Total Soccer Show: USMNT, Champions League, EPL, and more ...

Taylor talks to Lutz Pfannenstiel about the many ups and downs of his playing career, his philosophy when it comes to scouting and roster construction, and the value American players represent in the Bundesliga. Plus, how he managed to bring in Zack Steffen, and why it's best not to end up in a Singapore prison. Sponsors! Today's episode is brought to you by... The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. R...

It's listener questions! Got one for us? Please submit here Timestamps: 1:40 — Black Lives Matter 9:05 — Can the USMNT win the 2026 World Cup? 21:15 — Use code SOCCER at SundayScaries.com for 25% off 23:10 — What are some of the most famous examples of players protesting? 32:30 — Why wasn't Kaylor Navas in our best player in Concacaf discussion? 37:55 — Advertise with The Athletic's podcast networ...

Joe Lowery is joined by John Muller of American Soccer Analysis to talk about goals added, the new soccer metric that captures the effect of every touch on the ball on that team's chances of scoring or conceding and might change the way we measure soccer. John says goals added is a soccer metric that "tells us what matters" on the field. See more of John's work at AmericanSoccerAnalysis.com SPONSO...

After a slightly somber start, Ryan and Taylor discuss the Premier League restart, plans for the resumption of the Champions League, and a looming lockout in MLS. Plus, goals galore in Bayern Munich v Dusseldorf and Paderborn v Dortmund, as well as Schalke's continued poor form merits further discussion. Oh, and I can't stress this enough... neither David Guetta nor his musical attempts at whateve...

Plenty to talk about on today's show. Here are your timestamps: 1:40 — Premier League is coming back June 17 13:55 — Use code TSS for 10% off at Hawthorne.co 16:25 — Possible changes to Concacaf qualifying for the 2022 World Cup 23:30 — Gregg Berhalter indicates the USMNT will defend in a pressing 4-3-3 30:30 — Jesse Marsch wins the Austrian Cup! 35:55 — Visit Podiumwear.com to order your team soc...

Sam Stejskal and Paul Tenorio discuss the USMNT's depth chart and pick their preferred starting elevens This episode is a companion to Paul's interview with Gregg Berhalter, which Athletic subscribers can read here: https://theathletic.com/1844942/2020/05/29/ Not a subscriber? Sign up via http://theathletic.com/totalsoccer SPONSORS! Register for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Big Virtual Cl...

The NWSL is returning to action this summer, with the NWSL Challenge Cup scheduled to run from June 27 until July 26th, when a tournament champion will be crowned. To  explain the creation of the competition, as well as the proposed structure, dates, format, and competitors, Taylor talks to The Athletic's Meg Linehan. And by "talks to" I mean "sits and listens as she does all the heavy lifting." ...

Manuel Veth is on the line to discuss Schalke's abysmal form, a looming goalkeeper battle at Bayern Munich, the most valuable Americans, and why Jadon Sancho might not be on the move but that doesn't mean Dortmund will have a quiet summer. Plus, why are Stuttgart bad, why are Hertha Berlin suddenly good, and much more! Sponsors! Today's episode is brought to you by... The Leukemia and Lymphoma Soc...

Bobby "I take audio production seriously" Warshaw returns to the show to help break down Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich. How fine were the margins, how much has Alphonso Davies developed, how Bayern frustrated Dortmund's approach, and how strange it was to hear crowd noise without a crowd? Of course, we also meander into a wide range of other topics including podcasts that Bobby thinks are bett...

There gave been many great Designated Players in MLS history, and then there have been quite a few that have been the opposite of that. Joe and Jordan work together to determine the consensus (ish) best DPs in league history, including David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and many more. If you're new to American soccer, there's also an explanation of the Designated Player Rule and how it came to be....

Ryan and Taylor review the biggest moments from Sunday's Bundesliga action Schalke 0 - Augsburg 3 Mainz 0 - RB Leipzig 5 Koln 2 - Dusseldorf 2 They then preview the midweek fixtures, including Dortmund-Bayern, Leverkusen-Wolfsburg, and Leipzig-Hertha. Sponsors! Today's episode of The Total Soccer Show is brought to you by... The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Register for their Big Virtual Climb h...

3:13 - Wolfsburg v Dortmund: John Brooks does his best to stifle Erling Haaland and Company 16:41 - Today's show is sponsored by... TheBlackTux.com — use code SOCCER for 10% off 18:42 - Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt: Alphonso Davies is good.  33:27 - Today's show is sponsored by... GetRoman.com/TSS — for a free online visit and free two-day shipping 35:18 - Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer L...

