The Urban Ballers: Recent Episodes
The Urban Ballers
2 simple questions - one complex debate...
Sorry for the wait, but we're back baby!!!
Mo Salah vs Karim Benzema, La Liga Champions vs Premier League title contenders, The Most Successful Champions League Team EVER vs The Most Successful English Team in Europe...
Liverpool will want revenge for the 2018 final, but with the tables turned and Real Madrid being technically the underdog (based on performance in recent Champions League campaigns) will it be the reds get their revenge?
If all players are fit and ready to compete the teams will most likely line up as follows -
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luca Modric, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema.
Manager: Don Carlo Ancelotti
Liverpool: Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip, Andrew Robertson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcântara, Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz
Manager: Jürgen Klopp
It's safe to say we're looking forward to this one... and our very own Faz will be there in Paris!!!
For player of the season, the names that were mentioned were: Mo Salah, Mane, Diaz, Fabinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mbappe, Benzema, Edouard Mendy, Rudiger, Vinicius, Cristiano Ronaldo, Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Haverts, Thiago Silva, Virgil Van Dijk, Mahrez, Modric, Ousman Dembele.
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram: @theurbanballers 🤳
If you want to watch the Podcast in HD then you can find us on YouTube 📺 by following the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/UrbanBallersYouTube
We select the best 11 from Champions League winning teams since the year 2000. The list of players we didn't nominate is incredible (and we nominated a lot of players). It is fair to say that any player nominated could have made the 11 and the 11 would have still been unreal. Do you think we did a good job?
Players like Ronaldo Nazario (R9) and David Beckham missed out on the list due to not winning the Champions League since 2000 (R9 never won the CL, which is unbelievable).
The players we nominated were: Ronaldo (CR7), Messi, Lewandowski, Benzema, Robben, Eto, Salah, Suarez, Neymar, Henry, Rooney, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes, Xavi, Iniesta, Zidane, Kante, Pirlo, Seedorf, Makelele, Mascherano, Busquets, Modric, Figo, Dani Alves, Cafu, Lahm, Marcelo, Ashley Cole, Roberto Carlos, Maldini, Ramos, Virgil Van Dijk, Puyol, John Terry, Vidic, Neuer, Víctor Valdés, Casillas, Keylor Navas
Some of the names we couldn't even get on the board were: Raul, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Gareth Bale, Deco, Wesley Sneijder, Xavi Alonso, Casemiro, Michael Carrick, Tony Kroos, Yaya Toure, Nesta, Pepe, Pique, Rio Ferdinand, Jerome Boateng, Varane, Alaba, Jordi Alba, Maicon, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kimmich, Oliver Khan and Petr Čech
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram: @theurbanballers 🤳
If you want to watch the Podcast in HD then you can find us on YouTube 📺 by following the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/UrbanBallersYouTube
On a weekend where Arsenal continue to assert their dominance in the chase for 4th place ahead of Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham; as well as City finally end their losing streak at the Etihad against their derby rivals with a convincing result... It was Coutinho for Gerrard's Villa who really stole the headlines and was the first player on our PL Team of the Week team sheet.
Our chosen team of the week was: Matinez, Reece James, Schar, Mings, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kevin De Bruyene, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Coutinho, Mahrez, Watkins. Ivan Toney, Fraser, Thiago Silva, Saka and Sissoko just missed out.
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram: @theurbanballers 🤳
If you want to watch the Podcast in HD then you can find us on YouTube 📺 by following the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/UrbanBallersYouTube
In Episode 18 of the Urban Ballers Podcast, we discuss the contradiction of clubs, their supporters, FIFA and other major football bodies and the media being openly in support of Ukraine during their conflict with Russia, whilst showing solidarity to those struggling with conflict in "third world" countries is deemed inappropriate or too political.
We are in solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they go through their struggle as it the core belief of all involved in the Urban Ballersthat innocent civilians of all backgrounds should never be used as pawns or considered a necessary byproduct of war. Our message is merely reflective of the hypocrisy of football's reaction to the news.
The news of Bielsa being sacked is also confusing to us. We believe that Leeds United sacked Bielsa at the worst possible time. If anybody can save Leeds it was Bielsa (at least that's what we think!!!). Lastly, Faz asks whether PL referees are biased towards Manchester City?
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram: @theurbanballers 🤳
If you want to watch the Podcast in HD then you can find us on YouTube 📺 by following the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/UrbanBallersYouTube
As the Africa Cup of Nations draws to a conclusion, we select an 11 of the best African Players since 2000. Many heated debates meant that we left out some of the biggest names in African football history.
