Beyond The Pitch

This episode of Milan Insider celebrates the Rossoneri Resurrection of 2012-13 with a serious reality checkpoint on what the club has done to reach its two most important objectives after a period of astounding transformation that began last summer and appears to be coming to a successful conclusion. Already having made it out of the group stage in the Champions League, the most important goal is reaching top-three to continue that trend of Champions League appearances for the next season, having achieved the most astounding result of all, dismantling Barcelona at San Siro with a sense of fight and purpose not seen since 2007. It was a night to remember the great AC Milan-Barcelona battles of yesteryear, but also a confirmation that Riccardo Montolivo has begun to recapture the form of his best days when he was at Fiorentina with Cesare Prandelli and how the arrival of SuperMario has sparked a revival for the Rossoneri where its youngest, most brightest stars of the future have begun to adapt to what should be the most dynamic front line in football for many years to come. Milan still has some serious cracks to fill and in segment two we discuss what some of the hottest links appear to be at this stage of planning for summer, how central midfield and defence will be the object of much speculation and need for the club next season, how the transition might just take a couple of more transfer periods to sort out fully. We discuss the matter of Kevin Strootman, Angelo Ogbonna and Dede, what could happen in a restructured midfield and how a new philosophy being cast throughout the club will not only affect some players currently on the roster, but also prepare the ground for a number of talented Primavera players who look to be joining the first team next season and that starts with Bryan Cristante who is set to sign a new five year deal. Also discussed here are your questions, ranging from the goalkeepers, the arrival of Saponara and Jorginho on a co-ownership deal with Verona and Bartosz Salamon who joined late in the January window. We break down the SuperMario, Niang, El Shaarawy partnership and why Balotelli is so important to that mix, whether Pazzini has a future at Milan with two wide men up top and a whole host Milan topics driven entirely by our listeners.

Los Angeles Times columnist Kevin Baxter joins this edition to take a first look at two Major League Soccer franchises moving in absolutely two different directions, Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, both of whom went through very important off-seasons but have reinforced many perceptions about where each club is headed in 2013 and beyond. We begin with the task of resetting the Los Angeles Galaxy by Bruce Arena who has appeared to have reloaded with a healthier and more confident backline, a midfield engine works made in Brazil, and the always underrated Mike Magee, which in concert seems to be enough to supplant the loss of David Beckham and Landon Donovan on sabbatical. This edition of the Galaxy appears to have more balance that last season and some emerging young players will also provide the an additional spark as the team looks to compete on all three fronts, MLS, US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League. Set to the polar opposite of the spectrum is Chivas USA which has undergone yet another transformation in search of an identity that ultimately might be a pragmatic decision based on its own history as a football institution, essentially becoming a farm club for its more powerful heritage at Chivas de Guadalajara in the Mexican first division where the goal is much simpler, finding Mexican-American talent to fill its coffers and give some of its youngest players a destination to get first team football. In the crosshairs that leaves MLS Commissioner Don Garber who might just be faced with the task of addressing this situation officially as the Chivas USA franchise has become the weakest link in a league trying to earn respectability across North America and outside the region. We examine the decision to brand Chivas USA, why it has failed and how the club is viewed inside the marketplace both in general and within the Latino marketplace, apparently failing miserably with each passing season.

Football Asia is back on the front burner as football correspondent and editor of Kick Off Asia John Duerden gives us the rundown of all the major stories and developments across the largest federation in world football, from the politics to the start of new leagues seasons and competitions and tournaments all across the AFC. At the top of the agenda is the search for new president of the AFC in the messy aftermath of the Mohammed Bin Hammam tenure in that post, where several candidates have emerged in advance of the elections on May 2nd. These include Yousef Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates, Worawi Makdudi of Thailand and Hafez Al Medlej of Saudi Arabia - all former associates of Bin Hammam - and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, head of the Bahrain Football Association, who was narrowly defeated four years ago by Bin Hammam in his bid for a seat on the FIFA Executive Committee. Acting AFC chairman Zhang Jilong has failed to announce his candidacy and we examine how this may actually impact the race, who has the most to gain and whether Sheikh Salman appears to have the legs to get the votes outside of his own region. We also examine Alessandro Del Piero after year on in the A-League, the beginning stages of the AFC Champions League and take a quick glance at Fourth Round of AFC World Cup qualification for Brazil 2014 with just a couple of matches remaining - who sits in the drivers seat and who could be left behind. China is also front and center here as we review a match fixing scandal that finally resulted in 58 bans handed down by FIFA nearly a decade after the offenses occurred and we even discuss the emergence of a new West Asian star in Omar Abdul Rahman of UAE who has exploded at Emirati side Al Ain and could be a serious regional force on the rise.

