Total Soccer Show: USMNT, Champions League, EPL, and more ...

In their final episode of 2020, Paul and Sam cover a ton of ground, ranging from MLS Cup takeaways to Austin FC to trades and transfers to listener questions!

1:18 - Thoughts and overarching takeaways from MLS Cup

9:00 - Paul putting Sam in a box and Allocation Disorder in its purest form

10:06 - What do we know about Austin FC so far?

26:06 - Analysis of Montreal's acquisition of Djordje Mihailovic from the Chicago Fire

32:55 - "Bryan Reynolds: The 10 Million Dollar Man" and MLS proving itself in the world of youth development

44:44 - The Inter Miami/Diego Alonso situation

49:18 - Mailbag time! What are some of the positive things going on in MLS and soccer in the United States? Will this year's playoff format stick? Is the USMNT's January Camp still happening? And many more!

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Why are Barcelona players taking pay cuts while the team still spends big on transfers? How is Tanguy Ndombele ‘press resistant’? And what are the root causes of Arsenal’s suckiness? The legendary Jimmy Conrad joins Ryan Bailey to answer your questions! 

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Taylor is back! You know what, one exclamation point isn't enough. Let's try that again. Taylor is back!!! That's much better. On today's show, Taylor and Joe answer some phenomenal listener questions. And before that, Joe asks Taylor about his first few weeks as a parent!

8:05 - Is the USMNT's current depth of talent evidence that the U.S.'s youth system wasn't as broken as we were lead to believe post-Couva?

20:48 - When you can't watch a game, what site has the best individual player ratings?

29:52 - Do national teams in countries with one or two dominant teams that contain many of the country's best players have an advantage?

37:39 - Can Americans who aren't good enough for the U.S. national team play for Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other FIFA recognized territories that the United States own?

46:42 - With the congested schedule that FIFA has set for World Cup qualification, should the five player substitution rule remain in international qualifiers?

52:12 - From what he's done at Derby County so far, could Wayne Rooney become a top tier coach?

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On this episode, Joe Lowery is joined by The Athletic's Sam Stejskal to review MLS Cup and answer some MLS-related listener questions! First, Joe and Sam talk all about the Columbus Crew's impressive victory over the Seattle Sounders in Saturday's MLS Cup, digging into Aidan Morris' breakout performance, Lucas Zelarayan's dominant display, Caleb Porter's tactics, and Brian Schmetzer's future in Seattle. Then, Joe and Sam tackle a handful of listener questions:

26:10 - Which player would you want a gigantic golden CGI statue of to embody quintessential MLS?

33:00 - Which MLS team is poised for a “worst to first” kind of year? And which team is going the other way?

45:03 - If Chris Wondolowski doesn't re-sign with the San Jose Earthquakes, what other team best suits him?

48:30 - Which young American will burst onto the scene in MLS next year like Brenden Aaronson did this past year?

51:32 - Who will be sold for the most amount of money between Caden Clark, Gianluca Busio, Mark McKenzie, Brian Reynolds, and Daryl Dike?

56:50 - What happened with Diego Alonso's pseudo-firing in Miami?

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On today's Weekend Review edition of The Total Soccer Show, Ryan Bailey and Graham Ruvthen cast an eye over four of the biggest matches from this past weekend—and analyze the Champions League Round of 16 draw:

0:00 - Champions League draw: Frank Lampard will have his biggest managerial test to date when Chelsea meet Atletico Madrid, while PSG face familiar foes Barcelona. 

16.43 - Manchester Utd vs. Manchester City: Yes, this was a terrible game in which nothing really happened. But it revealed a lot about where both managers are at and how their teams will progress. 

25.52 - Fulham vs. Liverpool: It’s not often that Fulham can face the reigning league champions and feel that a draw wasn’t enough. How Scott Parker’s side renewed their faith in staying up!

40.06 - Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid: Is there a team anywhere in the world that is better at performing when it counts than Real Madrid? Zinedine Zidane’s side topped off a magnificent week with a statement win in El Derbi. 

52.14 - Borussia Dortmund vs. Stuttgart: BVB manager lost his job after his team lost their way against newly promoted Stuttgart. What went wrong for Dortmund? Just about everything. 

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With MLS Cup coming up on Saturday, Paul and Sam talk about some of the pieces and strategies that have helped the Seattle Sounders and the Columbus Crew advance to the final. Then, they hit the highlights from Don Garber's State of the League address that happened earlier this week, and discuss some big Inter Miami news.

2:00 - General managers Garth Lagerwey (Seattle Sounders) and Tim Bezbatchenko (Columbus Crew) deserve a lot of credit for helping their respective teams get to MLS Cup

12:50 - An analysis of Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer and Crew manager Caleb Porter

20:08 - Shouldn't more MLS teams be investing in analytics?

27:`10 - Digging into some of Seattle's and Columbus's smartest signings and roster building strategies

42:49 - Highlights of MLS Commissioner Don Garber's State of the League address:

• The CBA and the force majeure clause
• MLS potentially looking for outside investors
• Are we going to see more MLS teams sold in the near future?

53:15 - Paul McDonough steps down as Inter Miami's COO and sporting director

1:03:08 - MLS Cup predictions!

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Ryan Bailey and Sam Tighe take a look back at the 2020-21 Champions League Group Stage, to assess the biggest winners and losers, the breakout stars, and the team who will give defending champions Bayern Munich a run for their money in the knockout rounds!

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Joe Lowery is joined by Adam Snavely to review the USMNT's friendly against El Salvador. What did we learn? Did anything change tactically? Which players showed well? And which ones might have a spot in Gregg Berhalter's first-choice group of players? Joe and Adam answer those questions...and talk about a bunch of other things, too!

Sponsors! Today's episode is brought to you by...

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MLS Cup is less than a week away! On Saturday, December 12th, the Columbus Crew and the Seattle Sounders will battle for a serious piece of silverware. To preview Saturday's final and shine a light on the two teams playing, Joe Lowery is joined by not one, but two excellent guests on today's show. Up first, Jordan Angeli, also known as the "Crew Guru", talks all things Columbus. Then, Matt Pentz comes on the show to dis-Pentz his Seattle Sounders knowledge.

2:15 - Columbus Crew preview with Jordan Angeli

• What do the Crew look like in the post #SaveTheCrew era?
• How do they play under Caleb Porter?
• The connection between Gyasi Zardes and Lucas Zelarayan
• Much more

31:50 - Sounders Sounders preview with Matt Pentz

• What's the latest on the Brian Schmetzer contract situation?
• Players to watch
• Are the Sounders a dynasty?

Sponsors! Today's episode is brought to you by...

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On today's Weekend Review edition of The Total Soccer Show, Ryan Bailey and Graham Ruvthen break down 4 big games from this past weekend:

0:00 - Tottenham vs. Arsenal: Kane and Son combine to pour more misery on Mikel Arteta, whose side were lacking all over the field.

27.40 - Liverpool vs. Wolves: Jurgen Klopp’s side were ruthless in their destruction of Wolves, who instilled a puzzling formation switch in Raul Jimenez’s absence…

44.19 - Bayern Munich vs. RB Leipzig: The most thrilling match of the weekend took place in Bavaria, where Bayern Munich’s passive approach to defending allowed Leipzig to stay within a sniff of title contention!

57.45 - Cadiz vs. Barcelona: The Catalans slumped to their fourth league defeat of the season against a highly impressive Cadiz side who have already taken points from Real Madrid and Athletic Club in this campaign. 

Sponsors! Today's episode is brought to you by...

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