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram pages: @theurbanballers
If you want to watch the video version of the Podcast then you can find us on YouTube by follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRn3l2STDPrfCP031PHYXIw
In Episode 16 of The Urban Ballers Podcast, we discuss the main following themes:
1) Does Mohamed Salah deserve the £500k a week Salary he’s pushing the Liverpool board for?
2) The abuse Paul Pogba has received which lead him to deleting his Instagram post whilst on Pilgrimage to Mecca praying for humanity.
3) Who out of Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku is a higher level player (26:17), and is the Premier League too big a challenge for Lukaku? (19:59)
4) Our predictions of which teams out of Burnley, Watford, Newcastle, Norwich, Leeds, Everton and Brentford will survive the relegation battle.
Nominations for Team of the week were:
De Gea, Thiago Silva, Van Dijk, Salisu, Dalot, Telles, Walker-Peters, McTominay, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, De Bruyne, Gallagher, Moutinho, Neves, Rashford, Elanga, Bergwijn, Eze, Ziyesh, Chamberlain, Maddison, Sergeant, Jota, Broja, Welbeck, Kane, Daka, Toney
Listen to the last segment of the show (55:26) to find out who we pick and the formation we go for.
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram pages: @theurbanballers
If you want to watch the video version of the Podcast then you can find us on YouTube by follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRn3l2STDPrfCP031PHYXIw
Team of the week is as follows: Ederson, Ben White, Laporte, Kyle Walker, Brandon Williams, Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne, Coutinho, Benzema, Jack Harrison, Vinícius Junior
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram pages: @theurbanballers
If you want to watch the video version of the Podcast then you can find us on YouTube by follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRn3l2STDPrfCP031PHYXIw
In this festive episode we picked an 11 of the best performing players in the Premier League in the season of 2021/22 so far. We based the selection on how many times the players made our team of the week as long as including some statistics to help us make the difficult decisions. We also predicted how the table would look like by the end of the season.
The players nominated were…
Goalkeepers:
De Gea, Ederson, Lloris, Sanchez, Martinez, Ramsdale, Mendy
Centre Backs:
Rudiger, Gabriel, Laporte, Saiis, Cody, Stones, Van Dijk, Konsa, Diaz, White, Mings
Fullbacks:
Liveramento, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cancelo, Masuaku, Walker, Tomiyaso, Robertson, Chillwell, Reece, James, Tavares, Telles
Midfielders:
Telemans, Partey, Gallagher, KDB, Fred ,Bernardo Silva, Mount, Kante, Henderson, Rice, Thiago, Fabino, Curtis, Jones, Rodri
Wingers:
Salah, Martinelli, Mahrez, Foden, Moura, Sancho, Hwangso, Wissa, Rafinha, Dennis
Strikers:
Lacazette, Ronaldo, Vardy, Jota, Firmino, Jimenez, Cavani
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram pages: @theurbanballers
If you want to watch the video version of the Podcast then you can find us on YouTube by follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRn3l2STDPrfCP031PHYXIw
Team of the Week is as follows: Ederson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gabriel, Saiis, Cancelo, Thomas Partey, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette, Riyad Mahrez
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram: @theurbanballers 🤳
If you want to watch the Podcast in HD then you can find us on YouTube 📺 by following the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/UrbanBallersYouTube
As we summarise the games in the Premier League in the last week, we discuss more Manchester United drama as Ralf Rangnick proves to be not better than Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Our producer, editor and director, BIG ABZ, loses it with Baha as he claims that Ralf is not a brave manager and his tactics are not proving to be successful in the Premier League.
Team of the Week is as follows: De Gea, Gabriel, Laporte, Rudiger, Telemans, Gallagher, Mbappe, Sane, Messi, Haller, Salah
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram pages: @theurbanballers
If you want to watch the video version of the Podcast then you can find us on YouTube by follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRn3l2STDPrfCP031PHYXIw
How many times can one pundit be proven wrong in one week? Ask Faz, because he's set a record of 3 this week 🤣🤣🤣
Tuchel's blues cement their slip up by losing to West Ham United in a thrilling encounter. Faz is also proven wrong by Mason Mount's recent form, despite his side dropping to 3rd behind City and Liverpool who capitalised again.
We are yet again wowed by Ronaldo's consistency as he put 2 past the Arsenal to give Michael Carrick a winning send off. In the same week Fred, YES FRED, continues his incredible form to outshine all those in red by scoring the only goal against Viera's Palace to give Ralf Rangnick his first win in his first game. Abdul is put to the sword about this but fails to say the words "well done Fred" once.
We also manage to squeeze in a Bruno Fernandes - VS - Bernardo Silva debate which turns out to be quite juicy (Faz gets schooled again here 🤔).
Jokes aside, this is the funniest episode to date so make sure you watch all the way and like, comment, share and subscribe.