With the Premier League title all but handed to Manchester United, the North London Derby became the most important fixture of the past week in England, not only because of the rivalry, but also because conclusions would be drawn from the result both symbolic and actual. At the center of the discussion is none other than Arsene Wenger who conceded that the loss was a setback in achieving top four and that his team failed to be efficient yet again in two key areas of the pitch, where defensive lapses and the inability to finish factored huge in the end. We examine the slow and steady decline at Arsenal, whether the lack of top level players is due to financial restrictions, miscalculations by Wenger himself and whether players such as Jack Wilshere not imposing themselves consistently are the root cause. We also gauge whether the politics at Arsenal are evolving given the leaks to the press of available transfer funds each summer is undermining the overall message and if the football club has actually made the manager job for Wenger even more difficult by failing for so long to invest. Then we turn to the matter of Rafa Benitez on the heels of his supporter behavior manifesto from midweek to examine whether he was the right figure to deliver that message given his Liverpool history and whether the football club itself should never leave such a delivery to a manager with an interim tag on him in the first place. We evaluate whether Liverpool ultimately took something out of Benitez as we do tend to remember Benitez more for his controversy and divisiveness than his talent as a football manager. In closing we look at the rising star that is Michael Laudrup and begin to consider whether he is about to be approached by a bigger club this off-season, the type a manager cannot refuse if handed the keys to the organization. Loads here on Wenger and Benitez who will go toe to toe it seems for top four and Champions League football for 2013-14, and a great deal is now on the line.

The AFC Challenge Cup is a very important step for a number of nations in Asia seeking to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup, and joining for the second time on the show is Guam National Team Coach and Technical Director Gary White who is also joined by his second in command James Okuhama and team captain Jason Cunliffe who will speak to how the FIFA Goal Programme in tandem with some very hard work has begun to reshape the expectations for a nation not accustomed to see much success internationally. With a population of 200.000 fortunes for Guam would always come with long odds, but what Gary, his staff and players have begun to do is develop a new 10-year plan in concert with a national training centre that is considered state of the art for the region and with that arrives new expectations. Now that opportunity arrives barely months after some early success in the East Asian Football Federation Championship (EAFF), with bigger tests in store for the Matao against far-bigger and better resourced countries in the AFC Challenge Cup pits Guam against India, Chinese Taipei and host nation Myanmar. James provides a great deal of perspective on the progress the program has made in such a short time while Jason provides an insight into what effect the new procedures and plans have had on the players themselves. The Goal Programme enables member associations to implement projects designed to develop football in their countries and the effect of this investment has not only elevated the world ranking for Guam, but has also injected new energy and hope for a country that has historically been confronted with double digit losses since becoming a FIFA Member Association in 1996. Whether Guam advances or not from this round, fortunes and expectations are changing and the team clearly now has a newfound focus and long term strategy of becoming a very important player in the AFC landscape in the future. Guam is a remarkable football story in that it reveals the impact of the game worldwide, provides insight into how the smaller nations can lift themselves with just a bit of assistance and vision, and illustrates how organized and ambitious young football federations and a trained technical staff can deliver new energy where it once did not exist.

Brian Lewis of the New York Post joins this edition of Inside MLS to take a deeper look into what many consider to be one of the most unpredictable teams in Major League Soccer, the New York Red Bulls who have had on off-season characterized as confusing, strange, even perplexing until settling on Mike Petke as a first year head coach after much deliberation. We examine the backroom players at Red Bull Arena to uncover how the process unfolded, whether the actual choice was the right one in the end and how the organization has stepped up to support Petke and reach out to the supporters to fully engage themselves in the marketplace. At the center of this discussion, ultimately, will be how Petke brings his best pieces together and maximizes the roster options the Red Bulls have, including Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill and new arrival Juninho Pernambucano from Vasco of Brazil, along with several key editions from Real Salt Lake who could feature prominently this season. We break down the key decisions in each area of the team including how the midfield will be asked to provide the support for Henry he did not always receive a year ago, the focus on rebuilding the defence which appeared to narrow the tactical options a year ago and how the biggest problems with the salary cap were overcome with the move of Kenny Cooper this off-season. We also consider whether Mike Petke will change the overall approach of the team, allowing his technical quality to express itself more, as he has recently indicated, and how his best players are set to respond. Brian gives us a great look at one of the big name franchises in Major League Soccer and provides great insight based on more than a decade of following the club through some of its most calamitous seasons reaching back to the MetroStars days.

