Beyond The Pitch

Phil and Anto are joined by former US U20 player Fafa Picault who has just come back from the Cagliari Calcio system to take on the next step of his professional career with Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL. This is the kind of grassroots story that we reach for in the sense that it gives a different perspective on youth players are developed overseas and Fafa provides a number of interesting takes on how things work in European academies and what he take from that experience back to America. We also get a look into what went into his decision to join Tampa Bay and what some of his future goals are now that he has returned. Picault spent the last four seasons of his young professional career playing for Cagliari Calcio in the Primavera, for the team owned by Massimo Cellino and once coached by current AC Milan first team manager Massimiliano Allegri. The Campionato Primavera is the top competition in Italy for the youth teams of Serie A clubs. Picault’s professional experience and overseas training coupled with his unique technical skills and speed made him the most sought after player at the 2012 NASL Combine. If you want to meet a young man in football who you can seriously root for as he makes the next important step in his career, Fafa Picault is the kind of story that you need to hear.

Anto is joined by PSV and Brazil defender Marcelo from the Netherlands to talk about his rise from Santos to Wisla Krakow and now with the legendary Dutch giants to consider the current season, his progress and development and his future. We speak on the change in managers from Fred Rutten to one of the PSV legends in Phillip Cocu and how this transition could be felt immediately in the return leg against Valencia in the Champions League with the gold dust opportunity to capture the first KNVB Cup since the 2004-05 season, which was also last lifted by Cocu that year and would be great icing on a transitional season for PSV. We also look back at his career in Brazil with Santos where he made his name and how making a first step to Poland was an important unforgettable step for Marcelo. We also consider the future for a player of his talent as the 2014 World Cup now begins to round into view with Brazil as a host nation and what Marcelo would like to do in his future. This includes working very hard at his current club in order to get that call-up from Mano and his dream of playing for his country in the months and years ahead. Marcelo gives us his take on who is now the top player for Brazil and whether he would he consider ever going back to Brazil to improve his chances on a call from the CBF. A candid and very interesting chat with a truly emerging young talent, now playing at the club of Ronaldo and Romario with huge ambitions himself.

Anto is joined by Ben Shave of PortuGOAL.net and In Bed With Maradona to take another interesting look at Portuguese football in the wake of a big disappointment for Benfica against Chelsea to look at what went wrong and gauge their chances on the return leg. Clearly one of the big factors is the continued success of Braga who is on a massive hot streak and serves by proxy to help huge rivals FC Porto as Braga continues to take important points while Benfica is fighting on three fronts. We also look at where Sporting is in their always fascinating story in a remarkable year which could result in a truly special ending in the Europa League where they could find themselves in prime position going forward. We also examine the issues at Porto where the machine continues to click along which opens further analysis on who has replaced Falcao from a year ago and how we should ultimately judge Andre Villas-Boas who failed at Chelsea less than a year from winning everything in Portugal. We take a look at some of the clear shortcomings for AVB at this stage of his career and what might just be his next move given that this may go a long way toward defining who he is as a coaching talent, no matter how intelligent a man he is. We also profile some of the surprises in Maritimo, Guimaraes and Gil Vicente who have all defied expectations and their own challenges which are always extensive and remarkable in a football country like Portugal.

Anto is joined by Roberto Gotta once again from ESPNSoccernet to take a look at the Five Stages of Grief or Internazionale and its managers over the last couple of years. Acceptance, for Moratti, arrives in the highly untested figure of Andrea Stramaccioni who has never managed at the top flight of Italian football, marking his appointment just days after an Inter title in the NextGen series. We deconstruct all the players who have been involved through this latest episode including some of the quotes and actions taken by Moratti himself and the expectations he has for his new manager before making him a permanent first team manager. We take a look at what might make Andrea Stramaccioni a fine manager, what figures such as Arrigo Sacchi, Sandro Mazzola and even Maurizio Zamparini had to say about the entire process. We also look at Stramaccioni as a young player at Bologna to help us try to understand what made him so very appealing to Massimo Moratti as a managerial candidate. Then we turn to the top of the table where the battle seems poised between Ibrahimovic and Buffon who seem most positioned to carry their teams across the finish line and what the key factors might be ahead. How devastating is the Thiago Silva injury and are Milanisti over-reacting given that everything still goes through Zlatan. Then there are suggestions that Antonio Cassano may be nearing a return and what this might mean not only for Milan if he can get back on the pitch, but also the Azzurri this summer.

