Libero

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will play at this World Cup despite a combined age of nearly 80. It is a credit to their commitment to football and, undoubtedly, improvements in sport science that the two defining players of the last 25 years are still going, but it also begs the question of why can't the game let go of these two superstars? Messi and Ronaldo are not the only players in the upper age bracket at this tournament, is that because there is a dearth of talent coming through? Or has the media landscape that allowed them to rise so high become more fragmented in the age of niche passions.

In the first of our World Cup series, James Horncastle, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja wrestle with these questions and more.

P1: (11:05)

P2: (26:46)

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Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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Arsenal lost the Champions League final on Saturday night but it has still been an undeniably brilliant season and deserved to parade the Premier League trophy around north London in front of millions fans.

For the final Libero of the club season, Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney dial in direct from Budapest, before Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson ask how Arsenal can make up the gap to PSG next season if they are to finally become European champions.

For the final Libero of the club season, Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney dial in direct from Budapest, before Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson ask how Arsenal can make up the gap to PSG next season. Is it as simple as backing Mikel Arteta with greater attacking options?

And with Real Madrid and Manchester City both in transition, who can stop Arsenal and PSG from re-running this final in 12 months time? Finally, What can we expect from Liverpool, now that Arne Slot has gone and Andoni Iraola has been lined up to replace him.

P1: (06:04)

P2: (29:47)

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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The Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal has a rare quality in this fixture: it pits clearly the two best teams in Europe against each other. Both clubs have had brilliant seasons, each winning their domestic league, adding to an epic feel for the game in Budapest, but the fixture has a sense of freshness, because Arsenal have never won this competition, and PSG won it for the first time last year.

On today’s Libero, Jack Pitt-Brooke, Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson ask why the finalists are only coming as powers in Europe now and whether there is a geographical explanation. With just three European cups between them, all of them in the last 15 years, why have London and Paris traditionally underperformed in this competition? And is that finally starting to change?

P1: (02:24)

P2: (27:55)

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via [email protected]

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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The Premier League's final day confirmed Arsenal are champions, West Ham are going down and Sunderland are in the Europa League. But it also felt like one long goodbye: from Pep Guardiola to Mo Salah, via Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Andy Robertson. On today’s Libero, Rory Smith, Jonathan Wilson and our North London correspondent Tariq Panja ask how different the league will look without several of its defining figures, whether their farewells mark the end of a defined era, and what might come next.

P1: (03:01)

P2: (26:45)

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via [email protected]

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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Pep Guardiola is leaving Manchester City. It’s an exit that brings to an end one of the most unique experiments in football history, and one that is unlikely to be repeated again. Jack Pitt-Brooke, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja discuss Guardiola’s legacy and the very specific set of circumstances that provided the platform for him to produce arguably the most complete winning machines in English football history.

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: liberopodcast.com.

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P1: (08:45)

P2: (30:35)

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via [email protected]

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

Follow us on X @podcast_libero

Follow us on Bluesky @liberopodcast.com

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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