Offside With Taylor Twellman

The Crew aim to be the fourth MLS side to win the Concacaf Champions Cup when they travel to face storied Liga MX club Pachuca this weekend.  There’s more than continental bragging rights on the line: The winner gets an automatic bid to the next year’s FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place in the U.S. So far, Seattle are the only MLS team to qualify, through their own Concacaf win in ’22...

Filip Forsberg is an NHL All-Star from Sweden, the Nashville Predators’ all-time leading goal scorer, and—since last spring—a minority owner of Nashville SC.  Taylor sits down with Filip to talk about his soccer roots, why he loves Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović, and how he got to experience Nashville SC’s incredible Leagues Cup run last year, which collided with Messi Mania and Inter M...

Rivalries live and die by the fans. And in Texas, the three teams—FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, and Austin FC— compete for the Copa Tejas trophy.  Soccer culture in Texas is big, dense, and diverse—just like the state. So this week’s episode is all about the fans whose happiness depends on winning Copa Tejas.  There’s Paul Fletes, lead trumpet for the supporter band La Murga de Austin, Coll...

It’s Rivalry Week. Across Major League Soccer, bitter rivals, old and new, are gearing up for matches that fans have had circled on their calendars since the 2024 schedule came out. Rivalries are a big deal for players too. FC Cincinnati center back Nick Hagglund tells Taylor that when the schedule comes out, the first ones he looks for are the Hell Is Real matchups with the Crew. Born and raised...

On the pitch, Giorgos Giakoumakis comes across as a cocky striker. A bruiser who will do anything to score. An absolute villain. But there’s more to the big man than that.  In a special episode of Offside, Giorgos opens up about his life story, including growing up in Crete, his early struggles in the Greek leagues, his scoring titles in Europe, and finally finding a home at Atlanta United.&n...

In MLS, there’s no such thing as a win you can count on.  Rules around roster-building and salary caps mean even a last-place club can give the league’s best a run for their money on any given week—and the playoff system gives everyone a shot at a dramatic turnaround.  This week, we share two of the greatest single-season comebacks in league history: Sporting Kansas City in 2023 and the...

Comedian Paul Scheer is known for his roles in The League and Fresh Off the Boat, his long-running podcast on bad movies called How Did This Get Made?, and being a die-hard Clippers fan. But in recent years, he’s also been swept up into the LA soccer scene, going to LAFC and Angel City FC matches.  On this week’s episode, Paul and Taylor talk about the Messi Mania they experienced at LA Galax...

Diego “El Maestro” Valeri, less than two years out of professional soccer, is two months into his new job as lead analyst for the Spanish broadcast on MLS Season Pass. On this week’s episode, Diego joins Taylor to talk about the transition to commentary, interviewing Lionel Messi, and his legendary career with the Portland Timbers.  Plus, MLS newcomer Eric Ramsay discusses being a first-time...

John Herdman took over as head coach at Toronto FC late last season, when the club finished in last place. But this year they seem to be turning it around.  On this week’s episode, Taylor and John discuss his philosophy for leading a team through transition, something he’s done for the New Zealand women’s national team and both the Canadian men’s and women’s teams. They also talk about how Jo...

Just how hard is it for an MLS All-Star to dust off the cleats after two years of retirement and play in a competitive game? On this week’s episode, Taylor speaks with MLS Season Pass colleague Sacha Kljestan about his decision to take the field for semi-pro club Des Moines Menace in the U.S. Open Cup. Sacha explains how the opportunity came about, and just how wrecked his body was after playing 1...

San Diego FC are set to join MLS in 2025 as the 30th club. They’re following a familiar expansion playbook: Find an underserved market, bring investors on board, and get a stadium. But as CEO Tom Penn—who also helped start LAFC—points out, there are a couple things that make this club different.  For one, they’re the first major men’s pro team in the U.S. to have a Native tribe, the Sycuan Ba...

Inter Miami CF have shown us they are unbeatable at their best. The flip side? Every club is giving them their very best shot. This week, The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio and Pablo Maurer join Taylor to talk through how Miami became the most wanted victory in MLS, as well as their upcoming trip to D.C. United—a club that itself was once the league’s “most wanted” and is showing signs of hope after a do...

It seems like every week, the big question for most teams in MLS is: Who’s going to score? So on this week’s episode, scoring legend and New York Red Bulls great Bradley Wright-Phillips joins Taylor—a bit of a scoring legend himself—to talk about scoring goals in MLS. They discuss BWP’s career, which can be seen as a blueprint for overseas players looking to find success in the league, and how his...