Phil is joined by Doron Salomon of Stretford-End.com for a third episode to take a look at the many talking points in the wake of a rather frustrating match against Fulham Football Club on Monday night. It is now the critical part of the season where grinding out results is now important and with United on top, a 1-0 result does appear to be one of those important events where the psychology of the business end of the season becomes magnified as cracks are beginning to show in the Manchester City mentality. We gauge some of the key players in the Fulham match and take a closer look at one Jonny Evans who was match of the match and examine his future role with the club as he matures into a solid player in big games. Doron then examines the Academy and Reserve prospects as well as those Manchester United players out on loan to give us an update on their progress over the year and who appears to be emerging on each of those fronts. We also take a deeper look at some players who have big questions in front of them which includes Federico Macheda whose loan to QPR has not gone according to plan and may need a move to a place where he is guaranteed some first team football after two years without much at all. In the final segment we do talk a bit about transfer business from what the club needs to what may be truly possible given the factors of the Premier League in particular where United clearly do have enough to compete for any title. The questions will arrive in the form of what happens once Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov finally move on and whether the club will actually look to find more options in the center of the midfield both in terms of protection for the backline and a real creative element who could work in tandem with a big figure like Wayne Rooney who clearly finds that dropping deeper into the midfield is one of his strengths. Check out that discussion on how Wayne Rooney could be used in the future as it may suggest, ultimately, what Manchester United does this summer with its transfer business.

Anto and Nico are back with another episode of Inside MLS featuring Garth Lagerwey, Vice President and General Manager of Real Salt Lake, now regarded as one of the powerhouse clubs in Major League Soccer. We begin with a look back on some of the positives and challenges that RSL takes from something of a shock loss to Chivas USA over the weekend - how teams in MLS now approach Real Salt Lake with more disciplined counter attacking tactics while bleeding in new emerging talented players such as Luis Gil, Paulo Jr and Sebastian Velazquez. We also discuss the economics facing the smallest market team in MLS and how start-win bonuses in contracts in the league are strong strategies for a player pool and how success has helped define the success of the RSL formula when attracting talent. We also take a look back since Garth and head coach Jason Kreis took control of the team to examine the evolution of the club including an MLS Cup Championship in 2009 and reaching the final game of the CONCACAF Champions League when few thought it possible and what some of those milestones were along the way. We also examine the television schedule for RSL and how the larger markets do tend to get the required attention as the league continues to grow and find a new audience. We also gauge an emerging marketplace for players in MLS which is the Far East and how the J-League could become a key locale for recruiting young, technically accomplished players and get underneath how Real Salt Lake has constructed itself with the concept that team is the star. However, RSL does have one of the truly talented midfielders in Javi Morales and we consider how the club will approach his progress a year removed from a very tough injury that set the team back until his return in the playoffs last season. Considered one of the real wonderful stories in MLS and a league favorite to win it all in 2012, Garth Lagerwey is a former player turned club executive with a tremendous record of success with his very first club.

Anto is joined once again from São Paulo with Bira Brasil of TV Globo and FootBrazil for another supershow that takes a look at all the big stories in that part of the world. We start nowhere more important than that new provisional list of potential players who could feature this summer for Brasil in the Summer Olympics to consider a couple of omissions and if the familiar figure of Ronaldinho might just be trading marketability in the short term versus longer term success for the 2014 World Cup given that many of this next generation of younger players will be important to a host nation desperately in need of serious competitive matches. Of particular note is the exclusion of Dede from the defensive selection and we begin to unveil who this player is and his compelling features and how many of the elite teams around the world are after his services. We take a look at the key Brazilian clubs in the Copa Libertadores this season to gauge the strength of the field and whether the disaster a year ago will be avoided given the power of these teams. We also look at the ongoing rumours of Neymar to Barcelona in 2014 and if the economics have created both a for and against argument on any move even though many former players are now publicly pushing him to go in order to improve his game. We also profile the Edmundo tribute match at Vasco, the constant controversy surrounding Adriano leaving Corinthians and if he might just land at Flamengo once again and the fallout from the Ricardo Teixeira resignation from the CBF. We also examine World Cup preparations in the country and how the stadia look to be on target while much of the infrastructure does seem to be lagging at this stage. We close on our love for the Copa Libertadores and why it has become so much more popular for a certain kind of football fan searching for an alternative to the big corporate sides in Europe. And there is a lot more in the episode!

