The Sweeper is a football podcast unlike any other. Once a week, journalists Lee Wingate and Paul Watson bring you unique and quirky football headlines and stories from across Europe and the wider world that you won’t hear elsewhere. Whether it’s San Marino’s 20-year winless run, Greenland’s week-long season or the two-team league in the Scilly Isles, The Sweeper does not focus on Europe’s top five leagues - but instead casts its net across FIFA’s 211 members and beyond. Join us for a whistle-stop tour of the football world every Wednesday. Episodes are released at midnight CET.
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High-speed car chases, Anguillan adventures & a German giant in decline
Part 1 of this Sweeper podcast kicks off with an alternative look at the transfer window and Arturo Vidal’s dramatic helicopter & horseback unveiling at Colo Colo, before moving onto some of the best, worst & oddest transfer announcements in history. Continuing the transfer theme, we hear about a strange signing by Vilaverdense in Portugal's second tier and then go to Italy for the bizarre story of a young player who stole a team-mate’s car and got caught up in a high-speed police chase! We then finish off with some memorable soundbites and antics from players past & present – including, of course, Mario Balotelli.
In Part 2, we're off to some British overseas territories. We first speak to Louis Jones of mystery football shirt company Surprise Shirts about his involvement with Anguillan outfit Uprising FC and hear about his recent trip to the Caribbean island, where he even made an appearance for the team. We then move on to Gibraltar and club team Hound Dogs’ unique status in UEFA's smallest member state, before taking a look at the English influences that have shaped the histories of clubs on the Rock.
The final segment starts with an update on Mongolian footballer Ochiroo Batbold, who is cycling from his home in Ulaanbaatar to Old Trafford and has now reached Austria. We then talk about Schalke, a once great side in Germany now teetering dangerously on the brink of disaster in the second tier and get insight from German YouTuber Fiago on where things have gone wrong. There are details of a very special prize on offer to one lucky Sweeper patron, before we round off the episode with a typically eclectic selection of listener emails.
RUNNING ORDER:
Part 1: Unique transfer announcements, celebrity signings and high-speed car chases (00:44)
Part 2: An amazing Anguillan adventure and Gibraltar's last remaining amateur club (16:43)
Part 3: Ochiroo's odyssey, a German giant in decline and a cool Czech competition (33:44)
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