashion not seen in years. We also focus on some of the significant contributions by several key players at the halfway mark including Stephan El Shaarawy, who has carried one of the biggest club football teams and will eventually go cold, Francesco Totti, Hernanes, the Fiorentina midfield and a Juventus team that continues to stage a forced assault on another title. We also examine where Serie B is at the moment, who looks to have emerged and whether anybody in that division can challenge Sassuolo in the second half of the season, which could deliver the Neroverdi to its first Serie A season in club history.

Anto is joined by ESPN FC Press Pass commentator Robbie Earle to take a first brush look at a Champions League draw filled with all kinds of converging subplots and meaningful reunions of former players. It gets no bigger than Manchester United and Real Madrid locking horns with Cristiano Ronaldo amid a very dodgy period for Jose Mourinho who once took a Porto side into Old Trafford to win his first Champions League trophy before he was known as The Special One and how the midfield battle here might actually determine what happens in terms of an outcome. We get into the gears there including what Sir Alex might do to stop the options that Real Madrid has and whether the bigger decision might actually be whether Mourinho goes with Modric over Ozil given his familiarity with Premier League football, and Old Trafford, to be more specific. We also break down the key elements for Arsenal and Bayern Munich which could be among the most athletic match-ups we could see all season and if Arsene Wenger has enough to exploit the Bavarians on the counter. Also in focus here is whether the Gunners are fundamentally better suited to European competition than their domestic realm given its make up. We close part one with a look at two other reunions, first with Juventus and Celtic with Neil Lennon growing in stature and some emerging problems for the Turin giants with a key defensive injury, then Barcelona and AC Milan in a tie that is only glamourous in name only given the reversing trends for these two football giants. In part two we spend a bit of time on the most fascinating match up between Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk and whether the Germans can replicate what they did in the Group Stage, outlasting Real Madrid in the Group Stage and seize this opportunity to leave a mark in Europe. We also examine the economic realities for Porto and Malaga and then dissect what the issues could be for PSG where it always begins and ends with how anybody who manages Zlatan Ibrahimovic deals with his flexibility and unique talents. We close out the show looking at some of the better of the Europa League ties and begin to assess what some of the English clubs might do at this stage and if Andre Villas-Boas makes a serious move toward this trophy.

Phil and Anto are joined by former Sunderland player and football commentator Micky Gray to take a deeper look into the problems at the Stadium of Light where the Black Cats are suddenly in a relegation scrap that could go either of two ways unless a combination of form, injuries and maybe some player moves are not addressed in very short order. We examine where things have gone wrong in year two under Martin O`Neill and look into some key areas in the midfield and defence where some obvious holes do exist and question whether the club will need to make some serious moves as the January window approaches given that a key longer term concern will be the ongoing availability of Lee Cattermole throughout winter football and beyond. Also in focus here are two key parts of the table, starting with fourth through seventh where some key players will have to come good to reach for Champions League football, and which of the contenders has the best supporting cast to get it done. Then, we also take a look at the job being turned in by Andre Villas-Boas at White Hart Lane and how he is beginning to distinguish himself with some key tactical decisions like we saw in the Swansea match. Also discussed here is the big dilemma facing Manchester City in this transfer window as some big names are not getting regular minutes on a very big squad, what the impacts of Financial Fair Play may be in the intermediate term and how the issues with SuperMario do not appear to be resolved any time soon. We also discuss Harry Redknapp at QPR, whether more moves are in store and whether the move from Mark Hughes was the right thing to do given the circumstances.

