Beyond The Pitch

Phil and Anto are joined by show regular Oliver Kay of The Times to take stock of another interesting weekend in the Premier League to look at a number of clubs where events, results and outlook suddenly have lost their luster. We start at Newcastle United fresh off another away loss at Craven Cottage with Fulham, which has continued a disturbing trend of being winless on the road both in the Premier League and in European competition. We discuss the eight year contract given to Alan Pardew, the recent alarming trends in the squad with the defence and some underperforming parts to a squad that was not reinforced appropriately and how some of the features about the Fulham match clearly revealed some concerns. We also examine Martin Jol and Fulham, a team that seems to be a bit better than its record would indicate and if they could become one the surprise packages given their talent moving forward since the acquisition of Dmitar Berbatov. Also in focus here is Mike Ashley and his objective at Newcastle United and whether this uneven performance to date is what we can expect from the team this season. Of huge focus in this episode is the high number of inconsistent sides in the Premier League, with the ongoing drama involving Arsene Wenger at the Emirates continues to symbolize the general level of unrest at many clubs sixteen matches into the season. We try to separate the economics from the sporting performance, but the sounds from within the club do indicate a shifting environment that continues to hobble Wenger in the bigger picture. We examine how supporters are becoming more and more impatient and why Arsene Wenger will continue to be the right man to lead the club out of this situation as long as big spenders such as Manchester City and Chelsea continue to dominate the economic landscape. Also in focus here is Sunderland, more smoke between Roberto Mancini and Mario Balotelli at Manchester City, a very uneven Premier League where the survival question is becoming clearer for some and murky for others and the remarkable achievements of Lionel Messi who just broke a remarkable goal scoring record.

Phil and Anto are joined by former Jamaican international attacking midfielder and Premier League standout Robbie Earle to take a look back and what we discovered from the Manchester Derby with Roberto Mancini and Manchester City in the spotlight given the heartbreaking end and the talking points that seemed to spill over post match by the Italian manager himself. This includes how Manchester United continues to show both a mental and intensity advantage over their crosstown rivals with exception of a 6-1 Manchester City win at Old Trafford a year ago. We also examine the push-pull nature of Roberto Mancini over the years with his players since his days in Serie A, whether SuperMario could finally be on his way out of the club and if the team can rebound from a second consecutive season bounced out of the Champions League at the group stage, this year from European competition entirely due to finishing fourth behind Ajax. We also look at the reach for Rafa Benitez at Chelsea, a crisis emerging at Sunderland after they fell into the drop zone at the weekend. We also examine two very big statement wins for Everton FC and Liverpool over the weekend and whether fortunes on Merseyside could be pointing to a very good second half of the season. Also in focus here is whether Sir Alex Ferguson did enough in the summer window to overcome some of the deficiencies in central midfield and whether Manchester City will ultimately regret not taking on the Europa League for the simple reason of building up enough club co-efficient points to avoid another Group of Death scenario in the years ahead with the Champions League.

