Harry Kane’s phenomenal form for Bayern Munich was rewarded by the 100 journalists that decide the Ballon d’Or - and the team discuss the year he’s had, the journey he’s been on from a one-season wonder through to the pinnacle of the individual game.

Kylian Mbappe came second but what does he have to do to get over the line in future? Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy but fell short of the main award again. When will his time come?

Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or Feminine for the third time - in a period of dominance for Barcelona, following Aitana Bonmati’s back-to-back wins in 2024 & 2025. We are reaching dynasty levels.

Do you agree with the team - should Kane have won the award? Who’s next?

Many had predicted Barcelona and Lamine Yamal to steamroll Los Blancos in El Clasico but they didn’t show the best of themselves; whereas Madrid were excellent in their individual battles. Jude Bellingham, Marc Cucurella and Yan Diomande in particular caught their eye with Kylian Mbappe reaping the rewards. Are Real Madrid back? Is Jose Mourinho back? And has he exposed Barcelona’s well-known weakness?

In the Premier League, Michael Carrick is under almost untenable pressure after Manchester United succumbed to a 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth. Carrick dropped Bruno Fernandes after his captain questioned his tactics in the aftermath of the heavy loss to Como in the Champions League. Should he go? How do the break out of this never-ending cycle?

It was a bad weekend on the other side of Manchester as City were roundly beaten by Aston Villa, with Unai Emery continuing to be a thorn in their side. Nicholas Jackson bagged a brace, continuing his positive start to life at Villa Park.

Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti get their teeth stuck into the weekend’s action as well as looking ahead to tonight’s Ballon d’Or ceremony. They will be back tomorrow to react to the results.

Barcelona were their usual free-flowing selves with Lamine Yamal - who is in flow state - scored a superb curling effort - although, Giovanni Lo Celso scored one of the great disallowed goals of all time shortly after. But the visitors showed their quality in the end despite Betis’ battling.

At the Bernabeu, Kylian Mbappe scored a stylish double - Luca’s favourite goal in a long time - Yann Diomande laced an effort in and Arda Guler curled a beautiful effort over Robbie Ure in a performance that felt like it ‘clicked’ late on. Are they arriving into the league’s biggest game in the perfect way?

Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro talk through La Liga’s action as well as looking ahead to El Clasico - but more immediately the Champions League is back with two mouth-watering ties between the four pre-season favourites: PSG v Barcelona and Bayern Munich v Arsenal. We are being spoiled.

BRIGHTON ARE FLYING! The Premier League’s top scorers put Crystal Palace to the sword in a sumptuous display, capped off by Diego Gomez’s early contender for goal of the season. But just how far can Brighton go?

Chelsea got the job done against previously unbeaten Everton, with Moises Caicedo at the heart of an important 2-0 win. Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool are building momentum despite defeat to Manchester City, with Victor Munoz producing an electric breakaway goal. Rio Ngumoha also made a huge impact off the bench - so how does his manager find room for him in the starting XI?

In Serie A, Inter Milan once again showed their character with a comeback victory over Bologna. Gennaro Gattuso and Lazio are flying, too, following a dominant win over Juventus - leaving Luca asking the question on every Bianconeri fan’s mind: “when will it end?”

Alessandro, meanwhile, has fewer existential concerns. Roma proved they can cope without the suspended Donyell Malen, beating Genoa to keep pace with Inter and their city rivals. And Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan are quietly building something promising, picking up another high-scoring win against Atalanta. Oh, and Napoli lost to Venezia who picked up their first points of the season.

What do you think? How far can Brighton go this season? What should Liverpool do with Rio Ngumoha? And which club really is the coolest in the world?

Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti dissect a strange atmosphere at Anfield, how this limbo period dents the credibility of the Premier League and how City’s quality was, ultimately, simply too much.

Lyes’ United struggled again in their draw with Spurs, with pressure mounting on Michael Carrick, what are the core issues at United? Or is it the same thing over and over again?

In Serie A, we are talking about a forgone conclusion with Internazionale continuing their dominance - despite the resurgence of both of Rome’s clubs, Lazio and Roma? Depth and quality could be the difference.

His international journey has been full of the most extreme highs, and the lowest of lows. But the little boy from Rosario has cemented his place among the greatest to ever play the game as well as in the hearts of Argentinians who, at one point, were his biggest critics. Everything has been said about Lionel Messi's greatness, but can you ever say enough?

Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti take a nostalgic look back at the international career of Lionel Messi, how his success with the international team sets him apart from Cristiano Ronaldo as well as look into the biggest performances in the international break and the MLS.

