Can Arsenal DETHRONE PSG?! 😳👑 Where did Bayern Munich go wrong? 🤔 | ESPN FC

0:00 I'm Gabby's Jules.

0:01 Gray skies over West London.

0:04 Jules, not gray skies over North London.

0:07 Arsenal are Champions League finalists.

0:09 As are Paris Saint-Germain.

0:11 We'll be talking about them a little bit later.

0:14 Some of us had predicted this.

0:16 What can I say?

0:18 And then of course there's plenty more to get into because

0:20 we also have a major twist in the title race as well.

0:23 Manchester City dropping points at Everton, nearly losing at Everton.

0:28 Chelsea losing as well.

0:29 But I guess that's not really news, but we'll get to all of that later.

0:32 But let's start in North [clears throat] London because okay,

0:38 I'm going to go right out and say this, right?

0:40 All the people that were like, "Oh, look, it's Hurrah and ball,

0:42 blah, blah, blah, Arsenal against Atletico Madrid." I enjoyed the two ties.

0:46 Were they as much fun as the other one?

0:48 No, they were not.

0:50 And I think I I we may disagree on this, but I think there

0:55 is there there's certain fundamental things

0:57 in football where you put faith in players.

0:59 The relationship between the coach and the players is so important.

1:02 And I think it takes a lot of stones, a lot of intestinal fortitude,

1:06 a lot of courage to go and make

1:10 a major change in personnel by the way Arteta did.

1:14 Not so much Calafiori left back because you you could kind of see the logic.

1:18 Although I thought that was a little surprising, too, right?

1:19 But people like to stereotype Arteta as like oh,

1:22 defensive intensity, set pieces, and that.

1:25 You know, might have thought he's going to stick

1:27 with Hincapie since Hincapie also was rested at the weekend, right?

1:31 Um but in midfield, Manu Luis Kelly.

1:34 Manu Luis Kelly uh had started three league games for Arsenal this year.

1:38 Um one of them at the weekend was in midfield.

1:43 Obviously, he played midfield before the youth team,

1:45 but his first team minutes had all come really at left back,

1:50 and mostly last season.

1:53 And you go and you drop Zubimendi for this game.

1:56 Um Zubimendi who incidentally skipped the game at the weekend.

2:01 I I I I thought it was a huge call to make.

2:04 I don't think it it was an unexpected call.

2:08 Yeah.

2:07 And I I like it when people are courageous and go out on a limb like this.

2:12 Yeah, yeah.

2:12 I mean, without it we've seen it in the past where a a team one of these teams

2:17 does really well and then you keep it

2:19 for the next game especially when it's a big game.

2:21 So, there was always a possibility that he would he would just play

2:24 the same team that he did against Fulham that played so well against Fulham.

2:27 Uh, but Lewis Kelly was a surprise against Fulham.

2:30 Stayed a surprise I guess for this game against Atletico.

2:34 Although with the tactical shift that we mentioned already in in previous shows,

2:37 um, that's a perfect position for him.

2:41 Rice drops between the two center backs then you need that guy

2:44 in that midfield aligning your back three and your front six really.

2:48 Uh, like a Pascal Gross we mentioned already like a Bernardo Silva.

2:51 And that's Lewis Kelly much better than Zubimendi for that.

2:55 There's still a lot of things that Zubimendi can

2:57 do can do and things that Lewis Kelly cannot do.

3:00 That Zubimendi can do.

3:01 But for this game like for the Fulham game, that you know, that was perfect.

3:04 And Lewis Kelly I thought played really well.

3:08 Although there's still a lot of things that he can improve

3:09 but it's normal he's still young and hasn't played much this season.

3:12 But it was a that Arsenal team was perfect.

3:15 And to be fair, I was at both games this week

3:17 Tuesday and Wednesday and the best game was Tuesday, not Wednesday.

3:20 It was the the best game this week was the Arsenal Atletico,

3:23 not the Bayern PSG one.

3:24 So, I think the people saying that are

3:26 just stupid people who people who don't know football.

3:29 Yeah, and I think um, I wasn't the only change he made.

3:31 I mean, obviously he also left out Odegaard and there

3:33 might have been some so some physical issues there.

3:36 Which which still you're still talking about

3:38 a guy who's been a really important player.

3:39 He did not leave out Saka thankfully.

3:41 Um, on the Athletic front, there is a lot of recrimination, um,

3:48 about some of the officiating which I I to say I don't fully understand.

3:54 I mean, could this game have gone the other way?

3:56 Yeah.

3:58 You heap a lot of praise on William Saliba and he's been fantastic.

4:01 He made a major, major boo-boo.

4:03 You never I mean, it's football 101.

4:06 I you you taught never to do that, right?

4:08 To head blind back to the keeper because you don't know where he is.

4:11 And Gabriel, he gets even a little bit

4:15 wrong or a different referee, that's a penalty.

4:18 Yeah, I think they got a bit lucky uh lucky there uh

4:22 But then that's the main officiating talking point, right?

4:24 Yeah, although I even think that's the perspective.

4:26 Yeah, yeah, I even think the one Gabriel on on Giovanni,

4:28 I don't think that's the I think he's just Gabriel did

4:31 enough just to be on the limit and you don't give it.

4:35 I mean, you look at the Kalafiori on Griezmann when he stamps on his foot,

4:38 if there's a foul before from Pogba on Gabriel

4:41 or Gabriel makes the most of it, maybe.

4:43 But I think I think those calls I don't I don't see I don't have any problem.

4:48 I guess if they'd been the other way around,

4:49 it would have probably been the same, so it's one of those.

4:52 Yeah, um I think if we're going to talk

4:54 about calls and decisions made uh in this game,

4:58 um there's many more starting with Diego

5:00 Simeone's substitutions in the second half.

5:02 We're going to break it down further.

5:03 And we're also going to show some love.

5:04 This was the last we've seen, we think,

5:06 of Antoine Griezmann in the Champions League.

5:08 I say we think because who knows?

5:10 Maybe he'll go to Orlando and say, "Hey, it's humid and the traffic sucks.

5:13 Let me come back." Who knows, right?

5:15 Maybe he'll go back to Real Sociedad to be with Matarazzo in a couple years.

5:17 But otherwise, what a career he's had.

5:20 Uh all this coming up on the Gab and Juls podcast.

5:24 All right, Juls, I I I think we have

5:26 to pay a little bit of tribute to to Antoine Griezmann.

5:30 Um And like for me, I got excited.

5:34 We do those those talking points and for a minute there,

5:38 I forgot that like for a minute there,

5:41 I was going to praise him for saying, "You know what?

5:43 Not that Atletico are not a big club, right?

5:44 But I have a soft spot for people who say no,

5:49 thank you to the ultra big mega clubs

5:53 that because this is what football's become, right?

5:57 Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain.

6:00 And then four or five clubs from England, right?

6:03 Six, if you will.

6:04 Sorry, Spurs.

6:05 Um And I praise them.

6:08 I didn't for a minute I forgot that actually no,

6:10 you did go and chase that at Barcelona, but it didn't work out.

6:14 And almost like God punished you a little bit

6:15 because Atletico Madrid won the title when you weren't there.

6:18 So, I I will obviously associate him with that.

6:22 So, for me he's a doctor Le Tissier, Alan Shearer.

6:25 Like to me there is something really special.

6:28 If we were to put the two Barcelona years aside you could make a point that he's

6:33 been the best player in the world never

6:36 to play for a mega club over the past decade.

6:38 Yeah.

6:38 Again, I There might be somebody I'm forgetting.

6:40 No, no, yeah, yeah.

6:43 Um It would have been a romantic story, obviously.

6:47 Atletico Madrid never won the Champions League.

6:50 Arsenal never won the Champions League.

6:52 Um It ends here.

6:56 Can you just put a bit in context because his backstory,

6:59 for those who don't know, and he's old is yes,

7:02 he's French, but very young he went to Real Sociedad,

7:05 came through Was he 16 when he went?

7:08 No, yeah, a bit younger than that.

7:09 Even younger?

7:11 Yeah.

7:11 Um It's like an Eden Hazard type story, right?

7:14 Uh moving very, very young to another youth academy.

7:17 Never really been part of the French system.

7:22 Yeah.

7:22 Uh football development-wise,

7:23 but obviously very French for the fact he's won important titles in France.

7:27 And And he kind of represents this I don't know.

7:31 Uh this kind of like different approach not just to football development,

7:36 but also to the kind of player he he's been on the pitch.

7:38 Yeah, very unusual player, very magical with the ball, really.

7:42 And that's thing.

7:43 He sees the game a bit differently,

7:44 and we don't really make those kind of players anymore because of the way

7:47 the game has gone and the way the evolution of football, which is normal.

7:50 It's not a dig on, you know, academies and and development and things like that.

7:55 But yeah, very special player,

7:57 very different to Eden Hazard who just had to do 20

7:59 km to go to the Lille academy when he was really young.

8:02 For Griezmann, nobody wanted him in France.

8:04 He had, I think, 20 or 25 trials for French academies of top clubs.

8:09 Everybody said he was too small, he was too skinny,

8:11 he was never going to make it until the French guy from Real Sociedad

8:16 spotted him in a tournament when Griezmann

8:18 didn't even grow up nowhere near San Sebastiano,

8:21 that side of the country, anyway.

8:23 Uh found him, brought him over 14, uh and then, obviously, made his debut.

8:28 Spanish football was always more suited to his game, anyway.

8:31 But for me, Atletico's greatest ever player, the irony, as you said, Gabby,

8:34 is that he was not part of the two La Liga winning sides under Simeone,

8:39 which is a a real shame.

8:41 So, he would have won this the Europa League, which is which is good.

8:43 And 2018 was easy year, really,

8:45 probably the year where he should have won the Ballon d'Or as he

8:47 won the World Cup as well and was incredible that that season.

8:51 But uh what's missing is, yeah,

8:53 probably a Liga title, probably a Champions League somewhere.

8:56 Obviously, lost finals with Atleti,

8:59 uh and and this one is stuck at 98 Champions League appearances.

9:03 44 goals in 98 Champions League appearances is pretty special.

9:08 But I think what will stay is more the touch,

9:11 you know, more the flair player that he was.

9:13 Incredible player, really, and at 35, it's probably right for him to to go now.

9:18 Um but it's a shame because I think, you know, we will miss him.

9:22 Yeah, you mentioned the Ballon d'Or there.

9:24 Um I think a little bit in 2018, a little bit like Wesley Sneijder in 2010,

9:30 he kind of fell into the he fell into the crack

9:34 of overlapping with those other two guys and the fact

9:38 that X amount of voters just kind of vote chalk

9:41 every year and will go Messi and Cristiano no matter what.

