Gary Lineker on the intense pressure playing for Barcelona | BBC Sounds

Gary Lineker explains to Match of the Day: Top 10 co-hosts, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, the different level of pressure playing for FC Barcelona.
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Gary Lineker on the intense pressure playing for Barcelona | BBC Sounds
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[@appl2597]

Lineker is so humble, he actually did very well in Barca... He scored 21 goals in his first season including a hattrick against Real Madrid. 42 goals in 103 games. In any era, that is a fantastic goal ratio.

[@milocunningham9473]

Yeah there’s a whole section about him in camp nou

[@easyware]

Frankly he was better than all the England strikers who came after him, including Rooney, Shearer and Kane.

[@im.tellingyou]

42 in 103? Cor blimey! In my day we scored 42 goals by dinnertime (aka noon)

[@johannesvonsaaz3987]

@@im.tellingyou you need to leave the dinners alone , Dave .

[@johnporter5173]

Not only that, he often played as a RW at Barcelona. Makes his goal ratio all the better.

[@unknowng888]

This was actually fascinating to listen to I wish he did a podcast explaining in greater depth. Much more interesting than the usual throwaway stuff you hear these days like “it’s pressure, but that drove me” nonsense

[@benvickery164]

I was encapsulated just then listening to Lineker, you're right that was fascinating to listen to....then I was bought right back to reality by the drivel that was coming out of Shearer looking for cheap laughs

[@johnkavanagh3830]

This IS a podcast. It's available on BBC Sounds

[@sonny7194]

@@johnkavanagh3830 like a podcast podcast? How long is each episode?

[@WatchMagicHappen]

@unknown G My thoughts exactly 💯. Also you have an excellent user name. Op block Gary on pod soon come 🎩

[@MAC-mp2hu]

Please don’t. Not a fan of virtue signalling Linekar!

[@Londonguy1987_]

Everyone forgets how much of a BALLER Gary Lineker was because of his tv work. He was a WORLD CLASS footballer with immense talent. He's probably one of the best English strikers of all time.

[@truegame142]

a lot didnt forget, they just weren't around when he was a player

[@John...44...]

Yeh I don't think anyone has forgot? 🤔🤣

[@rashidkhalid3970]

Most of the KZbin premier league generation just know him as an tv presenter

[@-olives]

lol. 3 yard tap in artist. right place right time i'll give him that

[@seangilmour1997]

@@-olives what a dumb comment

[@sacred1827]

Lineker is a good presenter but I've always felt that role has meant we lost a great person to actually analyse football regularly

[@ksogoni6003]

He actually knows what he's talking about

[@sacred1827]

@@ksogoni6003 he's also very fair. Don't see him being one of those pundits who has an agenda or gets too fixated on being right.

[@jacknapier6668]

This I’ve genuinely always thought this aswel. I hear too many questions from Linekar and not enough answers. He’s a great speaker.

[@FPInvention]

He is great, a national treasure

[@rassyconkerhead5548]

@@FPInvention Do you want to bum him?

[@paddykidable]

Has lineker ever done a proper in-depth podcast of his career ? Would love to hear him talk about it if he has?

[@loganselkirk]

Try Behind Closed Doors with Lineker & Baker. Not all about his career, but some nice stuff.

[@stretchystretch269]

Gary clearly loved his time in Spain

[@AN-ws7hz]

Catalonia*

[@BreakerBreakerYeo]

@@AN-ws7hz I love my holidays in sunny spain/salou

[@gozuam1617]

@B W like Taiwain is in China, or more like Scotland/Wales/N Ireland/England (UK)? 🤔

[@jmy1974]

@B W definitely not

[@luchosito-d9i]

they didn't get their independence so catalonia is still a part of spain

[@allws9683]

Gary is so right here. Ruud van Nistelrooij admitted several times about how different the pressure was at Real Madrid compared to Man United. There were young dutch players at Real like Sneijder, Huntelaar, Drenthe coming straight out of eredivisie. He said like "it is a step for me, after the experience I have with ManU, can't imagine how it must be for them guys" . " Is the step ManU-Real comparable with PSV-ManU ? " "Well , yes ..." Dennis Bergkamp also mentioned how much more at ease he could be in London, compared to Milan, where Tifosi would claim players everywhere in public, that they had to stay inside usually, to decompress. That's why teams like AC Milan stay, in like permanent hotel rooms , inside of their training complex for a good deal of the year. (the Premier League was different then, but it 'll still count, I guess...) (so long for those who think Man United is the biggest club in the world ...)

