Talking Fussball Podcast

Remember the Royal Blues? They're the second-biggest membership club in Germany, they're a club with one of the most vaunted youth academies in Europe, they're one half of the biggest rivalry in the Bundesliga...and as of this season, they play their football in the 2. Bundesliga. Nik Wildhagen rounds up freelance journalist Ron Ulrich to get an update on what's going on with FC Schalke 04 in their new sporting environment - and hear what it might take for them to get out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it time to take a break already? I suppose if we really want to have a World Cup in Qatar next year (debatable), we'd better get cracking on qualification. And while that means the Bundesliga has to go into standby mode for a couple weeks, at least many of the league's top teams gave us plenty to cheer about on MD3. Matt Hermann rings up Marie Schulte-Bockum to talk about Wolfsburg's solid start under Mark van Bommel, Dortmund's thrill-seeking behavior (and whether it's healthy), German teams' European draws, the newcomers in Hansi Flick's first squad, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of you will be pleased with your haul from the first three match days...and some will not. In either case, Match Day 3 will be the last one before you can either sand off a few edges, or engage in a total tear-down of your squad. That's right, UNLIMTED TRANSFERS are just around the corner! Listen in as JT and Flo get you ready for the weekend's action, and give you tips on how to renovate over the international break.... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Want an hour on the 2. Bundesliga? You've come to the right place on this week's Talking Fussball Extra. Nik Wildhagen sits down with Jasmine Baba and Maik Krükemeier to dissect the opening weeks of Germany's second tier, which this year features a staggering string of the country's biggest clubs. Buckle up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another goal-filled weekend of Bundesliga football - Jesse Marsch and Leipzig topped Pellegrino Matarazzo's Stuttgart in Germany's first face-off between two American head coaches, Leverkusen may have surprised even themselves by how convincingly they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Cologne were far sprier than expected despite falling to FC Bayern. Matt Hermann and Terry Duffelen take in all this and more in this week's pod, which also casts a concerned glance at the shaky launch of Bundesliga coverage at the league's new UK broadcast partner Sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another match day, another massive score from Erling Haaland. Or was it? If the big Norwegian is going to rack up points through assists as well as goals this season, JT and Flo may need to re-think his role in their fantasy universe. Plenty of other points to ponder from the opening weekend, including how much to trust your RB Leipzig stars, whether Stuttgart can keep up their blistering shot rate, and more. If you haven't done so already, sign up for Official Fantasy Bundesliga and play along with us this season! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FC Bayern München and German National Team legend Gerd Müller died this past Sunday - his influence on both of those sides is difficult to overestimate. Der Bomber's otherworldly goalscoring record, his preternatural ability to appear at precisely the right place at the right time, and his down-to-earth personality made him one of German football's all-time icons. For this episode of Talking Fussball Extra, Nik Wildhagen sits down with someone with a unique perspective on Müller: Susie Schaaf, a lifelong Bayern and Germany fan, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she crossed paths with the man himself many times. The podcast ventures into some difficult, personal territory - Susie opens up not just about what Müller meant to her, but about her experience caring for and eventually mourning her mother, who struggled with Alzheimer's in the same years as Müller did. An emotional episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A boffo Bundesliga weekend in front of fans - it turns out that's what we'd been missing. We got goals galore, some head-scratching results, a few VAR controversies, goalkeeping heroics, and much more. Matt Hermann sits down with Nik Wildhagen to talk through the biggest goings on of Match Day 1, including Erling Haaland's latest stupefying actions, Bo Svensson's continued sorcery in Mainz, and an opening night fight between Gladbach and Bayern with some wild ebbs and flows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And now...the second installment of our 2021-22 Bundesliga preview! This time out Matt, Nik and Terry profile the teams that finished from 7th place on down last season - and share in their predictions that they think a number of them may crack into the top six next year. Find out who the gang reckon bought well, hired poorly, and which coach they can reveal may have been a flat cap guy all along. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back Talking Fussballers! If you're not already counting the hours to the big Bundesliga kick-off on Friday, now would be a great time to start. To help you shave off one of those hours, here's the first installment of our two-part preview for the 2021-22 season. Matt Hermann sits down with Nik Wildhagen and Terry Duffelen to take in all the off-season doings at the heavyweights of the German top flight - last year's top six: FC Bayern München, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, VfL Wolfsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Unusually, ALL SIX have a new coach heading into the new season. Listen to the gang speculate wildly in this edition of TF... