Football From A to Z
37 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago -"The penny is finally dropping. Football is not a sport and it's more even than a religion. It’s a culture" - Les Murray. Join co-hosts Michael Zappone and Archie Thompson as they talk all things football with the people who have experienced, lived and breathed Australian football. Sharing the journeys of esteemed guests such as Graham Arnold, Ange Postecoglou, Christian Vieri, Jason Cummings and Alessandro Diamanti, the podcast dives into the untold stories from each guest's career and involvement in the Australian football landscape. Full of laughs, insights, the good and the bad, if you want to understand and feel more connected to the people leading our game, come along for the journey.
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Episodes
Ajdin Hrustic - Qatar Here We Come
June 16, 2022 07:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBIt's the season FINALE! Archie and Zappa sign off the final episode of the podcast for the season by recapping all of the excitement of the Socceroos qualifying for the Qatar World Cup. To get an insight into the behind the scenes action, we are joined by Ajdin Hrustic who played a key role in the teams qualification aspirations. The Melbourne-born midfielder moved overseas as a teenager and featured in Nottingham Forest, Austria Wien and Schalke 04’s youth systems before breaking through ...
Simon Colosimo - National Team First
June 08, 2022 07:00 - 46 minutes - 32.2 MBIn this episode, Zappa is joined by Simon Colosimo as Archie Thompson is benched due to the spicy cough. Simon grew up in Melbourne before moving into the AIS program as a sixteen year old. He then joined the newly formed Carlton Soccer Club in the NSL before heading overseas to Manchester City and Royal Antwerp. Colosimo then returned home to the A-League where he played for Perth Glory, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart. Today, the former Socceroo with 26 caps has a career in football workin...
John Aloisi - The Story Ain't Over Yet
June 01, 2022 06:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBWESTERN UNITED ARE A-LEAGUE CHAMPIONS! In this episode, Zappa sits down with the newly crowned King of the West of Melbourne, John Aloisi. Aloisi has played professionally in Belgium, Italy, Spain and England. 459 professional matches, 129 goals and one of Australian footballs most memorable moments, but the story doesn't end there. John then took up coaching at the Melbourne Heart followed by the Brisbane Roar before landing at Western United. John has now made history once more, bringing t...
Danny McBreen - FC Barcelona in Town & A-Leagues Finals Week
May 26, 2022 07:00 - 44 minutes - 30.8 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with A-Leagues Grand Final and Joe Marston Medal winner from the Central Coast Mariners striker Danny McBreen. Danny now commentates for Channel 10 after a successful career at the Mariners and over in China. The boys chat all things A-League Grand Final ahead of this years final as well as the Socceroos clash with the UAE all while sitting at Accor Stadium ahead of the FC Barcelona v A-Leagues All Stars match. 1:00 - Danny McBreen joins Football ...
Postecoglou & Rogic - Showcasing Australian Football
May 18, 2022 07:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBIn this episode, Zappa has taken off to Scotland to sit down with two very special guests, Ange Postecoglou and Tom Rogic after they were crowned Scottish Premier League Champions with Celtic Football Club. Archie is joined by Kayla Morrison to share their thoughts on the two interviews from two people who have truly put Australian football on the map for future generations. 1:00 - Kayla Morrison is back. 2:10 - Week 2 of the A-League Men's Finals. 6:40 - Tom Rogic joins Football From A t...
Michael Petrillo - Destination Melbourne City, Kings of Australia
May 11, 2022 07:00 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with the Michael Petrillo who is the Director of Football from Melbourne City, after they won back to back A-League Men's Premiers Plates. Michael has has a career in football which spans over 15 years. Previous to his position at Melbourne City, he fulfilled roles as the CEO and Director of Football at Adelaide United and the Head of Football at the North Queensland Fury. Michael talks us through this season at Melbourne City, the disappointment o...
