🌎 Why Mexico Hosted – Colombia’s Withdrawal (4:43)

🏛️ The Bidding Process & Political Backdrop (7:02)

🌪️ The 1985 Earthquake & National Resilience (9:17)

🏔️ Altitude & Climate Challenges (10:36)

⚔️ England vs Argentina Quarterfinal (12:55)

🇫🇷🇩🇪 France vs West Germany Semi-final (15:20)

🧠 Franz Beckenbauer & the German Tactical Approach (20:35)

🐐 Maradona’s Performance – Hand of God & Goal of the Century (23:26)

🌟 Underdogs – Belgium & Morocco (33:28)

🌏 Asia’s Involvement – South Korea’s Qualification (37:03)

🌍 The Global Landscape – Chernobyl & Pop Culture (43:50)

🏁 Legacy – How Mexico 86 Changed Football Reach & Fandom (48:09)

The 1986 World Cup wasn’t just about football—it was about politics, power, and one man’s rise to immortality. From Colombia’s withdrawal and backroom dealings involving João Havelange, to Mexico stepping in under extraordinary circumstances, this tournament had drama long before kickoff.

On the pitch, Diego Maradona delivered a performance for the ages—blending controversy with genius in a way the world had never seen. Add in Cold War tensions, the shadow of the Falklands War, and a global audience tuning in like never before, and you get a World Cup that changed football forever.

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What if your childhood dream was to meet every World Cup legend… and actually pull it off? In this episode, we dive into Amar Shah’s extraordinary journey behind his upcoming book Looking for Legends. From Rochdale to Rio, from Pelé to Zidane, Amar set out on an unbelievable quest to collect signatures from every World Cup-winning team since the 1970s — using official match balls as his canvas.

We talk about the passion, the setbacks, the once-in-a-lifetime encounters, and the sheer madness of chasing football immortality. This isn’t just about the beautiful game — it’s about perseverance, nostalgia, and what it means to chase a dream that feels impossible… until it isn’t.

Whether you’re a football romantic, a World Cup junkie, or just someone who loves an epic underdog story, this episode will leave you inspired.

To reach out to Amir: https://www.instagram.com/worldcuplegends/

Join hosts Sivan and Alwin as they take a nostalgic journey through the Premier League’s most formative decade — the unforgettable 1990s. They're joined by special guest Ras from the Back Passt With Ras podcast, a passionate voice in Southeast Asian football, to unpack what made the early Premier League years (1992–1999) so transformative.

From Ferguson’s reign at Old Trafford to Wenger’s revolution at Highbury, from iconic players like Cantona, Shearer, and Zola to classic kits, stadiums, and Match of the Day vibes, this episode dives deep into the football, culture, and chaos that defined an era.

Whether you're reliving it or discovering it for the first time, this one’s a must-listen for anyone who loves football with character.

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It all started when a jersey collector from the United Kingdom discovered a now-defunct Malaysian football club shirt and the post went viral on Instagram.

For Malaysian football fans, the name Selangor MPPJ will always resonate with a unique blend of history and nostalgia, for being the club side to win the prestigious Malaysia Cup title back in 2003.

Similarly, fans will also look back at the ATM FA side that almost carved its own place in the history of that same competition back in 2012.

For many, Bruno Martelotto is synonymous with those golden years. In this episode of our podcast, we had the incredible opportunity to catch up with the Argentine playmaker, reminiscing about his time lighting up Malaysian pitches and discovering what he's been up to since.

To listen, subscribe and follow us, just click on the link to the following platform: - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBolaBolaShow Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3PMqFm4ZPZ60gR3ox0aSgn Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/my/podcast/the-bola-bola-show/id1508886322 We’re also on social media so give us a follow at: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theBOLABOLAshow/

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Our special guest this week is Sayf Ismail, a Darkhorse candidate for the Football Association of Malaysia's Presidency. Here he explains why there is a need for structural reform and change within FAM in order to secure the future of Malaysian football.

This episode taught us about the current culture and election process within FAM. He also takes his time to explain to us on his manifesto and the changes he tends to bring if given the top job in Malaysian football.

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Growing up in the 90s, it was easy to look for fanbase who support English Premier League clubs. Whether its Manchester United or Liverpool, Aston Villa or Derby County, its always easy to find with just a throw of a stone.

Despite of its rich history, the same can’t be said about the Germany’s Bundesliga. However, all that is about to change with the introduction of satellite television that was broadcasting live matches from Germany. Pretty soon, a generation of fans who loathed the so-called biggest league in the world, found an alternative in clubs such as Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and in this episode’s case, Borussia Dortmund.

On this episode, we got in touch with Zahin Asyraf as we wanted to learn more about his affiliation with the Die Schwarzgelben and what makes the club so enduring and special.

We would like to wish our sincere gratitude to Zahin for taking his time to talk to us despite still feeling jetlag from the long travel from Dortmund back to Kuala Lumpur. We truly appreciate it!

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We've been away too long so it was good to be back again recording another episode.

This time, we managed to track down the head coach of the Kenyan National Team, Harambee Stars. To be honest, our relationship with coach Firat goes some way back when we got connected on LinkedIn.

We had the pleasure of asking him on his coaching journey, his footballing philosophy and not to mentioned, there is also several interesting discussion on Malaysian football as well.

Plenty of discussion going on here so please do give this episode a listen.

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We're back again with another collaboration with our friend, Ras from Back Passt With Ras. This time it's all about Harimau Malaya in the 1990s.

On this episode, we will be looking at how did the Malaysia National Team fared in the respective SEA Games in the 1990s, focus on the World Cup qualifier and of course that magical run in the inaugural AFF Championship (otherwise known then as the Tiger Cup).

Joining us on the episode is a friend ours and one of Singapore's renowned football journalist who has covered the game here for more than a decade, Gary Koh.

Plenty of discussion going on here so please do give this episode a listen.

In the spirit of Merdeka & Togetherness, we are collaborating with our friend Ras from Back Passt With Ras on this special episode where we look back in the Malaysian football league in the 90s.

On this episode, we will be focusing on the domestic football scene in Malaysian back in the 90s; starting from Johor FA's double triumph until Brunei's surprise Malaysia Cup Final which saw the trophy going to Borneo for the first time.

Joining us on the episode is a friend ours and one of Singapore's renowned football journalist who has covered the game here for more than a decade, Gary Koh.

Plenty of discussion going on here so please do give this episode a listen.

I'm sure most football fans are well aware of South American clubs named after others places from around the world. From Barcelona SC in Ecuador to Argentina's Arsenal to Everton based on Chile; they all have a fascinating story to tell.

However club that is named after Malaysia? Well that is something else.

A few weeks back, a tweet from @hafeizh29 went viral because he managed to discover a team all the way from Montevideo, Uruguay named Malasia FC. Malasia is actually the Spanish translation for Malaysia.

We knew this will be an interesting story, hence why we decided to reach out to them via Instagram and asked if they would like to feature in our podcast. The answer was an instant yes, and they were truly honoured to be our guest.

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Music By Viktor Snipes

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