Fútbol with Grant Wahl

Grant speaks to one of soccer's most soothing and informed voices, Derek Rae, who broadcasts world feed Bundesliga games, Premier League games for NBC Sports, World Cups for Fox Sports, video games for EA Sports and the NFL and Premier League for Prime Video. In their interview (which starts at 2:45) they discuss Bayern Munich's likely title-sealing 1-0 win at Borussia Dortmund and focus on Rae's love for the soccer culture of Germany, dating from his early days of listening to German radio from his native Aberdeen, Scotland. Rae has called soccer games all over Germany, and he explains why he recently decided to share detailed video breakdowns about German culture and soccer on his Twitter feed.

Grant opens the episode of this podcast, a co-production with our friends at the Total Soccer Show, with his take on the simulated crowd noise on the Fox Sports Bundesliga broadcasts from empty stadiums.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever you get your podcasts.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

Grant has a revealing interview with Henrikh Mkhitaryan (starting at 30:55), the best player ever from Armenia, who has had an impressive season with Roma on loan from Arsenal. Mkhitaryan discusses the benefits of his ability to speak six languages fluently, why Premier League players have adapted well to Serie A, why he'd prefer to stay longer at Roma instead of returning to Arsenal, what it felt like to miss a European final due to not feeling safe in Azerbaijan, his greatest goal ever, and the positives and negatives of having as his agent Mino Raiola, the Scott Boras of European soccer.

Before that, Grant catches up on the soccer news with Daryl Grove of our partners the Total Soccer Show. They discuss the new voice found by the young leaders of the USMNT during the protests against police brutality against black Americans; the long-term impact of the relationship between MLS players and owners being "set back years" by the threat of a lockout; the impact of Timo Werner's expected move to Chelsea for Christian Pulisic; Grant's concern that Megan Rapinoe may never play again competitively; and, with La Liga starting again on Thursday, the importance of watching Lionel Messi (soon to turn 33) while we still can.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 1 of "Fútbol With Grant Wahl" features an interview with Tyler Adams, the 21-year-old USMNT midfielder (and future captain), about all the unusual things surrounding the German Bundesliga's return to the field and his first game back with RB Leipzig. Adams (whose interview starts at 12:44), talks about reaching the rarified air of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals (after eliminating Tottenham), reveals who the funniest USMNT player is on their team-wide text-message chain and describes what Germany did to become the first major soccer league to return to play during the coronavirus.

This podcast is a co-production with our friends at The Total Soccer Show, and to open the show Grant is joined by TSS's Taylor Rockwell for a fun talk about the return of elite live soccer, whether Dortmund's Erling Haaland is the new Ivan Drago, what it's like watching games in empty stadiums, their excitement for the May 26 showdown between Dortmund and Bayern Munich and much more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and more.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

In a special bonus episode, Grant interviews Roberto Martínez, who recently extended his contract as the head coach and technical director for the No. 1 team in the FIFA world rankings, Belgium, through World Cup 2022. Martínez, who used to manage Everton, Wigan and Swansea City and has worked for ESPN during several major tournaments, has a chapter on him in Grant's book Masters of Modern Soccer.

In their interview, Martínez shares why he wanted to continue with Belgium for another two years; his memories of eliminating Brazil and winning third place at World Cup 2018; what it's like to work with Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard; how he's dealing with the year's delay of Euro 2020; which club team he has enjoyed watching the most this season; and whether he would be interested in the USMNT job for World Cup 2026 in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Martínez is known as one of the true gentlemen of the game, and he shows that again in this interview.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 2 features an interview with ESPN's Julie Foudy, the two-time World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist who hosts the "Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy" podcast. Foudy gives the lowdown on how the deal got done for the upcoming Netflix feature film on her 1999 Women's World Cup-winning team, speculating on casting decisions and revealing that the proceeds from the life rights sale of the eight players involved are being spread out among the rest of the members of the '99 team. She also talks about the latest in the USWNT players' gender-discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, why she wanted to do her own podcast and how she has gone about transitioning from an elite player into a successful media personality whose influence goes far beyond the soccer world.

This podcast publishes every Monday and Thursday and is a co-production with our friends at the Total Soccer Show. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and more.

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqIhXWUw0H4

Get full access to Fútbol with Grant Wahl at grantwahl.substack.com/subscribe