The Away End with Daniel Alarcón and John Green
Two novelists, Daniel Alarcón and John Green, friends since they were teenagers, tackle questions big and small around the World Cup and international football more generally. The only soccer podcast that regularly name checks Toni Morrison, The Away End is about much more than sport: it's about politics, literature and culture, with an eye toward those moments and spaces where our collective love of soccer reveals something unexpected about who we are.
Episodes
On Episode 16 of The Away End, John has returned from England with something on his heart. After letting it out, he deep dives into the Haitian National Team. And Daniel tells the story of Jorge, his Honduran fixer who created an unexpected, impenetrable forcefield around him that revealed its real power during a walk to the stadium for the final of the Honduran League in the most violent country in Latin America at the time.
...On Episode 15 of The Away End, Daniel begins with a call to action regarding the current, Kafkaesque reality of being a football fan and wishing to attend a World Cup game. Then Daniel's deep dive into the South Korean National Team brings back memories of a long-lost friend, "Hyun" and the crushing return of a symbolic gesture in a brown paper bag. John is fresh off his return from Sierra Leone and shares a lovely story about socc...
On Episode 14 of The Away End, John and Daniel start with a discussion about the heartbreaking injury of the great Liverpool player, Hugo Ekitike and the implications it has on the World Cup, along with several other poorly-timed injuries, less than two months out from kickoff. Then, Daniel and John give their perspective on gambling and the dilution of the shared experience of sport and the problems that arise as a result. Plus a ...
On Episode 13 of The Away End, Daniel sets the tone with a story of his recent trip to London to see Arsenal play Bournemouth, and the ensuing disappointment and heckling he experienced as a result of his team's loss. John covers this week's deep dive into Germany and explains why he thinks they may not make it too far in the tournament. Then Daniel shares a story about the time he interviewed Lionel Messi during his Barcelona FC d...
On Episode 12 of The Away End, John and Daniel unpack the wins and losses of the final World Cup playoff games and begin to look ahead, now that the 48 World Cup teams are set. Daniel does a deep dive into the Bosnia and Herzegovina National team, and John highlights Ali Al-Hamadi, a star player on the Iraqi team and former member of AFC Wimbledon.
If you're enjoying the show, please rate and review wherever you listen, spread the ...
On Episode 11, Daniel and John dissect the latest in the saga of the AFCON Final aftermath between Senegal and Morocco, John does a deep dive into the English National team, and Daniel recounts the story of when he played an epic football game at a Peruvian prison known as Castro Castro. Finally, Daniel and John read a couple emails from the listener mailbag.
If you're enjoying The Away End, we'd love if you rate and review the sho...
On Episode 10, John and Daniel break down the World Cup Playoffs and discuss which teams have the best chance to advance. Daniel does a deep dive into the French National Team, and John regales us with the origin story of AFC Wimbledon, a team close to his heart.
Plus, John and Daniel read listener emails, one of which comes with a special song!
If you're enjoying the show, please rate and review us, and you can email us at awayend...
On Episode 9, Daniel and John break down the latest news with Iran's national team, Daniel points and laughs gleefully at the misery of Arsenal’s crosstown rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, John does a deep dive into the Netherlands, and Daniel tells the powerful story of Chilean legend Carlos Caszely, whose greatest achievement may have come off the pitch, and the infamous 1973 match against the Phantom Team.
On Episode 8 of The Away End, we have our first guests! Miguel Salazar and Alex Shephard are the creators and founders of a new print magazine about football called Golden Goal, and they join John and Daniel to talk about their new journalistic venture and how it ties into the World Cup. Daniel takes a look at Japan's national team and asks: what is it about this team that sparks joy? And John regales us with a story about a financ...
John's back! We're less than 100 days out from kick off in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and on today's episode, John and Daniel start things off by breaking down their hierarchy of loyalties with the teams in this year's World Cup. Then, John leads the way on a deep dive of the USMNT. Could this finally be their year? And Daniel tells a story about how he ended up with some sweet purple sneakers with a questionable team's...
Daniel and producer Sean go through the listener mailbag while John is away this week.
We'd love to hear from you. Email us at awayendpod@gmail.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On Episode 5, we have a hot take alert! Daniel poses the question: should there be term limits for national team coaches? Daniel and John dive into the White Wolves of Uzbekistan, the team's history in past World Cups, and how they might fare in this year's group stage. Finally, John tells the insane but true story of Brazilian con artist and former footballer, Carlos Kaiser. Plus, Daniel and John respond to listener emails.
On the 4th episode of The Away End, Daniel and John kick things off discussing Colombian star James Rodríguez and the curse of effortless talent. John dives into one of this year's potential sleeper teams who could create some intrigue, the Elephants of Cote D'Ivoire. And Daniel tells a story about what he watched unfold on the streets of Buenos Aires when the perceived invincibility of youth ran into intense fandom fol...
On the third episode of The Away End, Daniel and John highlight Uruguay and their coach, Marcelo “El Loco” Bielsa while exploring Uruguay's chances of advancing to the knockout round and beyond. They also discuss the possibility of a World Cup boycott, and John recounts the unbelievable events of the 1994 Caribbean Cup match between Barbados and Grenada.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
John and Daniel are back with the second episode of The Away End. They dive into the aftermath of the AFCON Final and its repercussions for the World Cup and talk about the importance of hope, both in life and football. John also regales us with the extraordinary story of Jimmy Glass and Carlisle United.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On the premiere episode of The Away End, Daniel and John reminisce on over 30 years of friendship, discuss some of their favorite World Cup memories, and dissect the 2026 World Cup Draw. Will the USMNT get out of the Group Stage? Which of the World Cup debutantes will do the best? Which team is poised to break through in a surprising way? Start your tournament journey here, as Daniel and John set the stage for the 2026 Wo...
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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