Rooster and the Villain: An American Soccer Podcast

Rooster and the Devil Save the World

After a month of being off due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the birth of a new child, the boys are back to save the world from boredom. Or maybe add to it?

We talk about the season that might never be finished. How the teams looked leading up to the shutdown. Predictions for how things will end up. Financial problems for clubs. Lower leagues. And more meandering from three tipsy old men. We hope it's a nice distraction. It was for us.

OneGoal.us Interview with USMNT and Fortuna Düsseldorf's Zack Steffen

After his transfer from the Columbus Crew to Manchester City, and the subsequent loan to German side Fortuna Düsseldorf this summer, Zack Steffen (24) has quickly established himself as one of the top keepers in the Bundesliga. In fact, after 17 games in the Bundesliga, the Manchester City loanee has the fourth-most saves per game out of any keeper in the league, despite missing the last few matches due to a lingering knee injury. 

The boys over at OneGoal.us caught up with the USMNT keeper last week. They talk about his contact with Manchester City while on loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf, World Cup Qualifying, the upcoming friendlies in March, Nations League, Gregg Berhalter's style compared to other coaches he's worked with, long term potential of USMNT, the possibility of wearing the captain's armband, differences between MLS and the Bundesliga, favorite stadiums to play in so far, his time at Fortuna Düsseldorf, and pathway to Europe from US.

We are honored to support the young guys over at OneGoal.us. Go and follow them to keep tabs on all things USMNT.

English Premier League Sorting Hat with Tommy Heyboer

Long time friend and former roommate of both roosters, Tommy Heyboer, comes on the podcast to be sorted into his Premier League club. 

As with all of the sorting hat episodes, we talk about his soccer history and current interest, run through some of the American teams and sports he follows, and ask him what he already knows about Premier League (trigger warning for Brad: "Harry Kane is a twat" - Tommy Heyboer).

We also lament Tommy's recently torn ACL. An injury that footballers can often relate to.

Interview Series: Major League Soccer's Fun History with Tutul Rahman

I recently began listening to a podcast series called "25 Stories that made MLS".

Tutal and his brother Neetol Rahman provide a narrative of important events that  have led to what we now know as an established league, Major League Soccer. We're talking wild stories too. Like diving into why the 1984 Olympics was the true beginning of MLS, billionaires betting to double down on the league in a spot where success was no guarantee, the rise of soccer specific stadiums, what soccer development was like in the 90s and early 2000s, Concacaf Champions League, and more. I can not recommend this podcast enough for soccer fans. 

Tutal Rahman was gracious enough to give us a teaser on this episode of Rooster and the Devil. We hear his breakdown of MLS 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Then take an interesting turn down some US Soccer Development wormholes (in true Rooster and the Devil fashion). Overall, this is a great guy and an enjoyable conversation about soccer.

Bonus Episode! Friend and Former NBA Colleague, Gerardo Lopez of @Cultura.Sports

I have known Gerardo since the 2013-2014 NBA Season. We were both on "International Row", which was a section in the lower bowl of Verizon Center that was dedicated to International media covering the Wizards. 

We had a mutual friend early on, Arnaud Gelb, who connected us and then led our group in motivation as we all ended up doing some pretty great NBA player interviews before and after games. I recall a time where Gerardo, Arnaud, and I, spoke with Dirk Nowitzski for a good 10 minutes after the game and it was a fun conversation. We also met our fourth Verizon Center pal, Roscoe Whalen, from an Australian podcast on the way. We became a close group. Happy hours on days that there weren't games. Constant conversation on a Facebook group. Trips to NBA games. NBA All Star Weekends. Phone calls. Texts. 

But then...our friend and glue guy, Arnaud Gelb died suddenly in the middle of the night at 31 years old. It was crazy. Gerardo, Roscoe, and I were grieving hard. We still talk on our thread but it is definitely more bare without the constant barrage of Gelb-isms on there. But we're all still friends.

Roscoe has since left the US to pursue a career in producing news journalism on Australian Broadcast Network. I have pretty much "retired" from being a "fake reporter" and will have 2 kids any day now. Gerardo maintains a DC day job and has now successfully started his own journalism company. Just wonder what Gelb would have been up to?

English Premier League Sorting Hat Special

We sit down our friend Michael McCloskey and put the Premier League sorting hat upon his head and let the gods of the internet determine which team he should support. Will it stick?

Beyond that, we talk about all the juicy drama happening in the soccer world. From Man City's two year Champions League ban and its ripple effects to some red hot Champions League match-ups, and a new soccer bar experience for Mike.

Lots of silliness.

Interview Series: Evan Raimist, the GM of Maryland Bobcats FC (NPSL/UPSL)

In this bonus episode, we take a deep dive into the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid with the General Manager of Maryland Bobcats FC, Evan Raimist.

The Bobcats are fresh off of winning a United Premier League Championship (UPSL) National Championship in Florida. Now they are gearing up for their first season as a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) squad. Evan gives us a glimpse of what life is like as the GM of the Montgomery County based, Maryland Bobcats FC and educates us on both the UPSL and NPSL. 

Then of course we had to ask him about his opinion of soccer development here in the US. He gives us a breakdown of his own soccer journey (shoutout to FC Frederick and Shippensburg University). Tells us about some of the "dream brands" in the US (Providence City FC, Minneapolis FC, Forward Madison FC). Regales us with stories from his experience as a 10 year old at the 2006 World Cup. Then we dream about the future of US Soccer.

 

There's a bright future for Evan!

 

Under the Devil's Wing: Salford City, Champions League, Premier League

I'm legit publishing this before listening and the keywords I have been sent are:

• Rangers FC
• Salford City
• Yellow Wall (Dortmund)
• Basque Region (Pyrenees Mountains)
• Pablo Escobar
• Bundesliga
• United States Soccer Federation
• Monterrey 

I'm curious and I hope you are too. Enjoy a conversation among two friends that revolves around the beautiful game. 

Tottenham Planting a Trillion Trees

Leicester and Chelsea tie. Bournemouth over Villa. Sheffield over Palace. Liverpool over Southampton. Newcastle and Norwich tie. Everton comeback against Watford. United and Wolves in a scoreless draw. Tottenham slaying City. Burnley and Arse in an unwatchable 0-0 tie. Bergwijn!

FA Cup schtuff. DFB Pokal. GIO REYNA GOLAZO. 

This is a weak ass effort for this write-up. Does anyone even read it anyway?

Southampton Saints Musings

We are delighted to have Southampton supporter, Matt Neuhausen, back on the podcast this week.

We discuss Southampton's nice run of form. Danny Ings and his fantastic season. The transfer of one of the best Right Backs in all of world football (winky face). Then we relive some recent European play for Southampton. A bit about the finances of the club and some of the details of their structure. We then give Matt the opportunity to make a plea to new soccer teams to pick a squad outside of the top-6. Then we talk about the rest of the Prem, as usual.

We then make a hard right turn and talk about the MLS for some time. Including those ugly ass Adidas kits that everyone is so worked up about. Then we rant about horrifically bad franchises...like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions.

All in all. A fun conversation.