The Athletic FC Presents...

To round up our series on Brentford we answer the outstanding questions on the Bees. What next for star striker Ivan Toney following his ban from football by the FA? How far up the Premier League table can the club go? And what are the club doing behind the scenes to ensure that they can keep improving year on year? Plus we hear about the women's team and how the club are supporting them. Hear fro...

Brentford Football Club suffered a devastating loss to their staff in November 2018 when Technical Director Robert Rowan passed away in his sleep aged just 28 due to a fatal cardiomyopathy episode. Christian Eriksen, the Danish international who had a heart attack on the pitch in 2021, was lucky. He survived and went on to play for Brentford from January 2022. In this episode we bring you their st...

What are the questions reporter Jay Harris gets asked the most? How does Brentford's recruitment work? And are they the moneyball club? Well in episode two we get all the answers, or at least as many as we could, from the staff and players at Brentford FC. Hear from Technical Director Lee Dykes as he explains how he's built a unique data system to make sure Brentford can recruit the very best tale...

Jay Harris is given access all areas to one of the most intriguing clubs in the Premier League: Brentford. The club had the lowest wage bill in the top tier and yet were able to do the double over champions Manchester City and in their short two year stay (so far) in the league, beaten the big six at least once. So how do they do it? That's what we're here to tell you. First up, a whizz through th...

In the third and final episode of this documentary series, presenter Mike Zimmermann explores the legacy that Lionel Messi will leave behind. Matt Slater explains the motives behind the Saudi Pro League, and why Messi turned down nearly half $1 billion annually in favor of Major League Soccer. The relationship between Messi and Inter Miami started back in 2018 — Paul Tenorio takes us through the i...

In the second episode of this documentary series, presenter Mike Zimmermann explores what Lionel Messi’s arrival will mean for American Soccer. Pablo Maurer looks back at the stars who have tried to crack the USA, while Felipe Cardenas looks ahead to how Messi and Inter Miami will attempt to build on this. You'll also hear from Ex-MLS players Bradley Wright-Phillips and Nedum Onuoha, who talk us t...

Welcome to the Making of Messi, our new three-part narrative series.  Following in the footsteps of former stars of the footballing world like Pele, David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi is attempting to crack the US with his move to Inter Miami. The Argentine has won it all in domestic and international football over a glittering career at Barcelona, PSG and for his country, Argentin...

In part two, The Athletic's Adam Leventhal continues his journey along the Turkish fault line, to reveal more stories of remarkable heroism, tragedy and finding refuge in football, four months on from the earthquakes. As all eyes fall on Istanbul and the glamour of a Champions League final, Adam finds a technical director who pulled five people out of the rubble, the story of a goalkeeper's wife w...

In the first of this two-part audio documentary series, The Athletic's Adam Leventhal heads to the capital of Turkey's south-eastern province of Hatay - home of first-division side Hatayspor - where former Ghana international and Premier League winger Christian Atsu scored a last-minute free kick, just hours before the first earthquake hit on February 6th. Adam interviews head coach and former Tur...

This is Bobby 90, a four-part special podcast series from The Athletic to mark what would have been Sir Bobby Robson's 90th birthday. In this final episode of the series, Sir Bobby talks about his various battles with cancer and the establishing of the charitable foundation in his name. As preparation for his final book, Sir Bobby looked back over his remarkable life-story with George Caulkin. Tha...

This is Bobby 90, a four-part special podcast series from The Athletic to mark what would have been Sir Bobby Robson's 90th birthday. In the third episode of the series, Sir Bobby talks about his dream managerial job at Newcastle and his relationship with the fans. As preparation for his final book, Sir Bobby looked back over his remarkable life-story with George Caulkin. Thanks to the generosity...

This is Bobby 90, a four-part special podcast series from The Athletic to mark what would have been Sir Bobby Robson's 90th birthday. In the second episode of the series, Sir Bobby takes us through his various managerial stints at England, Barcelona and his hunger for success everywhere he went. As preparation for his final book, Sir Bobby looked back over his remarkable life-story with George Cau...

