Episodes
Published 06/16/22
It's the season FINALE! Archie and Zappa sign off the final episode of the podcast for the season by recapping all of the excitement of the Socceroos qualifying for the Qatar World Cup. To get an insight into the behind the scenes action, we are joined by Ajdin Hrustic who played a key role in the teams qualification aspirations. The Melbourne-born midfielder moved overseas as a teenager and featured in Nottingham Forest, Austria Wien and Schalke 04’s youth systems before breaking through...
Published 06/16/22
In this episode, Zappa is joined by Simon Colosimo as Archie Thompson is benched due to the spicy cough. Simon grew up in Melbourne before moving into the AIS program as a sixteen year old. He then joined the newly formed Carlton Soccer Club in the NSL before heading overseas to Manchester City and Royal Antwerp. Colosimo then returned home to the A-League where he played for Perth Glory, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart. Today, the former Socceroo with 26 caps has a career in football working...
Published 06/08/22
WESTERN UNITED ARE A-LEAGUE CHAMPIONS! In this episode, Zappa sits down with the newly crowned King of the West of Melbourne, John Aloisi. Aloisi has played professionally in Belgium, Italy, Spain and England. 459 professional matches, 129 goals and one of Australian footballs most memorable moments, but the story doesn't end there. John then took up coaching at the Melbourne Heart followed by the Brisbane Roar before landing at Western United. John has now made history once more, bringing...
Published 06/01/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with A-Leagues Grand Final and Joe Marston Medal winner from the Central Coast Mariners striker Danny McBreen. Danny now commentates for Channel 10 after a successful career at the Mariners and over in China. The boys chat all things A-League Grand Final ahead of this years final as well as the Socceroos clash with the UAE all while sitting at Accor Stadium ahead of the FC Barcelona v A-Leagues All Stars match. 1:00 - Danny McBreen joins Football...
Published 05/26/22
In this episode, Zappa has taken off to Scotland to sit down with two very special guests, Ange Postecoglou and Tom Rogic after they were crowned Scottish Premier League Champions with Celtic Football Club.  Archie is joined by Kayla Morrison to share their thoughts on the two interviews from two people who have truly put Australian football on the map for future generations. 1:00 - Kayla Morrison is back. 2:10 - Week 2 of the A-League Men's Finals. 6:40 - Tom Rogic joins Football From A to...
Published 05/18/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with the Michael Petrillo who is the Director of Football from Melbourne City, after they won back to back A-League Men's Premiers Plates. Michael has has a career in football which spans over 15 years. Previous to his position at Melbourne City, he fulfilled roles as the CEO and Director of Football at Adelaide United and the Head of Football at the North Queensland Fury. Michael talks us through this season at Melbourne City, the disappointment of...
Published 05/11/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa (and Zappa's dog CoCo) sit down with the Executive Director of the World Players Association Brendan Schwab. Brendan has over 25 years leadership experience in the governance, business, legal, player relations and human rights aspects of elite sport at the global, regional and national levels. As Executive Director of World Players, he has united the world’s leading player associations who collectively represent 85,000 athletes. Prior to joining World...
Published 05/04/22
In this episode, Zappa has returned from the sunshine state and joins Archie to interview the Chairman of Western United, Jason Sourasis. A passionate sportsperson, Jason grew up barracking for South Melbourne, a historically proud Greek club. Jason is the director and founding member of Strategic Financial Group Australia, which primarily invests in portfolios of assets within sectors, with sports being a high valued sector. According to Jason, Western United FC was the first public private...
Published 04/27/22
In this episode, Archie is joined by up and coming media personality Kayla Morrison with Zappa away sipping on martinis. This week we hear from goal keeper turned cafe extraordinaire Nathan Coe. Nathan spent most of his footballing career overseas, playing for clubs such as Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Copenhagen. Nathan also made 3 appearances for the Socceroos in friendly matches. Nathan discusses his footballing journey around Europe, how injuries brought his professional career to a...
Published 04/20/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa are back together after a couple of weeks apart. They are joined by comedy trio Sooshi Mango. Prepare yourself for a few laughs as the boys discuss all things football and life. 1:50 - Neds Level Player of the Week: Marco Rojas. 6:10 - Sooshi Mango joins Football From A to Z. 8:00 - Sooshi Mango on Tour. 10:12 - How Sooshi Mango got into comedy and their stardom. 17:20 - Ethnic Dads and Ethnic Mums. 23:00 - Relating to people of all ethnicities. 27:00 -...
Published 04/13/22
In this episode, Zappa is back and is joined by special guest co-host Kayla Morrison after her side went back to back in the A-League Women's Competition. We are joined by the championship winning team and speak with Head Coach Jeff Hopkins, Club Chairman Anthony Di Pietro, Player of the Final Casey Dumont and Victory Medalist Alex Chidiac. We also chat with Danny Dixon from Hume City FC to discuss his battle with testicular cancer. On Sunday April 3rd, Hume City will host a fundraising...
Published 03/30/22
In this episode, Archie and special guest co-host Kayla Morrison sit down with Melbourne Victory's highly talented winger, Marco Rojas. The New Zealander won the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League’s player of the season in 2012/13 for Victory before pursuing a career in Europe. Rojas signed at German Club VfB Stuttgart and was loaned out for three seasons before making a brief return to Victory in 2016. After starring for Victory in his return, Rojas spent two seasons at Dutch club SC...
