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Graham answers questions from Big Interview socios on La Liga and the Premier League.

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Hola!

Here's something a little bit different. 

The flowering of youth at Chelsea reminded us of our Big Interview with Jody Morris back in 2016. Jody was a youth coach at the club then and is now Frank Lampard's assistant at Stamford Bridge.

So we went back and dug out a clip where Jody talks about the brilliant youth recruits coming through at the club, and reflects on their UEFA Youth League victory over Ajax. 

Fast forward three years and a cluster of those kids are now spearheading Chelsea's domestic and European drive this season... including a 1-0 win on Wednesday night over... yes, you guessed it, Ajax. 

We've built an episode around Jody's comments. We loved recording it and we hope you enjoy listening. 

Graham

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For his first piece since leaving The Times to join the new staff at the UK office of The Athletic, Oli Kay chose to take Matt Jansen back to the moment when his life and career changed forever.

The result was one of the most personal and touching football interviews you are likely to read - more impressive still as it came in the middle of a wave of coverage around Matt's new autobiography. Oliver had history with Matt and believed that his subject would be open to this bold and risky approach. And he was right.

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Here’s another chance to hear my interview with Steve McManaman from season two.

Johan Cruyff once described Steve as the partner to everyone on the pitch. He epitomised elegance, passing ability and vision, and graced the field with Real Madrid legends such as Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and the Brazilian Ronaldo. There was also Claude Makelele, the unsung hero who Steve reckons was the cog that made Los Galacticos tick and whose departure spelled their decline.

We hear about how before that, this boyhood Evertonian learned at the feet of Liverpool greats. About how his decision to depart Merseyside for Real – a club apparently in turmoil – was vindicated when he won the Champions League in his first season there. About how conflict with the Madrid hierarchy spoiled a golden era. And if you want to know what it was like in the Camp Nou away dressing room after scoring in a Los Merengues victory in the semi-final of the Champions League, then listen in.

This is truly legendary stuff. Enjoy it.

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Hello Big Interview listeners - you're about to hear something a little different, from BackPage, the producers of this fine show. 

It's the first episode in a new season of a podcast they make called Between the Lines - The Stories Behind Great Sportswriting. 

In each episode, either Martin or Neil, whose voices you'll know from our Q & A episodes, speaks to a book or author about a book or a long-form story they have written. 

In this episode, Neil speaks to Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated, the author of Astroball - The New Way to Win It All. The book tells the story of how the Houston Astros went from the worst team in baseball to become serial winners. 

The strategies implemented there - in the fields of data, recruitment and player optimisation - have already begun to direct the next step in the evolution of elite football. Fans of Liverpool will be glad to hear their club namechecked by Ben in this chat. 

You can subscribe to Between the Lines from BackPage using the links below.

Catch the new season and loads of archive episodes on the iphone podcast app or Spotify or on Google Podcasts for Android.

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Welcome to the first episode in the new season of Between the Lines!

It's playoff time in Major League Baseball and Ben Reiter is back on Between the Lines to talk about Astroball: The New Way to Win it All.

Astroball is the story of how the Houston Astros went from one of the worst teams in the history of the sport - nicknamed The Disastros - to a dynastic, long-term winning machine with an analysis, recruitment and development strategy that is the envy of decision makers in international pro sports. Like the Astros themselves, Ben's book focuses on both the human stories behind a superstar team and the new seams opened up in the sports-data revolution.

Buy the book

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Hola!

The title of Per Mertesacker’s new autobiography is BFG: Big Friendly German. When we visited him in outer London, we found him indeed to be an amiable fellow. Yet this World Cup and triple FA Cup winner was nothing but imposing when he starred as a centre-half for Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, and, most famously, Arsenal and Germany.

Nowadays, Per is the manager of the Gunners’ academy, and he gives us a fascinating insight into how he instils the three core values of Respect, Discipline and Humility into his young charges, reflecting the old-school upbringing which he benefited from.

Per loved his time playing at Arsenal, but missed the more intimate relationship between fans and stars which exists in Germany. He explains why he trained to help the mentally ill instead of learning how to use a rifle, talks about the pressure becoming the primary earner for a family can place on talented kids, and is brilliant on that incredible 7-1 drubbing of Brazil in the semi-final of the 2014 World Cup.

Enjoy

Graham

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Last season, our Socios at patreon.com/grahamhunter got an exclusive interview with Joleon Lescott. For the first time, here’s the full episode.

In part two, Joleon speaks about rediscovering his other youthful passion, DJing, and how he now evokes joy on the dancefloor as he used to spark delight on the terraces. He also describes how undiagnosed dyslexia compelled him to develop mental agility and resourcefulness that he would apply to the beautiful game. There’s chat about his Manchester City defensive partner, the extraordinary Vincent Kompany, and about how it took until retirement for Joleon to fully realise just how massive an achievement winning the Premier League title was.

If you would prefer not to wait 12 months to listen to these extra interviews, it’s time to become a Socio at patreon.com/grahamhunter

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revistadelaliga.substack.com

Last season, our Socios at patreon.com/grahamhunter got an exclusive interview with Joleon Lescott. For the first time, here’s the full episode.

As a teenager at Wolves, Joleon once pushed himself so hard that he was physically sick but then continued training. It was an attitude that didn’t go unnoticed and one that he applies in his new role developing loan players at Manchester City, the club at which he excelled.

In part one, Joleon also describes the desire to win that City’s owners possess – don’t expect them to relent until they win the Champions League.

If you would prefer not to wait 12 months to listen to these extra interviews, it’s time to become a Socio at patreon.com/grahamhunter

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revistadelaliga.substack.com

Aaaand here's part two of this month's Q & A. Questions, as ever, from our wonderful socios at patreon.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revistadelaliga.substack.com