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Martin Luther (not the King) nailed 95 protest theses against the Christian church of his day to a church door in Germany on October 31st 1517. And Protestants , properly understood, have been protesting ever since. As we near "Reformation Day" again, David Kilpatrick, a Professor of English and Sports Managment, channels that spirit of protest to the world of soccer. His playful, bold and short book "95 Theses on the Reformation of Football: Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Glocal Football Governance" stands in a strong tradition of critical and intelligent football literature on this podcast. A listener himself, David and I roamed anywhere between 16th century Germany, the New York Cosmos, youth soccer and the mess that is FIFA.
In this longer episode before a Fall break, you will also get an update from Wayne (of the Red Bull and Leeds United episode 4 weeks ago) on the anointing of JĂŒrgen Klopp as the head of Red Bull's soccer empire, and a critique of what is happening (or not) with the Chicago Red Stars.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
David Kilpatrick's book
Mercy University's portrait of the book
David on his website and x/twitter
"Chicago Stars FC" launches new crest and explains "it's significance"Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
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Today, we are taking a Fall break trip to Vallecas, a working class neighborhood in the Spanish capital Madrid. La Liga - the Spanish first league - holds global appeal chiefly due to its two dominators and their massive global following. However, there are wonderful and many layered stories of politics, local pride, past glories and regional conflict below that shiny surface. Rayo Vallecano, the Lightining Bolt of Vallecas, represent a particularly interesting one. Currently a very good 8th in La Liga, the club normally yo-yos between 1st and 2nd and sometimes the 3rd league, but has been the inspiration for more than a few good Ska and punk songs from their neighborhood. In other words, there are no really great on the field moments here, but plenty off the field. And Paul Reidy is the perfect person to explain - to English speakers - the appeal of this strange 3rd club in Madrid that doesnât really want to be a club for the whole city.
HELPFUL LINKS FOPR TODAY'S EPISODE:
Paul on X/twitter
Playlist of Rayo fan chants on DeezerSka-P - âComo un Rayoâ (Youtube video of a live performance)
Ska-P - âRayo Vallecanoâ (Youtube video)
âThis is Rayo Vallecano,â 9 minutes documentary from COPA90
Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
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The McDonaldâs on Elland Road in Leeds, near the stadium of Leeds United, is, apparently, the only McDonaldâs there is that has removed any element with the color red. Because Red, that is Manchester United, the rose of Lancaster in the badge of Manchester City. And roses, as well as soccer shirts, in Yorkshire are white⊠except until this Summer, when two red bulls, the logo of an Austrian energy drink, gallopped onto that white jersey, as the new main sponsor.
I have a personal past here: I was in Austria when the same energy drink bought and erased Austria Salzburg, in the Austrian Bundeliga, in 2005. Red Bull, almost killed the old Austria Salzburg then. We now have Red Bull branded and/or owned clubs all over the world. The question in Leeds, then, is not about the color on a jersey, but rather "are we next in the now almost 20 year old history of Red Bull turning football clubs into promo and marketing vehicles?"
Maybe. And maybe not. Brace for a little history lesson from me about what happened there, 20 years ago, but most of all look forward to Adam Willerton from the Leeds United Supporters Trust, the largest independent fan organization that related supporters and club heritage interests to the club, as well as Wayne Gamble who also works with the trust and is a fan of Leeds United - and Austria Salzburg.
The soundtrack to today is Luke Haines' wonderful "Leeds United," about when the devil did indeed come to Yorkshire. Here are the lyrics.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Leeds United Supporters Trust
LUST statement on Red Bull, 31st May 2024
The Yorkshire Evening Post from the same day covers the statement and "maximum resistance" from supporters
The Leeds Press giving voice to the "don't worry about Red Bull" camp recently
Nancy Froston from The Athletic/The New York Times on "Why Red Bull Bought Sports Teams - and the Impact on Them" a few daPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
In a bit of a parallel episode to Episode 24 ("The Footballer who Defied the Nazis? The Myth of Matthias Sindelar"), this is the story of Hakoach Vienna. A child of central European Jewish emancipation movements and of the "muscular religion" fashionable at the time, the Jewish club became Austria's first professional champion in 1925, subsequently lost its important players to North American clubs, was home to Bela Guttman in Austria, and was shut down 3 days after the Anschluss of Austria to Germany. It lives on in at least 3 clubs, on 3 continents, one of them a re-formed Hakoah, in Vienna itself.
