Soccer Sense Podcast: Recent Episodes
Soccer Sense
Soccer Sense, the sensible football podcast takes a weekly look at all that is sensible on the pitch and off it with a focus on the English Premier League. Each week Vishal, Karan & Tareque strive to keep it 100% hot take free.
Vishal, Karan, and Tareque are finally able to find a window to breathe and to record an episode reflecting on the summer euphoria of dreams of a perfect world that is the FIFA World Cup despite all the ills that plague it off the field. We talk Cape Verde's breakout, France's imperious touch, how Croatia are eternal, and wonder if Karan is turning English.
Vinayakk M, longtime Arsenal fan and sports journalist returns to the pod after a decade to bask in the afterglow of Arsenal's title winning PL season, and help us train our SenseMeter on the dawn of a new Gunners Era. You can read his Substack post about Arsenal here and follow him on Twitter/X @vinayakkm
The full panel is here to talk about the end of Arsenal's 22-year quest for a Premier League title, separating the sense of the destination from the riff raff of the journey, and discussing how winning a league, like finishing a marathon, need not always look aesthetically dignified for it to be significant!
The full panel is back as we break down how Arsenal are likely to handle the run-in, speculate about Pep and talk about the madcap finish in Scotland.
Soccer Sense's EFL Championship correspondent - Karan - gives us a lowdown of a dramatic final day in the league, and the madness of following three games at once with playoff places on the line. Championship - where sense is thrown to the winds, and it is mostly just... football madness. Tune In!
Karan and Tareque put the top of the table clash between Manchester City and Arsenal under the SenseMeter and ask - what does the run-in look like for the two title contenders, with a cameo from Loki himself.
Karan, our calcio correspondent, joins Tareque, as we break down the history behind the heartbreak of the Azzuri missing out on a men's World Cup berth for an incredible third time in a row. But is it really that incredible, or is there credible incompetence behind it? We train our SoccerSense Meter on it.
Vishal and Tareque get existential trying to figure out why the Champions League knockout games were that one-sided and look for silver linings on spotting the soul of football this World Cup year.
The full panel is back with Karan, the European correspondent, breaking down the chaotic final matchday in the Champions League and resident Red Devil Vishal breaks the sense down behind the madness of Michael Carrick's first two results as (caretaker) Manchester United manager.
Vishal and Tareque convene an emergency pod to try and separate the sense of the disease from the hysteria of symptoms of what ails Manchester United, in the wake of their latest managerial ousting - Ruben Amorim. Also featuring, can Arsenal be stopped by the team that denied Leeds scoring opportunities and held Fulham to a draw at Craven Cottage?
The full panel of Vishal, Karan, and Tareque are back to talk about a tale as old as time - poor communication between management and employees - as we try to separate the sense from the sensationalism of l'affaire Mo Salah and try to figure out Arne Slot's blueprint going forward.
Vishal and Tareque subject the opposing runs of Arsenal and Liverpool to the scrutiny of the SenseMeter and try to explain what seems to be ailing Slot's Liverpool, and if Arteta's Arsenal are the real deal now.
Vishal and Tareque discuss the existential threat that looms upon the vaunted position that is the football manager and how the future of football itself might be intertwined in this owner-manager power struggle.
Karan, Vishal, and Tareque convene one last time for this season to look back at the Champions League final, and discuss how Luis Enrqiue's joyful football philosophy put the spark back in Soccer Sense's own footballing funk.
Karan, Vishal, and Tareque are back for a full panel pod about the joys of finishing on the pinnacle of English football positions: 8th, 9th, and 10th. We talk about the beauty of the three Bs - Bournemouth, Brighton, and Brentford - who finished there and why these clubs in and of themselves are fascinating case studies of what the essence of football truly is.
Tareque and Karan bring you a special follow up episode to our last week's Serie A roundup episode because apparently drama that would have even Lenin shook was packed into one weekend and affected all parts of the table.
Tareque and Soccer Sense's Calcio Correspondent Karan make up the panel this week that gives you the Soccer Sense season primer of the Serie A season - which Milan is annoying Juve fan Karan the most, and how is Gasperini like Ethan Hunt, and will Serie A see the holy vacation trifecta in it next season? All of these, answered.
Vishal and Tareque get together to question Karan's conspicuous absence of reaction on the epic that was the Barca v Inter semifinal, and train the Soccer Sense Meter on the tie, with some surprising insights about age and experience from Vishal himself.
The panel convenes to ~~elect a new pope~~ seek the sense in how Liverpool put together a title winning run, and what Arsenal need to do in their Champions League semifinal second leg.
A sense busting throwback Thursday from Manchester United who party like it's 1999 and our panel tries to recalibrate our Soccer Senses to understand their dramatic elimination of Lyon. Also featuring, a primer on your new fav Norwegian football team.
Was Pirlo on the PS5 controller when Rice stepped up to take the freekicks against Real Madrid? Are Bayern Munich cut out for an Italian Job? And will Villa Park be metal enough in the second leg? All these and many more questions tackled in our Champions League Quarterfinal Reviews as Tareque and Soccer Sense's European Correspondent - Karan - take the mic.
This week, the panel - none of whom are even capable of filing their own taxes - pore into the financials of Manchester United and discuss the dilemma of how a big football club can balance commerce, community and conscience while dealing with an existential crisis, and figure out if there are indeed sensible ways to think about their current position.
This week there was heist in Paris, and next week there could be a Cinderella story happening in Lille. It's all happening in the Champions League as the panel, led by European Correspondent Karan, break down the Round of 16 Leg 1s and look forward to Leg 2.
