In short
Podcast Episode Notes: Gab & Juls Show - How far can Bodo/Glimt go?
Podcast Details
- Title: ESPN FC
- Episode: Gab & Juls Show: How far can Bodo/Glimt go?
- Hosts: Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens
- Description: Discussion on Bodo/Glimt's surprising elimination of Inter Milan from the Champions League, Real Madrid's win over Benfica, the future of the Club World Cup, and Manchester United's prospects in the Premier League.
Key Discussions
Bodo/Glimt vs. Inter Milan
- Surprising Elimination: Bodo/Glimt, a Norwegian team, knocked out last year's Champions League runners-up, Inter Milan.
- Analysis of Bodo/Glimt:
- Remarkable performance; strong tactical execution.
- High-risk, high-reward counter-attacking strategy.
- Physical conditioning and preparation were key, benefiting from a different league schedule compared to other European teams.
- Praise for players like Hoech, Berg, and Haug, who have potential to play at higher levels.
- Inter's Performance:
- Lack of preparation and absentees (notably Lautaro Martínez and Chalanoglu) were factors in their loss.
- Missed opportunities and mistakes (notably Akanji's error) cost them dearly.
- Analysis of shooting efficiency: high number of shots but low expected goals (xG) from those attempts.
Real Madrid's Champions League Journey
- Victory over Benfica: Real Madrid advanced despite a lackluster performance, raising questions on their consistency and potential future challenges.
- Key Players: Courtois made crucial saves; Vinicius scored a noteworthy goal amid the backdrop of a racially charged incident.
Manchester United's Premier League Standing
- Current Form: Manchester United secured a win against Everton and is in contention for a top-four finish.
- Player Performances: Notable contributions from Benjamin Sesko; discussions on tactical improvements under manager Michael Carrick.
Future of the Club World Cup
- Expansion Plans: Discussions surrounding the expansion of the Club World Cup to 48 teams, potential implications for European clubs, and the challenges of accommodating more teams in tournaments.
Challenges in Argentine Football
- Strike Announcement: Argentine clubs are planning a strike over political conflicts involving the football federation president Claudio Tapia, raising concerns about the intersection of politics and sports.
Miscellaneous
- Violence in Mexico: Recent violence linked to drug cartel activities raises concerns for upcoming international events.
- FanFests for the World Cup: Discussion on the practicality and challenges of organizing FanFests in the U.S. for the upcoming World Cup amidst corporate sponsorship issues.
Key Takeaways
- Bodo/Glimt's Tactical Superiority: Their success is attributed to effective coaching, physical fitness, and a cohesive team culture, which contrasts sharply with Inter Milan's mistakes.
- Real Madrid's Inconsistency: Despite advancing, questions remain about their overall performance and ability to compete with elite teams.
- Manchester United's Resurgence: United's recent form indicates a potential for a strong finish in the Premier League, but challenges remain.
- Political Intrusion in Football: The situation in Argentina highlights the complex relationship between sports governance and political issues, with significant implications for player welfare and club operations.
- Impact of External Factors on Sports: Violence and political unrest in host nations can disrupt sporting events and fan experiences, necessitating careful management by governing bodies.
Conclusion The episode delves deep into the unexpected dynamics of the Champions League, offering insights into club performances, managerial strategies, and the impacts of external factors on football. The discussions provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of play across various leagues and competitions, highlighting both the triumphs and challenges within the sport.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOBodo/Glimt's Surprising Victory
0:30 to 1:16
Discussion on Bodo/Glimt's performance against Inter and the implications of their win.
“But we're going to start with something else.”
Key Players and Tactics
1:16 to 2:36
Analysis of Bodo/Glimt's tactics and standout players that contributed to their success.
“Inter, who, by the way, reached the Champions League final in two of the last three seasons.”
Inter's Performance Under Scrutiny
2:36 to 4:28
Examining Inter's mistakes and shortcomings in their matches against Bodo/Glimt.
“yeah congrats i i think there's a lot that goes into it and look individually i think there's for me there's maybe two or three players in this boat of glim team who could play theoretically at higher level.”
The Impact of Coaching Decisions
4:28 to 5:54
Debate on the coaching decisions made by Inter's management and their effects on the team's performance.
“And they managed to train, train, train.”
Bodo/Glimt's Unique Story
5:54 to 8:04
Exploring the background and unique aspects of Bodo/Glimt as a club and their community.
“I thought they were super positive after the first leg.”
Recruitment and Player Development
8:04 to 10:48
Discussion on Bodo/Glimt's recruitment strategies and the development of their players.
“They could have scored four or five, right, if those chances got in, but they didn't, and you can't rely on that.”
Analyzing Bodo/Glimt's Unique Coaching Approach
14:03 to 16:42
Discover how Bodo/Glimt's unconventional coaching strategies contribute to their success despite financial limitations.
“The Inter Milan squad is worth 650 million euros.”
Bodo/Glimt's Journey and Performance Insights
16:43 to 17:52
Learn about Bodo/Glimt's performance fluctuations and their emphasis on player development over immediate results.
“The first six games, they were, you know, they drew with Spurs when they probably should have won.”
European Competition Dynamics and Challenges
17:53 to 19:14
Understand the competitive landscape of European football and the challenges Bodo/Glimt faces against stronger teams.
“I think that happened only twice in the history of the Champions League itself and the two English clubs.”
Controversy in Football: Racism and Suspension
19:15 to 23:19
Examine the implications of a player suspension for alleged racism and the broader conversation around accountability in sports.
“They did Vinicius goal, which in a way after what happened in the first leg is...”
Show all 17 chapters
Champions League Performance: PSG and Expectations
23:20 to 28:00
Analyze PSG's current form, their struggles in the Champions League, and potential outcomes based on past performances.
“But I thought it was a disgrace from Benfica to take him on the plane.”
Episode Discussion
28:00 to 42:00
“They won't win it this year because they don't play well.”
Absurdities of Premier League Deliberations
42:00 to 43:19
Discussing the mysteries and absurdities surrounding Premier League rules and deliberations.
Expanding the Club World Cup
43:20 to 44:31
Exploring the implications of UEFA's backing for the expanded Club World Cup.
Clubs on Strike in Argentina
44:32 to 45:52
Analyzing the political conflict leading to a potential strike by Argentine clubs.
“You need teams of the similar caliber to the one you had before.”
Violence and the World Cup in Mexico
45:53 to 48:28
Discussing the safety concerns surrounding the upcoming World Cup amid violence in Mexico.
