All Episodes

#70 Everything you need to know about MLS All-Star Game, past, present and future

#69 The complete history of soccer kits

#68 What do footballers do in the off-season?

#67 Your Guide To Cheating In Soccer

#66 How do academy systems work?

#65 How did Argentina win the Copa America and how much does it mean for Lionel Messi?

#64 What is the ideal pitch size for a professional soccer game?

#63 Why do the Dutch wear orange, the Italians blue, and the Australians gold? Explaining some of the iconic kit colors of international soccer

#62 Commentator terminology explainer: Zone 14, half turn, sixes and sevens, under the cosh, and many more!

#61 What is the Concacaf Nations League and why does it exist? Plus, a preview of Honduras ahead of their match with the USMNT

#60 What is the Copa America, what are its biggest rivalries, and why won't Colombia be hosting this summer?

#59 How does a transfer work and why do they get so complicated so quickly?

#58 Where did the penalty kick rule come from?

#57 Why didn’t Matt Le Tissier play more for England?

#56 Did Didier Drogba really stop a civil war?

#55 Why is Marcelo Bielsa so beloved in world soccer?

#54 Why are there eleven players on a soccer team and how did that number become standard?

#53 Who is the USMNT's biggest bogey team away from home in World Cup qualifying? Plus, possible explanations for why that's the case

#52 What is a loan and how does it work?

#51 Why isn't Olympic soccer as popular as the World Cup?

#50 What is a super agent? And who are some super agents?

#49 What happened to Wimbledon FC and how did Wimbledon AFC come to be?

#48 Who are the Baggies? Exploring the naming origins of clubs around the world

#47 What is the SheBelieves Cup and how did it come to be?

#46 Who are the all-time top scoring Americans in Europe?

#45 What is La Masia?

#44 Why are there so many Americans in the Bundesliga?

#43 What is the Champions League?

#42 What is man-marking? And what is zonal-marking?

#41 Who is Paul Gascoigne and what was Gazzamania?

#40 What is the origin of the red card?

#39 What is a rondo and why is it useful?

#38 What is a football group?

#37 What do the terms regista, enganche, and raumdeuter mean?

#36 Why isn’t the U.S. Open Cup a big deal?

#35 How did sibling strife lead to the creation of Adidas and Puma?

#34 What are soccer’s phases of play?

#33 How many leagues are in this season?

#32 What is xG and why are advanced stats useful in soccer?

# 31 Why is El Clásico so important?

#30 Why did the United States fail to qualify for the World Cup for 40 years?

#29 What are FIFA’s new national team eligibility rules and how could they impact the USMNT?

What is the Premier League and how did it come to be?

#27 What is pressing? (including: What is gegenpressing?)

#26 How have Bayern Munich been so good for so long?

#25 What is Positional Play?

#24 What is the Bosman Ruling and how did it impact the transfer market?

#23 What is GAM and what is TAM?

#22 Diego Maradona v England at the 1986 World Cup

#21 Liverpool FC v AC Milan, 2005 Champions League Final

#20 USA v Spain, 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal

#19 USA v Argentina, 1995 Copa America

#18 USA v Mexico, 2002 World Cup

#17 Bundesliga 50+1 rule — how it works, why it was needed, and how Red Bull beat it

#16 Why does the UK have four teams? Also: What is IFAB?

#15 Promotion/Relegation and how it could work in the United States

#14 Why does the League Cup exist? (and how to make it better)

#13 History and meaning of the lines and markings on a football pitch

#12 How Johan Cruyff changed soccer

#11 Strengths and weakness of different formations: 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2

#10 USMNT All-Time XI

#9 What is a Panenka? (and how to take one)

#8 Parks and Recreation XI

#7 Why is Pele so famous?

#6 How to watch a game for tactics

#5 Soccer vs Football: American vs British terminology

#4 Skills special! Rabona, Trivela, Elastico, Sombrero explained

#3 Why is it called a derby? Plus: our six favorite derbies

#2 What do the numbers mean? Number 6, 8, 10, and all the rest

#1 The offside rule: how it works, why it exists, and its 100-plus-year history

#0 Hello and welcome to Soccer 101: What it is, why we did it, and how you can help