22 Goals Podcast
1) 3 | Kylian Mbappé (2018)
Brian looks at the meteoric rise of Kylian Mbappé, whose goal in the 2018 World Cup final made him the first teenager since Pelé to score in soccer's biggest game. We'll discuss the contradictions of ...Show More
2) 19 | Pelé (1958)
In the series finale of 22 Goals, Brian looks back at one of soccer's most momentous beginnings: the childhood and early career of Pelé, the player who defined the modern game. From his origins as a b...Show More
3) 18 | Carlos Alberto (1970)
How did soccer become "the beautiful game"? What does it mean for a game to be beautiful? Brian looks back at Brazil's 1970 World Cup team, a team that starred Pelé in his prime, and a goal that intro...Show More
4) 17 | Michael Owen (1998)
After confessing a truly embarrassing secret—so embarrassing, oh my God—Brian looks back at the English Golden Generation, one of the most celebrated and reviled groups of athletes ever. It's a nonsto...Show More
5) 16 | Lionel Messi (2014) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2018)
With the two greatest players of their generation playing in what may be their final World Cup campaigns, Brian revisits their best moments in the tournament. We'll also talk about the most riveting a...Show More
6) 15 | Landon Donovan (2010)
As the U.S. men's national team gears up for its first game of the 2022 World Cup, Brian remembers Landon Donovan's last-gasp winner against Algeria in 2010. We'll talk about the elusiveness of joy, t...Show More
7) 14 | Giovanni van Bronckhorst (2010)
Brian discusses the special charms of the long-range bomb. What makes long-distance goals so thrilling? Why are they more fun when they're scored by players who rarely take a shot? We'll discuss Giova...Show More
8) 13 | Lucien Laurent (1930)
Brian revisits the first goal ever scored at a World Cup. We'll explore the origins of the tournament, palace intrigue between FIFA and the English FA, and the French factory worker who sailed across ...Show More
9) 12 | Johan Cruyff (1974)
Brian looks at the life and legacy of the magnetic, balletic, and baffling Dutch midfielder Johan Cruyff, who helped transform soccer in the 1960s and ’70s by ushering in the era of Total Football. Ho...Show More
10) 11 | Esteban Cambiasso (2006) and James Rodríguez (2014)
A double-goal episode! Brian compares two of the most sublime moments in World Cup history: Argentina's elaborate team goal against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 and James Rodríguez's stunning solo st...Show More