[@CoolDude246-S]

Man utd the biggest club in the world is such a massive joke aha. How people still say that. Even under fergie they never were. Where has this narrative come from?

[@danielb7143]

@@CoolDude246-S Because the Prem is the most watched league in the world by a mile and they had the biggest fan base and the highest revenue of any sports team in the world for a long time. They were the biggest club in the world back then. Not so much now but fans still want to cling to past glories. Trust me, I'm a Leeds fan, we know a thing or two about dwelling on the past.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

@@CoolDude246-S Manchester United are a bigger club in Asia and North America. Barca and Real Madrid are bigger in North Africa and the Middle East

[@CoolDude246-S]

@@Joker-yw9hl No they aren't

[@CoolDude246-S]

@@danielb7143 Yep they got lucky. They're nowhere near Barca or Madrid. Not even got the most trophies in their own country

[@jacobfield4848]

Gary Lineker did great at Barca in his first 2 seasons. He is a bit harsh on himself.

[@mattholt2451]

His first season only

[@jacobfield4848]

@@mattholt2451 1st season 21 goals, 2nd season 20 goals. Back then that was a good return. Defenders were allowed to time waste and kick attackers repeatedly.

[@tu1949]

During his time at Barca' he actually played for England against Spain away.....and I think....scored all 4 goals in a 0 - 4 win. Not a bad way to go back into training at your Spanish club after ripping them apart!!!!

[@allws9683]

Gary Lineker was too 'nice'. In his entire career he never got a yellow or red card (only maybe in his last year in Japan ...). In the day you could only field 3 non-domestic players , and his Barça manager Johan Cruijff held the opinion that his star player/striker should be an alpha male with balls, to take the leadership (like he always did himself). That's why, at Ajax, there were conflicts between him and the brilliant players, but introvert characters, of Frank Rijkaard and Gerald Vanenburg, who didn't want to take that role the way he demanded. So at Barcelona he would not sign the introvert, typical Ajax style players of the likes Dennis Bergkamp or Luc Nilis, but the very alpha ego types of Hristo Stoitshkov and Romario. So Lineker had to go . I think even that if Cruijff would have to pay a big transfer sum for Lionel Messi he even would walk him by, for being too introvert, not a proper 'leader' !! 😁😁

[@deedeejay-g4h]

Can't agree more with Gary Lineker! What a legend

[@francescototti10]

Absolutely brilliant insight.

[@giteausuperstar]

There's a hilarious video of Dembele trying to do kick ups after signing for barca. He's obviously nervous

[@habeeburrahaman257]

Barça have changed from Gary's time. Not all of the people are socios who attend the game. To become a socio it's more about pedigree of your presence in the city rather than the money. You must have someone who is already a socio to recommend you, you should have stayed at Barcelona for at least 5 years and a few other conditions to become a socio. Of course the pressure is enormous because Barça is, as the motto says, more than a club. It's also the political symbol of Catalunya. During the time Gary played, the Castilian v Catalan passion was more intense than it's seen nowadays. When you represent a city in all walks of life, your life can become heaven or hell depending upon your success.

[@z.kramer6027]

'presence in the city' still translates to money mate. there is a breakfast stand next to the stadium of someone who has been serving food to barca fans for over 50 years but someone like that will never become socios sadly. only rich people with 'influence' most of the time they just donate money they can miss anyway. great club barca but they need to sort their seating out.

[@easyware]

Lineker did say that things has changed somewhat.

[@MetaFootballTV]

You can become soci whenever you want. Stop talking shite.

[@desmo998rr]

Oh how nice, they have a slogan.

[@MetaFootballTV]

@@desmo998rr slogan?

[@THEMathHacker-121]

When I went to my first Barca match I too was a bit surprised how quiet it was. People just chatted to each other like they were at a posh restaurant

[@cr-xb1jv]

Best goal hanger of all time which a skill. so many one touch finishes

[@annandune]

Earlier in his career he scored as many goals as a result of his pace. He could beat almost all defenders for pace after giving them a start. He talked at one point about how his game changed. As he got older, it was all about positioning. I remember him saying something about corners and how if the defender was taller than you and you had no chance of winning the ball in the air, the best thing to do was to figure out where the ball was going to go after the defender won it and be there. A lot of the time it didn't work but when it did, it often yielded a goal.

