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- [00:00]
A
This podcast is brought to you by Carvana. Car shopping shouldn't feel like preparing for a marathon of paperwork. That's why Carvana makes buying and financing your car easy. From start to finish. Search thousands of vehicles with great prices, all online, all on your time, and when you're ready, your new car shows up right at your door. It doesn't get better than that. Buy your car the easy way on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. What's in the water at La Masia? That's what I want to know.
- [00:33]
B
He is absolutely remarkable. It's hard to fathom how you can do that stuff.
- [00:39]
A
There's probably only one player I could compare him to right now, in terms of being so young and so mature, is Trent was on the bench. Danny Carvajal was on the bench. Carvajal was clearly angry. It's a difficult situation. That right back situation.
- [01:02]
B
Hello and welcome to the Rest is Football La Liga edition with Alex Aljo and me, Gary Lineker. Before we get onto the football, Alex, how's your week been? I saw you do one of your interviews. Who was it the other day when you translated. Does he not speak English? Subamendi?
- [01:19]
A
He doesn't speak English. And of course you get people in the comments saying, surely he speaks English by now, but his English isn't great. And I think you can easily be misinterpreted, can't you?
- [01:29]
B
So very much so.
- [01:29]
A
Give him time. It's also his first season. It's unbelievable because he's just been absolutely brilliant for Arsenal. It's hard to believe it's his first season playing the Premier League.
- [01:37]
B
Who are they talking about in Spain for the national team? Before we get onto the other stuff, because you mentioned Zubamendi, Rodri or Zubamendi. Rodri's been out. I mean, Rodri's his very best, but he's struggling a bit at the moment.
- [01:49]
A
Yeah. And there was a line. Rodri said, I think it was after the last international break, and he said, I've given the keys from the national team to Zubimendi. So he was almost saying, look over to you now. Yeah.
- [02:01]
B
It's nice to have a choice between Zubamendi and Rodri though, isn't it? It's not a bad shout. I think Spain will probably go into the World Cups as. As favorites.
- [02:11]
A
Yeah. I say the same. I say the same. They've got an outstanding squad, don't they? Quite scary, actually.
- [02:16]
B
I would say. Along with France as well, probably. I would say in order, it probably goes Spain, France, England, Argentina, Brazil.
- [02:27]
A
Don't get a licking.
- [02:28]
B
I think Brazil will come next, but I. They haven't. I mean, they've got some really, really good players. Brazil, but yeah, not. It's not one of the great Brazil signs. But with Carlo. Carlo wins everything. So.
- [02:38]
A
Don Carlo, Ancelotti.
- [02:40]
B
Yeah, I think those five. Germany, I'm not so sure at the moment. But anyway, we die.
- [02:45]
A
We will be there. We will be there. And speaking of good goalkeepers, I want to tell you I've got an exciting week because I'm going to Lisbon twice, actually. I'm going to Lisbon twice in one week.
- [02:56]
B
The goal scorer.
- [02:57]
A
Well, I'm going to interview the goal scorer, Trubin, man of the moment. So I've got. I'm flying out tomorrow to interview Trubin and then I'm going back to Lisbon at the end of the week for the Benfica. Real Madrid, first leg.
- [03:12]
B
Have you interviewed Jose Mourinho before?
- [03:14]
A
Yes. Yeah, yeah. Yes. So I actually was an intern at Real Madrid.
- [03:19]
B
Oh, you were there during his period?
- [03:20]
A
Yeah, when he was the manager. 2012, 13 season.
- [03:23]
B
Really? How was he?
- [03:25]
A
I love Jose. He's a strange guy. He's not your average guy.
- [03:31]
B
He's definitely not your average guy, because he is a special one.
- [03:35]
A
Yeah, he's a special one. And what he used to do with us is he'd come down into the press room and he'd prep what he wanted us to ask him in the press conference for Real Madrid tv. So he'd give us a question and then you'd ask it in the press and he'd have an amazing line. You know, he'd sort of act like he was surprised and all and then he'd have, like, an amazing one. So, yeah, it was a intriguing man. Intriguing man.
- [04:01]
B
Doesn't surprise me. Right, which game should we start with, do you think, Alex?
- [04:06]
A
Should we start with Barcelona?
- [04:08]
B
Why not? Why not? Comfortable victory in the end. Let's see how they did it.