Anto is joined by the major creative forces behind the production of the movie, Heleno, on the eve of its US premiere in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, the enigmatic Brazilian striker who emerged during World War II with Botafogo, one of the truly historic figures in the game itself. The show is done in two parts, first with international film star Rodrigo Santoro who brings Heleno de Freitas to life on the screen, and then in part two with the director Jose Henrique Fonseca who gives us the behind the camera view of the production itself. Born into a wealthy family, handsome and intelligent, Heleno de Freitas had one boyhood dream: to play football. Having become the biggest idol at Botafogo in his day, Heleno set his sights on a more ambitious goal, to be the best in Brazil. But he was to see his chances of playing for Brazil at a World Cup dwindle and fade, as the cups of 1942 and 1946 were cancelled during the War. When the next World Cup was held in 1950, his career was already waning, compromised by an addiction to ether and advancing syphilis, which he refused to treat, believing that medication would make him too weak to perform. Like the Brazil and Rio of the 1940s, as time went on, his once great promise and dreams crushed under the weight of demons in real life. Off the pitch, a turbulent marriage led to the estrangement of his wife and only son, while his artistry with a football was undermined by a spiraling aggressiveness that saw him clash with opponents and teammates alike. Living in isolation in several different sanatoriums during his fading years, Heleno could only witness the great victory of Brazil at the 1958 World Cup, led by a new star named Pele?, almost subjecting him to the back pages of history due to his complicated destiny and just poor timing. Heleno de Freitas (1920-1959) never attained the glory he demanded. World War II caused the cancellation of the World Cups of 1942 and 1946. By the 1950s, he was but a shell of his former self, hanging on for one final game in 1951 at the Maracana. Rodrigo and Jose Henrique give us a very deep and thoughtful look into the legendary figure after all the research and years in development and how this tremendous movie has been put together from its deepest roots. Although Heleno may seem the work of mythology, it is because he was one of a kind - footballer, lawyer, a heart throb, a genius, a rebel with a very short fuse, and yes, even a tragedy. In the end, Heleno himself couldn’t tell the difference between fact and fiction, but he lives again today in this remarkable film - a character who defied the times and seem to almost foreshadow the superstar footballers we see today, players who can now analyse the game in depth, berate a referee and even question the opposing team’s ability with the charm and petulance of a rockstar.

Anto and Nico preview a very compelling MLS Cup Final rematch between Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy with two special guests - the head coach of the Dynamo, Dominic Kinnear, and former Houston player and current San Jose Earthquakes broadcaster Kelly Gray who has lifted that Cup in 2006 when he played for the Dynamo. We examine a number of different angles here in the broadcast, but at the center of this is the sense that Houston might be overlooked in most places given that the match will be played at the Home Depot Center under the glare of one final match for David Beckham, the uncertain future for Landon Donovan and the type of team upon which the Dynamo is built. Houston is a very efficient group with a lot of very sneaky quality in key spots, and while they might enter as underdogs they are much improved over last season and could just be the more balanced and healthy of the two teams. At the center of this discussion is a central theme, how this is the fourth appearance in the Final for Dominic Kinnear in seven years, how continuity in salary cap sports such as MLS has become the biggest commodity to sports franchises and how these two coaches - Dominic Kinnear and Bruce Arena - are the constant factors who continue to assemble such productive teams in this league. In the first segment Dominic Kinnear joins us to talk about his team, the long road to get back that was filled with some very big challenges including an extended road trip to begin the season, toasting a new and long anticipated stadium in Houston and navigating a very complex summer transfer window which delivered a former player in Ricardo Clark and perhaps the move of that transfer campaign in Oscar Boniek-Garcia who has been a great addition to the league and this team. In part two we break down some of the key areas with Kelly Gray who played for Dominic Kinnear and had numerous looks at Los Angeles this season as a broadcaster to look for weaknesses, some tactical and personnel advantages and how each coach will look to exploit these opponents where the margins are extremely thin a year removed from a 1-0 result in 2011. Both Dominic and Kelly weigh in on the nuts and bolts of building successful teams, what separates the Galaxy and the Dynamo from many other franchises and the healthy level of respect these teams have for one another. Dominic Kinnear is the holder of two Eastern Conference and two Western Conference titles, two MLS Cup championships and is regarded as one of the very best coaches that MLS has produced. Kelly Gray featured as a defender and midfielder for San Jose, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Colorado and won MLS Cup in the inaugural season of the Dynamo and today serves as the color commentator for San Jose Earthquakes. In the final segment we make some predictions, dig in to some of the key factors and offer some of our own weaknesses that could be exploited by both teams in this massive MLS Cup Final supershow.