9:45 I mean apart from the fact that Modrić won it that season.

9:47 So, I'm sorry.

9:47 If you give it to Modrić and not to Griezmann

9:50 Well, I mean Modrić had won the Champions League,

9:51 but he lost in the final of the World Cup.

9:53 All right, sticking with Atlético Madrid.

9:56 Uh you were there.

9:57 I'm watching this on television.

10:00 And I'm thinking like, all right, you're a goal down.

10:04 Obviously, you're going to have to make changes.

10:07 I would have never expected triple change in minute

10:10 57 and then two more change changes in minute 66.

10:13 I understand Álvarez I thought was having a really poor game.

10:18 Mhm.

10:17 Um there were suggestions he wasn't fit.

10:19 So, yes.

10:21 I know you're going to bring on Sørloth at some point.

10:24 Um don't have any issue there.

10:27 You want to put Marcos Llorente on the wing, don't have an issue there.

10:30 But, I think we have to look at all of them as a whole.

10:33 But, to make so many two changes five guys in one

10:35 go in that way to me made absolutely no sense.

10:39 It made it didn't seem like a Cholo Simeone type thing.

10:43 No, and also and also you were out.

10:46 So, if you if you'd still been in the game and you

10:48 was heading for extra time or you still had something to manage,

10:51 okay, I can I can maybe understand I

10:53 don't know the French legs or different profiles,

10:55 different uh slightly different system, maybe things like that.

10:59 But, you're behind you need to you need to score and to come back in the game.

11:03 And you didn't even look like that when you still had your your your strongest

11:06 front four with Lukman and with Álvarez and with Giovanni and Griezmann.

11:11 And then you sub them off for four players who I'm sorry,

11:13 I like Baena is really good.

11:15 He was great at Villarreal.

11:16 We like Sørloth, we said great great season.

11:19 A lot of the bench, great season.

11:21 But, I'm sorry, but the four players that you brought

11:23 on are not as good as the four you've taken off.

11:26 Even if they were not having a great game,

11:27 I would have kept Lukman until the end because you just don't know.

11:30 He can on he can do something to white and create something.

11:34 I would have I would have kept Alvarez

11:35 even if he wasn't fit or at least Griezmann,

11:37 one of the two for sure.

11:39 Because of that moment of quality he can provide.

11:41 Or a free kick.

11:41 Even we saw Alvarez free kick against Barca.

11:43 You get a free kick on,

11:45 [snorts] you know, on the edge of the box, who do you want it to take?

11:46 Griezmann or Alvarez?

11:47 Who do you want to get the ball to Suarez, right?

11:49 Even if you want to bring Suarez to that point saying like,

11:51 all right, we'll get a knock down or whatever.

11:53 You want that sort of player.

11:55 Diego Alvarez is the one I really do not understand the purpose of.

11:58 fancy him.

11:58 He hasn't fancied him for weeks.

12:00 And now about this other and all of a sudden

12:01 I'm going to go and give him this game.

12:02 And also with a view, even if like I said,

12:05 I would have given another 15-20 minutes for for many of these guys.

12:09 And one or two substitutions perhaps.

12:11 Um The other thing is I have to say this about Lookman, right?

12:14 Obviously he got slaughtered for missing it missing it

12:18 uh the goals that he missed in the first time.

12:20 But Lookman can be a really prolific goal scorer.

12:23 He has been.

12:24 But he played a different position at Atalanta.

12:27 So if you're in a situation where you want him to go and run up and down up

12:30 and down the wing and do both phases that's

12:33 going to be a little different for him, right?

12:35 You're not going to get his attacking output.

12:36 You're not going to get his freshness.

12:38 But once you've moved Marcos Llorente to that right back position

12:41 and moved Koke inside all of a sudden just move Lookman further forward.

12:47 That's another That's another option that you have, right?

12:50 those chances he got in the first leg was after they moved to the 3-4-3

12:53 like at Atalanta really like where where where

12:56 he's closer to the box and he's better.

12:59 Um I I think he's really going to kick himself

13:04 I think I think he made a massive mistake there.

13:07 I I and I don't know if he saw, okay, Arteta's going to do something to screw

13:10 this up because and look and I'm Diego Simeone,

13:13 I'm in the man in black and I've got the experience and the know-how.

13:18 But you know what?

13:18 Arteta's on the bench.

13:19 I mean, Arteta can make a mistake with a substitution.

13:21 But you you still have As you said, you still have to go out.

13:24 You still have to go out and score.

13:26 Um, a lot was made um, on on television and I'll come right out,

13:32 I don't understand this about some of the We see me on it's always a theme.

13:38 Oh, look at, you know, the antics, pitch side, blowing around,

13:42 getting altercation I think with Andrea

13:43 Berta at some point some people reported.

13:45 And people also tried to go at Arteta as well for his reactions.

13:49 Um, you were there, maybe you saw him more than I did.

13:53 I don't have an issue No, I mean it's the same all the time.

13:56 I can understand, you know,

13:58 that maybe some people don't really like that all that energy,

14:01 all that intensity is maybe a bit over the top.

14:04 Um, I mean if you watch ESPN FC show, I you know,

14:07 I apologize for some of the comments that was made on that show

14:10 cuz I think it was way over the line towards Arteta.

14:14 Uh, what some of the guys said which should have never been said.

14:17 But I like the passion from both of them,

14:19 but also from other managers, they're not the only ones.

14:21 You know, Luis Enrique is very animated.

14:23 Yesterday he spent a lot of time outside of his uh, technical area as well.

14:26 Vinnie was always outside of his technical area yesterday

14:29 at the game too on Wednesday at the game too.

14:32 So, I think a lot of those show

14:33 passion especially when you're in the semi-final,

14:35 you know, this is not like Champions League qualifiers in in July.

14:38 This is this is big big games and uh,

14:41 I've got no issue with them showing that as long as it stays obviously within

14:44 Yeah, I I think look, I I think my general thing is it's better, you know,

14:49 I think you if you can and if it's your personality,

14:52 you should act like you've been there before, right?

14:56 Yeah.

14:55 But if it doesn't, as long as it's genuine, as long as as it's it's honest,

15:01 as long as you're not being disrespectful or influencing the match officials,

15:07 I have no problem with it whatsoever.

15:10 Be yourself.

15:10 I mean, we'll draw the line,

15:11 remember Diego Simeone running onto the pitch

15:14 during the during the Champions League final.

15:17 I think that's where you draw the line, but beyond that and people saying, "Oh,

15:20 you're making it all about yourself." I mean, No,

15:22 it's not all about yourself and certainly not in Arteta's case.

15:26 Yeah, yeah.

15:26 See me only you can say because he's such a brand he's been there 15 years,

15:29 but that's like accusing Sir Alex of making

15:31 it all about himself at Manchester United, right?

15:34 When he was there.

15:34 I mean, he built the freaking that freaking cycle of success at the club.

15:38 Of course it's going to be about him, right?

15:40 Yeah, yeah.

15:40 Arteta's not in that situation.

15:42 So, yeah, I thought that was it was a little uncalled for.

15:45 I thought it was.

15:46 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

15:48 Um Jorginho's got a ton of love

15:50 Yeah.

15:50 in this game.

15:51 Good for him.

15:54 Okay.

15:54 So, help me out here.

15:56 As you know, Jorginho Havertz is going to be a talking point for the final.

15:58 We'll probably talk about this all day.

15:59 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

16:01 Um for me it depends how Arsenal necessarily want to play.

16:04 And now I think more than how Arsenal want to play

16:07 is how Arteta thinks Paris Saint-Germain will approach it, right?

16:11 Um in this game you can look at this and he got so much praise.

16:17 He also missed a goal that you expect a striker with his price tag to put away.

16:23 Yeah.

16:23 And if something happens at the other end,

16:25 we mentioned when we talk about fine margins, right?

16:27 The Gabriel on on Juliano.

16:30 Um you know, that's that's a penalty then

16:33 Jorginho has missed and Jorginho becomes a villain, right?

16:35 That's how quickly this can turn.

16:37 Yeah, yeah, it was a big chance.

16:39 He should have scored even if I think the bounce

16:40 before makes it a little makes it a little bit uh

16:44 Havertz would have scored, right?

16:46 Yeah, I don't know if Havertz would have scored,

16:47 but the bounce the rebound makes it a little bit more tricky.

16:51 I get that, but still he should he should bury

16:53 that and and the game is over then to be fair.

16:56 Even even before Juliano's kind of chance that he had after that.

17:00 Um But apart from that and I know this is a big

17:02 apart from the rest of his game all around was brilliant.

17:06 For me his best game in an Arsenal

17:08 shirt even without the goal even without chance.

17:10 Describe what he did for those who Everything.

17:13 All the runs were great as we saw

17:14 on the the It's not just that his runs were great,

17:18 but it's also that finally,

17:20 which was always going to take a bit of time

17:21 for this Arsenal team to finally play a bit more for him.

17:25 Um but Saliba found him.

17:27 Saliba would have never played the pass

17:28 that he played for Gyokeres on the Arsenal

17:30 goal two or three months ago or at the start of the season, for example.

17:34 But this time more and more they find him.

17:36 He holds up the ball a bit better than he did.

17:38 We saw that against Fulham.

17:39 We saw that in this game, even if there's a couple of times,

17:41 even the one where he bumped into his own player at some point.

17:44 So he's still not perfect, but he works so hard.

17:47 He presses.

17:48 He's he's a a nuisance for the defenders.

17:51 He's difficult to play against, to mark,

17:53 cuz he's so big and so strong and all of that.

17:56 If you play on his strength, he will be very helpful to your team.

18:00 If you don't play on on his strength, then yeah,

18:02 for a long period of time he would be there not

18:04 touching the ball and being around the box and there's no crosses,

18:07 there's nothing for him and for that it's not great.

18:09 But I think more and more he's adapting

18:11 to the team and the team is adapting to him.

18:13 So I think this gets us

18:14 to a fundamental philosophical aspect in football, right?

18:19 It's the old thing that we have in Italy

18:21 and Spain about the blanket where your blanket's too short.

18:23 You can either keep your feet warm or you can either keep your head warm, right?

18:28 If you're going to play to Gyokeres's strength,

18:34 it'll come at the expense of something else, right?

18:36 Because there's only so many ways to approach.

18:38 And this ties in as well, I think also with Zubimendi and Luis Kelly, right?

18:43 Cuz yes, I want to put Rice sitting in front of the back four.

18:46 Okay.

18:48 Um that'll work in some games,

18:50 but in other games then I lose Rice coming forward.

