Revista de la Liga with Graham Hunter

Hola Here's part two, as myself and producers Martin and Neil reflect back on some of the 99 guests we've had on the show over the past five years. Look out for 100th guest, Rio Ferdinand, tomorrow.  Enjoy G Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.revistade...

Hola Here's myself, and producers Martin and Neil reflecting back on some of the 99 guests we've had on the show over the past five years. Listen up for some crazy behind-the-scenes tales of our adventures on the road and revealing insights into some of our guests. Look out for 100th guest, Rio Ferdinand, later this week.  Enjoy G Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This i...

There were mixed European fortunes for Dietmar Hamann at Bayern Munich: a famous triumph in Barcelona followed by a UEFA Cup final win over Bordeaux, but also a tough lesson from an Ajax side which Dietmar describes as one of the best ever. After head coach Otto Rehhagel was undermined by certain players, Giovanni Trapattoni was soon back and Dietmar won his second German title. Trapp also issued...

Dietmar Hamann is one of the beautiful game’s most engaging characters; sheer class as a guy just as he had been sheer class as a player. Before his breakthrough, he was a marauding offensive midfielder, but after he caught Bayern Munich’s eye he was given the holding role, a position he made it his own. Head coaches Franz Beckenbauer and then Giovanni Trapattoni were massive influences at Bayern....

Welcome to the World Cup final of 2010. As our mini-series concludes, let's go back to the build-up to Spain v Holland: both Franz Beckenbauer and Paul the Octopus predicted a Spain win, but nobody foresaw the nature of their victory. There has never been a dirtier World Cup final - there could easily have been more than the one red card we saw. And Holland could easily have left with the trophy a...

It's the final four, socios. For Germany, it's World Cup semi-final number 11. For Spain, number one. It's a rematch of the 2008 European Championships final. And it's a repeat of the same scoreline. Spain outplay their most dangerous opponent of the tournament but they need a singular goal to reach the final. Here's the back story to Carles Puyol's majestic leap; where I rank it in the pantheon o...

Spain v Paraguay. Quarter-finals. Spain's top two goalkeepers, Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina, conspire to keep out Oscar Cardozo's penalty - and that's just the start of one of the craziest five minutes in World Cup history - two more penalties, another not given and after all that the score is still 0-0. With the clock ticking down, and their quarter-final curse looming, Spain turn to the tourname...

It's matchday in South Africa 2010, so it's time to see what Spain were up to. It's the round of 16 and it's Portugal: that means Ronaldo. He was the world's most expensive footballer and had just finished his first season in the white of Madrid.  Behind him, was one of the meanest defences in world football. Spain had to innovate to stifle Ronaldo and break down the defensive barrier that stood b...

In the sweltering heat of Orlando Pat Bonner misjudged a net-bound shot during Ireland’s knock-out defeat to the Netherlands at USA ’94. Getting over setbacks like that, and indeed the whole psychology of goalkeeping, has obsessed him ever since he hung up his gloves. He has been a top-level coach, he has developed goalkeeping courses and he has been a consultant to the major footballing bodies. I...

It's win or bust in the final group game. Spain must Defeat Chile or go home.  This was packed full of incident: a whirlwind start by Chile; two beautiful goals from Iniesta and Villa; a red card that should never have been; and the most bitter memory of the World Cup for my taste, as Chile offered Spain a murky deal, which they eventually accepted.  Before that, nerves were shredded and I had to...

Pat Bonner was made in Donegal: his values, resilience and work ethic were instilled in him by his family and his community, while playing Gaelic football toughened him up for a glittering soccer career. He was Celtic’s stalwart No1 for years, winning nine major honours at the club, and he earned 80 caps for the Republic of Ireland. His penalty save in a shootout in Genoa against Romania - exactly...

As the Spanish press lose their minds in the wake of an opening defeat against Switzerland, Vicente Del Bosque sends his under-fire players on safari. This is just one of the ways in which the European champions are treated as adults and now, in crisis mode, it pays off. They find a collective solution and move into Game Two, against Honduras, as one. Elsewhere, England, France and Italy are not s...

