https://simplecast.com Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything Soccer extends far beyond the pitch. Throughout the 2026 men’s World Cup, Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a new podcast from The Globe and Mail, looks at eight moments that changed soccer and rattled the wider world. Not just tactics and trophies, but politics, culture, and the moral climate of their day. Host Eoin O’Callaghan talks to pundits, writers, players, eyewitnesses and fans about the genius, joy, and heartache of the beautiful game. en Thu, 4 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Thu, 4 Jun 2026 13:51:48 +0000 https://ahead-of-the-game.simplecast.com Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/3461c2e1-098d-4754-8385-97963cb2c504/0acc51eb-bca9-4d5c-85d0-416c1b450368/3000x3000/1.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://ahead-of-the-game.simplecast.com episodic Soccer extends far beyond the pitch. Throughout the 2026 men’s World Cup, Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a new podcast from The Globe and Mail, looks at eight moments that changed soccer and rattled the wider world. Not just tactics and trophies, but politics, culture, and the moral climate of their day. Host Eoin O’Callaghan talks to pundits, writers, players, eyewitnesses and fans about the genius, joy, and heartache of the beautiful game. The Globe and Mail false https://feeds.simplecast.com/WDMHnSLE The Globe and Mail podcasts@globeandmail.com 0fb0722d-779a-4089-8f45-30ac4df85041 Oh no, Canada: How the 1986 World Cup explains the Canadian psyche It’s been forty years since a ragtag Canadian team made its unlikely World Cup debut. On this episode of Pitch and Power, host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests Jay Baruchel and 1986 team member Colin Miller unpack the public indifference and skepticism that greeted Canada’s soccer pioneers, who briefly stood on the world stage before vanishing from public memory. 

How have self-doubt, underfunding, and a series of inexplicable choices shaped Canada’s relationship with soccer? And can recent successes and the upcoming co-hosted World Cup break the cycle?

 

 


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]]> Thu, 4 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 podcasts@globeandmail.com (The Globe and Mail) https://ahead-of-the-game.simplecast.com/episodes/oh-no-canada-how-the-1986-world-cup-explains-the-canadian-psyche-TLB8l8Lk It’s been forty years since a ragtag Canadian team made its unlikely World Cup debut. On this episode of Pitch and Power, host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests Jay Baruchel and 1986 team member Colin Miller unpack the public indifference and skepticism that greeted Canada’s soccer pioneers, who briefly stood on the world stage before vanishing from public memory. 

How have self-doubt, underfunding, and a series of inexplicable choices shaped Canada’s relationship with soccer? And can recent successes and the upcoming co-hosted World Cup break the cycle?

 

 


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]]> Oh no, Canada: How the 1986 World Cup explains the Canadian psyche The Globe and Mail 00:38:05 It’s been forty years since a ragtag Canadian team made its unlikely World Cup debut. On this episode of Pitch and Power, host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests Jay Baruchel and 1986 team member Colin Miller unpack the public indifference and skepticism that greeted Canada’s soccer pioneers, who briefly stood on the world stage before vanishing from public memory. How have self-doubt, underfunding, and a series of inexplicable choices shaped Canada’s relationship with soccer? And can recent successes and the upcoming co-hosted World Cup break the cycle? It’s been forty years since a ragtag Canadian team made its unlikely World Cup debut. On this episode of Pitch and Power, host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests Jay Baruchel and 1986 team member Colin Miller unpack the public indifference and skepticism that greeted Canada’s soccer pioneers, who briefly stood on the world stage before vanishing from public memory. How have self-doubt, underfunding, and a series of inexplicable choices shaped Canada’s relationship with soccer? And can recent successes and the upcoming co-hosted World Cup break the cycle? jay baruchel, soccer canada, 1986 world cup, football, soccer, canada false full 2 577e3f66-73ee-4f98-93de-72166cde6e33 Beautiful losers: Johan Cruyff, Total Football and the 1974 World Cup In the summer of 1974, a bright-orange revolution swept the soccer pitch and the world. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything tells the story of Dutch football star Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands’ Total Football movement—the dazzling skill, sex appeal and cultural swagger that defined it—and the heartbreak of a World Cup final that turned genius into myth.

