We Came to Win

By GimletSociety & Culture Documentary Sports Soccer

We Came to Win episodes

October 18, 2022 The Infamous Free Kick
The World Cup is so much more than a sport. For many, particularly the players, it can be career altering. Life changing. This week, we revisit the story of the 1974 World Cup game, the Zaire team, and their president and dictator Mobutu.

The original episode, “Zaire: The Most Misunderstood team in History ”, was published by Gimlet Media’s We Came To Win.

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50 min
October 11, 2022 A Century Long Rivalry
The World Cup is nearly 100 years old. And 100 years is enough time to develop some pretty serious rivalries. England vs. Scotland. Argentina vs. Brazil. This week we take you back to another great rivalry. US vs Mexico, also known as Dos A Cero.

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35 min
October 11, 2022 From Mullets to Glory?
Scotsman Matt Nelson and American Steve Ceruti spin it back to the mid-aughts when American soccer was in its infancy. Does this scrappy US team rise to the occasion or go out in flames?

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44 min
October 04, 2022 Introducing We Came to Win
What can we say? Soccer… is life. Just in time for the 2022 World Cup, soccer fans and hosts Matt Nelson and Steve Ceruti share some of their favorite soccer episodes from Gimlet, Parcast and Spotify. Like how a scrappy US team leveled up to compete with Mexico and create a fierce rivalry. Or how the Spanish women's team fought for equal opportunities at the 2015 World Cup. And the story of the 1974 Zaire team who saw soccer as a way to climb out from under a dictator's rule. New episodes of We Came to Win publish each Tuesday.

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3 min
May 28, 2020 The Biological Bomb
When Atalanta defeated Valencia 4-1 in the Champions League, their fans celebrated the biggest result in the club’s history. But in the weeks after this match, the narrative quickly switched. The game that night appeared to be at the center of an outbreak of the coronavirus, an outbreak so severe that one scientist called the match a “biological bomb.” On this episode of We Came to Win we track how the virus spread through the stadium, and beyond.
For this episode, we teamed up with the GIANT podcast team and you can hear their story after ours. It’s a documentary about how one lower league team in England had their season turned upside down by the coronavirus.

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47 min
November 28, 2018 Introducing Without Fail
We Came to Win brings you WIthout Fail, a new podcast from Gimlet Media where host Alex Blumberg asks people who have pursued incredible things: what worked? What didn't? And why? On this episode, Alex talks with NBA player Andre Iguodala who plays for one of the most dominant teams in the league, the Golden State Warriors. Before that, Andre was the number one option for the Philadelphia 76ers. Andre talks with Alex about playing for a team where everyone loves you ... and what it’s like when they don’t. He says what he really thinks about teammate Steph Curry, and Andre answers an age-old question: are sports really a metaphor for life?
34 min
June 14, 2018 Introducing The Totally Football Show
It’s World Cup time! And if you want a cheat sheet for this year’s competition, we’ve got you covered with a special episode from the gang at The Totally Football Show. Host James Richardson is joined by Michael Cox, Tom Williams, Sasha Goryunov, and more, as they break down the first three groups of the 2018 World Cup. Learn who is favored, who might play spoiler, and who thinks Russia’s home field advantage could tip the scales.
57 min
June 13, 2018 1. How the 1990 World Cup Saved English Soccer
Today, the English Premier League is the richest and most watched league in the world. But rewind to the end of the eighties, and English football was in the doldrums. The national team were crap, the stadiums were crumbling, and there was the threat of violence from football hooligans. This is the story of how one summer, and one World Cup, changed English football forever.
CREDITS: We Came to Win is hosted by Nando Vila. This episode was produced by Emma Morgenstern, Emily Ulbricht, and Ngofeen Mputubwele with help from Anna Foley and Jasmine Romero. Our senior producer is Matthew Nelson. Our editors are Caitlin Kenney, Devon Taylor, and Jessica Weisberg. This episode was scored, sound designed, and mixed by Bobby Lord. Check out more Gimlet podcasts at gimletmedia.com.
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56 min
June 13, 2018 2. How Soccer Made It in America
The year is 1989. The United States is a soccer desert, but it just won a bid to host the 1994 World Cup. If the U.S. is going to prove it deserves the honor, it’ll need to get its team to qualify for the 1990 World Cup—and they haven’t made it in nearly four decades. A coach named Bob Gansler and his gang of mulleted misfits are America's only hope. This is the story of their last-ditch attempt to put U.S. soccer on the map.
CREDITS: We Came to Win is hosted by Nando Vila. This episode was produced by Emma Morgenstern, Emily Ulbricht, and Ngofeen Mputubwele with help from Anna Foley and Jasmine Romero. Our senior producer is Matthew Nelson. Our editors are Caitlin Kenney, Devon Taylor, and Jessica Weisberg. This episode was scored, sound designed, and mixed by Bobby Lord. Check out more Gimlet podcasts at gimletmedia.com.
41 min
June 13, 2018 3. Zaire ‘74: The Most Misunderstood Team in History
In 1974, the first all-black team competed at the World Cup: the national team of Zaire, now known as D.R. Congo. They were remembered for one of the strangest plays in World Cup history: a botched free kick that led some commentators to speculate that the African team didn't understand the basic rules of the game. But behind Zaire’s kick is a lesser-known story of nationhood, colonialism, and government corruption.
CREDITS: We Came to Win is hosted by Nando Vila. This episode was produced by Ngofeen Mputubwele, Emma Morgenstern, and Emily Ulbricht with help from Anna Foley and Jasmine Romero. Our senior producer is Matthew Nelson. Our editors are Caitlin Kenney, Devon Taylor, and Jessica Weisberg. Original Congolese music by Nkumu Katalay. Additional scoring, sound design, and mixing by Bobby Lord. Check out more Gimlet podcasts at gimletmedia.com.
48 min

About We Came to Win

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What can we say? Soccer… is life. Just in time for the 2022 World Cup, soccer fans and hosts Matt Nelson and Steve Ceruti share some of their favorite soccer episodes from Gimlet, Parcast and…