Phil and Anto are joined by English football correspondent Daniel Taylor of The Guardian to have a look at some of the big stories in the Premier League at this important juncture. It starts nowhere bigger than in the City of Manchester where the mind games have already begun now that the comments have received a response from Sir Alex Ferguson. We dig into things more on the Manchester City front now that their lead in the table has been taken over by Manchester United and at the epicenter of all the talking points is whether the addition of Carlos Tevez does serve to turn things upside down for Roberto Mancini as we head toward the business end of the season and how SuperMario Balotelli and Eden Dzeko could react to changing fortunes. We also look at the loss of Vincent Kompany during the Sporting match in the Europa League as another key factor as the defensive continuity seems to have been broken in his absence along with a general level of erosion in the form of Kun Aguero and David Silva as the season has progressed. We also evaluate which team has the edge being ahead in the championship run in and who has the better schedule on paper given the fixtures themselves. Then we turn our attention to increasing levels of cruel behavior in stadiums where rival supporter groups continue to mock one another over their club tragedies and whether the football federations and club themselves can do anything to stop this scourge on the game. We also profile the resurgence of Blackburn Rovers and whether Steve Kean can at last deliver survival after a very difficult year. Of particular note is the analysis on Liverpool Football Club to examine whether Kenny Dalglish will ultimately be judged on his performance in the FA Cup and if he is indeed the best solution to restore fortunes for this legendary club.

Phil and Anto are joined once again by former Wimbledon, Newcastle and England international defender Warren Barton for another episode that takes a look at many of the key talking points, starting with a disturbing trend that continues for Liverpool Football Club with lesser opponents and now surrendering leads to relegation threatened teams. This obviously starts with a massive loss to Queens Park Rangers, but does not seem to put them in a positive light going forward this season as the club is closer to the relegation slots than championship contenders after one examination of the points earned this season. Will the American owners be as patient with results such as these given the net transfer spend and the reputation of Liverpool as club that is expected to always be in the hunt or near the top of any Premier League table. Then we turn to the changing fortunes of Tottenham where a resurgent Arsenal has made their remarkable turn around largely on the backs of a recent dip in form by Spurs. Will Tottenham in the final analysis regret never finding that key striker who can get the big goals in the business end of the season or was this always in the cards for Spurs? Then we turn to the surprises as Swansea continues to shock so many in the Premier League with a system that should see them do well in year two and may ultimately result in Brendan Rodgers as a fast and rising manager in football given all that he has done with this surprise package of the first order. We also profile the real possibility that Steve Kean at Blackburn seems to be staging something of a great escape from relegation in his first year and which of the teams seem destined to go down by virtue of this success. Then we turn to the Champions League which returns for the last eight midweek and we profile the potential for an all-Spain final in the end. We also preview the key match up between Barcelona and AC Milan to weigh out the key factors ahead and whether Barcelona has two contests at work here - beating Milan and cementing their legacy as one of the best clubs in European history. Vaishali Bhardwaj also makes her return with world football updates in this episode.

