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In short
Football Weekly discusses top European leagues and the Ballon d’Or debate. Guests debate Harry Kane’s Ballon d’Or chances despite his strong record (150 Bayern goals in 153 games; 99 Bundesliga goals) but note he’s never finished top 10 in voting and lacks the political/media campaigning of rivals like Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé. They argue Kane may still be a “strong favourite,” with Bayern’s achievements and his “deserves recognition” narrative.
Barcelona are praised for a perfect start (15 points, five wins), dominating Levante with extreme possession stats, plus Anthony Gordon’s vertical, high-press fit under Hansi Flick, and Rafinha’s false-nine influence; Ferran Torres’ PSG form is discussed.
Real Madrid’s Mourinho era is framed as improving intensity; Vinícius is said to be under pressure. Lazio’s strong Serie A start is paired with off-pitch chaos and fan-owner conflict with Claudio Lotito; Roma’s Gasperini project is highlighted. Bayern’s slow start is contextualized; PSG’s poor control is blamed, with Ferran Torres the only PSG forward scoring.
Guests
Philippe Auclair (France/football journalist), Mark Langdon (Racing Post), Nicky Bandini (football journalist), Sid Lowe (Spain-focused football writer), Max (host, likely Max Rushden).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VODiscussing Harry Kane and the Ballon d'Or
0:47 to 3:08
The panel discusses Harry Kane's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or amidst ongoing debates about other candidates.
“Max, Paris Saint-Germain, after their crappy little victory, are now seventh in the table.”
Barcelona's Form and Performance
3:08 to 4:59
Analysis of Barcelona's current performance in the league and their recent matches.
“My money, if I were putting money on, it would be on Harry Kane.”
Player Evaluations: Gordon and Rafinha
4:59 to 7:35
Evaluating the performances of Anthony Gordon and Rafinha in Barcelona's attacking strategy.
“Barcelona 1-0 up, one shot, one touch in the opposition area, 98 % of the possession.”
Barcelona's Forward Options and Strategy
7:35 to 9:29
Discussion on Barcelona's forward options and the impact of different playing styles on their success this season.
“Now, they've got Rodri that protects them a little bit in those moments when the press isn't quite so good.”
Ferran Torres and Regrets
9:29 to 11:04
Exploring the implications of Ferran Torres's departure from Barcelona and whether it was the right decision.
“and that's where Gabriel Jesus comes in.”
Real Madrid's Current Situation
11:04 to 13:03
Analysis of Real Madrid's performance under Mourinho and the pressure on key players like Vinicius.
“would probably respond to what he's done so far by saying, all right, well, let's see him in February.”
Right-Back Evaluations: Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold
13:03 to 14:00
Discussion on the performances of right-backs Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold in their respective roles.
“that Mourinho has a little bit more faith in him.”
Strikers Shining in La Liga
14:00 to 20:32
Discover the impressive performances of strikers in La Liga this season.
“I was just going to ask about another striker.”
Lazio's Turmoil and Serie A Update
20:32 to 28:00
Explore Lazio's struggles and the current state of Serie A teams.
“Bones part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.”
Milan's Mixed Performance Overview
28:00 to 29:50
An analysis of Milan's recent games and player performances.
“I'm still thinking it's been very difficult to beat Philippe.”
Show all 20 chapters
Fabio Pizzacane's Inspiring Journey
29:50 to 31:30
Exploring the inspiring story of Cagliari's manager and his football journey.
“managed by this guy Fabio Pizzacane who you wrote, you did an interview with him nine years ago, Nicky, and I've just read it.”
Cagliari's Promising Start to the Season
31:30 to 33:50
Cagliari's exceptional start and notable players in the current season.
“This season has started with three wins and a loss.”
Brits in Serie A: A New Wave
33:50 to 36:30
Discussion about the increasing presence of British players in Serie A.
“Look, Mark, we've already talked about Harry Kane, Ballon d 'Or, but look, Bayern, they are down in fourth.”
Bundesliga Update: Bayern's Struggles
36:30 to 40:00
Analyzing Bayern Munich's current season and performance issues.
“but not to the point where this is suddenly a team that's bought their way up to the Bundesliga.”
PSG's Slow Start and Player Struggles
40:00 to 42:01
Examining PSG's recent performances and key player issues.
“I remember it was their first win of the season.”
Bayern's Path to Victory and Tactical Analysis
42:01 to 43:20
Exploration of Bayern's league dominance and tactical challenges faced by players.
“The only forward who has scored for them this season is Torres.”
Marseille's Troubling Start and Managerial Pressure
43:21 to 45:18
Discussion on Marseille's rocky start to the season and the pressures on their manager.
“As I have problems with many other Ligue 1 teams at the moment, like Marseille, for example.”
Paris FC and Historical Context
45:19 to 46:55
Analysis of Paris FC's current status and historical link with PSG.
“They're the only French club to have invested massively during the summer transfer market.”
Bordeaux's Downfall and Future Prospects
46:56 to 47:36
Examination of Bordeaux's relegation and the impact of their management.
“He finds in football what he obviously is looking for in football.”
Emerging Talents in Monaco
47:37 to 47:54
Highlighting the potential of young forward Paris Brunner in Monaco's squad.
“everybody that'll do uh thank you in absent in absentia sid low of course you lazy bastard and thank you to you lot as well thank you nicky thanks cheers mark thanks mike Thank you, Philippe.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Philippe Auclair:This is The Guardian.
0:30Nicky Bandini:They're talking up Harry Kane, Ballon d 'Or, while in France, PSG are 15th. They always do this. Short intro, big panel. This is the Guardian Football Weekly.
0:47Nicky Bandini:Welcome to the Galacticos. Philippe Auclair, bonjour, ça va?
0:50Philippe Auclair:Bonjour, ça va. And may I correct you immediately, Max? Max, Paris Saint-Germain, after their crappy little victory, are now seventh in the table.