- [04:14]
C
Well, it feels a long time since Barcelona began the defense of their title against Real Mallorca in August. Mallorca finished with nine men that day, as Barca won three.
- [04:25]
B
Nils.
- [04:27]
C
There'S Rashford, blocked off. It might come to Robert Lewandowski. It does a fraction of fortune as to how it arrived at the pole's feet, but once it got there, there was only one outcome. Balde cross in Mascarell tried to get it away. It comes as far as Casado. It took a deflection and thumped the cross. Danny olmo, Mallorca stand off him they shouldn't have done because Laminal finds the net once again. Well, you run out of things to say about this young man, but he was afforded a fair amount of time to get his shot away. Jules Kunde. Well, Barcelona have given it away there. This is Sanchez. It's Sanchez. Garcia makes a save. This is Mark Bernal. Lovely feat from Mark Bernal to score his first Barcelona goal. A special moment for the teenager who showed such composure.
- [06:04]
B
Well, that was easy enough, I would say, for Barcelona. They're looking good. It's funny, they're only one point ahead when they've had such a good run. I know they had that one defeat recently, but I want to start with someone who didn't score but got a lot of plaudits, and that's Marcus Rashford. Because it's been in the news a little bit, hasn't it, that there's a rumor that Michael Carrick wants Rashford to go back. And the rumor was, was that actually doesn't want to go back. He's pretty happy. I saw a post this morning saying, well played, Marcus. What a performance. If you look at England, who plays on the left for England, I think at the moment, Rashford's miles ahead.
- [06:42]
A
Yeah. With Anthony Gordon out.
- [06:43]
B
Anthony Gordon, But Anthony's. He's not had a brilliant season. He's done well in the Champions League. Anthony Gordon, his numbers are not very good in the Premier League, so they. The obvious two at present, but Rashford's been really, really good.
- [06:57]
A
Really good.
- [06:58]
B
And of course, it's a big advantage that the way they play in Spain, that it's not so physically demanding that come the World cup, it won't be knackered by most of the players that play in the Premier League.
- [07:12]
A
Yeah. And he started this game as well, I think, which he deserved because he's been coming off the bench and really impressing, I think, which shows he's got the right attitude as well. He hasn't been sulking, has he? He's just come off the bench, performed well when he's been given the minutes. Literally made the most of every minute he's been on the pitch. He had a couple of good chances in this game.
- [07:32]
B
Good efforts, actually. The first one, cut in just past the far post. Brilliant try.
- [07:37]
A
Yeah. And then the other one rebounded to Robert Lewandowski, who did score, who's also had a great season, hasn't he?
- [07:43]
B
He's remarkable. 37 years young, I would say, with him.
- [07:47]
A
Yeah. Then Lamina made it 2:0. Fifth straight game. He scored in all competitions for Barcelona. And this actually surprised me when I read this. It's 10 goals in LA Liga, the first time he's reached double fig in La Liga. But maybe a sign that he.
- [08:00]
B
And he's been playing for so long.
- [08:04]
A
I don't know. It just surprised me because you think.
- [08:06]
B
Lamina reminder that he's not yet 18.
- [08:10]
A
Yeah. Anyway, he has reached double figures and maybe a sign that he is going to go on to be this player that's going to reach ridiculous numbers every season.
- [08:18]
B
Oh, he will be as long as. Well, they're always dangerous for young players, obviously, both mentally and also physically, so a lot depends on that. And he's probably still growing. He is absolutely remarkable. And the things he does, even if he were a player of. Absolutely. In the kind of highlight of his career in the mid-20s, I mean, he. And he plays with an intelligence and a. Know how that. It's hard to fathom how you can do that stuff. I mean, he already does stuff in every single game that I never did once in my career and I played at the top, you know, but there's. There are levels and then there are other levels.
- [08:57]
A
Yeah, yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy. There's probably only one player I could compare him to right now. Not in terms of the way they. They play necessarily, but in terms of being so young and so mature. Is Stavao at Chelsea Stavao? Yeah. Yeah. Because I think he's another example of a really, really young player. But on the pitch, you just never know. And they play with this confidence, this maturity. I'm not going to go as far as to say arrogance, but this level of air of.
- [09:23]
B
I tell you what, if I'd have been that good, I'd have been bloody arrogant.
- [09:27]
A
Yeah. And it's a justified arrogance.