Brendan Schwab - We Are Not Entitled To Anything
May 04, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 40.6 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa (and Zappa's dog CoCo) sit down with the Executive Director of the World Players Association Brendan Schwab. Brendan has over 25 years leadership experience in the governance, business, legal, player relations and human rights aspects of elite sport at the global, regional and national levels. As Executive Director of World Players, he has united the world’s leading player associations who collectively represent 85,000 athletes. Prior to joining World Playe...
Jason Sourasis - More Than Just Another A-League Franchise
April 27, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 40.7 MBIn this episode, Zappa has returned from the sunshine state and joins Archie to interview the Chairman of Western United, Jason Sourasis. A passionate sportsperson, Jason grew up barracking for South Melbourne, a historically proud Greek club. Jason is the director and founding member of Strategic Financial Group Australia, which primarily invests in portfolios of assets within sectors, with sports being a high valued sector. According to Jason, Western United FC was the first public private...
Nathan Coe - Life After Football
April 20, 2022 07:00 - 52 minutes - 36 MBIn this episode, Archie is joined by up and coming media personality Kayla Morrison with Zappa away sipping on martinis. This week we hear from goal keeper turned cafe extraordinaire Nathan Coe. Nathan spent most of his footballing career overseas, playing for clubs such as Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Copenhagen. Nathan also made 3 appearances for the Socceroos in friendly matches. Nathan discusses his footballing journey around Europe, how injuries brought his professional career to a cl...
Sooshi Mango - In Off The Boat
April 13, 2022 07:00 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa are back together after a couple of weeks apart. They are joined by comedy trio Sooshi Mango. Prepare yourself for a few laughs as the boys discuss all things football and life. 1:50 - Neds Level Player of the Week: Marco Rojas. 6:10 - Sooshi Mango joins Football From A to Z. 8:00 - Sooshi Mango on Tour. 10:12 - How Sooshi Mango got into comedy and their stardom. 17:20 - Ethnic Dads and Ethnic Mums. 23:00 - Relating to people of all ethnicities. 27:00 - Fo...
Melbourne Victory Women - Back to Back Champions
March 30, 2022 06:00 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBIn this episode, Zappa is back and is joined by special guest co-host Kayla Morrison after her side went back to back in the A-League Women's Competition. We are joined by the championship winning team and speak with Head Coach Jeff Hopkins, Club Chairman Anthony Di Pietro, Player of the Final Casey Dumont and Victory Medalist Alex Chidiac. We also chat with Danny Dixon from Hume City FC to discuss his battle with testicular cancer. On Sunday April 3rd, Hume City will host a fundraising aft...
Marco Rojas - Cool, Calm & Collected
March 23, 2022 06:00 - 59 minutes - 40.9 MBIn this episode, Archie and special guest co-host Kayla Morrison sit down with Melbourne Victory's highly talented winger, Marco Rojas. The New Zealander won the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League’s player of the season in 2012/13 for Victory before pursuing a career in Europe. Rojas signed at German Club VfB Stuttgart and was loaned out for three seasons before making a brief return to Victory in 2016. After starring for Victory in his return, Rojas spent two seasons at Dutch club SC Heere...
Marco Rojas - Cool, Calm & Collected
March 23, 2022 06:00 - 59 minutes - 40.9 MBIn this episode, Archie and special guest co-host Kayla Morrison sit down with Melbourne Victory's highly talented winger, Marco Rojas. The New Zealander won the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League’s player of the season in 2012/13 for Victory before pursuing a career in Europe. Rojas signed at German Club VfB Stuttgart and was loaned out for three seasons before making a brief return to Victory in 2016. After starring for Victory in his return, Rojas spent two seasons at Dutch club SC Heere...
Marco Tilio - Mr. Real Nice
March 17, 2022 06:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with young striker from the Melbourne City Football Club, Marco Tilio. After a sensational start to the A-League Men's Season, Tilio was called up to the Socceroos squad for the final stages of the World Cup Qualifiers. Marco made his A-League Men's debut in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League for Sydney FC, when he was just 17-years-old. Less than a year later, he was recruited to their first-team squad. The right winger joined Melbour...