Anto and Nico are joined on Inside MLS by a special guest in new head coach of New England Revolution, Jay Heaps, who in his first year in this key role looks to duplicate the success he had as a former player. Jay gives us his insight into the very different world of Major League Soccer since he first arrived on the scene in 1999, the tough times when contraction was a serious reality for the league and how the landscape has changed all across MLS with new stadiums, expansion and an improved level of play as the game has begun to rise in North America. Jay also gives us his thoughts on some of the new faces who will begin to shape the future for the Revolution in the figures of Kelyn Rowe, Benny Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen and midfield stalwart Shalrie Joseph in the months ahead and what this should mean for the team as the reset button has been pushed. We also get into the very unique background that Jay has having been coached by both Steve Nicol and a college basketball legend in Mike Krzyzewski while at Duke University, as well as the challenges of bringing together an organization that clearly needed new energy and a fresh approach. This includes new players Florian Lechner in defense, Saër Sène at striker and some of the new additions that have been assembled. We also discuss the emergence of first year player Kelyn Rowe and how players who enter the league are faced with increasing pressures that were not there in past years given how expectations are higher in MLS. We also take a look at the phenomenon of the stadium within a shadow cast by the New England Patriots and pay homage to some of the key figures who shaped the early years of the league and where the game appears now to be heading. We talk some tactics, but it is clearly more about building a team that seems to be headed in the right direction.

Anto is joined by Roberto Gotta, Serie A correspondent with ESPN Soccernet from Bologna, to take a look at what has been a rather interesting past week in calcio involving any number of clubs. We look at the emerging fortunes for Bologna who have been a great surprise under Stefano Pioli as well as the events at Catania under Vincenzo Montella where both clubs have landed mid table at this juncture, rising well above expectations. We also review the situation at Palermo where Zamparini has appointed yet another manager in Christian Panucci with a detail still to be sorted as he will need to divorce himself from his duties with Sky Sports Italia. Divorce is also the operative word for Pantaleo Corvino at Fiorentina who is largely seen as a convenient fall guy for what has gone on at the club since great days in the Champions League before Cesare Prandelli moved on to lead the Italian national team. We get into both the on the field and off the pitch ugliness at Fiorentina which also involved some problems between fans of the local side and visiting Juventus over the weekend and we try to dissect some of the complex history between these two clubs to determine exactly where the problems began. Roberto gives us some background into the rivalry which has been mostly one-sided over the years in terms of the results, but largely falls on the head of one legendary player who was sold to Turin many years ago. We also examine a rather controversial match between Udinese and Napoli over the weekend to take a look at whether the local side has a legitimate complaint and if Napoli is getting some sense of big club preference in terms of calls from match officials, as some of the Udine locals were suggesting post-match. Then we turn to the matter of Inter where the problems continue to mount and we examine what choices Massimo Moratti has going forward knowing that a top three finish in Serie A is not likely at all and that means dropping out of the Champions League.

Anto and Matteo are back with another Milan Insider episode to discuss all the major issues facing AC Milan including the recent performances for the club in Serie A and the Champions League as well as taking a look ahead at some of the key fixtures ahead in what will be a very decisive several weeks ahead. At the very core of this is a difficult situation involving the strikers as Antonio Cassano remains out on extended injury leave due to his well-publicized illness and the ongoing saga that is Pato. Joining us for this episode is also Giancarlo Rosselli for a special Curva Sud appearance to give us the view from his recent trip to San Siro and how recent events are playing at the AC Milan Club of New York/New Jersey where many of the same discussions are ongoing. We look at the fixtures ahead, how supporters view the progress for Max Allegri in his second year as the manager and whether Pato should be moved out this summer. Then we take a deeper look at the fiasco against Juventus at San Siro and if the Arsenal return leg was a preventable disaster. In the final portion of this key episode we take a look at some of the transactions that do appear to be on the horizon during the next transfer window and we also consider some key needs for this team as the club looks to become a big player not only in Serie A, but also in Europe where the team truly hopes to achieve. We also get into some of the issues raised by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and how continued episodes with the press and with Max Allegri are giving supporters a bit of concern and what seems to make the Sweden international tick. Then we close on some key players who have made key contributions, future stars who do seem to emerging and the rash of injuries that continue to be a problem for Allegri and a general level of consistency for the club.