- [09:29]
B
I mean, and he's also a little bit different. He's not scared of saying something, is he? We've seen that over the last year or two and some people are quite critical of that. I actually quite like it as long as, you know. You know, there's always a line that you try not to cross. And he may cross it on. On occasions, but I like that. But he's generally responsive. People that have had a go at him.
- [09:52]
A
Yeah. I was going to say you need to stand up for yourself. You need to have something about you sometimes. Yeah. And then it was Marc Bernal who scored the third goal, which was his first goal in La Liga, and I think really important goal for him because he had that horrific acl injury at the start of last season, he was out for 382 days. So I think Hansi Flick has been managing his minutes. It's slowly bringing him back in. So I think that was a massive goal for him. And yeah, his first La Liga goal. They were a lot better in the second half than they were in the first half. Barcelona. I think that's been a pretty consistent theme this season as well. Sort of a bit sluggish to start and then, well, they didn't go behind.
- [10:29]
B
In this game because obviously they didn't concede, which is fairly rare as well. But it's almost like they want to go a goal behind before they start.
- [10:36]
A
Yeah. It's just the way they do things works for them.
- [10:39]
B
Yeah. And another La Maseer play.
- [10:41]
A
Yep. Tommy Marquez came off the bench and Hanse Flick spoke about it after the game. Obviously with Marc Bernau scoring in that game as well. He said relying on La Masia is good for the club. It's how we do things. And it's certainly a good way to do things, isn't it, bringing these players.
- [10:56]
B
Through and it's like a talent factor, isn't it? I mean, it's incredible how they do it.
- [11:01]
A
I mean, what's in the water at La Masia? That's what I want to know.
- [11:03]
B
Yeah. I mean, I think Lamarci is actually a small little. Well, the house. That's the. And it's right by where we used to train. Because the training pitch at Barcelona when I played was right by the ground and it wasn't even a full size pitch and that was all we had to train on. It was very sandy and not great, but it was right next to, you know, El Amacia, as you would have seen it many times. And obviously nowadays they don't. They. They used to live in there, some of the players. And that was the reason that said that's where they. The production line came from. Nowadays, obviously they've got the huge training ground. It's not Le Mansia, I don't think. I doubt any players stay at La Mercia now, do they? I wouldn't have thought so.
- [11:47]
A
No. I don't.
- [11:48]
B
I don't think so. But it's still in name. It's basically. That's their name of their academy now, name from that. But just in case people would like to know a little bit about the history of. It's a beautiful little house actually. Right. Right by the camp now, right next to it. So, I mean, it's. It's astonishing actually, because they obviously had that incredible period when, when Messi and Iniesta and Javi and people all came through at the same time. And you thought, wow, that a one off. A little bit like Manchester United did in the Beckham era. And you thought, well, that happens once in a lifetime. But it's. It's repeated. Repeating it and repeating it. And obviously they can, I suppose, attract the big name. People want to go there so the big young talents can go there. But still, most of them, most of them are probably local.
- [12:39]
A
I guess the key is as well then giving those players the opportunity to come up and play in the first.
- [12:44]
B
Team, that being bold enough to give young players an opportunity. I think that's why, I mean, I'm biased because obviously I play for the club, but I think that's why. I think I prefer them as a club to Real Madrid, who just go and buy the superstars in world football, which is also. It's another way of doing it. And it's. I mean, they can't really buy them now. They wait till they get them on a free, which is quite sensible. But it's. It's a different way of doing it, isn't it? Galacticos versus local.
- [13:15]
A
Yeah. Real Madrid has a great academy, but.
- [13:17]
B
Then, yeah, I mean, some of them do get a chance now if you. But it's. I think it's probably harder to come through when you, you know, if you're a brilliant center forward and they've got Mbappe, you go, blimey, this is not easy to get through.
- [13:30]
A
Yeah.
- [13:30]
B
And that takes us nicely to Real Madrid, who won away at Valencia. Took them a while again. It was goalless at half time, but in the end they bagged a couple and of course that one. And Bappy scored again.