After Liverpool's 2-0 away win at the Etihad, the panel addresses the non-addressing of the Manchester City decline, and also discusses why Arsenal seem to be manifesting poverties they don't suffer from and enquires if there are buses being hired in advance in the city of Liverpool yet?
This week, the panel grapples with the existential question - if a cup was won with no one around was a cup still won? Football's expansionary push and its potentially devastating consequences are put under the SenseMeter, with a little help from Ted Lasso.
This week, much like Manchester City's midfield, we put in only 2/3rd of the effort, as partial panel Tareque and European Correspondent Karan break down the sense and nonsense of the pulsating Champions League encounter between Real Madrid and City and look ahead to the return leg.
This week the panel reflects on how Arsenal carved Manchester City apart to serve them a 5-1 beatdown, and wonder how to separate sense from nonsense in the tactics and the turmoil when the stakes and the emotions run as high as they did at The Emirates.
This week, the panel gets philosophical about football managers and their role in the modern game where they seem to be pulled in different directions by forces of commerce and chaos. We explore what rock bands can tell us about the football manager, and what lemons life may chuck at Arne Slot who at this point may be forgiven for thinking that the PL and the UCL are easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
The panel convenes to wrap their heads around the new fangled UEFA Champions League format, and how it resembles March Madness, or even worse, the Baseketball format. What sort of unintended consequences hath UEFA wrought? We look at the dynamics.
It's that time of the season when in the Premier League the panel turns its attention to North London, partly for the comedy (this time it even features Monty Python!) and partly for the enigma and how to separate the sense from the nonsense if you are an artillery themed football club.
The Soccer Sense panel convenes to discuss the 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Manchester United and what it means for a Man U team in turmoil and their manager, who was gasp born (b. 1985) after the release of Return of The Jedi (1983), a fact causing grave concern for the panel (about their own mortality).
Vishal, Karan, and Tareque are back with a new season, beginning with a look back at 2024, and seeking the sense behind Nottingham Forest's rise and City's fall. And on a cold Wednesday night, somewhat removed from Stoke, Karan tries to explain Juventus' strange unbeaten Serie A run.
Tareque and Vishal are back after a long hiatus - older and wiser - about how they fell a little out of love with the game and how they are reconciling themselves to fall in love with the game again. And oh yes, somehow Manchester United are still crap :/
It is time for our European Correspondent to spike his hair up, dust off his notebook, and set off on a cross continental adventure with his do-- oh wait, that's Tintin. In this week's episode we have Karan, Soccer Sense's european correspondent giving us the full preview of the UEFA Champions League, the last of its kind in terms of the 32-team format.
Tareque, Karan, and Vishal are back again with a new instalment of searching for Soccer Sense amidst all the madness this week of France and Australia's penalty theatrics literally spilling over into a theater, and a Premier League opening weekend that answered a lot of questions but raised many interesting ones.
Soccer Sense's resident women's football correspondent joins us for a special preview of the Women's World Cup where we discuss who to look out for, the strides the women's game has made, and the steps it still needs to take, and how you, the listener, can be a part of the revolution that is sweeping women's sport!
You can follow Radha on Twitter @radhalathgupta and her women's sports coverage project She Talks Ball here and on Twitter @SheTalksBall
There are great previews of the World Cup available that cover much more of the richer details but here are a few you can refer to
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The most comprehensive player guide!
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The astonishing story of Haiti and how they made it that we referred to in the middle of the episode.
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A good primer on the ACL injury epidemic that seems to be there in women's sport.
This week, the full panel returns to talk about the podcast's designated Devil's Advocate, Jose Mourinho, and his shenanigans after the Europa League final, and also look ahead to the Champions League final which Karan desperately wants Inter to lose.
The full panel of Tareque, Karan, and Vishal is back to look at the trends that have emerged from a chaotic season of football in Europe, assesses the last decade of this podcast and sets a direction for the future.
Soccer Sense finally makes a comeback, having slumbered through Argentina's World Cup triumph, but we sure as heck are not going to miss the Napoli Narrative. Tareque and Karan take a look at the state of affairs in the Serie A, and pull the lens back to try and catch the throughline between Napoli's current position and their last Scudetto, back in 1990.
A special kickoff to season 11 of Soccer Sense, as we talk to Radha Gupta, a women's sports advocate and founder of She Talks Ball, which looks at advancing conversations and content on women's sport. Radha talks of how to break the chicken and egg situation in women's sport, of her affinity to Chelsea football club and we preview the Euro 2022, where at least 6 teams have a realistic shot at the title in what promises to be a pulsating tournament.
Vishal and Tareque kick off a new season of the pod and the Premier League by training the SoccerSenseMeter on the four key title contenders this season - the two Manchesters, Chelsea and Liverpool - and wonder if Pep already has a bag of excuses in place.
Tareque, Vishal and Karan celebrate the Azzurri's win in the Euro final, and put Gareth Southgate and Roberto Mancini's tactical battle under the SoccerSense Meter, and ask - where do Italy go next?
It is a full panel episode again as Vishal, Karan and Tareque break down the two semifinals, talk about how Italy pulled off a win against Spain by not panicking, and ask whether England finally have been able to summon mental fortitude for the crunch situations.
The full panel of Soccer Sense convenes - Tareque, Vishal and Karan are on the same pod for the first time in over a year to review the quarterfinals at Euro 2020 through the Soccer Sense SenseMeter and look forward to two fascinating semifinals.
Tareque and Vishal try to make sense of how and why the thrilling Round of 16 manifested in the Euro 2020, Vishal presents a secret theory about Gareth Southgate, and the Soccer Sense panel looks ahead to the Euro quarterfinals.
