Gab & Juls Show: Holiday Special 2025

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0:32I'm Gabby's Jules. I have no idea what the weather is because we're pre-recording this, Jules. It's our holiday festive special. Merry Christmas, everyone. Join us. What we're going to do here, Jules, is we're going to count down our 10 most memorable moments of 2025. 10 moments that stood out for us. Yeah. So let's kick it off with number 10. How about we do one each? I'll kick off with number 10.

1:00Julien Laurens:England winning the women's Euros on penalty kicks. Yeah, I thought it was pretty special for the Lionesses to go back to back, obviously, in itself, that's an achievement, especially after not winning trophies like that for a long time. They were maybe not the best team overall through the competition, but they kept finding solutions. They had great support there. They had Serena Vigman with all her experience. They had key players, whether coming off the bench, like Chloe Kelly, for example, or starting the game like Anna Hampton. I thought they were outstanding in the character that they showed and the resilience that they showed, even if, again, in terms of performances, they got well beaten by France, for example, on the opening game.

1:43Julien Laurens:And there were games where they were not the best team overall but still found a way of winning. And I think that deserves a lot of credit. And in terms of drama, penalty shootout in the final. Shootout were arguably, well, certainly over the game, they were outplayed by Spain. Yeah, yeah. It's always drama. Yeah, yeah. And for the Arsenal players who also won the Champions League a few weeks before, it was a pretty special summer. In number nine, we decided to go for Chelsea. And they win in the Club World Cup. There's new competition in the summer. That's right. This is more about the Club World Cup, FIFA's grand experiment.

2:16We were both in favor of the Club World Cup. I still am. I think there's a lot of things to look at. it did feel like a big way for FIFA just to distribute money to clubs. There's a lot of issues, a lot of things to work on. I think it was an important test for, for the actual world cup, which is going to be held of course next summer in the U S Mexico and Canada. Um, in terms of Chelsea, actually winning it, Chelsea, who of course had breached financial fair play and then won a prize from FIFA in, uh, in August. It was just kind of funny, but Hey, so head Paris is your man, right? The settlement.

2:50Yeah, they were outstanding in the final. And in the final, they were not intimidated. I think they had a good blueprint in terms of stopping Paris Saint-Germain from what didn't work for somebody else in the actual Champions League final. But we might get to that later.

3:04Julien Laurens:Yeah, it was really good. It was really good from a Chelsea point of view. The tournament had ups and downs, let's put it that way. And I think PSG and Chelsea have paid the price in terms of injuries so far to have gone that far in that tournament. but for first one, I don't think it was too bad. Liverpool at number eight. We have Liverpool winning the Premier League in Arne Slott's first season in charge. I think it's easy to lose sight of what an achievement that was. Yeah, I think so, especially when you come on the back of Jürgen Klopp and his tenure at the club and how great he was, obviously, for Liverpool.

3:36Julien Laurens:Nobody, I don't think, expected Slott to do that well in his first season. We knew he was a good coach. He proved it in the Netherlands. but to arrive and achieve a season like that, certainly the first between August and February for sure, was quite special. I think he was helped massively and we say that often many times on the show by the fact that there was no new signings. So he just basically inherited a good squad from Klopp that knew how to work together and all of that and then just tweaked a few things there and there from his methods. So that worked really well. So yeah, big, big credit for that.

4:10I think for a guy who had never played abroad or worked abroad to land at Liverpool, replacing a legend like Sla. And I take your point about the no new signings and the squad stability. Federico Chiesa in his 53 minutes, by the way, say hello. But I think he did make some, I think his tweaks and his charisma and the way he guided Liverpool and that fan base through the season, I think that says a lot, not just about his tactical skills, you know, seeing Salvo Sla, for example, being used in that role. but it also speaks volumes about his charisma and his personality and his man management. And big shout out to Mohamed Salah, who was virtually unplayable for much of that season.

4:55Julien Laurens:In number seven, we went for Declan Rice's two free kicks against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal. Yeah, obviously this is an individual moment, but come on, the guy who had taken, I forget what the stat was, the guy who doesn't normally take free kicks and when he does take free kicks, he never scores. I don't know what the stats were. Maybe you were, but I don't think he had ever scored a free kick in a competitive game. I was at the game. No, never. Maybe at U14 level. Then to score a free kick from so far away with an XG of 0.0000, whatever it was, to do it against, for my money, the best goalkeeper in the world or close to it, and for Arsenal to get this huge win, it was just an emotional moment.

5:40I was on holiday actually. I'm watching it. I was in Tenerife and I'm watching it on the big screen and I'm seeing him line up and I'm like, okay, yeah, whatever. And then he scores. And then the second one and I'm like, I just, my head exploded.