1:00Nicky Bandini:Okay, well, that does take away a lot of the sting of the intro. I mean, really, a professional would re-record it, but we don't do that here. You have to, for integrity's purposes, you have to keep this stuff in, but I will have many people fired. The Racing Post, Mark Langdon, hello. Hi, Max. If this is the sort of Galacticos, I feel like the Pavon in the Zidane, with Sid, Nicky and Philippe. I'll take it. Hey, they're always needed. They're always needed. Nicky Mandini, hello. Good morning. And welcome, part one, Sid. Hey, Sid. Good morning. Well, let's start. We better start with you, Sid.
1:35Nicky Bandini:It'd be good if we did the Bundesliga in part one. It would be brilliant. Can I just talk about Harry Kane? You know what? I'd actually really like to talk about Harry Kane, if only so that I can be involved in a discussion that isn't tiresome about how Kylian Mbappé or Lamin-Yamal has to win the Ballon d 'Or. I'd like to talk about someone else winning it. Go on then. Well, we start with that and then you have to save to do the Spain bit. Oh, I've got that wrong, haven't I? Yeah, sorry, Sid. That was a tactical blunder. Extra five minutes. I mean, I don't care who wins the Ballon d 'Or mark, but Harry Kane's record is good.
2:04Like, do you think he'll...
2:06Nicky Bandini:I still don't think he'll win it. I still think... I reckon footballing snobs won't give it to him. Well, he's got a very bad record in this. I don't think he's ever finished in the top 10 in the voting. Like, you could argue the season individually was great for him. But, you know, the World Cup finished at the semi-final. They didn't win the Champions League. And I think, as Sid alluded to there, Lamin-Yamel spent kind of this weekend saying, it can only be me or Kylian Mbappe. And Harry Kane just isn't as famous and doesn't, he doesn't talk in that kind of way either. And I think the Ballon d 'Or, you do have to do, you know, the political voting and the kind of being seen in, you know, saying the right things.
2:51And Kane doesn't do that. But there is also this, I think certainly in the background, the feeling that Kane is quite a strong favourite, despite what Lamin-Yemal thinks.
3:02Philippe Auclair:In fact, you're saying to them, be more like Janine Fantino. Maneuver the dark recesses of international football. Go and talk to each member of the jury. That will take you a while. It will cost a lot of money as well. My money, if I were putting money on, it would be on Harry Kane. Still. I think there's a feeling as well within the, because don't forget it's the football journalist which used to battle door. There's a feeling that this guy deserves more recognition, that what is achieved with Bayern is absolutely astonishing. I mean, we're going to talk about the bully later, but here he is.
3:37Philippe Auclair:I have to say, when I read that he had just scored his 150th goal for Bayern Munich, I could barely believe it. Like, what? 150 goals. And England actually were not rubbish at the World Cup and all these things put together. And he's got a nice image. Kiki is not going to get it. He's ruffled too many feathers. But Jamal, if he carries on, because the voting is still going on, right? So if Jamal carries on, what he does. But I think I would vote for Hurricane myself.
4:08Nicky Bandini:I mean, I think 150 goals for Bayern is worth about 4 ,000 for Tottenham. If you look at, you know, really, he should have got it for many years considering how they can't hit a barn door now. Come on then, Sid. Barca top 15 points, five wins from five. Real have 12. I feel like a massive hypocrite and deeply disappointed in myself. I can't believe that I've effectively introduced the Ballon d 'Or as the opening subject. I know. We've probably lost all our subscribers. I also love Philippe's definition of England at the World Cup as being not rubbish. And that's a winning formula right there. Fantastic.
4:43Sorry. what did you actually want to ask me about Max?
4:46Nicky Bandini:I wanted to say I wanted to just tick off how are Barca doing how are Real Madrid doing what are the other stories bugger off that's my that was my you know that's sort of my generic I try and ask the questions in a more intelligent way but really that's what I'm going for we'll begin with Barcelona then top of the league flying scored 21 conceded 4 had a bit of a fright I guess later on against Levante but it's been a brilliant start they had a bit of a wobble try and help me work this out Max so I wasn't watching this game live because I was at a far more important game in Spain's second division at the time And when the alert flipped up on the screen for me, Barcelona 1-0 up.
5:18Quick look at the stats. Barcelona 1-0 up, one shot, one touch in the opposition area, 98 % of the possession. This is five minutes in and 0.05 expected goals. And I was sitting there at this other game I was watching, trying to work out how are those statistics possible? because surely if you've kicked off and kept the ball and scored, surely it's 100 % possession. Where is the 2 % for the other team coming from? You can't have reached 100 passes. So does that mean the other team has touched it literally once and completed one pass? Have you really racked up 50 passes in five minutes? Anyway, I then watched it back and basically, yes, they did dominate, but I was still dubious about the stats.
5:58Barca started well with that, but actually this was possibly, on the day they scored four goals, their worst performance of the season. And you're right, they were up against it a little bit. I think the context of this is that the game had already gone. They're 3-0 up. They concede to. It starts to get a little bit wobbly. Wobbly is probably an exaggeration. And then Adeyemi scores a fantastic fourth. But Barcelona are very, very exciting in this game, a little bit less so.
6:22Nicky Bandini:Yeah. Actually, I did love that the penalty was funny because they're all claiming that this guy on the floor has handballed it, the Levante player. So just to confirm, he then just kicks Lomal over to say, well, maybe I handballed it, maybe I didn't. But I fouled him just there. So it's definitely a penalty. It's interesting Adeyemi scored that goal. He's got a brilliant goal in the Champions League. And Anthony Gordon's come in and apparently was man of the match in this game. Are you, how impressive has he been? Well, I think what he's been, probably the best way to look at Anthony Gordon is to say that he's been exactly what Flick wants him to be.