“This is weaponized justice and out of solidarity, the players have called a strike.”
Challenges Facing World Cup FanFests
48:29 to 50:35
Examining the logistical and financial challenges impacting World Cup FanFests in the US.
“So it's something that hopefully will pass, that hopefully can be managed.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Gab Marcotti:From 30 for 30 podcasts.
0:09Gab Marcotti:Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down. The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now.
0:35Gab Marcotti:I'm Gabby's Jules great skies over West London but we're here to brighten things up Jules because we now have our Champions League round of 16 the playoffs are gone with so much I mean this was real value excitement and drama until the end in the Atalanta Dormant game in the Juve Galatasaray game in the Benfica game, in the PSG Monaco game. I'm sorry, we'll talk about that later. It's okay, we're through. All right, that's all that matters. But we're going to start with something else. We're going to be something a little bit different. We're going to talk about Bodo Glimt. Bodo Glimt knocked out Inter, last year's runners-up.
1:16Gab Marcotti:Inter, who, by the way, reached the Champions League final in two of the last three seasons. And look, I'm going to say this about Bodo, right? He's presented, they have a big PR operation. and so they should. I'm not blaming them for them because it is a pretty remarkable story. A lot of people know their story. Not everybody knows their story. So we're going to talk into that and I think how it fed into these two games and also what this also means for Inter because this is still an embarrassment. It's an embarrassment to go out because I think they were unprepared.
1:49Julien Laurens:Yeah, yeah, probably. Yeah, there was an element of that. There's an element of players missing. No Lautaro, no Chano glue in that second leg. I think hurt them for sure. No Denzel Dumfries. No Denfries, who was only on the bench and came on in the second half. But obviously not Inter's strongest 11, you could say that, sure. They still had their moments, certainly in the first half, to put more pressure on this Bodoglim team. And the game also turned on a massive mistake by Akanji. So it's thin margin, as we know at this level anyway. But take nothing away from how great Bodoglim were in the two games at home, especially which you would expect them because there's obviously very special circumstances to their game like a plastic pitch and the weather etc etc but even i thought at times in the second leg in milan where the way they play at times was really breathtaking so well done to them
2:37Gab Marcotti:yeah congrats i i think there's a lot that goes into it and look individually i think there's for me there's maybe two or three players in this boat of glim team who could play theoretically at higher level. Several have tried it. Now it's obviously it's Hoech, it's Berg and Jens-Peter Haugge, right? I don't think there's too much else there. What makes this remarkable is Sheffield Nudsen, I think, using every advantage that he can. So in this case, if you watch them play, it is generally high risk, high reward in the second leg, but also in the first leg. When they counter, they send six, seven guys up the pitch.
3:18Gab Marcotti:So he's obviously worked out that, hey, we could get done, but if we just send a wave of people on the counter, there's a greater chance we're going to score, right?
3:27Julien Laurens:They're the team that runs the most in the Champions League, and that's the reason why as well they play the way they play. It's probably helped by the fact that right now they don't have anything else. The league is about to start or has just started, which is a very different schedule to all the other European teams who've been playing a lot in the last few weeks, few months, and that makes a massive difference really. But still, a team that is capable of playing with 65 % of the ball domestically in their own league and yet reverse to a complete different tactic and style and game plan in the Champions League with only 35 % of the ball is a very special team.
4:05Julien Laurens:It's not easy to do that and they don't do it because they're forced to. They do it because it's their choice and it's the game plan from Knudsen who took over 10 years ago when they were about to be relegated and now it's taken them to a Champions League like 16.
4:17Gab Marcotti:they was it 10 years ago I thought it was yeah 2016 2016 I
4:25Gab Marcotti:this is how you adjust a team this is coaching and you can say he has the luxury of time because and they have the luxury of time to be fit and fresh and I'm not saying like if you ask a footballer would you rather play regularly or what about ring rust and whatever they've played four games but I think in their case the fact that they've got the time off at the end of the Norwegian season where by the way they did not win the title the Norse time pass they've managed to really top up physically. And they managed to train, train, train. Because you watch them play, it looks almost automatic, the movements.
4:55Gab Marcotti:So they're really, really well coached. They've taken it on board. All that said, this is an embarrassment for Inter. There's no two ways about it. The absentees cannot be an excuse. I was thinking about the fine margins that you said. Nicola Barella did make the point about, well, if Florian Wurtz, if Bastoni doesn't push Florian Wurtz in the 90th minute, then... With ifs, as you always say. Oh, absolutely. But I think it's a reminder that we don't need to make massive sweeping statements because the margins are so fine. We can look at mistakes that were made and Inter certainly made a bunch over the two legs.
5:38Gab Marcotti:And they're paying the price and they paid the price for it and Bodo are deservedly through. All right, Jules, let's look at the inquest here from inter because you know the numbers say they i don't know if i think it was like 30 shots on goal something ridiculous yeah a lot of those were not high quality chances so if you look at the xg it's not that great equally the xg is also blown apart by the fact by a kanji's mistake and then the guy scores from two meters out so we always bring up xg yeah it has to be contextualized yeah So the question is, what does this mean for Inter and for Kino?
6:14Julien Laurens:I thought they were super positive after the first leg. And I know it was a defeat, two goals margin. And it's good to be positive because there's always a second leg. And they hit the woodwork twice. Yeah, true. And there's always a second leg and it's at home. But I still thought, I'm not saying they took it for granted, the fact that they would just come back and win and qualify. but they looked very confident for me after that first leg to start with.
6:47Julien Laurens:I'm not too sure what Kivu did in that game where you were okay in the first half, I thought, but not brilliant either. And yeah, the Fratesi header, okay. There's a couple of other good opportunities, but I thought he lacked a little bit of something else. And I wonder if Suchic, for example, should have started maybe, if you could have done something a little bit different than just keeping it the way it was because he was clearly thinking like, yeah, we're going to put pressure and at some point they will crack. And then once we score once, we're going to score two and three and we're going to qualify.
7:19Julien Laurens:Not thinking that you could also make a mistake like Akanji did and then would make things even more difficult. So it's not even so much the fact that you didn't qualify, it's the fact that you even lost that game because you could look at Juve, for example, who would have probably a very different feel after being knocked out than inter would have i think uh and that's what bothers me and they will be champions they're 10 points clear nobody's going to catch them in the league and yeah
7:45Gab Marcotti:but on this i was very disappointing yeah uh i would tend to agree i think it makes a lot of difference when you score first right so i mean they put up a yellow ball in front of the goal if you score after five minutes that also gives you gives you a boost yeah they kept creating chances dimark all over the play i mean he had a tremendous chance it was great yeah They could have scored four or five, right, if those chances got in, but they didn't, and you can't rely on that. And I also don't want to over-egg the fact that, you know, the second goal from Evian is phenomenal. Incredible. I don't think the guy's ever going to score a goal like that ever again.
