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