[@GabrielA-ug1vp]

Fillipo Inzaghi

[@dermoooojj255]

Bas Dost

[@MichaelHolmgaard]

This right here, really illustrates how important it is for a football career that you have played at some of the biggest clubs in the world. Outside of England, nobody really talks about Alan Shearer, but Gery Lineker i respected by all in world football because he played on the big stage. Even though Shearer's talent warrants him to be talked about in the same way, it will never happen because Lineker has a legacy on a totally different level, even if he didn't score 200+ goals in the EPL

[@AurelAvramescu]

Not only that, but the discipline and sportsmanship of Lineker were out of this world, to finish your career without getting book a single time it is extraordinary. Usually I am not a fan of English national team, but Lineker was my favourite English player after I was watching him play in Italia 90 WC and I was disappointed that they didn't manage to go in the final after the semifinal against West Germany. After that game actually he said his famous quote: "Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."

[@JAEWST]

I wish this segment was longer

[@mariaantoniacodornizgarcia1761]

One of the greatest scorers in barça history. Thanks from bcn!

[@Datenist]

wow amazing to hear

[@joeybloggs2100]

Richards would have burst onto the La Liga scene anyway

[@pendafen7405]

1:50 as an opera fan as well as a football fan, this is an incredible insight to me.

[@johnny5805]

It's comforting to know that Lineker and Shearer can't do keepy-uppies ! I assumed ALL players could do them for infinity.

[@lukemcelligott315]

I could never understand why Terry Venables played Gary Lineker on the wing.His game was running on to through balls and he was so fast and brilliant at this and scored loads of goals for Leceister and Everton when he was used properly.

[@Dylanfielding]

It was cruyff who played him in the wing cos he didn't want him, terry venables bought him as a striker and played him as a striker

[@21McMurphy]

Like the fellas said; It was Cruyff that had him on the right wing, do your research 🙄. Anyway, it worked. Now, having a goal getter operating out wide (inverted wingers, second/shadow strikers, right/left wing forwards) is commonplace. That sort of thinking was ahead of it's time. So yeah, I can understand.

[@Skibbitypappappa]

Yeah I'm just echoing the previous 2 as they're bang on

[@maximehudson7498]

Shearer couldn't do 15 kick ups in front the Barcelona crowd but won golden boot at the Euro. I should have taken football more serious, I can manage about 16...

[@mediacenterman8583]

Kick ups are irrelevant to the ability to actually play competitive football. A flashy trick that does nothing for stamina, finishing, passing or tackling. Those are what young players should be working on.

[@d_must4309]

I'm pretty sure he can keep the ball up all day long, even now at his age. He's just joking here, it's TV

[@seanupton709]

I reckon hes referring more to the Neymaresque trick routines than just doing keepie uppies lol

[@ben-fe3zy]

Yes, but could you do it on your unveiling in front of thousands of Barca fans! Or on a rainy day in Burnley, for that matter.

[@Mad_Intellect]

@@mediacenterman8583 Players should have good fundamentals, but should also play the game with skill/flair(when necessary) and a high level of technical ability, the way Brasil used to play football is how football should be played imo. But I understand not everyone has that ability.

[@kongunaadutoLondon]

Imagine the pressure on Messi!!! when compared to Gary

[@mediacenterman8583]

False equivalence. Messi came to Barca as a kid and developed there. Lineker went to Barca after winning the golden boot at WC86 in a multi-million pound deal. Very different scenarios and levels of pressure on their debuts

[@kyndaa6747]

@mediacenter man Messi was schooled in Barca Academy so he was customed to environment

[@allws9683]

@@mediacenterman8583 Back in the days only 3 foreign players could play, so there would be that pressure as well. Nowadays there are more foreign players in the big clubs than domestic players...

[@vinutd210]

Lucky Micah with the best seat in the house listening to absolute legends of the game.

[@gunpuntuhong4531]

It gives me piece of mind to know that England’s most prolific goal scorer struggles with keepie uppies 😆😆😆

[@mattholt2451]

He doesn’t struggle, just would be nervous doing them in front of a crowd

[@21McMurphy]

Don't know what you're talking about. Wayne Rooney is not in this video, dummy 🙄.