8:18Gab Marcotti:And it was a garbage time goal and whatever, right? And the Okanji mistake, but mistakes happen. I think there are some slightly uncomfortable realities with Inthed right now. One is that Barella is a shadow of the player he was a year ago. and in a game like this when you don't have Cialanoğlu and you have sort of Barella at half service I don't mind the Fratesi for his energy yeah yeah but you're right maybe Suchic for for Barella could have been but it would have been a huge call
8:50Julien Laurens:yeah yeah yeah but isn't that the kind of game where you have to make huge calls because there's so much at stake or
8:57Gab Marcotti:see I struggle with this right in the one hand on the one hand, I take your point, right? There's a lot at stake, so let's make a huge call. On the other hand, if you have confidence in your players, if you're saying, we lost the first leg, but one of the goals was the result of an absurd mistake, and we hit the woodwork twice, and we certainly had enough chances. Let's go out. Obviously, there's no Lautaro, but we have Toram and Esposito up front. We're going to be fine, and you guys just execute. And then you run the risk that you don't execute, right? As opposed to if you make too radical a change, that also shows, I think, a lack of faith in the play.
9:36Gab Marcotti:So I think it's kind of six of one, one half dozen of another. In terms of Kivu, I remind people, the guys had, what, half a season as a manager before this one? They're 10 points clear to the top. They play good football. People always do this, oh, look, they're getting older, you're an older team. They're not. They're actually, I think they've actually managed to rejuvenate a little bit. yeah of course bonnie luiz enrique sucic and that was positive as well yeah b6 not there's more
10:07Julien Laurens:rebuilding to do with that squad right from zoma to probably another center back i think summer
10:13Gab Marcotti:definitely another center back probably although i suspect they'll probably try to go and do it you know do another sort of a kanji poverty type deal and get an older guy um chalanoglu i think is the big one. So, Chalanoglu's not that old. He's 31. No, no, yeah. So, he wanted to leave last...
10:29Julien Laurens:Remember all the thing between him and Lautaro, the club worker last summer?
10:33Gab Marcotti:That is one to monitor. If he wants to go and if he has somebody who will take him, you have to think in terms of that. And that's not an easy one to resolve. Zelensky's filled in for him. He's done okay. I just don't know that Zelensky has the heft that Chalanoglu does. No, yeah. Zelensky, to me, is somebody who operates... I've got great players around me and I agree. And he's been up and down.
10:58Julien Laurens:So... But Mkhitaryan as well, it's probably time for him to go.
11:01Gab Marcotti:Yeah, I mean, Mkhitaryan is...
11:03Julien Laurens:He's a squad player,
11:03Gab Marcotti:but at some point, even those squad players... Yeah. But I... Yeah, there certainly are people, but in terms of the key men, for me, the biggest thing is let's get Barella back on track. Yeah, yeah. Fratesi, I assume, is going to go because nobody seems to like him. But, you know, I think the basis is there. I think they can win the Coppa Italia. They're certainly well placed for that as well, which I wouldn't care about, but it is a domestic double. If it's a domestic double, it's good. That's not a bad thing, and you're heading in the right direction. I think there are lessons, though, to be learned here.
11:38Gab Marcotti:On Bodo. Yeah. All right, let's remind people. Actually, I went on Google Maps, and Google Earth is one of my passions. I waste so much time on this. So, yes, they're north of the Art Circle. it's a town of just over 8 ,000 people so their stadium is very small I'm assuming not everybody it's like a league one stadium right if you live in England yeah I think it's around 10 ,000 there's talk of expanding it now if you look at that part and I invite everybody to go on Google Earth because this is kind of a cool thing to do it's not like oh look we're from a little small town but there's a big town next to it people are like oh Villarreal look a town of 27 Yeah, and then you've got Castellan, 150 ,000 people next door.
12:21Gab Marcotti:It's kind of, yeah. The towns nearby are really far away. In the middle of the road. And they're training. So they've kind of managed to capture that whole, like, sort of northwestern part of Norway. Yeah. And people drive hours and hours to get there. I think that part is definitely a cool part of the story. People talked about the recruitment. There are some tremendous individual stories. The goalkeeper, of course, was somebody who, you know, I think when he was very young, he was at Chelsea, at Trials, different places. He was highly rated. He struggled. He wasn't good. He was ready to pack it in and give up football.
13:01Gab Marcotti:I think he was going to go to university. This was only like five years ago, I think. And now look at him now, made some big saves. You know, bringing back Haugen and Hogue, people are like, it's not to say brilliant recruitment, right? You went to bigger clubs elsewhere.
13:16Julien Laurens:those players wanted to come back anyway it may i think it's also because bode glim can
13:20Gab Marcotti:probably pay them maybe not as much as hauget was making a meal in the reintracht but yeah not that far off norway is a wealthy country right it is interesting that correct me if i'm wrong i believe they're all norwegian or certainly scandy looking um yeah yeah pretty much yeah that part's cool there's an argument there about the cohesion yeah that they've built um they have a culture
13:42Julien Laurens:coach for example who works only the the the whole aim of his job is to get this team gelling in
13:50Gab Marcotti:together that's all he does there's a story that like they're very big about yeah you said on the mental side they got a guy in figure this is as the story goes i'm like this it's a turn into legend a little bit and it's always good to be cynical but i think it's true it's an impressive tale they got this guy to come in who was a former norwegian air force pilot who talked about culture
14:11Julien Laurens:coach and and you know he is the culture oh i thought he just came in to talk to them no no yeah it's him um he works for the club every day and that's what he does he's a bit of a psychologist as well but that that mental that mental side of it all being together togetherness all that kind of things is it's big and i guess you think outside of the box a little bit because you don't have probably the resources that big clubs in europe have i mean yesterday the the team on tuesday that that squad that went to Milan is worth 57 million euros. The Inter Milan squad is worth 650 million euros. So it doesn't mean that you're going to lose every time or win every time.
14:47Julien Laurens:That's not what I'm saying. But in what they have to use, that's why they're also thinking a bit more outside of the box maybe than bigger clubs in Europe.