Chris Nikou - Leading From The Front
March 09, 2022 06:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with Football Australia Chairman Chris Nikou. Chris started out his footballing journey with the South Melbourne Football Club before transitioning into the administration side of football as a Director at Football Federation Victoria. Since then, Nikou has been a Director of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 and the Melbourne Renegades. After joining Football Australia in 2014, Chris became the Chairman in November 2018 after Steven Lowy stepped down. The bo...
Andy Brennan & Kayla Morrison - The Next Step for Football in Australia
March 02, 2022 06:00 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with South Melbourne's Andy Brennan and Melbourne Victory Captain Kayla Morrison. Andy currently plays his football for Victorian NPL side South Melbourne and has previously played for the Newcastle Jets in the A-Leagues. Kayla was born and raised in California in the United States and has been with the Victory since 2020. Andy and Kayla discuss their football stories and the development of the sport in terms of its inclusiveness for LGBTQI+ communi...
Jason Cummings - The Smooth Mover on the Coast
February 23, 2022 06:00 - 49 minutes - 33.9 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with the Central Coast Mariners new striker, Jason Cummings. Jason is a Scottish international and Australian passport holder who joins the club from Dundee in the Scottish Premiership, where he was a key part of the squad that earnt promotion back to the topflight. While having international caps for Scotland's U21s and making two appearances in friendlies for Scotland, he remains eligible to play for the Socceroos. Jason began his career at Hibe...
Tony Pignata - From the Wild West
February 18, 2022 06:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down and chat with the CEO of the Perth Glory, Tony Pignata. Tony has been involved in Australian football for a number of years, having been the CEO of Football Victoria, the Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC before arriving at the Glory. Tony discusses what it has been like for Perth's Men's and Women's sides due to the border restrictions going in and out of Western Australia, where the A-Leagues is heading, his time spent at the Wellington Phoenix and...
Alessandro Diamanti - Life & Football in Australia
February 09, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes - 33.5 MBIn this episode, Archie & Zappa sit down with their good friend Alessandro Diamanti to discuss the recent form of Western United that has them sitting atop of the A-League Mens ladder, as well as Dia's life and experiences since moving to Australia almost 3 years ago! At 38 years old, Diamanti is still providing plenty of spark for Western United, both on and off the pitch. Will he play on again next season? 1:33 - Neds Level Game of the Week 5:28 - Zappa's BIG call! 8:23 - Diamanti intro...
Lawrie McKinna & Georgia Yeoman-Dale - The Magic of the Cup
February 02, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBIn this episode, Archie sits on the bench with a migraine so it's all left up to the one and only Michael Zappone. First up we are joined by former Matilda and A-League Women's star Georgia Yeoman-Dale, who now commentates for Channel 10, to discuss the recent events of the Matildas at the AFC Asian Cup. We then sit down with Lawrie McKinna, the inaugural coach of the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League Men's competition. Since then Lawrie has been the CEO of the Newcastle Jets and even t...
Michael Petersen - A Sprinkle of Excellence with Cruyff & Puskás
January 26, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour - 43.5 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by Socceroo Michael Petersen. Mike helped win the NSL championship with Brunswick and South Melbourne before a stint with Ajax Amsterdam (Holland) starting in 1987. Petersen earned his first national selection for the Socceroos in a match against Taiwan in Canberra in February 1988 and was part of the squad for the 1990 and 1994 World Cup campaigns. During his football career, Petersen played 50 matches for the Socceroos, including 32 'A' internat...
John Grimaud - Making Moves
January 19, 2022 06:00 - 56 minutes - 38.6 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by Player Intermediary, John Grimaud. John has over 20 years of experience managing some of the best players to come from our shores. After developing relationships internationally, John has helped Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie, Josh Kennedy, our very own Archie Thompson and many more players to football careers overseas. Hear John's insights into market side of the world game as well as his thoughts on the value of players and how hard it is to mak...
