Planet Fútbol with Grant Wahl

The Planet Fútbol Podcast welcomes another esteemed guest this week, as SI Senior Writer (and this episode's host) Grant Wahl (twitter.com/grantwahl) speaks by phone with Petr Cech, the Czech goalkeeper who recently made the switch to Arsenal after 11 seasons at Chelsea. In the interview, Cech discussed what it takes to be a world-class goalkeeper, where he thinks the future of the position lies, and what his favorite song is to drum along to. The podcast then welcomes SI.com's Brian Straus to the fold with his observations from a thrilling night in Chester, Pennsylvania, where Sporting Kansas City captured its third U.S. Open Cup title with a PK shootout win over the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night. Wahl and Straus also discuss why English Premier League teams are having such a tough time in the Champions League, rummage through the multitude of options the U.S. men's national team has at center back ahead of the team's crucial tilt against Mexico, and whether qualifying for the Olympics really matters as the U.S. U-23 team attempts to do just that later this week. Finally, SI contributor Liviu Bird (twitter.com/liviubird) checks in from the left coast along with Laura Harvey, coach of the NWSL's Seattle Reign. The two discuss the Reign's sustained success in the fledgling league, preaching posession with a purpose, and why there are still so many male coaches at the uppermost levels of the women's game.

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