14:56Gab Marcotti:Yeah. And I think using, you know, when in terms of technical ability, you're going to be behind. i mean in terms of individual technical ability yeah of course when i look at the 36 teams and i've kind of forgotten some of the crappy ones who you know who who went out uh early but even just the knockout stages even the ones we've seen in the playoffs i mean karabag are a more technically gifted team than this in my view yeah this team are better coached they're more athletic but it's close yeah yeah I mean and yet that they can achieve this through tactics through cohesion uh through physicality and like you said that when they play domestically they are the Real Madrid so they have maybe that Robin did not the best example right now yeah but they're the
15:42Julien Laurens:dominant team so they have 65 possession what's interesting as well is they didn't win any of their first six games in the league phase for example yeah and they were out at that point they were not even in top 24 the win against City at home is the big turning point then the winner Atletico Madrid in gameweek 7 and 8 made them almost miraculously qualify in the top 24. And now, I mean, it's City of Sporting for them in the last 16. If they draw City, I don't think they go through. I'll be honest here. I don't think they can be City over two legs. They can't do it again. If they draw Sporting, that means you'll have one of Sporting or Bordeaux Glimt in the quarterfinal of the Champions, which is super cool.
Read the full transcript
16:19Julien Laurens:A lot of people love that stuff. And I think they'll probably be Sporting, even with the second leg in Portugal, over the two legs.
16:27Gab Marcotti:Yeah, it's going to be a fascinating clash with Sporting. What I would say, if it is Sporting, if Sporting do their homework, they're the kind of team that can go and, I think, blunt this kind of thing. Because it doesn't, like I said, it's high risk, high reward. When you mentioned...
16:43Julien Laurens:The first six games, they were, you know, they drew with Spurs when they probably should have won. They lost to Monaco at home when they were not bad in that game, but they still lost the game. They were not that great. They lost to Galatasaray, for example.
16:54Gab Marcotti:But they had a lot of games where they played well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And couldn't win. Yeah, yeah, true. Right? And it's funny because one of the things about the club's culture is when sort of this new kind of scheme was built up, they really emphasize, all right, we don't care about results. We just care about performance. Right? And they really drilled it into the players. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think that is part of the reason why they were able to go and turned it around at the end. All those games when they were dropping points but generally performing well, they already had drilled into them.
17:33Gab Marcotti:We believe in performance, not results. And so the results will come if we continue the performance. And yeah, I think it's... Whenever somebody does something new in football, we love it, right?
17:45Julien Laurens:So to finish it off, I've got a quiz question for you, Gabi. It's one that I think you would know the answer. So, Inter, obviously, finalists, runners-up last season, not making it to the last 16. I think that happened only twice in the history of the Champions League itself and the two English clubs. I've given you too many clues now. So, either the winner or the runners-up, one of the two finalists, the following season, so straight after they reached the final, didn't make it to the last 16. So, basically, out in the group stages. All right. one you know really well
18:20Gab Marcotti:and you're probably there so I'm assuming Chelsea's won 2012 and then this is slightly cheating because only four English clubs have won the Champions League
18:31Julien Laurens:yeah but you have to give me so you can't just name them so Chelsea 2012 yes after the
18:35Gab Marcotti:that was the year that was the the Robbie D year
18:39Julien Laurens:yeah Robbie D and the other one which I think the year after or the year no the year before sorry the year before so that's a massive clue year before 20 so that would have been 2011 yeah who was the final in that Barcelona against oh final is Manchester United yeah yeah and then they didn't make it after that the season after that so it's rare I'm not saying that it's that bad on Inter but it's really rare and Spurs fans
19:05Gab Marcotti:I'm sorry um originally I saw he meant Champions League winners yeah obviously you're not but I'm not trying to troll you I know you're in the final you lost Liverpool and in fact take heart Arsenal yeah 2006 2005-2006 I was there
19:24Gab Marcotti:alright enough Bodo how about some quick hits instead let's go no Kylian Mbappe but Real Madrid advance as they beat Benfica 2-1 3-1 on aggregate Jules they're not great no but they're good enough
19:37Julien Laurens:yeah just enough to go through Courtois had to make some big saves again I think we said literally on every show after every Real Madrid game. They did Vinicius goal, which in a way after what happened in the first leg is...
19:51Gab Marcotti:And it is a version of the celebration we saw, but he did it in front of his own fans and he was smiling when he did it.
19:56Julien Laurens:But I think it's justice in a way. I thought to be fair, Benfica played well at times. I think it was really interesting. Some of the things that they did, considering Mourinho wasn't there and then he was hiding and there was a room where he was supposed to be and nobody knew if he had arrived or not. I mean, it's one of those Mourinho's moments, really. For Real Madrid, they could face City now, Sporting in the last 16. It's one of the two. Let's see if it's City. I still think that this team is struggling collectively, really.
20:32Gab Marcotti:You can go very far if you have a goalkeeper who saves everything and a striker who scores almost every game.
20:38Julien Laurens:A striker who's injured, though.
20:39Gab Marcotti:But he's injured now. But he'll be back.
20:41Julien Laurens:Well, they're hoping in 10 days. but in two weeks it's the first leg of the last 16 so yeah Benfica Gianluca Prestiani did not play as he was given a one game provisional suspension after Vinicius accused him of using a racist slur in the first leg we talked a lot about this story of course and Gab did that make sense to you the
21:02Gab Marcotti:suspension even if it's unprecedented right it's really rare for you um yeah so look I said this on the last show there is no doubt i was there based on what i said that he racially abused on the balance of probability so yeah yeah yeah right and i think there is an important precedent in uefa um the fact that there's no witnesses uh doesn't make a difference you remember the glenn kamara case yeah he was racially abused and the guy who abused him got 10 games yeah and there was no evidence there either. I mean, no video evidence, right? So I think this is the way it's heading with Presiani and it's right and maybe you should get more than 10.
21:42In fact, word up to me, I give more than 10
21:45Gab Marcotti:for some of the stupid things that he has said, such as justifying himself by saying that Vinicius called him a dwarf. Bro, you're short. Like, this is not, we were creating a moral equivalency between this. That version, which came out and then denied and then was simply confirmed that he used a gay slur. That was his defense rather than a racist one. It makes no difference. That's discriminatory language. In fact, you should get more games because you're stupid for thinking that this is a legitimate excuse. Call Vinicius ugly. Tell him that you went and you slept with his mother. You can get away with those things.
