USMNT on to the Nations League semifinals, Pepi's future + Mexico, Bielsa, Uruguay

Preseason is officially underway for every MLS team this week. There have been some big acquisitions, some interesting trades, and in Atlanta…an upcoming contract situation for the team’s star player. Felipe Cardenas is here with the latest on Josef Martinez’s contract situation, why he’s asking for it, and why the Atlanta united front office may want to be pragmatic. Felipe’s story on Josef Martínez: https://theathletic.com/3057263/2022/01/07/i-want-to-die-here-josef-martinez-hoping-to-see-out-his-career-with-atlanta-united/Union Berlin fullbacks: https://theathletic.com/3072878/2022/01/17/bundesliga-how-union-berlins-wing-back-tactics-put-them-top-four-contention/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 202213min

We have just one week to go until World Cup qualifying starts up again, which means there’s plenty of interesting storylines we’re keeping track of here on The Athletic’s U.S. soccer desk. We had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Day so this episode will be a quick, guest-free rundown of what we’re following this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Jan 20224min

There are a lot of ways to define play style. The Athletic’s John Muller has come up with another one. The five kingdoms of football is a new, graphical way to describe how teams play, and it’s just so interesting. John Muller is here to talk about it, and why it makes one under-the-radar game this week much more interesting than you might think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Jan 202213min

After a new year’s period where a lot of teams solidified their positions or brought in reinforcements, the second half of the European calendar is underway with a ton of great games this weekend. Brooks Peck is here to break down the whole schedule, hour-by-hour, along with big games in the Africa Cup of Nations and Liga MX.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Jan 202223min

Last year, Lorenzo Insigne was one of the best players on an Italian national team that won the European Championship. He has long been a key striker for Napoli, has played plenty in the Champions League, and is generally considered to be among the world’s best players. He’s 30 years old and this summer, he’s coming to MLS. Josh Kloke is here to explain why Toronto FC made the big-money move for Insigne after one of their worst-ever seasons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Jan 202210min

Over the past several months, the Washington Spirit have won the NWSL championship, and also been at the center of a very public tug-of-war over ownership of the club. On one side: Steve Baldwin and Bill Lynch, two co-owners who together had or controlled a majority of votes among the club’s ownership group. Baldwin and Lynch have been looking to sell the club. On the other side is Michele Kang, another co-owner, who offered well over market value for the club, but has also been publicly critical of Baldwin during his time as controlling owner of the team. Though Kang’s offer was for $35 million dollars, The team was thought to be on the verge of a sale to another group for $25 million dollars. On Tuesday, a group of the Spirit’s minority owners were key to a complete flip of the script. It’s a lot to take in, but Steph Yang is here to help parse through some of the details. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Jan 202211min

Mexico’s 2021 could probably be considered a disappointment overall, but the Mexican federation’s president has big goals going into 2022. Felipe Cárdenas traveled to Mexico for a chat with Yon de Luisa late last year. Today, Felipe joins the show to discuss that interview, and what El Tri will be focusing on this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Jan 202211min

2022 Is underway and we’re back with a slightly shorter edition of the show. We may do more of these going forward; just sort of a short summary of what games are on today, and what stories we’re keeping track of. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Jan 20224min