The big story came from Manchester with Manchester City being found guilty of 115 charges related to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. And it has shaken football to its core. Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti break down sanctions, punishments, ramifications and the wider impact that this ruling will have on the beautiful game.

As always we’ll be watching.

Raphinha bagged a beautiful hat-trick, featuring another undefendable chop and finish - his eighth, ninth and tenth goals of the La Liga season. Lamine Yamal assisted his Brazilian team-mate twice with an inch-perfect cross and then a slotted through ball as Barcelona went five points clear of second, and six points clear of Real Madrid.

Jose Mourinho’s side lost for the second time this season in the Madrid derby, in a game filled with controversy and drama. What do you expect when the dugouts are filled by Jose and Diego Simeone? But, once again, when Los Blancos were faced with stiffer opposition - like against Betis - they came up short? Why is this happening when they have the talent they do? What can Mourinho do to solve it? Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti are on hand to get their teeth stuck into La Liga, the Bundesliga and the MLS as we go around the world.

But for every Brighton or Brentford, there’s a crisis club unable to replicate their success - Spurs and Manchester United both added to torrid weeks with lackluster performances.

Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Erimiti are back to dissect the weekend’s action and the wider themes at play in English football’s top tier as well flying over to Serie A.

Roma and Inter Milan couldn’t be separated in a game of two halves. Juventus are back on track just as the international break rolls around. Como were beaten by Frosinone and Milan were in stellar form against Lecce.

Is the Ballon d’Or fair? Is it more valuable than the World Player of the Year? Luca flexes his ability to name every single winner of the award in an impressive showing of trivia.

In this year’s open field, who deserves it the most? Who should win it? Who WILL win it?

Harry Kane’s super season, statistically, puts him at the top of the charts for many. But will the Spain’s success at the World Cup be the deciding factor - for Rodri or Lamine Yamal, who’s been very vocal about his belief that he deserves the award.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the Champions League’s knockout MVP, Kylian Mbappe is staking a claim in the press. Lionel Messi’s name is still there - thanks to a ridiculous season numerically in the MLS, and a phenomenal World Cup campaign dragging Argentina to the final.

Martin Odegaard was at the heart of a sizzling Arsenal performance as they managed to blitz Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea - despite the Blues going a goal up. And have Arsenal finally worked out how to entertain, while winning games?

Over in Spain, Barcelona were in an unforgiving mood and put five past Valencia to stay top of La Liga, with Lamine Yamal scoring two. Does Hansi Flick have the final piece of the puzzle with Rodri looking the part in Catalan colours - will he provide the balance needed to take Barcelona on to European glory?

Barca’s victory was all the sweeter as they go three points clear of Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid who dropped points against Betis, with Kylian Mbappe missing a last-minute penalty to salvage even a draw.

Lyes, Luca and Alessandro are back in the last show of the season to react to the World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina.

A final dominated by Spain that showed once again to be the best team in the World and arguably the best side of 21st Century

A historical final between two football giants.

After analysing the game and the tournament, our trio will build their combined XI.

Today more than ever, we’ll be watching.

Lyes, Luca and Alessandro are back to react to both the semifinals starting with the Atlanta classic between England and Argentina.

Back to Back Final for The world champions after a historical comeback.

In Dallas, Spain became the first 2026 World Cup Finalist. De La Fuente’s team outclassed France with an outstanding midfield performance, combined with another defensive masterclass.

Who will lift the trophy in NY?

After analysing both games our trio will preview the last act of this incredible tournament.

Last but not least: combined XI and Predictions.

As always, we will be watching.

Your quarter finals are: France v Morocco. Can the world's best attack featuring - Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise - conquer a Moroccan side that have been steadily growing for the last six years. Can Achraf Hakimi's organised, exciting side cause the upset to end all upsets?

Lamine Yamal is still waiting for his World Cup moment - is he waiting until it really matters to turn on the style? Spain have made the tournament look relatively easy so far - but Belgium have grown into it, using the controversy in their match-up with the USMNT as fuel to overpower the host nation.

In arguably the most exciting quarter-final fixture, Norway take on England - two of the world's best strikers - in Erling Haaland and Harry Kane - will be aiming to outshoot each other in a fixture littered with intrigue and excitement. Will Jude Bellingham be the answer again though?

We have been watching. We will be watching.

In today’s episode, the team reacts to England’s historic win at the Azteca as Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane inspire the Three Lions into the quarter-finals. They discuss whether England are now the favourites to reach the World Cup final from their side of the bracket.

