Kane wins the Ballon d’Or! And Real win El Clasico!

0:00The youth mental health crisis is growing, and social media is a major driver. Kids are spending up to nine hours a day on screens, often unsupervised, and studies show a direct link to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. That's where Gab comes in. Gab offers safer phones and watches for kids with no social media, tailored to every age, offering the right tech at the right time, or tech in steps. From GPS tracking enabled watches for younger kids to phones with parent enabled apps for teens, each device allows kids to more safely grow their independence. Visit gab.com slash getgab and use code getgab for an exclusive offer.

0:41That's g-a-b-b dot com forward slash getgab. Gab, tech in steps, independence for them, peace of mind for parents. Do you snore? Did somebody hand you a CPAP and did you quietly stop using it? The mask that never quite seals? The hose tugging at you every time you roll over? A machine sitting abandoned in a closet? that ExciteOSA works a different way. It treats a root cause instead of managing the noise, and you use it while you're awake. 20 minutes a day, while the coffee brews, while you set your fantasy lineup. An FDA-cleared prescription device for primary snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea.

1:25Then you go to bed like a person, nothing strapped on, nothing plugged in. In clinical studies, 90 % of patients saw a reduction in snoring, No sleep study required. Prescribed online, shipped to your door. ExciteOSA at springsleep.com slash sleep20. Code sleep20 for 20 % off. ExciteOSA is an FDA-cleared prescription-only device for primary snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. Not for everyone. Individual results vary. Risks and benefits at springsleep.com. Hi, it's me, your gutters. I want to start by saying I'm fine. Everything is totally fine. There's just, there's a lot of debris up here and I've been managing it mostly on my own for about eight months now and I just thought maybe you could find someone on Angie to clean me up.

2:20You don't have to make it a whole thing. It doesn't need to be a whole thing. I just, I could really use your help. Your gutters have waited long enough. Find a pro at Angie.com.

2:41Pol Ballus: Today, from the stadium to the London Palladium, we've got all the big winners. Ballon d 'Or, Big Daddy Kane, the first Chingford winner ever. We ran up a night that was big for Harry, if not for Harry, and all the other big awards from the people with the golden balls. Classico, Mu ruins another suit and puts Barcelona on their knees and a stirring win for Real. Liga, yay! PSG are back on top. Bundesliga, Bayern, same. But Serie A stays wide open after Saturday. Scott McTominay powered Derby del Sole. All that and loads of other great stuff in this Totally Football Show. Hey! Hello to you. If you're watching us live late on a Monday night on the YouTube, you may or may not have been aware that we did a special live.

3:30Pol Ballus: We are doing a special live around tonight's seismic celebration of football in Argyle Street, London, the Ballon d 'Or. A brief event which has now concluded, enabling us to review the decisions of the voters as well as bring you all the latest news. Who's going to be doing that for us? Well, I'm here. Tom Williams is here with us. Hello, James. All right, Tom. It's been an evening. It's been a thrill fest. It's been a thrill fest. Hasn't it just flown by? Yeah, Paul Ballouce is on the big screen. Hey, Paul. Hello, hello. How are you? A very sensible time to be doing a podcast. Yeah, yeah. Spanish times we're doing a podcast.

4:12Yeah, no, I've been doing worse things at this time. Oh, God. Really? Paul's been doing worse things at this kind of time.

4:19Pol Ballus: I don't doubt it. In the studio, Seb's there for Blur. Live in real life. Yeah, Seb, it's a big night for Bayern Munich. Yeah, I feel oddly emotional about it. Do you? Yeah, I really do. I'm so pleased for Harry Kane. For someone who was never deemed quick enough, never skilful enough, nothing he did was quite good enough to potentially play at a Premier League level when he was having that kind of nomadic loan spell, Norwich, Leicester, Leighton Orient, onwards, onwards, Millwall. And tonight I've seen him win the Ballon d 'Or. It's an amazing story. Amazing story. Oh, thank you, Seb. Thank you.

4:57Pol Ballus: Well, Harry looked quite emotional. himself up on the podium as he accepted the ultimate trophy, the ultimate individual award for a footballer. No, James Horncastle tonight because he was actually there working the crowd doing the red carpet. We tried to spot him on the footage but we didn't, did we? He got hungry at one point and said that some of the Ballon d 'Or logos looked like a Ferrero Rocher, which made him more hungry. Classic Horncastle. Classic Horncastle. Indeed. Okay, we'll be discussing, dissecting the Ballon d 'Or decisions very, very shortly. But let's get a moment of the week as is traditional for our Euro show.

5:36Pol Ballus: Tom, why don't you kick us off? We had a ghost goal incident in Ligue 1 this weekend, which you don't get all that often these days because of goal line technology. Goal line technology is in place in Ligue 1. But nevertheless, there was a degree of controversy about a goal in the game between Ose and Le Mans. It was the goal that put Le Mans ahead. Kloss comes into the box and a guy called Lucas Boides directs a header towards goal. The Oseo goalkeeper, Paul Nardi, gets down to his left and basically stops the ball pretty much right on the line. The referee looks at his watch. Nothing happens.

6:14So play continues. And Oseo are counterattacking when all of a sudden the ref looks at his watch again, blows his whistle and points to the centre circle to say a goal has been scored. game finish 1-1 and afterwards Will Still who was our head coach was adamant that the ball hadn't crossed the line he had been told by the officials that of the four watches that they were wearing only two of them had indicated a goal had been scored he claimed to have footage that proved the ball hadn't crossed the line the official goal line technology footage which we're familiar with from watching the Premier League, etc., appeared to show that the ball had crossed the line.

6:59But according to Will Still, and again, maybe slightly biased, given his role as manager of the team who conceded this goal, he thought that the goal line technology had mistaken the goalkeeper's gloves for the ball. Jibril Sissé, who is now strikers coach at OZ, he's been tweeting about it as well. put a video out. There's no way the ball crossed the line. I suspect it probably did, but the footage looks inconclusive. I thought the Ballon d 'Or ceremony was long. But there you go. You know, keeping in the theme of the evening. I mean, I'd just say, additionally, I think Thierry Henry might be about to chip in, so I'll step back.

7:37If you watch the Ballon d 'Or ceremony. I'll have a few questions to ask about that, won't you?

7:42Pol Ballus: Yeah, Thierry's presence really enlivened, really moved things along. Anyway, fantastic. Paul, what was your moment of the weekend? Yeah, I'm going to stay off the Clásico for now because we're going to discuss about that at some point later. But I'm going to go to Madrid on Saturday. Atletico Madrid won their game against Deportivo de la Coruña and they're quietly in the second place of the table just two points off Barcelona after the defeat of the Catalans in the Clásico. But what I wanted to highlight is Julien Alvarez, who had his best week of the season. he scored the winner against Deportivo, an easy tap in in the second half.

