Any Given Thursday

We're back to discuss last Thursday's conclusion to the Europa and Conference League final qualifying round (as well as a little Champions League)! It was a week of firsts, including Hamrun Spartans becoming the first Maltese club to qualify for a European group stage. Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano also survived to earn their inaugural shot at Thursday night football. The other Conference Leag...

The Playoff Qualifying Round has kicked off in the Europa & Conference Leagues, and it's all to play for! The headline in the Conference League was the big boys struggling, with Scandanavian sides taking full advantage. Palace managed just a 1-0 home win vs Fredrikstad amidst a frustrating week off the pitch, Strasbourg was held scoreless in France by Brøndby, & Mainz suffered a 2-1 away d...

We're officially back for the 2025-26 Europa & Conference League campaigns, and as always, we're kicking things off with the 3rd qualifying rounds. The 1st legs were full of action, and we discuss some major upsets from old friends (Celje, Víkingur Reykjavík, AEK Larnaca), and new (Hibs, Shelbourne). Then we explore Cyrpus' remarkable European successes of late, why the Irish league is on the...

Jacob Hill is back on the pod, this time to tackle the 2012 NBA draft - and boy is this one a stinker! We start by revisiting each of the top 30 picks (plus some notable 2nd rounders), and in the process lauding its notable stars, Damian Lillard, Anthony Daivs, and Draymond Green, investigating Chad Ford's questionable takes, exploring one of the strangest NBA players of all time in Royce White, a...

We were going to be off this week, but UEFA demanded that we get on Zoom and hammer out an emergency podcast after their ruling that Crystal Palace is removed from the Europa League and instead will play Conference League football in 2025-26. We talk about how we got here - including Lyon winning appeal to stay in Ligue 1 (& thus Europe) - Palace's next steps, and how Nottingham Forest factors...

It's time for the way-too-early Conference League 2025-26 preview! Except it really isn't too early - the 1st qualifying rounds start THIS WEEK if you can believe it. But we're starting off with the 5 "big league" clubs who start their journey in the playoff qualifying round (aka the final step before the League Phase): Nottingham Forest, Rayo Vallecano, Mainz, Strasbourg, and of course,...

With the 2024-25 season in the books and Spurs crowned Europa League champions, we're back to do a way-too-early preview of next season's competition! The upcoming campaign is much anticipated by us at Any Given Thursday thanks to a treasure trove of interesting contestants. There's a group of obvious contenders, including clubs with appearances in last year's Champions League - Aston Villa, Bolog...

On the pod today, we take a look back at the joyous 2024-25 Conference League season, which ended in a Chelsea triumph, but featured many raucous, riveting, and memorable moments. It was a campaign for the UNDERDOG, and we revisit many of our favorites, including the incomparable NK Celje, the delicious Djurgårdens IF, and the fearless Jagiellonia Białystok, all of whom made deep tournament runs....

Today we take a look back at the brilliant 2024-25 Europa League campaign in full, in which Tottenham Hotspur hoisted their third UEL/UEFA Cup trophy. We begin by addressing the elephant in the room – the sacking of now-Spurs-legend Ange Postecoglou despite leading his side to the title. Is it a fair decision from Daniel Levy? What are the supporters feeling? And how do they move forward now witho...

Chelsea are your Conference League champions 2025! The heavy favorites from the very start of the campaign made good on that promise, beating Real Betis 4-1 in a wickedly impressive 2nd half display. We break down all the key elements of the game, including how Betis caused Chelsea problems in the 1st 45 minutes, how Chelsea responded after halftime, and how Maresca ended up winning the coaching d...

An epic Conference League final is upon us – easily the best we've had in the nascent tournament's 4-year existence – and we're bringing you everything you'd hope to know about both sides ahead of Wednesday's kickoff! Along the way, we address both streams strengths and weaknesses, what star players like Antony, Cole Palmer, and Moises Caicedo can bring to the match, who will round out the startin...

Tottenham Hotspur has done it! The trophy drought is over for the Lillywhites as they hoist the 2024-25 Europa League trophy in Ange Postecoglou's 2nd season, as promised, and we're here to break it all down. First, David allows Maxwell the space to emote about the significance of his club finally getting one over the line, and to explain why his voice is shot to hell. Then we proceed with the gam...

One of the most bizarre and intriguing Europa League finals of all time kicks off on May 21, and we're here to preview this remarkable matchup between league rivals Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. We begin with the question, "What makes a good Europa final?" What's an ideal matchup? Does United-Spurs meet the requirements? We also dive into what's made 24'-25' the season of unde...

