Our winter break is over, as Europa & Conference League action RETURNS! To celebrate, and to help catch you up, David kindly looked up every damn team in the competitions to see what January moves were made, and how those moves will effect the fixtures moving forward. Cheers to the departed Lucien Favre.
On this brand new Club Spotlight, David takes on a journey to Azerbaijan and spins the tale of a Qarabag FK, a formerly nomadic club with a complicated and rich history. They also happen to be amidst the greatest period in its history in terms of titles, achievement, and quality. Cheers to the Azerbaijani gaffer.
This week we bring you the first of a brand new series here at Any Given Thursday. On Time Capsule, we'll be diving into famous matches and runs in the Europa League's (slash UEFA Cup's) past, and for the inaugural episode, we rewind the calendar to 2009-10 to recount Fulham's magical run to the UEL final. We take you through their journey, from the 3rd round of qualifying to the heartbreaking defeat with minutes to go in extra time in the final, including key players, tactics, and the side's pl...
Our Club Spotlight series is back baby! This week, Max turns our collective gaze on to Belgium's own Union Saint-Gilloise, who, after many decades adrift of the first tier, returned with a fury in the 2021-22 season, very nearly winning their first title since 1935. Max details the club's illustrious history, its newfound success under Brighton chairman (and general rich person) Tony Bloom, and its title and Europa League chances in 2023. Cheers to the Belgian gaffer.
The World Cup final has come and gone, and I think we can all agree it was a little ho-hum- JUST KIDDING! It was one of, if not THE, wildest, greatest, most consequential match in footballing history. And we're talking all about with out very special guest, Adam Loew. We also eulogize the tournament as a whole, look ahead to 2026, and give our individual player awards. Cheers to the final international gaffer - and see you in the new year! (And apologies for the delay on the episode - circumstan...
The lads return to detail the World Cup 2022 semifinals, starting with France's 2-0 defeat of Cinderellas, Morocco, then moving to Argentina's 3-0 trouncing of the Croatians. We also look ahead to the final on Sunday - will it finally be Messi's time, or will France go back-to-back? Finally, we say goodbye to some of the nations we've lost along the way. Cheers.
What a group stage! Possibly the wildest of any 32-team World Cup, ever. Every day was laced with drama, and Max is here to recount it all. It's all a bit hectic and emotional, but so was the football. On to the knockout!
The games are coming hot and heavy, so catch up on all of the World Cup's match day 2 action when you have the chance!
Spain, England, and France dominant! Argentina and Germany in trouble! Saudi Arabia and Japan upset heroes! Qatar sucks! We're back with coverage of the World Cup's first round of matches! Catch up on all the action and drama, and find out what we think of contenders' prospects, underdog performances, and the biggest disappointments. Cheers to the international gaffer.
You thought you were rid of our World Cup previews, but think again! Together, we've devised a very special bonus episode available ONLY on our private Patreon service...just kidding. But we do have a bonus episode, and it features tournament predictions, including the bracket and individual player awards, a trivia segment where David puts Max's World Cup knowledge to the test, and a way overly long segment from Max called Kit Korner. If you don't like uniform design, you might want to skip that...
The very final group of our World Cup previews! Group H offers an interesting balance, with favorites Portugal and Uruguay both very skilled, but possibly flawed contenders. We also have outsiders South Korea and Ghana, both featuring high-end talent that will fancy an upset. Cheers.
Another exciting one! We dig into the tournament favorites, Brazil, who feature their strongest squad in years, tough outs in Cameroon and Switzerland, and what we consider to be a possible dark horse in Serbia. Just one more group to go!
We carry on with Group F! This is a super fun, unpredictable group, and in Max's humble opinion, the most exciting of the tournament. We have perennial contenders Belgium, still hanging on to the last gasps of a golden generation, defending runners-up Croatia, still full of extreme midfield quality, Morocco, one of the two most talented African teams (at least that's how we feel), and Canada, the class of CONCACAF's World Cup Qualifying, and making their first WC since 1986. Everyone's got quali...
Spain and Germany enter Group E as heavy favorites to advance, but could Japan surprise some people? And can Costa Rica recapture the magic of Brazil 2014? (Spoiler, no they can't.)
Group D finds title-holders France pitted against popular dark horse candidate, Denmark, a fairly conservative Tunisia, and an Australian side that had to fight tooth and nail just to get here. Who comes out of this one?
Argentina! Mexico! Poland! Saudi Arabia! Group C has some juicy, juicy matchups. We detail Argentina's balanced squad, Poland's attacking threats, Saudi Arabia's knack for possession, and whether we believe Mexico can finally get to that 5th World Cup match.