18:53 I don't necessarily white right want Rice to be the first pass out

18:56 of the back all the time because I kind of know what's coming.

18:58 Um in some ways like if Arteta were here he'd be like,

19:04 "Oh, now you have a decision to make.

19:05 You have a problem." And he would say something like, "Well,

19:07 that's the problem every manager would want." And it's cliches,

19:09 but fundamentally you have a decision to make here, too.

19:12 You have a decision to make vis-à-vis Ødegaard, as well.

19:15 Do you try to recover him in your base formation?

19:17 You only have x amount of games left, right?

19:20 And every game, because of the Champions League

19:22 uh so because of the the Premier League,

19:23 as well, is really, really important.

19:25 Yeah, yeah.

19:26 I I'm going to be and I'll throw I'll give you another one, Madueke.

19:29 I I think Madueke is one of those guys

19:31 who even when he doesn't perf- perform well,

19:34 he still doesn't hurt you and he still gives you

19:36 a lot of um he gives you a lot of productivity Yeah.

19:40 off the ball and stuff like that.

19:41 Okay.

19:42 But then we saw Trossard in this game, who different profile, right?

19:45 Martinelli still in the mix.

19:48 And Kai Havertz, of course, is another one.

19:51 So, I kind of feel like we can talk about oh, and Hikaru Calafiori, another one.

19:56 Also, I'm assuming Timber will return at some point.

19:59 Arteta could say, "Hey, Ben, thanks for the service.

20:01 Go back to doing what you do in your spare time." Timber goes right in.

20:05 I feel like there's so many calls for him to make.

20:08 And so many when you got so many calls, so many things that can go wrong,

20:11 um I have no idea what he's going to do,

20:15 but certainly he has more big calls now than you

20:18 would expect a team at the start of the season,

20:21 which I think is actually a good thing.

20:23 Because for much of the year,

20:25 when Arsenal kind of hit the skids, it was all Arsenal predictable,

20:29 Arsenal one-dimensional, uh this set pieces, transition,

20:32 that's the only way they're going to score.

20:34 Where's Saka?

20:35 Where's Ødegaard?

20:35 Blah, blah, blah, right?

20:37 Now, you kind of have these options.

20:39 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

20:40 I think there's some that I I I easy picks, really, cuz on the left,

20:45 Trossard is better than Martinelli and Madueke even easy on the left.

20:50 So, this one makes sense.

20:52 On the right back, if Timber is fit, better than White, no problem.

20:55 On left back, it depends who you play against.

20:57 If you want more control and somebody better on the ball, Calafiori.

21:00 If you want a better defender, Hikaru Calafiori.

21:02 Okay.

21:02 Or somebody more handsome, Calafiori, as well.

21:04 As well, of course, yeah.

21:05 Sorry, Pietro.

21:06 Saka, you know, the problem, and Eze, Odegaard,

21:09 and Gökhan and Havertz are the two really right now that we can look into.

21:12 And what about Lewis Kelly, Zubimendi?

21:14 And maybe Lewis Kelly and Zubimendi as well, you're right, you're right.

21:16 And to be fair, there's also in those two in those three match-ups,

21:20 sorry, one player that has got more momentum than the others,

21:23 Lewis Kelly more than Zubimendi,

21:25 Eze more than than Odegaard because Eze has been

21:27 playing well the last two games only where he started,

21:29 and Odegaard is still coming back from yet another injury,

21:32 and I'm not sure about his match fitness, and certainly um you know,

21:36 what kind of what can he bring to the team from the start for 90 minutes?

21:40 Can he do that?

21:40 We're not sure.

21:42 And and for Gökhan and Havertz, it will be the same.

21:44 Havertz was injured, he's just coming back.

21:46 What will his physical condition be?

21:47 Exactly.

21:48 While Gökhan has done well in the last few games,

21:50 so it looks if if the final was tomorrow,

21:54 for example, against PSG, I think you know that Gökhan would start,

21:58 you know that Eze would start,

21:59 you probably know that Lewis Kelly would start,

22:01 and at left back, I guess against Dortmund,

22:04 maybe more important than Kalafiori, but but but the final is not tomorrow,

22:08 there's another 3 and 1/2 weeks.

22:10 There's and there's another three finals between this and the other final.

22:13 And and I think that's the single biggest thing that he needs to weigh up.

22:17 So, some big decisions for Mikel Arteta.

22:22 All right, enough Arsenal.

22:23 Let's talk about the other semi-final, Jules.

22:28 Yeah.

22:27 Paris Saint-Germain getting it done in Munich at the Allianz Arena.

22:33 Bayern uh losing 1-0.

22:35 The goal comes early.

22:37 And I'm going to come out and remember we said this before,

22:39 you disagreed with me, right?

22:40 I'm sorry, you didn't just you may remember this differently,

22:42 but I you said, "Well, these two teams can only play this way,

22:46 the way they played in the first leg." And I said, "Actually,

22:48 I think Paris Saint-Germain can play a different way,

22:50 and I think they will if if needed in the second leg."

22:55 Yeah?

22:54 And I feel vindicated because in that second half, they had 27% possession.

23:02 Mhm.

23:01 And they looked so comfortable without the ball.

23:06 Yeah.

23:05 First leg, we saw both teams going for it all the time,

23:08 back and forth, turning the ball over, man-for-man all over the pitch.

23:11 In the second one, I saw a lot of doubling up.

23:13 I saw a lot of defensive help.

23:15 Um and it's it's not that Luis Enrique was being negative.

23:20 No, no, no.

23:20 He was managing the game and playing to the strengths a strength

23:25 a and a style of play that Paris Saint-Germain have in their locker,

23:28 which I don't think Bayern have in their locker, to be honest.

23:31 Not that they were in the situation where they needed to play that way, but

23:34 No, no, yeah.

23:35 I mean, I think Luis Enrique has uh created a monster,

23:37 built a monster of a team that can

23:39 do everything really when needed, that can adapt.

23:42 I mean, the game plan that he had for this game was just perfect, really.

23:46 There was everything that he asked the players to do uh from obviously

23:51 the doubling up on Olise and Diarra's with Ruiz and and João Neves,

23:56 from even the goal kicks that Safonov was taking

24:00 and on purpose hitting them out for a throw-in behind Olise's back,

24:04 so you could press high and push them like that and make

24:07 it difficult for Olise to get any kind of momentum and space.

24:10 It was a genius move.

24:12 Everything they did was just perfect,

24:14 even without Hakimi uh and obviously scoring early,

24:17 which they which is what they do.

24:19 They did against Chelsea this season.

24:21 They did against Arsenal last season.

24:22 They did against Liverpool last season.

24:24 Especially, and that's why I'm a bit disappointed

24:26 by the uh Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany's tactics.

24:30 PSG knew that Bayern would come at them, and Bayern came at them far too early.

24:34 You don't need to go and throw yourself like Bayern

24:37 did so early on because all you need is a one-two,

24:40 that much space for Grimaldo across for Dembélé,

24:43 who on purpose was playing as a right winger,

24:45 and Noah's the first nine at the start of the game tonight exactly for that.

24:49 And it worked.

24:50 Well, are you leaving out Warren Zaïre-Emery?

24:53 Yeah, but they

24:54 Creating the space for him,

24:55 but with with running from all the way from right back across.

24:59 Yeah, yeah, yeah, but that was always the plan was for the ball on the left,

25:03 the two right players, Dembélé and Zaire Emery, or the ball on the right,

25:07 and the two left players to go in like that.

25:10 But Dembélé finds the found the space for himself.

25:12 You see he stops his run, takes a step back, hits it first time.

25:15 It was just the goal that they drew up on the tactical board before the game.

25:18 That's exactly what happened.

25:19 And I'm I thought Bayern were far too naive the way they started this game.

25:23 You also left out Fabián Ruiz's pass to Kourouma and

25:26 I said the one-two, yeah, but

25:28 But but but but I want to just mention a moment Fabián

25:30 Ruiz because you may not be aware of this cuz you were there,

25:33 whereas I was watching Sky Italia.

25:34 They had Faouzi Ghoulam on.

25:36 And he talked about the relationship between Fabián Ruiz and Luis Enrique.

25:40 And he said when they were teammates at Napoli,

25:42 Luis Enrique was coaching the Spanish national team.

25:44 He's like, "Well, he doesn't like me at all."

25:47 He didn't pick him up for the World Cup, yeah.

25:50 And like I'll probably never be able to play for him.

25:53 And then in this game, despite Ruiz missing time,

25:56 there was all this stuff with his injury,

25:58 to put your faith in him, Fabián Ruiz being I I thought he had a monster game.

26:02 I mean, you don't want to single any one individual out.

26:04 Um but I thought he was big,

26:05 and that also speaks to Luis Enrique putting his trust bygones be bygones.

26:10 Um with Bayern other than maybe not attacking as intensely as they

26:16 did early on, what could they have What would you have done differently?

26:20 What do you think Coman wishes he could have done differently?

26:24 For me, Davies should have started this game every day instead of Stanisic.

26:27 I Stanisic I understand why he's there,

26:30 obviously, especially in your build-up and everything,

26:34 but I I I think you lose a lot of what Davies can bring you.

26:37 And by the way, we saw when Davies came on, he gives the assist to Coman,

26:41 but even before that, there was more threat.

26:43 You The PSG defense had to be a bit more on their toes

26:46 because he's so unpredict- unpredictable because he's

26:48 a winger really playing a left back.

26:50 Whereas Stanisic on that, you know, on that left-hand side?

26:53 He was just there was there was nothing coming from him anyway.

26:57 So, I was disappointed that he didn't start

26:59 and then didn't come on earlier, to be fair.

27:01 And then, in a team that lacks so much creativity,

27:03 when Musiala was not good enough,

27:05 not just on the the shot that he had on the edge of the box that, you know,

27:09 is a half chance that probably he could

27:10 have done better or should have done better,

27:12 but overall, he was not the 10 that you needed for a game like this.

27:16 Maybe bring on Coman before.

27:17 Maybe bring on Nico Jackson before.

27:19 But just so just change something because,

27:21 like you said, PSG was so comfortable in the

27:23 Serge Gnabry, obviously, this was a game where we missed him.

27:25 We don't have the real Musiala yet.

27:26 We will get the real Musiala at some point.

27:28 Um we're going to break this down a little bit further in Gab and Juls' podcast.

27:31 Also, talk about that Nuno Mendes handball,

27:34 um because I think that is one company underscored [snorts] that after the game.

27:38 That is something that that went against Bayern.

27:43 All right, Juls, uh we're both big Vincent Kompany fans.

