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There wasn't a second leg to the Copa Libertadores final between Boca Grande and River Plate. Neither of the Mikes is an expert on South American football so we called in a ringer, Brenda Elsey (@policultura), a professor of history at Hofstra and specialist on South American sport and politics, as well as one of the hosts of the Burn It All Down podcast. Brenda helped walk us through how the final came to be called off, the problems of violence in men's soccer, the forces seeking to corporat...
No, this isn't some great existential crisis debate. Expected goals have become such a huge part of the soccer-sphere that the two Mikes decided an international break was a good time to dive deeper into what we're trying to measure, the methods at work, how we got here, and where it's all headed. Prepare to nerd out, y'all.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Dortmund now stand seven points clear of Bayern after a 3-2 derby win, so is the Bundesliga race over? The two Mikes toss around all the theories on why it is not, and also try to understand what is and is not working for both clubs. Then, they turn their attention toward Manchester United, what the underlying numbers say about Jose Mourinho's squad, and why it may not get better.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
You've read and heard about the potential formation of a European super league, so what does it entail? Why is it being proposed? Is it good? Bad? If it were to happen, what's the best way for it to happen, and what would be lost in the process? The two Mikes tackle these questions and more – oh, and talk a little about Arsenal and Liverpool – over at Patreon this week.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
El Clasico is covered, Barcelona's tweaks in midfield, the future of superclub buying strength... but we're here for just one thing. Joel Wertheimer, Double Pivot's salacious gossip correspondent, joins us for a deep dive into the most important soccer news of the week, a blind gossip item on twitter about Real Madrid players that we could NOT avoid discussing.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
In which the Mikes rank the Champions League favorites. They both agree about City at the top, but they disagree--somewhat--about how it shakes out just below that. See what they think of Juventus, Barcelona, Bayern, Liverpool, Madrid, Dortmund, Atleti and Napoli by subscribing at patreon.com/doublepivot.Also a little preview of the Caley Bible Podcast at the end of this one.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
There are little stories developing with all of the top teams in Europe and how much they've improved or declined from last year, how much the team is playing up to their talent, how much the table is flattering them. We start with Arsenal and Spurs and then WHEW it's Liverpool and United and Chelsea and Napoli and Juve and Barca and Real and Sevilla and we got ourselves a podcast.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
In this edition of the mailbag: What are the Two Mikes best and worst sports stats hot takes? Would you give Eddie Howe a shot at managing a Top 6 club? Is Arsenal's talent roughly at the level that expected goals predicts, or are they underperforming their talent level? Why do we evaluate soccer managers based on whether they have players to suit their system, when we don't do that in a sport like, say, basketball? What are the current challenges in soccer analytics as a scientific disciplin...
Bayern is boring, Real Madrid can't score and Jadon Sancho's on fire, perhaps a bit at Christian Pulisic's expense. After a quick Liverpool vs. Manchester City recap, the two Mikes look at the problems facing some of the clubs we regularly expect in Champions League semifinals, and what it may take to keep them at that level come season's end. Over at Patreon, they look to England to examine Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs' woes.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...
It's a tough one. The Mikes are joined by Jessica Luther, who literally wrote the book on the topic of sports and sexual assault, to discuss Kathryn Mayorga's allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo. What do we know? How has this story been reported? And what are the responsibilities of clubs and leagues, fans and analysts, when survivors bring forward stories like this about figures in sports?Thread with a link to Mayorga's story as well as documents used by reporters from Der Spiegel: ht...
Over at patreon, we have a subscription episode with even more stats, a bunch of Chelsea discussion, and even we talk ourselves into watching the Bundesliga. It gets real.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Mike and Mike break out some of Caley's stats and a few Statsbomb numbers and pick out some surprising numbers, Who have been the Premier League's best passers? Who plays an unexpectedly key in their team's build up? Are they going to gush about James Milner again? Numbers on Kieran Trippier, James Maddison, Granit Xhaka, Marcos Alonso, Ruben Neves and more. (And by more we mean, James Milner.)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
In this week's premium episode, the two Mikes go deep on some big results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Do we know exactly what Arsenal is trying to do yet? Is it OK to declare the Chelsea is super good or should we hold off? The heck is Everton's deal? And what's up with the weird Bournemouth numbers? These questions are pondered by the two Mikes as the dive deeper into all of them and briefly touch on the West Hams and Newcastles of the world along the way.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
The two Mikes start a light jog into the return of club soccer after the international break, analyzing the most notable performances thus far in La Liga (Barcelona - good!, Atletico - not so good!), Serie A (it's more entertaining than you think!), and the Premier League, including a quick preview of Spurs vs. Liverpool off the top, and some Watford talk at the back. The Bundesliga will have to play more games before being broken down. Sorry, Bundesliga. Learn more about your ad choices...