Marcus Patka is here to tell this story. A historian and curator at the Jewish Museum of Vienna, he created and curates the Hakoah collection from the interwar years at the Museum.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
William D. Bowman, "Hakoah Vienna and the International Nature of Interwar Austrian Sports," Central European History 44 (2011), 642â668.
"West Ham 0-5 Hakoah: How an All-Jewish Team Defeated the English at their own Game, Conquered Austrian Soccer and Defied the Nazis," An Interview with Michael Lower (University of Minnesota)"How a 1926 soccer match divided the St. Louis Jewish Community," STL Jewish Light, August 3 2023
Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
To critique the state of our world, our communities, to critique what is wrong with soccer in late stage capitalism is one thing. It actually isnât a hard thing. But to dream, think and even plan for a better world, and a better football, that is something different entirely. Alina Schwermer, a young and extremely talented German journalist, has done just that, on 450 pages, in her book Futopia: Ideas for a Better Footballing World. Itâs a book about football, and about utopias. About the game and how we can reimagine it, but also about a different, more vibrant and just world. We discuss new rulebooks, a critique of competition and beauty as we now know it, a new financial order for the sport, and some DIY ideas for your local context.
Tune in and, I promise, you will be rewarded and your imagination will be stretched. And you can tell your friends afterwards that you are well ahead of the curve by having listened into this book, because it isnât translated into English. Not yet.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Alina Schwermer, Futopia (book page and interview in German with the publisher, Werkstatt Verlag)
Futopia on Twitter/X @FussballUtopien
Futopia for purchase in the U.S.Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
Gent in Belgium. Rasgrad in Bulgaria. Mostar in Bosnia. BorÄs in Sweden. Tiraspol in, well, Moldova. Or Differdange in Luxemburg
If you know where these places are, have some sense of what it looks like there, what the vibe is, perhaps it is because of the early UEFA club competitions' qualifying rounds. It is for me. If it isn't for you yet, it's time it was. I know Iâve often said in the past this podcast is intended to look beyond the big leagues, beyond stars and their goals, but never have we cast the ned so deeply and widely as today. Lee Wingate is the Visiting Professor today, an Englishman who lives in Vienna. He shares with us his deep knowledge of the faraway corners of European football, corners that are on full display during these weeks, because itâs the best season of them all: the qualifying rounds for the European club tournaments are on. How these tournaments work, what countries, teams or scenic grounds to watch out for - listen in.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
The Sweeper
UEFA Europa League 2024/25
UEFA Conference League 2024/25Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
If you follow a club that plays in the English Premier League, you may have gotten wind of it: over the Summer, quite a few clubs increased their season ticket prices, and phased out - or partially phased out - discounted tickets for kids and seniors, so called concession tickets. And for once, English fans seem to get organized and cooperative in resistance. Wolverhampton, Tottenham and West Ham in particular are the hotspots right now, but there are others, and they are talking. If the fans do this right, you will witness some public action at the start of the season. And good on them. Why does this matter, what vision are the clubs following, and can English fans pull off a successful protest against the robberbaron capitalism of modern soccer like German fans did in Spring? Here to tell us are two fans who are in the trenches of this fight at West Ham United: Andy, from Hammers United, who was with us in season 1 already, and Alex from the campaign #saveourconcessions.
LINKS TO THIS EPISODE:
#saveourconcessions on X/twitter
The petition, Hammers United
Alex' viral videoPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
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The end of Season 2 of The Assistant Professor of Football is nigh, and we check in with guests from the last year to hear how their club, cause or research have been doing. Here are, in order:
Peter K Wagner on Sturm Grazâs sensational champions league and cup winning season
Fabio Schaupp, also from Graz, on the promotion of Grazâs other team, GAK, to the Austrian Bundesliga, so regular Graz derbies from now own.
Fredrik Rakar, chairman of Degerfors IF in Sweden, on a dramatic relegation and a new beginning in the second league.
Claus Melchior, on the ever-entertaining 1860 on and off the pitch - Claus and I went to a game together in Munich this Spring, as you may remember.