27:47 Yeah, yeah, we love him.

27:48 Vincent Kompany's showing that you can

27:50 be successful and intelligent without being weird.

27:55 Um Luis Enrique doesn't have that last quality, but, you know,

27:58 he is a genius, and we tolerate it with genius.

28:00 Andy Warhol was unusual, too.

28:03 Um but

28:06 [laughter]

28:06 Sorry.

28:06 He didn't blame the officiating,

28:08 but he did raise a point that it's fine margins.

28:11 He brought up the Alphonso Davies handball from the first leg.

28:14 I think we're both in agreement that's a penalty those you're applying the rules

28:18 As the rules, yeah.

28:18 you know.

28:20 But then, the Nuno Mendes one.

28:22 And shall we get the João Gomes one out of it?

28:24 Yeah, that's yeah.

28:25 Is João João is João This will always get me.

28:28 I know.

28:28 I hope they never become teammates.

28:30 Um Let us just explain why that is not a punishable handball.

28:38 Yeah, because the rule is very clear,

28:39 whether you like it or not, it's very clear.

28:41 If a teammate clears the ball away from his own goal,

28:46 so the ball is not can't to in the in his in the goal as an own goal, I mean.

28:49 So, it will go out anywhere else on the pitch,

28:52 but it's the arm of uh one of his teammates,

28:56 in this case Vitinha, cleared the ball on Wednesday.

29:00 [snorts] Well, like towards the Bayern half, uh but it hit João Neves' arm,

29:04 who were really raised because he didn't expect

29:06 the ball to come his way and that quickly.

29:09 Then you don't give a penalty.

29:10 I know it's handball in the box, we can all see it.

29:12 Clearly the Bayern players and and stuff didn't know the rules.

29:15 Funnily enough, the people next to me who were

29:17 Germans uh knew the rule and said straight away,

29:20 "It's not a pen, you don't you know,

29:21 those pens are not they're not pens because it's a clearance

29:24 from one teammate to another towards another." Um so, that's the rule.

29:28 I I I've got no issue with this rule, to be fair.

29:31 It's um it is it is something where

29:34 the referee still has a certain amount of discretion

29:36 because there's things that you have to judge

29:38 obviously you have to judge is it a clearance,

29:39 is it like a a tackle attempt, is there could the ball be going somewhere else?

29:44 In this case, obviously not because it's going straight up in the air, right?

29:47 Um so, there there's a lot of things to evaluate,

29:51 but I think that one was pretty

29:54 I think this one was simple for the referee to say,

29:56 "Yeah, yeah." And he was really quick, to be fair.

29:57 The other one was Nuno Mendes.

29:58 I think it was about half an hour in.

30:02 Yeah.

30:01 Um this is more complicated because Nuno Mendes has already been booked.

30:08 Unintentional handball is a second booking.

30:11 Mhm.

30:13 Um he's I think just inside his own half.

30:15 And his arm just comes out and he blocks the ball.

30:18 I don't know where the ball would have gone.

30:19 I don't know if it was an instinctive gesture or or whatever.

30:22 So, this wasn't given because um Konrad Laimer,

30:27 who was running with the ball kind of into into Nuno Mendes's area.

30:33 He was adjudged to have handled the ball.

30:37 Yeah.

30:37 To get to to get it under control.

30:38 it, yeah.

30:41 Um there's an angle because his arm is down

30:44 by his side and he's kind of leaning forward,

30:45 it looks as if the ball comes off his arm.

30:47 There's another angle which makes it extremely obvious

30:51 the ball comes off his uh his leg,

30:53 I think his chest as well and it never hits his arm.

30:57 Um now the referee could not have seen this.

31:01 There's no possible way.

31:02 the linesman gave it to him.

31:04 I think it's either the linesman or the fourth official.

31:06 Yeah, one of those two.

31:07 the benches I could he kept doing the thumbs up and then he gave the thumbs up.

31:12 Um there was some speculation for I think from company afterwards saying,

31:15 "Well you gave the thumb he was somebody

31:17 reminded him that Mendes had already been booked,

31:19 he didn't want to send him off." No, it wasn't that.

31:22 I don't [snorts] think it was that.

31:23 I but Like though the some of the footage I

31:26 saw looked like uh to me it looked like yeah,

31:30 Leimer controls the ball first with his some

31:32 part of his body either the thigh or the

31:34 It's definitely the thigh first one.

31:36 It looked like to me that maybe he touches

31:39 his arm and without the arm he doesn't control the ball.

31:41 So only from that angle where you say it looks like he touches with his arm.

31:45 The the other angle or a bit like the Eze

31:47 Hancko penalty in the Atlético Arsenal it seems that depending

31:51 on the angle that you're looking at um but the what

31:54 I would just say is the linesman is really well positioned.

31:57 He's literally cuz that happens just in front of the bench where the line is.

32:01 but he is in line and Leimer's arm

32:04 is blocking where the ball hits his body, right?

32:06 Um I think this is one thing where if this happens at the World Cup,

32:10 we will have VAR for this.

32:11 Yeah, yeah.

32:12 Now yeah.

32:13 Um and and going forward we will we will.

32:16 If I were Bayern, I would definitely be annoyed.

32:19 But I would also realize and and I would

32:21 ask the question about João Pinheiro as well, the referee.

32:24 He's like if you're not yeah, I have no problem with you getting help

32:27 from the fourth official or the assistant referee

32:29 but they have to be certain of what

32:31 they're actually seeing um before they step in.

32:35 And we'll never know but obviously losing a guy like Nuno Mendes,

32:39 going down to 10 men, I think

32:42 Oh, yeah.

32:42 That would actually the rest of the game take all changes.

32:44 It becomes a lot harder.

32:46 If you're going to have 27% possession in the second half with 10 men,

32:49 it becomes it becomes a different game.

32:50 So, I get that, but, you know, hey, those are the rubs.

32:55 Um one guy who's kind of disappeared

32:59 from Paris Saint-Germain between now and the season,

33:00 and I just kind of want to We talked about the title race with Lens.

33:06 And obviously Lens drawing at the weekend took it away.

33:09 Um Arsenal have a much more intense title race,

33:13 even though if you look at the gap in points,

33:15 it doesn't necessarily feel that way.

33:19 But obviously City have the game in hand.

33:20 Yeah, yeah.

33:21 Although Lens have the head-to-head.

33:23 It's just that Paris Saint-Germain are a much better team than Lens.

33:26 Arsenal are not a much better team than Manchester City,

33:28 and that's why I think psychologically we we look at this.

33:32 Um Do you think, given what we've seen so far,

33:35 that he has to put out a real lineup uh like and play some

33:38 of his best men in the next games just to wrap up the league,

33:41 get it out of the way, right?

33:43 You you're not going to rest people for 3 weeks.

33:45 No, but I think if they beat Brest this weekend, it's pretty much done.

33:48 They'll be six points clear with two games to go.

33:51 Uh you know, even even if one of them is against Lens.

33:54 you say that, six points with two games to go,

33:55 but one is the head-to-head with Lens, and the one after that is the derby,

33:59 and derbies anything can happen in a derby, right?

34:02 goal difference, which there's still a gap

34:04 between PSG and Lens on goal difference.

34:05 So, unless they're beating they they they are beaten like

34:09 three or four nil by Lens, which is I guess How big is that?

34:12 I think it's plus five or six.

34:14 Um but I think you know, I think we'll see certainly this weekend rotation,

34:19 um you know, for the for the game at the weekend.

34:22 And a lot of the players who didn't play much uh against Bayern, for example.

34:28 Um so, team very similar to the one that drew with Lorient.

34:31 But yeah, it's always risky, I think,

34:32 to balance the two competition when you get to that to that stage now.

34:36 After that, to some extent,

34:37 different because he almost has to play the strongest team in the league between

34:41 now and the end of the season before then thinking about the the final.

34:44 Um for this weekend, I think they they could be a bit of a mix this weekend,

34:48 and then certainly for the last game,

34:50 that's the one not to lose, and then after that, it be theirs.

34:53 Um all right, final point,

34:55 we're going to be asking this again and again and again,

34:57 but what strikes you about this team that I mean,

35:00 you'll correct me cuz I'm sure I'll get this wrong,

35:02 but I think Marquinhos is 31, uh Dembélé is 28.

35:08 Yeah.

35:07 Um Fabián Ruiz is 30?

35:10 He's 30.

35:12 Yeah.

35:12 Everybody else has a lot of years ahead of them, right?

35:14 Yeah.

35:14 Yeah.

35:16 Um so when you think, obviously, you start thinking succession for Marquinhos,

35:21 and then again, projecting forward, he said all season was about Nuno Mendes.

35:26 He'll be forming an opinion of whether

35:27 Zaire-Emery can be Marquinhos' long-term heir.

35:32 Fabián Ruiz, I think he has it in house and I mean,

35:35 Zaire-Emery is a different profile.

35:36 Yeah, yeah, yeah, but yeah, yeah, yeah.

35:39 Zaire-Emery has to he has to be in the starting 11.

35:41 I don't I It's so hard to keep him out, right?

35:44 Yeah.

35:45 Um and Dembélé, like, you got another 4 or 5 years here, right?

35:47 And you also have Bradley Barcola, Kang-in Lee, uh whatever else, but for me,

35:54 one question is the goalkeeper because he had all

35:58 season long to look at Safonov last year you know,

36:02 I better bring somebody else in, right?

36:06 He didn't start Safonov in the first half of the season.

36:08 No, yeah.

36:11 Is what what's your take?

36:14 Is Safonov a viable long-term option?

36:17 Should he reopen it and say, "Hey, Chevalier,

36:19 I know the wheels came off, but you're still young.

36:22 Let's have an open competition between you and Safonov."

36:24 I I Chevalier will go in the summer, I think, and to be fair

36:27 to write him off after just like that?

36:29 I think so, yeah.

36:29 And I think you can probably recoup

36:31 a quite good amount because he's still young,

36:33 he's still highly rated.

36:35 They they I think there will be a market for him somewhere.

36:38 Um and then it depends where you want to go after that.

36:41 If you go

36:41 What would you do?

36:42 Do you think?

36:43 I mean, do you feel good about Safonov being your goalkeeper next season?

36:47 I mean, right now, so far in the semi-final,

36:50 quarter-final, and last 16, he's been he's been perfect.

36:53 You know, there's they haven't been

36:54 his level?

36:56 yeah, but is it Donnarumma?

36:57 No.

36:57 Will he ever be?

36:58 No.

36:58 That's for sure.

36:59 On his level.

36:59 an Italian keeper ready to step in in the Champions League final though?