5:52Julien Laurens:I know. To be in the stadium, to see, to witness it was very, very, very special. The whole performance from Arsenal in the way in those two games, this first leg there where Rice scored the two penalties and also then to go to the Bernabeu and win and dominate the way they did was very impressive from them. But yeah, I think in 20, 30, 40 years' time, when you ask Arsenal fans, the one memory you might have of Declan Rice playing for Arsenal, then I think it would be those two free kicks for sure, whether you were there or watching on TV. And finally, at number six, this is more of a comprehensive thing, but Lionel Messi's first season, or sorry, no, it wasn't his first season, but Lionel Messi's season, the year he had in Major League Soccer.

6:41For me, it was how he seemed to get stronger as the season went on, those absurd numbers he put on, and the fact that time and again, you knew what he was going to do, and he did it.

6:53Julien Laurens:Yeah, I mean, it's more Messi League Soccer than Major League Soccer, really, this year. It's incredible. I can't really remember. I tried to think on the way here today, a player who on his own, really, I know it's a good inter-Miami team, but let's be honest here, without Messi, they don't win the title for me. One individual can dominate so much one league. And this is a very good league. It's maybe not the level of the big five in Europe, but it's a very good league still. And for somebody to just ultra dominate so much, it's unbelievable. At 38 years old, I know he's one of the goals. So maybe that's what we expected from him.

7:33Julien Laurens:But yeah, at that age, on sometimes difficult pitches and difficult conditions with a team that, again, is nowhere near as good as the team that he used to play for before, especially those great years of Barcelona, to do that, all those goals, all those assists, being clutched like he was and win the title in the end was just incredible. And I might add to that too, that people can talk about the level in MLS all they like, but the reality is there's an athletic component to it. So if you're the other team, you can say, I've got two guys you could run all day. I'm just going to stick them on Messi.

8:10Yeah, totally bigger and stronger. And it still doesn't work. It's a triumph of individual technique and intelligence, game intelligence, over athleticism. And sometimes it's nice to see that.

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9:35Julien Laurens:At number 5 in fifth place, we decided to go with Donald Trump, the U.S. president, winning the FIFA Peace Prize. The first of its kind, right? Yeah, the first of its kind. It's not just about the FIFA Peace Prize and the sight of him getting a certificate and a medal. And that Peace Prize, which I think you called zombie hands. Yeah, it looks like he wanted as big as the World Cup. That's what's been reported. At least it was modest. It was bigger than the World Cup. Although it looks smaller than the Club World Cup, doesn't it? Maybe it is. Maybe, yeah, yeah. But I think it's more about what it says about FIFA right now and sort of the back story to it where the Nobel Peace Prize gets awarded to somebody who is not Donald Trump.

10:24Infantino immediately says, goes on social media, says, well, he deserves it. He deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And then suddenly we hear that, hey, look, there's a FIFA Peace Prize. It speaks to the very close relationship that is there between FIFA and particularly the FIFA president and the president of the United States right now. I think this kind of impacts the culture and the zeitgeist of the World Cup, which will be held primarily in the United States this summer. There's so many layers to this to unpack. And yeah, he's telling that at the World Cup draw, which was, of course, moved from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., reportedly at the behest of the White House, we get scenes like that.

11:11And everybody's going to have, I think, their own views on that. At number four, what else could I choose? I've got two-time cancer survivor, 37, 38-year-old trundling central defender Francesco Cervi popping up in the box in the Champions League semifinal against Lamin, Yamal, and co. And scoring that tremendous goal. A center-forwards goal, by the way. Not just a weirdo header from a center-back. For Inter Milan against Barcelona.

11:48Julien Laurens:Yeah, one of the greatest games in 2025, for sure, probably in more than that, maybe in Champions League history, even that semifinal second leg. The first leg was pretty special to start with. The second leg was even more special. And for Acerbi, all at the end of this game that we thought Barcelona were going to win and qualify to reach the final. Why is he doing that? We don't know. How he's allowed to be there and to score that goal? we don't know either what happened to him. And as you said, Gabby, that perfect finish, really, for where the ball comes from and the way he hits it. It's just incredible, like the stuff of dreams, of miracles that only football can offer.

12:30Yeah, the whole drama of that game, of course, the incident where Lamin-Yemal has the ball and you figure if it was your team, if it was Final Moments World Cup final, you say, bro, just take the ball into the corner and get fouled. And instead, what does he do? He goes and he tries to score, which is phenomenal. You don't want to discourage that. He hits the post instead and then the ball goes the other way. And just an incredible game. And I think everybody's going to remember that game for a very, very long time. Hopefully they'll remember it much more than the final, but I have a feeling we might get to that.

13:04Yes.

13:06Julien Laurens:In third place, we went for Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup, their first trophy ever after 120 odd years of existence. Yeah, and look, it's not just the underdog story winning the FA Cup, which is pretty tremendous. You know, the FA Cup is about underdogs as part of the lore, the magic of the cup. I think a lot of that had gone out of it over the years. People still bring up Wimbledon beating Liverpool in the white suits or whatever in 1988, I think it was. But Palace, this fits the narrative. Palace, of course, a bigger club than Wimbledon have ever been. But if you look at the context, right, Palace going into the season, having lost some big players, Palace going into the season with Oliver Glasner, who, you know, had a bit of a rap, but wasn't exactly seen as some kind of guru.