[@harrykane_]

Oh no don't be silly what makes you say that, I'm pretty good at it in fact thank you

[@moonlightrelax639]

Rooney Charlton and Kane who play/played alot deeper have better records for England

[@aaropajari7058]

@@moonlightrelax639 Greaves better than all

[@CJ0101]

"Terry Venables has Diarrhoea and misses training". Wonder what the headline would have been if Gary had still been a Barca player during the Italia '90 game against Rep. Ireland.

[@tuco1099]

'Gary Lineker has diarrhoea and scores'

[@Rab_Daddy]

I had a Barça kit from that era - first kit I owned. Came in a box. We sewed the only number we could find for it 😂

[@alanthomson007]

remember Scotlands Dundee united beating Barca in Barca 1987 Gary

[@zu1875lu]

Do you realise how bitter, tiny, insignificant you scots, irish and welsh sound everytime you say 💩 like this?? Denmark have population of 5.5mill or so. Top 10 of football and always around it. Yet you lot just remember a moment every now and then ffs 😂 Demand more from your FAs and STOP supporting other countrys leagues!!! Especially your so called enemy... England. Maybe then you might, MIGHT not be soooo bitter n full of hatred.

[@frenkie1281]

At Barca you have to play a certain way and win… this is unlike any other club in world football where fans just want their side to get a result. Don’t believe me look at what happened to Ernesto Valverde he won 2 league titles and CDR almost had a unbeaten league run but still he was disliked by the fans because of the pragmatic football the team played.

[@rachetmarvel931]

TBH, Valverde was also part of the reason the club started to fall apart(the liverpool loose was mostly on him). We shouldn't have gotten him as a manager(he isn't a bad manager, he just wasn't a great one). Barto of course is the main cause of this.

[@frenkie1281]

@@rachetmarvel931 I disagree Liverpool game wasn’t on him. If you look at the match day documentary in that you can clearly see Valverde explaining his tactics and he said all the right things like press move the ball more quickly be brave and intelligent… he never asked the players to sit back and absorb. Liverpool loss is completely on the players who were traumatised by Roma that’s why you see Alba crying at half time after Barca being just 1-0 down that’s unacceptable. Liverpool happened because of unacceptable and atrocious defending errors from the players and not being clinical at the front. Barca had chances to score but they didn’t take them. Valverde was not a bad coach he was good but he was not a Barca coach simple

[@agustowelch1216]

@@frenkie1281 as explain roma then? please dont forget it happened to him twice. Messi bailed out valverde hence since his barca job where has he worked since?

[@frenkie1281]

@@agustowelch1216 he’s on a hiatus he was offered the Valencia job but declined… he’ll be back soon. Don’t just blame the manager for Roma the entire team bottled… Dzeko bullied Pique and Umtiti that’s something no manager can prevent

[@philip4588]

Its the same about Rosenborg in Norway, should always play like in the Nils Arne Eggen era (must underrated manager, did turn down Liverpool)

[@sususegar]

Shearer sitting quietly and listening to Lineker's story, wondering what could've been if he chose to go to bigger clubs instead. Or if he could even cope.

[@Warzulu77]

He’s bagged 260 goals in the premier league. I think he’d do quite alright at Barcelona.

[@bighas96]

@@Warzulu77 and it was both for blackburn & Newcastle!! imagine he went to man utd or another big team he would have got way more not saying 260 is bad lol

[@InstigatorDJ]

Yeah!! Soooooooooooooooo intense!! MORE THAN ANY OTHER CLUB. WINK WINK.

[@bonkerzisgood]

Yeah also when you win big games the atmosphere is like the colosseum

[@olluscjacobus6430]

Glad big Al said that about keepie uppies, makes me feel less bad😅

[@AA-hi6os]

Really insightful. More of this please Gary. Not banter bus bull merde piped to like we’re idiots.

[@epaphroditosharrison8036]

That's actually interesting

[@cauliflowerpete616]

Lineker with facts. Barcelona, RM, Bayern etc… the pressures are whole other level. Nothing like that in England.