6:52And there was an interesting remark from Danny Oldman when he was talking about the arrival of Adeyemi and Gordon, and actually some of the others as well, but in particular those two. And he said, they bring us what we want in an attacking sense, incredibly fast, very direct. The Spaniards always use this word vertical. you know everything's straight line straight at team straight through them he said but actually the most important part is the defensive side of what they do and that insistence on on pressing very high because if Barcelona are going to play the way that they want to play with the with the back line very high and with lots of people pouring forward that they need that press to be right because as soon as it gets even slightly wrong they're going to get caught and that begins with the front three and in particular it begins with Rafinha but I think Gordon has been if you like the perfect embodiment of that.
7:35Now, they've got Rodri that protects them a little bit in those moments when the press isn't quite so good. But what Gordon's done so far, and I think Flick was asked this at the weekend, whether Gordon was a little frustrated not to have got the goals yet that he might have wanted being in that position. But again, he was full of praise for the performance because I think he's been exactly what his manager wants him to be. And Sid, you mentioned Rafinha there and there was an amazing touch that they brought down out the sky before he assisted Laminia Malfour for one of the goals. But do you feel like he can be the solution for Barcelona all season in that position as the false nine?
8:13Or have they got other options at the same level that can sort of carry them through a busy season? No, I don't think they've got anyone as good as him. But I do think they've got players with a different profile. I mean, for what it's worth, I think Rafinha now, there's very, I can't think of a player in the world at the moment that I enjoy watching more than him. There's this kind of mad intensity about him. everything he does, the quality, you're talking about that touch, the quality he does at speed, and he seems to do everything at speed. He's been fantastic for at least a couple of years now.
8:41There's, I think, a real sense of him kind of growing into this role of leadership. And I think that false nine role suits him in certain games. I think this is why they've bought Gabriel Jesus, because it's about the type of games rather than the level, I think. And Barcelona were very clear, even when they knew they couldn't get Julien Alvarez anymore. And even when these first few games of the season were going so well, and they scored, all of them, they've scored five goals, four in this one and two in another, but five across the others. They're pouring through teams, they're going at teams and Rafinha's been the heart of that.
9:11But I think there is a recognition that there will be teams that propose different types of games, different types of structures and in those circumstances, they'll need a different type of forward. So I think the answer to the question is, will it be like this all season? I think it will be like this the immense majority of the season, yes. But I think there's a recognition that there will be moments when they need someone who's a different profile and that's where Gabriel Jesus comes in.
9:32Philippe Auclair:Carrying on in that vein, are there any regrets in Barcelona to have let Ferran Torres go away when you see, I'm jumping ahead of myself, what he's doing for PSG at the moment? And he's also that kind of player, talk about the job that you're supposed to be doing. He's doing that for PSG, maybe he could be doing it as well for Barcelona and they sold him for not that much money in the current market. Any regrets? Funnily enough, I was looking at the stats yesterday for this. Last season, non-penalty goals. I've realised that taking penalties out is maybe a little bit foolish. But, you know, non-penalty goals as a way of judging forwards.
10:07Ferran was actually only one goal away from Mbappé last year in La Liga. And this is a guy that wasn't always a starter. So his contribution was enormous in key moments. I think there's always been a feeling that Ferran maybe wasn't quite good enough to be Barcelona's starting centre-forward, but he was really useful. I think if they'd known that they would have gone the summer without getting the centre-forward they wanted, they might have thought differently. But the Ferran thing, I think, has a couple of other elements to it. One is the need to renew his contract. His desire may be to go somewhere else and get a bigger contract.
10:40And not necessarily a bigger club, because, you know, although they're double European champions, I'm not sure if PSU are a bigger club. Maybe a better team right now, but not a bigger club. And so I think in a way, actually, I wouldn't say there are regrets. No, I think, you know, there might be a feeling that, well, he could have been useful, and in fact, he would have been useful. but I think there's also a recognition that actually this was probably the right thing to do and I think certainly those Barcelona fans who are critical of Ferran would probably respond to what he's done so far by saying, all right, well, let's see him in February.
11:10Nicky Bandini:You can do it when it's easy but, you know, World Cup final, that's not for Ferran Torres. Look, we heard the boos that Jose got in the Champions League game after they'd beat Inter, wasn't it? But they didn't play brilliantly. You know, they are second. They're three points off Barca. But what's the kind of, what's the vibe? Yeah, caveat alert. In fairness, I don't think the boos were for Jose. I think they were just that kind of traditional Spanish and Real Madrid thing of whistling when the team's playing a bit badly. And they weren't very good in that game. And they got beaten the game before against Betis, but actually played pretty well.
11:43And really, if there's going to be an analysis of the Betis game, it would be well. You know, it could have been very different, so it doesn't really matter. I think the feeling is that Mourinho is starting to get at least a structure and a commitment from his players one of the it's a bit simplistic but one of the kind of the key analyses and I think actually it's true despite being simplistic last year was that frankly a lot of the time a lot of players didn't seem to be trying hard enough and and one of the big things that always comes in when you get someone like Mourinho and one of the reasons why he returns as well as the nostalgia that went with the last time is this idea that he's the guy that can impose upon in the dressing room that that has maybe some bad habits that doesn't always integrate well and that actually while the football hasn't always been great this season there is a bit more intensity about them and so I don't think Mourinho is under a huge amount of pressure I think the player that is under pressure a little bit is Vinicius and there is a contradiction here because actually he is running and he is trying it's just not coming off for him at the moment but Mourinho keeps saying this he's close and very soon he'll be brilliant again Sid mentioned that Vinicius being the player is under pressure and I was just curious I know Denzel Dumfries has had a bit of a mixed start since he went from Inter, of course.