- [13:42]
C
They may have stumbled elsewhere, but Real Madrid's league form is pretty good. They're eyeing a seventh straight win tonight at lowly Valencia. The Mestaya, the venue. Well, Aragula delivers the corner towards Howson, comes as far as Valverde. That's Mbappe and a good save. This is Carreras. He's rather stumbled his way through but then found a way through. And Real Madrid have the opening goal. Well, the run was a little untidy, but the finish was really smart. Here's Ugrinic towards Beltran. Wasn't far away. He was on the stretch. Lucas Beltran there. Couldn't quite divert it in. Too many. The ball through to Killian. Mbappe.
- [14:56]
B
It's Killian.
- [14:57]
C
Mbappe. Diaz. It's Brahim Diaz for Killian. Mbappe this time he doesn't miss a 38th Real Madrid goal of the season for Killian Mbappe. A Real Madrid win. A Killian Mbappe goal. It is becoming very, very customary.
- [15:29]
B
Well, they're not absolutely free flowing at present, are they, Real Madrid, but they're still winning under Arboloa. Apart from obviously that Copa del Rey game and Champions League game, I should say.
- [15:42]
A
And they were without the injured Jude Bellingham, without Vinicius Jr. Who was suspended. No Rodrigo either.
- [15:49]
B
A lot of players missing you.
- [15:50]
A
A really interesting selection decision. I thought he put the youngster David Jimenez making his debut at right back.
- [15:58]
B
Yeah.
- [15:59]
A
And Trent was on the bench and Carvajal, Dani Carvajal was on the bench and yeah, opted to go for David Jimenez, which was interesting. And he came out after the game, Arboloa and said, look, we really need to go slowly, poco a poco with Trent, because we, we need to protect him.
- [16:18]
B
Have the press asked him about this? These rumors that he's told Trent he's surplus to requirements?
- [16:25]
A
I think they basically said it's nonsense.
- [16:27]
B
I suspect it's nonsense, yeah.
- [16:29]
A
Because I don't know how you can say that about a player like Trent. And when he came on the pitch yesterday, immediately you can see what kind of impact he has when he plays. And probably just the player Real Madrid have been missing in recent weeks, I.
- [16:44]
B
Mean, God, I'd love to play with him. God, he's the kind of dream for a center forward. And I would think Mbappe would be thinking, you know, those through balls when he spins and stuff will be absolute perfection.
- [16:55]
A
Unbelievable. Yeah. But there was a little bit of discussion about the fact that he came on and Danny Carvajal stayed on the bench and it looked as though Carvajal was annoyed and he was talking to, and he was talking to Pintus, who's this fitness, amazing fitness coach. The work with Zidane that they've actually brought back to the club, he left, but Arboloa and Pinterest are very close anyway, so he's come back to the club. So Danny Carvajal was sort of speaking to Pinters after the gaming, clearly angry and obviously wanted to play. So it's a, it's a difficult situation, that right back situation.
- [17:29]
B
It's funny, they're both coming back at a similar, similar moment and neither of them started.
- [17:34]
A
It's like, is he fit? Is he fit?
- [17:35]
B
Yeah.
- [17:35]
A
Yeah. Okay, next week. Okay, perfect. I'll come back the same day. I guess that does motivate you as a player when you are, you Know, competing for a position.
- [17:42]
B
Well, Carvalho is much loved at Real Madrid.
- [17:44]
A
Yeah, he's a. He's a legend. He's one.
- [17:46]
B
Always adored, turned up on big occasions, even scored vital goals. You get to 34, it's not as easy anymore, and you've got a signing coming in, which was obviously because of the fact that Carvajal is. Is getting on a bit footballistically so. But it's always hard to let go. And it will be the same for him, I'm sure.
- [18:07]
A
And he's still a good player, you know, he's obviously.
- [18:09]
B
Of course he is, yeah. What's the general view in Madrid about Adola?
- [18:14]
A
I was actually speaking to Guillem Balague the other day about this. I said I was so shocked about Xavi Alonso getting sat that day. I said, you know, I've been like, it's fine they weren't thrashed in the Super Cup Final. He'll be all right. Bit more time for him. And I said, what was the feeling out there, you know, in Spain was. And he said, everyone was really, really shocked that he lost his job. When he lost his job at the time he lost his job. I think the thing about Arboloa is that he's very, very close to Florentino Perez and ultimately who's making the decisions at Real Madrid. But, yeah, no, I think the Arboloa situation is just. It works because Florentino has the power, has the control, and he knows that Arboloa will work alongside him. He's not going to go into his office and start demanding other things or go against.
- [19:05]
B
Does he interfere? Does he interfere?
