Talking Fussball Podcast

Ready for the Euros? Matt and Nik just about are, so they thought it was time to get together and get their heads around what's at stake for Bundesliga fans. Can Jogi Löw turn the narrative and go out on a high with a good performance from the Nationalmannschaft? What Bundesliga stars on other teams are likely to make a big impression on the tournament? And why does everybody have to criss-cross the continent on airplanes when there's still a pandemic on again? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're skipping the Best XI, and going further than naming a player of the season. The Bundesliga is done for the summer and Matt and Marie have been watching a lot of basketball, so they thought why not give out awards in the spirit of the NBA. What Eintracht player is our Most Improved Player? What speedy winger took home our Rookie of the Year? And is there even a question who was the MVP? Listen in and find out...  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt, Reiss and Nik had to give Bayern's Polish striking icon his due to open the show after surpassing Gerd Müller's seemingly unbreakable record, but let's be honest - Werder going down is a big deal too. What once was a club who regularly competed for titles has turned, over the past decade, into husk of its former self. Nik's naturally got a lot to say about that, so Matt makes sure to give him time to say his piece. Look on the bright side though - Reiss is also here to sell us on what looks to be an intriguing 2. Bundesliga next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What a season it's been. Record-setting exploits from FC Bayern München and Robert Lewandowski; overachievement from the likes of VfL Wolfsburg, 1. FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart; deep despair for fans of FC Schalke 04. There's one more shot at redemption, not only for the three sides still in relegation trouble (including Flo's beloved Werder Bremen) but also for every fantasy manager who's just points away from their goal. Listen in for tips on how to get there from JT and Flo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you ever expect anybody to hit that 40-goal mark again? The one that had stood for 50 YEARS? We weren't convinced it would even happen, but Robert Lewandowski didn't get the message. He drew level with Gerd Müller's mark with a game to spare on Match Day 33 and, well, that's kind of a big deal. Matt and Terry come together to praise the peerless Pole, suss out how Dortmund managed to save their season over the last month, and discuss the continued relentless churn of the Bundesliga coaching carousel.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week saw big-point jackpots from the usual subjects (Robert Lewandowski) and from some rather more surprising sources (Josip Brekalo). With seven of nine games taking place simultaneously, it's ever more important to get your squad right before kick-off time on Saturday. Listen in as JT and Flo give their top tips for players to pick up! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ready for another round of Borussia Dortmund vs. RB Leipzig? We sure are, after taking in the two teams' pulsating 3-2 encounter  on Match Day 32. Matt and Nik talk through how the two teams might set up for Thursday's DFB Pokal final, as well as what's keeping them from providing a somewhat sterner challenge for (re-)newly-crowned champions Bayern. More on Eintracht's troubles keeping up in the race for the Champions League, as well as which poor club will be the one to fail in the race to beat the drop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Hertha BSC out of action on the last two match days, there's been a decided lack of Ha Ho He on the podcast. A full-blown in-house coronavirus quarantine kept the team away from the pitch for two weeks, leading to a pile-up of make-up fixtures that struck fear in the hearts of many a Herthaner trying to make it through a relegation battle unscathed. Matt (Talking Fussball's resident Hertha obsessive) was beginning to feel a few pangs of withdrawal, so he decided to up the Hertha dial to 11. An anyway, the team's early results are in - a draw and a win in the first of two games in hand - and now the outlook is...pretty good! Listen in as he works through his cautious optimism with Joe Gould, co-host of the Don't Poke the Bearcast, a still-rather-new show dedicated to Hertha BSC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With just three match days to go in the 2020-21 Bundesliga season, there's not a lot of time left to rack up points - and not a lot of room for mistakes. Listen in as JT and Flo answer all your questions on whom to sell, buy, drop, put into your starting XI, and make your star man.