Toto Schillaci è morto l'anno scorso dopo una lunga lotta contro il cancro. Quando gli ho chiesto che tipo di cancro stesse combattendo, ha riso e con un sorriso nel suo inglese stentato ha risposto ad alta voce: "Yerrikay! (la sua pronuncia di Eric) Non ho più il retto - questo lo so!". Il traduttore ha fatto la sua parte per il piccolo gruppo che voleva ascoltare, e tutti hanno riso: il fatto che Toto fosse Toto era sicuramente l'atmosfera giusta.

Era una di quelle persone così carismatiche che si poteva permettersi quel genere di cose. Ogni domanda sembrava un'opportunità. Un sorriso gli si dipingeva sul volto mentre il traduttore giungeva alla fine: non vedeva l'ora di rivivere un momento, di trovare umorismo o ironia in una vecchia storia, o il calore provato nel ricordare un vecchio amico o compagno di squadra.

Lui continuò, tenendo banco, per me e 5 dei suoi amici fumatori accaniti che avevano deciso di restare ad ascoltare. Della sua giovinezza in Sicilia negli anni '70, dove la mafia ti circondava ovunque, della sua remota possibilità di arrivare in Serie A con la squadra dei suoi sogni: la Juventus, poi la possibilità ancora più remota di entrare in Nazionale e poi quella più azzardata, fuori dal mondo: guidare il Mondiale del 1990 in gol e conquistare un'intera nazione con il suo gioco, i suoi gol e quel sorriso irresistibile. Avrebbe concluso il 1990 al secondo posto nella votazione per il Pallone d'Oro (Giocatore dell'Anno): un viaggio assurdo.

Facevamo la nostra apparizione al suo tennis club, anche se vedevo solo pickleball – credo che siano tempi così ovunque. Ma non lo dimenticherò mai – Ascoltatelo – sono sicuro che, come me, vi conquisterà.

Ep. 27 – Totò Schillaci

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Toto Schillaci died last year after a long fight with cancer. When I asked him what kind of cancer he was battling, he laughed and with a smile in his broken English loudly replied – ‘Yerrikay! (his pronunciation of Eric) I no longer have a rectum - I know that much!’ The translator did his thing for the small group that wanted to listen in, and all laughed – just Toto being Toto was definitely the vibe.

He was one of those people so charismatic that you could get away with that kind of thing. Every question seemed an opportunity. A grin would come across his face as the translator would come to his end – he could not wait to relive a moment, to find humor or irony in an old story, or the warmth felt in recalling an old friend or teammate.

On he went, just holding court, for me and 5 of his chain smoking friends that deemed to stay on and listen in. About his youth in Sicily in the 70s where the mafia was all around you, about his long shot of making Serie A with his dream club: Juventus, then the even longer shot at making the national team and then that longest, out of the world, shot – of leading the 1990 World Cup in goals and captivating an entire nation with his play, his goals, and that irresistible smile. He would end 1990 2nd in Ballon D’Or (World Player of the Year) voting: a ridiculous journey for this kid from the south.

We did our sit at his tennis club, though it was only pickleball that I could see – such are the times everywhere I guess. But I will never forget it – Give the man a listen – I am sure that like me, he will win you over.

Ep 27 – Toto Schillaci

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As I talked to Steve Sampson, I was very much reminded of the coaches of my youth in the 80s and 90s. I smirked nostalgically as I heard words like: accountability, preparation, and culture.

If you Google Steve Sampson, of the first 10 articles you see, 9 will be about one event he experienced - a moment where he was coaching the US National Team, prepping for the 1998 World Cup, and was faced with an impossible off-the-field situation.

He handled it in his way, grounded in his own set of values, which he summarized in that clichéd/old school but very true idea of: can you look yourself in the mirror?

His decision was hugely unpopular. His career and reputation suffered tremendously, but as he says both then and now, he sleeps just fine at night.

He talks a lot about that incident with me and how it impacted him. In his words, 'that's the most I've ever talked about that'. And he humbled me by casually adding that, 'he felt in good hands'.

Of course, there is much more to the man than this single moment. And I hope you enjoy hearing from the man himself: the life and philosophies of 'el profe' , Steve Sampson.

EP: 025 - Steve Sampson

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Freeman Jones was a black, PhD-educated scientist in Jim Crow America, who was the lead of his team. However, when his company opened up the facility for tours for investors or the public, he was kindly asked by ownership to exit the facility and go wait in the yard with the other black employees, most of whom were part of the cleaning crew.

Freeman would go onto marry Mada Myers, who had marched with Dr Martin Luther King in Mobile, Alabama, and was active in that legendary Civil Rights movement of the 1960s American South. She later taught English Literature for nearly 30 years. Freeman and Mada were married for 62 years.

It’s not surprising that such people would go on to raise four lovely children – the youngest of whom they named: Cobi N’Gai Jones. As a young man, Cobi was very nervous when he approached his highly educated parents with his desire to put his education on hold to pursue a career in soccer, where there was no established league, hardly any professional players and very little money.

Surprisingly to Cobi, it was his mother, the educator, who told her son, " Go chase this dream of yours, son, and see where it takes you.”

Cobi went on to have a legendary US soccer career; he is in the Guinness Book for most games played for the US National Team, and the most continuous years played with one MLS club – two records that will never be touched.

