RTÉ Soccer Podcast

Keith Treacy and Alan Cawley join Raf Diallo to react to Shamrock Rovers' crucial derby win over Bohemians, as well as Waterford and Derry City reaching the FAI Cup final. They also talk expanding the Premier Division, the Ireland Under-21s and Champions League, while RTÉ Sport's Anthony Pyne checks in ahead of the Republic of Ireland's Women's World Cup play-off second leg against Kazakhstan with all eyes looking further beyond towards the final round.

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Keith Treacy and Alan Cawley analyse the Republic of Ireland's Nations League draws against Austria and Israel and preview the Club Orange Men's FAI Cup semi-finals, while Méabh De Burca and Anthony Pyne build-up to the Girls in Green's World Cup play-off first leg in Kazakhstan.

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Stop The Game campaigner Gerry Deane speaks to Raf Diallo to share his thoughts on the Republic of Ireland playing against Israel in Debrecen and his hopes for the second UEFA Nations League meeting between the sides in Serbia not to go ahead on Sunday.

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All the latest soccer news from Raf Diallo and the RTÉ Sport team - covering the League of Ireland and Ireland's international football sides. 

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Keith Treacy and Alan Cawley join Raf Diallo to discuss the Republic of Ireland's fraught UEFA Nations League window so far, including Saturday's surreal events and the on-field performances, and look ahead to the Austria match, and also chat League of Ireland.

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On the journey back from Pristina after the Republic of Ireland's disappointing UEFA Nations League defeat to Kosovo, Stephen Kelly joins Raf Diallo on a bonus episode of the RTÉ Soccer Podcast to discuss what went wrong at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium.

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Stephen Kelly, Keith Treacy and Alan Cawley join Raf Diallo to preview the Republic of Ireland's trip to face Kosovo in the Nations League, and the latter two sift through a dramatic weekend in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division as all three title chasers were given a scare.

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Shelbourne's Rachel Graham and ex-Republic of Ireland team-mate Méabh De Búrca join Raf Diallo to build up to Sunday's Club Orange Women's FAI Cup final between Shels and Athlone Town, discuss the lay of the land in the league with the latter on the verge of the title, and react to Brian Sorensen joining Carla Ward's Girls in Green staff.

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Ahead of the Republic of Ireland's UEFA Nations League opener in Pristina, former Kosovo manager Albert Bunjaki speaks to Raf Diallo.

The current head of academy at Swedish club IF Karlstad Fotboll served as head coach of his birth nation between 2009 and 2017 and shares an insight into his role in helping to build the national team from the ground up before they became official members of FIFA and UEFA ten years ago and in their first World Cup qualifying campaign.

TIMESTAMPS

01:00 Bunjaki discusses his early experiences growing up in Pristina and the role football played at a time when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia.

03:00 Bunjaki explains the circumstances which led him to leave Kosovo for Sweden in 1991 and his years in exile while facing a 20-year sentence imposed in absentia for not accepting conscription into the Yugoslav army.

06:00 Working his way up the Swedish football coaching ladder and the road towards being appointed Kosovo manager.

11:00 The importance of late former Kosovo FA president and Yugoslavia international footballer Fadil Vokrri and putting the building blocks in place for a national team that was still seeking international recognition.

16:00 How Bunjaki began scouting players abroad who would be eligible to represent Kosovo in the future, the dilemma faced by the likes of Swiss greats Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, and the important support he received from mentor and close friend, Tord Grip, who previously served as a long-time assistant to the late Sven Goran Eriksson.

28:00 How Bunjaki prepared for and put together a team for a milestone 2014 friendly against Haiti in Mitrovica after FIFA gave the green light for Kosovo to start playing its members in non-competitive games.

36:00 Kosovo admission into FIFA and UEFA in 2016 and the challenge in being ready for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, including earning a draw against Finland away in their first game despite not knowing if key players could feature just hours before kick-off.

44:00 Bunjaki reflects on how Kosovo have built on his early work to almost qualify for the 2026 World Cup, beating Sweden - the country he has called home since 1991 - twice during the campaign.

46:00 The rapid growth of Kosovan football at club level and what the Republic of Ireland can expect against the national team on Thursday, 24 September and what Irish fans can look forward to in Pristina.

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Keith Treacy and Paul Corry join Raf Diallo to discuss the Irish abroad including James Abankwah, Trent Kone-Doherty and Troy Parrott, as well as Séamus Coleman's Stick To Football comments, and review a consquential weekend in the League of Ireland, while Rachel Graham reflects on Saturday's Women's LOI and Ireland players shining in WSL2.

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