The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast - Croatian coach makes players train at 1am, Welsh team releases dinosaur kit design & Chinese boy breaks ball-juggling world record

Croatian coach makes players train at 1am, Welsh team releases dinosaur kit design & Chinese boy breaks ball-juggling world record

04/19/23 • 43 min

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Hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson return to the virtual studio for another episode of The Sweeper - the show that goes further and wider than any other football podcast out there.

Beer is the recurring theme in the opening segment, where Paul tells the story of the Polish referees that allegedly got drunk on a flight to Greece & Lee laughs at the Croatian coach who made his players train at 1 in the morning after getting home from an away game.

We then have a brief chat with Louis Jones from our sponsor Surprise Shirts, before embarking upon a whistlestop tour of the globe that sees us cover headlines from Bhutan, Pakistan, Tunisia, Australia and China.

In the final segment, we talk about some of the very best and worst-performing teams in the entire world this season - from the Outer Hebridean side with a wonky pitch that won 16-1 at the weekend to the Greek team that kept having their points deductions overturned.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 - Lee's upcoming trip to San Marino (00:52); European round-up: Netherlands, Poland, Greece, Croatia & Wales (04:10)

PART 2 - A chat with Louis Jones from Surprise Shirts (15:36); global football round-up: Bhutan, Pakistan, Tunisia, Australia, China (19:43)

PART 3 - A look at the very best & worst teams in the world this season (29:55)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson return to the virtual studio for another episode of The Sweeper - the show that goes further and wider than any other football podcast out there.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 - Lee's upcoming trip to San Marino (00:52); European round-up: Netherlands, Poland, Greece, Croatia & Wales (04:10)

PART 2 - A chat with Louis Jones from Surprise Shirts (15:36); global football round-up: Bhutan, Pakistan, Tunisia, Australia, China (19:43)

PART 3 - A look at the very best & worst teams in the world this season (29:55)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Alderney's 103-year wait goes on, a university student represents Gibraltar & Northern Irish village club Loughgall pursue promotion

The Sweeper crew return to review and reflect upon the standout stories from across the 55 UEFA countries & beyond in late March and early April.

Paul looks back on his memorable trips to Alderney and San Marino, who are on some of the longest winless streaks in world football, while Lee waxes lyrical about Kazakhstan and shares two notable stories from Gibraltar.

There's an excellent April Fool's Day joke by the Norwegian FA, a look at the wacky world of Welsh football, some contenders for the worst club of the season in Italy and St. Kitts & Nevis, and a duo of Dutch pitch invaders.

Last but not least, we introduce our new sponsor Surprise Shirts and review some of the stand-out promotion contenders across Europe - including Russian exclave club Baltika Kaliningrad, recently turned pros Queen's Park of Scotland and Northern Irish village team Loughgall.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 - International round-up: Alderney, San Marino, Sint Maarten, Kazakhstan & Gibraltar (00:53)

PART 2 - April Fool's jokes, savage scorelines & Dutch pitch invaders (18:54)

PART 3 - An introduction to Surprise Shirts (30:35); standout promotion contenders across Europe (33:53)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Former pub team win trophy in Gibraltar, Spanish side lose every game for 11 years & Viktor Orbán-back clubs make waves outside Hungary

With the majority of the European seasons nearing a conclusion and the 12 summer leagues now up and running, there is plenty for hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson to sink their teeth into on the latest edition of The Sweeper.

Having revealed his tentative plans to become a sporting director at a sixth-division Italian club, Paul is reminded of his claim that he could beat Man Utd defender Axel Tuanzebe's Guinness World Record for clearing a Hungry Hippos board in 17.36 seconds & is challenged by Lee to a quiz about unlikely world records held by football players.

The remainder of the opening segment is dedicated to the Iberian peninsula, with a chat about the former pub team that won Gibraltar's Rock Cup followed by a look at the Spanish side that have lost every game for 11 years and conceded over 4,000 goals in the process.

Part two delves deeper into off-the-pitch matters such as Viktor Orbán's financial backing for football clubs outside of Hungary, Fortuna Düsseldorf's free ticket pilot project and the Brazilian club that have named themselves after now-disbanded Ukrainian outfit Mariupol.

Last but not least, the team metaphorically sprint around the continent rounding up all the premature title-winners, champions-elect, unlikely promotion contenders and surprise relegations, before revealing their plans for the show over the summer.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 - Paul's plans to become an Italian club's sporting director & the Guinness World Record quiz (00:42); stories from the Iberian peninsula (06:39); Surprise Shirts read-out (13:30)

PART 2 - Off the pitch stories: soft power in Hungary, free tickets in Germany, an away crowd of one in South Korea & a renamed club in Brazil (15:58)

PART 3 - A round-up of all the champions, promotion battles and relegation dogfights across Europe (30:48)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.