Tareque and Soccer Sense's European correspondent Karan sit down to take a quick look back at the Euro 2020 group stage and look forward to some mouthwatering clashes in the Round of 16.
Vishal and Tareque finally get around to recording an episode in a difficult season, only because the beauty and purity of Leicester's FA Cup triumph made them hopeful enough to do so. Also, an assessment of Pep Guardiola's seminal English season.
A tragedy of Liverpudlian proportions has befallen the defending champions in the Premier League over the last 8 weeks. Vishal and Tareque train the Soccer Sense Meter at Liverpool and try to make sense of the unravelling.
Vishal and Tareque are back mostly to say we told you so on the bursting of the bubbles of many a title challenger (including the defending champs) and to talk about how Manchester City avoided that fate. Also, our City-Liverpool preview.
Soccer Sense finds its resident Spurs fan as we chat with young designer Sneha Nanavati, who fell for the North Londoners in the Pochettino era and revels in every moment of watching football. We talk to her about her football doodles (available to view on Instragram.com/bubblegum.factory), making sense of Jose Mourinho, and above all, a sensible, kind and humane way to enjoy the beautiful game in all its drama laced glory.
As the title race in the EPL gets crowded, confusing and compressed, Tareque and Vishal look at how Chelsea managed to find themselves out of it, and also look forward to one of the highest stakes Manchester United - Liverpool clashes in years.
It's time for our annual around Europe episode with Soccer Sense's European correspondent Karan, as he and Tareque look at what's going on in the other European leagues and how Serie A is doubling down on its drama.
This week our SoccerSense Meter is trained squarely on Manchester United as Vishal, the resident Red Devil, assess their title challenge credentials, while Tareque wonders if Spurs are reverting to Spursy again. We also gingerly mention another North London team.
Vishal and Tareque are back after a hiatus to look at Tottenham's trajectory to the top of the table and look forward to the top of the table clash as Mourinho and Klopp face off just before festive fixture pandemonium sets in.
With the Premier Table going all topsy turvy, Vishal and Tareque turn their attention to one quietly humming team that seems to have its plans coming together very nicely as the others' best laid plans have Jordan Pickford sized disruptions running through them.
Vishal and Tareque try to process the shambolic performances dished out by Manchester United and Liverpool over the weekend in this howler in the form of a podcast episode.
Vishal and Tareque break down the astonishing results for Chelsea and Manchester City, critique Jurgen Klopp's high line and take a look at a certain other Merseyside team's impressive manager and his progress.
It started in a frenzy, and to tactically breakdown that madcap game that was Liverpool v Leeds, Soccer Sense's resident tactician Vishal joins Tareque as we usher the new season in.
Karan and Tareque look ahead to the 2020/21 Premier League season where, while the chasing pack has brought in reinforcements, the champion and the contender will have to deal with that nasty thing called regression to mean.
Vishal is back as he joins Tareque to analyse how Bayern Munich will match up against PSG in the Final of what has been a protracted Champions League season but may have one final intriguing encounter still left in his tank.
Tareque and Soccer Sense's European correspondent, Karan, unpack the absolute madness unleashed by the last two quarterfinals in the single elimination format, the X-factor that Leipzig might bring and ponder whether Pep and Barcelona's meltdowns are symptoms of deeper systemic issues.
Our European correspondent, Karan, joins Tareque to break down the ousting of Juventus and Real Madrid from the Champions League and look forward to whether Manchester City and Pep Guardiola can finally land that elusive white whale that is a Champions League semifinal appearance.
This week, Soccer Sense lets its hair down as it invites three Liverpool superfans - Karthik, Apurv and Anish - to discuss the title winning run and share their unbounded joy at ending a thirty year long wait.
Vishal and Tareque convene to put Liverpool's title win under the Soccer Sense SenseMeter and provide a reality check for how challenging defending the title might be. But they also have time to stop and smell the flowers of the romanticism that is Leeds United's re-entry into the Premier League.
Our European correspondent, Karan, is back on duty (safely social distanced, natch) as he and Tareque look ahead to an intriguing new format and some fascinating clashes in store in a business as unusual finale of Europe's premier football competition. Can an unheralded club pull off a Greece or Denmark of the Euros or will the big boys get their due?
A 30-year wait finally ended for Liverpool. They finally have the league title again. What is their secret sauce? Tareque and Karan decode, Soccer Sense style!
The Premier League returned and teams seemed to be firing at less than 100% (understandably). But as Vishal, Karan and Tareque discover on this week's pod, Arsenal somehow were straight up on brand. Why did the Gunners misfire? And what is it with Merseyside derbies and zero goals? We dive into all that and more.
The football world is trying to limp back to normalcy, but what is even normal anymore? Vishal, Karan and Tareque look ahead to what the Premier League's restart and action might look like over the coming weeks, and are torn between wanting the game back, but also caring about the emotional and physical toll it might take on the players, staff and managers.
With the Covid19 outbreak raging on and live football a distant memory, Karan and Tareque look back at history of when football was similarly disrupted and fascinating things that emerged out of it. Also, an interpretation of a certain Bill Shankly quote.
Amid the coronavirus scare, Vishal and Tareque examine the context and the consequences of OGS and Man United's first derby double over Man City in a decade and check if Tareque's immune system and Liverpool's form are linked.
Vishal and Tareque are back after a brief winter break, and discuss what Pep Guardiola and Manchester City need to take stock of during their winter break to get their season back on track.
Vishal and Tareque take stock of happenings in the Premier League at the halfway-ish point of the season, where besides a consistent Liverpool at the top, everything else seems topsy-turvy and decidedly sub optimal. Also, we try our best to avoid uttering the T-word for the Reds.