- [19:06]
A
He comes down to the dressing room after every single game. I remember that.
- [19:10]
B
If he'd been like that, then there'd have been a lot of managers probably said it post losing their jobs. Although the settlement means it can never say anything against your former club or the presidents. That's how they work. So, yeah, I just wonder whether he's the interfering type, because he clearly has a say in who. Who they sign. And he does like the big superstars.
- [19:32]
A
And I think Xavi had a clear way that he wanted to play. And it just did not work with this group of Real Madrid players.
- [19:39]
B
No, it clearly didn't.
- [19:41]
A
I liked Arbolo's line after the game. He said. He said playing at Mustaya is always like going to the dentist. We knew it would be difficult, it would be very demanding. But, yeah, he said, I'm happy and we'll keep improving.
- [19:56]
B
Does anyone like the dentist?
- [19:59]
A
I hate the Dentist so much. But you've got to go get the job done.
- [20:05]
B
Exactly. Just. You just gotta go. You gotta go. You've got no. You got no choice in the matter.
- [20:10]
A
Yeah, but disaster for Valencia. One point above the relegation zone. Whistles at full time, handkerchiefs out. And it was Alvaro Carreras who opened the scoring. And his story is actually crazy. He was playing for Preston North End three seasons ago on loan from Manchester United, but never actually made an appearance for Manchester United's first team. I'm sure Carrick's thinking, oh, we could do with him now.
- [20:35]
B
I don't know.
- [20:35]
A
They're doing maybe not, maybe not.
- [20:37]
B
They're doing all right. But he's a good spot.
- [20:39]
A
He'd make the bench.
- [20:40]
B
And what's wrong with Preston North End?
- [20:42]
A
Nothing. But it's not Madrid, is it?
- [20:46]
B
No, not quite. Not quite. Or Manchester United. They did have their days, though. They did have their day. Preston way back. Kylian Mbappe got his goal. It took a while, he had a few goes and then he got one right at the end.
- [20:58]
A
He was allowed far too much space, wasn't he? Good cutback from Brahim Diaz and. And the second goal of the game to secure all three points and move them back to one place. Barcelona.
- [21:10]
B
One place, one point behind.
- [21:11]
A
So, yeah, one place, one point.
- [21:13]
B
Let's take a break, then when we come back, we'll talk about Atletico. Big defeat at home. That, and obviously our Eric will no doubt have his say. We'll find out shortly. This episode is brought to you by. Whoops. If football teaches you anything, it's that careers are shaped between matches by how you recover and sleep and how you manage the days in between games week after week. It's not about doing more, it's about getting it right. So you're ready to go again tomorrow, on and off the pitch. That's where Whoop comes in. Al it shows you how your body is responding day to day. Your sleep, your recovery, your workouts, and how your small daily habits add up over time.
- [21:58]
D
It's calm.
- [21:59]
B
No buzzing or unwanted alerts. You check your data when you want. Whoop gives you personalized insights to help build routines that last so you get into a better rhythm across the week without second guessing yourself. If you want to better understand how you can feel and live at your best for years to come, I'm definitely up for that. Head to join.whoop.com triff and get started with Whoop today. You can even sign up for a free 30 day trial so you can try Whoop Risk free and start your year with momentum. This episode is brought to you by Octa. You hear a lot about AI agents now. They're everywhere. Quietly running things, making decisions, speeding work up across organizations. And that's all well and good until you stop and think who's actually in charge. Because if you don't know who an agent is, what it's connected to, or what it's allowed to do, you can't really trust it to act in your interests. It's like letting someone loose with the keys but not knowing what doors they can open or which ones they shouldn't. That's the bit Okta focuses on. They secure the identity of AI agents themselves so there's one clear layer of control and one consistent standard of trust across the whole system. Which means every agent has a clear identity, clear permissions, and a clear line of accountability. Developers can move faster, IT and security teams stay in control and risk becomes something you actually manage not guess at. Secure every agent, Secure any agent. Okta secures AI residence Day savings are happening now at the Home Depot with up to 40% off select appliances. Looking to upgrade your fridge? Check out LG's newest model serving up ice in all kinds of styles. Cube crushed craft ice and now new mini craft ice straight from the dispenser. From cold brew to fizzy favorites, these refrigerators will have you entertaining like a pro. Shop President's day savings and get up to 40% off plus free delivery on select appliances like LG at the home Depot. Free delivery on appliance purchases of $1,498 or more. Offer valid February 5th through the 25th US only. See store online for details. Welcome back to the Rest Is Football La Liga with Alex Alger and me, Gary Lineke. Well, I think there's only one place to start here, Alex, and that's Atletico. Diego Simeone under pressure already from the fans losing at home. A goal from Antony. I would say a very rare error from Aublaque.