37:02 got high hopes in him, although he's still very, very young, but so no,

37:06 he's not he's not he's not in the top five goalkeepers in the world,

37:10 but he's he's done well.

37:12 He has done the job that he had to do in those games.

37:14 What What more can you ask of him?

37:15 Nothing, really.

37:17 Let's see in the final, but

37:18 Yeah, I know.

37:19 And for me, again, there's another question we'll be asking,

37:22 but I'll just give you a quick preview.

37:24 Paris Saint-Germain are better this year than they were last year.

37:28 And because I think what some people forget a little bit,

37:31 you said Safonov has done the job, has done what was asked of him.

37:34 Donnarumma is a with some of those saves

37:37 in the knockouts went beyond what was asked of him.

37:41 I mean, talk five fine margins.

37:42 He made saves that other keepers don't make.

37:45 absolutely.

37:45 Safonov hasn't been asked to do that, and Paris Saint-Germain are through.

37:48 And I think that might be the difference there.

37:50 Yeah, I think you're right.

37:51 They're better.

37:51 I mean, Kvaratskhelia yesterday, best player in the world for me right now,

37:55 there's nobody better than him.

37:56 He was unplayable.

37:57 Vitinha the same against Kane.

37:59 And they are better than they were at this stage last season.

38:01 Even even if they were very good last season at this stage,

38:04 I think Dembélé is better than he was last season at this stage.

38:07 I think Doué is better than And I think you can look player by player.

38:11 Dembélé won the Ballon d'Or by Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I think you can

38:13 better this season, but he's certainly not among

38:16 the favorites for the Ballon d'Or, which is crazy.

38:17 I mean, maybe he will if he he is he is he is he is maybe he will if he wins the

38:22 Well, if he wins the Champions League, I think he's already

38:24 But just but but but but just to get I'm just putting this in context, right?

38:26 Dembélé wins the Ballon d'Or last season,

38:28 and you say he's even better this year,

38:30 but then Kvaratskhelia is the best player in the world.

38:32 That's I mean, that that that tells you where they are.

38:34 Yeah, absolutely.

38:35 I think they're an incredible team again.

38:39 All right, enough Champions League.

38:40 How about some quick hits and stats?

38:43 Gab.

38:43 Big developments in the Premier League title race.

38:44 Manchester City go a goal up, then 3-1 down in a second-half horror show,

38:50 and then they snatch an equalizer at the buzzer via Jérémy Doku.

38:54 Jules, the edge has decidedly shifted to North London.

38:57 Yeah, it has because it was really in the hands of of City before if

39:01 they scored more if they won all of all their games and Arsenal did too.

39:03 If they scored more goals, then they would win and goal difference.

39:08 That's not the case anymore.

39:08 Now they need Arsenal to at some point

39:11 at some point drop points against either West Ham, Burnley, or Crystal Palace.

39:15 But if Arsenal go and win all three of those games,

39:17 then City won't win the title.

39:19 So, I didn't see this one coming.

39:21 I didn't see that collapse coming in the second half,

39:22 and then conceding those three goals,

39:24 really cheap goals to concede, mistakes everywhere.

39:26 Guéhi, Koussou N'Golo Um uh all of them, like Núñez, uh O'Riley, all of them.

39:34 I I like I didn't see that coming at all.

39:37 Donnarumma It's just It was just incredible to watch.

39:40 If you Were you Were you surprised by Pep's reaction afterwards where

39:43 he just talked about how good they played in the first half?

39:46 And I kind of want to be like, "Yeah,

39:47 you played really well in the first half." And you

39:50 scored you scored one goal in the first half.

39:52 it was a worldie as well.

39:53 And it was And it And it it was like two worldies from Jérémy

39:56 worldies from Jérémy Yeah, no, I I I was agree Yeah, I agree with you, and um

40:02 You I wondered too that the Premier

40:03 League could hinge on that second Doku worldie.

40:06 Because Yeah.

40:07 Yeah, it These margins are so fine.

40:09 I mean And it The other interesting aspect,

40:12 too, is you mentioned the goal difference, right?

40:13 So, Arsenal still plus four.

40:17 Yeah.

40:16 City have a game in hand.

40:18 They can go and pump somebody six or seven nil.

40:20 It's possible, right?

40:22 And then that kind of wipes it out.

40:25 And then but then Arsenal still it kind

40:27 of wipes out it would wipe out potentially Arsenal's kind

40:30 of little cushion of being able to draw

40:33 a game between now and the end of the season.

40:35 So I think for Arteta the math doesn't change.

40:37 We have to win our games.

40:40 [snorts] And sticking with City Gab,

40:40 Phil Foden's contract has been extended through 2030.

40:44 What does this tell you?

40:45 It tells me that Pep Guardiola will not be the City manager in 2030 and probably

40:51 possibly there's been rumors all season not next year.

40:53 Yeah, I agree with it.

40:55 As a club you've made a decision as I'm sure it was Hugo Viana's decision.

40:58 Come what may, we cannot wait on Pep.

41:01 This guy's an asset.

41:02 This guy stays.

41:03 And whether it's Pep or somebody else we're going to expect them

41:07 to rebuild Phil Foden into the force that we know he can be.

41:11 It's the Classico this weekend Jules and it's more it's another a few

41:15 days for Real Madrid starting with Kylian

41:17 Mbappe and this online petition as well.

41:20 Yeah, incredible online petition to to sell him by the club that's

41:24 been signed by more than 18 million people around the around the world.

41:28 Now it could be a bunch of bots,

41:29 it could be a bunch of people in their basements,

41:30 it could be fans of other clubs.

41:34 lot.

41:34 And it's a lot.

41:34 Can I also say if I'm Real Madrid I'm not going

41:37 to push back on the 18 million because I could just say,

41:40 "Look how popular we are." Yeah, true.

41:42 We have 18 million people signing a petition in 48 hours.

41:45 And the last the latest reason why or issue

41:48 that some fans have with Kylian is that he

41:51 had a few days off because he you know

41:52 he was recovering from an injury and on those days

41:55 off he decided to go away with his girlfriend

41:57 to Sardinia and got obviously popped there by the photographers

42:01 and the paparazzi and then came back just

42:03 about on time for the game at the weekend.

42:06 And people didn't like that.

42:08 I don't understand why Uh,

42:10 people don't like the fact that on your day off you can do what you want.

42:13 Gabby, if you're off, if you want to go to Italy, to Paris, stay in your bed,

42:17 play on the PlayStation, or watch movies all day long,

42:19 you can do whatever you want.

42:20 This is your days off.

42:22 He was allowed by Real Madrid to go away.

42:24 He told them he was going away.

42:25 I don't understand the problem,

42:27 but clearly the Mbappé family released a statement to say,

42:30 "Hang on a minute, what is this all about?" Because we did nothing wrong here.

42:34 I just don't understand.

42:35 I think it's again, it's something something that triggers

42:37 the anger that people had maybe towards him.

42:39 It's not

42:39 Yes, cuz the team sucks, and you need to understand where you are right now,

42:42 and that's the mistake I think was also from Real Madrid.

42:45 They should have said, what I would have said is, "Listen, you need to be here,

42:49 and you need to be present,

42:50 because you are you are the face of this team, right?

42:53 And I'm sorry, you're not going away.

42:55 You're certainly not going on a boat." Then,

42:58 if we lose the Clásico and Barça win the title,

43:01 hey, you want to go recover, be ready for the World Cup?

43:05 Fine, go to Sardinia.

43:06 You can borrow my boat.

43:08 But, that is what Real Madrid should have done.

43:10 That is what I would have done.

43:11 That is what all these smart people at the club should have done,

43:14 because the PR damage of this is something that the club don't need,

43:17 and Mbappé doesn't need.

43:19 Yeah.

43:19 And Gabby, it's not just Kylian in the eye of the storm.

43:22 No, I mean, there's there's reports of Valverde

43:24 and Tchouaméni getting into it in the training ground,

43:26 and then obviously the big one, uh, Álvaro Carreras, and uh, and Rüdiger.

43:31 I know that somebody needs to be the tough guy, the enforcer.

43:34 It's obviously not going to be Carreras, so it's it's only Rüdiger.

43:38 He then patched things up, took everybody out for a meal.

43:40 You need this, I think, in in any team.

43:43 Um, but I don't think this is a big a deal,

43:45 but I I think Rüdiger has an understanding

43:48 that the fans may have written off the season,

43:51 but they don't want to lose the title in the Clásico.

43:55 Mr.

43:55 Marinakis and Nottingham Forest are one small

43:58 step away from the Europa League finals.

43:59 We record this on a Thursday morning, and that means that they're two small

44:02 steps away from the Champions League next season.

44:05 Yeah.

44:05 much for all the Mr.

44:06 Marinakis haters out there.

44:08 Wash your mouths out with soap.

44:10 And on Monday, they all but stayed up

44:12 by coming into Stanford Bridge and destroying Chelsea 3-1.

44:15 Yeah, I mean, we can talk about

44:16 Chelsea more than Forest here, really, cuz that's

44:18 Yeah, of course.

44:19 Mr.

44:19 Marinakis doesn't get the credit he deserves, but of course

44:21 But Vítor Pereira deserves a lot of credit, you know, with

44:24 is exceptional.

44:24 Yeah, with a mixed team, he's shown it before.

44:26 Yeah, with a mixed team, uh finally Marinakis getting the right manager in.

44:31 I mean, he had so many tries that at some point it was going to work.

44:34 Uh well done to them.

44:35 But what about Chelsea, man?

44:37 How bad is this?

44:39 Like this was one of the worst I've seen

44:42 in a very long time for a home team of this caliber.

44:45 McFarland playing to the they're doing like, "Oh, look,

44:47 I have no clue." So all I I know, I'll put the kid in from the youth

44:50 team because he's going to get all the support.

44:52 And then this poor the poor Jerry guy Jerry Jerry gets

44:55 Who's very good, by the way.

44:55 He's got a great future.

44:56 at whatever, right?

44:58 But it's so cravenly

45:00 No ideas, yeah.

45:02 No clue.

45:02 Yeah.

45:03 Vibe is terrible.

45:05 Terrible season.

45:05 I mean, they can maybe turn it around,

45:07 but turn the vibe around by beating City in the FA Cup final.

45:11 winning the FA Cup final.

45:12 I mean, they need to sing that they need

45:13 to sing that they need to sing that song, yeah.

45:14 No question.

45:15 Oh, and nice goal by João Pedro, too.

45:16 Yeah, yeah, lovely goal, that's right.

45:18 Also on Monday, Gabi, Roma beat up Fiorentina 4-0.

