{"podcast":{"title":"The Real Science of Sport Podcast","slug":"the-real-science-of-sport-podcast-495514","podcast_index_feed_id":495514,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/f3fb5c75-b943-4f5d-bd87-27c91611dd24","website_url":"https://play.acast.com/s/realscienceofsport","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6100856531fd81f125b34dac/1764253945895-a1ed9fa9-2a2e-4594-8b95-1aba16461fd4.jpeg","author":"Mike Finch","episode_count":338,"summary":"World-renowned sports scientist Professor Ross Tucker and veteran sports journalist Mike Finch break down the myths, practices and controversies from the world of sport. From athletics to rugby, soccer, cycling and more, the two delve into the most recent research, unearth lessons from the pros and host exclusive interviews with some of the world's leading sporting experts. For those who love sport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T08:19:01.121416+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-science-of-sport-podcast-495514"},"episode":{"title":"Stop Watching the Ball: Michael Cox Unlocks the Fascinating Hidden Sides of Football","slug":"stop-watching-the-ball-michael-cox-unlocks-the-fascinating-hidden-sides-of-football","published_at":"2026-07-09T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-science-of-sport-podcast-495514/stop-watching-the-ball-michael-cox-unlocks-the-fascinating-hidden-sides-of-football","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-science-of-sport-podcast-495514","url":"https://shows.acast.com/realscienceofsport/episodes/stop-watching-the-ball-michael-cox-unlocks-the-hidden-side-o","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/realscienceofsport/e/6a4ea6782b60482dd2042a0c/media.mp3","summary":"Love the show? Becoming a Supporter unlocks a weekly bonus Applied episode, ad-free listening, and our Discourse forum where you can engage with us directly. All for the price of a coffee, once a month, so become a member now! Show notes Most of us watch football and follow the ball. Football journalist Michael Cox watches the spaces, the shapes and the patterns that few others understand. As we build towards the FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals, Ross and Gareth sit down with one of the sharpest tactical analysts in football writing, and perhaps the best at explaining it. Whatever your level of interest, you'll come away seeing the game completely differently. Cox runs the rule over all the major teams and players at this year's World Cup, dissecting and explaining their strengths, their weaknesses, and what will decide each tie. Along the way he unpacks the tactical questions casual fans never quite get answered: how France's individual brilliance differs from Spain's possession and shape, why Messi and Haaland barely run and how whole systems are built to let them save their bursts, the shift from man-marking to zonal defending, the risk-and-reward of a full-back charging forward the instant his team loses the ball, what \"shape\" even means, and why he's the most data-sceptical \"data nerd\" you'll meet. Then the harder ground. What's holding back the development of African, South American and Asian football, and is the European academy machine now so dominant that its cast-offs are better than the players other nations produce at home? As for VAR, he explains what he'd change, why he thinks it's stripped the joy from celebrating a goal, and how one fan-owned league in Europe refuses to touch it. Whether you live for football, or only watch the biggest games, this wide-ran…","meta_description":"Love the show? Becoming a Supporter unlocks a weekly bonus Applied episode, ad-free listening, and our Discourse forum where you can engage with us direct…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4758,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-real-science-of-sport-podcast-495514/episodes/stop-watching-the-ball-michael-cox-unlocks-the-fascinating-hidden-sides-of-football/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-science-of-sport-podcast-495514/stop-watching-the-ball-michael-cox-unlocks-the-fascinating-hidden-sides-of-football.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}