- [24:38]
A
Yeah, he was caught off guard, Aublak, wasn't he? And it's crazy because Copa del Rey earlier in the week in Atletico Madrid beat real betis 5 nil. Betis had never won at the new Atletico Stadium either, so no wonder Eric was pretty quiet this morning. Oh, quiet, quiet. Yeah, well, normally I get a message, but I didn't actually hear a peep. So I actually had to ask if he would share his thoughts. And. And he did, as he always does and he said, someone asked me the.
- [25:06]
B
Other day, who's Eric? So I who listens to the podcast, who'd only just started listening to the podcast. So I think. What. Just for the. For our new listeners or viewers, I think we probably should explain that Eric seems to become a recorder part of this.
- [25:22]
A
He's a cult hero.
- [25:24]
B
A cult hero. Now it's cult. That is. Makes that absolutely clear. And. And he's. He's an Atletico Madrid fan. He's English, but he lives in Madrid. And he. He follows the team closely and he gets a bit disgruntled.
- [25:39]
A
But I asked him, I said he should come on at some point. He said he'd have to wear a mask.
- [25:43]
B
Oh. Oh, right. Yeah. Because. Yeah.
- [25:45]
A
For various reasons.
- [25:48]
B
Oh, he was. He. Well, he's only been a bit critical of his team. He doesn't need to hide away because. Or is he scared of Diego Simeone tracking him down?
- [25:58]
A
Yeah, exactly. Scary man. Right. So he said. It's a shaft of light. Following one of the best performances in the Simeone era. 5 nil away to Betis in the Copper del Rey turned into a very different kind of shaft as we return to reality on Sunday. Stunning performance in the Copper. Lookman looked great on his debut. He actually scored in that game. Yeah. Could see put into practice everything he learned from his time at Leicester. On Sunday, we hit a goal ruled out by the tightest of margins, but no excuses. Betis fully deserved the win. Simeone was frank in the press conference. Would even go as far to say he sounded defeatist. The Beta team won. And that's now 100 days since Julian Alvarez scored in La Liga Barca this week in the semi final first leg of the Copa. Second leg isn't until March, so we can hope and dream for at least another three weeks. Then he actually sent me the images. I know that we have them in our. In our group as well. The ball was actually in the air, you can see. But I think the feeling was it didn't really change the game. And. And they played terribly anyway.
- [27:01]
B
So I was watching it and I thought it was Griezmann in there, wasn't it? And I thought if Greensman had. I headed it when I first saw it. And then I thought, oh, no, it's actually the defender. And then obviously the whole argument was, first they determined that he was the head of the ball, but from that evidence, who knows? And then it's whether he's interfering now, obviously he's interfering. I don't. Yeah.
- [27:23]
A
You know.
- [27:24]
B
So then it becomes down to whether he's offside or not. But if the technology has not been used correctly.
- [27:29]
A
It took a long time.
- [27:30]
B
Took ages, didn't it? Really did so.
- [27:33]
A
But I think in terms of, like, not changing anything, Simeone just came out and said, look, it doesn't matter. We didn't deserve to win anyway. So. Yeah, yeah. And they obviously had that massive win earlier in the week and everything was great and rosy.
- [27:45]
B
And then football, eh?
- [27:47]
A
Things change fast. Things change fast. So rail bet is creeping up further closer to the top four.
- [27:54]
B
Well, you did say at the start of the season, and I mocked you slightly. Slightly, respectfully mocked you.
- [28:02]
A
If you can do that, always, always four points of Villarreal. Now, although Villarreal have two games in hand.
- [28:08]
B
Yes, they do. But that, I always say two games in hand means you make your goal difference worse.
- [28:14]
A
That's true.
- [28:14]
B
It can be that way. So you've got. You've got half a chance of being right, which I'd be very pleased for you.
- [28:21]
A
Thank you.
- [28:22]
B
As long as Barca win the league.