Anto is joined by Italian football commentator Owen Neilson to take a broad shaped look at most of the major talking points both inside Serie A and Serie B at the moment with yet another calcio supershow that goes beyond the scores and statistics to discuss the talking points and trends. At the center of this episode are the risers, failures and surprising wild cards who are already shaping this season. To start with we revisit the controversy in the Milan-Juventus tangle on Sunday not so much for the event itself, but what it may be telling us about the two Italian sides who appear set for the next big test in the Champions League knockout rounds in the New Year. On the one hand we have AC Milan and its president Silvio Berlusconi pulling out all the stops to stage not just big wins but light an emotional stick beneath a team that has surely underperformed to date and an otherwise resilient Juventus side waiting for an emotional return of its own coach with key questions about extra fixtures and basic inconsistency at the striker position weighing down their expectations. Also in focus here is two wildcard teams in Parma and Fiorentina who continue to either take points of the bigger teams or, in the case of the Viola, find themselves as the story at this juncture of the season under first team manager and sensation Vincenzo Montella, who has everybody talking. Also in focus here is the Wesley Sneijder controversy at Internazionale, but even some bigger questions about what we have learned about Andrea Stramaccioni and his team in the wake of a massive victory that snapped the Juventus unbeaten streak. We also examine the influence of a new, vibrant generation of younger Serie A managers and whether this is a significant trend given that it seems to match the younger league, in general, requiring a new type of manager to deal with a type of player who is quite far removed for the players of past generations. We also revisit the scandalous attack on Tottenham fans in Rome during the Europe League matchday and what the investigation has revealed early, whether we will ever learn of all the details involved in this attack and we also take a look at what is reputation for the Lazio curva versus what the club can actually be held to account for. We also take a first look at Serie B to examine the favorites, the fall from grace that as become Novara Calcio and trying to sort out a league filled with point deductions. Then we close on the matter of Massimo Cellino and his stadium antics and how he yet again reflects the general level of madness we see almost weekly from Serie A club presidents. Owen Neilson calls the action from Italy for ESPN, Al Jazeera and Now TV and always has a very interesting take on Serie A and Serie B.

Phil and Anto are joined by Times football correspondent and commentator Oliver Kay to take a look at a very unusual weekend in the Premier League more significant for movement in managers and underperforming sides than actual match play. We begin with the arrival of Rafa Benitez at Chelsea which tells us more about the club internally than it does about Fernando Torres, team performance and longer term outlook given how the managers have been shipped in and out since the departure of Jose Mourinho. We examine whether Benitez actually does have something to lose with this interim appointment and whether Pep Guardiola would find Chelsea to match his ambitions and idea of a productive identity. As a second byline we look into the issues of Fernando Torres and whether the Benitez arrival is superfluous at this point given that the problems for Torres does appear to run to a very significant essence - meaning - whether the Spain international striker really does appear to enjoy being a footballer any more give what we have seen for both club and country over the last three years. We also examine the failure for Mark Hughes at QPR and whether he, too, will be damaged by another high priced pursuit of players without a real plan to find any balance and cohesion with an ownership group caught in kick-starting a project. Also in focus here is the surprising story emerging with Steve Clarke and West Bromwich Albion and how the Baggies have taken yet another positive step on the heels of the Roy Hodgson tenure, a dodgy patch for Newcastle United less than a year removed from being a serious revelation in the Premier League, and whether Liverpool and Manchester United will address some clear needs in the January window. This includes reported interest in Theo Walcott and Daniel Sturridge in the January window and if Manchester United will address some key issues with its defense and central midfield.

Anto is joined by TV Globo commentator Bira Brasil late in the evening after national team manager Mano Menezes was sacked by the CBF after nearly two and a half years in charge, fueling speculation that a political struggle within the federation is underway. We also examine the nature of the politics involved, whether Mano was really ever going to survive given that he was never the selection of CBF president Jose Maria Marin, or whether other factors with the Brazilian game such as sponsors, organizers and agents could be at work here in terms of the team roster itself, a team which has begun to show some progress but clearly lacks the kind of form that would even put Brazil as the favorite in South America, never mind the World Cup. Into the breach as candidates to succeed Mano are former national team manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, Muricy Ramalho of Santos and Tite of Corinthians who are largely considered in the running and one dark horse candidate in Abel Braga who just led Fluminense to another domestic title and appears to also be out of contract like Felipão since he left Palmeiras after leading them to the Copa do Brasil earlier this season before the club was relegated. We evaluate all the major candidates and our dark horse for the odds on successors for all the different considerations, but it is clear that the CBF already has its marching orders and a good indication on who would accept the position. We also examine the upcoming potential for Corinthians at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan and whether the Brazilians can take the title given how Tite has recently brought the team back into clear focus, unbeaten in its last five with a number of rejuvenated players after a planned rest. We also examine the issue of two AC Milan strikers who appear to be destined for moves back to Brazil in the January window - Robinho which may involve a swap for young Santos playmaker Felipe Anderson and a loan move for Pato back to Corinthians so the young talented striker can get himself reset after a prolonged period of injuries that have derailed his progress. We also look at the season for surprise package Atletico Miniero and its two main driving forces, the legend that is Ronaldinho and an emerging star in Bernard.

