Eric Gottschalk is the President & CEO of United City Football Club, a Philippine football powerhouse. Last year Eric was part of the MMC Sportz Asia ownership group which acquired “Ceres Negros” a club on the brink of insolvency. Close to a year and a Philippine Championship later Eric sat down with me to discuss the ins and outs of owning and running a football club. We discussed topics such as;

- What does the ownership process looks like from due diligence to acquisition?

- A blueprint for building Philippine football

- Why you cannot give assurances to fans?

- Why some ownership groups fail?

- Eric's advice for those wishing to enter the industry

Eric's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-gottschalk-0b774315/

United City Football Club Website; https://www.unitedcityfootballclub.com/

United City Football Club Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/unitedcityfootballclub/?hl=en

Timestamps;

00:00 - 04:31 - Philippine Football

04:32 - 09:16 - Acquiring a club

09:17 - 11:44 - Ownership concerns

11:45 - 14:07 - Vision

14:08 - 20:52 - Changing the club's name

20:53 - 26:51 - The big picture

26:52 - 29:56 - The day to day

29:57 - 31:43 - Legacy

31:44 - 34:23 - Elevator pitch

CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, is the football federation for all associations outside FIFA. It’s a global acting non-profit organization that supports representatives of international football teams from nations, de-facto nations, regions, minority peoples and sports isolated territories. CONIFA was founded on the 7th of June 2013, and organized his first World Football Cup in June 2014 in Ostersund, Sweden. Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with Jason Heaton, global ambassador of the organization to discuss all things CONIFA and his passion for football. In a wide ranging discussion we remarked upon the following;

- Finding your purpose through football

- Why the strength of an organization is it's people?

- What does a Kernow FA board meeting look like?

- Sticking to your principles amid geopolitical pressure

- The workload of representing a population base of 675 million

CONIFA Website; http://www.conifa.org/en/

CONIFA Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/conifaofficial/

Jason's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-heaton-6a9083106/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 04:36 - What is CONIFA?

04:37 - 14:00 - Passion for football

14:01 - 18:04 - Common purpose

18:05 - 23:16 - Kernow FA

23:17 - 30:31 - Heart warming stories

30:32 - 33:45 - Upcoming tournaments

33:46 - 40:16 - CONIFA future

40:17 - 44:31 - Closing thoughts

As a new MLS season approaches I sat down with Joe Lowery to preview the upcoming season. Alongside his knowledge of the MLS, Joe has a keen eye for the tactical side of the game. Throughout this episode it was interesting to learn of the strides which MLS teams have made in this area over the past few years. Furthermore we discussed the ins and outs heading into this new season and what neutrals should be looking out for including;

- Where does the MLS rank in terms of tactical modernity?

- How Joe Lowery FC would strategize for a playoff run?

-What to expect from Gabriel Heinze at Atlanta United?

- Why Bob Bradley should never change

- Predictions for the upcoming season

- Joe's advice for those aspiring tactical analysts & writers

Joe's Twitter; https://twitter.com/joeclowery?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:54 - Tactics

03:55 - 12:21 - MLS v Modern day tactics

12:22 - 17:44 - Atlanta United

17:45 - 20:46 - Columbus Crew

20:47 - 25:42 - Philadelphia Union & the Supporter's Shield

25:43 - 27:04 - Rest of the East

27:05 - 30:55 - Seattle Sounders

30:56 - 33:53 - Portland Timbers

33:54 - 36:08 - LAFC

36:09 - 41:22 - LA Galaxy & Efrain Alvarez

41:23 - 45:04 - USMNT & Gregg Berhalter

45:05 - 49:55 - Season predictions

A lot of people think; “Wow you work in football!” but what does the reality actually look like? Recently I had the pleasure to sit down with Chris Rush as he reflected upon his 15 years working in professional football at clubs such as Middlesbrough, Manchester City and most recently Blackburn. The interview focuses on the realities working as support staff in the professional game and the circumstances surrounding his recent departure from Blackburn. We discussed topics such as;

- Working as support staff in football

- What did the weekly routine look like?

- When does a passion become a profession?

- Can universities do a better job at raising awareness among students?

- Cultural reform

Pacey Performance Survey; https://www.strengthofscience.com/pacey-performance-academy-performance-staff-survey/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:17 - 15 years in football

03:18 - 11:30 - Reasons for leaving professional football

11:31 - 15:15 - Pacey Performance Survey

15:16 - 17:35 - Is it just football?

17:36 - 19:38 - What does a typical week look like?

19:39 - 26:36 - Can universities do better?

26:37 - 31:04 - Reforms

31:05 - 35:30 - What's next for Chris?

Interview with Valencia Academy Director; Sean Bai covering all topics on youth development including;

- Integrating ideas from other industries into football

- Sean's advice to growing academies

- Behind the scenes into the organizational change at Valencia

- Building a culture during Covid

- Their process in identifying and developing a youth player

- Academies as an immune system to FFP & European Super League

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:59 - Sean's role at Valencia

08:00 - 15:32 - Individual first Player second

15:33 - 23:07 - What does the support network around a player look like?

