A few months ago, I moved to a new city which meant my drive
to work became a 45-minute journey. During the drive back home at night, I
decided to give podcasts about football (soccer) a try. The first podcast I listened to was “The
Gab & Juls podcast”. I was hooked and since the, I
would listen to 5 to 6 different podcasts during those five days driving back
home from the office. These podcasts, all in English, were from folks who cover the game for ESPN, Sky, La Liga and even for themselves independently. These podcasts range from over half an hour to an hour, which allowed me to start another one before I got
home. Overall, these podcasts have been entertaining, educational and at times hilarious, and I would
suggest give the following podcasts a listen.
I have been a huge admirer of Gabriele Marcotti’s writing ever
since he started writing for ESPNFC his Marcotti’s Musings every Monday discussing
the recent results and news in the football world. If you enjoy reading Marcotti's
Monday Musings, then you'll enjoy The Gab & Juls Podcast. The expanded audio version of Marcotti's Musings consists of Gab and his French
podcast partner, reporter Julien Laurens, who can be seen regularly on ESPNFC, discuss those topics with more details. This podcast also has special guests such as SidLowe and Graham Hunter to discuss La Liga and Mark Ogden to discuss the Premier League and
For Barça fans like myself, it was a joy listening to Jules,
who is also an ardent supporter of Messi, share our anguish about Barça's performances under Valverde and rip him to pieces. Gab though is usually spot on with his insight and is also hilarious
whenever he calls out players or managers when they so fully deserve it while
brilliantly sneaks in a put-down when you least expect it. It is a fantastic
podcast that usually ends with Gab peaking my interest with professional
wresting trivia and Jules delivering intriguing useless trivia. Since football
is currently on hiatus, these two are trying to keep us entertained with their podcast by
selecting starting lineups consisting of players starting with the same letter
in their last name. It is by far my favorite podcast to listen to every Monday.
Another superb Podcast is “The Spanish Football Podcast” featuring the
one and only, Sid Lowe and Phil Kitromilides and Alex Kirkland.
Sid is one of the best English journalists covering La Liga for The Guardian, while Alex is the Madrid correspondent for ESPNFC and Phil works for La Liga TV. This is
one of the best podcasts that covers Spanish football, with updates about Real
Oviedo in the second division and it's usually half an hour long. A great
source for those who want to know more about what’s going on in La Liga since
our reliable source, Revista de La Liga, went off the television airwaves a couples
of years ago.
What makes this fun podcast so unique is that it was
recorded inside a car before the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to record
the podcast from their respective homes. There is also a special Q&A podcast
for VIP paying members. This is a must listen to for Barça fans, even though we
all know about Phil’s past with Real Madrid media, it’s still highly
recommended.
Since I am a Barça fan, I need my fix of La Liga news and
insights from those who watch my Blaugrana. The “El Tel & Jon’s La LigaWeekly” podcast features Terry Gibson, one of the regulars from the days of Revista
de La Liga, and Jon Driscoll. Terry, also commonly known as Gibbo, is a former
player and assistant coach and scout who used to commentate on La Liga games
and was a regular on Revista. He is now working for La Liga TV and Jon’s voice is a familiar one for those who watched La Liga on Sky Sports.
It is quite refreshing to hear two guys from England speak fondly of La Liga. It's worth listening to it just for Jon’s hilarious
introduction to each show. However, what makes this podcast exceptional is that
it allows us to hear insight from a former footballer’s insights, Gibbo, regarding the performance of the
players and teams. This podcast also does a Q&A from questions sent on
social media from their listeners, so you won't be ignored.
The next podcast that I quite enjoy is “Bombazo” that
discusses Spanish football with a Scandinavian twist. This podcast is hosted by
Lee Roden, who has a history of covering Barça and La Liga and does so
currently with Talk Sport, and a name well known to most Cules, Alexandra Jonson.
Alexandra’s presence on twitter is well known dating back to her days on Total Barça
and is currently working for La Liga TV co-host.
Yes, I know. Another La Liga podcast, Ibes? Absolutely. What
makes this podcast unique is its theme about focusing on Scandinavians players currently playing
in Spain. Listening to this podcast was very helpful in getting acquainted about Martin Braithwaite before he
joined Barça from Leganes. Furthermore, they also managed to interview Alexander Isak after
his great performance against Real Madrid which saw Los Blancos get eliminated
from Copa del Rey. They not only discuss La Liga and Alexandra’s trips to
different parts of Spain, but they also have special episodes such as the one
about Michael Laudrup being the greatest Scandinavian ever to grace La Liga. Hopefully, Scandinavians and non-Scandinavians will give this podcast a try and enjoy it
as much as I do.
Besides Barça, my other passion is the Netherlands national
team; the Oranje. The Football Oranje Podcast is hosted by Mike Bell, editor
and founder of Football Oranje website (which I occasionally write for), and
Dutch Football writer Michael Statham. Both discuss the Eredivisie and the
Dutch National Team which helps fellow fans as myself stay up to date on recent
developments.
The podcast episodes tend to be between 35-40 minutes long. They also have special interviews and will have a Q&A segment based on questions their listeners ask on social media. Absolutely a must listen to if you an Oranje fan such as myself.
The podcast episodes tend to be between 35-40 minutes long. They also have special interviews and will have a Q&A segment based on questions their listeners ask on social media. Absolutely a must listen to if you an Oranje fan such as myself.
The last superb Podcast is another one from ESPNFC, "The SerieAwesome Podcast". This podcast also features my favorite sports writer, GabrielleMarcotti and also the superb sports writers Mina Rzouki and Nicky Bandini. All three do a great job in discussing Italian football with their biases/team loyalty with some banter. This wonderful collection of personalities with Mina, the Juventus supporter, and
Gab, the anti-Juve persona, clashing at times with the soft spoken Nicky, the
Inter fan, playing the peace maker. If you are a fan of Serie A and the on-goings
with Italian football, then this podcast is for you.
The almost hour long podcast is a recap of the latest results in Serie A and it was enjoyable tuning in every week to hear about Atalanta’s magical run in the Champions League and Lazio’s magnificent run in Serie A as they challenged Inter and Juventus for the Scudetto. Right before they went on hiatus, the podcast discussed the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy and how the Italian league was poorly handling it until all football action came to a halt.
The almost hour long podcast is a recap of the latest results in Serie A and it was enjoyable tuning in every week to hear about Atalanta’s magical run in the Champions League and Lazio’s magnificent run in Serie A as they challenged Inter and Juventus for the Scudetto. Right before they went on hiatus, the podcast discussed the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy and how the Italian league was poorly handling it until all football action came to a halt.
Stay safe and if you want to find new ways to stay entertained at home, then give these podcasts a chance.
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