22:22Gab Marcotti:You cannot use a gay slur, but whatever. All that said, I'm not comfortable. i i think presumption of innocence is a massive legal principle and i'm not comfortable preemptively banning somebody even in cases even in like the real world lawyers like they will put you in jail and bail you out if there's a risk of you running of of you running away or you with the evidence this isn't there's no risk of that here there is a one in a bazillion possibility that Vini says, oh, yeah, no, maybe he's right. Maybe I misunderstood. I withdraw my charge. And then you can't get him the game back.
23:01Julien Laurens:Yeah.
23:02Gab Marcotti:So much as it pains me, much as I don't like this guy, partly because he says something racist, I believe, and partly because he's definitely something stupid. He's a very stupid, stupid individual. I throw the book at him, but I'm not comfortable with a one-game suspension before he's been judged and gone through the process.
23:21Julien Laurens:But I thought it was a disgrace from Benfica to take him on the plane. I know they appealed to that suspension, which was rejected on the day of the game, but I think Benfica should have read the room much better and left him at home anyway.
23:32Gab Marcotti:Read the room, exactly that. Just go out there and say, not the right frame of mind. Atletico Madrid are also through with a resounding 4-1 win over Mr. Champions League, Hans-Oanaken and Bruges. Jules, it's a hat-trick for the only living Sorlot in captivity. I've praised them enough this season. It's your turn.
23:53Julien Laurens:Yeah, incredible season, especially since the turn of the year, really, when Alvarez just dipped massively with his level. He took over, and when Griezmann is obviously older and on his way out as well, Soloth took over. And that's been very good. He got a little bit lucky in these. The first goal, for example, should have never scored. But after that, he's efficient, which is something that we've said against him before, because he used to create chances or have chances to score and used to miss them. Sometimes sitters, remember the Barcelona game last season? and now he seems to have found a consistency in being quite clinical.
24:27Julien Laurens:So they need him badly because, as we said, Alvarez is going through really the worst patch of his career, I think. And there's not much more than Soloth really to score goals. I mean, great for Johnny Cardoso to have scored. He's a U.S. men's national team player. We like him a lot. Lukman says hi. And Lukman has made a massive difference. But not as a center forward. But not as a center forward. So let's see. Let's see with that goal. they will face Liverpool or Spurs in the last 16 atletico Madrid and I think if you're Liverpool and Spurs you don't really want to face Sorlott.
24:57Gab Marcotti:They have a lot of things to sort out. By the way, Sorlott's goal, non-penalty goals per minute are absolutely insane. He's not far from Mbappe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Incredible.
25:09Julien Laurens:Newcastle also threw against Carabao with the 3-2 scoreline. It's a win. Closer than you expected?
25:16Gab Marcotti:Alright, they were obviously 6-1 up from the first lane. I expected him, given how Newcastle have got to be absolutely drained and tired, given how many injuries they have, especially at the back, I expected him to play more kids, to be honest. He still rotated quite a fair bit. Not as much as I would expect. I was really surprised to see Byrne, who, by the way, was on a booking, out there starting the game. I mean, again, I know you don't have other senators, senator defenders. There might be some dude from the youth team you can play, right? And Byrne gave up a penalty, incidentally, as well.
25:48Gab Marcotti:it's a weird atmosphere I think Eddie Howe probably felt that he owed a performance to the fans at home and so he went for it, happy for him Carabag, nowhere near as bad as the first leg and I think they leave the Champions League with their head held high sorry bro I have to go there defending champion Paris Saint-Germain came very close to crashing out against Monaco at home in fact, if Val Fais had even more hair than he does. Maybe. This might have gone to extra time. Yeah. What's going on here?
26:21Julien Laurens:Another if. The most important, as Vincent Duluc and L 'Equipe reminded us all this morning, is to qualify. Yeah, I would have loved PSG to qualify by playing much better, a bit like last season. I don't know where this team has gone. It's not the same as last season, but in a way, it's never been this season. It's not like if they played really well and then suddenly don't play well. They haven't played well all season. It's the Club World Cup's fault. Yeah, there's a bit of that, for sure. I don't think he helped. But it's just not them in midfield. Certainly, until the Koulibaly red cards on the hour mark, they were dominated massively in midfield by a very good Monaco team.
27:04Julien Laurens:The 3-5-2 worked really well from Pocognoli, well done to him. Aklijus, Paris-Born and Brett, obviously was on fire. Balogunatho played really well. the midfield three of Bamba, Koulibaly and Kamara was outstanding again.
27:16Gab Marcotti:So Koulibaly got sent off.
27:18Julien Laurens:Yeah, yeah. So I said, yeah, after the hour mark, that obviously changed it all. Because in the next minute, Marquinhos scored to make it 1-1. And after that, it was only PSG, even if the end was a little bit tensed. It's just they won't win the Champions League again, this PSG team. I don't know how far they can go. It depends on the draw. Nice. Barca or Chelsea for them in the next round. and after that if you look at the bracket it would be even more complicated because I think there's probably City or Real Madrid from that side and then Bayern or Arsenal even so it could be very tricky but it's still in it.
27:55Gab Marcotti:I will cheer you up and give you a reason why I think they may well win the Champions League and I wouldn't be so definitively and a reason why they probably won't um one is paris-sensermain have lost six games this season uh four of those defeats have come against french clubs they won't face any more french clubs the only two teams that have beaten them this season are sporting and that was a game where paris-sensermain deserved to win you remember two one and then the other one was against bayern okay admittedly are pretty good right yeah um so i wouldn't be so negative that and they all have won they've been there they've done that they're all a year older reason they won't win i'm sorry you downgraded your goalkeeper in a significant way from whatever common sometimes i look at this and i say if you had safonov and chevalier in goal together at the same time you'd be worse off than where you were
28:44Julien Laurens:last season with donnarumma so yeah that's not the that's not the main reason why they're not playing well not because donnarumma is not in goal but donnarumma was a big part of the reason
28:54Gab Marcotti:why they won it last year. Yeah, yeah. So now you have that. They won't win it this year because they don't play well. But I'm saying is you have to play even better because you don't have that safety blanket.
29:02Julien Laurens:But even if they, you know, they can't get near the level that they showed last season, which is a shame, really.
29:08Gab Marcotti:Although, all that said, I don't want to be contrarian here. Other than Arsenal. And you can say Bayern and City are ahead of them and they probably are, but they're not streets ahead of them and they're also capable of laying an egg. True.
29:24Julien Laurens:Watch tough in Turin, Gab, after the 5-2 humiliation in the first leg away in Turkey against Galatasaray. Juventus get it back to 5-5 on aggregate before conceding two goals in extra time. One of them from your boy, Victor Ozyman. Who doesn't celebrate? So I'll celebrate for him.