8:23Nice cross from Alejandro Grimaldo from the left-hand side, and he just tapped it in. He scored midweek in the Champions League. But the most remarkable thing to highlight that happened was that after the game, he apologized to Atletico fans. So he basically went to the post-match interviews, and he wanted to speak himself. And he said, look, I want to apologize for what happened around me in summer. the way that I spoke and how I went to the World Cup and said that I wanted to leave the club. He acknowledged that it was bad timing, a bad moment to do it, and he understands the Atletico fans for being angry at him because of that, and he's going to try to amend things.

9:05This has been seen, I think that I mentioned a couple of weeks before that Julian was on course to switch agents after what happened in summer. So basically he's done that. He's moved to a new agent. His new agent is Roderiz Asian, named Pablo Barquero. And apparently this has been pictured as the first move that he's been advised to take in his new chapter. So let's see how it goes from here. But it has been received with warm eyes and with a warm welcome by all the Atletico fans. Simone also sort of thanked him for having done that and said that he had a lot of respect for all the people who apologize in life for all the mistakes that they've done in the past.

9:50So yeah, Julien Arborette's story.

9:54Pol Ballus: And the players as well, because after the goal, it was interesting the way that they all made a conscious effort to go and, you know, almost like he'd been out with an injury for a year or something like that, as opposed to wanting away from the club and all that kind of thing. Lovely stuff. Sheb, what have you got for us? I got a fun one from Westfalenstadion. So on Saturday night, Dortmund played Eintracht Frankfurt. Just after halftime, during the halftime break, the Eintracht Frankfurt fans released a whole load of pyro. Happens quite a lot in the Bundesliga, which caused a big plume over the goal at the far end.

10:26Anyway, Eintracht Frankfurt, to begin the second half attacking, Ferris Chaby fires a shot into the pyro cloud.

10:33Pol Ballus: Well, the thing is, you showed us this footage. It's extraordinary. You're watching a football match, and then the ball whizzes across, and suddenly half the screen is missing. It's blank. It's almost as if Chaybe doesn't really know what's happened to his shot because it just disappears. And it vanishes into the fog. Anyway, on the replay, what you see is a shot actually kind of, not quite into the top corner, but arrowing towards Koble's goal. And he loses the flight of the ball in the pyro cloud, but then readjust to make the save and tip it over the bar. And in itself, an amazing moment. Great bit of goalkeeping, really unusual.

11:06I haven't seen that before. Anyway, really important because Borussia Dortmund only go on to win the game 1-0 with a very late Maxi Bayer goal. Brilliant save. And also just one of those things you just don't see very often. And very Bundesliga at the same time.

11:20Pol Ballus: You don't see it very often and you didn't see it this time, have you? Didn't see it this time. Yeah, crazy, crazy. All right, lovely moments of the week. Let's get on to the Ballon d 'Or before we do our league roundups. so Monday evening and most of Tuesday morning it kind of felt like the Ballon d 'Or ceremony was taking place in London's Palladium in Argyle Street there were 13 categories we can discuss felt like there were 13 categories there were but yeah let's focus on the big one first of all the Ballon d 'Or which went to Harry Kane now you're emotional about this Seb how did you feel Tom I'm not sure I was emotional But I was quite pleased for Kane Do you think it's the right decision?

12:06I think he's a worthy winner I mean he was the favourite It was the bookies favourite certainly So I don't think it was an enormous surprise You look at the season that he achieved with Bayern The numbers he put up 73 goals for club and country Right Which I think is the best figure since that Absolutely absurd Messi season from 2011-12 Right And on top of that, he's creating goals. You know, he is increasingly the playmaker who makes Bayern tick, wins the Bundesliga, wins the German Cup, has a very good World Cup as well. And he has reached a Ballon d 'Or level. You know, the thought of Harry Kane one day winning the Ballon d 'Or when he first broke into the Tottenham team, I suspect a lot of people would have struggled to believe that.

12:56But well before we left Tottenham, we could all see that he was a truly exceptional talent. What has happened since he moved to Bayern is he's now surrounded by players who enable him to win the trophies that a talent of his deserves to win. So I think a fitting winner.

13:16Pol Ballus: So your point is he's not only the best number nine in the world, he might also be the best number 10 in the world. yeah and more on that as well because i think kane is a nine he's a 10 increasingly for buying he's a six and an eight right he takes gold kicks he is it's very interesting like one of the things he says about his that that that sort of deeper role that he plays is it's built into the buying system as a means of testing and opposition's willingness to press so one of his roles is i'm going to get the ball deep and see are you going to come and press me you're going to come and take away my space and we're going to make as a team tactical adjustments off the back of that so he's doing all these things playmaking scoring goals um he there's a a tactical function he's defending he's often kind of um he's a key part of by munich set piece defending in their own box and when you look at some of the careers that have really peaked at mine over the last couple years so diaz elise have both reached wonderful wonderful levels uh apexes in their own careers they've achieved that individually yes but kane is such a big part of that because is you cannot take Kane out of this Bayern side without changing what they are as a team.

14:25He is so woven into their identity, this newly built company Bayern. That to me, I'm a Tottenham fan, I'm biased, I've watched his entire career, I'm also a German football correspondent for the Athletics, so of course I want this to happen. But to me, that is the difference between him and all the other candidates for the award, is that he's not just a soloist here.

14:44Pol Ballus: Right, a lot of people commenting about this, And those who are not Kane advocates suggest that him playing in the Bundesliga means that you should look at the number of goals with a slight asterisk. Mr. Podge, anyone says anyone who voted Harry Kane must be looking at Nicolas Falkrug as current top scorer in the Bundesliga and wondering if they were hoodwinked. What do you think they're going to think about this award there in Spain, Paul? I think the expectation or the dream was that either Kylian Mbappe or Laminia Mal won that I think that the campaign that both players did themselves and fueled themselves giving away all those interviews to all imaginable medias I remember Kylian Mbappe saying in the build-up of the Ballon d 'Or that if he won the Ballon d 'Or he would dedicate that to Africa, the whole continent in a quote that was seen basically in Spain as a way to try to snatch boats, basically, from African federation, something like this.

15:42So in a way, from a personal level, I'm happy that Harvey Kane has won because it doesn't validate this sort of procedure to get this sort of award because I found it ridiculous at some point. But for Madrid or Barcelona, I think that they are both clubs that they brag and they are proud of themselves, of being a factory, of creating Ballon d 'Or winners because they have all this platform, all this thing around the clubs that enables all the best players just to join them and win the Ballon d 'Or because they have the, yeah, just the media sort of platform. And yeah, and in a way, I think it was an open race, but I think that Harvey Kane is a worthy winner.