So, as he poignantly told me: in the end, he was glad his mother won the argument.

Cobi was kind enough to host me at the LA Galaxy facility where he will soon join Landon Donovan and David Beckham in the form of a 10-foot-tall bronze statue - soon to be unveiled in the Legends Plaza at the Galaxy stadium entrance.

It was a pleasure to sit with Cobi Jones and I hope you enjoy it was well.

Ep 24 – Cobi Jones

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Gary Mabbutt is a real legend of that historic club – Tottenham Hotspur of North London – but Gary was quite lucky to get that far as he nearly died as a boy while at his youth club.

He did not die of course, but was diagnosed with what was then a pretty unknown condition - that of type 1 diabetes – he was told by the doctor that his football career was over and he would have to take a lot of precautions and master his diet moving forward just to insure his life would not be cut short.

He was 17 and his world was shattered, but given his nature he didn’t give up and with his father, he did what any stubborn teenage boy would do - he went looking for another doctor.

It took 4 tries, but he found one that walked him through the care he had to take, explained to him the nature of blood sugar and insulin, and all the ins/outs of living with this condition – his pregame meal, his post game meal, his sleep and of course, what to do in case of emergency.

He would go on to play nearly 500 times for Tottenham, over the course of 16 seasons – 11 as captain. He played with or against the likes of: Enzo Scifo, Dennis Bergkamp, Paul Gascoigne, Jurgen Klinsmann and Johan Cruyff.

As an aside, the other three doctors that recommended retirement all spoke to Gary over the years – congratulated him on his success, marveled at what he was able to accomplish with his disease - and further that his career would provide a blueprint for all the diabetics that would came after him, something that Gary is very proud of.

He is a true legend of White Hart Lane, an inspiration for those that share his ailment and a gentleman above all.

Gary Mabbutt - EP 23

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2025 Season, here we go!

A bit late, but hey - I'm a child of divorce.

Dean Windass was never really an elite player at the top flight of English football. He is a legend of Hull City – that Yorkshire club with great history - but Hull rarely find themselves in the top flight of English football.

He had many great moments at Hull – some of the best in that clubs history – and when Dean retired, they offered to build a statue of him in front of the stadium, but he declined the offer saying, “I could not think of one working man who had a statue’ – its sounds fake I know, but it is true.

Like many players of his era, he did not have an easy time upon leaving the game. He struggled with depression and turned to alcohol to anesthetize said depression which made him more depressed and round and round he went.

There were dark times and after a failed suicide attempt, his friend (and great ex player) Chris Kamara got him into a rehab facility. It was a very hard time, but he was able to get sober, face his demons and turn his life around.

He then began offering help to other players – help that he did not really see when he left the game. He began posting an inspirational twitter vid every morning - which went viral and garners quite the following to this day. He even gave a TED talk on his experiences and is so brutally honest and vulnerable about what he went through - I recommend you check it out.

So, a bit of a different one this one, but if you give it a go – I hope you get something out of it. It is one of those episodes where I kind of wanna say, pretentious as it may sound, maybe forward it onto a friend who is not in the best of spots – it may help them….

So here we go - #22 Soccerpod – Dean Windass.

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I always smile big when I get to speak to an old US National Team guy – of all the players and characters from around the world that I’ve sat with - they are my favorite lot, because they did it here and they did it first.

No player from any other country can honestly say: 'When I was a kid there really was no soccer in my country, there was no league, there was no national team, there were no heroes to look up to.

But for Tab Ramos it was like this – being a professional soccer player when you grow up? You just didn’t know what that looked like.

If you are a professional today or a national team player today – there is a clear path to follow – you can see the endgame - I need to do this, that and try out here, etc.

But for Tab Ramos and his colleagues, there was no such path – you had to be creative and it kind of evolved around them and they happened to be good enough to carry the burden and take the thing and leave it in a much better place than where they found it.

Further, if you had to list the most important 3 US soccer moments in history: I do think they would be: Qualifying for the 90 World Cup, hosting the 94 World Cup, and the formation of the MLS in 95 – and Tab Ramos is on a very short list of players who were instrumental in all these.

The players of today – and the players of tomorrow owe a huge debt to Tab and his colleagues for all they did to get the game to where it is in this country –

I love sitting with Tab Ramos, and I loved hearing him lay it all out for us. I hope you do as well.

Soccerpod #21 – Tab Ramos

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In 1984, John Fashanu, a black Englishman of Nigerian descent, signed with the British club: Millwall FC; an openly racist club at that time. The semi-official chant the supporters sing from the crowd is: ‘We are Millwall, No One Likes Us, No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care, We are Millwall, From the Den’. (The Den is the name of their home ground)

The supporters hated him, they abused him, they threw bananas at him, they threatened his life if he dare stay. Somehow, as time progressed - they came to adore him. Impossibly, he became the most beloved player at the club. His passion, his skill and of course his goals just won them over, kind of like the Soviet crowd conversion in Rocky IV.

In fact, they revered him so much that when he left the club, the ‘ultra’ supporters – a notorious group known as the F Troupe – were so distraught, that they took out a hit on his life, and he had to go into hiding.

And this is just chapter 4 for John – It was such a good time to chat with him - Give us a listen to hear it all.

soccerPod - Ep: 20

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