More than 50 years on, we explore why this team still captivates the soccer world, whether their idealism was doomed in a colder era, and how their brief reign reshaped the game—and a nation—forever.

 

 


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]]> Thu, 28 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 podcasts@globeandmail.com (The Globe and Mail) https://ahead-of-the-game.simplecast.com/episodes/beautiful-losers-johan-cruyff-total-football-and-the-1974-world-cup-c8XPQu2O In the summer of 1974, a bright-orange revolution swept the soccer pitch and the world. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything tells the story of Dutch football star Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands’ Total Football movement—the dazzling skill, sex appeal and cultural swagger that defined it—and the heartbreak of a World Cup final that turned genius into myth.

More than 50 years on, we explore why this team still captivates the soccer world, whether their idealism was doomed in a colder era, and how their brief reign reshaped the game—and a nation—forever.

 

 


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]]> Beautiful losers: Johan Cruyff, Total Football and the 1974 World Cup The Globe and Mail 00:42:54 In the summer of 1974, a bright-orange revolution swept the soccer pitch and the world. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything tells the story of Dutch star Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands’ Total Football movement—the dazzling skill, sex appeal and cultural swagger that defined it—and the heartbreak of a World Cup final that turned genius into myth. More than 50 years on, we explore why this team still captivates the soccer world, whether their idealism was doomed in a colder era, and how their brief reign reshaped the game—and a nation—forever. In the summer of 1974, a bright-orange revolution swept the soccer pitch and the world. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything tells the story of Dutch star Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands’ Total Football movement—the dazzling skill, sex appeal and cultural swagger that defined it—and the heartbreak of a World Cup final that turned genius into myth. More than 50 years on, we explore why this team still captivates the soccer world, whether their idealism was doomed in a colder era, and how their brief reign reshaped the game—and a nation—forever. fifa world cup, total football, football, cruyff, soccer, dutch false full 1 8267032a-d9fd-4d22-a7f4-50b2774ecca2 Coming soon: Pitch and Power Behind every World Cup is a larger story — about national identity and the historical moment in which the games unfold. Eoin O’Callaghan hosts Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a Globe and Mail series that rewinds the World Cup to eight moments when the game crossed into politics, culture, and the public consciousness. These are stories about ambition, rivalry, grief, and triumph. About the highest highs and the lowest lows.

The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything arrives on May 28, 2026, from The Globe and Mail. Follow us now wherever you get your podcasts

 

 


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]]> Thu, 21 May 2026 14:15:15 +0000 podcasts@globeandmail.com (The Globe and Mail) https://ahead-of-the-game.simplecast.com/episodes/coming-soon-pitch-and-power-_Ggprr12 Behind every World Cup is a larger story — about national identity and the historical moment in which the games unfold. Eoin O’Callaghan hosts Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a Globe and Mail series that rewinds the World Cup to eight moments when the game crossed into politics, culture, and the public consciousness. These are stories about ambition, rivalry, grief, and triumph. About the highest highs and the lowest lows.

The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything arrives on May 28, 2026, from The Globe and Mail. Follow us now wherever you get your podcasts

 

 


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

]]> Coming soon: Pitch and Power The Globe and Mail 00:01:32 Behind every World Cup is a larger story — about national identity and the historical moment in which the games unfold. Eoin O’Callaghan hosts Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a Globe and Mail series that rewinds the World Cup to eight moments when the game crossed into politics, culture, and the public consciousness. These are stories about ambition, rivalry, grief, and triumph. About the highest highs and the lowest lows. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything arrives on May 28, 2026, from The Globe and Mail. Follow us now wherever you get your podcasts Behind every World Cup is a larger story — about national identity and the historical moment in which the games unfold. Eoin O’Callaghan hosts Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, a Globe and Mail series that rewinds the World Cup to eight moments when the game crossed into politics, culture, and the public consciousness. These are stories about ambition, rivalry, grief, and triumph. About the highest highs and the lowest lows. The first episode of Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything arrives on May 28, 2026, from The Globe and Mail. Follow us now wherever you get your podcasts false trailer