16:23He's, as Tom was saying and Seb was saying, he's a Ballon d 'Or caliber player, which for me is an important thing. and potentially there was not a clear perfect candidate but he was the more rounded one um and i think that uh it makes sense as well paul i just had a question about those campaigns that were run in spain obviously like i've heard your view the the attitude and the kind of the culture of the ballon d 'or is a little bit different in spain and we all sort of in so in england certainly in germany the um the campaigns were viewed as being very brash and and a little bit gauche like was that the sort of the general opinion in spain as a whole or just um in the instead of the journalistic quarters uh i wouldn't say as a whole um because at some point uh some of the public opinion saw it as a as a legitimate thing just to try to achieve the trophy and like the players they have all these bonuses attached to this sort of award so they would do anything that they want just to win it.

17:23So I would say that it was quite mixed because I think that in the recent years, opinions have been polarised and the importance of the Ballon d 'Or in the opinions of the, I don't know if it's Gen Z or if it's like for all the people, but in Spain, it's like, okay, if you've won the Ballon d 'Or, you have a different pedigree and a different caliber of player and it gives you a sort of altitude that it's not comparable just to anything else. So I think that both players saw an open chance to get it and they were willing to do anything that they could have done. I mean, in a way, if you think about Kylian Mbappe, he's been at the top of the game for a lot of years and he has not won the Ballon d 'Or yet.

18:03So it's quite, I mean, he might be really wanting to win that. And just for Lamine Jamal, he's just relentless. He just wants more and more and more and more. And yeah, the Ballon d 'Or was a big goal for him as well. Do you think it's kind of important that some of that campaigning isn't rewarded this year?

18:23Pol Ballus: I don't know that that will be a factor in people. It might not be. I just felt like if you do it. I think hoping that Real Madrid will learn their lesson from this might be optimistic. I'm not sure. Not so much the clubs. I think some of the external campaigning was particularly distasteful and it feels like. Kane must have done some campaigning himself. I don't think it was quite on the nose. Did he grant any interviews to anyone, anything like that? Well, there was some very fine journalism that was done around the topic of Harry Kane for The Athletic. It was really, really well respected. You did a lovely piece with him yourself, around about the time that voting was coming to a close.

19:00Pol Ballus: But, you know, this also matched my personal opinion. This is what I believe and this is the project that I'm happy to... Well, he had a fantastic year. Tom, you mentioned his numbers. Obviously, the other players did as well. Yamal, relentless as you say, and back with this extraordinary 12 months of being top scorer in La Liga, top scorer in the Champions League, and then posting those crazy numbers at the World Cup as well. But delighted for Harry Kane that he takes that. Some of the other awards of the 13, Alexia Porteas gets her third Ballon d 'Or, the first in four years, winning the quadruple with Barcelona Femini, of course, before joining the Lionesses in London.

19:40Pol Ballus: Goalkeeper of the year went to Unai Simón of Spain. Spain also got coached there with Luis de la Fuente. Paris Saint-Germain were team of the year. Was there anything that you particularly disagree with in terms of the awards anyway? Tom? I think Unai Simon, goalkeeper of the year, raised a few. I agree with you. And we looked up to see how many saves he made over the entirety of the World Cup. I was expecting him to rush the stage and say, Unai, you had a great World Cup. He made nine saves at the World Cup. Nine saves in eight games. But we talked about this during the World Cup. His principal contribution to Spain's success was the sweeper keeping that he did.

20:27I don't think I've ever seen, I remember being in the stadium, I don't think I've ever seen a goalkeeper adopt such a high line consistently. He was regularly on the halfway line, which when you see it in the stadium just seems mad. So he clearly contributed to what Spain achieved. But I can't think of that many saves that he's made over the last 12 months. I agree with you. And if you go even a bit earlier than that, with Athletic Club, he did not have a great season. He played for the Spain national team because he's the trusted goalkeeper for Luis de la Fuente. And he has the reason to drop him out because he's been outstanding for Spain.

21:05but I also saw this as a way to reward the good defensive numbers from Spain in the World Cup which are not only attributable to the goalkeeper. I don't think that Nye Simon had an outstanding goalkeeper. He was okay but yeah I don't think that possible. I think that David Rea was potentially more of a worthy winner of that award in my opinion.

21:31Pol Ballus: Right. Tom? Yeah, I was just going to make it out. No, it can wait. I was going to make a final point about Kane. A final point about Kane? Not to suggest that I should have. That's right. I'm saying now. I mean, I guess the point I was going to make is that, you know, 2025-26 in football terms was very much the season of the collective. Spain deservedly won the World Cup because they were the best team. And they were the only team that didn't have, not that they didn't have a standard individual player. because they did in Lamin-Yamal, but he didn't turn up in the way that some of the other individuals did.

22:06Paris Saint-Germain, similar. Okay, some phenomenal individual players, notably Kvysia Kvatskelia, who had a stupendous Champions League. But these were two very, you know, collective successes, the biggest success in the club game, the biggest success in the international game. So it feels quite fitting that in that year, it should be a player like Harry Kane, who is someone who is both, you know, creator and scorer who should get Ballon d 'Or. Excellent. Paul? Yeah, no, I just wanted to make a note as well. I feel a bit bad for Pau Kubarsi. Yeah, me too. He's finished second in the Young Player Award.

22:45Laminia won it and of course, I mean, it's the third in a row he wins. But I think that the season that Pau Kubarsi did throughout the whole year, he was excellent for Barcelona and then he goes to the World Cup. Laminia himself name-checked

22:56Pol Ballus: Pau Kubarsi, didn't he, in his speech saying that he thought he should have won it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, he did that. And when the short list of the candidates came out, Lamid Jamal even posted himself on the social media, like, Pau Kouar, he has to win this. And I feel bad for him because I think that he should be winning it. And in the top 10 ranking of the Ballon d 'Or, there was no defenders. In a way, I think that, of course, we look at the attackers and we love them, but some sort of tribute to defenders would be good as well. Yeah, absolutely right. OK, what was your favourite bit of the evening, Seb?

23:29I think the reaction in the studio when Kane won it to the announcement that Kane won it it was like being here when England scored goals in World Cups it was amazing it was because we'd heard rumours they'd done a really good beer showering down yeah there was also all the producers were here and there were so many of them there were so many of them it makes us feel more important but it was a very cool moment it was a good moment it was a long night

23:52Pol Ballus: but I'm really glad that we were all here for it a lot of people commenting on the way that 20 years ago the Ballon d 'Or announcement would have been settled with a phone call. And the way that this is maybe feeling a little bit overblown as a production now, not this, but, you know, possibly this, but the whole Ballon d 'Or at the Palladium this evening. But just from a foreign perspective, you live in Germany, Seb, I'm not sure how it's viewed there, the Ballon d 'Or, but Paul there in Spain, the Ballon d 'Or is a huge event. Yeah, yeah, huge, huge. I mean, there's been a decent sending of journalists just to cover the event.