14:05Palace probably knowing going into this game that they were going to sell two of their best players and Mark Gay who eventually stayed and of course Ebreze who ended up going to Arsenal and they take on Manchester City and I thought they comprehensively outsmarted, outcoached them and beat them and you probably just loved it for Mateta

14:31Julien Laurens:yeah I mean I was there for the semifinal for ESPN too where they beat Aston Villa already in a game where they were not the favourite and they were incredible on that day. The fan support was fantastic. The way this team was set up and know exactly what to do and when. The identity was great to watch and then to do it again in the final where you could have said okay, the peak for them was that semi-final win at Wembley against Villa. But no, in a different way in a different game plan they did it against City and Guardiola And that was incredible, the way they won that and deserve to, for the first time ever.

15:11Julien Laurens:And the celebrations that followed will again forever stay as one of the best moments in the last few years. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin? Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the Thumbtack app. Download today. I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC.

15:57It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivGuardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. And talk to your doctor about VivGuard Hattrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. All right. At number two, we've gone for Barcelona, coming from 2-0 down to win the Classico for the third time in five months over Real Madrid. Previous ones, of course, in the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. to win 4-3. It's not where they won the title. They would win the title against Espanyol, of course. But really, by that point, that was kind of like when they knew that they had it.

16:39Julien Laurens:Yeah, yeah. In Barcelona, I mean, last season, Barca owned Real Madrid, really. Let's be honest here. There was just no match between the two teams and the way this flick machine, which was not perfect, obviously, last season as well. And as we saw when they considered those first two goals really early on by being too naive defensively, but the way they could come back because of the incredible attacking force. Rafinha with the season of his life, no doubt, Lamin being Lamin, and even Lewandowski reaching heights to a level of maybe at that age we didn't expect him to still reach, plus Pedri, plus De Jong, plus even Ferran Torres and players like that.

17:18Julien Laurens:It was an incredible game under the sun, I remember. You could watch it on ESPN too. One of the best Classicos that we've had in recent years. Even better than the 5-2 earlier. Because they're really good ones. Yeah, last year was pretty special. One-sided very much. Very one-sided. Yeah, maybe not so much this one. So that was great. But again, there was just Barca a bit too strong for Real Madrid. And finally, the number one. And really, it could not be anything else than this incredible Champions League final that we had in Munich where we were both at, where PSG destroyed Inter Milan 5-0. Yeah, funny that this should make it to number one.

17:59But I'll tell you why, Jules, because, again, there's two elements. There's kind of like the narrow element, which is the game itself. This was, it was the most one-sided or most or second most one-sided first half of a Champions League final that I can remember. The other one, of course, being Istanbul. And I was still telling myself as the goals were coming in, Istanbul, of course, for those who don't remember, was Milan against Liverpool. I was like, okay, well, you know, they came from 3-0 down at halftime. This is a young Paris Saint-Germain team trust in Inzaghi. No, I don't know what I was thinking.

18:41It was an absolute demolition. So that makes it stand out. But I think more broadly, makes it stand out for what it means for Paris Saint-Germain and the Qatari project, which has had different incarnations over the years. but that kind of decisive switch towards, towards younger players, towards Luis Enrique, towards doing things a certain way, away from the bling of Neymar and Messi and Kylian, uh, and, and whatever else, um, that show that this kind of project, which I think longer term will be a more sustainable project, that this can actually work. I mean, you're a Parisian, you're a Pricetian man fan.

19:19No,

19:20Julien Laurens:but the greatest night of my working life for sure to have my, two of my three children there, my cousins, my best friend, was even more special to be able to share that with them. A game that I never thought I could see because I was very pessimistic and I'm the most optimistic guy on the planet, but I was so scared that PSG would lose this final again after the one in 2020. But no, they were better than my wildest dreams could have produced. So it was just an unforgettable night.

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20:31And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, clickgrainger.com, or just stop by. All right, Jules, it's that time of the show where, as per tradition, We kind of recognize those players that have excelled in the first part of the season. We're going to do it by position. Goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker. You can feel free to disagree. Yeah, absolutely. I might throw in my choices, which I have picked this year exclusively from non-Super League teams. Let's say teams that do not have the giant budgets.

21:16but let's start with goalkeeper and I'm curious to see if we came to the same conclusion because from my perspective, it's a pretty boring conclusion.

21:24Julien Laurens:Yeah, it is. Although I think we went for the same goalkeeper. I think David Raya deserves a mention because this Arsenal defense has been exceptional mostly or partly thanks to him in goal. The lowest expected goals against in the whole big five leagues an incredible record, some outstanding saves that he made. but I think Thibaut Courtois still deserves to be the number one right now in a struggling team that is not helping him at all defensively with a lot of injuries, a lot of bad performances individually and collectively, but Courtois has been incredible on his line. Yeah, I am totally with you.

22:01It's very simple. If Raya had had the same numbers with a bad back four in front of him that was all over the place and injury, then I think he'd be Courtois.