12:52There's also Trent Alexander-Arnold who could be starting in that right-back position. So I was wondering for a quick word on those two basically and what that side of the pitch is looking like. Yeah, the quick word I suppose is that right now it feels pretty clear that Dumfries is the first choice, that Mourinho has a little bit more faith in him. Mourinho played Trent in midfield in the Champions League game. And it was a very interesting post-game because he tried really hard to be nice about Trent's performance. and he said you know I'm really grateful that you filled in there because we didn't have anyone else and and you know he worked really hard and he played very well and then he said but the specifics of that position he basically said Trent's not a midfielder the specifics of that position right now Trent can't do them I mean I don't think he used the word can't do them but he essentially said this even when he's trying to be nice Jose he essentially said we won't be doing this again or this can't happen of course the question mark then would be well why did you do it in the first place in fairness Mourinho there really wasn't anyone else uh but it was very interesting how kind of definitive that answer was you know Trent's not a midfielder right um Alaves III
13:54Nicky Bandini:helped me impress my friends by telling me what I need to know about them I didn't I didn't expect to be seeing them there well shall I they're managed of course by Kike Sanchez Flores uh who who is presumably managing Watford at the same time I think he is he's also he's also and he has done for a while now so maybe this isn't new but you'll like it he he he's he wears this incredible kind of shipwrecked look but but devilishly handsome with it yeah yeah hobo chic it's hobo chic it's fantastic and the thing to really impress people with is mariano diaz the center forward who has now scored more goals this season than the last six years but that's the last six years put together this is a guy who hadn't gone a goal or an assist in la liga since I don't know when.
14:40And he's actually playing. He actually looks like a footballer. I was just going to ask about another striker. A striker that's setting La Liga alight. Aubameyang, Sid. Brilliant. Can you just tell us about his start? Well, it's just brilliant. He's scored in every game so far. He scored a header at the weekend, which was a little bit disappointing because all of his other goals have been the same goal, basically. And that's quite interesting as well because the same goal has been a ball that sort of semi-releases him. a touch that's good enough to get away from a defender, enough pace to get away from the defender, and then a clean finish, all of them.
15:13Slightly different clean finishes, but a very similar goal. And for a guy that's theoretically too old to be playing top-level football anymore, that we weren't sure still had this level, although you can probably tell us how good he was in France last year, he's been absolutely brilliant. And do you know what the thing I like about him, as much as anything else, and this is probably really superficial, so apologies for being superficial, but he seems to be enjoying it so much he seems to be having such a great time and he's playing fantastically well.
15:42Nicky Bandini:I want to ask about Atleti of course Alvarez I don't know if he's having a great time or not no he's not no no he's not looking like he's enjoying not playing. I will I will defend him on one well defend him is not the right word he is not looking like he's enjoying it and I think certainly until the transfer window closed I think that was deliberate I think there was a desire to stage his discontent to people. I think what we saw in the game against Liverpool in the Champions League was positive in that he was a player that actually seemed to be playing and engaging and trying to play. But they do have a problem there.
16:15That said, he wouldn't be the first player who's forced to stay, who's forced to stay unhappily and who eventually they find a place for. But it's definitely created an internal division. It's created a sense of dissatisfaction from him. He doesn't want to be there. That said, for now, he's got no choice. I was just wanting to pick up as well on Ademolo Luckman there. Sid, he had a stickered start there. And I was thinking about Ballon d 'Or contenders earlier. He was on that shortlist not so long ago for the way he did at Atalanta. And it seems like it's gone off the boil for him. Yeah, you're right.
16:47He had a brilliant start at Atletico. And I think I'm right in saying that his first game was the Coppolaire against Betis. And he scored one. And I think he provided one as well. And they battered Betis away from home. And he was really dynamic. And he was making things happen. he played a couple he played the game early this season at Fulsen I say Fulsen it wasn't even Fulsen at number nine because there was no one else available Sorloff was injured this was when Julian Alvareff was still very much in this kind of this funk that he was in and this sort of he wasn't fully fit either and Simeone played him there and Simeone after the game actually said look the first thing I did with Lukman because he was asked about you know how do you prepare a guy who's clearly not centre forward to play up front he said the first thing I did was say sorry to him I'm sorry you've had to play here I'm sorry that you've got to take this role on and I promise I will give you back what you like which is to have space to run into which is to be on the left which is to have a degree of freedom which is to dribble at people and score I think he's been um actually played okay but it's true that maybe not at that first level of a really huge excitement that we had with him but I think there's time still and I think obviously there is time once all the once all the forwards are fit um Jonathan David's now signed so they've actually got three forwards now uh once all the forwards are fit and he's playing regularly with a forward that he knows, with a defender behind him that he knows, and with him having the freedom to play his way.
18:01Nicky Bandini:Valencia are bottom, one point from their first five. Is that the scene that Rodri got caught on camera saying these are shite or something like that? Yeah, yeah. Are they? Yeah, no, no, absolutely. No, no, no, and they've just sacked their manager. They've just sacked Carlos Corbettan, but they haven't just sacked him. They've sacked Ron Goulet, who's the CEO of the club as well. This is less than 10 days after Goulet, in a press conference, was asked if he was thinking about resigning because, frankly, their transfers haven't gone that well. The team hasn't gone that well. And he said, quite rightly, to be fair to him, he sort of said, well, you know, people stick with a superficial analysis, but we're doing work behind the scenes.
18:35And he said, when he asked if he was going to write a sign, if you're waiting for that, your coffee's going to go cold. Well, 10 days later, I think his coffee's gone quite cold.
18:43Nicky Bandini:The coffee would be cold after 10 days. I mean, it'd be cold after 10 minutes. I mean, yeah. But he wasn't lying. Maybe he was actually... Yeah. Yeah, maybe he was actually saying, you know, give it five minutes and I'll be gone. But the coffee will no longer be drinkable. They've both been sacked. They are terrible. The Rodri thing I thought was very interesting because I think we should probably clarify this for those people who haven't seen it. Rodri doesn't say this publicly. Rodri doesn't say this on the pitch to a Valencia player. You know, it's not a confrontation in which he says, as we've seen many players do recently, not least that Rodrigo de Paul incident with Lewandowski, which was comic.