24:27It's been broadcasted in live TV. I would say that all the newspapers from Covers tomorrow are going to be focused on the Ballon d 'Or. It's a huge thing. As I was saying, clubs here, especially Barcelona and Real Madrid, they brag and they are proud about being Ballon d 'Or makers. and the whole media landscape just supports it because it's a thing that gives pedigree and fame to the country itself. Yeah, Germany's a bit different, right? So the culture is to celebrate team performances. El Freunde, right? Not sort of the individual. And if you look at kind of the iconic German players, they tend to fit to that team mold.

25:08Think of someone like Lothar Matthias, right? Or the last German player to win the Ballon d 'Or, Matthias Sammer. it isn't the kind of the glittery shiny like soloist it's more of the yeah and so as a result i don't think it's kind of it's an award that the the culture buys into very much okay france of course is where it comes from so yeah so they're very very proud of it i mean i think for a while it was a way of france foisting its way into the conversation about the very highest level of the sport because at club level you know they didn't always get that much of a say obviously that has changed.

25:44A bit like BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Yeah, a little bit. If you want to see Le Keep's little... Oh, yeah, definitely. Not yet the front page, but the online headline. Le Roi Harry. All right. King Harry.

25:56Pol Ballus: King Harry. Yeah. There you go. King Harry. Top of the world, man. I've got Bill's front page here, which just says King Kane in English, de Connig de Fussballfeld, which means the king of the football world. It's nice, isn't it? Well, that sums it up very nicely. There you go. Well done to Harry Kane. Well done to everybody else because they obviously had great seasons as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been there at the Palladium. Tom, you've got one more last thing. Well, I can say my favourite moment of the evening was that photographer who was manhandled by the DAZN minder after, yeah, unintentionally blundering his way into the middle of a live shot.

26:34Pol Ballus: Seems so long ago now. It does, doesn't it? It really does. It sustained us, though, that moment. It was something we refer back to time and time again. It goes through the evening. Let's move on then. That was Monday night in London. But what else happened around Europe this weekend? Quite a lot. Let's get on to the Classico next. Next.

27:22and on your terms. It all works seamlessly so you can be confident you're getting an extensive server network, high-speed connections, integrated ad blockers, and compatibility services without restrictions in over 145 countries. So whether you want to watch content from anywhere, get around block sites, or just keep your activity private on public Wi-Fi, ProtonVPN has you covered. And it's so easy to get started. Right now, ProtonVPN is offering our listeners 75 % off a two-year plan when you go to protonvpn.com slash totallyfootball. This is a limited time offer, only available until December the 1st.

27:55So to get 75 % off your two-year plan, head to protonvpn.com slash totallyfootball.

28:18memory, focus, attention, and mental clarity. Its formula with science-driven ingredients include theanine and Hooperzine A to support focus and memory, and it's caffeine-free. So when you're deep in the work, AlphaBrain helps support enhanced productivity and tune out distractions. Get focused on what matters. Shop AlphaBrain now at onnit.com. Now at Lowe's. Faster quotes. Start at the Lowe's Pro Desk. Got a material list handwritten on a sticky note or saved as a photo? Perfect. Bring it to us and get a quote in minutes. And if you don't see what you need on the shelf, we'll help you get it.

28:56You can access thousands of products beyond what's available in-store or on Lowe's.com, right from the Lowe's Pro Desk. Build quotes faster and source the materials you need to keep your jobs moving. Just like that at Lowe's.

29:14Pol Ballus: Pobolus, it's super late in Spain, even for a Spanish person. So let's get your take on Sunday's Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and then we'll let you get off to the land of Nod. You were there to see Real Madrid spring quite the surprise. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Barcelona were coming in as huge favourites. Real Madrid as the underdogs and this team that was still unable to convene so far this season. But yeah, I think that this was a perfect script for Jose Mourinho because he basically did his thing. It felt like a game that was a dream scenario for Mourinho and the game plan he had worked out perfectly.

29:58Barcelona had some doubts. Flick complained about the lack of freshness of their players for the trip to Paris and the travels and the trips that they've had over the past week. But the reality is that Barcelona were underwhelming. The worst performance of their season so far. And Real Madrid were really, really good. I think that having Benicio sent off did help Real Madrid. Because Jan Diomande has proved to be a really, really, really good player for Real Madrid off the left wing. He's been really good on the ball, really good off the ball. He clicked really well with Kylian Mbappe. And he showed his talent at the Camp Nou.

30:35I think it was a game that could have ended up with a draw and nobody would have complained. But in a way, it was always in a better place for Real Madrid than what Barcelona would have expected to have it.

30:49Pol Ballus: Two goals for Kylian Mbappe. The first had an element of luck to it. But the second was an absolutely beautifully constructed move. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that Mbappe has scored more difficult goals in his life, but I'm not going to discredit him because he was in the right place in the right time. And yes, you said just the first goal was just Gerard Martins trying to kick the ball to Rosette. And Rosette finds Mbappe's knee, basically. And the ball bumped into his knee and goes inside of Joan Garcia's net. And then the second goal, Gabriel Jesus was a sloppy on the ball. Real Madrid get the ball while Barcelona was just building up.

31:26Then Jude Bellingham moves brilliantly, doing a sort of a roulette, turning around himself and giving the ball to Camavinga. And a counter-attack is launched. Camavinga runs. He dribbles past Koubar C. Kutback and Mbappe tap Cetirin, basically. So a really good goal that sparked wild celebrations in the Real Madrid bench, as you were expecting a classical.

31:49Pol Ballus: Yeah, Jose Mourinho dusting off the knee slide. How big a victory was this for him? A manager who so many people regarded as essentially finished. People were surprised when Real Madrid called him back up. And what kind of role did his tactics play? Because this was quite an open attacking Real Madrid that he fielded. Yeah, yes, sort of. I don't think that there was super attacking on the pitch and they were waiting to counterattack. But big credit to Jose Mourinho. I mean, it's been the biggest night he's had since he returned to Real Madrid. I think three questions in the post-match press conference from Madrid journalists told him, oh, this is your biggest moment since you're back here at Madrid.

32:27How do you feel about that? So the same question was thrown at him three times. But yeah, basically he fielded Bernardo Silva in midfield, which felt a bit of an offensive choice because the other option was Kamavinga. So he opted for Bernardo Silva, who was really good. And then Fede Valverde as a right back. to provide a bit more of an offensive depth as well. So all the big decisions that he made were just spot on, basically. And big credit to Andrii Lunin as well, the backup goalkeeper, who had to start in the game because Thibaut Courtois had the flu just before the game. He could not play.