We're off and running with our World Cup 2010 recap. Here's what I saw and heard while tracking Spain for the first few days of their tournament, up to and including their first match against Switzerland. Why getting the right training camp counts. How to tame a dangerous Puyol in the wild. The Ali-Frazier nature of the series of matches between Vicente Del Bosque and Ottmer Hitzfeld, the two coac...

Welcome to a new mini series on the Big Interview feed, retreading Spain's journey to their only World Cup title, 10 years ago. In this first episode, before the tournament begins, we'll look at the player who will eventually give the 2010 World Cup in South Africa it's signature moment, Andrés Iniesta. As the countdown to the finals intensifies, Iniesta is broken: physically, mentally and spritua...

When Brendan Rodgers took the Celtic job he was advised to jettison Scott Brown. Instead, Brendan invited him to his London home where they chatted about what behaviour he expected from a captain, and also how he could incorporate ‘Broonie’ in a different role. Despite the relatively advanced stage in his career, Scott transformed his attitude and style of play, and coach and skipper lifted trophy...

Brendan Rodgers possesses one of the sharpest analytical minds in football, but more than that he is a purist, a devotee of the beautiful game– as demonstrated by the verve with which his high-flying Leicester side plays. As a rookie coach, Brendan had the foresight to regularly visit Spain to soak up the methods employed there – not least because the Spanish had a way of incorporating players of...

Here’s another chance to hear my interview with Chris Sutton from season two. Chris’ success as a striker in England and Scotland was rooted in a tough start. As a kid, an initial rejection by his local club Norwich just made him all the hungrier – and a second bite at the cherry with the Canaries plus his dad and his youth coach’s tough motivational approaches set him on the trajectory to a troph...

Last season, our Socios at patreon.com/grahamhunter got an exclusive interview with Mark Schwarzer. For the first time, here’s the full episode. Mark had a love affair with the UEFA Cup/Europa League, reaching the final of each with Middlesbrough and Fulham respectively, and, sadly, losing both. But this remarkable man is disarmingly philosophical about both defeats. In part two Mark also describe...

Last season, our Socios at patreon.com/grahamhunter got an exclusive interview with Mark Schwarzer. For the first time, here’s the full episode. Mark – an Aussie with German parents – kept goal for Dresden in the unsettled aftermath of reunification, and then at Kaiserslautern, where he was disrespected and unappreciated. His big break in England came when he was trialling for Manchester City in a...

In part two, John Hartson describes his happy days at West Ham – before everything went sour after an infamous incident with Eyal Berkovic. It took a special kind of guy to come back from that low-point. John once set up Craig Bellamy to score the winner against Italy with a pass worthy of Xavi. It gave Wales one of their greatest-ever nights in football. John made the best of his abilities and ha...

John Hartson broke up my Spanish detention with a brilliant remotely-recorded Big Interview. Big Bad John was the kind of centre-forward who defenders hated marking. If they were smaller than him, he would just knock ’em over, then pick ’em back up. So John was shocked when Valencia’s Roberto ‘The Mouse’ Ayala gave him his hardest shift in a Celtic jersey. There’s great stuff here about John’s tim...

After the sad news that Michael Robinson has died, I recorded this about a man I knew well and admired, who helped me during my career here in Spain and who helped shape as generation of broadcasters and journalists, particularly those making their way in a country that was not theirs by birth. He could play a bit, too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public...

Here’s another chance to hear my interview with Matt Le Tissier from season two. Matt was such a naturally gifted performer that he could have joined any team he chose. Instead, he was that rarity in the modern game: a one-club player. Matt describes the utter joy he took in lighting up Southampton’s old ground The Dell with his stunning tricks and goals – this interview is about football elevated...

Jimmy Bullard’s on-field and latterly on-screen personality is that of an easy-going joker, but that is only a conscious extension of his true self. He is also a brilliant soccer analyst, and as a talented midfielder he was frustrated by English football’s failure to adopt the Continental passing game. Roy Hodgson was the only manager who understood him. He’s glad to see things changing, thanks ma...

Thanks to the wonders of modern telecommunications, I caught up with Jimmy Bullard and found a man who had been well prepared for lockdown. Jimmy needs meditative pursuits – fishing, golf and landscape gardening, and his sense of detail was also applied to his fledgling footballing career to pave the way for successful spells with, notably, Wigan, Fulham and Hull. Jimmy used to peel potatoes and p...