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PODCAST

Libero

A podcast about football, the least important of the most important things, featuring John Brewin, Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle, Tariq Panja, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson.

sports soccer

All Episodes

1:00:58

Libero 029: Argentina And The Pie Of Football Mystique

Libero ·

2025/06/25

Another summer, another tournament enlivened by marauding hordes of Argentina fans taking over beaches and shopping centres. On today’s Libero, Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson discuss what it is that makes Argentinian football culture so passionate and so appealing to outsiders, whether we overlook the reality of it in favour of the romance, and whether its allure is really a measure of our anxiety over the sanitised, commercial world of European football. James Horncastle dials in,

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53:01

Libero 028: Talking About Talking About Transfers

Libero ·

2025/06/20

Here we go, right into transfer season, so Miguel Delaney, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson discuss how it all actually works from a media perspective, as well as how reporting on it has evolved into an entire industry of its own, an adjunct to the actual football. We also (38:06), aware of our own hypocrisy, discuss an actual big transfer: Florian Wirtz to Liverpool.Produced by: Tom BassamEmail in at liberopodcast0@gmail.comFollow us on X @podcast_liberoFollow us on Bluesky

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47:18

Libero 027: Miami Vibes And The Tale Of Walter Da Silva

Libero ·

2025/06/18

Libero goes on location as James Horncastle reports from the Hard Rock Stadium after Boca Juniors v Benfica. Is our Italian stallion getting swept up by Gianni Infantino’s Club World Cup? Then, back across the Atlantic where John Brewin, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja share their thoughts on the tourney so far, where they’re watching on a channel better known for serial killer documentaries.Then, at (24:36), they start the real quiz. Transfers, better than the football itself? The team considers the

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57:49

Libero 026: Hate-Watching The Club World Cup

Libero ·

2025/06/13

It’s Club World Cup time, and Libero are just as excited as you are. Today, Miguel Delaney, John Brewin and Rory Smith discuss how this tournament came to be, and what its existence tells us about the power (im)balance of world football. In the second half (38:18), they discuss what the tournament might bring as a sporting spectacle: for all the misgivings over how it came about, will it produce any football worth watching? And is part of the problem that most football, no matter how artificial and

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55:32

Libero 025: Bearded Dragons Being Driven By Trained Pigs

Libero ·

2025/06/11

On today’s episode James Horncastle, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja discuss Luciano Spalletti’s shock (is it?) departure as Italy boss and what bigger meaning does it point to about that state of the Azzurri.Before moving on to the status of the Nations League and asking whether the competition finally hit the big time? Or is it just another needless extra in football’s bursting-at-the seams calendar?In part two (27:24), Jonathan takes us on a magical mystery tour of his attempt to get to one game

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53:23

Libero 024: Data Is A Condiment

Libero ·

2025/06/06

Today Jack Pitt-Brooke, James Horncastle and Rory Smith discuss the most wonderful time of the year: the transfer market between football executives. They ask why we have become so fascinated by sporting directors, and why some of them have become almost as famous as the players themselves.James explains the history of the role in Italy, and Rory and Jack try to work out when and why it finally became a big part of the Premier League landscape. (39:46) They try to pick apart what the role actually

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52:43

Libero 023: Held Hostage by Hodgson

Libero ·

2025/06/04

With Paris Saint-Germain finally ending their cash soaked Qatari quest for a Champions League title John Brewin, Jonathan Wilson and Tariq Panja discuss how its likeable young team’s emphatic trouncing of Inter may have shielded the owners from the sort of scrutiny they should have received. They get it here.In part two (36:38), discussion turns to the Club World Cup and what FIFA’s game is with a competition that few had been asking for. Is bribing exhausted star clubs with a $125m prize for a

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27:57

Libero 022: Crying Into The Dolmio

Libero ·

2025/06/02

Brought to you live from the Allianz Arena Munich Football Arena, Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith discuss the fallout from PSG's destruction of Inter Milan in the Champions League final.Produced by: Tom BassamEmail in at liberopodcast0@gmail.comFollow us on X @podcast_liberoFollow us on Bluesky @liberopodcast.bsky.socialFollow us on Instagram @liberopodSubscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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53:32

Libero 021: Champions League Final, Premface Edition

Libero ·

2025/05/29

Today on Libero Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and James Horncastle look forward to Saturday’s Champions League final between Paris Saint Germain and Inter Milan.First up is the question of what actually makes for a good Champions League final, whether we ever get what we really want from these games, and whether there being no English team, Real Madrid or Barcelona makes this final a tough sell to English viewers. Does this make us - to borrow a phrase from the internet - ‘Premfaces’?(25:26) Then

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50:04

Libero 020: Never Go Full John Terry

Libero ·

2025/05/28

As European domestic seasons draw to their close, Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin and Tariq Panja consider how and why a different set of clubs have lifted trophies across Europe. They discuss the collapse of the pay-TV market in France to suggest not all is milk and honey within the global game. Has football finance’s growth in importance turned us all into reluctant accountants? (28:58) And, as the Champions League final in Munich beckons, they share memories of 2012 and Chelsea’s achievement of