Vishal and Tareque convene an emergency pod to make sense of real Spursy goings on in North London where Tottenham have a new manager. With the return of a familiar face to the Premier League, will anything change for the Spurs or are things going to get worse?
Is it Liverpool's title to lose? Did Pep Guardiola get his Anfield tactics wrong? And what is up with the rest of the top 4? Which North London team are we more alarmed by? Answers to all these burning questions, with a dash of sense and some madman finger waving in a bumper episode where Vishal joins Tareque after a month's hiatus!
Our European correspondent Karan is quizzed by Tareque on if Bayern are in any trouble or is it Barcelona who are in bigger doo doo? Meanwhile, business as usual at Milan and Ajax.
European correspondent Karan braves an injured elbow to provide the analysis of a largely uneventful but still important matchday in the Champions League. Also, what is up with Tottenham and are Juventus underperforming?
Vishal and Tareque reconvene after a three week break wherein the narrative goal posts have dramatically shifted in the Premier League and ask the important question - Have City hit their limit? Also, resident Red Devil Vishal ponders the Manchester United question and what sort of a reset does the red half of Manchester need?
Our European correspondent has drifted further east, but is still available to cover the Champions League as Karan and Tareque break down the goings on of Matchday One.
The full panel is back again after a week's break to talk about the weird narrative jumps both Arsenal and Tottenham have made in the season so far, break down Arsenal's Anfield annihilation, and look forward to what promises to be a choppy North London derby.
The gang goes again, for the eighth football season, Tareque, Vishal and Karan are back trying to pick the morsels of sense from the buffet that was the opening week of the Premier League's new season
European Correspondent Karan joins Tareque for his final assignment this season - breaking down the dour but massively important Champions League title win for Liverpool and look at where the finalists head from here.
Vishal and Tareque try to wrap their heads around two epic Champions League semifinal games that saw Liverpool and Tottenham mount improbable comebacks to set up a final clash in Madrid. Also, Vishal breaks down Liverpool's turnaround for the ages against Barcelona.
Liverpool superfan and friend of the pod Apurv Sardeshmukh joins us to look back with pride (and without the luxury of hindsight) on the club's season so far. As they stand on the cusp of potentially historic achievements (or not), Apurv talks about all the ways the club has brought joy to its fans this season regardless of how things end up.
The full panel is back again as Vishal, Karan and Tareque break down some epic quarterfinal second legs in the Champions League and look forward to two very intriguing semifinal matchups.
European correspondent Karan and Tareque break down four finely poised ties in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and try to figure out how Manchester United kept Barcelona relatively quiet and did Ajax really put in a solid shift against Juventus or did they just get a bit lucky?
Karan and Tareque review Liverpool's intense win over Chelsea in the Premier League and assess how much its effect will resonate across the current title race and season(s) to come.
The full panel - Vishal, Karan and Tareque - is back and is looking forward to the Champions League quarterfinals with both anticipation and dread as all three Soccer Sense teams - Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United - will be involved with some intriguing ties in prospect.
European correspondent Karan, along with Tareque tries to process the immense and crazy second legs that completed a whirlwind week for the Soccer Sense teams and the plenty of drama that punctuated the remaining ties in a Round of 16 full of intrigue, action, thrill and some good old fashioned underdog-humbling-the-big-gun narratives.
Vishal and Tareque break down Arsenal's important win over Manchester United, and ponder if St. Totteringham's arrival is imminent as they try to get to the bottom of things in that Top 4 race.
As Manchester City take control of the Premier League title race, the full panel - Karan, Vishal and Tareque - assess how Liverpool seem to be blowing their turn to shine and size up City's ambitions not just for this season but the designs they have for global domination with news breaking that they might be acquiring a club in India.
Vishal and Tareque recap a crucial midweek for the triumvirate of the London teams. Vishal debuts a new 'friendly' theory about Tottenham as they keep their eyes peeled for the developments in the title race with the Merseyside Derby upon us.
Karan, our European correspondent and Tareque take stock of the round of 16 first legs in the Champions League and find that none of the Soccer Sense teams could manage a single goal in the first leg.
As Manchester City make a six goal statement in the title race, Soccer Sense's full panel - Karan, Vishal and Tareque - wonders what lies ahead for the club at the receiving end - Chelsea FC and speculates on what happens if the Abramovich era ends. Also, Vishal previews the big game coming up - Liverpool's visit to Old Trafford.
Vishal and Tareque are in a slightly somber mood following the tragic incidents related to the world of football this week as they preview the tightening EPL title race and the big game of the week - Manchester City hosting Chelsea.
Vishal and Tareque have a lot to pack in from the midweek action that barely altered the state of the title race and yet somehow seemed to make it more intriguing and they pull out the sensible narrative threads from the Premier League's crazy football scarf.
Vishal, Karan and Tareque get together for a full panel Soccer Sense podcast after quite a while, and catch up on the state of the title race while looking forward to the fate of the current Top 6 in the EPL and previewing the big game this weekend - Chelsea v Arsenal.
In a pod recorded in record time after the match, Vishal and Tareque reflect on the Liverpool v Manchester United result in the immediacy of the aftermath and look at what the win does for Liverpool.
As Manchester City prove they are only human after defeat at Chelsea, the title race heats up but Liverpool face the ultimate test - Manchester United. Vishal and Tareque look ahead to that game, look back on a crazy weekend at the PL and sandwich some Champions League thoughts in between.
Resident Red Devil Vishal is not pleased at the lack of fight exhibited by the Red half of Manchester in the derby as we deal with the idea that United are reaching a point of reckoning.