23:08 - 35:25 - Building a culture during Covid

35:26 - 42:34 - Recruitment

42:35 - 47:52 - Pathway to Pro

47:53 - 55:07 - FFP & European Super League

55:08 - 57:18 - Sean's version of success

Interview with UEFA A Candidate and Recruitment & Performance Analysis Consultant

at MRKT Insights; Chris Summersell on all things Tottenham Hotspur including;

- Growing up with Spurs

- The Pochettino years

- Should we cut Mourinho some slack?

- What tactical tweaks he would make

- Who Spurs should be targeting in this summer's transfer window?

- What constitutes success at Spurs?

Chris' Twitter; https://twitter.com/ChrisSummersell

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:47 - Ginola, Gascoigne & White Hart Lane

07:48 - 12:56 - Mourinho

12:57 - 19:13 - Pochettino

19:14 - 25:56 - Demands of the modern day coach

25:57 - 30:41 - Spurs 20/21

30:42 - 41:28 - Proposed changes & Transfer window

41:29 - 48:04 - With or without Mourinho?

48:05 - 53:40 - What is success for Spurs?

Interview with Ben Lyttleton, author of 'Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty' & ‘Edge: What Business Can Learn from Football’ covering all topics including;

- Football as a tool for education & self-improvement

- How to measure success?

- The next frontier of talent development

- Tuchel, Deschamps & developing the individual

- How Lionel Messi can improve at penalties?

- Resilience going forward

Ben's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-lyttleton-053a981/

Ben's Twitter; https://twitter.com/benlyt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Twelveyards substack; https://twelveyards.substack.com/

Football School; https://www.footballschool.co/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 08:25 - Football as a tool

08:26 - 10:10 - Next frontier of talent development

10:11 - 20:48 - Cohesion, measuring success & Tuchel

20:49 - 26:50 - Deschamps & developing the individual

26:51 - 38:18 - Red Bull, Liverpool & defining talent

38:19 - 46:31 - Penalties

46:32 - 51:10 - Football School

51:11 - 57:15 - Resilience

Interview with Andrei Angelescu of UEFA & the Romanian Football Federation on all things fan engagement and TV rights in football including;

- The commercialisation of today's fan

- 2021 trends

- Premier League TV Rights

- La Liga's international growth strategy

- European Super League

- Challenges in staging the 2020 Euro's

Andrei's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreiangelescu/

Mihai Neşu Foundation; https://www.mihainesufoundation.com/ro/

“Rendez-vous” Newsletter; https://mailchi.mp/fffce7b7c5d8/discover-the-digital-trends-of-10066329

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:54 - Fan Engagement

07:55 - 10:07 - 2021 Trends

10:08 - 18:29 - TV Rights

18:30 - 20:40 - La Liga

20:41 - 25:20 - European Super League

25:21 - 32:46 - Mihai Neşu Foundation

32:47 - 34:27 - Euro 2020

34:28 - 39:52 - Romanian Football Federation & “Rendez-Vous”

Interview with Jasmine Baba on all things German Football including;

- Finding a niche within the industry

- Women in football

- Joachim Low & German football's equivalent of musical chairs

- Covid's effect on tactics

- Julian Nagelsmann's next move

- Gladbach & Arsene Wenger?!

- Which German grounds Jasmine is most looking forward to visiting

Jasmine's Twitter; https://twitter.com/_jasminebaba?lang=en

Timestamps;

00:00 - 07:00 - Influences & Finding a niche

07:01 - 11:29 - Women in Football

11:30 - 15:03 - German Football

15:04 - 18:34 - Tactical Trends

18:35 - 22:02 - Bayern Munich & Flick

22:03 - 27:17 - RB Leipzig & Nagelsmann

27:18 - 34:15 - Borussia Dortmund & Rose

34:16 - 37:35 - Gladbach & Wenger?!

37:36 - 39:36 - German national team

39:37 - 41:32 - Best of the rest

41:33 - 45:30 - German football weekends

Interview with David Mooney of the “Blue Moon Podcast” & The Athletic's “Why Always Us?” on all things including;

- The Kevin Keegan years

- Maine Road & Binliner's

- The 2008 Takeover

- Pep Guardiola

- That 21 game winning run

- How do City win the Champions League?

David's Twitter; https://twitter.com/DavidMooney?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Blue Moon Podcast; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/blue-moon-podcast-a-manchester-city-https://open.spotify.com/show/3nm5sbmhmOxTD1Q0WydCHk

Why Always Us? Podcast: https://theathletic.com/podcast/159-why-always-us/

Timestamps;

00:00 - 09:07 - Maine Road & Binliner's

09:08 - 16:29 - 2008 Takeover

16:30 - 22:25 - Pep Guardiola

22:26 - 28:39 - Man City this season

28:40 - 33:59 - City's best midfield?

34:00 - 44:40 - Striker issues & Raheem Sterling

44:41 - 50:14 - Champions League woes

50:15 - 53:30 - Guardiola's dynasty