- [28:25]
A
Well, I think it looks like it might go down to the Classico, which hopefully we can get out for on the. On the 10th of May.
- [28:31]
B
Oh, yeah, that'd be good.
- [28:32]
A
Which would be amazing. Amazing. Huge, Huge.
- [28:36]
B
Look forward to that. Do you want to round things up for us, actually, before we do, we should talk about that Santi Catholic.
- [28:42]
A
Yes, yes, yes.
- [28:44]
B
He did a little tweet that got misinterpreted slightly, but massively.
- [28:50]
A
Yeah. Okay. So I'll find the tweet because. So he said. So.
- [28:58]
B
Yeah. The truth is, La Liga is light years behind in always. Right?
- [29:04]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [29:05]
B
And it got translated as sending. Yeah, it got translated as saying, La Liga is light years ahead, light years ahead of the Premier League. And people were going, well, why is it.
- [29:19]
A
Why is he having a go at the Premier League? What's going on? What's going on? But it was actually because Rayo Vallecano was supposed to be playing his side, Real Oviedo, at Rayo Stadium, and it was postponed because the state of Rayo's petrol has been a problem all season. They had a new one installed this week, but then heavy rain fell and it wasn't ready for the match. The pitch wasn't ready. So the Rayo's players and staff made a statement on Friday criticizing the unacceptable conditions at their stadium and their training ground. And then Oviedo showed solidarity with the Rayo players and critical of the club in the late postponement. So I think what Santi Casuala was trying to say is this would not happen in the Premier League.
- [29:59]
B
Spanish Football, La Liga, I think think now we've reached a period where it's probably been overtaken by Premier League. Just looking at European football, I think that's the best judge of it. But prior to that, for 10, 15 years or so, La Liga was very dominant in European competition. Not just with Real Madrid constantly winning the Champions League, but. But also, you know, Europa League wins. Pretty much everyone was a Spanish club, so. But I think they're talking maybe a little bit about more the overall dep, perhaps in La Liga. So, yeah, different styles of football as well. Doesn't make one better than the other. La Liga is very technical. Most teams play the same Premier League. Certainly more dynamic, certainly more physical and not quite as technical overall. But yeah, there are differences and you know, they're both great leagues and that's why we enjoy.
- [31:02]
A
That's why we love both and we can watch both and we can talk about both. So we are very lucky.
- [31:07]
B
You can do a bit more now with your customary brilliant roundups.
- [31:11]
A
A quick roundup.
- [31:12]
B
Let's see who's name of the week this week.
- [31:14]
A
I don't think there's actually. We've got no Fruity George because Fruity George couldn't play. Right, okay, so. Athletic Club claimed their first win in la Liga since 6th December with a 42 victory at home to Levante. A first half brace from Gorka Guruzeta put them in the driving seat with Nico Serrano and Robert Navarro securing the points late on. Sevilla rescued a point in stoppage time. Home to Girona. Thomas Lemar put the visitors ahead in the second minute, but Quique Salas netted in the 92nd to earn what could be a crucial point in the relegation battle. Another big result at the bottom of the table as Getafe went to Alaves and returned with three points thanks to second half goals from Luis Vazquez and Mauro Arambari. The win takes etafe up to 11th, but still only four points ahead of the drop zone. Osasuna ran out 21 winners at Celta Vigo in torrid conditions as the rain hammered down on Friday night. Goals from Ante Bulimer and Raul Garcia either side of a Borja Iglesias penalty. Real Sociedad's fine form continued with a 31 win at home to Elche. Lukas Sukic, Mikel Oyasabal and Ori Oscarson with the goals that keep La Real's hopes of European football very much alive. Real Oviedo will study and pursue all appropriate legal actions after their match. At Rayo, Vallecano was called off four hours before kickoff due to the condition of the home side's pitch. Rayo relayed their turf midweek, but the playing surface was still deemed unsafe.
- [32:53]
B
I'm quite happy we've got a name in there. I've got one.
- [32:56]
A
What is your favorite?
- [32:58]
B
No, no, that's just difficult to say. I've got Nico Serrano. Bit of ham. If we get Serrano and Rioca scoring in the same game, that would be so good. My favorite things on the planet are jamon with Rioja, I mean, it's. They just work together. Yeah, I mean, especially Pattenegra, you know, the back leg, the high quality stuff, which is not Serrano. Yeah, it's not.