Patrik Stoehr, from the red side of Munich, FC Bayern, with an update on the work of the Kurt Landauer foundation to create a culture of and for memory and antidiscrimination.
Benjamin Senouillet on the continuing turmoil at Olympique Marseille, Europa League semifinalist
Ruben Schoeneberger from FC St. Gallen, with a brief update on how their season finished.
Raphael Molter on the future of fan activism and the German Bundesliga after the investor deal had to be cancelled, live on air here by the way, back in Spring.
And finally Felipe Tobar, currently at the Euros in Germany, on the future of football tourism, overtourism, and the public soccer memories he is researching about in Germany.
Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
Goshen, Indiana is home to a private college without an American Football team - and, most recently, a semi-professional soccer club that serves as an - albeit unusual - case study for how grassroots soccer in the U.S. can thrive and build a community.
The overarching theme of The Assistant Professor is that football is not merely about goals and stars. It is, done properly, a participatory culture, an identity-forging community and even a political space. And to experience any of these aspects, it takes an active role of and for fans. That is possible, most easily, in local clubs. In a nutshell: support your local club.
No country's soccer culture makes this vision harder than the U.S.'s - but perhaps no country has greater potential. How does a soccer club get born, in this culture? And can one bring the beautiful game and a local community together so it forges identity beyond stars and goals?
Henrique Eichenberger will take us through the particular case study of Goshen. He is from Brazil, he played for and studied at the university I teach at, and he founded Goshen City FC in 2022.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR TODAY'S EPISODE:
Goshen City FC
Goshen College Athletics
The Record, "GCFC Gears Up for Second Season"
Goshen City FC (Facebook)
R.E.M. - "Orange Crush" (Youtube video)
Young Wonder - Orange (Youtube Video)
Gilbert Becaud - L'Orange (Youtube video)Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
Today's episode is a mix between soccer detective story and true crime podcasting. British investigative journalist Paul Brown is our Visiting Professor for the day. He and his colleague Philippe Auclair have piled up pathbreaking research on the backstory, money trail and flat out baffling activities of a group called 777 partners. Their activities in the insurance and airplanes business would be a story well worth telling in and of itself, but they feature here today because they own stakes in prominent football clubs in Brazil, Belgium, France Italy and Germany (Hertha Berlin, from 3 episodes ago!) and, last but not least are currently trying to buy Everton of the Premier League. And that deal is what might make the whole scheme go belly up, with plenty of casualties on the way - in the soccer world, but also among retirees, insurance brokers and airplane passengers.
HELPFUL LINKS FOPR TODAY'S EPISODE:
"The 777 Football Mystery" (1st investigative reporting by Paul and Philippe on josimarfootball.com)
"Out of the Blues" (most recent piece by Paul and Philippe)
"Kind of Blue" (includes the story of a 777 Airline entering administration)
"How the Private Equity Firm Buying Everton Built Its Business" (the Washington Post weighs in)Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
We begin with the Eurovision Songcontest and end with Sturm Graz's cup win, but consider, most of all, FC St. Gallen. Saint who? True, if I would ask you who invented club football in Europe in continental Europe, would you guess that the answer is the same as to the Ricola cough drop question? The Swiss did! Well, technically English students living in Switzerland, but nevermind - the year was 1879 and the place was right near St. Gallen, Saint Gallen, and the continentâs oldest soccer club was founded. Not some club who is big and famous today, and not in some big famous city, but in St. Gallen, an old regional textile metropolis.
FCSG, as the club is known, have won two championships in their long history. 1904, and 2000. And thereâs one cup win, too. Plus, they have what may well be the fanciest, best designed and most intellectually stimulating fan-run magazine. Itâs called Mustard. And today, one of itâs masterminds joins us. He is Ruben Schöneberger, and in his regular job, he is a data journalist for one of Switzerlandâs largest media outlets. St. Gallen is a bit off the beaten path even for those abroad who know a little bit about Swiss football, and the fact that this, of all places, is continental Europeâs oldest club is odd at first sight. But that is also what makes it so endearing.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Senf - Das St. Galler Fussballmagazin (Mustard Magazine)âThe Notorious FCSGâ - tifo from FCSG fans in 2024 (Youtube video)
Impression from the new stadium (Youtube video)
SRF, Swiss public TV, on âThe Shame of Espenmoosâ when FCSG got relegated in the last match in the old stadium.