33:04And Lunin was key to the game, just saving a header from Gerard Martin in the second half that would have brought the game to a 2-1 for Barcelona. Outstanding save. so credits to Lunin who I don't know if you saw the footage but after the final whistle Jose Mourinho just walked straight to Andrii Lunin and hugged him thanking him for his contribution in this performance

33:27Pol Ballus: Barcelona had won all their matches to this point if they had won this game as well they would have equaled Real Madrid's record for the best start to a Spanish top flight season which dates back to the 60s what happened to them though? because instead they lose this They also failed to win. They were defeated, of course, at Paris Saint-Germain midweek in the Champions League. Has something changed with Barcelona? Have people found them out a little bit? Yeah, no, I mean, it's been a strange week for Barcelona because everyone around the club just couldn't wait for this week. as in they were feeling that they had all the tools to be this upcoming force in European football and be at the biggest table alongside PSG, alongside Bayern Munich.

34:15And in this week, they had the chance to prove it. So they went to Paris. They lost and then they lost at the Classico. And they've been brought back a bit into self-doubting a bit themselves. I don't think they are in a bad place. And I don't think that Flick is going to change major things. Flick basically alluded a lot to the lack of rest. They had a bit of a tricky journey last week when they played against Real Betis in Sevilla. They couldn't fly back to Barcelona because of the weather conditions, so they had a quick night's sleep in Sevilla, then fly quick to Paris. Then Rodri was sort of injured in there.

34:49He could not start in Paris. Dani Olmo picks up an injury in Paris. So all these problems keep piling up. And Flick basically gave us an explanation after the game. admitting that they were not good enough, but said that the team was tired and that they did not have price selection, that they couldn't play as Kipurav loved them to.

35:09Pol Ballus: Right, also the key absences at the back, which I think probably played a part, certainly in the first Real Madrid goal. But as it stands, Real Madrid with that victory, three points behind Barcelona now in third place. But as Paul mentioned before, Atletico Madrid, two points off the lead in second spot, and they'll be hosting Barcelona in Madrid in a couple of weeks' time, yeah? Exactly, yeah. So Barcelona are going to play Alaves this next weekend in a game that should help them to leak the boons. Is that an expression that works in England? Oh, very much so, yeah. OK, good. So they're going to try to leak the boons and then the upcoming week there's Aston Villa midweek, which is going to be tricky for Barcelona, and then go to Atletico Madrid in a game that Atletico, if they win, they could have the chance to go on top of La Liga.

35:58Wow. The Julian Alvarez derby. Well. Exactly.

36:02Pol Ballus: What you could have won. Of his heart. Excellent. Paul, quick word on Harvey Elliott, who, just in case you need reminding, is at Valencia, hasn't as yet started a game or created an assist or scored a goal, but he did have a noteworthy performance this weekend in Valencia's defeat to Sevilla. Yeah, he had a memorable moment in the Valencia derby, basically coming off the bench and being sent off in a minute, basically. After protesting to the referee, the manager, Javier Aguirre, criticized him after the game for his attitude and believed that the substitution was not right to bring this player on because of what he cost.

36:46And Harvey Elliott had to apologize to fans after the game on social media for the attitude that he had, because basically he was sent off for protesting and didn't help out his team, who are in a really tough moment in the relegation battle. They're pretty much the second-last team in La Liga and struggling just to get going while Harriot is one of the biggest wagers in this squad. So there's been a lot of criticism around him and a signing that is still not ticking or hitting the ground running. It was two yellow cards.

37:17Pol Ballus: Sorry, it was against Villarreal, of course. It was two yellow cards in the space for a minute. Were they both for descent? I think so, yeah. Well, one like for a sort of a fall, and then the second one just like for descent. Right. But yeah, it was a sort of descent that you could see that he was going the extra mile and like, mate, you should not be doing this. Harvey Yelliot. There you go. Nice. There you go. 20 to 12 at night and he's still... Still. Still grinding out. Tired puns can be done. Tired puns, tired pole. make your way to some repose thank you so much for being with us we'll catch up with you in a week's time where we'll find out what's going on with La Liga ahead of another exciting set of Champions League fixtures for now muchas gracias de nada it's been an absolute placer to be here well very much hugely disappointed Paul Belus there after the night so no La Liga winners but Thomas you were pointing out a famous night for Skechers yeah first Skechers adorned footballer to win the Ballon d 'Or to my knowledge yeah alrighty ok it's been a big Monday night in Turkey where Galatasaray beat Funda Basi in another Istanbul derby Victor Ozyman with a brace for Simbon as they open up a lead at the top of the Super League Big game in France on Monday night as well.

38:55Pol Ballus: I recall our last show we were detailing how the top five in Ligue 1 were all level on points, with Rennes only one point behind them. What's the state of play now after Monday night's Paris Saint-Germain against Lyon clash? You might find this hard to believe, James, and indeed listeners, but Paris Saint-Germain have gone top of the table. Yes. Ooh, sharp intake of breath. Taking them to the eighth week of the season, but they've got their 2-0 winners over Lyon this evening in a game that was pushed back 24 hours because of worries about violence in Paris over the weekend. As it turned out, it kicked off a little bit, but nothing like the weekend before.

39:35PSG actually put out quite a strong team. Obviously, they're missing a number of key performers. Ousmane Dembele, who was injured and was at the Ballon d 'Or ceremony. Christy Paraskelia, unfortunately, out for the season. Marquinhos Nuno Mendes. and the story in recent weeks with PSG and Ligue 1 has been that they've been basically playing their reserves in domestic matches and really toiling and then with half an hour remaining they get the big guns off the bench and the big guns come on and get the job done. Tonight it was the opposite. The big guns were on the pitch and they weren't getting the job done so Luis Enrique turned to his substitutes and Senny Mayulu and Mika Gutz, the Belgian winger who signed from Ajax over the summer, both got their first goals of the season.

40:19PSG 2-0 winners, eight wins on the Bouncing Hall competitions, and they are now back on top of the pile. Good Lord. Who'd have thunk it?

40:27Pol Ballus: Who indeed, and top of the pile in the Champions League as well. Yes. Yeah. Indeed. All right. What else from Match Week 8 in France? I mentioned Rennes. They continued their fine form, a 3-0 victory over Strasbourg. You wanted to mention Marseille, who I think have now had three straight wins after their less than impressive start. Yeah, at a wretched run of form. And, you know, as we know, very turbulent summer, changes at all different levels of the club, new president, new sporting director, new head coach, sold a load of players, didn't buy any new ones. Dismal run of form, five straight defeats in all competitions.

41:07But we knew that coming out of the international break, the fixtures would get kinder. And so it's proved three wins on the spin. But they did have a pretty spectacular wobble They went 4-0 up at home to Le Havre inside 55 minutes. All nice and easy, plain sailing. And then Le Havre scored three times in the last 13 minutes and then had a reasonably strong handball shout penalty appeal rejected deep into stoppage time. So a nervy one nevertheless. But OM starting to move in the right direction and in the top half for the first time since the opening weekend.