29:39Gab Marcotti:The best is yet to come. Like, you want a reaction. And they got it. And I think this was so important. Again, there's five games without winning. Like I told you on Monday, they weren't that bad in all of those five games. is people made it out to be like the sky was falling. They were terrible against Galatasaray away. They were terrible against Como. Here, they went out there and they showed that they could execute. The XG was more than 5.0. And you can say, you need to put your chances away. Fine, you need to put your chances away.
30:06Julien Laurens:It's like Bova especially.
30:07Gab Marcotti:I signed wingers from Ligue 1. And Jeremy Boga and Zagrova, that's the path to happiness. Kean Anilviz, unplayable. And what they did with 10 men, they played with 10 men for the entire second half practically and extra time. Don Hutchinson on commentary made the point. sort of towards the end, the momentum was with them towards the ends of regular time. You guys need to go and try to win this. And they tried and they tried and they tried. Couldn't get it done. Got to ask you the Lloyd Kelly red card. Harsh?
30:35Julien Laurens:I understand that the controversy and how harsh it is, but referees don't look if he means it or doesn't, if he sees or not, if he's looking or not. It's a reckless incident, which it is, even if he doesn't mean it, even if he doesn't know that the leg is there, it has to be a red card.
30:56Gab Marcotti:Yeah, I'm not so sure about that. But let's detour to the Premier League and celebrate Manchester United because they're massive.
31:02Julien Laurens:They are big.
31:02Gab Marcotti:Yet another win. One nil away to Everton with a Benjamin Sesko goal and they're fourth in the table.
31:08Julien Laurens:Yeah, they are. They just overtook Chelsea in fourth. That fight, as we said, now with Aston Villa. And Liverpool too. Yeah, Liverpool too. They were level on points. only three points behind Aston Villa in third now even for United still unbeaten under Michael Carrick not a great performance let's be honest here but a really good goal in transition Mbomo for Sesko who just came on three goals in his last four now in the Premier League for him I think he deserves to start against Palace at the weekend on Sunday and I think he will but yeah they keep going
31:41Gab Marcotti:The fact that they have Carrick has a whole week to prepare them and he's making the best of them well done him
31:48Julien Laurens:Atalanta turning around against Borussia Dortmund winning 4-1 after losing the first leg 2-0 Gab the last-ditch penalty Rami Bencevaini on Nikola Kristović was key Okay so a couple points
31:59Gab Marcotti:to make here one is Borussia Dortmund ha ha ha let's all laugh like that they're self-destruction they did it again Yeah Right And that said a lot of this is down to one person Rami Bencevaini Shocker one of the worst individual performances I've ever seen
32:12Julien Laurens:in the Champions League
32:13Gab Marcotti:Yeah
32:14Julien Laurens:Incredibly bad Alright
32:16Gab Marcotti:In the end And Frank Leboeuf on the show last night said that that should have never been a penalty at the end. What? On Nikola Krzyk. How is this not a penalty? He like literally cut his head off. Because Krzyk's head was low, Frank said.
32:32Julien Laurens:No, no, no, no. Come on. Okay. Maybe he was the fun news. We both agree, right? We both agree it's a red card every single day. 100%. He could have killed him, literally.
32:41Gab Marcotti:Yeah, and Krzysztof is obviously a very brave man made from Sterner stuff. I think Krzysztof doesn't even think that that's what Ben Sabaini could do, you know. Well, also because Ben Sabaini is in the wrong position. He misreads the flight of the ball. And that's why he has to do, it looked like he was trying to do a scorpion kick. Yeah, exactly. Like a homage to Giroud. He probably doesn't know Krzysztof is there, but still it's... It is, I think it's dangerous play. I think we need to give a shout out to Atalanta too, because Atalanta's best midfielder, Edison, in my view, he was injured. He was on the bench, but he was injured, not fit to start.
33:18Gab Marcotti:And they were also without the Prince, Charles de Quetelaire. They lost Lukman in January. They lost Lukman and his replacement at Raspadori was ineligible for this game. So you put all those things together. It was a tremendous, tremendous performance. Roll on, Atalanta.
33:33Julien Laurens:But what I wanted to tell you, my daughter has a very good study. It's a semester, a laptop, books, software, internet, so a master is really expensive.
33:41Gab Marcotti:Say, she can get it back. You mean from the tax? But she doesn't pay. No, no, it's a loss of a loss. It makes it very simple with Visa, and if she works, it's kaching. That's it? Save. Visa, pay. Hol your money back.
33:58Julien Laurens:Now, let's try it.
34:01Gab Marcotti:Bayern Ewekousen are held at home by Olympiacos 0-0, but it's okay because they advance thanks to their 2-0 win in the first leg duel.
34:08Julien Laurens:Yeah, it was enough. I mean, this was a poor game. I think Olympiacos could have tried and played for like 10 hours. They would have never scored, really. They were never in that kind of position. Well-controlled game for Hulman and his players and already looking forward to the last 16. It would be Arsenal or Bayern for them in the draw tomorrow. Imagine a Bayern game, which I think would be cool. but yeah nothing much more
34:30Gab Marcotti:to add I think I don't need to imagine it I saw it last year and it wasn't cool yeah true Bayern demolered them Chelsea and West Ham
34:37Julien Laurens:have been fined a combined £625 ,000 following their brawl at Stamford Bridge Gab
34:42Gab Marcotti:yeah and apparently it's a record for the Premier League it's even it's like twice as much remember the battle of the bridge Chelsea against Spurs West Ham fined a little bit more £325 ,000 I don't know on what basis I'm sure there's written reasons and justifications. I don't want to be too cynical about this. I guess they're fining the clubs, and then do the clubs then take it out of the players' wages? Is it case by case? How do they decide how it goes? To be honest, if you want to cut this stuff out, you have to give suspensions. You can't just have fines. That, to me, would be much more meaningful.
35:23Gab Marcotti:Back to Paris Saint-Germain, Jules. Ashraf Hakimi will stand trial following an alleged rape in 2023.
35:28Julien Laurens:Yeah, long investigation, three years, and it was announced this week that there will be a trial. He denies any wrongdoing. He said that the rape didn't happen at all. The girl that went to his house on that night in Boulogne, in the kind of west suburbs of Paris, has strong case according to the prosecution, and that's why we have this trial.
35:54Gab Marcotti:It's a girl he had met on Instagram.
