Football Crazy

As Senegal and Algeria prepare to face off in Friday's Africa Cup of Nations final, Des Norris welcomes in Sulaiman Folarin and Andres Cordero to preview the tournament's climatic game, identify the key battles (without skipping past the obligatory Mane vs. Mahrez talk), and reflect on a tournament that saw Madagascar and South Africa make statements on the continental stage, while the likes of Egypt, Morocco, Ghana and Ivory Coast failed to live up to pre-tournament expectations.

Phil Schoen and Jeremy St. Louis make their Football Crazy debuts as Ernesto Valverde comes under fire following Barcelona's Copa del Rey defeat, Aston Villa break open the bubbly after hitting the Premier League jackpot, Inter and Atalanta clinch top four finishes at the death, and London travels to Baku to settle the first of the week's European Cup finals.

Gary Bailey makes his debut on this week's Football Crazy, alongside Kay Murray, as most of the leagues draw to close following a season some will be in a hurry to forget. Zidane and Mbappé send strong messages, but to whom? Plus, heartbreak and triumph at the finish line of the European Competition hunt, as a number of big names bid farewell ahead of embarking on new ventures.

On this week's Football Crazy, Manchester is divided once again as City lift the title and United stumble to the end of the season, while Liverpool focus on the Champions League Final after harshly taking second place in the EPL. Plus, Christian Pulisic says farewell to the league that set him up on the international map. Thomas Rongen explains the depths of Ajax philosophy and we check on LaLiga and Ligue 1‘s chances on accessing each of the European Competitions.

On this week's Football Crazy, Maurizio Sarri takes an ungrateful Chelsea side back to the Champions League as Manchester United and Arsenal come up short. Plus, love for Getafe and Atalanta's unlikely top-four pushes, penalty pain for PSG, the fight for survival, Liverpool's injury-stricken battle on two fronts, and an insane abuse of VAR power in MLS.

On this week's Football Crazy, Neymar's fan-hitting, teammate-slamming antics steal the headlines following Rennes' incredible Coupe de France 'remontada', Messi lives up to his reputation again as Barca clinch La Liga, and not even a fear-clause can spare Real Madrid’s blushes at Vallecas. Plus, El Loco's goal giveaway, David De Gea's error-strewn April, the top four hot potato, and trash-talking Zlatan.

On this week's Football Crazy, the mood has changed at Manchester United, Kylian Mbappe is the heir to the G.O.A.T. Throne, PSG and Juve meh their way to league titles, and UCL dreamers Sevilla are mauled at the Coliseum.

This week’s Football Crazy kicks off with a 'Title Deniers' theme as, even without Choupo-Moting on the pitch, PSG construed to not clinch the Ligue 1 crown, SPAL put a dampener on Juve’s Scudetto procession, and La Liga’s rockbottom side, Huesca, took points off frontrunners Barcelona. Then we turn our attention to the other Spanish top-flight games with European implications, including Sevilla's 'El Gran Derbi' win over Betis and Valencia retaining the local bragging rights over Levante (10:03). A double header of Istanbul derbies leaves the Turkish Super Lig title race between Basaksehir and Galatasaray finely poised (16:46), but not nearly as finely poised as the Premier League steeplechase which saw Liverpool banish the ghosts of Chelsea-at-Anfield past to keep their noses in front of Manchester City (19:05). The conversation then turns to the European hopefuls and relegation battlers in England, Italy and Spain (23:40). We wrap things up by looking over the 2019 AFCON group stage draw, Lyon's ongoing crisis, the weekend's MLS action, Joey Barton's latest run-in with the law, and Power Rankings (33:35).

On this week's Football Crazy, the gang tries to climb into the mind of viral sensation Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting following the Cameroonian's Ligue 1 title race sustaining goal-line clearance, before providing a scatological breakdown of Diego Costa's potty-mouthed tirade during Atletico Madrid's latest defeat to Barcelona (4:15). Then we pick over the wreckage of Dortmund's confidence-crushing Der Klassiker bludgeoning (11:40), more dodgy officiating and Moise Kean heroics in Serie A (13:15), Liverpool's clutch gene (16:40), and an epic FA Cup semifinal comeback (20:05).  Part Two begins in La Liga Limbo, where Real Madrid will reside until August (25:03), before focusing on this week's tasty Champions League's quarter-final first legs (28:35), the four-way battle to claim a fourth-place finish in the Spanish top-flight (31:30), the four-way battle to claim a fourth-place finish in the English top-flight (37:20), and La Liga's tear-jerking relegation scrap (39:50). We wrap things up with some MLS chat (43:30), the story of a Turkey-based Kiwi international flirting with switching to the USMNT(45:00), and Power Rankings.