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58:07

Libero 019: The James Horncastle Origin Story

Libero ·

2025/05/23

Dispatches from Libero's Bilbao Bureau bring word of an all-English European final that was not the greatest advert for the 'Best League in the World™', so instead James Horncastle, John Brewin and Rory Smith discuss the Italian perspective on football in 2025 and how Serie A lost its status as the premier domestic competition. (30:38) We also learn how a restaurant catering to Hull's theatre crowd led Horncastle to a career covering the game in Italy.Produced by: Tom BassamEmail in at

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47:21

Libero 018: A Fight In The Portsmouth Ferry Port

Libero ·

2025/05/20

Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney have crossed the Bay of Biscay to see the teams currently 16th and 17th in the Premier League duke it out in the Basque Country with not only Europe's second biggest prize on the line, but also a place in the Champions League. Up front, Libero's intrepid trio of travellers mull over the plotlines for Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and their respective coaches. We also find out the real reason why Jack decided to take the ferry to Bilbao.In

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53:26

Libero 017: Bring On The Mezzanine

Libero ·

2025/05/16

On today’s Libero, Jonathan Wilson, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Miguel Delaney start by looking forward to Saturday’s FA Cup final. Everyone knows that the final is no longer the climax of the English football season, but the big question is why? They look at the rising prominence of the league in the 1980s, the advent of the Premier League in 1992 and Manchester United’s decision to pull out in 2000.The following Saturday at Wembley is the Championship play-off final between Sunderland and Sheffield

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54:27

Libero 016: Don Carlo

Libero ·

2025/05/14

On today’s episode of Libero, Rory Smith, John Brewin and James Horncastle wonder whether anyone not named Carlo Ancelotti can make sense of the modern Real Madrid, and assess the prospects for Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu. In part two (33:36) James also takes great pleasure in decreeing that Ancelotti’s appointment as Brazil manager is proof of the ultimate triumph of Italy in determining the game’s dominant culture.Produced by: Tom Bassam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

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48:36

Libero 015: The Greatest Champions League Semi Of All?

Libero ·

2025/05/09

There was nowhere else to start than San Siro after the Champions League semi-final between Inter and Barcelona. Was it the best of all? Why are semis over two legs usually miles more entertaining than finals? Jonathan Wilson, Miguel Delaney and John Brewin share their memories, and hail gambling man Hansi Flick as football’s greatest ringmaster.After that (16:55): a missive from Mexico triggers a conversation on the cult of the football hipster. Is that era over? Or did books like Wilson’s

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56:14

Libero 014: It's A Bit Like Severance

Libero ·

2025/05/07

With the Europa League final looking likely to be an all-English affair, Jack Pitt-Brook, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja discuss why - given the Premier League's clear financial advantages - Europe's secondary competition has never really been a priority for the clubs of the 'Best League in the World™'.In part two (42:02), talk turns to Lamine Yamal and whether playing a starring role for Barcelona, or any club in a foreign land, will allow him to reach the levels of fame that his talent deserves. Is it

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53:48

Libero 013: Barca's Bloated Mess

Libero ·

2025/05/02

In the interest of debunking beauty, the first part of the latest episode of Libero starts with Jonathan Wilson, Miguel Delaney and Tariq Panja discussing why Barcelona's thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter Milan should never have happened, largely due to the Catalan club's dire financial circumstances and the problems caused by its presidential model, while also trying to identify what ideal football club ownership looks like.The second half (38:16) focuses on the role of the modern Europa League, the

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45:51

Libero 012: Marathon Wolf Hall Sessions

Libero ·

2025/04/30

Today’s episode starts with a look to the Arctic circle, where Bodo/Glimt have become one of the best stories in European football this decade. The small club from northern Norway have won four of the last five league titles and face Tottenham in the Europa League semi-final this week. So how did they do it, and what can the rest of Europe learn from their success?Then conversation moves on to Anfield, where Rory watched Liverpool seal the Premier League title on Sunday. He explains why it meant so

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55:55

Libero 011: Steve Parish Saint-Germain

Libero ·

2025/04/25

On today’s episode, Rory Smith, John Brewin and Jack Pitt-Brooke start off with a look at Paris Saint-Germain, who, for the first time, might well be the best team to watch in Europe. Have they finally moved on from their era of stars? Is a new focus on French talent a sign that they are finally putting football first? Or is it yet another cynical marketing ploy?Then discussion moves on to another team who play in red and blue: Crystal Palace. They are also from an area that produces plenty of good

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55:22

Libero 010: It’s Really More Of A Helix

Libero ·

2025/04/23

What is it about the early 2000s that football finds so fascinating? Why is the game still so captivated by the career paths and podcast empires of the principal characters from an era that is now a generation past? On today’s Libero, Rory Smith, Tariq Panja and Jonathan Wilson try to answer that question, and also work out whether Pep Guardiola has the power to stop time.Produced by: Tom BassamEmail in at liberopodcast0@gmail.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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