35:57Julien Laurens:Exactly, yeah, exactly. And we came during one night in his place. We don't have a date yet of when that would be. It's not the first time that these kind of things happen, but it's not good. It's not good for him. It's not good for football. It's not good for PSG. It's not a good look. And justice has to be done. Again, you know, Hakimi said he didn't do anything wrong. the girl said that he did we will have a trial and justice has to be done yeah and i also hope
36:31Gab Marcotti:they also come up with an explanation just about because justice delayed is justice denied so why the investigation took so long took so long um you know you would think rape kit statements witnesses uh she took a uber there i believe or taxi there and then she got a friend she called a friend to go and pick her up you know there aren't it's not like there were too many other people you have to
36:56Julien Laurens:track down in terms of witnesses yeah all 20 primary clubs have met their profit and sustainability
37:02Gab Marcotti:rules requirements gab are you impressed yeah well um i guess it's good news because nobody's getting docked points but we should point out that um villa everton and chelsea um so they're women's clubs to themselves um and that's something which you don't don't allow so this is not an issue that's going to go away. I think it's pretty ridiculous that you can sell an asset to yourself. They had the chance to close the loophole. But basically what happened is because Chelsea did it and now the other clubs are saying, oh well, this is a way that we can generate money out of nowhere. I think the fact that on this front that they're out of line with UEFA certainly isn't a good thing for the clubs that play in Europe.
37:47Gab Marcotti:Marcelo Gallardo, or Gashardo, as he likes to call himself in Argentina, has left River Plate, Jules. He's had a bumpy ride in the last couple of stints. He's only 15 years old. What do you see in his future?
38:01Julien Laurens:Yeah, tonight is his last game on Thursday after we record this. I think it's an incredible story because he has to go. The results haven't been great. He's obviously a River Plate club legend, both as a player from the academy, from the area, and then also as a manager, his first stint. This is his second stint. first in was incredible they won 14 titles uh over like eight seasons or something like that including the libertadores obviously and then he left he went to saudi arabia i think didn't work out he came back he was in saudi arabia for not a long time and he was at uh al-etihad yeah yeah yeah i think you really go well there came back i think with a lot of hopes and ambitions and And he's just not as good as in the first stint, really.
38:47Julien Laurens:Despite spending quite a lot of money in the last two years or so, he didn't lose that many games, but he'd drawn as many as he wants. So that's not good enough, really. They didn't even make it to the Libertadores as in qualifying for that. So it's a shame because I don't think anybody would want him to go. He has to go because the results are not good. But everybody was so sad when he announced, and himself included. I mean, his press conference on Monday was heartbreaking. If you want to go and check it out, he's almost crying saying that you know he's going because he has to because the results are not there the team is not responding to what he wants he can't really find the solutions because he's such a legend there he's going to touch you at at the monumental so um it's it's really sad because sometimes when a manager goes or is psyched fans are happy usually right you know in this case they're not they're not happy they know it has to happen but they're really not happy about it
39:36Gab Marcotti:So what I find fascinating is you go back six, seven years. He was as hot as any manager in the world. He's a crazy machine. At the risk of being Eurocentric, and he was linked with a number of clubs in Europe, he basically always said no. He could easily have gone over. I'm not saying he would have walked into Real Madrid or Manchester United, but who knows? But he could have certainly gone that next year down, killed it. And then I've had people question, oh, why didn't he docks the bottle for a doesn't feel he's ready, blah, blah, blah, which I think, again, it's a pretty Eurocentric view here to have.
40:14Gab Marcotti:I wonder now if he feels that his next step is going to be in Europe just to try because he showed that he's willing to do something different by going to Saudi, right?
40:23Julien Laurens:And he can't coach anywhere else, I think, in South America anyway. He won't go back to Saudi. Maybe MLS at some point, even in between Argentina and South America and Europe. Maybe. I wouldn't be surprised if he was going to MLS. I mean, forever, he would obviously be the manager who won the Copa Libertadores with River Plate against Boca Juniors in that final. The greatest game in their history. He won it. So, at least he will always have that. But yeah, this second scene is a bit disappointing, to be fair. Gab, it's been nearly 40 months since Manchester City were charged by the Premier League and 15 months since the hearing actually concluded and the panel went to deliberate on the verdict.
40:58Julien Laurens:Any idea why is it taking so long?
41:01Gab Marcotti:Not only do I not have, well, I have an idea. I have speculation. I've spoken to, I have a story coming up later today. I've spoken to a whole bunch of different people, mostly football lawyers, but also people at clubs and whatever. And none of them have any idea because this is what you call a black box hearing. So this whole thing, when you take a step back, is completely absurd that it's taking this long. The most often cited explanations are that the case is really, really complicated and they have to take time to make their written reasons bulletproof so that they're not thrown out on appeal, whether city appeal or the Premier League appeals.
41:41Gab Marcotti:But come on, that doesn't mean it takes 15 months. It's far more complicated disciplinary hearings involving trade, arbitration, stuff like that. all this stuff gets resolved uh the other explanation is that they didn't think it was going to take this long and these guys the three people on the panel who by the way we don't know who they are the judges no one of them the only rules is that one of them is illegal is a lawyer but we don't know their names which again is another i think absurdity but that is how the rules were set up that's what was accepted by the parties but the other argument is these guys have day jobs and they agreed a certain amount of compensation from the premier league to deliberate but presumably it's not that much maybe it's even a fixed fee you know it's all mysteries and at some point they probably have to go and pay the bill so they have other work that they need to do and so they have scheduling conflicts um it's a complete absurd i love the fact that nobody knows they'll repeat those these same two things i just told you because they seem the most plausible i wonder if in the back of my mind there isn't some super the logical thing here would be to reach some sort of settlement um like a plea bargain but that's extremely difficult to do and i'm pretty sure that that's not what's going on a because the window to do it has passed the window would have been after the charges and b because clubs are so leaky that we would have found out not from city or the premier league but we would have found out from one of the many other clubs uefa reportedly ready to back fifa's expansion of the club world cup to 48 teams Jules I guess more big European clubs making more big FIFA money how could they possibly say no?