Anto and Nico are back with another edition of Inside MLS with Ives Galarcep of SoccerByIves to take a look at the buildup to the Houston Dynamo-Los Angeles Galaxy rematch starting with a look at the underdog side led by the remarkable Dominic Kinnear who has done another masterful job in assembling this team to take another shot at an MLS Cup Final with some very important players who might now be able to put the pressure on Los Angeles that was missing a year ago. We evaluate where Kinnear himself fits into the scheme of the top coaches in the short history of Major League Soccer and later in the episode we track some of the key factors that had to be overcome at an organizational level, displaying once again why Houston might just be the model franchise in this league. Also discussed here is the announcement of the departure of David Beckham from MLS and we evaluate what his impact was and whether he delivered during his stay in America and whether everybody won in this deal including the league, the club and Beckham himself. We also examine the evolving future for the Western Conference as both Seattle and Salt Lake will have big questions to answer themselves and will regret not taking this opportunity to knock out Los Angeles given that changes are sure to come given age, performance and salary considerations. Also examined here is the Conor Casey release from Colorado Rapids and where he could land this off-season, several coaching changes which reveal how some organizations continue to look beyond the borders for coaching talent in a league that still has some very unique rules and whether that is the right idea. In focus also is the evolving statements by the New York Red Bulls braintrust on the arrival of a second team in the New York marketplace with the Cosmos and whether the intentions of the league and Don Garber can be overcome as well as the announcement of a new professional league at the behest of US Soccer for the womens game, which appears to be set up next March/April 2013 with teams in Boston, New Jersey, Western New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Kansas City, Seattle and Portland. We evaluate whether the introduction of federations sponsored players and a third shot at the league can work and whether there is the kind of marketplace - even in Mexico, where the sport is king - to support this league. We also discuss the hunting season about the MLS playoff format that is now going on and whether the system is as flawed as some think it is given that a fourth and fifth seed have reached the final, and whether Houston and Los Angeles would have reached the final anyway given their track record, coaches and ability to conquer elimination football as dictated by their performances. We break down how the rematch was a battle to set up all season, and why Houston and Los Angeles are here in the final, one team which reset in the summer window with some very smart moves and the other which was the best team in MLS since that same window. We consider one of the past options as a potential solution to further punish underdogs in the playoffs, but at the end of the day the best usually does rise to the top, which has happened yet again in 2012.

Anto is joined by Daniel Taylor, Chief Football Writer with The Guardian, to take a look at what is beginning to look like the expected battle inside Manchester for the Premier League title this year yet again, as two giants are showing signs of gathering results while not appearing to come close to their best form. At the center of all this is Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini who reflected on the proceedings wearing a mask, talking aim with questions about Pep Guardiola, swirling rumours about Liverpool sensation Luis Suarez and whether we could be looking at yet another striker bonanza in the winter transfer window like we did two seasons ago with some very expensive casualties once again. At the one end is Liverpool who will have to fight off challenges for a very talented player and even perhaps SuperMario who may have to look for greener pastures given his lack of playing time and growing restlessness as his minutes appear to be reducing with increasing regularity. We examine how both Manchester City and Manchester United continue to wrestle control of this league while not playing their best football, the moves that are shifting the ground beneath the feet of Mancini, how the Champions League performances for Mancini continue to be an ongoing concern with Pep Guardiola on a speed dial with loads of speculation circling about. We touch on the politics, the perceptions that continue to echo in the press even while Manchester City continues to be the only team with an unbeaten record. We also reflect back on the England-Sweden match and whether lost in the Zlatan Ibrahimovic show has been whether Montenegro taking a two point advantage in World Cup qualification over England may in fact narrow some options for Roy Hodgson and potential for evaluating younger players such as Wilfried Zaha. We close on the matter of Wayne Rooney who has not been able to replicate his 2004 form for England and we examine whether supporters can ever expect that type of performance again given his age, the type of game he now plays and whether England may ultimately move him to a slightly different role in the future.