19:19What have you ever won? Why don't you sit down? Your coffee will also go cold if you wait for me to reel off what I've won, whereas you've won three trophies in your career, Sunshine. Admittedly, one's a World Cup. But anyway, that's another issue. But Rodri wasn't doing this to confront someone. He wasn't doing this to have a go at someone. This was on the bench, and it was an expression of surprise. It was him saying, God, this lot are really, really bad. It got picked up by cameras. There was a little bit of a kind of, oh, what a lack of respect thing. And Corboran even said it was a lack of respect.
19:47I don't think it is at all. In fact, if anything, it was an expression of a truth. It was an expression of a truth in a private conversation to a teammate. And actually, some Valencia fans, there are even some who put it on a T-shirt. This lot are very bad. Some Valencia fans, I think, actually were semi-grateful for it. It was like, someone needed to say this. Because Valencia, in theory, are a massive club. They're just not a very good football team at the moment.
20:10Nicky Bandini:Just think about Harry Kane and the Ballon d 'Or. Is it that he'll be brilliant at the start of the ceremony and then he won't be able to move by the end? and people will be screaming for Ollie Watkins to win it. And they'll both walk off the stage looking sad. We'll think he's going to win. And then at the very last minute, Tuchel will send everyone back into the audience and he'll finish second. Yeah, exactly right. Thank you, Sid. Have a lovely day. Very much a pleasure. Cheerio. Sid Lowe out in Spain there. And that'll do for part one. Part two, we'll do Italy.
Read the full transcript
20:46Nicky Bandini:Bones part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. So Lazio top of Serie A, a point ahead of Roma, Inter and Calgary with AC Milan a point behind them and everyone's new favourites, Como in sixth. Where do you want to start, Nicky? Do you want to start with Lazio? You've done a column about good on the pitch, chaos off the pitch. Because there are games on Monday night, Roma and Inter could ever take them. Lazio this weekend missed the chance actually this is the first game they haven't won this season they missed the chance to have their first ever season in Serie A starting with four consecutive wins so they were 2-0 up against Milan and ended up drawing 2-2 so their first setback of the season but still the surface at least a very very good start to this season for Lazio and that's noteworthy because well nobody I saw and certainly not me was predicting them to have a good season given that you had the backdrop of having to say goodbye to some important players during the summer and then hiring Gennaro Gattuso, whose star we could say probably has never been...
21:48Nicky Bandini:Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit. And tending towards the latter, of course, after failing to qualify at the League of the World Cup. But he's doing brilliantly. And what's made this even more extraordinary is that he's doing brilliantly, winning three games and then drawing the fourth one despite the fact that the fan base is essentially in open war with the owner Claudio Lottito to the point that they're just not going to the games so last season Lazio sold about 30 ,000 season tickets I think it was just shy of this season the figure's been reported at 4 ,500 so we're talking about 15 % of the season tickets they had last season last season the home game against Milan was 50 ,000 fans in the stadium this time it was it was still about 20 ,000 for this one but I would say a good 14 ,000 of those were probably Milan fans it felt like a Milan home game if anything and what you had on on Saturday was actually like hundreds of Lazio fans did go to the team's training ground and did this convoy of mopeds going to the stadium and then when they got to Pontemilville which is this bridge near stadium they all peeled off and there was a statement about how they were always going to go watch the game in the pub or at home instead because they are trying to make their point to the owner lotito and and not in their words about the team or about them the manager so it's it's an extraordinary situation and i feel like every time i talk about lotito and lansia i always want to say it's kind of a big topic and maybe too long for us to talk about but at some point i try to try and work out a way of giving a synopsis part of it is the usual well, we're not happy about your ambition, not spending enough money on the team.
23:31There was an open letter earlier this year that went on change.org and got tens of thousands of signatures saying you've shown basically no ambition in 22 years. Last seven years, we haven't won a trophy. And more than that, you haven't signed anyone who's made us feel like excited. And there's this story brought up about a commemorative event for Vincenzo Paparelli, who was killed in a Rome derby in 1979. He was hit by a flare that was fired from the Roma. And there was a commemorative event for him last year where his niece was going to come out onto the pitch with some other people and then she didn't.
24:09And then there was this two different versions of this story went out. The fans saying that Lazio had said she couldn't go out on the pitch. Lottito came out and said, that's not true at all. What happened was she was going to go out And then four members of the organised support were trying to go out with her and we didn't think that was appropriate. It felt like they were trying to show their influence. So there's layers to it that are really complicated. but there's also layers that are not that complicated like the fact that Lottito bought another football club, Salernitana, got them promoted all the way to Serie A and then wound up in this ridiculous conflict of interest situation where he wasn't forced to divest himself of that until after they'd got there.
24:53You know Lottito is a political figure literally he's in the Italian parliament he's a political figure in football terms he has I would say outsized influence compared to some of his peers in the Serie A, the Lega Serie A, the decisions that get made about how the league is run. And there's a lot of feelings about that that all add up to this extremely toxic relationship between the fans and the president. And of course, worth saying that Lazio's organized support in so many ways at so many times has also behaved in ways that I think a lot of people would consider They're fairly disgraceful. It's a mess, is the short way of saying it.
25:33Philippe Auclair:If we try to leave the mess outside, the Olimpico, not easy with Lottito. How long has it been since two Roman teams were top of the league in Serie A? And both of them, I mean, and also I'm sure you're going to talk about AS Roma, but some of my Romanister friends said this could be the year. This could be the year. I mean, is there a feeling that there is, I wouldn't say a transfer of power, but that Rome is becoming a proper footballing power in Italian football again? Despite everything I've just said about Lazio, I'm still not sold that they're going to be at the top at the end of the season.