Another week of tense and dramatic matches in Italy have been met with even more madness on the peninsula, including the arrival of Napoli legend Diego Maradona who will more than likely stir the flames as we head into one of the most important rounds of fixtures this season. The top of the table appears settled with Juventus in control, but everything else is a complete mystery as Napoli will host Juve on Saturday which may ultimately come to define their season and whether Walter Mazzarri and his team can hold on to that second automatic qualifying slot for Champions League football next season. Also in focus are Lazio, AC Milan and Internazionale, each with their own challenges to be faced in the coming weeks and key matches also this weekend. We examine all of the trends and what looks to be a magical season for Lazio at present, an upstart Milan who have narrowed the gap not just with the arrival of SuperMario but with the important emergence of Riccardo Montolivo at a key time. Questions will continue to surround the gamble Inter made in the winter transfer window when the club reached for Tommaso Rocchi instead of a more reliable center forward to help the team handle the loss of Diego Milito for the remainder of this season. We also review the situation at AS Roma where new investors appear to be on the horizon and interim manager Andrea Andreazzoli has added a much needed bit of pragmatism and solidity to a side in desperate need of answers upon the departure of Zdenek Zeman. Even more pressing are the problems at Palermo where its owner Mauricio Zamparini continues to rotate managers with little to no result, reaching the 50 manager milestone since dipping into the business of calcio. In closing we take a look at the surprise of the season, Sassuolo in Serie B, who appear to be closing in on a milestone by reaching Serie A for the first in club history while AS Bari looks to be left near dead on the heels of a disappointing season in tandem with a points deduction that has essential disabled the club completely. Owen Neilson who covers both Serie A and Serie B for ESPN, Al Jazeera and Now TV and he joins BTP to give his take of the two top divisions of Italian football, and as always it is always bread and circus surrounding the game in Italy.

Daniel Geey of the Competition and EU Regulatory Law Group at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP joins up again with Anto to separate the theoretical from the practical application of Financial Fair Play cast against a vast landscape of European Union countries with numerous inequities in terms of commercial revenue, broadcasting rights, accounting procedures, national and local taxation as well as large differences in national labor laws. At the core of this discussion is really whether the practical limits of these regulations will become challenged at a fundamental level given these disparities and whether UEFA from a regulatory and competitive analysis has essentially erected a closed shop with regard to its most lucrative competition, the UEFA Champions League. One of the major talking points is the misguided perceptions regarded fair market value and related party transactions with respect to commercial and sponsorship relationships themselves, and if competition sponsors that cross index with actual football clubs like Gazprom should be subject to further inspection. We also examine whether the concept of Financial Fair Play in practice is a competitive insulator and how the concept of competitive balance has been substituted for the objective of economic sustainability, how the broadcasting revenue inequities are creating a huge chasm between European regions and how the complexities of tax policy are becoming more and more of a lightning rod given that clubs often do become corporate targets for reasons beyond just owning a football team and offer additional commercial benefits.

A little more than a year from this interview, the ultimate salesman seems to have sold himself again to not only the Milan faithful, but also the Italian public. Distinguished writer and contributor Philip Delves Broughton to take a look at his in depth story into the new world for AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi now that he has left political office and what next for his empire and fortune. This is the first of a series of examinations of the biggest figures inside the sport of world football, and it starts nowhere more significant than the biggest winner in the sport over the last 25 years. Owner, visionary and entrepreneur behind one of the biggest and most decorated football clubs in the world. We examine where he is today after his retreat from the office of Prime Minister last November to what he may do in the coming years and if he still has the fire to expand his empire and measure his ambition with the football club he once rescued from bankruptcy in 1986. We discuss the politics, his core ambitions, the failure and the many dichotomies within the man and how his unconventional character traits have both served him in business as well as serve to undermine him in the public eye. We identify where his next moves may exist and how influential he has been in the modern era of football, and this dovetails into the next generation who will eventually control and continue this empire entrenched in sport, media and entertainment. Philip Delves Broughton is a regular contributor to The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Spectator. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School and The Art of the Sale: Learning from the Masters About the Business of Life, which was published in April 2012.

