My Big Interview with Les Ferdinand is available now, exclusively for our Socios. Go to Patreon now to unlock my chat with Les in full, as well as a host of other exclusive Big Interviews and special episodes.

In the meantime, here is an extract which I think is important for us all to listen to. You'll hear Les talk about how he was inspired by black footballers like Cyrille Regis, who stood up to vile racism, while Les also outlines the measures he would take to rid our game of this evil once and for all.

He has some stern words for the FA too, and explains why he thinks they are unable to tackle racism effectively.

Graham

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Whatever happens next between Real Madrid and their manager, the roadmap to a more stable and successful future has been laid out by the troubles confronting Zinedine Zidane this season.

Here's my take on why Madrid president Florentino Perez, his head coach and their embattled players need a director of football - a sporting brain connecting the front office to the dressing room. And the scenario in which the answer to all their problems may be closer than they think.

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THIS clip show comes to you from the treatment table. Don’t worry, The Big Interview is as fit and healthy as ever - we’ve just gone back to find out what some of our guests from Season Two had to say about injuries. 

 

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon retraces the steps he took on the long road to recovery from a tear in the patella tendon of his left knee, an injury which left him in almost constant pain for two years. 

 

A back problem put a teenage Neil Lennon out of the game for 18 months, and he reveals that only a bone-shuddering challenge during a game with Rochdale convinced him that he was back to his best. 

 

Steve Archibald also talks about how being maimed by Rangers’ Tom Forsyth helped him to become a more clever striker, before we hear from Stan Petrov and how his brave, successful fight against leukaemia has changed how he lives his life today. 

 

Strictly speaking, cancer may not be an injury, but, believe me, the message from Stan is one that we should all take the time to listen to. 

Enjoy!

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The closest player to Sergio Busquets in Europe's top leagues may just be the guy playing alongside him for Barcelona.

In this podcast, I put the microscope over how Valverde's team are using Ivan Rakitic, and how this is the key to the acceleration in the football they are playing.

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Hola!

Well, well, well... what does last weekend's defeat at home to Villarreal mean for Real Madrid? More to the point, where does it leave manager Zinedine Zidane?

That is the very question I answer in this podcast.

Enjoy!

Graham

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Hello Big Interview listeners! Well, you’ve been very patient, so here it is: Part Two of my Big Interview with Terry Gibson.

And, I promise, it is well worth the wait. If you remember, at the end of Part One we left Terry after he had cut short an unfulfilling spell at Manchester United and signed for Wimbledon. We’ll pick up the story there, as Terry takes you inside that club and introduces you to the Crazy Gang.

The chances are you’ll have heard of them, but Terry takes us beyond the headlines and describes a group of rival factions who shared a dressing room. I found that fascinating but there was a happy ending, with Wimbledon going on to lift the 1988 FA Cup. Terry talks brilliantly about that cup run and the final against Liverpool.

I enjoy speaking to Terry and consider him a friend, but that’s not why I wanted him on the show. He also has a shrewd, brilliantly analytical football mind - just listen to how he takes clubs in England to task over their reliance on financial might instead of effective scouting.

Take it away, Terry.

Graham

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Hola! 

Well, I’ve had a busy day… all thanks to a certain Brazilian midfielder who has just landed in the city I call home, Barcelona.  

This was Coutinho Day at FC Barcelona so please join me for a behind-the-scenes report on how it all went down.

You’ll hear snippets from the press conference, insights from colleagues in the Spanish press and get a flavour of the atmosphere around one of the highest-profile signings in the club’s history.  

Enjoy! 

Graham

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Hello Big Interview listeners! And a Happy New Year! We’ve picked out a juicy chunk of my Big Interview with Roberto Di Matteo. In this extract, Robbie talks about taking over Chelsea in March 2012 after the sacking of Andre Villas Boas. Robbie describes the mixture of personalities as the most difficult dressing room he ever faced as a player or manager.

But it held the key to unbelievable success. Here, he talks through the incredible second leg of their last 16 tie and a nerve-shredding quarter-final win over Benfica.

To hear the full 80-minute episode, including Roberto’s take on their epic semi-final win over Barcelona, and then that incredible night in Munich against Bayern in the final, it’s time to become a Socio.

   

 Sign up now and you’ll not only unlock the Robbie interview, but my conversations with Rafa Van der Vaart, Ledley King, Robbie Keane, Kevin Phillips and Jermaine Defoe. Go to  patreon.com/grahamhunter. 

It’s the best £2.99 you’ll spend this year.

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As we recorded Season Two of The Big Interview, one theme tended to stand out above all others: street football. It seemed as though every one of our guests was able to share a memory of being a kid kicking a ball about on the street outside their house, in a nearby field, or simply against the door of a shed so, clearly, we were left with no choice but to bring those childhood tales together and to create a clip show dedicated to street football. 

It is perhaps fitting that we begin with a history lesson, as Alex McLeish and Walter Smith recall the carefree days, coming home from school and rushing right back out the door to join in the game they knew was already under way at their local field. Mark Noble also remembers joining every youngster on his street to play a game on a school field behind their houses.

Thomas Hitzlsperger explains how he was able to transform the family farm into a football pitch to rival Wembley and Matt Le Tissier describes the game he made up for himself in his back garden and which honed his technique. 

Those were idyllic childhood memories, but street football taught harsh lessons too. Just listen to the testimony of John Collins and Jonny Evans. Benni McCarthy will also take us on to the deadly streets of Cape Town, where playing football meant stopping occasionally to avoid a gangland shooting.

Street football is no longer a glorious part of growing up and, in the final part of this clip show Smith laments its loss, while Neil Lennon argues that the development of youth players is being stifled by too much coaching.

Enjoy!

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Recorded on the final whistle at the Bernabeu, here's my take on where a record-breaking Clasico was won and lost - tactics, discipline, the graduation of Sergi Roberto, the extension of the reign of King Leo.

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