My guest is Phil Harrison, whose debut book explores football in Europe's last communist state, Albania. It's a fascinated story of football in a secretive and isolated country.
My guest is Ruben Clark (RM Clark), whose new book Winner Stays On covers his travels around England following clubs through every round of the FA Cup, trailing the winner of matches into the next round all the way up to the final. It's a fascinating insight into the English regions and the football pyramid.
My guest is Miguel Lourenço Pereira, who's written a number of football books, but his latest is his first in English, Bring Me That Horizon. It's all about getting to know Portugal through its football. We discuss Portugal's footballing roots and history under the long Salazar dictatorship and the role of football in its demise. We discuss the great players, like Eusébio and other stars from the African colonies, the great 'Golden Generation' Portuguese side of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Big Three, groundhopping, and more...
My guest is Peter Cinnamond from the Kicking Match podcast, which covers the Irish League/NIFL. We discuss groundhopping in Northern Ireland, covering famous clubs like Linfield and Glentoran, as well as some of the many great grounds that groundhoppers can discover in Belfast and beyond. We also look at some of the political history of the Irish League, which led to the loss of Belfast Celtic and Derry City.
My guest is Matt Riley, who spent several years in Thailand exploring its football. He has chronicled the Thai game in his new book, 'Thai Football Tales: A Beautiful Madness'. His stories are quite something, give it a spin...
My guest for his third appearance is Daniel Williamson as he discusses his new book on Ronaldo Nazário - the original Ronaldo for people of a certain age... We look at his career from his teen breakthrough in Brazil through to his moves to PSV, Barça, Inter, Madrid, Milan and, of course, his international career.
My guest is Alex Ireland to discuss his book 'Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt'. We cover everything from the origins of football shirts, to the emergence of numbering, sponsors' logos, new technologies and the retro appeal of football shirts.
Londres es la casa del fútbol; aquí se formaron los leyes originales en 1863 y la ciudad contiene algunos de los nombres más famosas y historicos en el deporte. En este episodio, introduzco los clubes de Londres, sus historias en breve, sus culturas y zonas, hinchas y más.
My guest is Conor Curran, author of Soccer and Society in Dublin: A History of Association Football in Ireland’s Capital. We discuss a wide range of topics, from why Dublin lagged way behind Belfast in soccer development, conflict with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the challenges faced by the women's game, and more...
I am joined by Kevin Pogorzelski, who travelled the world to experience some of the world's top derbies for his new book 'Divided Cities'. From Genoa to Glasgow, Buenos Aires to Budapest, Kevin talks about his experiences...
Bienvenidos a mi primer podcast en español. Vamos a ver como empezó el fútbol, desde los campos de las escuelas de Inglaterra hasta el consenso de reglas del Football Association en 1863. También, hablo sobre como el juego se convirtió a ser el juego del clase obrador y como se transporta a cada rincón del mundo...
My guest is Chris Etchingham, whose first book looks at football's role in the breakup of Yugoslavia. We discuss the role of ethnicity before and after the breakup of the nation, including its impact in the Balkan diaspora, particularly in Australia.
On 30 May, I delivered a talk at Dulwich Hamlet FC in South London in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton's Football and War Network and Stanchion Books. My topic was the long history of football's relationship with politics. When does it first get political? Who was the first to successfully exploit the sport for propaganda? What role has football played in bringing down dictatorships? Have a listen...
The world's oldest Association rules football tournament, the FA Cup, turns 150 in season 2021-22. My guest is Phil Annets, whose new book 'FA Cup 150' lists key events from the tournament's history.
We explore the groundhopping route less-traveled with author Tim Hartley. He's been to North Korea, West Africa, Lebanon and a host of other places and share his experience with us.
We talk to Zach Bigalke, who's researched the 'Oriundi' - players of Italian descent born outside Italy who have played for the Italian national side, the Azzurri.
Who are they? Why do they matter? What do Italian-born players and fans think about them? We discuss all this and more in this fascinating interview.
We talk to football writer Aidan Williams on the impact and legacy of the Benito Mussolini dictatorship (1922-43) on Italian football.
We look at how the sport was used to unite the country, and drove the creation of clubs that still compete for titles today. We also look at how the sport was used for propaganda.
We talk to Greg Lansdowne, author of 'Stuck on You: The Rise and Fall...and Rise of Panini'.
We talk about the history of the company, its highs and lows, why collectables appeal and the power of nostalgia in football.
We talk to Paul Musco, who runs groundhopping tours for football fans visiting Berlin.
It's one of our favourite cities, so have a listen as we enthuse about Hertha BSC, 1 FC Union, BFC Dynamo and a host of smaller clubs.
Our guest is Ryan Hubbard, author of 'From Partition to Solidarity', a book about the first 100 years of Polish football.
Our guest is Stefan Legge from the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland, who discusses his extensive research into the relationship between money and success in modern football.
There are some winners that might surprise you...
Our guest is Mieszko Rajkiewicz, who presented on politics in football in Poland in the recent Football History Conference in Manchester.
We caught up with him to discuss the close relationship historically between politics and football in Poland.
We talk to John McManus, author of 'Welcome to Hell? In Search of the Real Turkish Football' for his tips on groundhopping in Turkey. There's much more to Turkey than just Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahçe...
We chat to football writer Daniel Gray about his new book, "Black Boots and Football Pinks: 50 Lost Wonders of the Beautiful Game" and reminisce on some of the things we miss about football.
We talk to Prague-based journalist, Ondrej Zlámal, about groundhopping in the Czech Republic, the history of the game there and the prospects for the national side.