On this episode of My Football Heroes, we talk all things heroes and villain with writer, journalist, lawyer, podcaster and impressive man - Alex Wade (+1).

Alex is a QPR fan, and has written multiple books on varied subjects such as surfing, boxing and most recently 'A Season On The Med - Riviera Football In Italy And France (With A Trip To Athens For Stan). Which is out now. Alex is a resident of the Riviera, and this is his winding journey through one of the most enchanting areas of footballing geography, from the flaming cauldrons of the Marseille Monaco derby to the balmy plains of the Italian lower leagues - Its an essential read for any football purist. His podcast 'Footy On The Med' is out every week.

Further topics covered 

.The legality of swimming to Italy

.The ruler rule 

.In depth chats with Les Ferdinand 

.Peles favourite goal

.Fruit metaphors

Find out more about Alex and John Here:

A Summer On The Med

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/season-med

Website

https://alexwade.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/surfnation1

Footy On The Med Podcast

https://www.footyonthemed.com/podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In another special My Football Heroes Story, we are delighted to be joined by the library of all things Spanish football - Friend of the show, David Whitworth. 

This story is about a player who for a few short years held Spain and Europe in the palm of his hand. All done in the most unreal of kits, and with the most unreal of haircuts. It is the story of dragging a sleeping giant back to the top table of football. A story of a massive transfer, massive expectations, momentum stalling, and of Middlesbrough. Of course it's the Gaizka Mendieta story.

If you were a 90s kid this player is seared into your palette of football. Blazing like a comet. Seemingly capable of otherworldly feats, before disappearing from view. For others, the Gaizka Mendieta Story is a 'you weren't there' story. A player who often gets no mention, but was for a short time, officially the best midfielder in the world. 

Its also the tale of late 90s Spanish football, the ups and downs of one of the most fluctuating times ever seen. Of the introduction of La Liga into UK households. The late dusk of the great Seire A era, and of mid 00s Middlesborough and success.

Other topics covered

• Rivaldos bicycle kick
• The silver world cup ball
• The original Bolton
• Replacing Veron and Nedved

Find out more about David here

Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/davidcwhitworth

Insta

https://www.instagram.com/dcwhitworth/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a rare move for a football podcast, we decided to try and build up our excitement to the world cup by previewing the first world cup to take place in the my football heroes orbit.

It is indeed a world cup of firsts - the first world cup in the winter, the first world cup in the Middle East, and the first world cup where the people who awarded it are now in prison for wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. .

Most importantly we also made a quiz.

Joining us are legit royalty of my football heroes - MJ from the ball and banter podcast, and Kojo from the 3 in midfield podcast. Both have appeared as guests on the podcast before, and manage to add their usual knowledge and humour to the most controversial world cup in our lifetimes. Also the most impressive quiz question answer ever seen happens.

Further topics covered

. Winners, flops, and dark horses

. International spurs

. Defending Richarlison

.The curse of the world cup winners

Find out more about MJ and Kojo Here

Kojo - 3 In Midfield

Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/show/5IIFcWyISqIYMnntM6wpVw?si=8sG6vsmARfSxns7Q_S4Nvg&nd=1

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/3inmidfield/id1089509683

Twitter

https://twitter.com/3inmidfield?s=21

Insta

https://www.instagram.com/3inMidfield/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/coach_kojob/?hl=en

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/c/3inMidfieldPodcast

MJ - Ball and banter

Podcast

https://ballandbanter.buzzsprout.com/

Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/ballandbanterp1

Insta

https://www.instagram.com/top_tekkers/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/ball_and_banter/?hl=en

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_d9jnnTdxAoReNZUkW8xDw

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate our half century of My Football Heroes Podcast episodes, Lewis was treated to the most precious of gifts... not just the opportunity to speak about Gareth Bale but also the unbridled honour of hosting fellow Welshman and Swansea fan Matt Harrison.

Matt is a multi faceted and talented individual. He is the host of the terrific 'Platini Played For Kuwait' podcast which handles a different topic each episode. Faded wonderkids and Marco Van Basten and Mike Newell hatricks. Not content with just the one podcast - Upon moving to Malaga, Matt became a devoted follower of Malaga CF and he is also the host of Guiricast. The dedicated Malaga podcast. 

Further Topics Discussed

.Seeing wonderkids in Slovakian shopping centres looking sad 

.Lee Dixon looking at you distastefully

.Needing to talk about Kevin 

.Getting suspended so you can go see some fireworks

Find more about Matt here - 

Twitter 

https://twitter.com/mattlostboyo

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mattlostboyo/

Platini Played For Kuwait 

Twitter 

https://twitter.com/PlayedForKuwait

Guiricast 

Twitter 

https://twitter.com/GuiricastPod

Insta 

https://www.instagram.com/guiricast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on my football heroes we are blessed with the presence of Luke Connelly. Not only is he the first Luke we have hosted, he is also the founder of Libero.

