NBCSN dials back Premier League analysis: World Soccer Talk Podcast

World Soccer Talk is a weekly podcast about watching soccer on TV, online and apps.

In the NEW episode, number 113, Christopher Harris and co-host Kartik Krishnaiyer cover a range of topics including:

• Whether US Soccer is trying to undermine CONCACAF again,
• The details on the Women’s World Cup TV schedule,
• What the heck is going on with FOX and the Bundesliga,
• Sky Sports News is back on US television,
• Whether NBC Sports is becoming complacent with their EPL coverage,
• And we have a bunch of letters from you, the listeners, in our mailbag section.

Listen to the show via the player above or via this link.

Send in your questions, comments and feedback via e-mail web@worldsoccertalk.com, via Twitter (@worldsoccertalk) or Facebook. We’ll read them out on-air in the next episode.

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Real’s Vinicius Jr earns first Brazil squad call-up

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Real Madrid’s teenage attacking sensation Vinicius Junior was called up to Tite’s Brazil squad for the first time on Thursday in the last national team gathering ahead of the Copa America.

The 18-year-old has made a huge impact at the Santiago Bernabeu since moving from home town club Flamengo at the start of the season.

Although he began this campaign in Real’s B team, Vinicius has quickly risen to an almost guaranteed first team starter since Santiago Solari replaced Julen Lopetegui.

He has not just been Real’s most dangerous attacking player since, he’s also the main reason Wales star Gareth Bale is struggling to get into the team.

Brazil will play two friendlies in March against Panama, in Portugal on the 23rd, and away to the Czech Republic three days later.

Vinicius’s inclusion will create some excitement to offset the absence of Neymar, who has a broken foot and will be out until April.

His club team-mate Marcelo finds himself dropped, though, just as he has been in Madrid.

But fellow veteran Dani Alves, currently playing alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain, makes his return to the squad, as does his team-mate Thiago Silva, who replaces Bordeaux’s Pablo.

West Ham’s Filipe Anderson is rewarded for his fine Premier League form with his second ever call-up, the first coming in 2015.

The Premier League provides eight members of the squad, more than any other championship, with Liverpool trio Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino, and Manchester City’s Ederson, Danilo and Gabriel Jesus included.

Only two players, Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton and Gremio forward Everton, ply their trade in their homeland.

Brazil won their last two friendlies in November against Uruguay and Cameroon, both 1-0.

The final squad for the Copa America will be announced in May, with hosts Brazil kicking off the tournament on June 14 against Bolivia in Sao Paulo.

The final will be at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana stadium on July 7.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool/ENG), Ederson (Manchester City/ENG), Weverton (Palmeiras)

Defenders: Alex Sandro (Juventus/ITA), Dani Alves (Paris SG/FRA), Danilo (Manchester City/ENG), Eder Militao (Porto/POR), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Marquinhos (Paris SG/FRA), Miranda (Inter Milan/ITA), Thiago Silva (Paris SG/FRA)

Midfielders: Allan (Napoli/ITA), Arthur (Barcelona/ESP), Casemiro (Real Madrid/ESP), Fabinho (Liverpool/ENG), Felipe Anderson (West Ham/ENG), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan/ITA), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona/ESP)

Forwards: Everton (Gremio), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool/ENG), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City/ENG), Richarlison (Everton/ENG), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/ESP)

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Injury, illness hamper Bayern’s plans at Gladbach

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac has mounting personnel problems ahead of Saturday’s crunch Bundesliga clash at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

The defending champions start the weekend in second, trailing leaders Borussia Dortmund by three points and face a tricky tie at Gladbach, who inflicted a shock 3-0 defeat on Bayern at Munich’s Allianz Arena last October.

However, Bayern could potentially be heading north without some big names, including club captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, in their star-studded squad.

“(Reserve goalkeeper) Sven Ulreich has trained, Mats Hummels too, Manuel Neuer hasn’t, but we hope he can train tomorrow (Friday),” said Kovac.

Bayern are already light on wingers with Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman out with leg injuries, while Franck Ribery and left-back David Alaba are also now sidelined.

“David has a ligament injury, Franck has gastroenteritis, both are definitely out for Saturday,” added Kovac.

“(Central midfielder) Leon Goretzka has a few issues with his ankle, whether or not he can play we’ll only be able to say tomorrow.”

