On episode five of Football Architects we look at how England changed their fortunes from tournament failures to final makers - and in the women's case, winners. Hear from the man who brought about the culture change and brought back pride to the Three Lions.Every episode will also have a written piece on the website, which we will link hereHost: Michael BaileyWith: Jacob Whitehead and Liam TharmeProducer: Mike Stavrou and Abi Paterson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The secrets behind football's data pioneers
On episode four of Football Architects, we hear from the architects of the data world, who have worked for the biggest football clubs in England.Every episode will also have a written piece on the website, which we will link below.Host: Michael BaileyWith: Jacob Whitehead and Mark CareyProducer: Mike Stavrouhttps://pod.fo/e/2fe33b https://pod.fo/e/2fe34e Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Forging Croatia's Golden Generation
On episode three of Football Architects, we’re focusing on international football's great over-performers, Croatia.We’ll hear from Romeo Jozak, the former academy head and technical director of Dinamo Zagreb and technical director of Croatia from 2013-17.Every episode will also have a written piece on the website, which we will link below.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6445372/2025/07/17/football-architects-croatia-football-overperformers Host: Michael BaileyWith: Jacob Whitehead and Juraj VrdoljakProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How Belgium marched to world number one
On episode two of Football Architects, we’re focusing on the rise that took a stagnant Belgium to number one in FIFA’s world rankings.We’ll hear about how they established a footballing DNA, and created a team of legendary players such as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and many more. Every episode will also have a written piece on the website, which we will link below.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6445749/2025/07/10/football-architects-inside-belgium-rise-world-number-one/ Host: Michael BaileyWith: Jacob Whitehead and Liam TharmeProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How Cruyff inspired Ajax's rebirth
Welcome to Football Architects - a summer series for The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast. Over the next five weeks, we’ll tell the stories of esteemed footballing nations and clubs, speaking to the unsung heroes who changed history.Today’s episode is focused on Ajax’s rebirth and how the club was rebuilt in the image of legendary figure Johan Cruyff.Host Michael Bailey will be joined by The Athletic’s Jacob Whitehead and a number of our tactics writers. We’ll also be hearing excerpts of Jacob's interviews with key figures who were at the forefront of these projects.On this episode, we hear from Ruben Jongkind, former head of talent development at Ajax, and the club’s former head talent recruitment, Jasper van Leeuwen.Every episode will also have a written piece on the website, which we will link below.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6445365/2025/07/03/football-architects-rebuilding-ajax-johan-cruyff/ Host: Michael BaileyWith: Jacob Whitehead and Liam TharmeProducer: Mike Stavrou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted by Michael Bailey, revered football tactics writer Michael Cox is joined by Mark Carey, Liam Tharme and more of The Athletic's brightest tactics and data department to break down the tactical and technical details behind the biggest footballing stories each week - assessing the latest trends, systems, players, managers and all manner of statistics in order to give you a deeper understanding of the game. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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