Anto and Matteo in the second part of the biggest Milan Insider yet, take on the other questions that were overwhelming from the last session where we discuss the Mexes and Robinho situation, whether certain players are of a necessary standard to rebuild this squad into a capable unit that can challenge on all fronts in the near to short term. Of particular note we gauge this exhaustive talking point about whether Silvio Berlusconi has the interest and the resources to rebuild this team, what are the key factors driving this scaling back in attention and expenditure and whether the climb back to the top of Serie A is as long as some would suggest given the current standard within the league. We examine what the young superstar Stephan El Sharaawy really means to the future for AC Milan, his impact and what his arrival on the scene now suggests for a club in need of its next figure around which to build its future. We also do a bit of comparative analysis between the 2012-13 version of Serie A versus its version of ten years ago where three Italian clubs reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, and how this recent Juventus emergence is in part due to all of the powers within Serie A forced to make simultaneous transitions due to evolving economic realities and how the concept of a youth strategy needs further clarity from the club in order to give supporters a cleaner picture of what a youth strategy in a Rassoneri context will play out in the next several years. At the crux of this is an organization that needs some new ideas in its player development brain trust and in its organization as the dual battle of commercial revenue and player acquisition are changing the landscape for elite clubs now battling for global relevance. We close on the matter of Guardiola, why the youth strategy will not be enough alone to persuade him to arrive and why the very idea why Silvio Berlusconi must rebuild this club whether he decides to be its patron or whether he decides to sell off an asset that was last measured in the top ten of world football. Loads of questions from our listeners make this the biggest Milan Insider yet, a serious supershow that looks deeper into Milan than we have ever looked before.

Anto and Matteo are back with the biggest Milan show yet, taking only your questions on the biggest talking points for Milanisti on the subject of where this team appears headed as it heads into its toughest stretch yet. This is the episode where we look at the full range of the Max Allegri tenure at AC Milan, through the Scudetto year, into a second season where the wheels came off at the end and what some of the diagnostics seem to suggest once you pull back the layers on the performances to date. The key question we attempt to answer here is from you, the supporters, who are now openly wondering is it the manager or the squad that has brought about this dramatic fall early in the 2012-13 season. We take a look who exactly could come in if Allegri was to be replaced even on an interim basis and why simply replacing the manager could further complicate decisions downstream - we consider Mauro Tassotti, why Pep Guardiola is a total fairy tale in January and whether Milan should perhaps make a move for Frank Rijkaard given the dynamic at work. We examine the upcoming schedule to determine why events may gather quickly and force this change as AC Milan with six losses already on the season and facing a Champions League meltdown would equate to a completely lost season in the first week of December. We also look at the emergence of Stephan El Shaarawy and how his emergence is more than a silver lining on an otherwise terrible season by Milan standards, a season in which supporters continue to redefine their expectations lower given some of the transitional players brought in to fill the clear holes in the roster. We also look back at seasons one and two with Max Allegri to examine the even bigger regrets that AC Milan supporters should have beyond the season when a Scudetto was left on the shelf chasing a Coppa Italia and even perhaps an opening with against Barcelona who ultimately proved beatable at the hands of Chelsea FC. This includes the shortcomings in tactics and decisions and how the full range of Zlatan Ibrahimovic was never deployed and why that, too, may have cost Milan in those two seasons. We take another look at Pato, consider what a potential SuperMario move would mean to a future that has unraveled even further since his last big miss from the penalty spot. We also review how moving Kevin Constant to left back is a bigger problem than just his performance, how the player rotation at times seems to lack vision and logic and why exactly Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani continue to hold late night meetings on the future of their manager.