Published 03/23/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with young striker from the Melbourne City Football Club, Marco Tilio. After a sensational start to the A-League Men's Season, Tilio was called up to the Socceroos squad for the final stages of the World Cup Qualifiers. Marco made his A-League Men's debut in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League for Sydney FC, when he was just 17-years-old. Less than a year later, he was recruited to their first-team squad. The right winger joined...
Published 03/17/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with Football Australia Chairman Chris Nikou. Chris started out his footballing journey with the South Melbourne Football Club before transitioning into the administration side of football as a Director at Football Federation Victoria. Since then, Nikou has been a Director of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 and the Melbourne Renegades. After joining Football Australia in 2014, Chris became the Chairman in November 2018 after Steven Lowy stepped down. The...
Published 03/09/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with South Melbourne's Andy Brennan and Melbourne Victory Captain Kayla Morrison. Andy currently plays his football for Victorian NPL side South Melbourne and has previously played for the Newcastle Jets in the A-Leagues. Kayla was born and raised in California in the United States and has been with the Victory since 2020. Andy and Kayla discuss their football stories and the development of the sport in terms of its inclusiveness for LGBTQI+...
Published 03/02/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with the Central Coast Mariners new striker, Jason Cummings. Jason is a Scottish international and Australian passport holder who joins the club from Dundee in the Scottish Premiership, where he was a key part of the squad that earnt promotion back to the topflight. While having international caps for Scotland's U21s and making two appearances in friendlies for Scotland, he remains eligible to play for the Socceroos. Jason began his career at...
Published 02/23/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down and chat with the CEO of the Perth Glory, Tony Pignata. Tony has been involved in Australian football for a number of years, having been the CEO of Football Victoria, the Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC before arriving at the Glory. Tony discusses what it has been like for Perth's Men's and Women's sides due to the border restrictions going in and out of Western Australia, where the A-Leagues is heading, his time spent at the Wellington Phoenix and...
Published 02/18/22
In this episode, Archie & Zappa sit down with their good friend Alessandro Diamanti to discuss the recent form of Western United that has them sitting atop of the A-League Mens ladder, as well as Dia's life and experiences since moving to Australia almost 3 years ago! At 38 years old, Diamanti is still providing plenty of spark for Western United, both on and off the pitch. Will he play on again next season? 1:33 - Neds Level Game of the Week 5:28 - Zappa's BIG call! 8:23 - Diamanti...
Published 02/09/22
In this episode, Archie sits on the bench with a migraine so it's all left up to the one and only Michael Zappone. First up we are joined by former Matilda and A-League Women's star Georgia Yeoman-Dale, who now commentates for Channel 10, to discuss the recent events of the Matildas at the AFC Asian Cup. We then sit down with Lawrie McKinna, the inaugural coach of the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League Men's competition. Since then Lawrie has been the CEO of the Newcastle Jets and even...
Published 02/02/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by Socceroo Michael Petersen. Mike helped win the NSL championship with Brunswick and South Melbourne before a stint with Ajax Amsterdam (Holland) starting in 1987. Petersen earned his first national selection for the Socceroos in a match against Taiwan in Canberra in February 1988 and was part of the squad for the 1990 and 1994 World Cup campaigns. During his football career, Petersen played 50 matches for the Socceroos, including 32 'A'...
Published 01/26/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by Player Intermediary, John Grimaud. John has over 20 years of experience managing some of the best players to come from our shores. After developing relationships internationally, John has helped Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie, Josh Kennedy, our very own Archie Thompson and many more players to football careers overseas. Hear John's insights into market side of the world game as well as his thoughts on the value of players and how hard it is to make...
Published 01/19/22
In this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by the godfather of the A-Leagues, Leigh Broxham. Having played over 400 games for Melbourne Victory, over 300 of which have come in the A-Leagues, Leigh has certainly been around the traps and seen it all. Making his Victory debut in 2006, Broxy has been a key member of their squad ever since and is highly respected in the League for his loyalty and toughness. Over his career, Leigh has amassed 4 A-League Championships, 3 Premierships and an FFA...
Published 01/13/22
Join your co-hosts Archie and Zappa for the podcast's Christmas special. It has been one hell of a year with so many uncertainties. However, one thing you have been able to bank on over the past 12 weeks is football content from the boys! In this episode the boys review and reflect on the 12 episodes and phenomenal guests that have joined the podcast and shared their stories. 2:52 - Neds Level Player of the Week: Nathaniel Atkinson. 9:42 - Graham Arnold - Challenges of gaining the respect...
Published 12/23/21
In this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by Wellington Phoenix Manager, Ufuk Talay. After over 10 years as a professional footballer who spent most of his time overseas, Uffy moved into coaching post retirement. Joining the Nixs in 2019 after spending time as the Assistant Manager at Sydney FC under Steve Corica, Uffy was awarded the A-League Men's Manager of the season in his first season as a Head Coach helping the Phoenix to a 3rd place finish. 3:50 - Neds Level Player of the Week:...
Published 12/15/21