Over at the patreon we take a tour of the Premier League week that was, including Watford staying perfect and Spurs not, United winning impressively and Arsenal... also winning, and how bad are things at Burnley and West Ham.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Spurs exited Old Trafford with a resounding 3-0 victory, but the match wasn't all it seemed in the final score. Still, things are looking bleak for United, and somewhat promising for Spurs. The two Mikes walk through every facet of a very confusing but altogether seismic match. Then, they review what City's draw with Wolves means for their title defense, and just how bad Burnley might actually be. In part 2 of today's episode over on the Double Pivot Patreon page, the two Mikes review Liverpo...
Is this Guendouzi kid for real? What is this new role for Kante going to mean going forward? How does Ashley Barnes work and why does he keep scoring goals? What are xPoints and are they worth investing any time or effort into learning more about? It's the first (and free) part of this week's two-part podcast mailbag! Catch Part Two on the Double Pivot Patreon page.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
An extremely real and cromulent cup final took place between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, and we got a glimpse of things to come. The two Mikes break down what the glimpse may have revealed, why it may not matter when sizing up Barcelona, and the weird numbers behind the more intriguing squads in Spain. Plus, a quick look at what we learned from City's 2-0 win over Arsenal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Deadline day is upon us and we have to preview so much! The Mikes blow through seven teams in this preview episode, discussing why they like Brighton's business so much, why they still can't believe in Burnley (mostly) and then on to Chelsea, who might be really, really frickin good, and who will be fun even if they aren't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Over on the premium side we did the second part of our four-part Premier League preview in which we covered three different London sides including the Gunners. There's even an unexpected podcast debut at the close, it's a big one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
We begin the two-week, four-part Premier League preview. This week the Mikes kick off with whether Huddersfield are getting relegated (probably), then on to whether Southampton and Newcastle will be fine again (maybe not!), some mild disagreement over whether Everton are good and then, this week's big club is... Liverpool. We'll get through all 20 teams before the season starts.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
It's not quite season preview time, but there's not much going on, so how about a two-part mailbag?! In Part 1, the two Mikes address a Grealish-Spurs marriage, the tough spots Martial and Alderweireld are in, West Ham's transfer spree, Gonzalo Higuaín and Mario Mandzukic — and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
We had four games to talk about! The quarterfinals gave us an opportunity to talk about France's continuing good luck and amazing defense, how seriously we want to credit Roberto Martinez for his side's upset win over Brazil, and whether the football is coming home -- in this week's episode, brought to you by The Athletic Soccer. Double Pivot listeners users can go to theathletic.com/doublepivot to receive 40% off their first-year subscription. Check it out for even more great world soccer co...
France might have the best player in the tournament, but the most shackled squad. Uruguay might not be the worse version of Argentina that Goodman thought they'd be. Belgium...well...you can't say that wasn't a wild way to finish a match (just ignore the first 70 minutes where everything was very bad). Then there's Brazil, a team that somehow is getting nitpicked despite looking very, very good. How they got here – and where they go from here – in this week's episode, brought to you by The At...
Over at the subscription side, we took questions, previewed the round of 16, and solved the tiebreaker question once and for all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Who exactly is coaching Argentina? What's Brazil's best XI? Is it really worth being annoyed at France's approach? Is there cause for concern with Spain? Is Germany doomed? These questions and more answered by the two Mikes in an episode brought to you by The Athletic Soccer. Double Pivot listeners users can go to theathletic.com/doublepivot to receive 40% off their first-year subscription. Check it out for even more great world soccer coverage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
There has been so very much world cup. It has led to so very many takes. We go through our list of eight contenders to see who's up (England!) who's down (Germany!) and who's complicated (Brazil!). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
If you've got questions about the World Cup in Russia, you've come to the right place. As you scramble to fill out your bracket or fantasy team before the first match kicks off, the two Mikes have all the analysis and speculation you'll need to become an expert in roughly two hours. Who will win the golden boot? Which team is a quarterfinals — or even semifinals — sleeper? How bad will the opening match be? These questions and more answered in a two-part preview, brought to you by The Athleti...