Kovac’s Bayern were torn apart by Gladbach’s counter-attacks last October when Alassane Plea and Lars Stindl scored early goals in Munich after Jonas Hoffmann punched holes in Bayern’s midfield before Patrick Herrmann netted a late third goal.

However, Dieter Hecking’s Gladbach, who sit fourth in the table, crashed to 3-0 defeats to both mid-table sides Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg in recent weeks, leaving them winless in their last three league games.

In contrast, Bayern travel with confidence high in the midst of the title race after winning 10 of their last 11 league games.

“At the moment, we are having a good phase and Borussia aren’t, but the results don’t necessarily mirror what the current performances are like,” said Kovac.

“We won’t underestimate them.

“It will be a tough game and the atmosphere in Gladbach is always great.”

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Puma net global deal with Man City-owners City Football Group

Berlin (AFP) – German sports equipment and clothing company Puma scored a significant goal on Thursday by announcing a global partnership deal with City Football Group, who own Premier League champions Manchester City.

Puma will kit out the men’s, women’s and youth football teams of Pep Guardiola’s giants Man City.

Sister clubs Melbourne City FC in Australia’s A-League, Spain’s Girona FC, Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay and Chinese second-tier side Sichuan Jiuniu will also wear the Bavarian firm’s leaping-cat logo.

A spokesperson for Puma declined to tell AFP the duration or financial terms of the “long-term” contract.

“Puma’s partnership with City Football Group is the largest deal that we have ever done – both in scope and ambition,” said Bjorn Gulden, CEO of Puma.

“We are very excited to partner with City Football Group, whose success, ambition and drive for innovation has seen them setting new standards, on and off the field.”

The City Football Group is a holding company under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group.

“This announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for City Football Group,” said Ferran Soriano, CEO of City Football Group.

“Our relationship with Puma, covering five City Football Group clubs across four continents, will reset the model for sports partnerships on a truly global scale whilst being locally relevant and authentic for fans around the world.” 

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Prince William slams football clubs over mental health care

London (AFP) – Prince William has launched a withering broadside at football clubs, lambasting them for a “dereliction of duty” in their lack of care for players mental health.

Prince William, who along with younger brother Prince Harry have spoken openly about their own mental health issues, said clubs appeared to only see the players as investments not as human beings.

Prince William, who is the President of English football’s governing body the Football Association (FA), made the remarks during a meeting at Windsor Park, the home of the Irish Football Association in Belfast.

“Some clubs don’t do anything about mental health. We’ve got to change the whole way we look after players,” the 36-year-old Prince said to members of Ahead of the Game, an organisation that delivers mental health support to grassroots football clubs. 

“Many players come from difficult backgrounds and may have all sorts of issues going on.

“So just to have them as a complete financial asset…it’s a dereliction of duty, I think.”

Prince William, who decried the manner in which players are “discarded” and said they should be “supported” instead of the clubs wiping their hands of them and told to “move on”, said he was in talks with the FA over the possibility of organising a “Mental Health FA Cup”.

“We’re working on something with the FA at the moment, trying potentially to get a mental health FA Cup to have a really punchy campaign we can base something around,” said the Prince, who is a noted supporter of second tier English side Aston Villa.

Prince William’s rare outspoken comments drew praise from across the football community including Michael Bennett, the Professional Footballers’ Association’s head of welfare.

It emerged last year a record number of players approached the body for support with mental health problems.

“Clearly, not everyone is earning £100,000 ($133,000) a week,” said Bennett.

“There are things you don’t see. Players could suffer an untimely death in the family or suffer a serious injury.

“Money isn’t going to stop emotional feelings surfacing,” he said.

Several former and current high profile players have spoken of their battles with mental issues including Tottenham Hotspur and England star Danny Rose, former England international Aaron Lennon and the now retired Stan Collymore.

Collymore, 48, is presently struggling admitting for the last three weeks he has been sleeping for 20 hours a day revealing his “longing never to wake” but he said the Prince’s remarks could be a game changer for the issue.

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Fellaini and a Korean ‘Monster’: China’s top imports for new season

Shanghai (AFP) – Spending may have slowed in the Chinese Super League, which kicks off a new season on Friday, but clubs are still splashing out on salaries to lure big-name players.

