The Soccer Journal Podcast

New York City FC won another home opener, but the way they wrecked Orlando City SC while winning 5-0 surprised even the most optimistic members of our Hudson River Blue Podcast crew. This episode starts with a fond look back at the big win over Orlando at Yankee Stadium, as we attempt to zoom in on what had more to do with the 5-0 scoreline: Orlando's badness, or New York City's greatness? Really,...

It was as wild a win as wins get for New York City FC in their second match of the 2026 season, so this episode begins with lots to be said about the last-gasp 2-1 win over Philadelphia Union. That includes some choice words about the controversial refereeing decisions that influenced the match, from two contentious penalty-kick decisions to the quick-trigger second yellow card that reduced the Un...

New York City FC started the 2026 season with a 1-1 draw vs LA Galaxy, a slightly frustrating but respectable result while playing thousands of miles away from home. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh all agree that the Galaxy game served as another reminder of how badly New York City FC needs to sign a new striker or versatile forward to fill in at the No 9 while Alonso M...

It's a big season preview episode involving bold predictions made about New York City FC and the players we expect to play big roles during the 2026 season. Before the predicting and previewing, hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh put a bow on the preseason. There was one final Coachella Valley Invitational friendly played, and there were many updates about the health of so...

The New York City FC preseason is nearing its conclusion and the Coachella Valley Invitational friendlies are happening, giving us more and more clues about how Pascal Jansen might line his team up when the 2026 season kicks off on February 22 in Southern California. To start this episode, hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh revisit the 1-1 draw between NYCFC and LAFC to op...

Moussa Sylla of FC Schalke 04 looked all set to become a Designated Player striker signing for New York City FC, but instead of wrapping the transfer up, the move went up in smoke and in dramatic and contentious fashion. The first portion of this episode is spent unpacking all the dramatic twists of the Sylla transfer saga. This is the first time in recent memory a New York City FC transfer fell a...

Transfer business has picked up at New York City FC, so this episode is almost entirely about roster comings and goings. The biggest NYCFC move is the first one covered, as hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney, plus producer Andrew Leigh, discuss the new Designated Player striker reportedly heading to New York City FC, Moussa Sylla of FC Schalke 04 in Germany's 2.Bundesliga. We wonder how Sylla's pro...

The new New York City FC Sporting Director held his first press conference this week, so Episode 73 starts with a healthy dose of Todd Dunivant discussion. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh dissect some of Dunivant's first statements to the press in search of hints of what he might do now that he's in charge of NYCFC's soccer decision-making. Is a goal-scoring forward goi...

It's an episode of comings and goings as the New York City FC preseason gets started. Episode 72 starts with a discussion of legendary midfielder Maxi Moralez coming back for another season in 2026, still going strong as he nears his 39th birthday. Was it the right move to bring back Moralez for another season, and can we expect him to still be as ever-present in 2026 as he was in 2025? While Maxi...

New York City FC can now say that the club has produced multiple Premier League players. That's a fact because of former NYCFC striker Valentín Castellanos and his big-money transfer from Lazio to West Ham United FC of the English Premier League. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney first turn to the resident West Ham expert, producer Andrew Leigh, to paint the bleak picture of where things stand wit...

It's our 52nd and final episode of 2025 and it begins with the sad business of discussing the official split between Justin Haak and New York City FC, following the Christmas Eve lump of coal that was the report , now confirmed and official, that he'd sign with LA Galaxy. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh get into some of the reasons why New York City FC ended up letting...

We're joined in the first portion of this episode by Glenn Crooks , English-language radio play-by-player announcer for New York City FC since the inaugural 2015 season. He's got a new book just released, " Put It On Frame: Stories and Strategies from Top Soccer Coaches and Experts ," so he tells hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan and producer Andrew Leigh about the process of interviewing all the...

We're coming to grips with the end of another Major League Soccer season to begin Episode 68, as we revisit Inter Miami CF's 3-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the 2025 MLS Cup final. Lionel Messi and this Miami super-team added another trophy to the collection, and we're in agreement that Messi had to win MLS Cup in Given that Hudson River Blue is in the midst of publishing a series of final...

The 2025 season ended in ugly fashion for New York City FC, and Episode 67 has to start with that ending: The Eastern Conference Final in South Florida, where Inter Miami CF ran wild and beat New York City 5-1 to advance to MLS Cup and kill New York City's cup dream. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh review what went wrong for New York City at Chase Stadium, from defensiv...

This Thanksgiving Week episode has us with lots to be thankful for on the New York City FC side, as we're discussing both a shocking upset win over the Supporters' Shield-winning Philadelphia Union, and a tasty upcoming matchup against Inter Miami and Lionel Messi in the Eastern Conference Final. Two-man show this week as host John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh take you back through the highs of...

We have to start this episode by discussing Alonso Martínez and the devastating knee injury he suffered while with Costa Rica during the international break that divides the MLS Cup Playoffs. New York City FC now has to adjust on the fly to an injury to a key player that sends ripples across the club and feels like it could be franchise-altering, not just in these playoffs but in the next MLS seas...

Nothing but positive vibes after New York City FC won a do-or-die Game 3 on the road in Charlotte. This episode starts with a complete unpacking of the away win over Charlotte FC that got New York City through Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs and set a date with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That unpacking includes marveling at the pair of goals scored by Nico Fernández Merca...

It all comes down to one game for New York City FC, and we're officially sweating the upcoming win-or-go-home Game 3 against Charlotte FC to decide who advances in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Before grappling fully with the stress of Game 3, hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh review Game 2 at Yankee Stadium . The scoreless draw that became a loss on penalty kicks offered multipl...

Bask in the afterglow of a New York City FC playoff win with us, as Episode 62 of The Hudson River Blue Podcast comes to you after Alonso Martínez scored an early "goal of the playoffs" contender to help NYCFC beat Charlotte FC on the road in Game 1 of their best-of-three series. We start the episode by giving you our immediate reactions to the win and by singing the praises of Martínez some more,...

The MLS regular season is over, and the MLS Cup Playoffs are next, so this episode is spent mostly getting ready for the start of New York City FC's best-of-three series against Charlotte FC . We can't jump right into our Charlotte preview, though, because there's Decision Day and one final regular-season game to revisit. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh discuss the disa...

We're pumped for MLS Decision Day in this episode because we're more than ready to know where New York City FC will finish in the Eastern Conference and who they'll face in the rapidly-approaching MLS Cup Playoffs. Our Decision Day-centric episode begins with hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh talking through all the possibilities in front of NYCFC, as they have a chance t...

Episode 59 drops in the middle of an international break for New York City FC, but topics of discussion remain plentiful for the pod. Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh kick things off with a review of the 1-0 road loss to the Philadelphia Union, a win that saw Philly clinch the Supporters' Shield and saw the New York City FC attack silenced while the team lost ground in t...

There's so much going on in the world of New York City FC right now and Episode 58 of this podcast does its best to keep up with all the spinning plates. First order of business: Those two most recent NYCFC matches, first the heavy loss at Citi Field to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF, then the Hudson River Derby triumph over the Red Bulls on the road in Harrison, New Jersey. Hosts Mark Radigan an...

It's one podcast episode, but it's about four different New York City FC matches. That's the name of the game at this busiest of busy part of the MLS season, though the fixture congestion isn't doing anything to slow down a scorching-hot NYCFC team that's now won three straight matches and climbed way up to 4th Place in the Eastern Conference. This episode kicks off with hosts Mark Radigan and Joh...

Spirits are high and confidence is high on the pod this week on the heels of New York City FC's dramatic 3-1 win on the road over the Chicago Fire. Any pessimism that lingered from the disappointing loss to DC United before the international break got washed away by those three New York City goals scored on the shores of Lake Michigan, and your hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney plus producer Andre...