For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram pages: @theurbanballers
If you want to watch the video version of the Podcast then you can find us on YouTube by follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRn3l2STDPrfCP031PHYXIw
Michael Carrick drops Ronaldo and secures a shocking 4 points out of two very difficult games.
With Rangnick being confirmed as the interim Manchester United manager, we also discuss whether he is a suitable appointment and what his arrival means for the club long term. Conte’s tough start as Spurs manager has become a nightmare as they lose to Mura in the Europa Conference, whilst the remainder of English teams secured 3 points in Europe.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are level on points with 4th place West Ham as Liverpool & Manchester City capitalize
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Team of the Week shortlist ⚽️ Forwards: Mbappe, Sancho, Mane, Jota, Salah, Benzema, Vardy, Dzeko, Martinelli, Haller, Saka, Dennis Midfielders: Kroos, Gündogan, Thiago, Fernandinho, Fred, Henderson, Lanzini Defenders: Van Dijk, Alaba, Tomiri, Guehi, Reece James, Lampty, Tomiyasu, Robertson, Tavares, Telles Goal Keepers: Meslier Alisson, Sanchez, Ramsdaleale
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For breaking news, behind the scenes action and even more banter check out our TikTok or Instagram: @theurbanballers 🤳
If you want to watch the Podcast in HD then you can find us on YouTube 📺 by following the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/UrbanBallersYouTube
HE’S GONE 🥳🥳🥳
As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is sacked for the appalling display in Watford, we ask what the problem at Man United is. Is it players like Harry Maguire and Fred, pundits like Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville, or board members such as Ed Woodward and Sir Alex?
However, as Conte’s Spurs scrape 3 points against injury-stricken Leeds and Kane fails to score for Tottenham for the seventh game running - are Tottenham even more cursed?
Meanwhile, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea continue to wow.
Team of the Week shortlist:
Edison, Alison, Cancelo, Chilwell, James, Alexander-Arnold, Walker, Mings, Van Dijk Kante, Gallagher, Silva, Gündogan, Thiago, Rodri, Palmer Mane, Toney, Jimenez, Jota, Salah, Sterling
After the England football defeated San Marino by 10 goals and Albania by 5, we look to pick the team’s starting 11 and bench. The scenario we set is if the FIFA World Cup 2021 in Qatar was starting in 2 weeks.
The Players we considered were…
Goal Keepers: Aaron Ramsdale, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope
Defenders: Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Ben White, Tyrone Mings, John Stones, Like Shaw and Ben Chillwell
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prouse, Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Jessie Lingard, Dele Alli, Conor Gallagher and Emile Smith Rowe
Attackers: Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Tammy Abraham, Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ollie Watkins and Michail Antonio
We hope you enjoy this episode, and, as ever, check out the @TheUrbanBallers TikTok for our exclusive behind the scenes action 💙
As West Ham United continue their strong start to the season, making them serious contenders for the top 4, we ask if they can now be considered the 2nd biggest team in London?
The discussion sparked a debate about Declan Rice and the Best young English talent in the Premier League. Big D, a friend of the show had criticised Baha and Faz about not making enough of a big deal about Mason Mount's form and his Hattrick against Norwich in the last game week. We respond to this by rating Mason Mount against the rest of the best England have to offer. Players such as Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Emile Smith Rowe, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka are all part of the conversation.
The El-Sackico between Nuno Espirito Santo and Ole Gunar Solkjaer was also a major talking point. Baha jokes that Ronaldo, Bruno and Nuno planned the result together to get Nuno the sack so that he can come manage Manchester United at a later date and build a super-Portuguese side. As always we discuss the rest of the weekend's action and decide on a team of the week which features 5 English players (an Urban Ballers first)!
For behind the scene action and even more banter check out our TikTok page: @theurbanballers 🤳
As Manchester United get whooped 5 nil at Old Trafford, we unanimously agreed that it was best for Ole to be sacked. Fax however, adamantly argued that the board will keep him in place, whilst Baha was praying for the nightmare to be over.
We also discussed the results from the weekend’s Premier League action and the Champions League results that stood out to us. As ever we ended the show with our Team of the Week.
On there day this episode was recorded, The Urban Ballers met to watch the game together for the first time since the podcast was launched.
We documented the comedy on our TikTok page: @theurbanballers | be sure to follow us there to regularly check in with the Ballers.
Is this the end for ole? The urban ballers discuss this last week premiere league and everything football.
youtube: https://youtu.be/g2b9gofHhyw
The Urban Ballers Podcast, A podcast that looks at Football in a different way and is full of banter!
The Urban ballers discuss the Newcastle takeover and discuss the top 10 premier league strikers from 2000 onwards.
video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWM1SBCjxFs&t=33s