This week's Football Crazy begins its journey at Balaidos - the scene of Iago Aspas' resurrection - before climbing up the La Liga table to relive the latest episode of Lionel Messi getting inside Diego Lopez's head, off-the-leash Atletico Madrid's resounding win over Alaves, and Zinedine Zidane's eye-raising rotations squeaking past bottom-placed Huesca. Part Two kicks off with the Premier League title race, which is alive and well after Spurs reverted to type against Liverpool, while Man City showed relegation battlers Fulham no mercy. Elsewhere in the UK, Huddersfield's survival hopes took a fatal blow against Palace, while a linesman left Cardiff's in critical condition.  Across the pond in MLS land, ambipedal Betis graduate Alejandro Pozuelo steals the limelight on his Toronto bow, Sporting KC and LAFC fill their boots, Atlanta's trip to Columbus is a washout, and Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic continue to justify their DP statuses. We wrap things up in Part Three with a Ligue 1 roundup, a look at the festering wound that is the Spalletti/Icardi rift at Inter, an update on a red card collection to rival Sergio Ramos', and a fresh installment of Power Rankings.

On this week's Football Crazy, Lionel Messi finds out the hard way that nothing much has changed with the Argentinean national team (00:51), a sense of lethargy hangs over Tite's Brazil (7:06), Tata Martino gets off to a flying start with Mexico (10:55), while Gregg Berhalter's third game in charge of the USMNT divides opinion (15:08). Special guest (and proud Nigerian) Sulaiman Folarin joins us in Part II to discuss the frenetic conclusion to the 2019 AFCON qualifiers, which saw ten teams stamp their ticket to this summer's tournament(18:40). We wrap up our international break special with a whistle-stop tour through the first round of Euro 2020 qualifiers where Germany lucked out against Netherlands, Luxembourg lead Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and England's Raheem Sterling continues knock on the door of the world footballing hierarchy (34:18).

On this week's Football Crazy, Zidane brings the old gang back together as a fuzzy feeling returns to Real Madrid (3:40), Messi exhausts Ray Hudson's vocabulary (13:00), and Griezmann rethinks his 'decision' as the wheels begin to fall off at Atleti (19:00). Then it's over to MLS land, where Wayne Rooney and Cincinnati bagged three goals apiece (25:30), before turning our attention to the FA Cup quarter-finals and a successful Sunday of action of the Premier League's Merseyside clubs (28:30). Over in France, PSG infighting dominated proceedings in Le Classique, while Jardim's second coming continued with a win over high-flying Lille (37:30). And then a hop and skip through Serie A, the Turkish Superlig and the Bundesliga (43:30) before rounding things off with Power Rankings.

This week's Football Crazy kicks off with the bombshell news from Spain that Zinedine Zidane has reassumed his position as Real Madrid manager. The crew also discusses Los Blancos' weird week, Sergio Ramos' Q&A session with Sergio Ramos (5:30), and the the rest of the LaLiga action (18:20). The conversation then turns to Copa Libertadores and the scandal involving Paraguayan club Libertad and former manager Leonel Alvarez (27:40). Then over to France where Mario Balotelli can't stop scoring, Nicolas Pepe's stock continues to rise, and Eric Cantona's poetry is called into question (29:10). Over in England, Arsenal make it unlucky number 13 for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Mauricio Pochettino makes noises at Spurs, and Liverpool keep pace with Man City (42:05). Things wrap up with a breeze through the weekend in MLS (56:40) and a fresh installment of Power Rankings.

On this week's Football Crazy, Real Madrid's 87-year-old Clasico record goes up in smoke, Getafe climb fourth, fatalism sets in for Liverpool fans, Balotelli makes himself viral, and Mourinho covers all the bases.

On this week's Football Crazy, the pod crew picks its collective jaw off the floor following Sunday's mesmerizing EFL Cup Final finale and looks ahead to this week's Clasico double-header with gusto. The pod kicks off in England, where Maurizio Sarri struggled to put manners on the world's most expensive goalkeeper, a bruised and battered Manchester United took two points off arch rivals Liverpool's title hopes, Tottenham got Burnley-ed, and Miggy Almiron won over the Toon Army. Then to Spain, where an extraterrestrial single-handedly beat Sevilla, VAR played a heavy hand in Real Madrid's win over Levante, Alvaro Morata opened his Atleti account, and Getafe are fourth! Across to France and Italy for the third and final segment, where Kylian Mbappe and Krzysztof Piatek are the men of the hour, Monaco are rejuvenated, and Inter are still more soap opera than club.

On this week's Football Crazy, the gang looks back on perhaps the most illustrative La Liga weekend of all time as Leo Messi saved Barca, Sevilla were awful on the road, Atletico Madrid won 1-0 through an Antoine Griezmann goal, Valencia drew and, the piece de resistance, Sergio Ramos received red card. But alas, the 'Hay Liga' tag may not be applicable anymore following Real Madrid's stunning second-half no-show against Girona - a performance that has forced an uncomfortable conversation about Marcelo's form. Over in France, Kylian Mbappe capped off another memorable week in style, Jose Mourinho made a Ligue 1 appearance, and the Mario Balotelli/Florian Thauvin's bromance captured hearts at the Velodrome. The Mauro Icardi saga continues to be a hot topic over in Serie A land, as does the rise and rise of Milan's sharp shooter Krzysztof Pi?tek, while SPAL felt the full brunt of VAR.

On this week's Football Crazy, Real Madrid continue their resurgence with a Wanda-ful showing in El Derbi, and a San Mamés stalemate sees Barcelona's lead cut to six points. Basically, Hay Liga. The gang then turns its attention to Tuesday's box-office Champions League clash (no, not Roma vs. Porto), and the degree to which perceptions have changed since then high-flying Paris Saint-Germain were drawn against a Manchester United cast in the miserable image of then manager Jose Mourinho. Also on the agenda: - Girona's steady slide down the charts - Inconsistency kings Lyon - Who's to blame for Chelsea's free fall from form? - What happened to Everton? - Gattuso's shame

On this week's Football Crazy, the gang gets braced for an epic trilogy of the beautiful game's most box-office derby, the prelude to which saw Messi saving the day for Barca once again, while Real Madrid recorded a morale-boosting win ahead of their midweek trip to the Camp Nou. Elsewhere, ol' milky veins himself, Alvaro Morata, drew a blank on his Atletico Madrid bow while Sevilla's miserable week was compounded with a loss to Celta. In France, Lyon took the sheen off Paris Saint-Germain's spotless Ligue 1 season, Cesc scored a winner and bucked the trend of Monaco new signings getting sent off, the Nicolas Pepe hype train gathered more steam, and Mario Balotelli's honeymoon period came to an abrupt end at Marseille. Over in England, Sergio Aguero tore Arsenal a new one, returning Heung-min Son carried the torch for Tottenham, the Solskjaer Effect took Man United to within two points of the top four, but the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain at Stamford Bridge might secure Chelsea the last Champions League spot. Elsewhere, debutants made their mark in the Turkish Super Lig, Dortmund slipped up but Bayern slipped up further, and Cristiano Ronaldo's goalscoring exploits may not be enough for Juventus fans. Turning to things closer to home, Kev Egan bestows Gregg Berhalter's first two games in charge an 'A' rating and gives love to the much-maligned role of the USMNT holding midfielder.

On this week's Football Crazy, Alvaro Morata returns to Madrid (Atletico this time), it's Benzema's time to shine, and Messi can't stop scoring. In France, Jardim retakes the reins at Monaco, Super Mario's debutant heroics aren't enough for Marseille and PSG win but can't shake the whiff of looming crisis. Elsewhere, Kev Bauer reports on Berhalter's USMNT managerial bow, Juve tease the rest of Serie A, there's Cup Magic in England, and a four-legged pitch-invader in Mexico.

On this week's Football Crazy, Diego Lainez gets off to a winning start to life in La Liga, Ivan Cuellar takes a knee... to the head, Martin Braithwaite has a week to remember, Luka Modric gets over his World Cup hangover and Atleti find form in the fog. In France, potty-mouth Thierry Henry takes his frustrations out on VAR after latest Monaco humiliation, PSG serve up a freezing cold dish of revenge to Guingamp and a last-minute winner sees Lyon claim the Derby du Rhone bragging rights. Over in Inger-land, Chelsea put in a Sarri showing against an Ozil-less Arsenal, Harry Winks spares Tottenham blushes, Liverpool and City do the business and Solskjaer's Man United have Ole gone and won another game! Plus our resident Portuguese puts on a pronunciation masterclass as we relive Wolves' helter-skelter encounter with Leicester. Elsewhere, Galatasaray settle in for the second half of the season by putting six past Ankaragucu, while Turkish Super Lig front-runners Istanbul Basaksehir see off Trabzonspor.