They also analyse Argentina’s stunning comeback against Egypt, Switzerland’s victory over Colombia, Spain’s win over Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s final international appearance.

To wrap up, the guys preview the World Cup quarter-finals with their predictions for the biggest games still to come.

If you enjoy in-depth football analysis, tactical discussion and the biggest talking points from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode.

Once they break down the match, they’ll dive into the biggest talking points from the last couple of days, starting with Paraguay vs. France decided by a Kylian Mbappé penalty.

Elsewhere, Morocco dominated Canada and booked their place in the quarterfinals. Are they the best African team in World Cup history? Can they beat France and take revenge for the 2022 semifinal?

Last but not least, they’ll preview Mexico vs. England, where Thomas Tuchel’s squad will try to become the first team to beat El Tri on home soil in World Cup history.

As always, we will be watching.

#fifaworldcup #brazil #neymar #haaland #mbappe

The World Cup is only just getting started. And one thing is for certain, we will be watching.

Hot on his heels in the race for the '26 golden boot (as well as the all-time record) is Kylian Mbappe who bagged a brace in a scary-looking French win over Iraq. And if that wasn't enough, Erling Haaland matched him stride for stride scoring his third and fourth for Norway in their 3-2 victory over Senegal.

But we still have more questions going into the final round of group games? Can one of the smallest nations ever make it through to the knockouts - Cabo Verde have the best chance as they face Saudi Arabia in their final game? Can Portugal finally kick on? Will the USMNT top the group unbeaten? Has this been a group stage for the ages?

One thing is for sure, we will be watching.

After nine months of chaos, brilliance, heartbreak and controversy, the 2025/26 club season comes down to one night. Two modern superpowers. Two managers chasing immortality. One trophy that changes everything.

Arsenal arrive as Premier League champions, armed with the best set pieces in Europe, a monster midfield and a defence that’s spent the season suffocating opponents. PSG arrive with firepower that borders on unfair. Ousmane Dembele. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Desire Doue. Bradley Barcola. Pure nightmare fuel in transition.

In the final SIFC episode of the season, Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti go deep into the tactical battle that will decide European football’s biggest game. Can Declan Rice disrupt the rhythm of Vitinha and Joao Neves? How does Mikel Arteta stop PSG’s terrifying front line without losing Arsenal’s aggression? And if the game breaks open, which superstar grabs the moment that defines careers forever?

From tactical detail to bold predictions, from pressure points to match winners, this is the full Champions League Final breakdown.

The lights are brighter. The stakes are bigger. And by the end of the night, somebody becomes immortal.

Thank you for riding with SIFC all season long. We’ll see you in New York when we go live throughout the World Cup. Until then, enjoy the final.

Mikel Arteta gets his flowers from Luca Dallolio who, alongside Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti, talk through the Gunners’ Premier League success - how they did it, the turning points, the key moments, the key men and, crucially, how Pep Guardiola leaving City offers them a golden opportunity.

A hungover Aston Villa may have won the match but Sunday was all about Pep and the team looking back on what can only be described as a dynasty - a decade of dominance comes to an end for Manchester City.

Finally, the team looks over a “crazy” England squad selection - should Cole Palmer be at the World Cup? Will Phil Foden be missed? It’s the last domestic show of the season and it’s a cracker.

The Premier League has been as competitive as its been but with some phenomenal units at the top - is there space for any other club than Arsenal in the back four? Which players should break into the forward line?

In La Liga, Real Madrid’s stuttering season leaves room for players from around the league - Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti have players from Real Betis, Mallorca and Espanyol in their XI.

While in Serie A, you’ve got the old boys in Luka Modric and Federico Dimarco and the new kids on the block, Nico Paz and Kenan Yildiz, despite Juventus dropping out of the Champions League spots.

This week, Luca, Lyes and Ale Eremiti dive into the managerial merry-go-round already beginning to spin across the continent. Is Pep Guardiola approaching the end of his Manchester City cycle? And when the Premier League era is judged, does anyone other than Sir Alex Ferguson come close to matching his impact?

There’s also the major move at Chelsea, where Xabi Alonso has been confirmed as the club’s next manager. After a difficult spell at Real Madrid, is this the right environment for him to rebuild his reputation, and could the wording of Chelsea’s announcement tell us something about the power he’ll hold at Stamford Bridge?

Then attention shifts to Old Trafford, where Michael Carrick has an offer on the table. Manchester United have spent years searching for stability, structure and a clear footballing identity. Could Carrick be the figure to finally bring calm to the chaos?

