Lothar Matthäus Interview; Chris Wittyngham on Soccer News

06/18/20 • 35 min

Grant has a fun interview with his old friend Lothar Matthäus (at 18:12), who won the FIFA World Player of the Year award, captained the 1990 World Cup-winning West Germany side and won the European Championship and the UEFA Champions League in a remarkable 22-year pro career. They talk about a range of topics, including the 30-year anniversary of the '90 World Cup triumph, what Matthäus talks about with old rival Diego Maradona when they meet up (classic games and Diego's weight issues!), Bayern Munich's 8-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga, Alphonso Davies, Tyler Adams, Kai Havertz and much, much more.

Before that, Grant speaks with show producer Chris Wittyngham of the Chelsea Mike'd Up podcast about the restart of the Premier League, David Luiz's very bad day, Napoli's triumph over Juventus in the Coppa Italia final, Weston McKennie's continued lone bright spot in a very bad stretch for Schalke and Adams playing well in central midfield for Leipzig but still dropping points. They also discuss fan blobs in La Liga, Germany's superiority over England in fake fan noise and the nonsense of fake card-waving ad-driven fans in Italy.

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

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

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

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

Previous Episode

BONUS EPISODE: NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird

The NWSL will be the first U.S. pro contact sports league to resume play when its 25-game Challenge Cup starts in Utah on June 27, with all games on CBS Sports and Twitch platforms. Grant speaks to first-year NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird about how the tournament came together; how Baird and her staff landed Verizon as a multi-year league sponsor; how she has dealt with an extremely challenging first three months on the job; how the league will be looking out for player safety; how the league will support its players and policies during the Black Lives Matter protests and beyond; how her previous jobs at the NFL and the USOPC have prepared her for her current gig; how she's managing the differing interests of NWSL owners; and how the NWSL is looking at continued expansion interest, even during a pandemic.

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

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Next Episode

ESPN's Hérculez Gómez; Plus Daryl Grove of Total Soccer Show

Grant has a fascinating conversation with ESPN's Hérculez Gómez (at 32:38) on his inside stories from the 2010 USA World Cup team on the 10th anniversary of the tournament. He goes game by game, from England to Slovenia to Algeria to Ghana and everything before and after that stood out to him.

Before that, Grant discusses a busy soccer weekend with show partner Daryl Grove of the Total Soccer Show. They discuss a standout weekend for Americans Abroad, including Gio Reyna's first Dortmund start (and phenomenal assist), Christian Pulisic's important goal for Chelsea, solid performances by Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie and the impending promotion to the German Bundesliga by Stuttgart manager Pellegrino Matarazzo.

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

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