Rooster and the Villain: An American Soccer Podcast

Hayden Partain is a midfielder that currently plays for San Antonio FC.  After spending his college years playing at Wake Forest, Hayden moved to Des Moines, Iowa to pursue his dream of playing professional soccer. After establishing himself with the Des Moines Menance in USL League Two, the USL Championship came knocking at his door. An opportunity to play at Sacramento Republic FC became availab...

Alistair Johnston was drafted #11 overall in the MLS superdraft by Nashville SC. He was drafted to play Right Back after excelling in the position during his Senior Year at Wake Forest. Alistair is gracious enough to talk us through his incredible soccer journey. From youth club soccer in Aurora, Canada, to playing at St. John's in New York City, to his transfer and position change at Wake Forest,...

After a month of being off due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the birth of a new child, the boys are back to save the world from boredom. Or maybe add to it? We talk about the season that might never be finished. How the teams looked leading up to the shutdown. Predictions for how things will end up. Financial problems for clubs. Lower leagues. And more meandering from three tipsy old men. We hop...

After his transfer from the Columbus Crew to Manchester City, and the subsequent loan to German side Fortuna Düsseldorf this summer, Zack Steffen (24) has quickly established himself as one of the top keepers in the Bundesliga. In fact, after 17 games in the Bundesliga, the Manchester City loanee has the fourth-most saves per game out of any keeper in the league, despite missing the last few match...

Long time friend and former roommate of both roosters, Tommy Heyboer, comes on the podcast to be sorted into his Premier League club.  As with all of the sorting hat episodes, we talk about his soccer history and current interest, run through some of the American teams and sports he follows, and ask him what he already knows about Premier League (trigger warning for Brad: "Harry Kane is a twat" -...

I recently began listening to a podcast series called "25 Stories that made MLS". Tutal and his brother Neetol Rahman provide a narrative of important events that  have led to what we now know as an established league, Major League Soccer. We're talking wild stories too. Like diving into why the 1984 Olympics was the true beginning of MLS, billionaires betting to double down on the league in a spo...

I have known Gerardo since the 2013-2014 NBA Season. We were both on "International Row", which was a section in the lower bowl of Verizon Center that was dedicated to International media covering the Wizards.  We had a mutual friend early on, Arnaud Gelb, who connected us and then led our group in motivation as we all ended up doing some pretty great NBA player interviews before and after games....

We sit down our friend Michael McCloskey and put the Premier League sorting hat upon his head and let the gods of the internet determine which team he should support. Will it stick? Beyond that, we talk about all the juicy drama happening in the soccer world. From Man City's two year Champions League ban and its ripple effects to some red hot Champions League match-ups, and a new soccer bar experi...

In this bonus episode, we take a deep dive into the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid with the General Manager of Maryland Bobcats FC, Evan Raimist. The Bobcats are fresh off of winning a United Premier League Championship (UPSL) National Championship in Florida. Now they are gearing up for their first season as a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) squad. Evan gives us a glimpse of wha...

I'm legit publishing this before listening and the keywords I have been sent are: Rangers FC Salford City Yellow Wall (Dortmund) Basque Region (Pyrenees Mountains) Pablo Escobar Bundesliga United States Soccer Federation Monterrey  I'm curious and I hope you are too. Enjoy a conversation among two friends that revolves around the beautiful game. 

Leicester and Chelsea tie. Bournemouth over Villa. Sheffield over Palace. Liverpool over Southampton. Newcastle and Norwich tie. Everton comeback against Watford. United and Wolves in a scoreless draw. Tottenham slaying City. Burnley and Arse in an unwatchable 0-0 tie. Bergwijn! FA Cup schtuff. DFB Pokal. GIO REYNA GOLAZO.  This is a weak ass effort for this write-up. Does anyone even read it anyw...

We are delighted to have Southampton supporter, Matt Neuhausen, back on the podcast this week. We discuss Southampton's nice run of form. Danny Ings and his fantastic season. The transfer of one of the best Right Backs in all of world football (winky face). Then we relive some recent European play for Southampton. A bit about the finances of the club and some of the details of their structure. We...