41:43Pol Ballus: There you go. Among the other top teams, Monaco and Lille drew 1-1 with Kylian's brother Ethan Mbappe on the score sheet for Lille. Paris FC failed to take advantage of their... They had the chance to go top of the table, I think, did they not? But they lost 2-1 at Lens on a big night for Florian Thauvin. Yeah, Florian Thauvin, who just continues to roll back the years. and he was playing his 300th Ligue 1 match and he was, as he so often is, for Lens, the star of the show, rain-lashed evening in northern France. He scored a lovely goal, trademark finish, cut in from the right and slammed a shot into the bottom right corner, teed up Torgan Hazard for what proved to be the winner and kind of wondering whether there might be scope for him getting a France recall.

42:38Really? Was overlooked by Zinedine Zidane in his first squad. A few injuries now in forward areas for France. Dembele, most obviously. Esteban Lepaul of Rennes is currently sidelined. So, you know, might we see Thauvin getting another run out for Les Bleus, potentially.

42:52Pol Ballus: Very, very good. Anything else from Ligue 1? I think that's pretty much it. All right. Excellent. Next up, a quick smattering of Serie A and then Bundesliga.

43:09Hey, I'm running out to drop off a stack of letters and packages. Need anything shipped while I'm gone? Save the gas. Stamps.com lets you print postage and schedule pickups right from your desk. Sync your contacts into the address book, get detailed accounting insights, and get notified the moment your certified mail is delivered. All from my desk? All from your desk. Join the 4 million businesses using Stamps.com right now with code podcast and get your free welcome gift. Stamps.com code podcast. Taxes and fees apply. This ad is sponsored by ZocDoc. Hi, it's Danny Pellegrino from Everything Iconic.

43:43Have you been putting off that annual doctor's appointment because you don't want to make the call? Or maybe you've been meaning to find a new dentist, but you have no idea where to start. I find that's especially true when you move. It's hard to find your people. I've been there, which is why I use ZocDoc. Now, as a busy podcaster parent and someone who's always juggling a million things, I love anything that makes life easier. And ZocDoc lets you search and compare local in-network doctors with over 250 ,000 providers across more than 200 specialties. You can read reviews from real patients, find a provider who feels like the right fit, see actual appointment openings, and book instantly.

44:18I recently had a last-minute health issue pop up and I needed to see someone fast. And instead of calling around or sitting on hold, I found a doctor on ZocDoc and booked an appointment in just a few minutes. It made the whole process so much less stressful. Now, taking care of your health just got easier. Download the ZocDoc app today. That's ZocDoc, Z-O-C-D-O-C, and book that appointment on your to-do list. The youth mental health crisis is growing, and social media is a major driver. Kids are spending up to nine hours a day on screens, often unsupervised, and studies show a direct link to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts.

44:57That's where Gab comes in. Gab offers safer phones and watches for kids with no social media, tailored to every age, offering the right tech at the right time, or tech in steps. From GPS tracking-enabled watches for younger kids to phones with parent-enabled apps for teens, each device allows kids to more safely grow their independence. Visit gab.com slash getgab and use code getgab for an exclusive offer. That's G-A-B-B dot com forward slash get gab. Gab. Tech in steps. Independence for them. Peace of mind for parents. Hey, it's Paige from Giggly Squad.

45:35Pol Ballus: You know when you finally get started on a project around the house and then five minutes in you realize you're missing one thing? Somehow it's always that one thing that sends you back to the store. That's why I love this from Lowe's. If you're a My Lowe's Rewards or My Lowe's Pro Rewards member, you get free same-day delivery. Honestly, Lowe's will make the run for you, making it that much easier to get what you need. Just place your order and Lowe's handles the rest. It seriously makes life so much easier, especially when you've already got a million things going on. Members get more at Lowe's.

46:08$25 minimum and loyalty membership required. Order eligible items by 2 p.m. Subject to weight and size restrictions and availability. Terms at lowes.com slash shipping terms.

46:24Pol Ballus: Serie A, that was match week eight. Match week eight. And we have, after eight game weeks of this Serie A season, four teams still unbeaten. That's never happened before in Serie A history. They are Inter, Lazio, Roma and Milan. Roma and Inter came pretty close to losing, actually, this weekend. Inter did another of their classic comebacks. They were 1-0 down in the 91st minute, but managed to turn that one around against poor old Fiorentina. What an opening goal from Fiorentina, by the way. I don't know if you saw that, but it was astonishing. Anyway, Roma, meanwhile. That's a great game. You enjoyed that.

47:08Pol Ballus: The David El Soli. This was against Napoli, who haven't been doing too well. And twice, well, they were 2-0 up. Roma came back. Sorry, Seb, you wanted to... No, well, you're going to get to the final goal, because I particularly enjoyed the late equaliser because the header goes in. The first goal was pretty nice. The Anguissa bicycle. Outrageous goal. But the final one, the header goes in at the angle where it hits the base of the goal perfectly, bounces straight out, and no one really knows what to do next because it's as if the ball hasn't gone in. It's like an optical illusion. It's very weird.

47:41Pol Ballus: Anyway, 3-3. It finished. It was game of the season, at least for 24 hours, until we had Atalanta 4-4, which is absolutely... Belta, but yeah, it means that there's now a little bit of a gap at the top of the table. We have Inter and Lazio and then four points behind them, Luma, Milan, Lazio continue this incredible start. It is their best start to a Serie A campaign ever. Even better than the days of like Cragniotti and all his stolen millions and Sven and all that kind of thing. And as Gattuso was pointing out, if we keep winning, the fans may come back. They're kind of creeping back up the attendance numbers.

48:20Pol Ballus: We saw a whopping 12 ,000 people for that. I was going to make a visual gag then, but I won't. All right. What kind of... No, not in a YouTube live. We're well past the worst shared time. Yeah. All right then. All fine. Yeah, anyway, so 12 ,000 supporters for the victory over Parma this weekend. Napoli's three, Roma's three was terrific. Anything else we should mention as we fly through all of this? Well, yeah, how about this? Milan also had a victory, 2-1 against Udinese. The return of Christian Pulisic has been pretty important for them and things beginning to come together now. And Ruben Amorim, of course, there was a defeat against Bournemouth.

49:00Pol Ballus: It wasn't exactly a first choice team. It wasn't a full strength lineup that Amorim put out for that. And I feel they were a little bit unlucky with the way that game unfolded, not least with the red card for Mainan, the goalkeeper. However, Bournemouth are a strong side, as we saw, of course, at the weekend. The bigger, however, though, is the fact that next weekend on Saturday evening, Milan, one of the four unbeaten teams in Serie A, will be taking on another of them, their neighbours Inter in the Milan derby. And it's going to be live on BBC2. How has this happened? I'm not entirely sure. Even more improbably, I'm going to be hosting it.