We had so much fun doing a fantasy draft with the guys from the Total Soccer Show, we did a whole show about it.https://theathletic.com/382939/2018/06/07/the-athletics-world-cup-absentees-rejects-reallocation-draft/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
We were gonna just tease the premium podcast and then we realized, there's so much world cup! Gotta pod!France, England, Belgium, Colombia. Let's go.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
When the news breaks, the Double Pivot is here for you, going deep into the stories that matter in your life.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
The two Mikes quickly revisit the two very boring cup finals before diving into the chaos that was Inter vs. Lazio. Then, they look at the managerial appointments at Arsenal, Dortmund, West Ham and PSG. Just not necessarily in that order.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
We talked to Ted Knutsen of Statsbomb and this was a premium episode of deep nerdiness. They have a new soccer data project, and we got into a bunch of questions about soccer analytics.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
What in the world is going on with Chelsea? Manchester United are probably going to dig in and go after this trophy, aren't they? Atletico is still really good, but can they stop the Payet and Thauvin show? The two Mikes tackle the big questions surrounding both cups, and even a few lurking on the periphery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
The two Mikes are tired of narratives that our fickle fan emotions perpetuate, but that the numbers reject. So they take a measured look at the final stretch of the season for Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, before turning their attention to Antonio Conte's team. If the frantic final chase to reach top four falls short for the Blues, is it about to get worse? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
If you like off-the-rails excitement, the Champions League is here for you, and so are the two Mikes. In this week's premium episode, they break down the second legs between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and Roma and Liverpool. They briefly break down the Europa semifinals to kick things off, but then get to the good stuff...before throwing out some early speculation on the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
With the season winding down, the Mikes think about all the takes they've had and left unsaid. But why leave them unsaid forever? Asier Illaramendi! RB Leipzig! What about those guaranteed Champions League places for the 4th place teams in the big four leagues? Plus some mourning of Napoli, a little Chelsea-Liverpool sprinkled on top, and zoos zoos zoos to finish it all off.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
We not only had takes galore on Liverpool-Roma and Bayern-Real, we also had to get into the Arsenal-Atletico farce.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
The magic of the F.A. Cup is all anyone in the world is talking about, so the two Mikes are joining in. They wax poetic on Southampton's demise, Mourinho's good and bad days, Spurs' frustration and Chelsea at their best. Then, they turn their attention to what has suddenly become a riveting race for the Coppa Campioni d'Italia.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
In the patreon ep, we talk about the FA Cup and get pretty pundity.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
There were three great matches and also Sevilla-Bayern, so we have a lot to talk about. This is just a teaser.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
We take a step back and talk about the Manchester City and Barcelona seasons in context. Runaway title winners tomorrow, champions league quarterfinal losers today. Is that a bad season? What *is* a bad or good season, really? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
This episode begins with a deep dive into Chelsea - Spurs, mourns the top four and title races that were not to be, and then takes a hard right turn into takery with some pointed questions about why the Bundesliga is bad and no one likes it.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
Want more Double Pivot? We have good news! After that news, the Two Mikes tell you how much to value xGChain and why it's hard to look to numbers for defensive midfielder evaluation. Plus, (sort of) defending Mourinho, busting a Pochettino myth, how to recruit backups for players who are in the XI every week — and more — including a debate about which MCU movie has been the best.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
The World Cup is coming up and we are ramping up. Early previews of England, Brazil and Spain right in your international earholes. We are, again, foolishly England-curious and perhaps also foolishly Iniesta-dismissive.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
One day, Manchester United's tactics look brilliant. The next, foolish. So, which is it? The two Mikes examine the differences between an impressive win over Liverpool and a listless Champions League exit at the hands of Sevilla, and whether the Special One's playbook won't work in the current era of world football. Plus, with just Manchester City and Liverpool left in the quarterfinals, is it fair to ask if it reflects poorly on the Premier League? Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Caley is not happy about the football but he's happy to have his primary, gremlin-free-usb laptop back. He and Goodman talk about Spurs not bottling it against Juventus and the weird, basic, extremely good tactics of Valverde's Barcelona. Can Chelsea beat them? The two hosts slightly disagree. Then a little love for Liverpool before it all ends.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
PRODUCER'S NOTE: We apologize in advance for a few moments when Caley's audio goes south for a minute or two. It's a free-for-all in the bottom half of the Premier League table, but the two Mikes have some ideas about which clubs are in a lot more trouble than the rest. And they even see a few obvious problems that the clubs themselves aren't doing much to address correctly. Before they roll through all the teams under the threat of the drop, they quickly touch on the two big matches bet...
A fascinating clash at Anfield turned into a referendum on diving and offside rules, but the two Mikes talk about all of it, somehow. Then they turn their attention to whatever the heck is happening to Chelsea right now. No Crisis Conch necessary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show
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