Your second favorite soccer-podcast-duo go deep on Major League Soccer's plan to resume play via a summer tournament in Orlando. What will be the structure, who will be the seeded teams, and how are the groups determined? Your Allocation Disorder hosts have the answers, as well as information on how the season will resume after the tournament. If you want to read more about The Orlando Approach, T...

Here are you timestamps! Starting at 3:05 — The Premier League is back in action! Sort of. They're training at least. In small groups. And the Bundesliga is back this weekend, we let you know which game are on TV, and which games to look out for. Gio Reyna-watch starts now. PROFILES: 26:30 — The Celtic FC Lisbon Lions of 1967 38:40 — The Bayern Munich team of the 1970s, featuring Gerd Muller, Fran...

We talked "best debuts" last week, so now we're getting into best farewell performances in soccer. It could be the final game of a player's career or it could be a fine performance in their last game for club or country. But if it was a fitting way to sign off on a moment in a career, it's probably discussed on this episode! Pele, Cruyff, Raul, Zidane and Neymar are all in there, plus many more! T...

Joe Lowery has a detailed conversation with Luchi Gonzalez about  the FC Dallas head coach's football philosophy and tactics, his approach to developing and promoting talented young players, and how he's risen through the ranks so quickly. If you're interested in the future of American soccer, don't miss this episode. SPONSORS Listen to Remarkably Remote, a new microcast from GoToMeeting Visit Dri...

TSS has partnered with Grant Wahl to launch a  new interview podcast, Fútbol with Grant Wahl. The first episode of FwGW, in which Grant interviews Tyler Adams about experiencing the Bundesliga's coronavirus protocols, is now available. We're cross-publishing the first half of that interview here to promote Grant's new show. To hear the full episode, and future episodes every Monday and Thursday, p...

Daryl talks to Grant Wahl about his career in soccer journalism and his new project, the Fútbol with Grant Wahl podcast, which the TSS is helping produce. Topics discussed include advice for aspiring soccer writers, the 1998 World Cup Final, the 99ers, The Beckham Experiment, the awesomeness of Alan Gordon, and how to get a player like Mohamed Salah to commit to an interview. Here are some links t...

Daryl and Taylor go deep on Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke. No spoilers in the show notes, but analyze the tactical setup of both teams and break down what happened on every goal. We also get into RB Leipzig vs Freiburg, and touch on Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg vs Wolfsburg. USMNT players in today's conversation: Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna (briefly), Tyler Adams, Joh...

The 2020 MLS season had only just got going when it was brought to an abrupt halt by the coronavirus pandemic. MLS has a plan to replace the regular 2020 season with a televised tournament in Orlando. But how realistic is that plan? And will the players agree to play? Sam Stejskal and Paul Tenorio discuss Major League Soccer's proposal from all angles. Here are Sam's two stories for The Athletic:...

The Bundesliga is back in action this weekend! Daryl and Taylor discuss the teams, players, tactics and narratives to keep an eye on this weekend, as well as in the remainder of the season to come. What position will Weston McKennie play? Who will hit the ground running and who might struggle? Will Daryl ever stop being excited to talk about Tyler Adams? The answer to that last one is pretty clear...

The Champions Champions Cup of History continues with two more matchups. First we have the famous 1954 Honved team that conscripted its way to being maybe the greatest club team in the world before the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 put an end to Puskas and co playing together. Their opponent is Pep Guardiola's Manchester City team that won the Premier League in 2017-18 by putting 100 points on the...

It's a listener question extravaganza!  3:35 - How similar is FC Dallas’ system to the one used by Gregg Berhalter?  12:57 - Would similar systems at club level help the USMNT at international level? 16:27 - Is there an ideal position for set piece taking? Is having a defender take it an advantage? 20:48 - Today's episode is brought to you by Hydrant! Go to DrinkHydrant.com and enter promo code "...

A 2020 debutant. A pre-bald brace for a French midfielder. A bombastic hat trick at the Camp Nou. They all feature on today's show in which we leave no stone unturned in history of soccer (starting in the Premier League era) to discuss the eleven greatest debut performances (by an attacker who scored in the game) in soccer history. Today's show is sponsored by Podiumwear.com , where you can buy fa...

Sam, Matt and Paul take turns drafting players into their respective USMNT squads. Here are the rules: "We got to choose our own formations and points of emphasis. Each player was presumed to be at his personal peak from 2002 forward, and had to have lined up at his chosen position at some point in his career." Who gets rattled, who draft's Freddy Adu and which former USMNT coach isn't really enjo...