Joining the show from Hong Kong is former Fulham, QPR and Bradford City defender Zesh Rehman to explore his very important career milestones, the struggles it took to reach the Premier League and why the move to play in Asia is yet one more experience that his rewarded a quite improbable career. That is because he is the first British Asian player to play at every level of English football including the League Cup and FA Cup before moving to Muangthong United and Kitchee in the AFC over the last couple of years, the second club delivering the football experience of a lifetime by winning the treble. We explore the level of discrimination that surrounded him as a boy chasing the dream to play as a professional, what it took to overcome those obstacles and consider whether recent reports this past summer by the BBC illustrate just how ingrained the racism and discrimination is in the game for boys who have isolated themselves in Asian only clubs and teams. Zesh has serious opinions about these topics and it is not very long before we discuss the magical run for Brodford City who takes on Swansea City for the League Cup Final and what it means for a local community that has come together to support the club and realize a dream of its own. Zesh was a captain for Bradford City, gives a look at what this football success means and points out a number of people behind the scenes who helped set the stage for this fairy tale story. Also discussed is the emergence of the Asian game, what his future holds and why his impact beyond his playing days could hold both in terms of coaching and his continued work with the foundation that carries his name. Zesh is a Pakistani international, an ambassador for Kick It Out, the Asian Football Network and Show Racism The Red Card campaigns and was the recipient of a PFA Community Award in 2012, a player who not only speaks of reaching out to the community, but does it repeatedly through action and great deeds beyond football itself.

One of the biggest soccer voices in America, JP Dellacamera joins us for a very special episode on the vote for the 2013 US Soccer Hall of Fame where we take a look at a process that has surely become far more complicated in recent years as national team and professional experience for players and coaches is becoming harder to define up against the emergence of the women as well as a new generation of Major League Soccer players are now becoming eligible for induction. We also take a look at the case of Victor Nogueira as an important piece of the puzzle as he was clearly the most accomplished goalkeeper in indoor soccer history, and is deserved certain enshrinement based on his credentials, records and performance, but now that does open the door for a number of indoor stars of years past, with the MISL placed in focus. This is that period of time in US Soccer history where the NASL had folded and Major League Soccer was years from opening for new business, but in the mean time a number of US players had played in these indoor leagues in the years leading up to Italia 90 and USA 94. One could now argue that this should open the door to some other indoor stars of years past like Steve Zungul and Tatu who were giants of the indoor game, and in some cases found substantial outdoor success before playing in the indoor leagues in this very unusual period. We examine the current criteria for the players ballot, consider whether the indoor stars of years past should be placed on the Veterans Ballot and examine some of the more complicated questions facing this Players Ballot as US Soccer has a number of players who will soon reach eligibility in short order, including a number of mens players who featured in the 2002 National Team and a high number of women players with major silverware in their possession, including World Cup titles and Olympic medals. Two of the participants in this conversation have Hall of Fame votes in 2013 and JP Dellacamera has delivered on more than 30 years of soccer broadcast coverage including 11 World Cup tournaments and numerous Olympic events and early in his career covered the indoor soccer leagues, so there is not a more qualified person to answer some of the most complex questions of the day. JP is not only the television play by play voice for the Philadelphia Union on 6 ABC and Comcast Sports Network, but also provides coverage to Fox Soccer Channel, and we also take a quick look at the recent decision to bring an end to the Freddy Adu experiment in Philadelphia. This is a completely packed episode that features the US Soccer Hall of Fame process closely and makes a substantial case to include some of the biggest indoor soccer stars of yesteryear in this process.

Robbie Earle joins the show late on Valentines Day to cover the four UEFA Champions League fixtures midweek after the first leg to examine the key talking points in each match and there were many on display. At the core of this discussion is the draw at the Santiago Bernabeu between Real Madrid and Manchester United and we dig into this contest to determine if Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho really could be faulted for being as confident as they are heading off to Old Trafford for the return leg even if Sir Alex Ferguson holds a slight advantage by means of a critical away goal. We examine the performance of the United defence who were just as valiant as young David De Gea was throughout the night, but openly consider whether Manchester United has enough in that midfield to do much more than establish counter-attacks with a bit of speed advantage over that Real Madrid defence. Also in focus here is the truly clinical performance turned in by Juventus over Celtic and whether The Old Lady might be emerging as a dark horse because of that defensive unit and one goalkeeper for the ages in Gigi Buffon. We also examine the Zlatan Ibrahimovic red card away at Valencia, the emergence of Lucas Moura on the biggest stage and if Valencia has enough to combat the embarrassment of riches at PSG. We also look into the most entertaining of all the matches between Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund where even the sale of Willian did not feature prominently, but whether there could be an emerging concern in the Dortmund defence as the competition becomes more fierce with each passing round. For the in-focus segment, we examine all of the controversy in the Celtic-Juventus first leg around physical play in the box and whether this only serves to paper over some major cracks in the Celtic defence who were perfectly cut open by a tactically superior team who were smart to establish what the match official would permit in the contest.