43:18Gab Marcotti:that's true
43:18Julien Laurens:so what from 24 to 48 is that right? yeah it's twice the fun twice the fun I mean it will last twice long as well because it felt already long at the end of a long season and before another long season I'm not sure where you fit it it's not going to be any longer than the 2026 World Cup Jules true where can you play even then? 48 teams Brazil's a very big country yeah USA as well but there's not that many countries let's go to Qatar again hey it's not that too hot in the summer is it I don't know like this is blowing my mind how you can have even more teams more players playing more games so the argument
43:54Gab Marcotti:was that UEFA were going to stand up to them because obviously there's no love lost between Jefferyn and Johnny at the same time Johnny's working on his re-election Jefferyn as well well yeah yes or no hasn't decided yet will he won't leave you know neither one is really spoiling for a fight right now because they have other things to do and ultimately from uefa's perspective the clubs want to do this so the clubs want to make more money so they can pay more players and i think the next one to fall is going to be the limit of two of two per country right yeah you're gonna say hey this is stupid why is it two per country well that would change for 40 you can't have that roof with 48 teams well why not i mean you could what club are you going to get then if you already have two i mean i suppose you could what start going like two
44:48Julien Laurens:swiss teams well i've got nothing in switzerland football but there was only one french team at
44:53Gab Marcotti:the last one yeah true you could go to two french teams yeah okay well yeah but there was two of
44:57Julien Laurens:everything else in the big countries i mean so like you can't devalue the competition by having more teams though. You need teams of the similar caliber to the one you had before. Exactly.
45:07Gab Marcotti:Which is why, which is why certainly that will have to go. I wonder if they'll have the intermediate step of three teams or just go to four. Cut straight to the chase, go to four or just, hey, look, the Premier League has six big, there's a big six in the Premier League. Let's have them all. Chuck and Villa and Newcastle as well while we're at it.
45:24Julien Laurens:Clubs in Argentina have announced that they will go on strike in two weeks' time. Gab, why are they doing this?
45:30Gab Marcotti:This is such a bizarre story. So, the background to this is the guy who runs the argentina phase a guy named claudio tapia who is kind of slightly lefty slightly old school in the sense as you know the clubs in argentina are they're not set up as businesses they're set up as clubs like in europe you'd be familiar with barcelona real madrid um a lot of clubs want to which means they they can't really attract outside investment a lot of clubs want to change this uh or a number of clubs want to change this including of course famously independiente with veron which is why he had all that nonsense before i'm the current president of argentina uh javier millay being a big free market guy he wants to change it tapia does not they had this back and forth tapia has now been accused of misappropriating social security contributions and he's been called to testify um he's been barred from leaving the country and tapia is saying wait i'm being essentially persecuted because i disagree with the government with Millet.
46:30Gab Marcotti:This is weaponized justice and out of solidarity, the players have called a strike. Will it be every team? Because obviously some teams don't like Tapia. I don't know. But this is a perfect example of where politics should not be in sport at all. Frightening scenes in Mexico earlier this week following the killing of reputed drug kingpin El Mencho. Violence erupted all across the country. Jules, FIFA say they're in touch with the government. and everything's going to be fine. Are you as confident as they are?
47:02Julien Laurens:Not really. I mean, I don't know much about drug cartels in Mexico and things like that. But if you're not just from a fans' point of view, but first of all, from the team, the countries who are due to play there, scheduled to play there, you're seeing this. And I know this is only February and it's a long time to go between the start of the World Cup in June. But that has to worry you massively. If you're the FA of, to be fair, i didn't look on who's supposed to play there in uh in mexico at the start of the world cup
47:33Gab Marcotti:if mexico have a friendly against iceland yeah exactly and more importantly i think portugal playing there or something like that the inter-confederation playoff is happening in guadalajara yeah in a couple weeks they've got tennis tournament right now in mexico as well but it's also like this guy was from the streets the the state of jalisco which is where puerto Vallarta is and it's near Guadalajara as well so there was concern there I mean like I said neither one of us is an expert but from what what we do know is President Mexico Claudia Scheinbaum gave assurances and what I'm told often happens in these situations is twofold one is gang members who are affiliated with the cartel they will create trouble start trouble to kind of vent their anger and show that they're still in charge and other gangs because it's not like this guy was like the boss of all of Mexico.
48:25Gab Marcotti:He was like a regional boss, you know, the biggest one, but others are acting up to try to perhaps gain control. So it's something that hopefully will pass, that hopefully can be managed. But worst comes to worst, I think if FIFA need to move the Inter-Confederation playoff, they will. Yeah.
48:47Julien Laurens:And Gab, FanFest have been fixtures of World Cup since Germany 2006, but it's not clear how many there will be that this summer is welcome no that's right um it's all over the
48:56Gab Marcotti:place uh there's funding problems with the one in miami um in foxborough which is where the fifa calls it boston but it's not it's foxborough it's a different place yeah uh there's still an issue where there's like a funding gap to provide security and then one of the biggest ones is going to be in jersey city just across from uh just across from manhattan at liberty state park that's now been scrapped they sold tickets people will be refunded it's interesting the reaction there's a certain type of football fan especially from this country who makes fun of fan fest saying that oh beer's overpriced it's all corporate and everything um which it is i'll just go into a bar like okay fine but if you've got kids if you're not 21 if you don't drink if you're muslim you You may not want to go into a bar and watch the game.
49:46Gab Marcotti:So I think the FanFest actually have an important role to play for a lot of people. And part of the issue here is that, again, it has to do with how you pay for these places. Essentially, they're large outdoor spaces. They have big screens. They have concessions. They have expensive drinks. And they have corporate sponsors. And because you, in your local FanFest, if you want to organize one in your city, you have to get sponsors. but they can't clash with FIFA sponsors, that's how they've run into trouble. That's why they're having trouble paying for these. I think it's a real shame. They may be corporate.
50:24Gab Marcotti:Yeah, me too. It's not my bag, but having been to them, I know, and having, we've both met a lot of fans of World Cups, they're really popular with people who don't know what to do otherwise. No, and they can't just all go to a bar and drink, the way I've heard some of our colleagues say. Not everybody does that. Jules, this brings us to an end. but we got to come back on Monday because it's the magic of the FA Cup
50:48Julien Laurens:no it's not
50:49Gab Marcotti:no it's not this weekend
50:50Julien Laurens:Arsenal Chelsea the Classica those are big games you know this weekend in Europe Borussia Dortmund
50:57Gab Marcotti:can he bounce back yeah exactly watch his face until then love the game love your neighbor love yourself
From the publisher
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens discuss Inter Milan’s surprise elimination from the Champions League at the hands of minnows Bodo/Glimt and ask how far the Norwegian side can go in the competition. The guys also discuss Real Madrid’s win over Benfica, the future of the Club World Cup & ask if Manchester United can keep their place in the top four of the Premier League.
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