Karan and Tareque break down the action on Matchday 4 of the Champions League, more specifically, of the identically frustrating losses for Juventus and Liverpool.
What will transpire at Turin? How is the group of creeping death looking? And who is the most impressive German team so far? Soccer Sense's European correspondent, Karan along with Tareque addresses these and other key questions about Matchday 4.
Vishal and Tareque are terrified of the ruthlessness City and Pep Guardiola are exhibiting - a cross between the Terminator and a Tiger dad - as they look back on the goings on in the PL this week and look forward, not without trepidation, to the Manchester Derby.
Vishal and Tareque discuss the Jose factor that lent thrill on and off the field during the Chelsea-Man United clash on Saturday and check in on a couple of North London teams who are creeping up the table.
Karan and Tareque preview a rather rare Soccer Sense clash as Juventus face Manchester United in the Champions League for the first time in 15 years.
Vishal and Tareque preview the big clash in the premier league this weekend where Jose Mourinho returns to familiar surroundings to pull off... familiar shenanigans?
Vishal and Tareque break down the goalless draw between title contenders in the Premier League and pick up their Soccer Sense binoculars to search for Liverpool's missing midfield and track Arsenal's steady progress back to their rightful cradle that is the fourth spot on the table.
European Correspondent Karan joins in all the way from Norway to help break down the results on Matchday 2 of the Champions League as we look at the curious case of the Italian teams and assess the goings on in what we are calling The Stephen King Group because of the number of fantasy characters it involves.
How Chelsea and Sarri trapped Liverpool by actually giving up possession, how United's problems stem from both bottom up and top down and why Pep Guardiola may actually be smiling. We resolve all these contradictions as Vishal breaks down Chelsea-Liverpool and along with Tareque looks ahead to Liverpool-Manchester City.
Vishal is back and so is Soccer Sense's Premier League coverage as he and Tareque discuss Liverpool's tough schedule run ahead, preview the big top of the table clash against Chelsea, take a look at Pogbagate and assorted United troubles and spice up the conspiracy theories about the Puskas award for the year.
Two French clubs visited England, and the unfancied one took points back to France. Meanwhile, there were red cards and red lights flashing at the Bat Cave. All the chaos of Matchday 1 reviewed by Karan and Tareque.
Tareque joins Soccer Sense's European Correspondent - Karan - to preview all eight Champions League groups and to break down the conundrum of two Soccer Sense teams being drawn together in Group H.
Vishal and Tareque continue the tradition of looking at Premier League narratives three games into the new season, and discuss the Jose Third Season syndrome, third full season expectations for Klopp and Pep, and the three newly promoted clubs making contrasting headlines.
Tareque and Karan get together to break away from Soccer Sense tradition and kick the new episode off with a Serie A episode where the resident financial expert breaks down the triumvirate of market moving transfers in the Serie A.
Karan, Vishal and Tareque look ahead to a World Cup final that is fascinating in endless ways, but will we see a new nation crowned World Champions since Spain in 2010?
Vishal, Tareque and Karan look back at a dramatic set of games in the Round of 16, provide some Soccer-Sense-Told-You-So s and look forward to four delicious sounding quarter finals.
Karan, Vishal and Tareque look back at a mad and maddening group stage of the Russia 2018 World Cup and look forward to some mouthwatering clashes in the Round of 16 as the business gets very Russian Roulette-y in the Greatest Show On Earth.
Arka Bhattacharya, Sports Writer at Scroll India, joins us for a special chat about the conundrum of Indian football where a young generation is hooked on to the game but the national team and local leagues are seeing attendance and quality declining. Also, some World Cup predictions.
Vishal and Tareque put their World Cup hats on to put the tournament's groups under the SoccerSense Scope and provide a quick preview of how the Greatest Show on Earth is likely to shape up.
Vishal and Tareque reflect on a dramatic, if distressing, Champions League Final in Kyiv and examine why the Real Madrid juggernaut rolls like it does.
Tareque and Soccer Sense's European Correspondent, Karan, look ahead to the dazzling possibility that the Liverpool v Real Madrid Champions League final in Kyiv presents.
In the second episode of our special World Cup build up series, Karan steps into the early 21st Century and recounts an evening in Seoul where a team stood up to be counted and their lionhearted performance became a roar heard around the world.
Vishal and Tareque take deep breaths and then go on to retrace the paths of Real Madrid and Liverpool to the Champions League final concluding with an epic soccer sense-laced preview of what promises to be an epic final
Vishal takes a deep breath while Tareque is still breathless as the panelists take a deep dive into Liverpool's remarkable semifinal win over Roma that booked them their first Champions League final in 11 years.
In the pilot episode of our special World Cup build up series, Tareque looks back at a fateful night in Naples in 1990, where a fanbase found itself caught in an emotional tumult that would sweep our Soccer Sense host thousands of miles away, and the drama that night would leave an indelible impression on a little boy's mind.
As we prepare for the greatest show on earth aka the football World Cup, join the Soccer Sense panel as they relive six dramatic world cup encounters with which their footballing and personal histories are intertwined. Introducing our special World Cup series - Soccer Sense Replay.
Our European correspondent, Karan, is here to give an objectively considered preview of the Champions League semifinals because resident Liverpool fan, Tareque, can barely hold it together.
Now that Manchester City have been crowned champions, Vishal & Tareque turn their attention to the bottom of the table and consider the unprecedented prospect of the Premier League being made up of 9 newly promoted Championship sides by the 2020 season and what the smaller clubs need to do to survive in the league.