LAFC and the Colorado Rapids are as different as clubs can be. While LAFC won 2023’s Western final, the Rapids finished last in the conference. But both teams were busy in the offseason maneuvering for a more successful ’24.  On this week’s episode, Taylor sits down with club leaders responsible for those prospects. First, Taylor speaks with LAFC co-president and GM John Thorrington—the man b...

Offside With Taylor Twellman is back, and we’re kicking things off with a big 2024 season preview. Sacha Kljestan and Diego Valeri join Taylor to go through every MLS team—yes, every team—and reveal who they’re buying and who they’re selling. Plus, who has the best kits for 2024? Offside With Taylor Twellman is a Major League Soccer podcast, produced by Apple TV and Rain Delay Media. Follow and li...

On the final episode of the season, Taylor reacts to the MLS Cup by discussing what this result means for both LAFC and the 2023 champions, Columbus Crew. He then wraps the year with 12 storylines to watch out for in the 2024 season.  Offside With Taylor Twellman is a Major League Soccer podcast, produced by Apple TV and Rain Delay Media. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. Want to talk to T...

It’s our MLS Cup preview. Taylor chats with Sacha and The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer about their takeaways from the conference finals before breaking down Saturday’s MLS Cup in Columbus between the Crew and defending champs LAFC. Taylor then sits down with MLS Commissioner Don Garber to look back on the historic 2023 season.  Offside With Taylor Twellman is a Major League Soccer podcast, produce...

In this conference finals preview, Taylor checks in with supporters from both FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew to understand what will be the biggest edition to date in the “Hell Is Real” intrastate derby. After tha t,  he chats with Houston Dynamo manager Ben Olsen about their surprise playoff run and what he thinks they can do to stop LAFC from reaching their second-straight MLS Cup Fina...

Taylor hops around the country to preview the conference semifinals with LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo, Seattle’s Brian Schmetzer, Sporting KC’s Peter Vermes, Philadelphia’s Jim Curtin, and MLS' Coach of the Year, FC Cincinnati’s Pat Noonan. Taylor then chats with NFL great Chad Johnson about his love for the beautiful game, why he warmed up on Sundays with a soccer ball, and how he snuck in a Champions...

As Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs comes to a close, Taylor talks with The Athletic’s Felipe Cárdenas about what he saw at Match 2 of Atlanta-Columbus, the remaining matchups, and the clubs that are looking forward to the conference semifinals. They also reflect on how referees are finding themselves unfairly at the center of attention and discuss headlines from around the league. Offside With T...

This week, Taylor welcomes former Inter Miami CF head coach Phil Neville to discuss what they saw in the Match 1s of the playoffs’ Round One: Sporting Kansas City’s stunning upset of St. Louis, LAFC’s rejuvenated look, FC Cincinnati’s continued dominance, and a whole lot more. Plus, Taylor learns about how Phil’s grandmother named his father in the hospital out of stubbornness. Offside With Taylor...

In their first season, St. Louis CITY SC have already made history. With the most wins ever by an expansion club, St. Louis head into the playoffs as the #1 seed in the Western Conference, and they host their first postseason match this Sunday. On this week’s episode, Taylor talks with CEO Carolyn Kindle, head coach Bradley Carnell, sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, and president and GM Diego G...

In a special extra episode, Taylor sits down with Maurice Edu and Sacha Kljestan to preview and predict the MLS playoffs.  Offside With Taylor Twellman is a Major League Soccer podcast, produced by Apple TV and Rain Delay Media. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. http://apple.co/Offside-MLSSeasonPass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://ar...

Heading into the final weekend of regular-season play, Taylor shares his predictions for MLS season awards, answers listener questions, and chats with SVP of MLS NEXT Pro Ali Curtis on player development and their new “pick your opponent” playoff format. Offside With Taylor Twellman is a Major League Soccer podcast, produced by Apple TV and Rain Delay Media. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. ht...

In just two seasons, FC Cincinnati went from three straight rock-bottom finishes to their first-ever Supporters’ Shield. On this week’s episode, Taylor talks with head coach Pat Noonan and breakout forward Brandon Vazquez about their journeys to Cincinnati, their expectations heading into the playoffs, and what a trophy means to a city that’s fallen in love with its MLS club. Offside With Taylor T...