Anto and Nico were up burning some late night oil taking into account the many predictions made in the crystal ball episode, where Nico called the West correctly and Anto got the West right as well as some of the madness in the DC United-New York Red Bulls madness that played out more like WWE than an actual MLS Playoff match-up. In part one we examine what worked for Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy who both underperformed at times in the regular season and why they continue to find success with elimination football, what got revealed from favorites San Jose and Kansas City and what fell apart for them and whether Seattle Sounders have seriously overcome the playoff hurdle against Real Salt Lake given what went on display in the first leg of the Conference Final where they were taken apart by a vastly superior Galaxy team which is suddenly playing its best soccer of the season. We pay tribute to Stevan Lenhart, Rafa Marquez, Hans Backe, Bill Hamid, Kyle Martino and Andy Najar in the early stages of these playoffs for some very colorful reasons, along with Bruce Arena, Nick Rimando, Robbie Keane and Dominic Kinnear for very different reasons. We also begin to ask serious questions about Kei Kamara, CJ Sapong and Freddy Montero who have all not loved up to expectations and dig into some real analysis on the Seattle striker who has not yet performed in the biggest matches, which are playoffs in Major League Soccer. In part two we look at the CONCACAF draw for the Hexagonal Fourth Round which begins in February and why the US supporters should have little to no fear in making Brazil 2014 and we calculate some numbers to further illustrate the point. We also examine the last US roster of the season for one absence in particular and further examine the drama around Timmy Chandler and if his last point to prove his being on that flight to Honduras once actual qualification begins. We also examine the three young players added by Jurgen Klinsmann for Krasnodar and what their inclusion says about the player pool and how young players in Europe should really be measured in terms of potential. We also let an Angelo Di Livio and Massimo Crippa reference slip during this dizzying process as we seem headed for a repeat of the 2011 MLS Cup Final between Houston and Los Angeles, which will soon be the subject of yet more AEG conspiracy theories.

Anto is joined by world-recognized football commentator and journalist Gabriele Marcotti to take a look at all the major talking points at the quarter pole for this Serie A season, which included an instant rebound for Juventus in both the Champions League and against Pescara this weekend and brings into sharp focus how a temporary setback against Inter may have refocused the club toward its next big challenge, the knockout rounds in Europe where the striker issue could become a problem. We also look Stramaccioni at Inter who has turned fortunes for the blue side of Milan a bit earlier than expected and consider whether the next big challenge for him will be dividing attention between a Serie A top three finish and his stated desire to find crowning achievement in the Europa League, while also taking the time to consider if there are structural issues in the squad that may preclude achieving both objectives. Also in focus is the rising star that is Vincenzo Montella at Fiorentina with one of the most exciting teams in Serie A and then we examine the future for Max Allegri at AC Milan where the stories are the most complex and difficult given that the club does appear to need a facelift right along with the first team manager. We discuss whether Silvio Berlusconi still has the passion to get deeply involved in the transition and what exactly is preventing his investment at this current period. We also consider how players have been sold or acquired within the committee that is Galliani, Braida and Max Allegri to weigh in on whether the manager has had a hand in selecting the players on contract to help us separate faction and fiction from the headlines swirling around the club. We also look at the problems for Walter Mazzarri at Napoli, who seems to be far more erratic in his selection week to week, particularly in the Europa League, given that the team is not particularly deep in terms of talent and whether identity is evolving into the success of one man, Edinson Cavani. Also discussed is the potential of a move for Daniele De Rossi given recent controversy with his manager Zdenek Zeman and whether there is a genuine concern that the future captain will be moved off to one of the economic powers such as Manchester City, PSG or others. Also discussed in the later section of this episode are proposed changes to Serie B in terms of salary caps, contraction and incentives for youth players and if this could be applied to Serie A down the road, at least in part. We also examine the issue of stadium laws and what they mean inside Italy and close on the matter of Roberto Mancini whose fortunes are now headlines both inside England and abroad in Italy where comparisons to his tenure at Internazionale have become sharpened further with more difficulties in the Champions League. Gab contributes to some of the biggest media outlets that cover world football - The Times of London, The Sunday Herald, BBC, ESPN, La Stampa, The Wall Street Journal, among many others.