Leigh Broxham - In The Beginning, There Was Broxy
January 13, 2022 06:00 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by the godfather of the A-Leagues, Leigh Broxham. Having played over 400 games for Melbourne Victory, over 300 of which have come in the A-Leagues, Leigh has certainly been around the traps and seen it all. Making his Victory debut in 2006, Broxy has been a key member of their squad ever since and is highly respected in the League for his loyalty and toughness. Over his career, Leigh has amassed 4 A-League Championships, 3 Premierships and an FFA ...
Christmas Special - Review & Best Of 2021
December 23, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 45.5 MBJoin your co-hosts Archie and Zappa for the podcast's Christmas special. It has been one hell of a year with so many uncertainties. However, one thing you have been able to bank on over the past 12 weeks is football content from the boys! In this episode the boys review and reflect on the 12 episodes and phenomenal guests that have joined the podcast and shared their stories. 2:52 - Neds Level Player of the Week: Nathaniel Atkinson. 9:42 - Graham Arnold - Challenges of gaining the respect ...
Ufuk Talay - The Best Australian Footballer to Never Play for the Socceroos
December 15, 2021 06:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa are joined by Wellington Phoenix Manager, Ufuk Talay. After over 10 years as a professional footballer who spent most of his time overseas, Uffy moved into coaching post retirement. Joining the Nixs in 2019 after spending time as the Assistant Manager at Sydney FC under Steve Corica, Uffy was awarded the A-League Men's Manager of the season in his first season as a Head Coach helping the Phoenix to a 3rd place finish. 3:50 - Neds Level Player of the Week: B...
Bruno Fornaroli - Fight For What You Have
December 08, 2021 06:00 - 53 minutes - 36.8 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with Perth Glory superstar Bruno Fornaroli. The Uruguayan striker is now in his third season with the Glory after transferring from Melbourne City, where we won the FFA Cup in 2016 and the A-League Men's Golden Boot in the 2015/16 season. Bruno has continued his fine form since moving to Perth having been awarded their Most Glorious Player for the past 2 season (2019/20 and 2020/21). 3:52 - Neds Level Player of the Week: Valentino Yuel. 6:47 - Brun...
George Calombaris & Catherine Zimmerman - Food. Passion. Football.
November 30, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 48.8 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa discuss the beginning of the A-League Women's season with Melbourne Victory striker Catherine Zimmerman and George Calombaris joins the podcast and discusses all things food, passions and football. 4:12 - A-League Men's Round 1 Recap. 10:27 - Neds Level Player of the Week: Andrew Nabbout. 13:32 - George Calombaris joins Football From A to Z. 21:50 - The Culinary World Cup. 26:50 - Celebrity Master Chef. 30:20 - Becoming a Chef. 37:53 - What is George Calomb...
John Didulica & Remy Siemsen - Football Has Always Belonged
November 24, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 42.1 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa discuss the Australian football landscape with current Director of Football and author of Football Belongs John Didulica. “Football can help Australia to navigate the challenges that we’re going to face as a nation” - John Didulica. Matilda Remy Siemsen also joins the podcast ahead of their matches against the world's best, the USA. Remy currently plays for Sydney FC in the A-League Women's competition and in her debut season as a 16-year-old was named the...
A-League Men's Special with John Aloisi, Scott Jamieson & Danny Townsend
November 17, 2021 06:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa preview the A-League Men's season before it all kicks off on the 19th of November. Joining the boys in the discussions is Managing Director of the APL Danny Townsend, newly appointed Western United Manager John Aloisi and Championship winning Captain from Melbourne City, Scott Jamieson. 4:18 - John Aloisi and Scott Jamieson join Football From A to Z. 5:00 - 16 years on from Australia going to Germany with John Aloisi! 12:10 - Melbourne City FC celebrating ...