49:44Pol Ballus: Oof. What? I'm going along to the San Siro. To San Siro, I should say. Italian football heritage. Right, though. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to be hosting that on BBC Two next Saturday. So, hey, if you fancy a little bit of Derby della Madonnina, then, you know. Will you eat some kind of dessert prior to that? Some sort of elaborate? I mean, who's going to know? I don't know, but it should be fun anyway. It's a big game next weekend. You've also got Lazio playing Napoli. Is it Napoli they're playing next weekend? Another big game that's going on next weekend. Juve-Napoli. Yeah, on a Sunday night. Not invited to that.

50:26Pol Ballus: But it'll be fun anyway. Juve got a win this weekend. 2-0 against Lecce. They needed that. Anyway, that was the world's fastest City Hour roundup. Next up, let's get on to the home of Ballon d 'Or winner Harry Kane, the Bundesliga. Woo-hoo! Hooray! All right, so the Bundesliga. Bayern now sharing the lead in Germany's top division with Borussia Dortmund. Right. And next weekend, by the way, they're going to be facing each other. They sure are, Dortmund heading down to Bavaria. I'm sure Dortmund are going to make a real go of it in that game as well. They should be. Dortmund are a stubborn side these days.

51:02Right. They are built in Kovac's image. They will dig in. And their record at Allianz is not so shabby over the last five years. It's not as bad as you might expect. Their record away is better than at home against Bayern. But you know what? Let's start with Bayern and Bayern against Freiburg. Because Freiburg have had a great start to the season. Freiburg were the leaders going into it. They were not on goal difference because they'd lost to Leverkusen the week before. But two weeks ago, yes, they led the Bundesliga. Anyway, Bayern won away. thanks in part to a remarkable goal from Dijk Meccano.

51:34So people who watched the Bayern-Arsenal game will remember a move he started in his own half and almost finished with a header that David Raya saved brilliantly at his near post. Anyway, this time, Meccano breaks up a Freiburg move on the edge of his own box, pushes forward with it, exchanger passes with Michael Isay, runs clear into the Freiburg half, scores. He must have run about 90 yards with the ball. Brilliant.

51:57Pol Ballus: Well, I'm not going to disagree with you there. He surely didn't have the ball until he crossed the halfway line. He ran 90 yards, maybe has the ball for 50 or 60. 50 or 60. But he finished with a plop. Finished like a Ballon d 'Or winner, I would say. Like a Ballon d 'Or winner. So Bayern back on top. Bayern and Dortmund are four points clear of everybody else. Right. Other interesting things. So in last week's show, we touched on Gladbach's start to the season. I wanted to say a shout out for Vincent Kompany, as indeed Harry Kane did. So Vincent Kompany, who collapsed while taking training. So Vincent Kompany has been laid low with a bit of a virus over the past week.

52:34So in the game against Leipzig Allianz 10 days ago, Kompany had to have a lie down in his office during halftime. It wasn't well enough to do his team tour. That doesn't sound good. Yeah, and then didn't have any time off. He missed a few media duties, but he continued to lead training. He was at the Arsenal game. He did everything that was expected of him. Wasn't very mobile. He's got a little bit of a hip problem in addition to this virus. and yeah horrible moment last Friday when he was attending a training session for Bayern Zwei which is their regional league aside and yeah he collapsed, fainted and then had to go to hospital where he still is and Bayern have said, Bayern made it pretty clear you know football comes second for now you're going to get better various Bayern dignitaries have been visiting him in hospital with food supplies and checking in on him and making him feel loved I don't think he's going to be back in time for the Borussia Dortmund game.

53:30Right.

53:32Pol Ballus: Yeah, I was just going to say Englishman, Aaron Danks was on the touchline for the Freiburg game. Well, Aaron Danks and Renny Marrott, so Aaron Danks has been taking the media duties. There is two assistants and they will lead the team and all the team duties ahead of that for the foreseeable future, as Bioner put it. Post-game company sent Danks a text saying, well done. I don't want to say, Danks a lot. Danks a lot. Danka Danks. Danka. Danka Danksy. Yeah, so everybody, of course, wishes Vincent Kompany well. And yeah, he's been through the wars a little bit there. So, you know, best wishes to him.

54:05Pol Ballus: Get well seen to Vincent Kompany. Let's talk about Gladbach. Gladbach got their first points. Yeah, so last week we said that they'd gone six games without any points at all, which was an equaling of the worst record in Bundesliga history. They avoided setting a new record, which would have been seven games without a point, by beating Stuttgart in Stuttgart. Wow. Jimbo now caveat Stuttgart three days before had had the um the the onerous task of facing Atletico Madrid so pretty difficult it's very Bundesliga not to kind of accommodate that within the within the fixture list and maybe shifting that to a Sunday right as might have happened in Liga possibly um so pretty tricky but well done Alex Bessin and his players that was a really really hard for win 3-2 um down in Stuttgart and that is um that's a talented Stuttgart side regardless of the fixture list.

54:56So well done to them. Brilliant.

54:57Pol Ballus: Well done to Gladbach. Just to pick up on a couple of comments being made on our YouTube channels, we're going live. Take a fan out. Well, first of all, some people are saying, oh, BBC2, Milan Derby. Does that mean I'm not doing the Sunday night? No, no, the game's on Saturday. So it's Saturday night for the Milan Derby on BBC2. Good to get that sorted. Meanwhile, Take a Fanatic, hello to you, says, Can you ask Seb about Nagelsmann's suitability for the Man United job, Seb? So what follows just my opinion, I think Julian Nagelsmann needs a job with slightly less coverage, a little less spotlight, because what happened with Germany was, OK, there were some tactical limitations.

55:37There were some selection issues. But one of the preeminent issues was failure to deal with the media particularly well. uh novelsman didn't deal with criticism um in a very graceful way hit out at the media a little bit was accused of being stubborn arrogant immature those are the media's words i feel like going from that to manchester united under the current conditions not a recipe for success i would um yeah i regardless of what they think from his perspective i would take a kind of a Europa League level job let everybody focus on what a good football person he is and let some of the celebrity and focus die away for a little bit and then he's still so young right he's still got so much time ahead of him.

56:21How young is he? I think he's still 36 37 36 37? Efforting that question Jimbo. Talk to Tom while I look it up like a professional.

56:31Pol Ballus: Well I'll just mention that Dortmund who have a fine record at a way to Bayern Munich. 39 39 yeah Dortmund they got a win against let's check Frankfurt 1-0 Maxi Bayer and a lovely goal from Max Bayer Maxi Bayer yeah who's had a little bit of a renaissance under Niko Kovac Bayer good finisher good runner he's been very productive in this Dortmund side other exciting Borussia Dortmund news they are giving prizes to match going fans who don't use their mobile phones yeah good on them during the game time this has been a bit of a hot topic in Germany so a couple of clubs that have hit back at influencer culture.