AFP Sport picks the five most significant imports during the close season:

– Marouane Fellaini (Shandong Luneng) –

The most eye-catching move of the Chinese transfer window, the towering 31-year-old ended five-and-a-half turbulent years at Manchester United by joining Shandong Luneng. The Belgian international, who can play in midfield or as an auxiliary forward, made 177 appearances and scored 22 goals at United. But he was never accepted by fans at Old Trafford, who felt his awkward style was not in keeping with United’s attacking traditions.

– Mousa Dembele (Guangzhou R&F) –

Like Fellaini, Dembele is a 31-year-old Belgian international and another high-profile acquisition from the Premier League. Dembele was immensely popular at Tottenham Hotspur and in his pomp was one of the finest midfielders in English football, but injuries have taken their toll. R&F, very much the second team in Guangzhou — behind seven-time CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande — paid about 12 million euros to lure Dembele from London. They will be desperately hoping that they can keep him fit. 

– Marek Hamsik (Dalian Yifang)

Dalian reportedly paid 20 million euros to sign Hamsik, 31, from Napoli. The Slovak international is Napoli’s record goal-scorer, hitting 121 goals in 520 appearances to overhaul the tally plundered by Diego Maradona. Hamsik was also captain at the Italian side and cultivated legendary status during his 12 years at the club. With his tattoos, mohawk hairstyle and undoubted talent, Hamsik could set the CSL alight. 

– Sandro Wagner (Tianjin Teda) –

Yet another 31-year-old, the German forward was brought to struggling Tianjin Teda from Bayern Munich for a fee reported to be five million euros and a hefty salary hike. The striker had become frustrated by his lack of playing time under Bayern coach Niko Kovac. Not one to hide his opinions, Wagner retired from international duty with Germany in May last year — an angry reaction to being left out of the 2018 World Cup squad by Joachim Loew. 

– Kim Min-jae (Beijing Guoan) –

South Korean international Kim “Monster” Min-jae snubbed interest from Premier League side Watford to sign for Beijing Guoan from Jeonbuk Motors. The burly 22-year-old centre-back missed last summer’s World Cup because of injury but is a stalwart for South Korea and regularly touted as one of the best defenders in Asia. The “Monster” nickname stems from his powerful physique and he will play a big part in Guoan’s title push.

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Hulk carries load as weakened Shanghai seek repeat Chinese title

Shanghai (AFP) – The departure of goal machine Wu Lei puts extra pressure on the broad shoulders of Brazilian striker Hulk as Shanghai SIPG kick off their Chinese Super League title defence on Friday.

The champions lost the league’s top-scorer to Espanyol in Spain during the off-season and have failed to replace him, despite being linked with West Ham’s Marko Arnautovic.

SIPG will badly miss the Chinese international forward, who hit 27 goals in 29 games to fire them to their first major crown.

But the club’s Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, who masterminded the end of Guangzhou Evergrande’s seven-year reign as champions, is keen to move on.

“I believe that with hard work, team spirit and humility, and if you work as a team… as a family, we can achieve our goals and win more titles,” Pereira said on Wednesday.

He will be desperate to keep former international forward Hulk, 32, fit and firing.

The skipper, who has 51 goals in 88 matches since arriving from Zenit St. Petersburg in 2016 for a reported $60 million, missed some of last year’s title run due to injury.

SIPG, who also have the $68 million Brazilian midfielder Oscar, open their new season with a tricky cross-town trip to rivals Shanghai Shenhua.

“The secret is to keep focused and together, and to help each other,” the 50-year-old Pereira said.

“We have a lot of big challenges, starting this week.”

– Fellaini and the 31 club –

The good news for Hulk and SIPG is that the dethroned Evergrande, their nearest challengers last season, also failed to significantly strengthen in the close season.

Coach Fabio Cannavaro will again rely on another pair of Brazilians, the midfielders Paulinho and Anderson Talisca, as Evergrande attempt to wrestle back the crown.

Shandong Luneng finished third and Beijing Guoan fourth in what was a four-way title tussle until the final weeks of the campaign, when SIPG and Evergrande pulled away.

Luneng have made one of the most significant acquisitions of the Chinese transfer window, snapping up Marouane Fellaini from Manchester United.

He has been joined in China by fellow Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele, who signed for Guangzhou R&F from Tottenham Hotspur for about $14 million.

Another high-profile arrival was Marek Hamsik, who went to Dalian Yifang after outstripping the great Diego Maradona as Napoli’s record goal-scorer.

All aged 31 and established internationals, the trio’s arrival proves that CSL clubs still have the financial muscle to lure European stars with big contracts.

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