This is Bobby 90, a four-part special podcast series from The Athletic to mark what would have been Sir Bobby Robson's 90th birthday. In the first episode of the series, Sir Bobby talks about his childhood and growing up in the north east. As preparation for his final book, Sir Bobby looked back over his remarkable life-story with George Caulkin. Thanks to the generosity of Sir Bobby's family we a...

On the eve of England's first ever Euro final, we look back at their darkest day in the tournament when Roy Hodgson's side crashed out to Iceland at France 2016. Oh, how we laughed at the time. Elsewhere, Wales made history, Italy and Germany participated in the worst penalty shoot out of all time, and Portugal and Ronaldo had a shot at redemption. It's Euro 2016, it's brought to you by those who...

It's the year the world was supposedly destined to end, but thankfully the Mayan calendar wasn't synced with ours and 2012 carried on meaning we could enjoy Euro 2012! Four years after tiki taka graced our pitches, it's back and ready for more - but are we? This is the tournament that brought two groups of death, Andy Carroll, and a lot of spying. It's Euro 2012, it's brought to you by those who w...

It's 2008 and the world is obsessed with Barack Obama and Beyonce, over here we're more interested in events at Austria and Switzerland because it's Euro 2008 and it's great. Yes, there's no England, they failed in the rain at Wembley against Croatia. But there's Spain's tiki taka, Turkey's late late goal scoring, and one hell of a thunderstorm. Oh, and there's the French doing, well, nothing real...

We arrive at 2004, the year of Frankee and Eamonn's musical back and forth, the blackberry, and one of the most unexpected tournaments in Euros history. We're in Portugal where there are teams on the up, like England, and teams on the down, like Germany. And this time there's a dark horse that no one expects will actually do anything apart from enjoy being there. How we never learn. This is Euro 2...

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the year 2000 and whilst we might all have enjoyed some Roman Gladiator gore at the cinema, sending pictures via text, and donning our Juicy Couture tracksuits (oo, get you) there's some serious football to be played. Specifically in the regions of Belgium and The Netherlands as 16 of the best teams in Europe gathered to do battle. This tournament brought us the madness...

Football's coming home to England in this Euro 96 episode - if you can bear to relive it! We've got twice the amount of teams as before, a lot of optimism, and, of course, twists and turns as one team really ruffles some feathers. It's Euro 96 brought to you by the voices that lived and breathed it from across the continent. Teams Group A: England, Netherlands, Scotland and Switzerland Group B: Bu...

It's 1992 and we are in Sweden for a tournament full of twists and turns, and a surprise addition who no one expects much off. Join journalists from across the continent as they relive this contest and its unexpected results. Teams Group 1: Denmark, England, France and Sweden Group 2: CIS, Germany, The Netherlands and Scotland Voices Host: Iain Macintosh Guests: Elko Born, Niels Harild, James Horn...

This is the story of Euro 88 told by experts from across the continent bringing their memories and stories as well as the facts and the iconic moments from the tournament. Without a single goalless draw or a sending off it is a tournament filled with drama and unexpected moments. Teams Group 1: Denmark, Italy, Spain, and West Germany Group 2: England, Ireland, Netherlands, and the Soviet Union Voi...

Justin Fashanu would have been 60 this year. Everyone knows how he died, but what about how he lived? This 'Beyond The Headline' special explores Fashanu's experiences as a result of becoming the first British male footballer to come out as gay, the struggles and contradictions of his life, a complicated legacy and its impact on the sport today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

The €222million fee that PSG paid for Neymar is so big that it may never be topped, but its significance extends far beyond that. We explain how it changed football in France, how it contributed to Leo Messi almost leaving Barcelona, and how it allowed Liverpool to build their current great team… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the summer of 2017, PSG had absolutely no plans to sign Neymar or any superstar, intending instead to build sensibly. Then they got a call that changed not only their plans, but the football world. This is how and why the most significant transfer of all time happened… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neymar was a household name before he even made his debut for Santos. We explore how he quickly became the most important player for not only his club but country, his controversial move to Barcelona and what should have been his greatest night at the Nou Camp… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.