Anto is joined by Guam National Team coach Gary White on the heels of a remarkable run in the East Asia Cup where he took a hastily assembled team to a series of remarkable results and has become something of a change agent wherever he has been. Seen as a rising star in coaching circles, Gary White has more than 10 years of FIFA International coaching experience competing in one of the most difficult World Cup qualifying confederations (CONCACAF) and remains as one of the youngest national team coaches in FIFA history, now on his third national team after successful stops in the British Virgin Islands, where he preceded Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas, and the Bahamas national team taking them 55 places up the FIFA World Rankings which brought both him and the federation international acclaim. Now with Guam this track record of success is taking on new significance in the AFC where the stakes are even higher in an emerging region in the world game, but story remains the same - crowned the East Asian Football Championships winners of Round One after just four months in control. He is also the former Technical Director of Washington Youth Soccer and Sounders FC (MLS) elite player development program and has been hand selected as one of only sixteen coaches globally by The English FA to attend its new prestigious Elite Coaching License, a process unique in world football and is the highest practical coaching award offered by The FA. Gary became a national team coach and technical director when he took his first job with the British Virgin Islands Football Association aged just 24 years old and he was also one of the youngest ever coaches to compete in FIFA World Cup qualification at only 25 years old. We discuss all of these achievements, how he took each of the three national teams he coached to new heights in terms of FIFA World Rankings and how he has begun to reshape the mold of national team coaches, taking on what are considered minnows, adding new layers of organization and new ideas and taking on conventional wisdom where smaller teams have typically resisted a more expansive brand of football. His qualifications are vast in three separate federations, he has a lot to say about the future of football management and he is certainly one to watch in the coming years.

Phil and Anto are joined by Liverpool and Brazil international midfielder Lucas Leiva to discuss his return back to the team sheet after two injuries and why he is such an important factor as the winter football period around the holidays delivers the fixtures at a much more furious pace. Lucas in his short time with Liverpool has become an indispensable figure where he anchors a very important part of the formation from which opponents are snuffed out and attacks can be launched given the fresh outlook first year manager Brendan Rodgers has brought to the club, and how managing transitions is a key element for teams hoping to be more expressive in their passing and possession game. The goals are clear for Lucas - regaining his previous level and gaining full match fitness and putting himself into the window for the Brazil national team which has also undergone a massive change in head coach. We discuss how Lucas had to change his game when he arrived in the Premier League, his relationship with his former Gremio coach Mano Menezes who was replaced by the CBF just 18 months ahead of hosting the World Cup with Luiz Felipe Scolari and what some of the subtleties that Brendan Rodgers has brought to the club really are beyond the approach. Lucas is known widely for his box to box workrate and vision based on his background as an attacking midfielder, but also has a real talent and tenacity when breaking down opponents with precise and tenacious tackles. Named as the Liverpool Player of the Season in 2010 and already having earned 20 caps for one of the most powerful national teams by the age of 25, Lucas is a player with loads of potential and upside and should be one to watch as Liverpool Football Club looks to find Champions League football again and his country prepares to host the biggest tournament in the sport in the summer of 2014. In part two, we take a look at what Brendan Rodgers is beginning to build at the football club, why Lucas is such an important component and why supporters are really behind this team given that there is now a sense that the team is playing football again, more expressive, on the deck and if they can find some momentum in the second half, top four is more than possible.

Anto and Nico are joined by a very special guest in current New York broadcaster Shep Messing who gives us his always unique view on the US Soccer from his days with the New York Cosmos, to the evolution from the NASL to MLS and how this game is now changing the landscape. Shep is New York to the core, born in The Bronx, part of what is considered the greatest soccer team we have yet seen in the United States with a Cosmos team that featured the likes of Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Johan Neeskens and so many other great players who came to America in their prime years as American sport was making its crossover into a cultural phenomenon as many of our sports did in the 1970s. Shep takes us on a virtual tour of those very special years in New York sports against a landscape of great sports personalities who had become just as big as rockstars and Cosmos players certainly shined as brightly as the rest as the legend that is Pele left his lasting mark worldwide. This episode is both a bit of soccer history and sports nostalgia as we discuss where the Cosmos fit into our greater conscience as an institution, what some of the lessons learned from it may be, how the Cosmos still cast a giant shadow in New York and why there have been growing pains and struggles in dealing with the legacy left behind. We also get into why there is now even more to be optimistic about in terms of US Soccer and what one important measuring stick reveals and why now might just be the time when Major League Soccer should look to lift some of its restraints once the 20th franchise enters the New York marketplace. Shep Messing is a sports institution himself as the truly first badboy of US Soccer, but also he has a front row seat to some of the biggest events, names and moments of his generation so listen in carefully as we revisit the tragedy of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich as he was there representing his country, the impact it left on him and what it tells us about sport and what makes us gravitate to world football quite like no other sport.