 Libero is an in depth, themed, and beautifully illustrated football magazine. It is focused on the beauty and raw emotion of football rather than XG and James Milner's bleep test. Issues one and two focused on the Euros and Football Culture. Issue three, Calcio is available fpr pre order now..

Further subjects covered

.Kenny Dalglish vs Bear Grylls

.A crying Titi Camara

.The highbrow soccer AM

.The Diamond

Find out more about Luke and Libero here

Website

https://www.liberomag.com/home

Twitter

https://twitter.com/MagLibero

Instagram

https://instagram.com/liberofootballmag?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on My Football Heroes we are delighted to be joined by writer and storyteller Aniefiok Ekpoudom, whose work explores British culture, identity, music, sport - basically all aspects of society.

Aniefiok's writing has appeared everywhere, The Guardian, British GQ, Vice and many more. He has interviewed the cream of British musicians, and written beautifully about football and south east London, he most recently wrote a chapter called 'South London Soil' from the amazing book 'A New Formation - how black footballers shaped the modern game.'

Further to this, he is also a lifelong Southampton fan.

Further Subjects Covered

.Paul's ever mentioned trip to see Ronaldinho

.Footballers as artists

.Moving to a big club too early 

.The experiences that create the love for football 

Find more about Aniefiok Here 

Website 

https://aniefiokekpoudom.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/AniefiokEkp?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Instagram

 https://www.instagram.com/aniefiokekp/?hl=en

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 2nd 2010, in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, a crossbar denied Ghana from making history and becoming the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final. 

'Heroes, Handballs and Heartache' is the story of Ghana at the 2010 World Cup. Join Paul and a panel of fantastic guests for a nostalgic journey which details the highs and lows of an epic campaign featuring passion, penalties and pain. 

When Asamoah Gyan's stoppage time penalty crashed off of the bar, it brought a close to one of the longest running heavyweight rivalries in football history - Ghanaian footballers versus crossbars. From Tony Yeboah's thunderous strikes in the mid-90s, to Michael Essien's Champions League haymaker against Barcelona, Ghanaian footballers have been going toe to toe with the woodwork- in a slugfest akin to Ali versus Frazier or Fury versus Wilder. But sadly, it was that crossbar in Johannesburg which struck the knockout blow in this titanic battle. Join us to relive the story of Ghana's World Cup journey, and how it was ultimately ended by a combination of the second coming of the hand of god, and a defiant piece of woodwork. 

This episode is from our My Football Stories series, brought to you by My Football Heroes Podcast, with contributions from Ibrahim Mustapha (author of 'No Longer Naïve - African Football's Growing Impact at the World Cup), Roland (Pros Only Sports), Abid Imam (Freo de Janeiro), Richard Amponsah (Eagle-Eyed Football), K Sarps (Ball and Banter Podcast) and Coach Kojo (3 in Midfield/The Match Report). 

Written by Paul Bacon. Artwork by Adam Burton. Music by HoliznaCCO. Created by My Football Heroes Podcast. 

Please take the time to subscribe, rate and review and follow us on Instagram @myfootballheroespodcast  

For my about our contributors: 

Ibrahim Mustapha - @ibstagram3000 @myrandomfootball 

Get ‘No Longer Naïve - African Football's Growing Impact at the World Cup’ 

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/no-longer-naive 

Roland - @prosonlysports_  

https://www.youtube.com/c/ProsOnlySports 

Abid Imam - @freodejaneiro 

http://abidimam.com/  

Richard Amponsah - @eagleeyedfootball_ 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Y9s7oua1gNoy-jJjqjSRQ  

K Sarps - @ksarps_bnb @ball_and_banter 

https://open.spotify.com/show/00cIYbSerkT11JbYCGRGHu  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_d9jnnTdxAoReNZUkW8xDw  

Kojo - @coach_kojob @3inMidfield 

https://www.youtube.com/c/3inMidfieldPodcast  

https://open.spotify.com/show/5IIFcWyISqIYMnntM6wpVw  

Artwork by @adamburtonart

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a week where Lewis' passport celebrated being expired for a year - we are delighted to be joined on My Football Heroes by Bulgarian native, Spanish resident, and rocker of the 1998 Dutch shirt - Stan Kamaliev

Stan is a freelance journalist covering Spanish and European football. He is the creator of YouTube channel 'STANSPORTS' - a no filter look at La Liga football. Alongside the football, he explores the culture of the differing Spanish regions. It's a must see for anyone wanting the full, immersive Spanish football experience. 

Further Topics Covered 

.The end of David Ginola's international career 

.From winning the Balon d'or to kicking American students in 6 years

. Cartel managers 

.Zidane the manager

Find Out More About Stan Here

Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/stankamaliev

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/c/StanSports/videos

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/stan.kamaliev/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.