Phil and Anto are joined by world recognized Spanish football commentator and journalist Sid Lowe to take a look at all the major talking points with respect to La Liga, the Champions League and Spanish National Team. We begin with the magical ride that is Athletic Bilbao and their very unique manager Marcelo Bielsa who has done the remarkable in beating Manchester United handily in two straight matches to progress to the next round of the Europa League. We get into the culture of the club, the key reasons why he has found success and try to establish parameters under which Bielsa will continue to thrive in this remarkable football club. We also focus in on how some clubs like Bilbao rely on their youth academies and how this has largely influenced how youth movements such as Bilbao have worked while giants like Real Madrid cannot afford to untested players at too young an age to be successful. Then we turn to the matter of Barcelona to focus on a rather wide point deficit to Madrid to explain what that exactly entails and try to establish the reasons why Pep Guardiola has effectively ruled out another La Liga title this season. Then it is the Champions League where an all-Spain El Clasico now seems in the cards after the recent draw and try to establish which club has an edge - and what those reasons might just be. Then we turn to the matter of Lionel Messi and try to gauge just how long this level of greatness can be sustained and how years ahead will dictate his dominance not just by motivation or injuries or simple age, but with the status of Xavi and Iniesta who will never be easily replaced or accounted for in the years ahead. We also examine recent reports of more than 700 million euros in unpaid tax debt to the Spanish government by its domestic football clubs and the painful choice of Spanish strikers for the Euros this summer now that David Villa and Fernando Torres appear to be replaced based on injury and form, respectively.

Anto is joined by Danny Lynch who is the Head of Communications for the Kick It Out campaign in the UK, the organization who champions the battle against racism and all forms of discrimination from the grassroots to the highest levels of our sports as both an educational resource and reporting agency. The campaign is supported and funded by the governing bodies of football, including founding body the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the Premier League and The Football Association. Internationally Kick It Out plays a leading role in the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network and has been cited as an example of good practice by the European governing body UEFA, the world governing body FIFA, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, European parliamentarians and the British Council. In this episode we take a look at the many issues facing the game in this arena with particular focus on the Luis Suarez and John Terry incidents, how some of these incidents do appear on the rise and what may be some of the contributing factors. We examine the power of language in our social media and how this organization continues to be both an advocate for tackling exclusion and promoting responsible behavior across a variety of fronts. We take another deeper look at the Rooney Rule in how it brought to bear a new approach to dealing with the issue of people of color having key roles as stakeholders in our sports and how that has served the NFL in its attempt to shape perception and how some of its objectives have been improperly drawn while acknowledging that there would be some challenges in implementing it fully in the Premier League. Then we turn to the matter of homophobia in football and how this is the next big hurdle in the fight for equality as a recent documentary detailing the story of Justin Fashanu has once again entered the public domain - how long will it be before another footballer comes forward to announce his sexual preference and how will that be viewed in a greater public not fully prepared for this important social milestone. For Kick It Out, The Equality Standard encompasses all six areas of diversity - Race, Religion, Age, Gender, Disability and Sexual Orientation.

Anto is joined by Dutch football contributor Mohamed Moallim who writes for FourFourTwo to take a look at a remarkable Eredivisie season and European campaign after a wild night in the Europa League. Only AZ remains alive at this stage, but each of the teams have big questions as the business end of the season heats up where six teams are all in firing distance for the top two slots in Holland and each club has a rather fascinating story to tell. We start with AZ who by sheer force of will and fortune knocked out Udinese on an away decider after going down to 10 men and then over to PSV Eindhoven where new manager and club legend Phillip Cocu has taken the reigns from Fred Rutten to lead his team down the stretch as both audition and candidate for Dutch honors. But the story at the moment is Gertjan Verbeek at AZ where the storylines are both brilliant and improbable as he leads the Dutch table and is now the flag bearer for the Eredivisie in Europa. Loads here on the coaching carousel at PSV, the ongoing tactical impatience of Steve McClaren at FC Twente and whether AFC Ajax stands to be in the best position given that midweek football for AZ will continue to provide ample distraction as Frank de Boer looks to repeat title fortunes. We also spend some time looking at Ajax in the NextGen series at a pair of new developing stars in Viktor Fischer and Davy Klaassen and what seems to be driving their early success and their prospects in the months and years ahead. This is a debut episode for Mo and it has loads of inside analysis and will get you primed for a remarkable finish to an Eredivisie season filled with wonderful stories and the potential for a most dramatic finish, maybe one of the best title chases in years in any European league.