Vishal and Tareque take a few deep breaths and try to put into both footballing and fandom perspectives, three delectably dramatic encounters in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Vishal and Tareque revel in the back to back performances Liverpool and Manchester United delivered against Manchester City and look forward to the second legs of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Vishal and Tareque revel in the back to back performances Liverpool and Manchester United delivered against Manchester City and look forward to the second legs of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Vishal is back from the mountains after summitting a peak, but we are very much focused on the relegation and promotion battle in the Premier League. Tareque & Vishal assess the epidemic of underperformance in the PL this season and take a peek at what’s going on in The Championship.
The 2/3 of the surviving Soccer Sense teams in the Champions League draw are represented as European Correpondent Karan and Tareque so down to preview the last 8 matchups and pick the tie they think will be, as Karanms boss put it, the tastiest.
A delighted Vishal is happy to break down Manchester United’s clinical win against arch rivals Liverpool as we look at the larger ramifications of Saturday’s result.
Soccer Sense’s European Correspondent, Karan, is here to give you the lowdown across the top European leagues from France to Germany, via Italy. Also he & Tareque discuss how huge for Serie A The Juventus-Napoli fixture could be.
Soccer Sense turns five and to celebrate this special milestone, Vishal and Tareque bring out the eternal topic - the clash of management styles. Pragmatism? Or Philosophy? Or both? And how do you walk the tightrope between both in the modern game? We take inspiration from the greats including our patron saint Johan Cruyff and also examine a few contemporaries.
A very exasperated Vishal tries to make sense of Manchester United’s anaemic outing in Sevilla while Tareque gushes over the zingy 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Barcelona
Vishal and Tareque review the first legs of the knockout round in the Champions League and explain why they have no sympathy for PSG and why they lost sleep over Juventus losing a 2-goal lead at home.
Vishal and Tareque focus on the North London Derby and what the reaction of Spurs and Arsenal to the result tells us about those teams’ outlook of themselves. And Vishal has a go at Jose Mourinho with some blasphemous turns of phrase.
Vishal and Tareque are that point in the season where they turn their attention to the bottom of the table. The shocker this season is that it is a ridiculously fat bottom.
Liverpool-Manchester City was such a bonkers football game that we recorded a bonkers podcast about it, one where even a card carrying United Fan waxes eloquent about Liverpool.
We catch up with our resident Gunner, Vijay, almost four years from when we last had him on the pod and put Arsenal’s Groundhog Day like predicament under the SenseScope™️
On the historic occasion of all three Soccer Sense teams being in the Champions League knockout stage at once, Vishal, Karan & Tareque sit down for a comprehensive preview of all the ties.
After a loooonngggg gap, all three panelists of Soccer Sense are at the same table as Tareque, Karan & Vishal figure out who got the best of the festive period in the PL & look forward to Arsenal-Chelsea
Vishal and Tareque are not too pleased with how the respective home teams approached the Manchester and the Merseyside derbies respectively.
Manchester United were comprehensive winners at the Emirates as per the score line but Vishal is not pleased and has some choice words for Jose & his men ahead of Sunday’s derby.
A third of the EPL season is past and Vishal & Tareque take stock of what lies ahead for the main contenders in the middle third including the congested festive window when things can change fast.
Vishal & Tareque are back after a heartbreak filled international break, and get straight down to the task of separating the wheat from truth from the chaff of hype as far as Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City team are concerned.
Karan and Tareque try to come to terms with the fact that Italy will not be at the 2018 World Cup and try to figure out how this came to pass.
Karan and Tareque break down Italy's dismal show in Sweden in the first leg of the World Cup qualifying playoff and contemplate the possibility of an Italy-less World Cup
As the Champions League reaches its halfway mark in the group stages Tareque catches up with Soccer Sense’s special Europe correspondent - Karan - to take stock of things and look ahead to the second half.
Tareque catches up with the marketing manager of Brighton & Hove Albion in Bengaluru and chats about their outreach to Indian fans.
Vishal & Tareque are still blinded by the flashing dourness of Liverpool v United’s 0-0 draw and Tareque catches up with the folks from Brighton & Hove Albion at the Premier League Live event in Bengaluru.
Vishal and Tareque take a whirlwind tour of the results in the last rounds of World Cup 2018 qualifying, which threw up results, narratives and drama to rival the best of blockbusters.
Vishal and Tareque are excited, hopeful and optimistic about all the football conversations concerning India as they break down things going right for the Blues right now.
Vishal & Tareque put Liverpool under the SensibilityScope™ and find that they have confront ghosts of seasons past and ghosts of seasons in the future to figure out how the Reds got here.
Triggered by the Carlo Ancelotti sacking, Vishal & Tareque assemble an emergency pod that takes a critical look at Bayern Munich’s strange regression.
This week, after scratching their heads on how poor can Liverpool defensively get, Vishal & Tareque turn their attention to how Chelsea have bounced back from an opening day loss like a boss and look forward to a big clash this weekend.
Vishal and Tareque turn the spotlight towards the blue half of Manchester to try and detect any hints of the Pep particle and its impact.
Vishal & Tareque look ahead to the London Derby this Sunday - a resurgent Chelsea take on a possibly tired Arsenal
Tareque & Vishal break down the first ever week of Champions League football involving all of Soccer Sense's teams and look forward to another London derby.
Karan returns to the podcast as he and Tareque ramble around the Premier League and look forward to a big game on Champions League's opening night
The PL kicks off with an explosion of narratives and Vishal and Tareque can barely hold off from getting sucked right in!
Tareque & Vishal are exhausted by this season but they will call on their last ounce of energy to present one final recap of the season in all its Good, Bad & Ugly glory.