Movie Trailer on the same events (Youtube video)
Windows95 Man at the Eurovision Songcontest 2024 - No Rules, filmed from the audiencePlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
The excesses of global soccer capitalism are well documented on this podcast. Perhaps no footballing country is more affected than England, the birthplace of the modern game and home to arguably the wealthiest clubs and league. To take it up one notch, six of its big clubs attempted to join the breakaway Super League while, around the same time, historic club Bury FC collapse and fell under administration. The fan protests surrounding both, the striking inequality growing in English football, and the fast growth of ever more dubious club owners spurred a âfan-led reviewâ commissioned by the British government and, now, a proposal. In March of this year, the âIndependent Football Regulatorâ was proposed.
From future attempts to join a âsuper leagueâ to tests of financial stability to a protection for crest and jersey colors, a wide range of developments in modern football would fall under the purview of the regulator if passed. And its introduction could spur similar developments in other countries. What exactly does the âregulatorâ look like, what could they do? What is the impact on fans as well as the future of bigger and smaller English clubs, at home and on the global stage?
The Football Supporters Organization, the FSA, Englandâs largest and most influential fan lobbying organization, has been involved in the process from the beginning - as a contributor but also as a critic. Michael Brunskill from the FSA helps me explain the history, the potential and the shortcomings of the football regulator. And what sounds like a technical and political discussion will impact fans of the game around the globe.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
FSA response: Independent Football Regulator
UK government Fact Sheet about the regulator
Channel 4 News on the regulator and its historyPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
Kay Bernstein was elected the president of Hertha BSC, then in the 1st Bundesliga, in June 2022. He died at his home near Berlin on January 16th of this year, with Hertha being in the 2nd Bundesliga. What sounds like a short and - on the pitch - unsuccessful presidency is in fact the most significant shift and opening up of possibilities in club leadership in German and, possibly, European club leadership over the last years.
In his memory, are dedicating an hour today to his club, to his life and to his impact. Bernstein grew up in Eastern Germany and Berlin, and was a founding leader of the oldest ultra group of Hertha, the Harlekins. When he became president, he was an event manager with networks in various fancultures, and a visionary for his club who placed an emphasis not just in success on the pitch, but in a football club as a community of belonging, togetherness, listening, patience, modesty as well as excitement and fanaticism.
The Visiting Professor of Football is Misha Joel, from Hertha podcast Herthabase and an active fan in Hertha's curve.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Deutsche Welle English, "Hertha Berlin President Kay Bernstein dies aged 43"
Deutsche Welle English, "Hertha Berlin Chooses former Ultra as Head"
General Assembly at Hertha where Kay Bernstein is elected president (Hertha TV)
March in Mourning after Kay Bernstein's death
RTL Sport, Rest in Peace Kay Bernstein (Youtube)
bundesliga.com, Minute of Silence for Kay Bernstein at Hertha BSC vs. KaiserslauternPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
"The era is brought to life by the accounts of Albanians who lived through it, which capture the importance of football to a populace starved of any other source of communal enjoyment. The otherworldliness and innate cruelty of the Stalinist regime provide a terrifying backdrop to their tales," reads the blurb for Phil Harrison's book The Hermit Kingdom: Football Stories from Stalinist Albania. Albania, on the far eastern edge of Europe, followed a rather unique path through the Cold War - and has a unique soccer culture to match that period. Caught between Russia, China and neighboring Yugoslavia, in a country that outlawed religion for all intents and purposes, the stories from Albania between 1946 and 1991 offers the use of pigeons by fan groups, evil Yugoslavian radios, an almost World Cup qualifier, and an erratic dictatorial regime that proudly practiced Stalinism long after Stalin was dead.
More than nostalgia or chronology, Harrison's book takes us into the stadiums and the city squared of a remote country in a remote time.