That final Salah Liverpool goal against Manchester United was just a gross display of dominance and celebration at Anfield. I hope that Liverpool fans are actually starting to get sad because it's NEVER going to be better than that moment. You'll lift the trophy but you'll regret not enjoying it more. I hope it feels like the last day of vacation for the rest of the year. Yes, I'm bitter.  But I s...

The first ever couples interview here on Rooster and the Devil. And for good reason.  We spoke with Paul and his wife, Emily, because they have been on a couple of awesome England trips where they make a point to check out new stadiums. On their honeymoon, they've visited Old White Hart lane where they saw Fulham play Tottenham. Then they ventured out to the East coast to catch a game at Carrow Ro...

Happy Friday! Got a bonus episode for yo' ass. We take you on a journey from NBA to the EPL and discuss where the NBA fits into the English game. Shoutout to all the basketball dudes that love Premier League My fellow NBA writer friend reports back to duty on Rooster and the Devil for the second NBA-EPL crossover episode. My guy Noah Perkins comes on the podcast to reflect upon the similarities be...

The mood around Rooster and the Devil has turned a little gloomy with both the Roosters and Devils turning in a poor run of form. Plus, Harry Kane is out for the foreseeable future. As is Moussa Sissoko. Sadness abounds. But we turn those frowns upside down with some talk about the FA Cup. We also predict the future of relegation and give you our picks for the teams going down. Then, Jimmy compare...

I was a lone rooster this evening so I decided to do something different. I went and grabbed sound bites from the coaches and players of some of the tastier matches over the festive period and added some "commentary" after them. I hope you enjoy it. You'll hear Jose', Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Nigel Pearson, Danny Ings, and more on this episode. For the USMNT fans out there, it ends with a stor...

The boys sit down for a quickie on Christmas Eve between all of their obligations.  We ask ourselves a few questions; What are we thankful for in 2019? What are your resolutions for your team this year? Then we have some fun playing Santa and decide who is on our naughty/nice list across the premier league. Then, we rant. Happy Festive Fixtures everyone!

Manchester United followed up impressive wins over Tottenham and City with a clunker against Everton. Will Pogba ever play for United again? Has Liverpool already clinched the title? Jose' and his Tottenham boys' rapid rise up the table. Super Jan. Champions League draw. Europa League draw. City still favorites in the Champions League? Mason Greenwood and his natural finishing ability. A touch on...

We did it! We booked a Leicester City guest. But we never could have guessed at how cool this guest would be. He's been supporting the club since 1998, so he has seen a lot of shit. That's through several relegations, a quick stop in League One, a couple of years duking it out in the Championship, the return to the Prem, the title, Champions League, mainstays, and now the team that is giving Liver...

It hath arrived. The festive fixture schedule is insane. So many games in so few days. There's a full schedule of games mid-week, followed up by a full schedule of games on the weekend, followed up by some pretty crucial Champions League match-ups next week. Buckle in, folks. There are so many storylines running through the league right now. Ole's continued poor run of form. Jose' the cockeral. Ar...

The boys grapple with the conflicting emotions that have arisen with the quick sacking of our biological father, Mauricio, and the rapid hiring of our new step daddy, Jose'. Jimmy preaches calm among the Manchester United storm. We talk about the top-4/top-6. Expectations for the rest of the year. Champions League. It was good to be back in the saddle.

A family emergency took priority over the usual Rooster and the Devil episode but I couldn't leave y'all high and dry. Thanks for listening. We'll be back up and running next week if things go to plan here.

Longtime friend and Vicksburg (Michigan) Soccer alum Matt Woodhams joins the poddy this week. The boys attempt to nurture his budding appreciation for soccer as he becomes disenchanted with the NFL. This is the fun part. We take a test to figure out what team would be the best fit for him in terms of support. Then we take a drive down memory lane with him as he and the Devil reminisce about their...

Josh Guesman from the Corner of the Galaxy podcast and blog comes into the devil's lair to talk about what it's like covering the LA Galaxy as a reporter.  He gives us a glimpse into press coverage from MLS, what Zlatan is like as a person, how the MLS has grown since he started covering it in 2009, and where he thinks it's going in the next 10 years. We also ponder about what the LA Galaxy would...