Tareque and Karan discuss the Champions League semi final second legs and preview the Cardiff final as Karan finally addresses the elephant in the room in zebra stripes.
Our Rest of Europe Correspondent and resident Bianconeri Karan deconstructs the 'complete performance' from Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal.
Vishal and Tareque finally get around to taking an in depth look at Tottenham Hotspurs, now that St. Totteringham's Day 2017 has been cancelled. But are they all they're cracked up to be?
In a very special episode, a special guest - sports writer Akarsh Sharma - talks about Aizawl FC's remarkable and almost miraculous victory in India's top division and Vishal & Tareque break down the parallels between the new champs and the likes of Leicester and Iceland.
In the season opener of the second season of Soccer Stories, Soccer Sense's take on stories that made football, resident Juve fan, Karan, recounts the Calciopoli fallout.
A very edgy and nervous Vishal previews the very crucial Manchester Derby tonight and we speculate if either, both or neither will end up in the Top 4.
Karan soaks in the satisfaction of a fine quarterfinal performance from Juventus and we look forward to two very intriguing semis.
Vishal, our resident tactical breakdowner-In-Chief deconstructs not one but two tactical master classes from the week - One at Old Trafford and one in Turin.
Tareque gets Karan, the only one in the podcast with any emotional skin in the Champions League this season, to preview the quarterfinals, including Juve v Barca
Vishal and Tareque look back at a frantic weekend in the PL and also look forward to a frantic midweek.
It's a frantic time in the PL before the international break and Vishal & Tareque break down a week that looks normal on the surface but hides a lot of narrative underneath.
Vishal breaks down the weeks ahead for Manchester United and makes the case, with some NBA parallels, for Zlatan Ibrahimovic being the greatest club footballer ever.
Vishal & Tareque put their breathing apparatus on, take a few deep breaths and compose themselves as Vishal breaks down the tactical genius of Barça's miraculous comeback.
This week, Karan, Vishal & Tareque sink their teeth into that eternal debate - Wenger In or Wenger Out and tackle it Soccer Sense style.
On Soccer Sense's Fourth birthday, Tareque and Vishal take a moment to thank loyal listeners and then Vishal excitedly breaks down United's League Cup win and dispassionately analyses the Ranieri sacking fallout at Leicester
With the Premier League taking a break, our Rest of Europe correspondent, Karan, joins Tareque this week and brings us up to speed with the Serie A, La Liga and the horrors of the Champions League.
This week Vishal and Tareque try to put Man City's resurgence and Leicester's free fall in perspective at two ends of the spectrum & question if the title race is really over as well as looking at the revival of Swansea
Tareque & Karan are on board a jet plane and pontificating at 37000 feet on how the Champions League knockout encounters, including the inevitable Arsenal v Bayern, will turn out.
Author, blogger, journalist, managing editor of Livemint.com and above all an Arsenal super fan, Sidin Vadukut joins the podcast for a freewheeling conversation about footballing supercycles, deconstructing Arsene Wenger and how, quite unlike Nick Hornby and a bit blasphemously he got his EPL start with Tottenham Hostspurs.
Vishal & Tareque are joined by a very special guest this week - journalist, author and above all Arsenal superfan Sidin Vadukut who brings in some London perspective into the Gunners' fortunes as we discuss this week's EPL results and their impact on the Top 4 race.
Vishal and Tareque try to figure out the source of Manchester United and Jose Mourinho's frustrations and how a 14-game unbeaten streak can look ordinary. Also, our Arsenal v Chelsea preview.
Vishal and Tareque quickly review some FA cup action and then take closer look at why the wind has gone out of Liverpool and Klopp's gegenpressing sails.
Tareque and Vishal break down the breakdown of Pep Guardiola's aura of invincibility and also take a look around the league including the struggling defending champions.
Karan, our resident Juve fan has some opinions on the logo change as we try and get a broader perspective on what that new 'J' thing is all about.
Tareque & Vishal wonder if Man City's Dr. Jekyll bit of the early season is over and Pep is now struggling with Mr. Hyde. Also some Man Utd v Liverpool thoughts.
Vishal & Tareque kick the new year off with an appreciation of the master at work that is Antonio Conte, who's transformed a withering Chelsea into an unstoppable juggernaut.
This week, Karan & Tareque peer through the London fog to figure out if it is Chelsea's League to lose or Arsenal's to win?
As a mark of respect for those affected by the tragedy in Medellin today, we have cancelled our regular episode and are just uploading 30 seconds of silence.
Vishal & Tareque review the United-Arsenal draw and check in on the secret sauce behind Chelsea's ascendancy - a certain David Luiz
This week, we try to unpack the impact of Antonio Conte on Chelsea with our resident Conte watcher, Karan.
Vishal has a lot to say about Manchester United's slump, but he is wearing both the hat of a fan and dispassionate Soccer Sense analyst as Tareque reviews the rest of the PL results.
As Vishal reels from the shock, Karan is back on the show to talk about United's Stamford Bridge capitulation and also focus on Milan's resurgence in the Serie A. And the top at the PL table remains congested as ever!
A preview of an intense rivalry, a shoutout for an intense local team and some deconstruction of Pep's take on intensity. This week's Soccer Sense gets a bit intense as a Liverpool fan, Tareque and a United fan, Vishal try to preview the big Monday game.
Tareque and Karan find that the title charge lane in the PL is quite congested this season. Also, some UCL reactions.
Vishal & Tareque try to make sense of a rampant week in the Premier League and break down Chelsea's woes & United's rediscovered mojo.
Karan is back for this week's show as we break down the magic in both the red and blue halves of Merseyside and try to find the silver lining in Jose Mourinho's current cloud.