This episode also features a brief audio reportage from listeners Dan and Archie, who attended the Europa Conference League game Slovan Bratislava vs Sturm Graz - and 3 Albanian contributions to the Eurovision Song Contest.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Inside the Hermit Kingdom: Football Stories from Stalinist Albania (Pitch Publishing, 2024)
Phil Harrison on twitter/X
Partizani vs Tirana, Albanian Championship 1971 (Youtube video)
Vlaznia vs. Besa, 1972 Albanian Cup Final, 2nd Leg (2-2 on aggregate); Vllaznia win 5-3 on penalties. Ramazan Rragami becomes a world record holder, scoring 7 penalties in a Cup Final (Youtube video)
Hamdi Salihi, in Albania vs Montenegro, 2011 (Youtube video)
Jonida Maliqi - Ktheju Tokës (Albania at Eurovision, 2019)Albina & Familja Kelmendi - Duje (Albania at Eurovision, 2023)
Anxhela Peristeri - Karma (Albania at Eurovision, 2021)
Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
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... of all people! Raphael is a German political scientist, whose book "Peace to the Terraces, War to the Federations and Leagues" is a pathbreaking materialist critique of "modern soccer" - the game as purely an entertainment market commodity. The book is only published in German so far, and we were in the process of rolling out his thoughts with the ongoing conflict between German fans and the German Bundesliga as a case in point (you know, the one with tennis balls and remote-controlled cars thrown on the pitch in recent weeks...). About halfway through, the bomb dropped: sooner than any of us expected, the Bundesliga collapsed and nixed the negotiation with the private equity firm that was interested. We let out a "holy shit!" and analyzed what this might mean, and what concrete solutions Raphael's thoughts provide for the future.
This episode was to air on March 4th - given what happened today while we talked, I rushed it live. This may mean no TAoF episode on March 4th then, check social media for updates. For now, you wont regret this window into a very german conflict with a lot of promise for soccer fans around the world - the fans to whom this beautiful game truly belongs!
HELPFUL LINKS :
Raphael's book, in German
Raphael Molter on X/Twitter
Protests in Rostock - remote controlled cars with flares on them
Protests in Dortmund - chocolate coins and tennis balls
Matt Ford, Bundesliga scraps major investment deal amid fan revolt (dw.com)
Gabriel Kuhn, Soccer vs. The State (an interview with him on TAoF from last year)Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
Indie, Hip Hop, Punk, Reggae, Ska and Choruses- from Leeds to Istanbul, from Vienna to Mexico City, from Darmstadt to Buenos Aires. Your second soccer playlist is here - with some background info, and plenty of quirky football lyrics.
PLAYLIST FOR THIS EPISODE - links to videos:
Puma Hardchorus - England, France, Germany and Italy
Alberto Colucci - Die Sonne Scheint (SV Darmstadt 98)
Manu Chao (with Diego Maradona) - La Vida Tombola
Sultans of Ping - I'm in Love with a Football Hooligan
Luke Haines - Leeds United
Mono & Kreiml - Verteilerkreisflavour
Athena - Hooligans
Biberstand Boys - Unioner im Haus
Ky-Mani Marley's live rendition of Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
Maldita Vecintad - Fut Callejero Pura DiversiĂłnPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
If you are thinking of dreaming of going to England, seeing a Premier League game, dive into the atmosphere that you see on TV, or even have concrete travel plans already to finally see one game of the club you otherwise follow on TV, then this episode is for you. If you are listening from England, and have followed your club for years and decades, it's for you as well.
Felipe Tobar, originally from Brazil, is a scholar at Clemson University in South Carolina and has written about soccer tourism to England, Premier League related club museums, stadium tours etc. - all the stuff tourists do - as well as overtourism, its effect on local fans, and the danger it could be to the very product that the Premier League is trying to sell.
We begin by mapping what this tourism is, and how the combination of neoliberal capitalism, international TV and individual clubâs initiatives have shaped a billion dollar business around the beautiful game in the Premier League. Then we talk about the negative effects. And then, we tried to give a little bit of advice: how can you go, and be a good tourist while there - what should you know before you go and what should you do and not do when there. The intent is not to bash tourists (almost all of us are, in some way, as weâll make clear) but chart a more sustainable path forward for the game we all love, and international as well as local fans.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Felipe Tobar, website with links to publications (Twitter/X, "Football Studies" on Youtube")
"VisitBritain Discusses the Impact of Soccer on UK Tourism" - interview with a British tourism executive (December 2023)
The Enemy, "We'll Live and Die in These Towns" (music video)Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
I thought todayâs episode needed a long rationalization. But as I was writing it, I thought f*** it, I donât need to be doing verbal gymnastics. I know human beings, there, and our guest does too. So weâll just let these stories speak. About soccer, about trauma, about peace and coexistence, and about youth cultures both left and right of center in what is a diverse and divided country. This was a hard episode for me to prepare and process. But I am deeply grateful it came together.