26:12Davide Pratesi has been a fantastic signing for them from Inter. This guy who was a big signing for Inter a few years ago, supposed to be one of the coming players of Italian football and wound up on the bench there a lot has been brilliant for them. But to me, that team is still overall overperforming its quality. Romar, a different case. This is obviously year two of the Giampiero Gasperini project. And really, ever since he won that power struggle with Claudio Ranieri, the team has been flying. Daniel Marlin has been sensational. I think Gasparini kind of admitted it the other day. He said, listen, I thought he was going to be good, but I didn't think he was going to be this good.
26:52He scored five goals already this season in Serie A. Matthias Sule is continuing to develop into a really classy player as an alternative to Paolo Dybala. It is worth saying that when they really need that quality, you do feel like it still needs to be Dybala. He's such a classy player. and you worry about how his fitness will impact that. And I think for me, that's my reservation with Roma in general this season. It's Gasperini's acknowledged it. The squad is still thin and the first team looks really, really good. But on paper, at least, you look at the squad depth and go, it's not up there with Inter.
27:26You expect Inter to be able to outlast that. Having said that, it's kind of also the hallmark of Gasperini teams at Atalanta that you'd think, have they got that depth of quality and they'd keep finding players and making stars, not stars, but great quality out of players that you didn't think of as being that. So I do think they're a brilliant team to watch right now and the results speak for themselves. I mean, first three games, 10 goals scored, one conceded in Serie A. Of course, by the time we put this out, they'll probably have got hammered last night by Torino and embarrassed me, but I think they look really good.
28:00I'm still thinking it's been very difficult to beat Philippe. So maybe your Roman friends might have to wait at least another year. But I wanted to ask Nicky about Milan and Ruben Amirim, who criticised very heavily in the UK for what happened with Manchester United. How has he started? Really a mixed bag, really a mixed bag. I think there was a lot of optimism at the start. I keep saying it, but I think it's not because I felt like this, but I think there was a lot of buzz around the fact that they beat Man United in pre-season and looked good and everyone thought, oh, maybe they are coming in hot.
28:38And then they won their first couple of games. And then the last two, the draw against Juventus and then the draw against Lazio this weekend, I think have checked that a little bit. To me, pre-season is always not worth getting ever excited about. But to me, the team has never really looked that fluid yet. They haven't looked like a team that even when it was winning was completely convincing. They've got this teenager, Alfadio Cisse, who was on loan at Catanzaro last season. He's been really, really good. I think the goals he's scored have been really impressive. You see a real technical quality there and got them a result against Juventus when they really hadn't done anything to earn it.
29:20I think there's some bright points like that. There's some players that you're still not sure about, like Gonzalo Ramos, of course, 74 million signing. I'd say, again, mixed bag of his performances. Only scored once so far. But then Diego Moreira, who was the other big signing this summer, playing at the weekend, was the guy who dug them out of the hole against Lazio, scored both goals from wing-back. So there's some good signs and there's some bad signs. And I think kind of reasonable to say, listen, you've only been there since the summer. The verdict is still out.
29:50Nicky Bandini:I wanted to ask about Cagliari. managed by this guy Fabio Pizzacane who you wrote, you did an interview with him nine years ago, Nicky, and I've just read it. So, you know, you never know when people are going to get to this stuff because he won the first ever Guardians Footballer of the Year Award. I didn't even know that was a thing. I don't know if we still do it, but his story is absolutely fascinating. Yeah, he's one of those really inspiring characters in football and I don't know how people do know his story. He was, as a teenager, he suffered with Guillain-Barre syndrome, which is this condition that attacks your immune system and he was essentially completely paralysed and had to be intubated and wound up in a coma for 20 days and it looked pretty scary for him.
30:43Recovered from that slowly as one does, wound up becoming a successful professional footballer. Not one of the names that is a household name, not someone who's playing for the very biggest clubs, but made his debut in Serie A with Cagliari at 30. And he also had a moment in 2011 where he was recognised for reporting an attempted match fix by the Ravenna director, Giorgio Pafona, when he was in the third tier. So he's a character who's gone through a lot in his life and has shown character in some difficult situations to go and have a top flight career. And now he's showing himself to be quite a canny top flight manager again at Cagliari.
31:29Showed some good stuff late last season. This season has started with three wins and a loss. The only loss being two Inter, which is the joint best start in Cagliari's history. The only time they've won three of their first four games before was, they've done it twice. One was the season they won the league in 1969-70. The other time was when they had just won the league the year after. So they really haven't played this well historically at all. And it's not a team of standout stars. It's a team of mostly young players, some interesting young players there, including Paul Mendy, who scored their first goal at the weekend in a win away to Atlanta.
32:11and then a few familiar faces. I know Mark wanted me to mention Harry Winks' role in the middle of it. Harry Winks is playing in midfield for them and playing quite well.
32:21Nicky Bandini:And it is interesting how many British players there are now. You know, you obviously had sort of the glory years, years ago of like top-rated British players going to Serie A and now it's not necessarily that but, you know, John Stones and Curtis Jones. That's nice to have a rhyming couplet at Inter. You know, you've got Trevor Chalibrook, Como and then, you know, this sort of Scottish contingent Kieran Bowie, who I remember because he scored an amazing goal, I think, for Hibs in Europe, and is playing for Sassuolo. So it's quite interesting to see how many of them are kicking about now. Yeah, I haven't got the number in front of me.
32:55I know it was 21 near the end of the transfer window, but I think it moved again at the very end. So it's around that number of Brits in Serie A. You've mentioned some of them, Stones and Jones, neither of them starting yet for Inter, but both have made some nice cameos. is Trevi Jalabar is starting for Koma, who of course are having a flyer to start the season themselves, the only Italian team to win in the Champions League. And boy, did they win, by the way, 4-1 against Leipzig. But then even last night, the evening game last night, was Juventus against Sassuolo, which was mostly quite a bad game.
