Talking Fussball

Blanketing the Bundesliga and the German football scene, Talking Fussball is the essential podcast for fans of Europe's most exciting league - talkingfussball.com - @talkingfussball - patreon.com/talkingfussball

Sports
Soccer
Fantasy Sports
226
TF Fantasy MD34 tips - Listener takeover for th...
Bremen and Düsseldorf are in a dogfight for a chance to stay in the league, Gladbach and Leverkusen are racing for fourth place and Champions league status, and Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg still have to sort out sixth and seventh. That may not sound like a lot of teams with a lot left to play for, but it means most of the games on Saturday will feature at least one side going all out. JT and Flo are here to answer all your queries on this all-listener question special. Enjoy!
48 min
227
Talking Fussball MD33 wrap - European questions...
33 of 34 match days are in the books, and the seven teams who'll play in Europe next season are already known. But who plays in which competition is not yet clear...and what the five remaining Bundesliga participants in THIS year's Champions and Europa Leagues will do with all their July downtime is not clear at all. Matt and goal.com's Ronan Murphy talk all this over, as well as the drama on relegation row, the future of a few high profile coaches and more.
49 min
228
Talking Fussball Englische Woche Special - Into...
The Bundesliga is working overtime. It's an English week, with matches on Tuesday and Wednesday sandwiched between the league's usual weekend exertions. Matt rounds up Derek Rae - one of the world's great soccer play-by-play men - to talk over what went down on Match Day 31, as well as what's in store as the season comes to a close. Topics include: Which team looks likeliest to make the league's top five into a top six, how a former Bundesliga title winning club found itself bankrupt, and what could be in store as the league prepares to move to ESPN.
54 min
229
TF Fantasy MD31 tips - Better luck this time
So...we didn't have the best outing last weekend. A few poor picks and some schoolboy errors combined to torpedo both JT and Flo. Luckily, our two hosts have plenty of ideas to get it right on Match Day 31 - listen in as they figure out where to put your money up front, whether a certain Leverkusen superstar will be healthy and more.
49 min
230
TF Fantasy MD30 tips - Crawling back to Sancho ...
Jadon Sancho was the big star last week, scoring three goals and taking a stand against police violence and racism too. In this episode, JT and Flo commiserate over missing out on the young Englishman's big point haul - a mistake they won't make again - and discuss how to make room for him on Match Day 30. What else? Value picks from Frankfurt, which players to ride all the way to the end, and much much more.
59 min
231
Talking Fussball MD29 wrap - Floyd messages fro...
So much went on in the Bundesliga as an English Week came to a close - perhaps nothing that had more impact than four players calling for "Justice for George Floyd."  Matt welcomes new guest June Pan (Unusual Efforts, Bundesliga Fanatic, Not a Football Podcast) on to the show for a wide-ranging discussion of the fan culture-sized hole in the Bundesliga, protest messaging in a stadium-as-brand-space, the title race that almost was, and more. 
50 min
232
TF Fantasy MD29 tips - So many questions after ...
The games are coming thick and fast at the moment - not much time to get ready for another wave here on Match Day 29.  Listen in as JT and Flo fill your cups with player picks, superschnäppchen, and some good-natured ribbing over their results from midweek action.
66 min
233
Talking Fussball MD27 wrap - Hertha boss Berlin...
Another weekend of boffo Bundesliga action is in the books - and there's more to come in just a few short hours. Bayern and Dortmund cruised to victory ahead of their head to head match-up, while Hertha continued their surge by throttling cross-town rivals Union. Matt talks to Kit Holden (MailOnline, Tagesspielgel) this week, and the latter is sporting enough to let the former have a good gloat. (After all, it's only fair.) 
55 min
234
TF Fantasy MD27 tips - Getting up to Geisterspi...
Good first week back? There were some funky line-ups for sure, but plenty of points to be had. Listen in as JT and Flo talk through the highs and lows of last weekend, figure out what we've learned, and set up the first "English Week" of the Bundesliga's post-pandemic season.
71 min
235
Talking Fussball MD26 wrap - Bundesliga's back ...
Did you watch the Bundesliga this weekend? Of course you did - it was the only football there was, and that suits us just fine. Longtime Bundesliga obsessive Matt rounds up Marie Schulte-Bockum to talk over Schalke's faceplant in Dortmund, Bayern's big win in Berlin, and the extremely weird sonic atmosphere across the league.
74 min
236
Talking Fussball Fantasy - Welcome Back to the ...
It's been a long time - remember how to play Bundesliga Fantasy? JT and Flo sure do, and they're here to remind you what to do on Match Day 26. There are plenty of unusual variables at play as we get back from lockdown - listen in as they help you sort though them all.
74 min
237
Talking Fussball imminent return edition - The ...
Not much longer now - Germany's state governors gave the green light to football resuming, and the DFL has set May 16 as the big day. Hot damn. Plenty of joy to be felt at the news, but plenty of questions too for Matt and Nik to wrestle with: Are the players really up for this? Is the start date too soon for teams who haven't yet had a full team training session? And will games without fans end up being be a huge bummer?
74 min
238
Talking Fussball Tentative Comeback Edition - G...