Now in the MLS preseason when teams are still putting together rosters, assessing their rosters and making the last of their moves for the 2013 season, we begin our first look at the league in Canada and with that comes the inevitable comparisons to the NHL which has caused a bit of a stir in soccer circles of late to a protracted lockout. Helping us dissect this talking point is John Molinaro of SportsNet in Canada who not only gives us the view from north of the border, but also weighs in on two important organizational changes for Toronto FC and Montreal Impact in the closed season as both brought in new first team managers. That means former QPR and DC United defender Ryan Nelsen with has been reunited with Kevin Payne and Marco Schällibaum who continues something of a continental trend for the Impact who reach for a foreign coach with no league experience. We examine what these changes represent and whether they simply confirm a narrative or could imply that important and positive changes are underway. We also break down the history of foreign coach success in Major League Soccer history with numbers, the finally settled issue of the New York Red Bulls manager after a strained period of organization angst about who the coach would actually be since the front office was rebuilt. We also weigh in on Mike Petke, his challenge going forward with some high profile players like Henry and Cahill and now with the arrival of free-kick wizard Juninho Pernambucano from Vasco de Gama of Brazil. In the closing section is where the NHL rant is reserved and with that comes some serious perspective based on salary caps, wages to turnover and how broadcasting and commercial revenue is the next objective for Major League Soccer as it attempts to leapfrog the bigger professional leagues in North America and where the real world powers is football truly make their money and recruit players. Lots here on Canada, the NHL versus MLS talking points this off-season and where foreign managers fit in the grand scheme.

Former Queens Park Rangers and Toronto FC striker Danny Dichio joins the show to speak with us on the big challenge ahead for QPR as Harry Redknapp tries to deliver this club to safety with only twelves matches to go. Big loss to Norwich followed up with another to Swansea with Manchester United heading into Loftus Road is not a great set of cards given that the club might need 21 points over those last 12 matches just to give themselves a chance at redemption. We examine the fight owner Tony Fernandes has had since he bought the football club, constantly in a number of short term chases to keep above water rather actually being able to plan as managers have added layers of players and the wage to turnover ratio continues to even less sustainable levels. We also examine the match fixing scandals that rocked football in the past week, whether any league is immune and whether Major League Soccer could have a problem on its hands given that it checks a couple of important notches in the profile of leagues targeted by syndicates - lots of summer football, wide wage disparities and under the glare of the big European mainstream leagues. We also discuss the big off season change at Toronto FC and whether a former DC United partnership of Kevin Payne and Ryan Nelsen can finally deliver the team to the post-season party its supporters are desperate to see. On 23 minutes and 13 seconds into the match on 12 May 2007, Danny Dichio fired home the first goal for Toronto FC and became its first tradition.

Investigative journalists Alessandro Righi and Emanuele Piano join the show from Rome, Italy to give us an in-depth look at their brilliant work for Al Jazeera People and Power series, featuring a documentary they produced last year called, The Fix, where the first raw storytelling occured in the matter of Singapore match fixing syndicates currently operating all over the world, on each continent, at virtually every level of club and international football. Long before there was a Europol press conference announcing its findings, Invisible Dog was front and center tracking down the syndicates alongside Italian and other European law enforcement officials, digging into the data they had obtained and draw some very powerful and disturbing conclusions about Dan Tan and Wilson Raj Perumal who coordinated millions of dallars in action across high numbers of matches and remained virtually undetected until either greed or mistakes finally disrupted their operation. There are massive allegations in this episode including whether the fixers own football clubs, how Dan Tan has apparently escaped detection and why the Kelong Kings might not be the biggest syndicate in the illegal and dangerous world of fixing matches. We examine the level of sophistication in the Asian betting marketplace, how the Early Warning System at FIFA is little more than PR and how the syndicates are using technology to coordinate attacks, obscure their activities and perhaps even mislead authorities who are not armed with the necesary tools, strategies and jurisdictional powers to unlock this process, placing world football on a collision course with its very own integrity. No football league or federation is now immune as we discover from former players and now the extreme threat of leagues who play their matches in the summmer and those lower division clubs who are even more under threat given the low attention they generate and the real potential of match fixing syndicates supplying their players, becoming the chief sponsor on the shirt or even buying these clubs outright. There are important allegations here, questions that must be asked of football administrators and whether we have already gone past the tipping point on match fixing. Alessandro Righi, Emanuele Piano and Invisible Dog have done some of the best work in this area and they should be heard - what you might just learn from this episode should both alert and alarm you about how terrible the situation has become worldwide.