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're counting down the days until the 2021-22 - not only because so many of our favorite clubs and players are set to get back at it, but also because we can start playing Official Fantasy Bundesliga! Whether you're a committed player or a first-timer, this podcast is a great place to start when putting together your squad and selecting a team for Match Day 1. Listen in as JT and Flo break down the basics, explain the rules, and share their thoughts on getting the most out of your limited budget! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To cap off our four-part series on Bremen's demise, TF's two passionate Werder followers have decided to look forward to what they hope will be brighter days ahead. Which players could move on to lighten the wage bill? What moves need to be made to assemble a squad that can execute new coach Markus Anfang's system? And most of all, how long a stay in the second tier should fans expect? Listen in as Nik Wildhagen and Florian Reinecke take a closer look at all the changes the club has made to get ready for life in the 2. Bundesliga - and what still needs to get done... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new 2. Bundesliga season is just about here, and for the first time in four decades, Werder Bremen is one of the clubs taking part. How precisely did the northern giants get there? If you've heard the last two episodes of Talking Fussball, you'll have heard our two crestfallen Werder fans Niklas Wildhagen and Florian Reinecke walk down memory lane through the good years of the 80s, 90s, and 00s as well as the last decade of decline. Now it's time to zoom in on the unhappy ending - listen in for Nik and Flo's post-mortem on how it all went wrong in the 2020-21 season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Where did it all go wrong for Werder Bremen? After last week's deep dive into the illustrious history of the club, this episode is all about the last decade-plus of decline. TF mainstays Nik Wildhagen and Florian Reinecke (both lifelong Werder fans) try to work out where it all went wrong. Strap in for a discussion about all the transfers gone wrong, all the coaches who never should have been hired, and all the players who never came close to reaching their potential. Yes, the 2020-21 season was a disaster, but the rot set in over time - so Nik and Flo have a lot to talk about... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next season's Bundesliga will feature a Werder Bremen-shaped hole after the storied northern club failed to beat the drop this past May. For plenty of fans of the German game, that's a shame; for Talking Fussball's Nik Wildhagen and Flo Reinecke it's something closer to a tragedy. Both of them are life-long Werder fans, so they naturally have a lot to reflect on at the moment. So much, in fact, that Nik and Flo will be sitting down for a series of chats about their club - the highs and lows of its history, the key figures who built the club up, and what's gone wrong over the last decade. Up first in this episode, a look at the club's beginnings, as well as its rise to great heights in the 80s, 90s and 00s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well...Germany's group stage finale vs Hungary was a little dicier than Jogi and the boys had hoped, but the job got done. Now they just have to get ready to play England, at Wembley. Matt and Nik sit down to talk another ropey performance over, as well as what might be learned in time for Tuesday's round of 16 game. They also reflect on Robert Lewandowski and Poland's exit, Denmark's inspirational advancement, and a few transfers back in the ol' Bundesliga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been an up-and-down tournament for Germany thus far - perhaps more down-and-up, to be honest. Hungary, meanwhile, have only picked up one point but have put their fans in good spirits. The team's tireless defending (and occasional forward threat) meant they've been very much in the game with both Portugal and France, and they hope to make life difficult for Germany too. To find out more, Nik gets hold of Hungarian Journalist Gergely Marosi for a chat. They touch on the match, the tournament, and the conflict over symbols supporting gay rights coming to a head as Germany host Hungary... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And they say history doesn't mean anything. Germany had been mostly rubbish coming into Euro 2020 (in 2021), but as soon as you pit them against Portugal, they dazzle. No surprise, according to precedent - Die Nationalmannschaft have absolutely owned Portugal throughout Cristiano Ronaldo's otherwise storied international career, handing CR7 FIVE losses in major tourneys. The victory means Matt and Nik are in a fairly buoyant mood for this one, recounting what went right for Jogi and the boys, thinking about what might lay ahead in the Group F finale, and which Bundesliga performers on other national teams have stood out so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was not a rousing start from Die Nationalmannschaft in Euro 2020 (in 2021), as Jogi and the boys went down 1-0 to France. They pushed the ball around more or less at will, but when it came to creating chances, they weren't able to get much going. But did that have more to do with Germany or with France? Matt Hermann rings up Matthew Marshall, who's been following the tournament for PortuGOAL, and find out what kind of challenge Germany are up against when they take on CR7 and co on Saturday... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been an eventful first few days here in Euro 2020 (in 2021)-land. Viewers around the world were reminded just what a piffle the whole affair is compared to a person's life and well-being, a host of players (and even whole countries) have scored their first European Championship goals, and Germany are about to get off the mark against World Cup holders France. Matt Hermann rang up his old friend (and friend of the pod) Andy Brassell to talk about Les Bleus' preparations, how coach Didier Deschamps might set them up to play, and what he and the Football Ramble gang have planned for their daily coverage of the tournament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices