The Football Pod

By: Constantin Eckner & Abel Meszaros
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  • Summary

  • Constantin Eckner and Abel Meszaros sit down with some of the most interesting people in football, from players to coaches, journalists to directors giving you insight into the wonderful and colourful world of football. So if you are interested in meaningful, long-form conversations with people who shape the landscape of football on or off the pitch, The Football Pod is for you!
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Episodes
  • Episode 10 with Tariq Panja

    Episode 10 with Tariq Panja
    Oct 5 2021
    A World Cup every two years? Watching Lionel Messi get more chances against Neymar, Kylian Mbappé or the likes of Italy and England: Doesn’t that sound awesome? Or is it one of the worst ideas in football? Don’t we already have way too much football going on? Or have we long crossed the Rubicon in terms of choosing the pleasure of the viewers over the matchday fans? Why don’t the players have a seat at the table? Are we witnessing a Cold War of sorts between FIFA, UEFA and/or the clubs? What can we do about it all? Those are just some of the questions we posed to today’s guest, New York Times reporter Tariq Panja, who covers football and its opaque side from a global perspective. The London-based author of “Football’s Secret Trade” can often be found breaking some of the deeper and more sinister stories of football, offering a measured, but distinct set of opinions as well as a wide-ranging perspective on complex issues. Our discussion starts out with FIFA’s recent plans, spearheaded by Arsène Wenger, to implement a biennial World Cup. Tariq maps out the situation and discusses the underlying conflict between FIFA and UEFA as well as the inherent structural problems with the two federations. We discuss who would benefit from this idea and how feasible it is. Tariq offers us a look at the “new wind” in FIFA’s sails under Gianni Infantino and his appeal to non-traditional football powerhouses vs UEFA and CONMEBOL and what this means not only for the future but already for the present. If football’s Cold War has already started, are we just too busy (watching football) or just too disenchanted to try to untangle the deeper structural issues, or is there some hope on the horizon? Listen and find out from one of football journalism’s most authentic voices!
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    44 mins
  • Episode 9 with Jyri Nieminen

    Episode 9 with Jyri Nieminen
    Jul 21 2021
    Today’s guest is Jyri Nieminen, the goalkeeper coach of the New York Red Bull of MLS. Despite being only 33, Jyri has already gathered a wealth of experience as a goalkeeper in his native Finland before coaching in Qatar, South Africa and a stint with the San Jose Earthquakes. We caught up with him during a busy MLS week, yet he still took time to give us amazing insights into his own personal journey from starting GK coaching at 14 to his current role at one of the top leagues in the world. Our conversation continued with the (perceived) difficulties of GK assessment, both in public and in professional circles. In addition, Jyri described his meticulous approach to training goalkeepers and talked about how and why it differs from other methods. The conversation also touches on how the role of a goalkeeper has evolved from being a romanticised "outsider" to an integral part of a team, an origo of sorts. We discussed some key training concepts such as training short range scenarios and build-up situations, as well as its practical applications. Furthermore, Jyri touches on the subject of using data analytics in goalkeeping, before we close out the conversation with some EURO 2021 takeaways. Don’t miss this chat with one of the smartest, most prepared goalkeeper coaches in the world!
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    50 mins
  • Episode 8 with Jonas Giæver

    Episode 8 with Jonas Giæver
    Jun 26 2021
    Today’s guest is Jonas Giæver, a Norwegian-Moroccan journalist and television pundit. Jonas works for Dagbladet, one of Norway’s largest daily papers, but regularly features with news, analysis, transfer stories and more for the Guardian, Metro but also football magazines ranging from FourFourTwo to Josimar. We caught up with him after the group stages of the Euros and began discussing the tournament in general, starting with the absence of Norway, before moving onto Jonas and Abel’s disappointment in Turkey’s performances. We discuss why Denmark have been everyone’s favourite for obvious reasons, but Jonas also explains the reasons behind Hjulmand’s relentless attacking football with some standout performers. Jonas also gives us his surprises of the tournament and a discussion on Hungary follows. Why have some of the favourites like France, Portugal, Spain or Germany been inconsistent or unimpressive? After mutual agreement on Italy - although Jonas takes a shot at the lazy narrative surrounding them - we transition into the difficulties in coaching. A tournament such as the Euros, with all the extra challenges of this current iteration, is always a very different beast and thus we wonder if the managers are holding back, unable to make adjustments, or whether we should evaluate them on different criteria. "Really good teams seldom win tournaments, they are either won via moments of brilliants or because they have the best players" - is the phrase Jonas uses to guide us towards the tactical segment, where some of the listener questions are answered about the success of wingbacks, back three/back five formations becoming a trend, the lack of set piece goals, etc. The chat wraps up with England and wonder whether despite underwhelming performances on offense, they might be "the France/Portugal of 2016-18" before going out on a limb with some hot takes! We hope you enjoyed this fun and casual conversation with one of the hardest working guys in football journalism and one of the most original voices in football media.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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