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Chapter 1: What are the key themes leading up to the World Cup?
The second captain's world service.
It is not war and death and famine. It's not that at all. It's the opposite of that. It's to persuade there's a world outside of that. That's why sport's important.
Owen and Murph here. Just one week out from the start of the World Cup. Hey, Murph. Hey there, Owen.
How's it going?
I'm starting to feel it. That's how it's going. I'm starting to get in the zone. I mean, sure, this competition is a grotesque, bloated shitshow designed to further ingratiate a sycophantic FIFA president with the wretched leader of the United States, all while exploiting match-going fans and forcing the rest of us to figure out how we're going to see any of the games that are on at ungodly hours.
But on the other hand, it has given us Kenan Enya. You can laugh. That was the World Cup.
This is the best tournament in the world. I had a number of Budweiser. How long has this guy been pulling the wool over people's eyes? Well, I'm not going to take it anymore. People are tweeting me stuff like, he's a World Cup winner. How many World Cups have you won? I was at that World Cup. I don't remember seeing what you thought it was. Let's look up David Silva's World Cup record.
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Chapter 2: How does KenCall set the stage for World Cup excitement?
The first hour garbage. Played the first hour, got substituted. What about the next game? Didn't get on. What about the next game? Didn't get on. What about the second round? Didn't get on. What about the quarterfinal? Didn't get on. What about the semifinal? Oh, he didn't get on. What about the final? Can you believe it? He didn't get on.
Now we're sitting on the sidelines, watching a team win the World Cup, makes you a World Cup winner. then you're speaking to a five-time World Cup winner. So put some respect, put some respect on my name. I've won five, five World Cups by David Silva's standards. Five! No, well, it doesn't matter really what you think.
I have great respect for you guys, particularly for Ken. First off for Ken, do you know?
It's Mexico City, isn't it?
It's Mexico City, bud. But before he goes, he's given us a special World Cup edition of Ken Call. And if you really want to start feeling World Cup-y, I think I know the man. Tiki-tac, tiki-tac, tiki-tac, tiki-tac, tiki-tac. Yes. Yes, be a tiki-tac.
and Joe Ellington Joe Ellington I've never heard it in a million years you'd never called Joe Linton is what I would have gone I really like that it takes me a second to know which footballer is he even talking about here he makes you work for it and I love it we had Tim on the show this week and not only because we love him hearing we love hearing him pronounce the names of South American footballers
seemed to break all of the codes that Ancelotti had set for the inclusion of Neymar. He had to be back playing regularly and he stuck for difficult away games. He didn't bother with them. And he had to be 100% fit and there wouldn't be any passengers and Ancelotti has just torn all of that up. So I have a theory that
It's kind of worked it out, most of it jointly with a Brazilian journo, which is as follows. Firstly, I think Ancelotti always, always intended to pick him. Always. He was leading us on a little dance, but he always intended to pick him. And that mainly comes, I think... Because Ancelotti has an absolute reverence for talent.
I found this out speaking to Chris Bryant, who writes the books with him. And he says the most important thing you need to know about Ancelotti is that he's a player. And he thinks like a player. And he thinks like a player who is a good, solid midfielder. who's there to provide a platform for the talent. And he has a reverence for that talent.
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Chapter 3: What insights does Tim Vickery share about Ancelotti's coaching?
That's one of the great sporting injustices. It's a little bit like, although I say this with a big smile on my face from the other end of the Seven Sisters road. What are you about to talk about? A little bit like Gabriel Magalhães missing a penalty last Saturday, wasn't it? You know, the gods of football can be cruel.
But yes, that's a decisive moment in Ancelotti's coaching career because he had been a creation of Adi Gorsak in his very rigid 4-4-2. And then you look at this and you think, well, if my system can't fit in Baggio, then there's something, the problem is not Baggio, the problem is my system.
And ever since then, he's been very much a pragmatist, and what can we work with, and what works, what have we got? And he's come to Brazil, and what they've got is wingers. So, very different from 1994, you know, when they packed the midfield, and they left Romário and Bebeto very much to their own devices up front. It's a very different setup now.
And what was, it was just a fascinating game last Sunday. their farewell game in the Manacanar now the Manacanar is cruel man it's cruel I've seen the Manacanar destroy international careers just to give you an example they're playing Panama and Panama are equalised with a free kick that's deflected off the wall and goes into the far corner. The keeper's got no chance. Keeper is Alisson.
And what are the fans doing after that every time Alisson gets the ball? They're booing him. They're booing Alisson for a goal that he has no fault whatsoever. It's a tough, tough environment. But anyway, what Ancelotti has been wanting to do with Brazil is play with his two wingers and essentially play with four up front.
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Chapter 4: How does Neymar's injury impact Brazil's World Cup strategy?
Now, that was going to be Estevan of Chelsea. He's been replaced by his immediate substitute, who is Luis Enrique, who plays in Russia. And then you've got Hafinha inside, Matheus Cunha, who has to sacrifice himself like mad to fit into the system. And then Vinny Jr. Cunha has to drop very deep and sometimes do the left wing in order to free Vinny. But anyway, that's been his idea.
That's been his thinking. And if you'll have done the maths with a back four, that only leaves you two in the central midfield, one of whom is 34-year-old Casemiro. So you've been thinking all along. For me, it's been a key question of Brazil's World Cup build-up. How is this going to work in extreme heat?