Controversial hosts, Qatar, open up the 2022 World Cup on Sunday against Ecuador. We're guessing you may know much about how both sides line up and play, but fear not! We have you covered. We also spend far too much time on the two favorites of the group: Senegal, and, Max's team, The Netherlands.
Listen up, everyone - our World Cup coverage is off and running! And while, we originally planned to do two releases - Groups A through D and Groups E through H - we realized Group B was just too spicy not to get its own section. And, for the very first, we're joined by a very special GUEST. Please welcome to the pod, our friend, avid football watcher, unfortunate Chelsea fan, Swedish speaker and enthusiast, and my cousin, ADAM LOEW. The three of us present to you our first taste of World Cup co...
The UEL and UECL draws arrived Monday morning, and we have TAKES, TAKES, TAKES! We were treated to a number of fantastic fixtures, including Ajax v Union Berlin, Salzburg v Roma, Shakhtar v Rennes, Sevilla v PSV, and Braga v Fiorentina. But, of course, what everyone's talking about: BARCELONA v MANCHESTER UNITED. The football gods have truly smiled upon us. All that, more reactions, early predictions, and our new segment: Hot, Not, or Thot on this week's special episode! Cheers....
We've done it! We've come to the very end of the group stage in the Europa and Europa Conference League, and the table are completed. We break down all the drama and results, including a predictably wild finish to Group F, where Feyenoord and Midtjylland go 4th and 3rd to 1st and 2nd, respectively, eliminating Sturm Graz and sending giants Lazio into the Conference League. All 4 teams finished on 8 points! Incredible stuff. Elsewhere, Nantes and Monaco find their way through to the UEL playoff r...
The final matchweek of the group stage is finally upon on us! Judgement day has arrived! Who will go through and who will go home?? We share our thoughts on all the important games and who we have advancing to the knockouts. See you Thursday!
The penultimate Thursday in this years' group stage is in the books! There were a bunch of thrilling games, including multiple 2 and 3 goal comebacks: Fenerbahce 3 - 3 Rennes, AEK 3 - 3 Dynamo Kyiv, and Molde 2 - 3 Djurgardens. Elsewhere, we saw teams qualify for the knockouts - see Ferencvaros and Freiburg - and others who have officially exited the competition - including our dear friends Vaduz and Ballkani. So much to talk about, so little time! Dig it.
The Europa and Conference League groups are back for a do-or-die final two weeks. It's all to play for in the home stretch, and we've got all the storylines covered. Arsenal, Betis, St. Gilloise, and Djurgardens are among those looking to seal off top stop in their respective groups, while struggling top-five-leaguers Roma, Union Berlin, Nantes, and Koln look to keep their hopes alive. All that and one enormous burp on this Wednesday preview edition of the pod. Cheers to the gaffer....
A special minisode check in this weekend! Our very own David Blomquist gives an update on Arsenal 1 - 0 PSV, Neil Lennon's firing at Omonia, the Cristiano Ronaldo business, and other updates across the UEL & UECL. Cheers.
Two-thirds of the way through this round of the competitions, the groups are still to take shape! Betis, Sociedad, Freiburg, Rennes, and Fenerbahce are all qualified through to the UEL knockouts, while West Ham, Villarreal, Djurgarden, and Basaksehir advance in the UECL. Meanwhile, the races for the other qualifying spot heat up, and some clubs are eliminated. And what the hell is going on in the Europa League's Group F??
Matchweek 4 is rapidly approaching, and we're here, as always, to cover it. For the first time, teams are eligible to qualify for the knockouts, while other attempt to stave off elimination. Who will get the job done this Thursday? Cheers.
The third group stage matchweek is in the books, and it feels oh so good to be back. We're here as always to recount the drama of a full slate of UEL & UECL fixtures, including Betis taking down Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, Spanish & English dominance, and Kosovo's first ever European group stage win (hooray Ballkani)! Naturally, we also talk all things Vaduz. Hey, Gaffer...cheers!
We're back! After weeks of Nations League doldrums, we return to the forefront of European football, our beloved Europa and Europa Conference Leagues. And we have so, so much to get to. Check it out and prepare yourself for another crazy Thursday. Cheers. To. The. Gaffer.
Today in our fourth edition of our Club Spotlight series, David pitches Max Austria Wien of, well, of Austria. In Wien. Dig it!
For our third edition of Club Spotlight, we bring you 1. FC Slovacko of the Czech First League. Located in southeastern Czechia, this small club reached European qualifying by winning the domestic cup (their first ever major trophy) while finishing 4th in the table (their joint-highest ever league finish). And, after dominating Sweden's AIK through two legs, Slovacko made their first ever European group stage, representing the Czech league Conference League Group D. I pitch David the region's hi...