This week, Vishal and Tareque break the Manchester derby down, ignore the Champions League and ponder on whether it is too early to say if Pep has had an effect on City.
This week, Vishal & Tareque preview the Manchester derby and we introduce a brand new section - Soccer Sense diaries - where a sports writer and Gunnner, Vinayak K M, tells us all about the Arsenal watching experience and where he stands on Wengxit.
Vishal and Tareque find United showing glimpses of swag, Chelsea some resilience, and Arsenal some wobble but remind everyone that it's a loooongg season.
Tareque & Vishal look back at the PL opening weekend assessing the early signals and taking a close look at Arsenal's woes.
Tareque & Vishal get together to kick the season off with a review of major transfer news and preview of what's to come in the season. Football is back!
Denmark's shock win in the European Championships in 1992 may be a sporting miracle but its legacy is about how it upended the order in European football in a year full of change and chaos.
Vishal & Tareque quickly assess which side of Madrid holds the cards in the Champions League final 2016, a redux of the 2014 clash between Atletico & Real.
This week in the last episode of the season, Vishal & Tareque try to counter the narratives trying to discredit Leicester's incredible EPL title win & preview the two European finals.
Our theme for the new season. Two managers - Claudio Ranieri & Alex Ferguson - vastly different CVs & philosophies. And between them they cover everything there is to know about football & being sensible about it.
Leicester's historic EPL triumph has Tareque and Karan all excited as they break it down, but with great achievement come great expectations. Can Leicester cope?
This week on Soccer Sense's Soccer Stories, that classic football oddity - injury time or stoppage time.
This week on Soccer Sense's Soccer Stories, that classic football oddity - injury time or stoppage time.
Tareque and Vishal try to decode Leicester's secret sauce as Ranieri finally utters the T-word.
Karan joins In from Delhi as Vishal & Tareque discuss the light touch with which Claudio Ranieri has kept the Foxes going & their reluctance to use the 't' word.
Soccer Sense launches a new series where we will occasionally explore stories that have impacted the game we love. In the pilot, the transfer saga that changed European football. (Spoiler alert - NOT Messi or Ronaldo.)
Tareque and Karan try to put the legacy of the great Johann Cruyff in perspective in a special episode dedicated to the memory of the man.
Tareque & Karan turn their attention to the part of the table below the equator of the Premier League and assess the relegation battle and the 'Leicester' of the bottom half of the table - Bournemouth.
Karan looks back at the Champions League Round of 16 games as Vishal & Tareque give their 'no dog in this fight' perspectives
This week, Karan & Tareque ask some tough questions of United and ponder on the benefits of the week off for Leicester.
Vishal, Karan & Tareque are in awe of Leicester City but also would like to remind everyone that Soccer Sense backed Leicester since the beginning of the season.
This week Vishal, Karan & Tareque revisit narratives for Chelsea and Man U as they clash in a big game. And of course, Leicester.
On a PL less weekend Karan, Tareque & Vishal assess the goings on at the La Liga & Real Madrid's perpetual interim manager situation
Vishal is back on the pod and he is not happy with the indecision at Manchester United. Also, the London club slipping under everyone's radar.
Karan & Tareque dig the archives to discover some interesting parallels between Leicester in 2015/16 & Blackburn Rovers in 1994/95. Also, Arsenal-Chelsea preview.
Tareque & Karan try to make sense of midweek madness in an EPL that refuses to settle on a narrative. And look forward to Klopp v LvG.
Tareque & Karan take a look at the bottom of the EPL table and make sense of the relegation race.
Vishal & Tareque think out aloud if the excitement in the current EPL season is because of a genuine level field or the lack of quality & consistency.
Vishal & Tareque assess the festive period and look ahead at the trajectories of the clubs in the EPL
Karan & Tareque continue scratching their heads about the bizzaro Premier League while Vishal takes a break in Goa. We also look forward to the mid table classic - Man U v Chelsea
With Vishal sidelined by an injury, Tareque & Karan try to wrap their heads around what's going on in the Serie A. And we analyze the Champions League Round of 16 matchups.
Tareque & Karan catch their breath to record a special emergency pod discussing the sacking of The Special One.
Vishal is just as unhappy as any Man U fan about the club's current funk, but Karan & Tareque are giving Bournemouth some credit.
This week, Karan, Vishal & Tareque break down how the Liverpool & Barca wins put the beautiful back in The Beautiful Game.
Karan, Vishal & Tareque discuss what it means to be a football manager today and why there is only one Wenger or Sir Alex.
Soccer Sense is back to full strength this week as Karan, Vishal & Tareque try to unravel the enigma called Louis Van Gaal
Soccer Sense finds its resident Red in Apurv who joins in to discuss Klopp'a first Liverpool win, a monumental one over Chelsea.
Tareque & Karan are joined by Madrista Jayanth as they analyse Jose Mourinho's denials & the tipsy turvy La Liga
Tareque & Karan debut the SenseMeter™ which analyses football decisions this week - from Man City's Europe tactics to Chelsea-Arsenal
Tareque & Karan try to figure out how the big results for United, Liverpool & Chelsea this week might affect their respective seasons' trajectories.
How did the transfer window go for two clubs at its extremes - United & Arsenal? Resident Gunner Vijay joins Tareque & Vishal for an assessment.
As Vishal takes a break in Goa, Karan & Tareque are beginning to suspect that Chelsea's poor start is not a mere blip. And we also discuss the Champions League draw.
Karan, Vishal & Tareque are back with Soccer Sense for a new football season. This week, what's Leicester City's secret sauce?