57:10So they've banned vlogging equipment. Dormund have gone about it in a slightly more clever way and they've said, right, so what you can do during a game is through our app, you activate fan mode and then once you've activated it, lock your phone. The longer you stay locked and the longer your phone stays in your pocket, the more points you accumulate and the more club prizes, signed shirts, tickets, that kind of thing that you might win. And it's a... Presumably that's only during the game because if you're just keeping it locked all week you don't get any more points you're also allowed a little bit of a halftime amnesty so you can you can take some pictures because dormant remember like it's difficult because dormant the westfalen stadium is one of the kind of the tourist destinations in european football and so people have got to feel able to to visit and take pictures and stuff but they don't want that to come at the cost of their atmosphere or um at irritation of some of their fans because they did a survey back in 2023 um where i think 61 percent of fans admitted to using their phones during games some of the feedback during that survey additional to it was that people getting a little bit annoyed with selfie takers people getting in the way people sort of you know making not contributing to the atmosphere and that's because of the phone so that this is why the action has been taken they've just found a really clever way of delivering it and and kind of um legislating almost against it i think okay Okay.

58:32Pol Ballus: It's going to be difficult at the end of the season though. Maybe you're going to be looking for results from another team. Another fixture being played somewhere else. Transistor radio. Old transistor radio. Or a burner. Just bring a burner. Yeah. You want to go sort of, you know, the last day of a Premier League relegation battle. Those cliché scenes where you've got the, you know, the transistor radio and then you've got the tear-stained face with the sun-burnt cheeks and, you know, that kind of thing. Love that. Yeah, me too. Nicholas Falkrook is the current top scorer in the Bundesliga having scored in six straight games.

59:01Pol Ballus: He scored eight goals and that's in six straight games. Yeah. Got a pair of penalties against Mines. This is the same Nicholas Fulcrook who was at West Ham and is still a West Ham player. Apparently not. I mean, in name he is, but he looks entirely rejuvenated. Same one who was at San Siro couldn't score for Milan. Scoring all sorts of goals for Bremen. Back in Bremen where he made his name, where he did amazing things, helped him get promotion back from the Viderbundsliga. And yes, he scored a couple of penalties. Right. But he's looking pretty sharp in front of goal. He's looking fit and healthy.

59:30and without him I mean talisman is probably too strong a word but he's an enormous benefit to a side they're a little bit weak and he's just taking his chances which takes so much pressure off the Bremen defence in midfield so good for him good for him

59:44Pol Ballus: good for him indeed no further questions Seb unless there's something else we should know about the Bundesliga before we wrap it up for this I don't think so I think we covered everything in a pretty efficient way ok but they're going to be happy to be bringing the Ballon d 'Or back to Bayern. Yeah, so Bayern have got a cup tie against Magdeburg on Wednesday night. I don't think Bayern will play in that, so I think there'll be a little bit of a Ballon d 'Or ceremony ahead of Dortmund. That's home, but I think they'll leave it until the Dortmund game on the Saturday. Right, so prior to the kick-off in what you shouldn't call der Klassiker.

1:00:18No, that's a bit of a marketing term, so nobody in Germany would call it der Klassiker. It's just Bayern Munich against Priscila-Mann. Tom's got a question? No, a question, just a statement. briefly on the topic of Bayern Munich strikers winning Ballon d 'Or. Oh yeah. Justice for Robert Lewandowski. Absolutely. Him not winning it in 2020 because France football cancelled the award because the Ligue 1 season couldn't be played to its conclusion. It's outrageous. And possibly the most French decision in the history of football is an outrage and they should be, you know, doing anything about it.

1:00:50Pol Ballus: The whole Ballon d 'Or was cancelled because French football didn't get to the end of the season. The, the, yes, the rationale was well look guys not everyone's been able to complete their seasons how can we possibly you know elect a winner for the Ballon d 'Or and it's like well most seasons did conclude the only season that didn't conclude was your season and maybe Dutch Eredivisie didn't finish yeah so as a consequence 2020 Ballon d 'Or will remain unattributed which you know for the foreseeable future there was a really nice tribute to Kevin Keegan during tonight's ceremony they did that very well and it kind of underlines the importance Okay, so the Ballon d 'Or might not matter to fans, but then it is still a mark of a player's greatness.

1:01:32So when people talk about a player years after their career ends, you can kind of quantify it by saying he won the Ballon d 'Or in the way that they did with Keegan when he won his back-to-back Ballon d 'Or. Because that tells the younger generation that was a seriously good player, right? Lewandowski's been denied that. So if you saw him play, you know how good he was. But maybe in 10, 20, 30 years, he's been denied something that was really rightfully his. I think most of us agree with that. So, yeah, really something should have been done about that, I think. Maybe Kane could cut his in half.

1:02:03All right, Tom, we're going to wrap it up there. Pass the run creator that he is, you know.

1:02:08Pol Ballus: It's been special having you along with us here, Tom, on a very special evening of Ballon d 'Or awarding and other things too. We've got another Totally Football Show. When? What is it today? Monday. So the next one is Thursday. Thursday. It's technically Tuesday, no. Is it now? Oh, we're into Tuesday. Oh, it's like that Ronaldinho's debut game for Barcelona. Nice. Yeah, so we'll be back on Thursday, rounding up whatever's happened, midweek League Cup action, and then looking ahead to the Premier League weekend. Many thanks, Seb, to you for joining us today, and to Paul Belus, all the way from Spain, and to producers, Xavi and Jake, and also Charlie, who popped in, because no one says no to a Ballon d 'Or party.

1:02:58Pol Ballus: Oh, no. Thank you if you joined us on YouTube. Thank you if you joined us not on YouTube. And do join us again next time for now from all of us here. It's goodbye.

1:03:18Hi, Brooke DeVard, host of Naked Beauty. Picture this, you walk in from the cold and every room already feels like fall. That's what whole home scenting means at Pura. One system working quietly in the background so your home always feels like the season and like you. Learn more at Pura.com.

1:03:37Pol Ballus: This is the story of the one. As a shipping manager, he's running the dock, stocking supplies, and making sure every order goes out on time. And Grainger helps him stay prepared. From shipping supplies to PPE to hand tools, he counts on Grainger to keep products moving and trucks rolling. So his operation runs smoothly no matter the shift. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. I'm Jake Stouck, co-founder and CEO of Serval. We built Serval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding, password resets, access to applications, my laptop stopped working.

1:04:20While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. IT desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Serval what you want to automate in plain English, and it's built. No drag-and-drop workflows, no expensive consultants. Employees get unblocked, and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Serval, IT becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run IT. We guarantee you'll automate 50 % of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four-week pilot. Go to serval.com slash tickets.

1:04:59That's S-E-R-V-A-L dot com slash tickets. 98 of the top 100 U.S. accounting firms trust Bill to simplify and secure Bill Pay. That's proven financial infrastructure built on over a trillion dollars of secure payments. Visit Bill.com slash proven for a special offer.