33:28And then it all went completely off the rails at the end. And it looked like Kieran Bowie had scored the winning goal for Sassuolo because he scored for them to put them 2-1 up in the 88th minute. only for Juventus to equalise and then Sassuola scored again so they did win but his wasn't the winner so yeah it would take me a full podcast to do a full Britwatch of all of them but definitely a few now popping up everywhere
33:50Nicky Bandini:I'm so tempted to do a sort of David Bowie voice from Bowie to Bowie but you know there's no need for that Max alright that'll be for part two part three we'll do Germany and France
34:09Nicky Bandini:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. Look, Mark, we've already talked about Harry Kane, Ballon d 'Or, but look, Bayern, they are down in fourth. A disaster. You know, a massive two points behind Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg above them. But Archie says there's no title race, so no title race. Kane had been on a drought of two Bundesliga games without scoring. Karius performed miracles last week for Schalke against Bayern. He did score the winner against Elversburg at the weekend. As earlier been mentioned, it makes it 150 goals in 153 games for Bayern. He's on 99 in the Bundesliga.
34:50The goal was reminiscent. It was like a poorer version of the goal against DR Congo in the one that he rifled into the top corner. It wasn't quite as high. It was a bit closer towards goal. But the kind of the way that he fell away and still managed to get his shot on target in such a ferocious way, you know, was the same. It's not been a great start. And Philippe will get on to PSG in a bit. But I do just think that because of the World Cup, managers are being sensible with their players, particularly in leagues where Bayern can take it easy, can get behind and still win comfortably. So I think that's the reason for the poor, inverted commas, start from Bayern.
35:38Philippe Auclair:I just wanted to mention that in that win against Elvensberg, wonderfully named, I still think it means Mountain of the Elves or something like that, which probably is not the case at all. There was an absolutely phenomenal long-distance goal by Markus Krattenbacher, former Bayern Munich player himself, which deserves a good look at the highlights of the Bully this weekend. It's an absolute screamer. Beautiful. And I think they probably are the story of the season so far, actually, Max. This was a team that was in the fourth tier not that long ago, third tier, second tier, first time in the Bundesliga, basically a village of 13 ,000 people.
36:24They're not owned by somebody that Philippe is going to absolutely hate. There is pharmaceutical sort of influence, but not to the point where this is suddenly a team that's bought their way up to the Bundesliga. You know, just like budget, nowhere near Bayern and nowhere near most of the teams in the Bundesliga. But they started really well. After the game, I did think that Vincent Kompany was slightly condescending when he said he hopes they stay up, which, you know, for a team that's actually been winning games already, you know, it suggests maybe, you know, maybe Vincent Wagner, the Elversburg coach, could have said exactly the same to Kompany afterwards as well.
37:09But realistically, they are a team that's going to be fighting relegation. They've already got a bit like Hull in the Premier League, already got points on the ball. But you won't be able to mention them without mentioning that they're from an area of 13 ,000 people. So get ready for that stat to be used probably another 13 ,000 times. It's hard, isn't it?
37:28Nicky Bandini:It's hard not to go down the tiny little elves. I mean, I've just seen that goal. It's a great strike. Considering Krattenmacher's an elf, it's a great strike. But let's not focus on that. You know, it's a glad back of Saturday manager after three games. Yeah, Polanski, who came in this time last year. They sat their manager after three matches last season. Polanski came in. I don't know. He's somebody who's connected to the club. I think that certainly helped him to get the job. Things haven't progressed very well. They've made a shocking start to the season, were beaten by the Elves, as I think they're now going to be named.
38:06As the nickname earlier on, they were smashed by Leipzig, then lost 5-0 to Freiburg at the weekend. and I did like that the captain, Tim Kleindance, got sent off at the weekend. One week ago, he was bemoaning the performance of the younger players in the team and told them that they need to get off a TikTok and start concentrating. And then seven days later, he's the one that gets sent off early in the second half.
38:35Nicky Bandini:Was he sent off for a synchronised TikTok dance? Yeah, crappy dance. Exactly. So yeah, I mean, three matches in and already Gladbach are looking for a new manager. I think the other story would just be Dortmund. And I don't know, you were talking about good goals earlier on. I don't know if you've seen the goal from Felix Nemecha in the 3-0 win over Paderborn. Overhead kick, it's a spectacular goal. He was somebody that I was surprised didn't move on in the summer. He's at the peak of his age, 25, by German standards, had a good World Cup. I think if you look at that central midfield area and the amount of players that have gone for a lot of money, and people are looking for, I suppose, players that can do both sides of that central midfield job, and Dortmund are known for selling their players once they reach the perfect limit to sell.
39:31you would have thought that now would have been at that time but he stayed in the Bundesliga scored a great goal at the weekend but like despite Bayern's slow start I would agree with Archie and say that Bayern just win it easy
39:44Nicky Bandini:I'm giving it a 6.8 on the Sinclair spectrum good height on the jump but you've always got to put it top corner and he's hit it bottom corner and that's Smetcher's big mistake on this I think you're not happy with that Philippe? I don't make the rules
39:59Philippe Auclair:no I agree with you actually I also don't think it's an overhead kick it's a bicycle almost a bicycle it's sort of in in between it's almost an overhead kick it's not it wouldn't be a classic bicycle
40:15Nicky Bandini:no I think it's nearer overhead than bicycle if you're saying bicycle is sort of 90 degree where's scissors in that where's scissor, where's bicycle, where's overhead these are difficult questions to Ligue 1 Philippe Since we started recording, PSG have shot up to seventh, which is good. I remember it was their first win of the season. Does it matter? I mean, they always do this. They just, you know, it doesn't.