The Bundesliga could be back as soon as May 9 - wheeeeee!!!! It might not be such a smooth road toward resumption, however, as Nik and Matt discuss in this definitely/maybe-flavored episode. Plenty of hypotheticals, moral quandaries and even a bit of history. 
37 min
239
Talking Fussball bookish edition - How Louis va...
We're still inside, and we're still reading. This week we have the author of one of Germany's most hotly anticipated football books, Der Schlüssel zum Spiel (The Key to the Game). Yes, in this episode Nik got old pal Tobias Escher of spielverlagerung.com on the line to talk over a few of the issues raised in his book, as well as plenty of fascinating further issues in the tactics-sphere from one of the big brains in the space. A real treat.
47 min
240
Talking Fussball Authoritative Edition - This W...
As we ease into our second month of isolation, what's better than spending time with a good book? Nik Wildhagen's been spending time with one written by his guest this week, Nils Henrik Smith. He's a novelist and football writer, and his latest book 11 meter - straffesparkets historie is all about the penalty kick. So put your earbuds in, tune out whatever pressure you're feeling, and just kick it as hard as you can into the corner.
52 min
241
Talking Fussball Still Staying Home Edition - H...
How are you holding up? We just want to check in, send a small signal that we're still here and hear how everyone is doing. Nik Wildhagen rounds up Terry Duffelen for a chat about Bundesliga finances, the morality of opening up sports in a crisis, and a bit of history - the Chemie Halle fire.
48 min
242
TF Solidarity Special - Football can wait...but...
With society in a public health crisis, groups with deep commitments to their communities can make a big difference. Lucky for Germany, its unique football fan culture means there are a LOT of those. Nik rounds up our pal Felix Tamsut for another chat - this time it's about how Ultras and other fan groups are banding together to do good in this difficult time we're all in. 
56 min
243
Talking Fussball Isolation Edition - Just where...
With the Bundesliga season on ice, How much trouble is German football (and other kinds of football) in? And what can be done about it? Nik Wildhagen runs the show this week, recruiting his old TF Extra pals Matt and Terry on to talk about the big four of FC Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen reaching out to help smaller clubs, some ominous recent words of Gianni Infantino, innovative fund drives in the lower divisions, and more.
37 min
244
Talking Fussball Pandemic Pause Special - Fumbl...
Welcome to the new normal - a world without football for the foreseeable future...plus a looming life-and-death threat hanging over us all. What's not to like? Matt gets on the line with Nik Wildhagen to talk these strange times over in a fairly strange episode. They talk a lot about the implications of the Bundesliga's sudden break...and somehow get sidetracked before the end. Hope you enjoy, and be well!
55 min
245
Talking Fussball MD25 review - One last weekend...
Strange times. One week after we zoom in on the DFB's battle with the Bundesliga's most hardcore fans, we learn the league might have to do without all of their fans for a while. Yes, COVID-19 will come up in this podcast - but so will a Dortmund win guest Marie Schulte-Bockum calls meisterlich, a couple of great goals from USMNT stars, and the idea that German football (and other footballs, for that matter) needs to get a lot more feminine.
67 min
246
TF Fantasy - Freestylin' into the weekend with ...
The last thing they wanted was to miss another episode, so our the busy guys in our fantastic duo decided to jump the gun, record a podcast earlier than usual and do it just about off the dome. JT and Flo have recommendations on potential Cologne player picks for Friday night, how wary you need to be of RB Leipzig's squad rotation ahead of a big date in Europe, and much more....
45 min
247
Talking Fussball MD24 wrap - Off the pitch SPEC...
Two teams of highly-paid pros participate in a joint kick-about for the final 15 minutes of Hoffenheim vs Bayern. Several other games disrupted after officials deem chants and banners from ultra fan groups to have crossed the line. Is this all really just about Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp? On a weekend where results were overshadowed by events off the pitch, Matt speaks with Felix Tamsut, who makes it his business to report on fan culture and sports politics for DW. Wide-ranging discussion ensues. FT also happens to be a massive 1. FC Köln fan, so there's a lot of effzeh talk, as well as a run through title race and relegation battle implications.
69 min
248
TF Fantasy MD24 tips - Filling that Lewandowski...
FC Bayern München's usually indestructible Robert Lewandowski has gone and done his knee - who are you going to play up front for the next month (...or more)? Luckily JT and Flo's Karneval bacchanal has come to a close and they are back to answer that question - and many more!
62 min
249
Talking Fussball MD23 wrap - Stinging losses hi...
A hiding at home helps focus the mind - and minds in Gelsenkirchen and Berlin are focused as hell right now after 5-0 losses at the hands of Leipzig and Cologne, respectively. Matt gets Kit Holden on the line to talk over the fates of Schalke and Hertha, as well as the trouble in Bremen, the title credentials of RB and Gladbach, and much more.
59 min
250
Talking Fussball MD22 wrap - Dortmund and Leipz...
There were good omens for both BVB and the Rasenballsportlers as the two Bundesliga sides head into the UEFA Champions League to face Paris Saint Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively. Matt talks things over with Stefan Buczko, who as the host of the Yellow Wall Podcast has a lot to say about Dortmund especially. They move on to discuss whether or not there's going to be a Klinsi-shaped crater left behind at Hertha BSC, as well as break down the relegation fight.
80 min