45:21 What are the chances that we can see

45:23 Gasperini back in the Champions League next season?

45:25 So it's tight.

45:26 It's tight.

45:26 It's really tight.

45:27 It's great.

45:27 Great.

45:28 Milan on 67, but definitely trending in the wrong direction.

45:31 Juventus on 65, Roma 64, Como 62.

45:35 Um there's no head-to-heads,

45:36 but there is a Rome derby in uh in in 2 weeks from now,

45:40 which I think is going to be determinant to Roma,

45:43 and a Turin derby on the last day of the season.

45:46 Possibly a little less so.

45:47 Um this was full on Gasperini.

45:49 I think now that he won the power struggle, he's vindicated.

45:52 And Donyell Malen is uh is playing up a storm.

45:55 Manchester City have won the Women's Super

45:57 League here in England, Jules, on the sofa,

45:59 as it was, uh as they saw um uh watch Arsenal draw with Brighton.

46:04 Not really surprised despite all those games in hand for Renee Slagers.

46:07 And City could win the double, too.

46:08 Yeah, they can.

46:09 They're in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

46:10 First title in 10 years.

46:12 They have been the even if the end there was a bit tricky,

46:15 they lost at Brighton,

46:16 for example, who are building up a really nice

46:19 team as well as a new stadium for them.

46:21 Um, but they deserved it.

46:22 They have the best what the best team right now, the one that has stars.

46:26 They've been the best team all season long.

46:28 Well done to them.

46:30 You know, the Champions League is coming again, which they need to.

46:33 Uh, and it's a disappointment, I guess, for Arsenal and Chelsea not to have been

46:37 able to stay compete with them until the end.

46:40 Huge win for Sevilla on Monday night as Alexis Sanchez pops up

46:43 late to score the only goal in the win against Real Sociedad.

46:46 Uh, yeah, disappointment for my boy Materazzo.

46:49 They're not out of the woods yet.

46:50 They're simply out of the bottom three.

46:52 Uh, Jules, this is insane, but with four games to go,

46:55 there are no fewer than nine teams that could yet go down.

47:00 Neymar is a bundle of nerves these days.

47:03 Now, it's all cleared up now because, yeah, he had an apology.

47:07 But, uh, he didn't enjoy it when, uh, Robinho's son, um, whose dad,

47:12 [clears throat] Robinho Jr.'s dad,

47:14 you might have heard of, yeah, nutmegged him in training.

47:16 Yeah, he didn't like it at all.

47:18 Uh, slapped him in the face, apparently, and confronted him.

47:21 I mean, I don't know what to say anymore.

47:24 I think it's sad.

47:25 I really think it's sad.

47:25 I think this is his World Cup gone.

47:27 You can't uh, if you're Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazilian national team,

47:30 you can't bring him to the World Cup with attitude like this.

47:33 Not not because that means he's going

47:34 to do it in your camp during the competition.

47:37 It's just not the look that you want,

47:39 not the questions that you want being asked.

47:41 You don't want it to be all about Neymar,

47:42 and what if something similar happens because clearly he's on he's very nervous,

47:47 he's on he's on the edge, uh,

47:50 and I don't think you can take that risk if you're Ancelotti.

47:51 And also, let's not forget cuz if if Neymar

47:54 was amazing on the the right now and, you know,

47:57 on fire, then okay, you could have the conversation.

48:00 But, he's not even that.

48:01 He's not even that great.

48:02 He's not bad, but he's not that great.

48:04 And they have other options.

48:05 And they have many other options.

48:06 Yeah, exactly.

48:07 So, I I find I'll be sad.

48:08 I I find this season sad.

48:09 The argument with the fans, uh the you know, the injuries, or is he injured?

48:14 Does he have a virus?

48:15 Or did he not want to show up?

48:17 This now with Robinho Jr.

48:19 All of this is just so terrible, I think,

48:21 for his legacy, for his image, for everything.

48:24 When you were playing for the uh U18s in the French

48:27 and and you had some little kid playing up, anybody ever try to nutmeg you?

48:33 Would you have been okay with it?

48:34 famous story with the French national team of Vikash Dhorasoo.

48:37 Do you remember him?

48:37 Of course.

48:38 He played for Milan.

48:39 Who was a little bit cheeky.

48:40 He's first training with the national team,

48:42 and some of the boys didn't like him, and we never saw him again.

48:46 So, you are you So, you're okay with that code?

48:48 No, no, no, no, I'm not.

48:49 The respect code.

48:49 You're not.

48:50 but I think also, if you're Dhorasoo, if you're Robinho Jr.,

48:54 there's things that you know you could be doing,

48:55 and things that even if you want to do it,

48:57 even if you're capable of nutmegging Neymar, or I don't know, Zidane,

49:00 or Deschamps, you know, whoever was playing with Dhorasoo at the time, be smart.

49:05 Just don't do it.

49:05 I also think, in a training session, it's a little different,

49:08 and we, from the outside, we don't know the context of this.

49:11 So, we don't know like, you know,

49:14 during the game, you presume Neymar is engaged, right?

49:17 If Neymar felt, "You just did this just to make me look stupid,

49:21 and I wasn't even half trying." Yeah.

49:23 Like, I I have a problem.

49:24 You You If you have got the guts to do this when there's something at stake,

49:28 when you come on as a sub, or whatever, respect.

49:31 No, but I remember when I was when I was starting playing with the uh

49:34 the first team in my club in the fourth division in in Paris,

49:37 you could not you could not mess up with the leaders of that squad,

49:40 and the captains, and the older players.

49:42 If you You didn't try to nutmeg anybody.

49:43 Definitely not.

49:44 You They would literally cut your legs off.

49:46 It would be like that, but you knew it already.

49:47 You knew the codes of that dressing room.

49:49 think it You think the code is still strong today?

49:51 Would you Cuz younger players are often encouraged to play with I mean

49:55 I mean Hatem Ben Arfa for example at Lyon

49:57 when he was playing far more than Karim.

49:59 But Hatem that's why he had so many issues with the likes of Skilachi

50:02 for example who had you know was the keeper of the rules as the one

50:06 of the oldest player and French national

50:07 and and Hatem just wanted to do humiliate people and not make everybody and they

50:12 clashed massively and and Skilachi went after him.

50:15 Isn't there some famous video of like um like I

50:21 think it's like a fly on the wall documentary about Clairefontaine.

50:24 Oh yeah but I think it's yeah.

50:25 Ben Arfa and Diaby.

50:27 They're like eight years old and like that's different.

50:29 And Diaby and like Ben Arfa was making fun of Diaby and Diaby runs after him.

50:32 Yeah that's a bit different though cuz they were only 12.

50:34 like five Ben Arfas.

50:35 Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

50:37 Happy days.

50:37 Happy days.

50:38 It's official now Gabby.

50:40 Jakub Kiwior one one half of Francesco

50:42 Farioli's Polish power title winning center

50:45 back pairing with Jan Bednarek will be sticking around at Porto next season.

50:49 They're making his move from Arsenal permanent

50:52 for 17 million euros rising to 22.

50:54 That's a good deal for Arsenal.

50:56 I think it's a very good deal for Arsenal.

50:57 I think the other one to watch now is Fabio

51:00 Vieira who's had a good season at Hamburg but Hamburg up.

51:04 Hamburg saying I don't know apparently there was

51:05 a 20 million euro option to make the deal permanent.

51:09 Hamburg I think rightly options are options right?

51:12 That's all they mean.

51:13 Hamburg [snorts] saying yeah no no no we'll we'll give you 12 million right?

51:16 So at some point Arsenal can think all right because this isn't

51:21 the NFL or the NBA that players get a say right?

51:23 So all what Arsenal need to weigh up is okay we need or your boy Ander Herrera

51:28 needs to figure out all right can we

51:31 put is there somewhere else where we can get

51:33 more money than this that Fabio Vieira will

51:35 accept and be happy with knowing that Fabio Vieira

51:39 is not a guy who's gotten a ton

51:41 of playing time at different clubs over the years.

51:44 Is he settled?

51:45 Can he can he then do the deal?

51:46 So it's really complex.

51:47 You can't just go and Yeah.

51:49 But, um I think the good thing is uh 9

51:53 million residual amortization on the on the Kiviour deal.

51:56 So, that is a positive movement in the balance sheet of more than 10 million.

52:01 And um you know, I think Arsenal need to get

52:04 at least 14 to net out on Fabio Vieira.

52:08 Yeah.

52:07 Um and you know, that gets you a little

52:12 a little bit forward on the way to Hincapie.

52:14 Obviously, Arsenal are going to make a ton

52:15 of money from the recent Champions League final, maybe from winning it.

52:19 Um but, they did spend a ton of money this year, and their wage bill will go up.

52:24 So, I think there's certain players that already

52:27 we've seen Arsenal going to have to move on.

52:29 So, I think I think this really helps.

52:32 Yeah.

52:33 Athletic Bilbao announced their manager, Jules.

52:35 You'd be surprised that it's Edin Terzić.

52:38 Absolutely.

52:38 I won't lie, I didn't see this one coming.

52:40 Not because I don't Producer Freddy even put him up on the screen behind us.

52:44 He's sharing space with Neymar, Jeremy Doku, and Kylian Mbappé.

52:50 I know.

52:50 That's very kind.

52:52 producer Freddy thinks of Edin Terzić.

52:54 Terzić is a former vice European champion, obviously,

52:57 cuz he took Dortmund to the Champions League final,

52:58 beat my PSG team in the semi-final that season 2 years ago, did nothing since.

53:02 Yeah, Ian Maatsen was a Yeah.

53:04 former runner-up European

53:06 Uh and did nothing since, although he was linked with a lot of clubs,

53:10 clearly could not get those jobs that he was after.

53:13 Uh was a candidate for.

53:15 I would love to know if he was really the first choice,

53:17 or if they tried Iraola, for example, or if they tried Inigo Pérez.

53:21 Because I still think that with this Atlético

53:23 Club de Bilbao Athletic Club de Bilbao, sorry, and the strong identity and DNA,

53:28 I find it really strange that they give that to one a non-Basque.

53:31 But, that can happen.

53:34 Right.

53:33 But, at least a Spaniard more than

53:35 somebody who knows nothing about Spanish football.

53:37 I guess he must have sold them

53:39 purely on his coaching tactics and man management.

53:43 I don't know if [snorts] he speaks the language.

53:45 He's a smart guy.

53:46 He can learn it.

53:47 But also, because it's at like the people by us,

53:50 not even like, "Hey, look, you know,

53:52 this is the nice thing which I kind of insulates

53:53 you a little bit." I wonder if this played into it.