40:41Philippe Auclair:Well, they're a diesel. But let's put it that way. It could have been even worse because, first of all, some of their, I mean, their draw against Lille was a miracle already with two goals scored in added time. against Brest, who are doing quite well actually this season, surprisingly. They really struggled and could say thank you to Ferran Torres for an absolutely magnificent goal, which is created by another also magnificent backheel by Dembele and a really good finish. But after that, they really, really struggled. And the fact that they seem to fail to control games as is their want, it's not as if they're missing key players.
41:23Philippe Auclair:They're not. They're all there. They've done decent recruitment. They've done, I think, really well on the transfer market. They've sold players that were not starters, but for a technical term, it's called a shitload of money, especially English clubs. And they've, you know, massive profits, so no problem that side. And it just seems, yes, they're a diesel. They take time to get started. but to be honest the football has been poor and they can say thank you to Safarov for keeping them in the game late on Brest could have probably deserved a draw if not better than that but it's just like for Bayern in Bundesliga they'll win it in the end we all know that, it's just that they're taking the road that is leading to the terminus is a little bit more convoluted than usual The specifics on that, Philippe.
42:19Douay hasn't scored. Dembele hasn't scored. Ferretz-Geli hasn't scored. The only forward who has scored for them this season is Torres. And I was just wondering, is that anything to do with a tactical shift? Is that his impact changing the way they play? Or is it just those players haven't shown up yet?
42:38Philippe Auclair:I mean, Dembele is doing a Dembele. We're used to it now. I think Douai is having a little bit of a quieter phase in his career, perhaps. He's not quite hitting the heights of a year and a half ago. Ferran Torres has been a revelation. And to be honest, he's six goals in six games for him, if you take into account his hat-trick against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League, which is, nobody has done that for PSG since Zlatan. So he's the flavour of the month. But I would say it's disguising a team that, as you say, struggles to get into gear. But once it will get into gear, I don't have a problem with that.
43:21Philippe Auclair:As I have problems with many other Ligue 1 teams at the moment, like Marseille, for example. Everything is wrong with them. So they start with the season, the Hammer Strasbourg, OK? The Hammer Strasbourg 4-0. And everybody thinks it's going to be great. So it's Bruno Genesio. You remember him from Lyon, probably, who is now the manager. And they're thinking it's going to be great. And then since then, three defeats on the trot. Players, Genesio getting very, very excitable and angry in his press conferences. Players apologizing. And you know when this kind of thing happens in Marseille, usually it means that you're going to have a rocky season.
43:58Philippe Auclair:So they're not good. They have lost to Monaco. They've lost to Rennes, the last one. but they also lost to PFC, Paris FC, which honestly is not the done thing, and in front of their own fans. So it's anywhere else, it would be a blip. You remember, we've got the scale of the blips and so forth. In Marseille, that's already a pre-crisis. So yes, it's a pre-crisis.
44:26Nicky Bandini:You mentioned Paris FC, Liam Rossini is there. Is he getting a bit more respect there than he did over here?
44:32Philippe Auclair:Well, I mean, he got respect when he was at Strasbourg, to be absolutely honest. People really liked his team. And his Strasbourg side was really delightful to watch. I wouldn't say the same of Paris FC. If you've got 90 minutes of your life to waste, which you don't, friends, you don't. You watch that PFC Lyon nil-nil. It was atrocious. It was so atrocious that when the highlights reels were done by being sport and so on, The same incident, which is like a free kick, was shown three times. It was that bad, but not perhaps what very representative of what Paris FC have been giving. A team which, by the way, is only going to get better and better.
45:18Philippe Auclair:The Arnaud family, obviously one of the richest men in the world, Bernard Arnaud, are behind the club. They're the only French club to have invested massively during the summer transfer market. and you look where they are in the table, it's paying off. So the PFC, there are now two teams in Paris. They're not on the level of PFC yet. And is there a big rivalry?
45:39Nicky Bandini:Is there a kind of, you know, it's not a real thing?
45:45Philippe Auclair:You know, first of all, there are two clubs which historically are linked because PFC and PSG at the beginning were part of the same entity. It's a little bit lukewarm. I would say if you're looking for rivalries in Paris and football, it would be more Red Star against PSG. on Red Star against the World, actually. But PFC, they're a bit meh, to be honest, in terms of their history and everything.
46:08Nicky Bandini:I mean, your first answer was one of the most French noises you've ever made, and you've made many, I will say. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. You wanted to mention Bordeaux as well.
46:19Philippe Auclair:Well, yes, just because every time I can remind people of what a wrecker of football, Jean-Lopez, is, I think it has to be done. And I think it has to be questioned why and how somebody like Jean-Lopez can still be allowed to be anywhere near a football club. Bordeaux, the club of Zidane, Lizarazu, Tigana, Gires and so forth, has been relegated to Regional 1, which is the sixth division, so amateur football. And he's now very close to liquidation. And the so-called plans... And what does he get from it? He finds in football what he obviously is looking for in football. And I will leave it at that.
47:01Philippe Auclair:Paris Brunner, the German forward from Monaco, former from Borussia Dortmund, has been in the youth teams, was loaned out to Cirque du Bruges last season, has come back to Monaco. He's only 20 years old, but boy, he looks some player. He's already scored five with Monaco. And again, we're talking about screamers. have a look at the one he scored against strasbourg that's a beauty and max it kisses the post before
47:31Nicky Bandini:it goes in oh yes absolutely delightful thank you so much for bringing that to my attention go he hits it nicely doesn't he oh perfect uh well thank you a lovely place to end it uh thanks everybody that'll do uh thank you in absent in absentia sid low of course you lazy bastard and thank you to you lot as well thank you nicky thanks cheers mark thanks mike Thank you, Philippe. Thank you for the weekly ears produced by Rory Simon. The executive producer is Tyra Papula. We'll be back on Thursday.
48:08Philippe Auclair:This is The Guardian.