{"podcast":{"title":"The Best Soccer Show","slug":"the-best-soccer-show-744760","podcast_index_feed_id":744760,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/RPPSG8719704371","website_url":"https://www.thebestsoccershow.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/db8cd422-f915-11ef-a5ff-c7623cc576f4/image/1f2f57b676a27257837f4e8ca7070cbe.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Davis & Dubois","episode_count":289,"summary":"Hosted by the voice of the American fan, Jason Davis (SiriusXM), and the clown prince of soccer, Jared Dubois (JD & The Rod), The Best Soccer Show is dedicated to all things American Soccer, covering Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, the US national teams, Americans around the globe, and more. The show features a who's who of American soccer in an energetic, call-in format that gives fans a voice while never taking itself or the game too seriously.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760"},"episode":{"title":"Leander Schaerlaeckens Talks About His USMNT Book, \"The Long Game\"","slug":"leander-schaerlaeckens-talks-about-his-usmnt-book-the-long-game","published_at":"2026-05-14T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760/leander-schaerlaeckens-talks-about-his-usmnt-book-the-long-game","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/RPPSG2169687385.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/RPPSG2169687385.mp3","summary":"Special Edition: The Long Game with Leander Schaerlaeckens Jason is taking some time off, so this week he's sharing his full conversation with Leander Schaerlaeckens — journalist, USMNT beat reporter, and author of the new book The Long Game: US Men's Soccer and Its Savage Four-Decade Journey to the Top (or Thereabouts). It's the definitive history of the program, written just in time for the World Cup. Jason calls it a must-read, and this conversation shows why. [0:00:28] — Jason introduces the episode and Leander's new book, The Long Game. He'll be back live soon — catch him at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow for Wednesday office hours, the Bestie Slack, and bonus content. [0:02:50] — Interview begins. Leander on the writing process: three-plus years, 150+ interviews, every US World Cup game since 1990 rewatched — and then US Soccer fired Berhalter and he had to rewrite the whole thing. [0:07:50] — The book's structure: a chronological USMNT history woven with profiles of six current players — Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Matt Turner, and Antonee Robinson — each chosen because their story says something bigger about American soccer. [0:20:00] — The Dark Ages (1950–1990): the USMNT once went 11 years without winning a game and nobody noticed. A 1974 qualifier where they didn't have enough players and pulled one from the stands. A $5 per diem that players were sometimes asked to forego. It was a circus — and Leander went deep on why. [0:31:00] — The big structural question: is a US World Cup win inevitable, or does it require investment that doesn't make financial sense? Leander's take — it's not just a matter of time. The FC Dallas academy director's point lands hard: a kid in Dallas is still 12 times less likely to end up in a professi…","meta_description":"Special Edition: The Long Game with Leander Schaerlaeckens Jason is taking some time off, so this week he's sharing his full conversation with Leander Sch…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3108,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-best-soccer-show-744760/episodes/leander-schaerlaeckens-talks-about-his-usmnt-book-the-long-game/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-best-soccer-show-744760/leander-schaerlaeckens-talks-about-his-usmnt-book-the-long-game.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}