The Second Captains Podcast

It's almost certainly Julen Lopetegui's last day as coach of Real Madrid, after his side were hammered 5-1 at Camp Nou.We talk through the aftermath of the match and conclude that the European champions have problems that a change of coach is not going to solve.Jacob Steinberg was at Leicester this weekend to cover their match against West Ham. He joins us to talk about the helicopter disaster that claimed the lives of five people including the Leicester chairman, Vichai Srivadhannaprabha. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A taster of what was on Second Captains World Service this week: Man United's cunning plan, Murray on privacy and gossip, Champions League fun, beefs and brawls with US Murph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie Taylor had a routine defence of her world title in Boston on Saturday night against a fighter who was woefully unable to offer anything on the front foot. Rather more dramatic is a new documentary, "Katie", which gets a cinema release this week and which offers deep insight into Katie the person. Director Ross Whitaker (who has made "When Ali Came To Ireland" and "Axel" among a string of great Irish sports documentaries), is in studio along with Katie to talk to us about her relationship with her father, heartbreak in Rio and living a new life in the middle of nowhere in Connecticut. We also look back at the weekend's rugby with Mattie Williams and Gerry Thornley, as Leinster's mask of invincibility fell in dramatic fashion in Toulouse, Munster defeated Gloucester, Cipriani went high and Simon Zebo annoyed some Ulstermen. Plus there's the fog of GAA war, the art of small talk with promoters (and UFC stars), and showboating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nations League may be gone for the next few weeks but the aftershocks continue to shake up the Irish punditry scene as Seamus Coleman takes clinical aim at Keith Andrews for criticising the team. Meanwhile the Premier League title race looks exceptionally tight with the top five potentially separated by two points if Arsenal manage to beat Leicester tonight. But does the table belie the real story - which is that Manchester City's form is looking increasingly ominous for everybody else?Dermot Corrigan was at Real Madrid's press conference to see Julen Lopetegui confirm that he would continue as coach at least for another few days. And we speak to Deutsche Welle's Felix Tamsut about an extraordinary press conference at Bayern Munich, where the club main power-brokers called the media in for no other reason than to give them a damn good thrashing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

European Rugby is back, and it was an excellent week for the Irish provinces, as Leinster and Ulster both won against English opposition, and Munster came out of Exeter with a doughty draw.Gerry Thornley and former Munster back-rower James Coughlan join us to talk about Leinster's thrilling style, Ulster's young fullback, Tadhg Beirne's best game so far for Munster, and Freddie Burns' horror-show. Joe Brolly has called for the UFC to be banned, and Ken can't believe that he's talking about the Ultimate Fighting Championship and not the Ulster Football Championship. Plus there's Gabriel Batistuta, Rui Costa, li'l US Murph's photographic memory, and Django Unchained. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 1291: Good Ship Ireland, McCarthy Charm Offensive, Natural Goalscorer Worship - 15/10/18 by Second Captains Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So it turns out if you insult Khabib Nurmagomedov's family, religion, and country... he's not going to like it very much. Conor McGregor's pre-fight posturing might have just seemed like good PR, and even a good laugh, but Khabib was deadly serious when it came to seeking retribution in the ring, and against Mcgregor's team, in the immediate aftermath of the UFC lightweight world title fight. Petesy Carroll and Joe Callaghan are on hand to talk us through a fight in which McGregor was comprehensively outclassed, and to discuss who was best served by the crazy, chaotic scenes afterwards - was it Conor, the fans, the sport of MMA or Dana White and the UFC?Leinster and Munster served up a brilliant game on Saturday evening, a game where strangely enough pretty much everyone had something positive to take from it. Gerry Thornley and Denis Hickie look at Munster's new attacking formation, King James Lowe, and the Joey Carbery Ross Byrne battle. Plus there's Galway's new rugby party HQ, making your own reality, and Karl Rove. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It turns out Pep Guardiola can do pragmatism with the best of them, and the much-hyped clash of Liverpool and Manchester City fizzled out in mild disappointment for an uncharacteristically conservative City and mild relief for misfiring Liverpool.Instead we had to satisfy ourselves with an astonishing game at Old Trafford, in which Jose Mourinho defied the implacable forces bent on his destruction with a masterclass in rabble-rousing.John Brewin joins us to discuss that match and how things are likely to play out from here.But with some of Europe's biggest clubs also checking out the managerial market for replacements, is now the right time for United to act? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**NOTE: This was initially a World Service members-only show broadcasted first on 2nd of October 2018. We have decided to re-publish the podcast today, the 4th of October, with the support of our members. For independent, member-led journalism like this in the future, please join the Second Captains World Service. Enjoy the show and thanks to all our members as always.**On the World Service today we have one of the most impactful interviews we've ever done. It's the story of former professional footballer Brian Lenihan who played with Cork City before getting a move to Hull City and winning a call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad in 2014.In April of this year, aged just 23, Brian was forced to retire from football for his own wellbeing. And in the latest episode of The Player’s Chair, he opens up to Richie about the mental health issues that lay behind that decision to step away from the sport.Brian reveals the difficulties he had in coming to terms with his injury, the suicidal thoughts he experienced, and the multiple sessions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) he received as part of his treatment.It’s a difficult, sometimes dark but compelling interview for The Player's Chair. Brian hopes his openness will help others who may be going through similar difficulties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe were deemed to be the underdogs going into the weekend's Ryder Cup, but it was very much an old-school Ryder Cup in the end - the US had all the stars, Europe had all the team spirit, and it ended with a convincing 7 point win for the home side. Malachy Clerkin had barely set foot back in Ireland before he came in to us, and he's joined by Lawrence Donegan to pick apart another European celebration... and another fractious US aftermath. Leinster and Munster will be feeling good ahead of their meeting in the Aviva this saturday, as they both had confident, assured wins against Connacht and Ulster respectively. Mattie Williams and Gerry Thornley give us their views on Munster's new 9 Alby Mathewson, Joey Carbery's instincts and relentless Leinster. Plus there's Tiger Woods' woeful Ryder Cup record, Moliwood, Europe's lovely and lame stars, and the father of Grunge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.