S4 Ep6: Kevin Keegan's England - Part 1

Kevin Keegan - England manager? What a loser!Lee, Rob and Gary unwrap that reductive statement and conclude that while Joseph Kevin Keegan may have lost, he was no loser. In Part One, the initial focus is on the optimism that beamed out of little KK, striding out at Wembley in the sunshine, basking in the love of a capacity crowd, Poland seen off in a Euro 2000 qualifier, a Paul Scholes hat-trick the high for both player and manager in an England shirt / blazer. After an examination of the curious relationship between Keegan and Michael Owen, the remainder of England’s qualifying campaign is tracked through to its conclusion in a nervy 0-1 home loss to Scotland after a 0-2 win in the play-off first leg, England stumbling into the Euros. It was a portent of things to come.Player of the Pod this month is Chelsea’s charismatic Number 10, the man we loved to love, Gianfranco Zola.The panel track his career from the footballing backwater of lower league Sardinia to understudying Maradona (and more) at Napoli, European success at Parma, then bringing his crooked smile and dancing feet to Stamford Bridge. There's goals and glory in the Chelsea years before he keeps his word to fans on the island of his birth and finishes his playing career at Cagliari.

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