In the series finale of 22 Goals, Brian looks back at one of soccer's most momentous beginnings: the childhood and early career of Pelé, the player who defined the modern game. From his origins as a barefoot boy playing soccer on the streets of Brazil to his breakout performance at the 1958 World Cup, when he was just 17, we'll explore Pelé's breathtaking rise to stardom—the story that, more than any other, made the World Cup what it is today. Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo,...

How did soccer become "the beautiful game"? What does it mean for a game to be beautiful? Brian looks back at Brazil's 1970 World Cup team, a team that starred Pelé in his prime, and a goal that introduced millions to the ideal of o jogo bonito during the first World Cup ever broadcast on color TV.   Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and Mastering: Scott Somerville Match footage...

After confessing a truly embarrassing secret—so embarrassing, oh my God—Brian looks back at the English Golden Generation, one of the most celebrated and reviled groups of athletes ever. It's a nonstop carnival of toxic tabloids, broken metatarsals, amazing hair (David Beckham), slightly less amazing hair (Wayne Rooney)—oh, and Michael Owen's sensational 1998 goal against Argentina, the moment when all the madness began.  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor...

With the two greatest players of their generation playing in what may be their final World Cup campaigns, Brian revisits their best moments in the tournament. We'll also talk about the most riveting athlete rivalries in sports. How did Messi and Ronaldo come to be as inextricably linked as Bird and Magic, Ali and Frazier, and Federer and Nadal? And does it really matter whether they ever win a World Cup?  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram...

As the U.S. men's national team gears up for its first game of the 2022 World Cup, Brian remembers Landon Donovan's last-gasp winner against Algeria in 2010. We'll talk about the elusiveness of joy, the magical consistency of the U.S. women's team, and the many wonderful ways in which Donovan's goal made American fans lose their minds.   Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and...

Brian discusses the special charms of the long-range bomb. What makes long-distance goals so thrilling? Why are they more fun when they're scored by players who rarely take a shot? We'll discuss Giovanni van Bronckhorst's screamer against Uruguay in 2010, soccer stars who are also Maoist radicals (until they appear in McDonald’s commercials), and whether words are a useful way to describe soccer goals. Also: a trip to the dentist!  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon,...

Brian revisits the first goal ever scored at a World Cup. We'll explore the origins of the tournament, palace intrigue between FIFA and the English FA, and the French factory worker who sailed across the Atlantic in 1930 to write his name in World Cup history. Also: how a virulent form of coffee fungus accidentally helped create the greatest sporting event on earth. Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music:...

Brian looks at the life and legacy of the magnetic, balletic, and baffling Dutch midfielder Johan Cruyff, who helped transform soccer in the 1960s and ’70s by ushering in the era of Total Football. How did a team that failed to win the World Cup become more influential than many teams that won? Also: Does Bob Dylan know how to drive? A very special ‘22 Goals’ investigation.  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original...

A double-goal episode! Brian compares two of the most sublime moments in World Cup history: Argentina's elaborate team goal against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 and James Rodríguez's stunning solo strike against Uruguay in 2014. Which type of goal better expresses the essence of soccer? We'll also discuss French swashbucklers, midfielders who hate running, and giant grasshoppers that may or may not come from outer space.  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor...

Brian explores the beautiful life and violent death of Andres Escobar, the great Colombian defender who was murdered after scoring an own goal at the 1994 World Cup. Escobar has become a symbol to millions. But how can we find the person underneath the martyr? Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and Mastering: Scott Somerville Match footage from FIFA  Also available in Spanish and...

Brian tries to contain his glee as he unfolds the story of the greatest upset in World Cup history: the United States' 1-0 win over a massively favored England in 1950. We'll talk about goalkeepers who drive hearses, midfielders who wear boxing gloves on the pitch, and the Haitian accounting student who scored perhaps the most shocking goal of all time. Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon...

What's the difference between "famous" and "iconic"? Brian explores the distinction in the life of French midfielder Zinedine Zidane, a player who has inspired more passion, and provoked more analysis, than anyone else in modern soccer. (And yes, we'll talk about that headbutt.) Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and Mastering: Scott Somerville Match footage from FIFA Also available...

Brian dives into the most elaborate mystery in all of soccer: the daring theft of the World Cup trophy in London in 1966. Who were the master thieves who pulled off the heist? Who was the unlikely detective who finally recovered the trophy? Oh, and isn't this podcast technically about soccer goals? Tune in and find out TODAY!  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and Mastering: Scott...

Brian looks at the magic of the goal celebration, the most intense expression of joy in all of sports. We’ll talk about Marco Tardelli's legendary screaming run after scoring in the 1982 World Cup final. We’ll also talk about backflips, babies, dances, pile-ons, and when you’re allowed to pose like a centerfold on a soccer pitch. (Answer: when you’ve just scored a World Cup goal.) Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and...

Brian tells the story of Cameroonian striker Roger Milla, the oldest player ever to score in a men's World Cup. Along the way, we'll talk about dancing for joy, the text messages you never want to get on vacation, and why Africa laps the rest of the world when it comes to cool team nicknames. Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and Mastering: Scott Somerville Match footage from FIFA...

Brian delves into the career of Dennis Bergkamp, the enigmatic Dutch striker whose 1998 goal against Argentina is one of the most beautiful moments in the history of the men's World Cup. We'll also talk about real ghost ships, fake pig farms, and why it sometimes pays to park your car the wrong way at a British gas station.  Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and Mastering: Scott...

Brian looks at the meteoric rise of Kylian Mbappé, whose goal in the 2018 World Cup final made him the first teenager since Pelé to score in soccer's biggest game. We'll discuss the contradictions of contemporary soccer, where the joy of stories like Mbappé's sits alongside high-level corruption. Also: three classic Arsenal jokes and the difficulty of dragging the creator of the universe into county court. Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram...

Brian explores the legend of the Brazilian striker Ronaldo, possibly the most gifted player ever to kick a ball, and his triumphant return from injury at the 2002 World Cup. We'll also discuss the warped poetry of 1950s American tourist movies, the Rio bus system, and how to secure a hypoallergenic hotel room in Austria (spoiler alert: you can't). Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing...

Brian looks back at the two legendary goals Diego Maradona scored against England in the 1986 World Cup. But that’s not all! We’ll also discuss the Falkland Islands, Humphrey Bogart, God getting a manicure, militant art teachers, Emily Dickinson, unchecked euphoria, and why soccer players can’t stop taking off their shirts. And some other stuff! Host: Brian Phillips Producers: Devon Renaldo, Mike Wargon, Conor Nevins and Vikram Patel  Sound Design and Original Music: Devon Renaldo  Mixing and...

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