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If wasn't already clear, 1. FSV Mainz 05 are up to something under first-year head coach Bo Svensson. They've crawled out of the mire they once shared with poor old FC Schalke 04 with alarming vigor, and are not just not bad anymore - they're good. FC Bayern München learned that the hard way this weekend; the Rekordmeister's loss makes goings on at both ends of the table just a little more interesting. Matt and Nik talk through developments in the relegation fight, the resurgence of the old guard of Champions League aspirants, where the coaching carousel is likely to spin for one Jesse Marsch and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been a long week in the world of football, says JT about five minutes into this episode. You can say that again - it was enough to throw Flo off his game ahead of the midweek match day. What's great about an englische Woche, though, is you get a chance to make up for your mistakes nearly right away. Listen in for some strategies... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pretty hard to talk about anything but the plans for a European Super League, even for a podcast that  focuses on a league  whose leading lights decided not to go down that road. Matt and Nik get on the line with ESPN's Stephan Uersfeld to make sense of the big news, to sort out why so many coaches seem to want out of their contracts, and what Hertha's Covid crisis might mean for the relegation battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Hertha BSC stuck in quarantine, we thought we'd zoom in on the capital club ahead of this week's match day wrap episode on Monday. Before the club's covid crisis, the big news coming out of Hertha was the uproar in Hungary - at the highest levels of government(!) - over the firing of Zsolt Petry. Nik gets hold of Hungarian Journalist Gergely Marosi to find out why... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ready for  three  games in 10 days? You'd better be, because it's englische Woche time in the Bundesliga. Fantasy managers need to stay on their toes with such a fixture pile-up, and JT and Flo have ideas on how to do just that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Never mind their 2-2 draw in Berlin; what's next for Gladbach? They're set to lose  coach Marco Rose at the end of the season and don't yet have  a successor lined up (though  Adi Hütter is getting closer and closer to signing), and they've got work to do if they want to secure European football next year. Nik rounds up Manni Breuer from the Vollraute Abroad podcast to help answer those questions, as well as address 1. FC Köln's call to the fire department and  gush over the beautiful 4-3 slugfest that was Eintracht vs. Wolfsburg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just seven match days remain in the Bundesliga season, which means it may be time to re-examine your squad-building strategy. (Hopefully you like what you bought last week when the transfers were unlimited!) Listen in as JT and Flo help you figure out the players you'll want to keep and which to send to the discard pile. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you didn't know before, now you know. Bayern are going to win the league, Wolfsburg and Frankfurt are all but in next year's UEFA Champions League, and BVB are set to be out in the cold. (Or the Europa League. We're not sure which.) Listen in as Matt and Kit consider these storylines, review the Berlin Derby, and  more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The international break brought a shock Germany loss, a coaching change at Bayern 04 Leverkusen, and - most importantly - an injury for  the Bundesliga's top goalscorer. Robert Lewandowski is set to be out for a couple of games at least, so this week's unlimited transfers are a tempting juncture to make a few changes up front. Listen in as JT and Flo give their ideas on who to pick up, who might thrive under Hannes Wolf, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xabi Alonso back in the Bundesliga? Borussia Mönchengladbach Sporting Director Max Eberl seems keen to make it happen, and who can blame him,  because wouldn't it be a  treat, just watching the Spaniard smolder up and down the touchline? The prospect gave Matt, Marie, and Reiss plenty to talk about - along with plenty on FC Bayern München's underhanded overpowering of VfB Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund's sense of frustration after a draw with lowly 1. FC Köln, and the fact that 1. FSV Mainz are actually good now. We also settle an interesting listener question that goes like this: "Which team in the league is most boring to watch, and why is it Augsburg?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're the Fantasy Fussballgott, you don't lose the title after one bad week. That's the ruling handed down by Judge JT - and lucky for Flo after he failed to pick up many points at all last weekend. The delightful duo talk strategy over whether to gamble on another unlimited transfer over the coming international break, where to put your money in the unpredictable RB Leipzig squad, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices