It Was What It Was continues our special look into the life and career of one of football's greatest and most influential managers: Arrigo Sacchi.

In this episode, Sacchi has finally arrived at AC Milan and, with a team of legends in the making, his greatest work is about to begin.

This episode is part of our series on Sacchi’s extraordinary career and his lasting mark on the sport. It starts with our Sacchi intro episode with Jamie Carragher (please go back and listen if you missed it!).

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It Was What It Was continues the epic story of arguably the most important manager in modern football history: Arrigo Sacchi.

In this episode, Rob and Jonathan explore Sacchi's rise through the coaching ranks. Sacchi earns his spurs in youth coaching, before his impressive work at Parma turns the head of Italian giants AC Milan, and their enigmatic owner Silvio Berlusconi.

This episode is part of our special series on Sacchi’s extraordinary career and his lasting mark on the sport. It starts with our Sacchi intro episode with Jamie Carragher (please go back and listen if you missed it!).

If you enjoyed the podcast, please hit subscribe to never miss an episode.

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This week on It Was What It Was, we continue the epic story of arguably the most important manager in modern football history: Arrigo Sacchi.

Following-up from last week's episode with Jamie Carragher (please go back and listen if you missed it!), Rob and Jonathan go back to Sacchi's roots and how his legend began.

We discuss Sacchi's early years, from shoe factories to football coaching - and the family tragedy that changed the Italian's destiny and the destiny of European football.

This episode is part of our special series on Sacchi’s extraordinary career and his lasting mark on the sport.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please hit subscribe to never miss an episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Welcome to The Overlap's football history podcast, It Was What It Was.

Special guest and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher join hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper as they explore the legacy of one of football’s most iconic managers: Arrigo Sacchi.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest minds in the sport, Sacchi led AC Milan to back-to-back European Cup triumphs in the late 1980s, building a team that Carragher grew up idolising.

In this episode, Carragher discusses Sacchi's profound influence on football, how his revolutionary tactics reshaped the game, and the impact they had on Carragher's own playing career.

Together, the trio provides an in-depth analysis of Sacchi’s extraordinary career and his lasting mark on the sport.

Next week we dig even deeper into the genius of Sacchi, as Jonathan and Rob kick off their special four-part series on his life, starting with his early years.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was.

On this week's episode we travel back to one of the biggest financial scandals in early English football—the 1904-05 Manchester City scandal.

Journalists Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper unravel the events that saw Manchester City, fresh off their FA Cup win, embroiled in controversy over illegal player payments.

It Was What It Was explores how the Football Association’s wage cap led to the club’s downfall, forcing manager Tom Maley and 17 players—including star winger Billy Meredith—banned.

You’ll hear how this scandal not only rocked Manchester City but also paved the way for Manchester United's rise, reshaping the footballing landscape in ways that still echo today with City currently facing 115 charges as of September 2024.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was.

As Aston Villa return to Champions League football this week, Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper take a deep dive into the club's most iconic moment: their 1982 European Cup triumph.

It Was What It Was revisits this historic victory, made even more remarkable by the fact that manager Ron Saunders resigned midway through the season, leaving Tony Barton to step in and guide Villa to European glory.

Jonathan and Rob walk us through the unforgettable campaign, which saw Villa travel to Germany and Ukraine before defeating Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final. The win became even more legendary when first-choice goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer was forced off with an injury, only for his inexperienced replacement, Nigel Spink, to step up and deliver a crucial performance in just his second-ever first-team appearance, cementing his place in Villa's history on one of the club’s greatest nights.

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***Please note this episode was recorded before the death of the late Gary Shaw.***

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Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was.

This week, our hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper dive into the extraordinary journey of Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time.

With his 2022 World Cup triumph marking the pinnacle of an already legendary career, Jonathan and Rob take a journey back to Messi’s beginnings.

They explore his childhood in Rosario, the crucial role his family played in his development, and his time at Newell's Old Boys, where he faced and overcame a growth hormone deficiency that almost ended his dream before it began.

In this episode of It Was What It Was, they delve into his life-changing move to Barcelona at just 13, joining the iconic Class of '87 alongside future stars like Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué, where Messi would go on to become the greatest player in the club’s storied history.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was. This week Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper tell the story of probably the most-consequential football club takeover ever: When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003.

Before sportswashing was even a word and in an age when Financial Fair Play didn’t exist, we examine the background to the most-startling and unexpected deal in Premier League history. And the extraordinary impact it would make, as Chelsea splurged what was at the time an eye-watering £100m in that first summer transfer window, laying the foundations for Chelsea to become a super club that would win 18 major trophies in the Roman era.

It transformed the Premier League, threatened Fergie, ruined the latter years of Arsene Wenger’s career, caused UEFA to dream up new FFP rules to curb them and paved the way for the era of nation state investors at Manchester City, Paris St Germain and Newcastle United.

It Was What it Was goes back to that stunning summer which changed the game and debates whether football was ever the same after the Roman Conquest.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was.

This week, Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper explore the connection between Ferenc Puskas and Ange Postecoglou, and how the Hungarian idol influenced the Australian coach.

Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ferenc Puskas’s post-playing career saw him manage across the world, including stints in Spain, America, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. It was in Australia where Puskas, the manager, coached Postecoglou, the player, at South Melbourne Hellas.

Jonathan and Rob detail Ange Postecoglou’s life, including the influence of his Greek father, and how Puskás's coaching philosophy left a lasting impact on him. Discover how these experiences shaped Postecoglou’s approach to management and contributed to his success.

As Postecoglou gets underway in his second season with Tottenham Hotspur, join us to uncover the enduring legacy of Ferenc Puskas on one of today’s most innovative coaches.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was. 

In Part One, journalists Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper set the scene for Liverpool’s incredible 4-3 win over Newcastle in April 1996. We now delve into the game itself and the consequences that follow. 

Having been 12-points clear in the run for the Premier League title, Jonathan and Rob provide an in-depth look into how this game symbolically ends Newcastle’s title chances and ultimately leads to Kevin Keegan leaving the club.

We look closely into the teams, the goals, the players and the atmosphere, as well the aftermath of the game, giving a real resonance of what will happen in football in the next 10 years. 

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