[@Gerard_2024]

I´m aware that Shearer was probably speaking tongue in cheek, but his point about the potential banana skin of having to do keepie-uppie 15 times was interesting. Reflects the different approach to technique in mainland Europe. Even as kids they´re doing it over there routinely, whereas the importance of being technically comfortable with the ball in all departments seems to get neglected in England.

[@samuelloification2749]

Think that was true in the 90's but not anymore. Even then it was overstated

[@jasonthomas196]

Alan Shearer was a raw footballer who didn't want to tippy tappy a football. But by heck he could put his foot through a ball ✌

[@aarond9563]

I find it incredibly hard to believe that Shearer can't do 15 kick ups

[@mattholt2451]

It’s not that he can’t do it, but being brought out for that specific purpose and possibly failing is what he scared about

[@aarond9563]

@@mattholt2451 I get that, but he's done so many more impressive things for so so many years under probably similar pressure. I don't know I just feel like as a professional footballer... nonetheless, up there with the greats this is what you do. Not that it's not nerve wracking, but a few kicks ups as someone who performs in front of thousands all the time, I feel like would be pretty muscle memory. I think he's saying that for the sake of the conversation but if he was in Lineker's shoes I feel like he'd be just fine.

[@MrRorySteel]

@@aarond9563 It was a joke lad..

[@aarond9563]

@@MrRorySteel 🤷🏾‍♂️... i get you

[@sharadpatel92]

This isn't all that surprising. I remember watching Pat Jennings' interview some time ago where he said Jimmy Greaves couldn't do any football juggling tricks but was the best striker he's ever seen.

[@darkspinegaming8213]

This is why I would never play for Barcelona or Real Madrid because the sheer pressure you get put under is too much to bare for alot of people, like they are so demanding.

[@Nge7stars]

Because the club is owned by supporters and they're basically paying your salary.

[@djspark191]

Yeah, this is the thing stopping you from playing for Barca or RM

[@DuxEtRex]

Gary is a legend. Visca Barça!

[@jwh0122]

0:41 prensa local 1:32 el público (socios) en el Camp Nou

[@billycorgan3934]

Totally true! 😅 It's like if we go to Opera. I don't have to cheer the players, it's the way round because I paid. Things changed a little bit because it's plenty of tourists

[@jimmyxumunuk]

When Lineker was in Barcelona they were not the monster that are today.. get real

[@wodenravens]

Doesn't mean the pressure was not there. And it was far less corporate than today, so the passion of the crowd was more visceral. That's what he is talking about. He is talking about the expectations of Barca fans.

[@jimmyxumunuk]

@@wodenravens If he felt that much pressure in a club that was at that point 10 times champion of the country and 0 times European club champion .. I mean what? Imagine him playing for Real Madrid he will get a heart attack 😄

[@wodenravens]

@@jimmyxumunuk That's incredibly simplistic. Nottingham Forest won two European Cups, yet only a simpleton would claim that the pressure of playing for them was more than playing for Barca. And as Alan Shearer knows very well, the pressure on players at Newcastle is actually so tough BECAUSE they have won so few trophies. It is about the culture of football around the club. That is specifically what he is talking about. This has nothing to do with counting trophies. Also, this was in the 1980s, when football culture was generally far different from today.

[@jimmyxumunuk]

@@wodenravens If you played for Nottingham Forrest at their back to back - yes the pressure will be enormous. Bilbao was a bigger club than Barcelona till 1990. They were a sleeping giant in his time at the club and that's the truth. 👍

[@wodenravens]

@@jimmyxumunuk I didn't say there would not be pressure at Forest. I said that you cannot use ECs as an arbiter of the pressure a player is under at a given club. Are you purposefully misunderstanding my comments? You heard Lineker say it is about the culture around the club, with him specifically using the example of two daily newspapers dedicated to the club. That is what creates the pressure. Plus the club is much more a part of the wider community than, say Forest, or even bigger English clubs like Liverpool. This is due to the regional rivalry and the (relatively) recent civil war. It is about the wider football culture. Forest has nothing even remotely similar, despite having a superior European record at the time.

[@mithundas1446]

Lineker.... A pure Barca and Leo Messi Fan

[@keithy507]

Shearer sitting there thinking “wish I could turn back time and I would’ve signed for a massive club! What was I thinking of signing for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United!?” 😩

[@liquid_brew2110]

Nah not really Newcastle and blackburn were considered massive clubs back then

[@NoLefTurnUnStoned.]