Anto is joined by AIK striker Henok Goitom to talk about his return to Sweden this summer after several years abroad at clubs such as Udinese and Almeria and recharging the batteries much closer to home now that the Allsvenskan - Sweden First Division - has come to a close. We discuss why he made this move back home, playing in the Europa League against PSV, Napoli and Dnipro and what his team will have to take from these matches to make the next big step once the new season begins after the New Year, the surprising result against CSKA Moscow to qualify for the tournament and how finishing 4th this term will serve as a springboard for 2013. Of great interest here is the comparisons he makes between Barcelona and Real Madrid, how difficult the Barcelona system is to defend and why Sergio Busquets is so easily misunderstood on the pitch. Henok was able to play against the Guardiola sides when the club was at its very peak and his insights into the technical and tactical challenges are extremely valuable as he explains both the frustration and admiration he has for that style of football. We also explore some of the differences that match officials have between leagues, what works in Sweden and how the referee is something to be negotiated in places like Spain and Italy, as well as some of the differences in the Europa League. We also talk some Zlatan and his impact on Swedish football, the remarkable comeback for Sweden against Germany in UEFA qualification for Brazil 2014 and what might be in store in the future for Henok given his unique personality and talents. With more than 230 appearances as a center forward with clubs such as Murcia, Valladolid, Almeria and now AIK, Henok is always an interesting discussion with a very candid and entertaining response, well work the listen.

Anto is joined by world-recognized Spanish football journalist and commentator Sid Lowe in the afterglow of what was a special night at Celtic Park where Barcelona suffered its first defeat under new manager Tito Vilanova, losing 2-1 to Neil Lennon and a tremendous performance by his relatively young and emerging team. This match will ultimately say more about Barcelona than Celtic and we begin to dissect some of the longer term concerns ahead for this side should it have designs on the Champions League this season and how Sergio Busquets is covering so much in the absence of Puyol and Pique at the quarter pole of this current season. The discussion gets somewhat more philosophical on the matter of whether certain players are receding in their influence, whether there has been subtle shifts in how Barcelona approaches match and if there is a disturbing trend developing where Barcelona almost seems to be willing to chase games from a deficit due to some overlooked factors that need attention. We also examine the situation at Real Madrid where lapses in focus and questions of hunger persist early in the season and we dig into what Jose Mourinho might be doing in terms of building up to a crescendo in the second part of the season given the failure to secure the European trophy a year ago, and if his battles with the youth team structure is more smokescreen than actual powerplay to gain even more control inside the football club. We also explore whether Jose Mourinho has split or broken the formation by design like he did with Internazionale and whether this is by design or simple evolution in response to managing transition football. Then we visit the early season fortunes for Malaga and Valencia in the Champions League, particularly Manuel Pelligrini who has begun to arouse memories of his semi-final run with Villarreal CF a few years ago and the achievement and direct style of Valencia under Rafa Benitez to determine if this success is more formula or design on the part of the former Real Madrid manager. We also explore the early season success for Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone with Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao and the early season performance of Real Betis who are currently in the top four. We also discuss the constant speculation at Athletic Bilbao under Marcelo Bielsa and the rumors of a Fernando Llorente departure in January given his contract status and stated desire to leave. Then we turn to the matter of a serious fundraising effort to help save Real Oviedo, a widely unknown historic football club in need of rescue due to financial difficulties and Sid provides the facts, the response and the expectations investors should have given the nature of the effort and how football fans have already taken heart to this cause. This is yet another supershow with one of the very best football journalists around and we dig into most of the major talking points inside Spanish football starting with the La Liga participants in the Champions League, the early season top performers and the difficulties at Bilbao where things might just be turning around at last.