What we found out on a cold, fresh, late autumn night in Rio didn't work then because in the first half, Brazil played the first team with this formation. And they were, frankly, they were dreadful. They were really awful. And Panama had more possession than they did. And Casemiro and Bruno, Panama just played around them, through them. Half-time, they changed 10. They only had 10 on the bench.
They brought all 10 on. And it was a change of formation. Instead of the four up front, you had three in midfield. You had all three former Premier League players. Fabinho came on for Casemiro. And on either side of him, you had Lucas Paquetá, And Danilo, Danilo Santos, as he's now been dubbed, who was at Forest. And that just worked.
The three in midfield worked really, really well and ended up winning the first set by the score of 6-2. And Ancelotti said after the match, that's put real doubts in my mind. Now, they've got Egypt on Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. It's the first game they're going to play under the conditions of heat. And I'm very, very interested to see what the formation is going to be.
If he's going to give up this idea of playing four up front and if he's going to go with the extra man in midfield.
Yeah, it does seem in these conditions that anything that requires you to maybe run a bit less is probably worth thinking about. But just before we leave Neymar behind here, there's a couple of issues there.
I mean, I wondered if Ancelotti was sort of pandering a little bit, purely because I saw so many videos of Brazilians reacting with joy to the inclusion of Neymar, who they love, even though he's a shadow of the...
player that he was and it's clear that this was obviously a really popular decision people just want Neymar to be there because Neymar you know let's in my opinion is the best Brazilian player of the last 25 years you know since Ronaldinho I think he's the best player that's come out of Brazil he's been so unlucky in the World Cup I remember his goal against Croatia in the last one which was one of the goals of the tournament and then moments later Croatia ended up scoring equalizing with a deflection and winning on penalties and he's out again and
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Chapter 5: What historical context is relevant for the World Cup in the USA?
Yeah, of course. I mean, after the group stages, really, it's all downhill in a World Cup, you know?
It doesn't start getting exciting and nerve-wracking and tense and all that good stuff. So before turning his attention to events in North America, Ken still found time to respond to the Arsenal fans who've been hauling him over to Coles on social media for his critique of their Champions League final performance. He helpfully separated the money complaints into four distinct categories.
Category number one. What? You expected us to go out there and lose 5-0? That was, you know, so that's basically the, you know, oh, for your end, you think it would be better if we run out there and lose five now.
Which would be a good, like, point of attack if, you know, it was Brighton playing against... Well, they've done it to top teams.
In a Champions League final. Yeah, in a Champions League final. I would say my response is false dichotomy. There's a false dichotomy there. What this is basically saying is Arsenal have to time waste so sickeningly that the referee doesn't even allow them to take one of the four corners they're awarded in the 120 minutes or lose 5-0. They've got no choice but to do that.
I don't think that's true. I think there's a little bit of... There are shades of grey here. Yeah, you know, I mean, so I reject that. I think it's kind of like, oh, well, you know. Okay, so that was one. A lot of people were saying that. Number two, this was probably the most common one, actually. If you don't like watching Arsenal, why do you simply not watch them?
which is a bit like, oh, you don't like us poisoning the well? Well, why don't you go drink from another well? You know, it's like, well, I suppose, yeah. But as a friend of mine suggested, this, it's almost as though, it's not like Arsenal are some scheisse porn that only exists on like dark recesses of the internet. You have to really go. Some what now? You know, it's. Don't Google it.
This is the Champions League final. Yeah. This is one of the biggest TV events in the world. It's quite hard to ignore. Broadcast to a global audience. Like millions of children are watching this. If you're a football fan, you're watching a lot of Arsenal these days. You can't... The idea of... Why don't you simply not watch some of that? That was the most common one. I'd say so.
Oh, you know, why don't you... Oh, if you're so bored watching, why don't you just not do it?
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Chapter 6: How does Ancelotti's coaching philosophy adapt to player talent?
People go, wow, they're amazing. And you can't do that if your thing is trying to prevent the game from being played, which is what Arsenal are doing. Let's try and do whatever we can to stop football from happening here. That's not how you get, that's not how people are going to acclaim you as the best.
No, but they are acclaimed as the best team in the Premier League this year and the second best in Europe. I'm looking at the players and the joy in their faces. They're not acclaimed as the second best team in Europe. I'm looking at this season. They're not. You don't think they were the second best team in Europe this season?
No, of course not.
Who were the second best team? Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich, would you fucking do a bit of defending, lads? Bayern Munich were a shambles and they were lucky not to lose by about 10 goals to PSG. PSG switched off a 5-2 down because it was so easy for them and then got caught a couple of times and then went over and controlled the second leg.
I don't think beating Bayern Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid entitles Arsenal to claim with any credibility to be the second best team.
It's not an amazing run, but other than Bayern Munich, if you look at... PSG's run it wasn't the strongest either but I think anyway regardless of whether or not they're first or second they won the league I'm picturing the lads who was it Rice Timber Saka was it a few of them just strolling around at five in the morning outside the Emirates Meeting fans, getting acclaim.
I think they seem pretty happy with how this season went overall.
Yeah, but I'm talking about the future. I mean, this is good, but are you going to keep doing this? Is this it? Well, if you keep winning leagues, then yeah. Well, yeah.
The enjoyment comes from moments of suffering as well.
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