From Israeli ultras killed or kidnapped, to the Arab soccer club that won the Israeli cup, to what football and medicine in Israel have in common, we go to Ashdod, in the south of Israel, to Felix Tamsut. He is a self described lefty journalist who covers football and fan cultures for outlets in Germany and Israel. And he is also a wonderful human to talk us through a strange time and, I hope, stretch our empathy muscles.
Plus, 2 bands from Israeli ultra groups on the way.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Select recent texts by Felix Tamsut:
"Israel Protests: What Have Football Fans Got to Do With It?" (on the protests against Netanyahu's judicial reform)
"Israel at War: German Football Clubs Offer Support" (after Inbar Haiman's murder was confirmed)
Former Israeli Football Star Lior Assulin Murdered by Hamas (on the Jewish striker at Arab club Bnei Sachknin)
"Seeking to Divide Palestinians, Netanyahu Splits Israelis" (most recent, not on soccer)
"Israel Struggles to Discuss October 7th Sexual Violence" (not on soccer)
Felix on X/Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram
Havat Ma2Or (Maccabi Haifa band) on SpotifyPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
Just a few weeks ago, Poland elected a new parliament. The result was a change in power, from the national conservative camp to the centrist, pro-European one. And the campaign, yet again, highlighted, to use an overused term, the culture wars over defining the future of one of the European Unionâs largest but also newest member states. Historically occupied by its neighbors over and over again, risen from the Eastern bloc, riven between a historically national Catholic identity and the fast pace of capitalism and Westernization, between skepticism toward those changes but also a deep antagonism towards Russia, Poland is constantly, it seems, at a historical crossroads. And its soccer culture, says our guest today, highlights that. Simultaneously behind and ahead of the curve of the rest of the continent, here lies an often still undiscovered landscape of dramatic change, shady business, physical violence combined with often new stadiums and lack of success on the field. Intrigued yet? We journey into the heart of Europe with Alex Webber, a British journalist who has lived in Poland a long time and has made it his passion to chronicle the history that is unfolding before his eyes.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR TODAY'S EPISODE:
Alex's blog
Alex's Instagram
Polish Hooligan Rap (the tune played later during the episode)
Legia vs. Cracovia, tifo and intro (Youtube video)
Copa90 mini-documentary on Polish ultras (Youtube)
The impressive Polish national anthem, played during some kind of recent tournamentPlease leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ -
NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)
A mini audiobook - for the time to think in the evenings after the presents have all been unwrapped, or for a listen with the children:
As the story goes, on Christmas 1914, during world war 1, in the trenches of Belgium, German and English soldiers laid down their weapons, shook hands, and played a game of football in the no manâs land between the lines. Historians are unsure if an actual match was played, you can find more on that debate in the shownotes. But for today, that is neither here nor there. At the very least, on that day, the possibility of football pointed beyond the war. And so, this Christmas, 2023, weâll pause our regular conversations.I will be reading from the award winning childrenâs book The War Game, by Michael Foreman, from 1994. Foreman narrates the story of Freddie, Billy, Lacey and Will, avid soccer playing teenagers from the English countryside, who find themselves caught up in the euphoria of flag-waving and patriotism when war breaks out in 1914. "We'll be back by Christmas," they think. By Christmas however they are in the muddy trenches, as a soccer ball emerges between the battle lines. Whether the story ends in tragedy or in hope remains up to you.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Michael Foreman, War Game
The Christmas Truce: What Really Happened in the Trenches in 1914? (Video by the Imperial War Museum, London)History Extra with 2 historiansâ perspectives on whether a football match actually took place
"Comfort Comfort O My People" - sung by Conrad Grebel University chapel choir (Words: Johann G. Olearius (1611â1684); tr. Catherine Winkworth (1827â1878), alt.; Music: Psalm 42, melody and bass Claude Goudimel (1514â1572);)
"Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" - performed by "Cesar All Guitar" (Words: Joseph Mohr (1818); Music: Franz Xaver Gruber (1818)Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.
Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.
If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please
Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/ - Vis mere
