Any Given Thursday

And we're up and running after our first matchday of the season! We cover Ki's continued march towards greatness, some comfortable results in the Europa League, and big upsets and chaos in the Conference League. Cheers to Zoran Barisic!

The summer break is over, and that means your (14th or 15th) favorite podcast is back for our second season at the helm! This week, we catch you up on all the qualifying rounds for the Champions, Europa, and Conference Leagues. Who's been upset? Who's on Cinderella runs? (Spoiler: Ki Klaksvik of the Faroe Islands). Then we have the final qualifying stage, the Playoff Round, to look ahead to this w...

Friends, we've made it through our inaugural season at Any Given Thursday. 60+ episodes in, and we're still ticking! Thank you to everyone who's listened so far. To celebrate, we're wrapping up the season with a recap of all our favorite moments from the Europa and Conference League runs, from all the way back in August to the finals. We also briefly look ahead to the upcoming 23-24 year, and some...

West Ham take home a European trophy for the first time since the 60s after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the second ever Conference League final, and we've got all the talking points for you! Featured: Lucas Paqueta & Jarrod Bowen, Nico Gonazalez & Giacona Bonaventura, David Moyes & Vincenzo Italiano, through balls, handballs, and stray vape pens. Cheers to David fucking Moyes!

F***ing Sevilla - how do they do it!? The Spanish Europa League magicians claimed their 7th title in 17th years Wednesday, wrenching the trophy from the cold, dead hands of Jose's Roma in penalties. We break down all the key elements of the match, whether Anthony Taylor deserves criticism, Jose's penalty choices, Sevill's improbable run under Jose Luis Mendilibar, and much more! Cheers to you Jose...

The 2023 Europa League final is finally upon us, and our comprehensive preview preps you for all the crucial storylines and matchups! Roma and Sevilla will go head-to-head to decide not just this year's tournament champions, but also a precious and financially massive spot in next year's Champions League. This is Sevilla's 7th Europa League final since 2006. They've won each of the past 6. This is...

After 10 months of football, after dozens of rounds of elimination football and group stages, from the smallest clubs in Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Ireland, and more, we FINALLY have our four finalists in the Europa and Europa Conference Leagues. Sevilla and Roma, and Fiorentina and West Ham have made it to the promised lands after thrilling semifinal ties, and, naturally, we're here to break it al...

The second legs of the semifinals are upon us! Who will go through to compete for the ultimate prizes? It's all to play for, the stakes are high, and we've got all the coverage for you. Cheers (again) to Arne Slot!

We're back to talk all about Thursday's juicy semifinal ties! Roma and West Ham get narrow road wins, Juve and Sevilla play to a thrilling draw, and Basel get the shock result of the day, stunning Fiorentina 2-1 in Italy. Everything is perfectly poised for great football next week, and we can't wait talk about it. (There was an audio issue on David's mic for the first half of the pod. Apologies fo...

As we near the end of European off-weeks, we're bringing you dear listeners an update on all the major storylines of the top 5 leagues - title races, relegation battles, and crucially, the UEL & UECL contenders for next season! We also touch on the cup competitions and some other leagues of note across the continent. Cheers to Philippe Montanier!

WHAT A DAY in the Europa and Europa Conference Leagues. United are embarrassed at Sevilla, Roma go through dramatically in extra time, Fiorentina almost blow it, and so much more. Cheers to motherf*cking José Luis Mendilibar!

We're back for the 2nd leg of the quarterfinals, with all but one tie on a knife's edge. We go through each fixture, then play a little game of "Who's the Best Manager in the Europa League?" Spoilers, cheers to Arne Slot!

The 1st legs of the quarterfinals are in the books! Sevilla steal a result at Old Trafford, Juventus and Feyenoord get much needed home wins, and St. Gilloise keeps on rolling. Meanwhile, in the Conference League, things keep getting dicey for the Hammers, and Fiorentina's got a foot in the semifinal. Cheers to Jose Peseiro!

Eight teams remain in each competition, and it's anyone's guess who's going through. Join us as we take a step at previewing Thursday's excellent fixtures and predicting the results. Cheers to losing your job!

We're back to catch you up on the all the Europa and Conference League vibes aheads of Thursday's do or die fixtures. Who's going through?? Cheers to John van den Brom!

We're back to preview all of Thursday's Round of 16 1st legs in the Europa and Europa Conference Leagues! United hosts Betis, La Real visits Rome, Juve takes on Freiburg, and, of course, the 3rd edition of the Union derby. Who will stake their claim on the quarterfinals?? God only knows. Cheers to Vincenzo Italiano (who, fun fact, was actually born in Germany)!

Sixteen teams were eliminated Thursday across the Europa and Conference Leagues, sixteen teams advanced to the respective Rounds of 16, and we're covering every last second of it. Of note: Manchester United eliminates Barcelona, Leverkusen wins a breathless tie against Monaco on penalties, Sevilla and Berlin are through, and a great week for Italian teams. We also touch on the Round of 16 draws! C...

32 teams enter, but only 16 will remain! Europa and Conference League knockouts return, with clubs' European lives all to play for. Just about every tie in each competition is up in the air - including a much-anticipated heavyweight rematch between Manchester United and Barcelona - so don't miss our preview of Thursday's action! Cheers to Okeksandr Kucher and José Luis Oltra.

The Europa and Conference Leagues have FINALLY returned after long last, and they did not disappoint. Barcelona and Manchester United played out a hectic and thrilling 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou, Monaco edged Leverkusen 3-2 in Germany with some superb finishing, Fiorentina demolished 10-man Braga, and late VAR controversy holds Juve to a 1-1 finish with Nantes in Turin. And that's just the beginning...

We're back to give our takes on all the upcoming Playoff Knockout fixtures, and there are som doozies - namely, Sheriff v Partizan and AEK Larnaca v Dnipro-1. We kid. Those are fixtures to look out for, but it's the Europa League that's brining the big guns the next two weeks: Barcelona v Manchester United, Ajax v Union Berlin, and Salzburg v Roma, just to name a few. But seriously, don't forget t...

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 def...

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 it...

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 internat...