53:55 Sometimes when you get coaches in, right, obviously at serious clubs,

54:00 you've got recruitment specialists to do the recruitment.

54:03 But every coach has an agent.

54:04 And every coach an agent who likes to place players, right?

54:07 And he's I say, "Hey, like you know, talk to the director of football,

54:10 you know, see if we can find a home for this guy.

54:12 We really like him, blah blah blah."

54:15 That ain't going to be happening with Edin Terzić,

54:17 I would assume, because they can only sign Basque players, right?

54:20 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

54:22 So, you're you're he's totally cut off from from that side of things.

54:26 Uh things remains to be a Milan guy.

54:28 Plenty of rumors that Rafael Leão and Christian Pulisic could be moving on.

54:32 Yeah, it's a Game of Thrones over there

54:34 right now with the different uh different camps.

54:38 Nobody kind of knows what what what what

54:41 what what Gerry Cardinale is going to do.

54:43 Um Leão's been linked with a move away.

54:48 Pulisic, as well not having a good second half of the season.

54:51 Uh inevitably that gets linked, too.

54:53 I think it's going to depend on whether Leão stays.

54:56 But I go back to this.

54:57 Part of the reason Leão got the job is he's

54:59 such a wonderful man manager and he helps players grow.

55:01 These two players have not grown this season.

55:03 And it's you know what?

55:04 It's not entirely their fault.

55:06 And hopefully Milan will realize that.

55:09 Gerard Piqué has been banned for six matches

55:11 following FC Andorra's 1-0 defeat to Albacete last week.

55:14 Now, just for context, Gerard Piqué doesn't play anymore.

55:18 So, it doesn't really matter that he's been banned.

55:19 We were What does it mean you're banning an owner?

55:21 Well, no, but it's not a good look for He's the owner of Andorra.

55:24 They've gone They've rose up the league tables the league,

55:27 sorry, to the second division.

55:30 They are in really good position.

55:32 I don't think they'll go up, but they're in a good position this season.

55:37 And great, But then you're the owner,

55:39 you go mad because you were not happy with the some of the decisions.

55:43 And obviously it's a terrible look for you.

55:46 Not that he cares, I think.

55:48 But for the club as well and and instead

55:51 of talking positively about Andorra and their rise from, you know,

55:54 I know I know where they are because that's where my family is from.

55:57 So, it's tiny.

55:58 They've done an amazing job there.

56:00 He's built something quite special and you don't really know what

56:03 the limit is for them and they could go probably higher.

56:06 But this is not a good look at all, man.

56:08 He needs to to to control his temper, to control himself as well.

56:12 So, that when they are in La Liga one

56:14 day maybe or in the Champions League one day,

56:15 that's what we wish for them, things like that don't happen again.

56:20 Gab, remember that Tom Hamilton story

56:22 on the website about all those Dutch dual nationals

56:24 that could could have forced more than 100

56:26 replays between now and the end of the season.

56:29 Well, sanity has prevailed.

56:30 Yes, it's not actually going to happen.

56:31 The court case was brought by Breda.

56:33 This all has to do with the fact

56:35 that with the rise of Curacao and Cape Verde and Indonesia,

56:39 a lot of these guys who are Dutch

56:41 but have the their they have roots in those countries.

56:45 You know, those countries went to them and said, "Hey,

56:46 like you know, you know, remember how grandpa was from Indonesia?

56:49 Um do you want an Indonesian passport and come

56:51 play for Indonesia?" And a bunch of these guys said,

56:53 "Yes." The problem is Dutch law doesn't allow this.

56:56 Um they would have had to have been re-registered,

56:58 get a different working visa, whatever.

57:00 Um and technically there was a chance that they

57:05 would have had to replay all these games.

57:07 Fortunately, um that's not going to happen.

57:11 They need to find a solution.

57:12 I've argued for a long time if countries do not allow dual nationals,

57:18 FIFA should come up and have a call it a football nationality.

57:22 I don't understand why if you're Dutch and you

57:26 are eligible to play for another country legitimately, Yeah.

57:30 um you know, through bloodlines or residency, frankly, or marriage, even.

57:36 Why you should not be allowed to do

57:38 so just because the Dutch government says you can't.

57:41 Maybe it's not a real passport, but maybe you you have a footballing exemption.

57:44 Why?

57:45 What What's the point?

57:46 Yeah, no, I'm with you, although it probably would difficult to police maybe

57:49 from UEFA and of FIFA and not their job either.

57:53 You know, to try to sort out because then

57:55 you could have a lot of national teams who say,

57:56 "Hey, Kam Makoti is a great player.

57:58 We would love to have him playing for Japan because you love

58:02 Japan or Nigeria or there is Italian and, you know, an American.

58:06 What do we do here?" And then they find a way of trying to convince FIFA

58:10 to give you the nationality their football nationality

58:13 when you maybe don't You should not be allowed.

58:16 My problem is the double standard, right?

58:17 So, if you're Italian or if you're French,

58:20 you're allowed to have hold multiple passports.

58:24 Yeah.

58:23 Right?

58:24 If you're Dutch, you're not.

58:25 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

58:25 In that case, yeah, definitely.

58:27 I I did To me, that that's the main thing that doesn't make sense.

58:32 The Times reporting that Junior Kroupi,

58:34 who could break the record of Premier League goals

58:36 by a teenager jointly held by Robbie Keane and Robbie Fowler,

58:40 um, and not Michael Owen, which kind of surprised me.

58:42 Um, I guess he cuz he scored 18 goals in his first

58:45 full season in but I guess he must have just turned that year.

58:49 I don't know.

58:49 Whatever.

58:50 It doesn't matter.

58:50 Sorry, Michael.

58:51 Great goal scorer.

58:52 Anyway, he's being tracked by Barcelona, Chelsea, and Arsenal.

58:55 Funny enough, it's exactly what I would say if I were Bournemouth.

58:57 Yeah, exactly.

58:58 I want your thoughts on this.

58:59 And to be clear, while he is French, he is.

59:03 he's neither Paris-born nor Paris-bred.

59:05 There's no clear evidence that he's ever been to Paris.

59:08 No, I think he's been to Paris, but yeah, you're right, he's not one of ours.

59:11 It's okay, we can, you know,

59:12 sometimes give a bit more talent to the rest of the country.

59:15 It's all good.

59:15 What an incredible first season.

59:17 I don't think he um saw it coming, really.

59:21 I certainly didn't see it coming.

59:23 I thought he would do well and Bournemouth were

59:25 the perfect club for him coming from that parent club

59:27 in France Lorient where he was the star of the French

59:29 second division last year 18 17 and 18 but still

59:32 the step up is big to the Premier League

59:34 and yeah he's he's gone better and bigger and stronger than

59:38 anything I could have thought of and the same

59:40 for him and I think the same at the club too.

59:43 I think it's far too early to leave Bournemouth.

59:44 He doesn't need to.

59:45 Those clubs will still be there in a year time.

59:48 But Andoni Iraola won't.

59:50 True but then then you know Marco Rose

59:52 could be very good for for Ellis' development.

59:55 So I I think unless Bournemouth say listen, you know,

59:59 we bought you for 35 and that was cheap

1:00:01 because it was Lorient selling to their parent club.

1:00:04 Uh and we can't turn down 70 and making twice the money that we made on you.

1:00:09 Sorry but you have to go.

1:00:11 If he's if the choice is in his hands then I think he should say, you know what?

1:00:14 Let keep keep me here for another season

1:00:16 in the Premier League where I can start every game

1:00:19 through the season where it was this year he

1:00:21 he didn't really start the first half of the season.

1:00:24 Well, I was going to say what's

1:00:24 really impressed me it's either impressive about him

1:00:27 or about Iraola is I I seen Bournemouth play live maybe three times this year.

1:00:35 And at the start of the season he wasn't playing.

1:00:39 And he gets into the first team and and every time I've watched him I was

1:00:42 so impressed with with their organization their pressing

1:00:46 movements and I thought this is Andoni Iraola.

1:00:48 And then he gets into the first team and I thought all right

1:00:50 this guy I can tell he's come on as a sub a few

1:00:51 times he's a technically gifted player but he's going to screw everything

1:00:56 up because so much of the press is based on coordination and movement.

1:01:01 And he took to it like a duck to water.

1:01:05 Yeah.

1:01:04 Um and this tells me that either he's super

1:01:07 super smart tactically as well which you don't always

1:01:10 associate with such a young player or Iraola is

1:01:13 a simple simply the greatest teacher in the world.

1:01:16 Or the structure works better and you can put a lot

1:01:18 of good players in that structure and it still works you know.

1:01:21 Maybe as well or a bit of everything, you know.

1:01:23 But for for for early I I think that part really impressed me.

1:01:25 Yeah, his dad was a really good player.

1:01:27 We said that before, I think, on the show.

1:01:29 He's a war hero, no?

1:01:32 Yeah, and was a really good league and league the player.

1:01:35 The the football IQ that he transmitted to his son is clearly off the charts,

1:01:39 so I'm not surprised either by all that success.

1:01:42 Gab, I don't like this story, but it won't go away,

1:01:44 so we have to talk about it again.

1:01:45 Donald Trump's special envoy Paolo Zampolli is talking

1:01:48 about Italy replacing Iran to the World Cup again.

1:01:51 Yeah, and I promised you.

1:01:52 Remember last time we didn't want to do this story.

1:01:54 Well, no, because I don't like it.

1:01:55 Uh because you don't like it.

1:01:56 Okay.

1:01:57 Um uh but he leaves us no choice.

1:01:59 I I don't want to stop now at this point.

1:02:01 You've come out and and again, for for those who don't know,

1:02:05 he's the guy you introduced Donald Trump to his wife.

1:02:08 Um other than that, I mean, he's his friend,

1:02:11 so I guess he has to be special envoy

1:02:13 um for apparently he's for business and for sports matters.

1:02:16 All right, whatever.

1:02:18 Um I I mean, he says this stupid thing.

1:02:22 Everybody in Italy comes out and says, "Oh, that's ridiculous.

1:02:25 It's impossible.

1:02:25 We would like We would not want to even, yeah.

1:02:28 be embarrassed to do this, right?

1:02:30 Uh everybody at FIFA says, "No, no, it's a no-go because, you know,

1:02:34 it's going to be another team from Asia

1:02:36 that replaces Iran if they can't go." Okay, fine.

1:02:38 You You looked like a total fool.

1:02:41 [laughter] You made things even worse because now people Google you and find

1:02:44 out things about your background that maybe you don't want them to talk about.

1:02:49 And what does he do?

1:02:50 He starts talking again.