It's a 2-parter this week folks! That's right, we couldn't contain all our thoughts on the semifinals to just one episode, so we've separated the Europa and Conference Leagues. In this episode, we tackle tasty the Europa League matchups - Bodo and Spurs, Manchester United and Athletic Club - where the 15th and 16th-placed teams in the Premier League advanced to the final. We discuss Spurs getting...

It's a 2-parter this week folks! That's right, we couldn't contain all our thoughts on the semifinals to just one episode, so we've separated the Europa and Conference Leagues. On the Conference League episode, we take a deep dive into the Fiorentina-Betis thriller that sent Betis to their first ever European final after an extra time winner from Abde Ezzalzouli. We explore the tactical matchups,...

A brilliant round of 1st leg fixtures takes us just one step from the Europa and Conference League finals! The story of the day was the shocking 3-0 United decimation of Athletic club at the San Mamés. We discuss Ugarte and Bruno's big days and Athletic's uncharacteristic defensive lapses, plus we have a hard conversation about the use of VAR in the massive penalty/red card decision that may have...

This is Part 2 of our preview of the Europa and Conference League semifinals! Here, we get into the bread and butter, detailing everything you need to know about tactics, matchups, players, and storylines heading into the 1st legs. We touch on Athletic Club's exceptional consistency at both ends of the pitch, Oihan Sancet's rise to stardom, problem areas for Spurs and United against more stable op...

We've got a two-parter today folks! That's right, we have so much Europa and Conference League semifinal content, we couldn't contain it in just one episode. In Part 1, we play a game of Start, Bench, Loan, or Sell with starters at each position of the semifinal contestant starting 11s. We debate the player's strengths and weaknesses, the roles within their squads, and their value in the transfer...

We officially have our 8 semifinalists across our two tournaments, and we had some doozies. In the Europa, both Manchester United and Tottenham saved their seasons with victories - United dramatically so, scoring 3 late extra time goals to stun Lyon. Athletic Club moved one step closer to hosting the final in their own building, and the little club that could, Bodø/Glimt, survived a penalty shooto...

The quarterfinal 1st legs are complete! The Europa League exhilarated with a dramatic Lyon-United affair (on AND off the pitch), while Rangers dug deep for a clean sheet despite playing 80 minutes with ten men. Elsewhere, Bodo kicked the day off with a masterful beatdown of visiting Lazio, and Spurs showed some promise in a 1-1 final with Frankfurt. Goalkeepers were the stars of the show - includi...

Our spring break is over, and the Quarterfinals upon us! That's right, we're down to 8 teams apiece in our favorite competitions, and we're doing a check-in on each club ahead of Thursday's 1st legs. Who's hot? Who's ice cold? Who do we feel good about (Betis)? Who do we feel bad about (Spurs)? We talk form, players to watch, tactics to watch for, and more - plus some predictions for good measure....

Our Europa and Conference Quarterfinals are set after the Round of 16 came to a close with a bang. We had multiple extra times, some sensational performances from tournament big boys, and of course, one of the games of the year, Lugano v Celje. The Slovenian side became the first to represent their country in a UEFA quarterfinal after a madcap game in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Athletic Club, Frankfu...

An awesome slate of Round of 16 fixtures is halfway done, and we've got all the juicy gossip for you. Well, the juicy match recaps, anyway. Join us as we break down all of last week's games and storylines, including late winners for both Rome and Lazio, Rangers' shock in Istanbul, AZ's continued mastery, and Bodo's main character energy in Europa. And over in the Conference, Vitoria and Jagielloni...

Our spinoff show Any Given Bracket is back, and with an all new formula. Join Maxwell in welcoming Jacob Hill back to the pod, not to talk college, but NBA! We're taking a page out of the Podfather himself Bill Simmons' book and redrafting the class of 2011. It's a strong group highlighted by a number of Hall of Famers, All-Stars, and NBA champions, but also not lacking in the downright bizarre. J...

The Playoff Knockout Round closed with a bang. In the Europa, Bodo wins an instant classic in a win over Twente, a game which featured 3 goals in a span of 5 minutes of added time, Ajax survive a magnificent Saint Gilloise in extra time, a brilliant Dybala sees of Porto, and AZ stake their claim as a proper contender. In the Conference, Heidenheim experiences heartbreak at the hands of Copenhagen,...