- [33:23]
A
I actually have a really good Jamon Serrano story, which I. I'm gonna try and tell really fast. So I know we've come to the end of the podcast, but we used to get gifted Serrano ham. Like the leg, the big legs. The big legs of ham. At Christmas when I worked for the club. So we always got a message saying, they're ready to collect, blah, blah, blah. So got a message saying they're ready to collect. And I was with my cameraman and he was so excited. Oh, the ham one's ready. It's like the highlight of the year. Anyway, he was like, oh, no, but today I brought my motorbike. And I was like, okay, well, why don't you wait till you've got your car because you can't take a massive leg of ham on the back of a motorbike. He was like, no, no, no. Desperate to get this ham. Anyway, so he picked up the motorbike and I was like, be safe, you know, be careful. Anyway, next day he doesn't come into work. I mean, I'm smiling because he's okay now, but it wasn't good.
- [34:07]
B
Oh, no.
- [34:07]
A
And anyway, I was like, I think I know what happened. And they were saying, what's happened? I said, I've just got a feeling. I've got a feeling. Anyway, it turned out he did crash his motorbike because of the Hamon leg, because I think he just couldn't see behind him because it was. And he. He broke, like, pretty much every bone in his body. But the worst thing was the ham on leg. He's fine now, by the way. He's totally fine. But the. The ham on leg was on the road, so people thought that it was like, it was so bad. Well, we can laugh because he's totally fine now and he's back at work and everything, but he was in a bad way for a long time. I always think about him when I see her.
- [34:51]
B
Well, no better way to finish with that. Yeah, fantastic.
- [34:55]
A
I'm off to do a pancake shoot now. I'm making pancakes with Emil Smith Rowe and Calvin Bassey. But we've got, like, nice toppings and disgusting toppings, like, horrible things. I've got it here. Mustard, onions, chili, marmalade, like baked beans, spinach, cheese, mushrooms. And then, like, the nice. Yeah, and then nice ones like lemon, sugar, strawberries, banana, Nutella. And then we make disgusting pancakes and the other has to eat it. So if the Fulham players are sick midweek, I can't play. You know why?
- [35:29]
B
Oh, crikey. What could possibly go wrong?
- [35:33]
A
Anyway, so that's my happy tossing.
- [35:35]
B
Happy tossing.
- [35:36]
A
Oh, God. Oh, dear. Thank you.
- [35:42]
B
Okay, I think. I think we better end it now. Goodbye from me.
- [35:47]
A
Goodbye from me.
- [36:01]
D
Hi there, everybody. It's Dominic Sambrook here from the Rest Is History and Gordon Carrera from the Rest Is Classified. Now, over the last month or so, the regime in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been pushed to the edge, having seen the largest protest for a generation ripping across the country. Tens of thousands of people have been killed by the Ayatollah's forces since the uprising began. And a lot of people outside Iran are asking, is this the beginning of the next Iranian revolution? And Goal Hanger is covering every element of this. On the Rest Is Classified, David and I have looked at the role of intelligence agencies in this conflict. With the Internet blackouts and so much unknown, we've been looking at whether spies are best placed to judge whether the regime is truly at risk of falling. Now, on the Rest Is History, we have been looking at the origins of the Iranian regime at the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which saw the fall of the last shah and his replacement by the rule of the Ayatollahs. Now, given that the last shah's son is being touted abroad as the man who might, just might, save Iran, you can't understand what is happening now without understanding what happened back then at the end of the 1970s. But it's not just our own two podcasts that are covering Iran. If you want to know whether Donald Trump's military buildup in the region means it's likely he's going to wade in and force regime change. Here, Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart cover the latest developments in the Rest is Politics. And our dear friends at the Rest Is Money have been looking at the economic collapse, the corruption and the impact of the sanctions that have been eating away its social cohesion in Iran over recent years and have pushed so many people onto the streets and on Empire. They've been looking at the similarities and differences between 1979 and today. How is it that a country that less than 50 years ago forced the Shah out of power is now seeing crowds chanting Long live the Shah? So whatever happens next to the people of Iran and to all those brave souls who've turned out on the streets to protest, stay tuned to Goal Hanger for all the context and the answers and the analysis that you need. Find the rest is history, the rest is classified Empire, the rest is politics, and the rest is money. Wherever you get your podcasts.