1:02:52 Um he says, "Well, he says the FIFA rules are unclear on this.

1:02:56 We don't know.

1:02:56 The clock is ticking.

1:02:57 It's still a possibility." And when they said, "Oh,

1:03:01 but, you know, Johnny said no." He's like, "Well, you know,

1:03:04 I was able to get Johnny to" He took credit for moving the draw the World

1:03:08 Cup draw supposed to be in Las Vegas

1:03:10 for convincing Johnny to move it to Washington, D.C.

1:03:14 to the Trump Kennedy Center, as some people want to call it.

1:03:17 I And I really?

1:03:20 Like is this is really a time for self-promotion?

1:03:22 They [snorts] just shut up.

1:03:25 Yeah.

1:03:25 It's going to be an all-Mexican final in the CONCACAF Champions Cup jewels.

1:03:28 Tigres beat Nashville 1-0 advancing 2-0 on aggregate and Toluca

1:03:32 destroyed LAFC 4-0 turning around their first leg 1-2 defeat.

1:03:37 Yeah, a great performance from Toluca against Hugo

1:03:39 Lloris and Heung-min Son in that second leg.

1:03:42 Outstanding atmosphere.

1:03:44 If you watch the the the highlights as well.

1:03:46 All Mexican affair.

1:03:49 I was very happy for Tigres and Andre-Pierre Gignac.

1:03:52 Although, you know, we know this is his last season.

1:03:54 He didn't come on in the in the win 1-0.

1:03:58 But, I'm hoping that he can be there maybe take a little part in this final.

1:04:04 I think it would be Tigres' fifth one or sixth one since he joined the club.

1:04:09 They've only won one, so they haven't done that well.

1:04:12 And then that one was that win, sorry, was in 2020 or 2021 if I remember well.

1:04:16 So, massive massive game especially between two Mexican teams.

1:04:20 It would be funny.

1:04:21 I think it'd be a really fun game to watch.

1:04:23 How old do we think Gignac is?

1:04:25 I really I promise you like 55.

1:04:27 I can't believe he's 37.

1:04:29 But, you know there's players, Gabby, that you meet when they are, you know,

1:04:32 at the peak of their career through their career and you think,

1:04:34 "Okay, yeah, him I can see." I mean,

1:04:35 Cristiano being the prime example of this, but even others where you think,

1:04:38 "Okay, him you can see because of the lifestyle and, you know,

1:04:42 just everything." For Gignac,

1:04:44 I never thought I never thought that he was to be playing at 40 going on 41.

1:04:49 I never thought that he could last

1:04:52 that long and still keep scoring and performing.

1:04:55 I never thought he'd do well in Mexico because I thought, "All right,

1:04:59 No, that that that I thought.

1:05:00 I thought that he the humidity you want to run around and he didn't

1:05:03 He's from South of France, you know, he loves that.

1:05:05 But, also he doesn't run around.

1:05:07 He never he never So, it doesn't really matter that he's so big.

1:05:09 Yeah, yeah, he's just

1:05:10 And he's so one-footed and he's so big and you get him the ball and I guess

1:05:14 phenomenal finisher, you know, he's great.

1:05:17 And meanwhile guys, speaking of Mexico,

1:05:19 it's a standoff between the federation and the clubs

1:05:21 after the national team coach Javier Aguirre said

1:05:24 that any Mexico-based player who doesn't turn up

1:05:27 for his rainy camp will be excluded from the World Cup.

1:05:32 Yeah.

1:05:31 And clubs have promised to release the players too for that camp, so

1:05:35 Well, well, first of all, this is this is outside of FIFA day,

1:05:39 so you can't do do that, right?

1:05:41 You you can ask, but you can't make these rules.

1:05:43 a bad idea, to be fair.

1:05:45 No, but except for the fact that they have playoffs in Mexico and the Champions

1:05:48 Cup and some Toluca players have they they released them and so on.

1:05:51 Others saying, "Well, what does this do to the Liga MX?

1:05:54 Like what what about our guys here, right?" Also, I think he invited 20 players.

1:05:59 Obviously, there's a bunch of Mexican players who are still playing in Europe.

1:06:02 You're not getting those guys back.

1:06:03 What, you want to have a closer look at them?

1:06:05 Like I I don't know why do you have

1:06:08 to be so categorical and so aggressive when you speak, right?

1:06:13 Why do you have to go out and say, "Ah, you're not coming in.

1:06:15 You're not going to the World Cup." I mean, what?

1:06:18 I know.

1:06:18 Did you know what I mean?

1:06:18 Like Yeah, I think it's silly.

1:06:20 This is a silly argument to have.

1:06:22 Uh yeah, and then they all the old notion about like sort

1:06:24 of the spoonful of honey versus the barrel of vinegar comes in.

1:06:26 And the World Cup is in like a month or so, you know?

1:06:30 We're leaving soon and then this is what's happening with Mexico.

1:06:33 Instead of focusing on their home World Cup to do

1:06:35 the best with their with a squad and everything, this is what's happening.

1:06:39 What are they talking about?

1:06:40 It's ridiculous.

1:06:41 Just as of today, May 7th, with the World Cup what,

1:06:46 34 days away, something like that, 2 and 1/2 billion people worldwide,

1:06:52 which is the combined population of China and India,

1:06:54 two of the biggest markets worldwide, Yeah.

1:06:57 will not get to see the World Cup as FIFA

1:07:01 have not yet sold the rights in those territories.

1:07:05 So much for growing the game, huh?

1:07:07 Yeah, I mean what if you're not happy with the offers that you got on the table?

1:07:11 Yeah, so basically well with China this is always a thing, right?

1:07:13 China drive a really high bargain.

1:07:15 You can go and try to sell to China

1:07:17 and let's say CCTV China Central Television just say,

1:07:19 "No, we'll give you this." And then you just don't move from or not.

1:07:22 Yeah, it's

1:07:22 No, it was like I mean the the Premier League got peanuts from China for many,

1:07:26 many years because they're just like,

1:07:28 "No, well Premier League's really popular here.

1:07:30 We're China.

1:07:31 We don't have to, you know, you have to adapt to us." Yeah, yeah.

1:07:34 India's slightly different.

1:07:35 India, according Now these are numbers from Reuters

1:07:37 and we are talking about our parent company here.

1:07:39 But um uh Reliance, which is Anil uh Ambani's company,

1:07:44 um and Disney um got together.

1:07:47 They wanted to do a joint uh a joint bid working together.

1:07:51 They've offered $20 million according to Reuters.

1:07:55 Um FIFA wanted $100 million.

1:07:57 So um Now they got really high numbers for the World Cup in Qatar in India.

1:08:05 And I think this is part of FIFA's thinking oh but so we should get that.

1:08:09 But I think the big difference is

1:08:10 that that World Cup wasn't clashing with cricket season.

1:08:13 Yeah, and also the time And time-wise that's the big one, right?

1:08:17 Exactly.

1:08:16 Same thing with China.

1:08:18 So as of right now Zero has been doing something else.

1:08:21 I talked to somebody who says, "Well,

1:08:23 FIFA are making most of their money from the US and stuff like that.

1:08:27 They could just give the rights away in that part of the world.

1:08:31 Yeah.

1:08:31 Maybe they will.

1:08:32 I refuse to believe Sure, yeah.

1:08:37 that people in China and India will not get to see the World Cup.

1:08:39 some point they have to find an agreement.

1:08:41 It would be a real shame for them.

1:08:42 They love football over there.

1:08:43 It's It's uh even if the times are not perfect, perfect.

1:08:47 They love games in night time and things like that.

1:08:49 But still it would be a real shame.

1:08:51 But I do want to make the point FIFA's

1:08:54 mission statement includes developing the game around the world.

1:08:57 And you have the first 48-team World Cup.

1:09:00 I know China and India obviously obviously haven't qualified.

1:09:02 But these are two markets where supposedly you should be developing the game.

1:09:06 So, I'm not saying take a discount, but yeah,

1:09:08 you're going to have to take a discount, bro.

1:09:09 Sorry, Johnny.

1:09:11 And staying with Johnny, Gabby,

1:09:13 the FIFA president is attracting attention again for the wrong reasons.

1:09:16 Yeah, look, we know that he doesn't always listen

1:09:18 to his advisors and he's a very smart guy,

1:09:21 but even very smart people, they don't know everything.

1:09:24 So, he was out there at the Milken Institute Global Conference,

1:09:28 Greg Milken, of course, the former junk bond king.

1:09:31 I went to college with his son, Mike.

1:09:33 Fun fact.

1:09:35 I mean, he's out there and he's say and he's

1:09:36 talking to Fox about college prices and he says,

1:09:38 "You cannot go go to watch in in the United States a college game,

1:09:42 not even I'm not even speaking about a top professional game,

1:09:45 but a college game for less than $300.

1:09:48 And this is the World Cup." So, first of all, he's completely wrong.

1:09:53 [laughter] There's lots of college football,

1:09:55 certainly college basketball that you can go watch.

1:09:58 Um, women's game as well.

1:10:00 Like, cheapest tickets are not going to be $300.

1:10:05 But there's also professional sports.

1:10:06 You can baseball, and I know obviously baseball

1:10:08 plays 162 games and most of them are relevant, but there are cheap seats.

1:10:12 It's not like they sell out every game, you know.

1:10:15 So, yeah, it's another occasion where I think needlessly

1:10:19 or maybe because you're overworked or maybe because you're unprepared,

1:10:22 you go out and you say things that make you

1:10:26 and FIFA look stupid and will resonate in the US market.

1:10:31 Because it's one thing if I'm out there and I'm talking about

1:10:33 stuff that average Joe in the US doesn't knows nothing about, right?

1:10:38 But if you're talking about prices to go watch sports in the US,

1:10:41 random fans or not football fans in the US, they'll know about this.

1:10:45 So, if you want to make a comparison just to the NFL where yeah,

1:10:47 I would assume in the NFL it's really hard

1:10:49 to go watch a game for less than $300.

1:10:51 But just about any other sport, there are ways to do it.

1:10:55 So, anyways, Jules, this brings us to an end.

1:10:59 Yeah.

1:10:59 Uh thank you for not mentioning

1:11:00 that your New York Knicks are destroying my Sixers.

1:11:03 Oh, yeah.

1:11:03 Uh in the playoffs.

1:11:04 Um I'm off on uh on Monday.

1:11:07 I'll leave you Enjoy your day off.

1:11:09 Uh I'll leave you in the capable hands of one Don Hutchinson.

1:11:12 That's right.

1:11:12 Um so, until then, love the game, love your neighbor, love yourself.