Plus, Inter are Scudetto winners once again. Lyes was invited by Inter to be a guest at the celebrations and returned with a special gift for Luca. What made their title campaign so convincing, how far ahead are they of the rest in Italy, and what comes next for the Nerazzurri?

From Pep’s legacy to Chelsea’s reset, United’s uncertainty, Inter’s Scudetto celebrations and a special surprise for Luca, episode 25 breaks down the biggest managerial and title-winning storylines as the season reaches its conclusion.

In the Premier League, set pieces, once again, were the weekend’s major talking point - Arsenal benefitted from a late-VAR decision to beat West Ham and take them a huge step closer to winning the league for the first time in over 20 years.

Luca Dallolio, Lyes Bouzidi and Alessandro Eremiti return to dissect the weekend’s biggest football matters.

In England, Arsenal pile pressure on City in the title race with a dominant win over Fulham, driven by their academy stars, while Manchester United seal their return to the Champions League with a big win over Liverpool, powered by Kobbie Mainoo.

The focus then shifts to Europe with a full preview and predictions for the Champions League semi-final second legs, as PSG face Bayern and Arsenal take on Atleti in two defining ties.

Plus, Inter seal the Serie A title to cap off a dominant campaign, as the panel debates what it all means heading into the final stretch of the season.

In contrast, Manchester City look like they’re hitting top form when it matters most. A dominant 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge, inspired by Rayan Cherki, showed a perfect blend of flair and control from Pep Guardiola’s side.

Over in Spain, the title race appears to be slipping away from Real Madrid after more dropped points, while Lamine Yamal continues his meteoric rise—this time starring in a derby win over Espanyol. What’s going wrong at Madrid, and are we already witnessing one of the greatest teenage talents the game has ever seen?

We also review all the key action from last week’s Champions League fixtures, breaking down the biggest results, before our ongoing prediction battle between Lyes, Ale and Luca continues with this week’s ties.

All that and more in this episode.

We break down all the key moments from La Liga, including tactical insights and what it means for the title race.

Plus, FA Cup drama as Southampton pull off a stunning upset against Arsenal to reach Wembley, while Manchester City cruise past Liverpool thanks to a dominant Erling Haaland hat-trick.

Finally, it’s time for a Champions League prediction battle, as Lyes, Ale and Luca go head-to-head with their picks for the upcoming ties.

All that and more in this episode.

In Spain, Real Madrid edged out Atlético 3-2 in a spectacular derby that saw the return of vintage Vinícius Júnior under interim manager Arbeloa. We also discuss Ademola Lookman’s impact at Atlético and speculate on whether Julián Álvarez or Harry Kane is the right successor for Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona.

The Serie A title race is heating up now that Inter Milan is winless in March. AC Milan and Antonio Conte’s Napoli are closing in, while the project at Como continues to impress with the best defensive record in Italy under Cesc Fàbregas.

Finally, we look ahead to the international break where Italy is fighting for its life in World Cup qualification against Northern Ireland for the third time in a row. The panel debates Gattuso’s lack of a clear strategy and the potential lineup for this do-or-die match.

The panel dives into Tudor’s game plan against Arsenal, looking at how his team tried to impose control without the ball through aggressive spacing and man-to-man marking duels and the trade-off that comes with those principles.

We also explore Arsenal’s solutions in possession, why they struggled in the first half and how the timing of rotations in and around the half-spaces forced Tudor’s line into impossible choices: step out and open the channel behind, or hold the line and allow Arsenal to play between the lines and attack the box with runners arriving on schedule.

Then the conversation flips to Manchester City’s 2–1 win over Newcastle, unpacking how Guardiola’s side solved a committed Newcastle press and how Nico O'Reilly's brilliance and Erling Haaland's percerverance won the game for City.

Finally, with rivals trading points and the run-in tightening, we discuss the wider title and relegation battles: why momentum matters at this stage of the season and what both Arsenal and City still need to tighten up if they want to turn gritty wins like these into a trophy-defining run.

We head to Serie A for the explosive Derby d’Italia, where Inter vs Juventus delivered goals, drama and a title-race defining decision.

In La Liga, Real Madrid go top after a statement win over Real Sociedad - Trent’s influence, Vinicius unleashed and Barcelona under pressure.

Plus, MLS Power Rankings: MVP picks, Cup favourites, dark horses and Golden Boot predictions as Messi, Son and James Rodríguez headline the new season.

Our panel breaks down the tactical shifts, key moments, and what this result means for the Premier League title race.