Let's Fix Football

SAVE THE CREW. That's the overall theme of today's Let's Fix Football--though first hosts Gabe Lezra and Evan Mateer break down some of the funnier European results of the weekend (hi PSG and United). Then, they talk MLS playoffs, breaking down the format, the various teams and "Decision Day" action (sorry for the scare quotes, but it's kinda silly to call it that, guys). 

Bad takes this week are the real focus, with Evan talking Carabao Cup (and how it's totally awesome and definitely not stupid in any way). Then Gabe breaks down the hillarious and horrific anti-Columbus Crew astroturf organization "MLS In Austin" which tweeted some absolutely RIDICULOUS shit. Definitely worth a listen. 

Anyways-- #SaveTheCrew folks. It's the right thing to do.

It's UCL BONAAANZA week! Gabe's Real Madrid host Evan's Tottenham Hotspur in the Bernabeu--the guys break down the exciting draw, while taking particular note of the tactical and systemic questions left by both managers ahead of the next meeting.  They also quickly recap the rest of the European week--interesting!--before heading over to Italy to talk Derbi della Madonnina! 

Then they talk USMNT and the impending succession debate. Will Tab Ramos take over? Is Big Sam the saviour? No. Finally, they break down the Crew's potential move to Austin. Is this inevitable? Good business strategy? 

AND! Bad takes featuring the entirety of the English and Spanish press and...BIG SAM!

Hosts Gabe Lezra and Evan Mateer break down. That's it. Because the US Men's National Team lost to Trinidad and Tobago and failed to qualify for the World Cup. It's an international break rundown episode, folks. 

In all seriousness, the guys break down the various matches that occurred prior to Tuesday night (when they recorded), and talk everything from the US's win against Panama and Pulisic's incredibke match (lol), Argentina's issues, and the rest of the qualifying round generally. They round out the show with some bad takes about the USMNT--and yes, the takes are still terrible even though the side lost. 

In a bonus addition, recorded Wednesday 10/11, they reflect on the catastrophic USMNT loss to Trinidad and Tobago and curse the entire USSF staff.

Hosts Gabe Lezra and Evan Mateer run down the week in European football and then interview their friend James Rushton, who runs SBNation's AC Milan and Aston Villa sites, about the intersection of sports and politics. 

First, the guys break downt the amazing "Pizzagate" controversy surrounding Cesc Fabregas definitely running a child sex ring with his Arsenal colleagues--and chat actually real English football. After a brief tour around Europe, the guys discuss the situation in Spain and how to move forward. They finish up with two Russia-based bad takes!

This week's interview segment features James Rushton, the editor of SB Nation's AC Milan site AC Milan Offside and SB Nation's Aston Villa Blog 7500 to Holte. The guys discuss James' recent article about sports and politics--and how they're really inseperable.

Hosts Evan Mateer and Gabe Lezra recap the crazy week in European football, talking through the PSG crisis--and the AMAZING report that PSG offered Edison Cavani a cool $1 million to NOT take penalty kicks, Real Madrid's "crisis" in the Spanish league and then the Champions League.

They finish up discussing Atlanta United, and how awesome this team has become in MLS. They expand on the Atlanta model and theorize some ways for Atlanta and MLS to expand through the loan process. They chat MLS playoffs and finish with some amaaaaazing bad takes--really top quality work this week.

Hosts Gabe Lezra and Evan Mateer run down the week in European football, talking about PSG's most recent scandal--Neymar and Cavani, oh no!--and talk la Liga and EPL. This week's reading series is an incredible piece of mid-aughts ESPN bullshit, wherein a bunch of dudes try to convince the lone female writer that Sepp Blatter's comments about how female soccer players should wear "tighter shorts" are right, actually. It's really awesome, check it out here: http://www.espn.com/page2/s/bloc/040120.html

Then they interview their friend Ernesto Alvarado about the recent FIFA corruption scandal. Ernesto is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Hughes Hubbard & Reed. As part of the Anti-Corruption and Internal Investigations practice group, Ernesto assists clients with matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.K. Bribery Act, international anti-corruption law and compliance, third-party due diligence, and internal investigations. 

In the interview the guys focus on FIFA's organizational structure, discuss how FIFA's corruption scandal permeated many different levels of the organization, and delve into the FCPA and other theories of liability that allowed the United States Department of Justice to investigate and bring charges against the international organization. Then, they discuss the specifics of the investigation and the next steps for FIFA going forward.

Hosts Gabe Lezra and Evan Mateer are joined by fillmmaker (and Gabe's brother) Nat Lezra and Eleanor Erney to discuss the absolutely unwatchable disaster FIFA propaganda film United Passions.  United Passions is one of the worst movies ever made, released only days before the FIFA corruption scandal (and named after a softcore ) and completely critically panned. The group dives into the plot of the film, breaking down every single element of this fucking unwatchable film--including all the racism, sexism, and general whitewashing. 

Normal shows resume Tuesdays!

Oh god, it's this episode.

Every nominally MLS-related show has to do at least fucking ONE promotion-relegation episode, and this is that show for us here at Let's Fix Football. Gabe and Evan bring their American shitbag style to this discussion, delving into the European leagues first--is Manchester CIty champion now? And is it time to just award Barcelona the champions league? Will Real Madrid be relegated?--before diving into the horrible morass of MLS promotion-relegation arguments. We won't spoil the discussion for you, but you might be surprised in how the guys come out on the issue.

And we have our bad takes of the week! Gabe talks Nike's comical explanation of their horrifically ugly third kits, while Evan takes on an article that argues that MLS teams should be named after birds of prey (yeah, every team should be the Eagles or some shit).

JEEEEEESUS CHRIST

It's international break week and it's time to talk about FIFA. Well, them and the garbage fire USMNT. But really FIFA, the comic book villain-level corrupt organization that controls this game. Fuck them. Evan rants about Bruce Arena and the disaster that the US team has become since 2010, Gabe fumes about FIFA, and they both laugh their asses off at Barcelona's shit transfer window, Antonio Conte's fucked up phone, and one of the shittiest takes int he history off footbal commentary.

With irreverent humor and no fucking class, hosts Gabe Lezra (of the Managing Madrid podcast) and Evan Mateer break down all the major news events in the European soccer world each week (well, they record Tuesday nights....most of the time) and do their fucking best to get into MLS--because if these fuckheads can't get into it then it's in trouble. They end the show by demolishing some of the worst soccer takes of the week (though Gabe goes classic in this episode).  

Their staged reading series features soccer takes from the likes of the inimitable Ann Coulter, Richard Epstein, and writers from some of Europe's most respected sports outlets, including bastions of journalistic integrity The News of the World, MARCA, AS, the Sun...and others!

We hope you enjoy the show--it's going to be a long, strange, fucked up ride.