René Meulensteen - Individual Brilliance and Unpredictable Football
November 11, 2021 06:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with Socceroos Assistant Coach René Meulensteen, who's coaching career spans across many countries and continents. Most notably was his time spent at Manchester United alongside Sir Alex Ferguson from 2008 until 2013. René has since been assisting Graham Arnold's side since 2018 as they push for another World Cup appearance in Qatar. Having coached some of the most talented footballers on the planet, René is bound to share some great insights and st...
Josh Cavallo - Just Another Professional Footballer
November 04, 2021 06:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with Josh Cavallo from the Adelaide United Football Club. The 21-year-old joined Adelaide United during the 2020/21 A-League Men's season after having spent some time at Western United and prior to that, Melbourne City and Victory youth teams. Last week, Josh publicly came out as gay, becoming the only male professional footballer in the world to have done so. "I'm a footballer and I'm gay... all I wanna do is play football and be treated equally...
Melissa Barbieri - From Cast Away to Matildas Captain
October 26, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 45.3 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with former Matilda's captain and current Melbourne City FC goal keeper Melissa Barbieri. With upwards of 12 professional seasons and 86 Matildas' caps under her belt, Bubs is certainly no stranger the the Australian football scene. Having represented Australia at 4 World Cups, the Olympic Games and Captaining the Matildas to their 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup win, Melissa is one of Australia's most highly regarded and esteemed female footballers. 3...
Ernie Merrick - A Great Scotsman Turned Aussie
October 19, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 41.6 MBIn this episode, Archie and Zappa sit down with one of the A-League Men's stalwart coaches, Ernie Merrick. Ernie has coached over 300 A-League Men's matches, was awarded A-League Men's coach of the year in 2006/07 and 2009/10, is a 2x Premiership and Championship winner, and was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2014. 4:14 - Matilda's news. 8:37 - Ernie Merrick joins Football From A to Z. 13:11 - What brought Ernie out to Australia. 14:59 - How Ernie acquired a house. 18:00 - His rel...
Christian Vieri & Alessandro Diamanti - From One Italian to Another
October 12, 2021 06:00 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBIn this episode, we are joined by two very special guests, Italy's highest ever goal scorer at World Cups Christian Vieri (Bobo) and Western United's Alessandro Diamanti. Two Italians speaking English on a podcast, what could go wrong? 2:36 - Archie Thompson takes on a mentor role at the Melbourne Victory Academy. 5:35 - Christian Vieri and Alessandro Diamanti join Football From A to Z. 6:20 - The special link between Alessandro and Christian. 11:14 - Christian Vieri the trouble maker. 12:...
From Archie to Zappa - Your New Australian Football Podcast
October 05, 2021 06:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MBWelcome to the first official episode of Football From A to Z with Michael Zappone and Archie Thompson. In this episode, the boys explain the premise of the show and dive into some of the stories behind co-host Archie Thompson, reflecting on some of the key moments in his career. 2:00 - Turning back the clock to the start of the A-League. 6:58 - Behind Archie's non-transfer to PSV in Holland. 10:13 - The story behind Archie's retirement. 17:08 - How Archie and Zappa's relationship has flou...
Graham Arnold - Gaining Respect Behind a Stern Facade
October 05, 2021 06:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBIn this episode, Socceroos Head Coach Graham Arnold joins Michael Zappone and Archie Thompson to talk all about his involvement in football from his National Soccer League days. 1:31 - The Matildas and Socceroos are back on home soil. 9:54 - How Graham Arnold fell in love with football. 17:06 - The impact of FIFA windows on international players and coaches. 17:08 - Becoming a coach back to front. 23:58 - Guus Hiddink and the memorable 2006 World Cup. 28:20 - A look into the real Graham Ar...
TRAILER: Football From A to Z
September 22, 2021 01:00 - 2 minutes - 1.87 MBTRAILER: The football podcast you have been looking for is finally here! Join co-hosts Michael Zappone and Archie Thompson as they launch the Football From A to Z podcast. Much more to come... Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn For professional enquiries, reach out to [email protected] A Max Events production.