Talking Fussball Podcast

FC Bayern München are back in front by four points after RB Leipzig found the going a bit too tough against Eintracht Frankfurt. Borussia Dortmund -along with fellow European aspirants VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin - had a  positive week for themselves. And while it may sound hard to believe on a weekend during which they lost 5-0, FC Schalke 04 may have  hit a bigger jackpot than both of them after reports emerged that Ralf Rangnick looks set to join as Sporting Director. Matt and Nik talk through it all, an Reiss Tigwell drops by to pull an ol' rescue-o-rama. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's that time of the season - the one where your best-laid plans for the perfect line-up fall apart through no fault of your own. Amine Harit's late-breaking injury before Schalke's game against Mainz threw a monkey wrench into Flo's team last week, and you can be sure that a player or two you were counting on will do the same sometime soon. Listen in as the Fantasy Fussballgott and JT give you the good word on how to make your team a little less vulnerable to the slings and arrows of outrageous injury...  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Erling Haaland tried to make it a game. The strapping Norwegian opened Der Klassiker by scoring two goals inside of ten minutes, and BVB's bunkering act was nearly as good for the remaining 80. But you know what they say about nearly men. Suffice it to say there was a lot to chew on following the big game, and Matt and Nik are determined to gnaw out as much flavor as they can. Tune in for all the best (and rest) of match  day 24, plus a check-in on doomed side Schalke with Marie Schulte-Bockum and another edition of Reiss Tigwell's Rescued from Oblivion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All eyes in the  Bundesliga are on Der Klassiker - which shouldn't come as a surprise considering the history, the hype, and the circumstances surrounding the fixture this season. But as any good fantasy manager knows, many of the biggest points are in the more out-of-the-way corners of the league. JT and Flo answer all your questions ahead of MD24. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This one's a treat. When we heard the biggest German player in North America's top soccer league was starting a podcast, we had to find out more - by the time we got him for an interview, the show had just been born. Listen in as Julian Gressel tells Matt about Zee Soccer Podcast, his new show with fellow MLS kraut Fabian Herbers (Chicago Fire), his undying love for one particular Bundesliga club, how he came back from being cut loose by Greuther Fürth at age 15, and what his hopes are for the coming season at DC United. Enjoy! And if you (like Julian) are looking to start a podcast, consider submitting your Blue Wire Hustle application here: http://bwhustle.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What in the world? FC Schalke 04 have just about topped their own lofty standards for chaos this time - firing no less than five key sporting-side employees in one fell swoop. Mind you, they're not alone in head-scratching personnel moves. With just 11 games left, Arminia Bielefeld are making a coaching change - one they say is to preserve their chances of long-term success.  Meanwhile, with der Klassiker looming next week, it's RB Leipzig who appear most poised to take advantage of a BVB win, should the Schwarzgelben manage to pull that off. Listen in as Matt and Nik take it all in. Submit your Blue Wire Hustle application here: http://bwhustle.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week was a bit patchy for Fantasy Fussballgott Flo (a fact that JT is not about to let go unnoticed), but this week's fixtures have plenty of promise. The episode is a little shorter than usual - JT was set to meet up with with some Young Boys in Leverkusen later that evening - but rest assured, you'll get all the fantasy advice you need ahead of match day 23. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This one's a break from the norm: A look at a form of football culture that transcends the Bundesliga (though it's a force there as well). James Montague comes on the show to talk about his book 1312: Among the Ultras: A journey with the world’s most extreme fans.  Nik and James talk through the origins of the Ultra movement, its political and social dimensions, and why it has spread across the globe. In Germany, Morocco, Argentina, Indonesia - just about anywhere the world's game is played - ultras are hugely influential in football and how we consume it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're happy to report an uptick in excitement at the upper reaches of the table. FC Bayern München are slipping up, RB Leipzig are  looking steadier by the week, and  Eintracht Frankfurt have a rocket strapped to their back. Matt and Nik look at those teams' success, Borussia Dortmund's beatdown of the hapless FC Schalke 04, and Reiss Tigwell drops by to heap praise on VfL Wolfsburg. Submit your Blue Wire Hustle application here: http://bwhustle.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot to think about ahead of Match Day 22. We've got big scorers on both sides of the ball on Saturday as  FC Bayern München visits Eintracht Frankfurt - who do you put in your team? Borussia Dortmund come into weekend with a Champions League victory wind in their sails, but the Revierderby has thrown up weird results before - can FC Schalke 04 pull off a surprise? And with Coronavirus cases present in at least two squads this week, will there be some  last-minute scratches in store? Listen in as JT and Flo sort it all out... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you've been listening to the podcast this season, you have definitely heard Nik, Matt and others praise VfB Stuttgart's performances in its first season back in the top flight after a two-year absence. Attacking talents like Silas Wamangatuka, Nicolas Gonzales and others have been setting the Bundesliga alight and coach  Pellegrino Matarazzo has garnered plenty of praise for his intelligent tactical set-up. Yet all is not well at the club - a boardroom power struggle has stolen the headlines in the local press, and some fans worry it has the potential to endanger the club's return to success. Nik talks with Thilo Neumann of Der Spiegel, one of the reporters who has been instrumental in uncovering some of the key facts, in an episode designed to help you understand a verrrrry complicated story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When six out of eight games on the weekend end on level terms, you have to hand it to the teams that went out and won. A hearty round of applause to Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig for picking up three points when nobody else was up to the task. No, not even red-hot VfL Wolfsburg, who couldn't quite put a goal past Borussia Mönchengladbach. (Marco Rose is definitely off the Christmas list now, going public with his end-of-season move to Dortmund  after we recorded this pod but before we could release it.) Listen in as Matt and Nik talk about the torrent of draws, who's happy with them, and why Bayern  (who didn't play) lost in  the PR game despite winning Dayot Upamecano's signature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the dust settled on last weekend's action, the cancellation of the Bielefeld -Bremen match didn't end up being such a bad thing for some fantasy managers. Players were awarded their per-game season averages and we all got to move on. Will MD21 be another week of winter weather trouble, or maybe even a Covid outbreak-marred round? And if it is, what should you do? JT and Flo don't reckon that's likely, but it's well worth thinking through. That and a host of other fantasy dilemmas solved in this week's TF Fantasy... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can we call what Dortmund is going through a crisis now? The Talking Fussball crew is ready to ring that particular bell, so there's much to discuss. How did BVB lose in Freiburg, despite holding their hosts to next-to-no good chances? What's to be done about the goalkeeper position? And how has Edin Terzic succeeded where so many before him have failed - namely, stopped Erling Haaland from scoring? All that and a look at Gladbach's Rheinderby loss, Bayern's tarmac misadventures, Reiss's rescue of Mainz-Union, and goodness gracious great balls of Eintracht! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you've busted your budget on can't miss players up front (like a lot of us), you're always on the lookout for more modestly-priced options - especially at the back - to fill out your roster. JT and Flo share a few picks to solve that problem on Match Day 20, as well as remind you to follow the action in the TFF Pokal! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With FC Bayern München making sure there wouldn't be another slip-up against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig needed full points on Saturday night to stay within touching distance of the top. They did just that, picking up their first win of the season against a fellow Spitzenmannschaft (top team) in Leverkusen. But who is a Spitzenmannschaft anyway? Adi Hütter reckons his Eintracht Frankfurt side are one at the moment, and VfL Wolfsburg might be too as they spend another week in the top four. Listen in as Matt and Nik hash the issue out, along with much more after an eventful Match Day 19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A few of you were feeling laid up by the epidemic of penalty saves and misses, but don't get twisted: many of the guys who failed to convert are still going to be good earners going forward. JT and Flo are here to set you straight about who to put in your XI on a Match Day 19 that features a tricky fixture schedule. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thank goodness there was something to take our mind off the incredible disappearing title race. With Bayern making sure this season is likely to end much as the last eight did, Matt and Nik turn their primary attention to Hertha BSC. The capital club has been a basket case this season, but there's reason for hope.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We could talk about Yannick Gerhardt's non-appearance against Mainz after last episode's fanfare. We could talk about what marginal gains could be had by taking a look at who's playing when on the weekend, but STOP THE PRESSES - we have an unlimited transfer situation on our hands! JT and Flo are here to help you with that total squad renovation project you've been putting off all these weeks ahead of MD18. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're now 66.66% through the Bundesliga's latest englische Woche and the narratives are coming thick and fast. So fast it can be hard to keep track. To take the temperature of as many teams as he could, Nik recruits a string of voices from around the league to react to: Leverkusen's big win against Dortmund, a shock for Stuttgart in Ostwestfalen, Hertha's horror night against Hoffenheim and much more, in a konferenz-style speed round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices