Episode 721 – The AFTN Soccer Show (Detours and Speed Bumps with guests CPL Commissioner James Johnson, Mihail Gherasimencov, and Sebastian Schonlau)
We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, Champions Cup, and Canadian Premier League chat and interviews.
It’s not been a very good week in Whitecapsland. Defeats to Seattle in the Champions Cup and San Jose in MLS play has taken a little bit of the wind out of everybody’s sails and raised some questions about what the team needs to improve on, what players need to contribute more, and Jesper Sorensen’s line-up selections. We pick over the bones of both matches, hear from Quakes coach Bruce Arena, and round-up the weekend’s action in the MLS West. Plus we catch up for a chat with two Whitecaps defenders – Mihail Gherasimencov and Basti Schonlau.
Our feature interview this episode is with new CPL Commissioner and CEO of Canadian Soccer Media Entertainment James Johnson. We talk with James about his footballing background, what attracted him to Canada, World Cup legacies, the financial viability of the league, television deals, innovations in the league, expansion, footballing pyramids, and the new business deal with Canada Soccer.
All of this plus we move onto the letter M in our Canadian Soccer A to Z series. Music-wise, Scottish band Bis continue their residency as our Artists of the Month, Close Lobsters are the latest band to feature in our 40th anniversary tribute year to the C86 movement, and Football Violence Awareness Month continues in Wavelength and in California!
Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode:
01.25: Intro chat
04.15: Canadian Soccer A to Z – M
18.00: Whitecaps crash out of Champions Cup to Seattle
39.40: Whitecaps can’t find the way to San Jose’s goal
68.45: San Jose postgame with Bruce Arena
79.33: MLS West round-up
92.05: Dayne vs Max – The battle to be Canadian number one
100.10: MLS release first details of 2027 sprint season
108.10: Mihail Gherasimencov interview
118.10: Anyone Fancy A Chocolate Digestive? – Mihail Gherasimencov
120.30: Sebastian Schonlau interview
138.40: Interview with CPL Commissioner James Johnson
175.05: Trouble flares at Sacramento US Open Cup game
179.30: Wavelength – Killroy – Fighting In The Stands
You can download and/or listen to this, and all previous, episodes of the podcast on the following services:
Or after all that, you could just listen on the player below!
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