The Last Line

With a major international tournament underway, it seemed the perfect time to delve deep into a topic that will feature heavily in the coming weeks. 

To many, penalty kicks are merely a lottery. To Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, such a theory is foolhardy. And he has the years of research to prove it. A highly-regarded professor at the London School of Economics, Palacios-Huerta is also a penalty oracle and an academic revolutionary. Having studiously devoted years of his life to crunching the data, he has found many patterns to spot kicks and how both the taker and goalkeeper react to such a high-pressured situation. 

He discusses his work with elite clubs and national teams (an infamous 2008 Champions League final and the 2010 World Cup final), why Manchester United's ignorance regarding penalty strategy cost them dearly in the Europa League decider against Villarreal and his incredible analytical find ahead of the recent Championship play-off between Brentford and Swansea City at Wembley. 

In a thoroughly fascinating conversation, he takes Niko on a journey from Russell Crowe to predicted behaviours via game theory and Nobel Prize winners. 

You won't watch a penalty kick the same way ever again!    

The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League.  

    

In the late-1990s, Jimmy Nielsen was at the top of his game. 

A Danish championship winner with Aalborg BK, he was also voted as his country's best goalkeeper at a time when compatriot Peter Schmeichel was widely considered the best in the world. In his early twenties, it seemed Nielsen could do no wrong.   

But, he was living a double life. As success snowballed on the field, a gambling addiction was rapidly taking control off it. One evening, he raked in half a million dollars sitting at a casino table. 24 hours later, he'd lost most of it. He chats to Niko about how it started, reaching rock bottom and the long way back. 

In a wide-ranging, eye-opening and fascinating conversation, Jimmy also talks about what made Schmeichel so good, the kindness of Kasey Keller, showering with David Beckham and why his four spectacular years in Kansas City mean so much to him.     

The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League. 

Gary Bailey is a Manchester United legend. 

As a long-time number one at the club, he was a two-time FA Cup winner in 1983 and 1985 and also a senior England international. But, with so much on the horizon, his career was devastatingly cut short by injury. 

But, that's only a tiny part of a fascinating story. He chats to Niko about growing up in South Africa during apartheid, serving as hero and villain in separate Wembley deciders and how difficult it was to feel accepted by his United team-mates upon joining. 

There's in-depth analysis of the evolution of goalkeeping while Gary delves into what made Sir Alex Ferguson such a 'genius'. Oh, and there's a memorable encounter with Margaret Thatcher in there too!    

The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League. 

Where do you begin with the extraordinary story of Lutz Pfannestiel? 

A journeyman goalkeeper with 25 clubs to his name, the German is the only footballer to have played professionally on all six continents. But that is a only a tiny part of a fascinating and, in places, harrowing tale.  

In a wide-ranging and wildly entertaining conversation, Lutz talks to Niko about dying three times during one league game in England, turning down Bayern Munich, his memorable stint with infamous Premier League side Wimbledon in the mid-1990s and having a gun pulled on him while negotiating a contract in Albania. He also recounts the darkness and uncertainty of 101 painstaking days spent in a notorious Singapore prison. There is a discussion about how he scouted Roberto Firmino and brought the current Liverpool striker to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in 2011, as well as some insight on his current role as Sporting Director with St Louis SC who are preparing for Major League Soccer expansion in 2023.   
  
The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League. 

In the latest episode of The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, our special guest is an expert in resilience and overcoming setbacks. 

An Olympic bronze medalist and regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in women's football, Erin McLeod chats to Niko about how figure skating and Disney movies inspired her to seek out a career as an elite athlete. In a candid and compelling conversation, Erin also talks about her battle with an eating disorder and her decision to come out publicly in 2014.   

She discusses her three ACL injuries, the infamous Olympic battle against the United States at Old Trafford and a particularly difficult period during which she hated the game. 
  
The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League. 

Shaka Hislop has proved incredibly influential both on and off the field. 

He is a Premier League legend owing to his time with Newcastle and West Ham. But, that is only a tiny part of his extraordinary story. In a candid and often moving conversation, about moving from Trinidad & Tobago to London in the early 1990s and leaving behind his mechanical engineering degree, NASA internship and dreams of designing cars to pursue his goal of playing professionally. There is also plenty of discussion about Steven Gerrard, David Batty and the one rival goalkeeper he had some issues with! 

The chat also focuses on the astonishing work Shaka has done with Show Racism The Red Card over the last two decades while he speaks eloquently and powerfully about the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement on him and his family. 

The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League. 

In the first episode of The Last Line, in association with Evangelista Sports, our special guest is Olympic medallist, NWSL champion and trailblazing sports figure Stephanie Labbé.  

In a wide-ranging and compelling discussion, she talks about her battle with depression, how she drew goalkeeping inspiration from the NHL, her on-field alter-ego and why Canada not having a pro female team or league is such an embarrassment. 

The Last Line - in association with Evangelista Sports - is hosted by Niko Giantsopoulos and produced by York United Football Club of the Canadian Premier League.