@@liquid_brew2110 Lol massive clubs? No they weren’t! Lazio Inter Milán Real Barcelona Man U Bayern Juventus Not Blackburn ffs!

[@JamesHussain82]

@@NoLefTurnUnStoned. its not fifa22. He wanted to stay in England and didn't want to play for scumy united.

[@NoLefTurnUnStoned.]

@@JamesHussain82 I’m saying those were massive clubs back then and not the likes of Blackburn or Newcastle. Nothing to do with where he did or didn’t want to play.

[@user-bh9xv4gb4v]

Never massive clubs. Just 2 clubs had short period of decent achievement.

[@gokuLM10]

Sometimes I forget that it's Alan Shearer sitting there. The Alan Shearer

[@rassyconkerhead5548]

Who?

[@gokuLM10]

@@rassyconkerhead5548 Kim Jong

[@fiachradillon8569]

Where’s all the comments ???

[@joevolcano6720]

I'm here!

[@fiachradillon8569]

@@joevolcano6720 yea I was getting lonely here, just about to leave 😂

[@Doncorleone44]

I’m just getting ready!

[@casualfocus1371]

On a will smith meme

[@Crazy_Person_Dave_94]

I would also struggle to keep it up 15 times tbf.

[@markweir2988]

For the all the critics of lineker he does show how mentally tough he was dealing with all the big clubs he played for as when taking penalties in massive games never phased him while I'm nervous taking a penalty in the local 5 aside. He was a top striker.

[@verynormalman]

Gary talking about his favourite subject: Gary Lineker.

[@TheZamboon]

Blows my mind that Alan Shearer would not be able to do 15 consecutive keepy ups. Makes him seem more human.

[@rassyconkerhead5548]

Shearer was shit mate.

[@marvinbrando722]

Gary Lineker, wow, what a great experience.

[@jarvothegooner]

What happened to Ian wright being the third presenter?

[@dizzeeeeee123]

Elliot coates on Spotify 😵😤

[@amychaseaussie]

Lineker on the intense control needed to control your bowel.

[@AML-qi5tz]

Still Everton's best ever striker.

[@rassyconkerhead5548]

Dixie Dean?

[@arfenmalik1717]

Now i understand how Ronaldinhos situation about drinking got blown up it was the damn journalists and now the whole world thinks Dinho was some form of drunkard. An idle Journalists with no solid content is a dangerous person and if the futballer is not mentally strong he can be driven crazy by that. As for the fans whistling well again a futballer has to be able to handle it

[@RR-xf9wv]

Dinho was party animal in BCN.. Its pretty much known.. He used to come drunk during the training in his last yr. There's reason why pep kicked him out

[@iammadabayaoli4]

Finally someone who player outside and knows England ain’t nothing compared to Spain and Italy 😎😎

[@fullspeedaheadbarcelona6502]

Give me working class fans to play in front of any day of the week.

[@randomdaveUK]

That's where the passion is, that's what gives the stadium the energy. Die hard working class fans that live for their club. Gary just explained it perfectly, upper class people there to be entertained. Working class backing their team regardless.

[@randomdaveUK]

@@masmas6463 he was talking about who you'd rather play on front of. You'd want the atmosphere, the vocal support. As he explained, you won't get that from those sitting quietly as if it were a TV show

[@piyushbisht1869]

@@randomdaveUK I don't think the Socios don't have passion. I think it's more of a cultural difference. If you go to Combat Sports matches in Japan, unlike other parts of the world, it's eerily quiet. They applaud at times but other times they just sit down and observe. And not to mention Spain is quite a fragmented nation, Barcelona in general is a wealthy area. Also the club is owned by a group of people unlike being owned by wealthy business houses

[@randomdaveUK]

@@piyushbisht1869 Yea I accept that. But in terms of what kind of crowd you'd rather play in front of, you'd surely want the noise and passion to fill the stadium? In terms of performance I'd play regardless, but a noisy stadium adds something intangible to a match

[@randomdaveUK]

@paw that's not the point of the vid. Gary said it himself it was eerily quiet until they scored or played well. My point was I'd rather play in front of a noisy passionate crowd that backs the team than one that feels ready to turn on the players at any moment. Nothing to do with the stadium or Barca

[@kroon275]

I was never a keepey up guy either. I can empathise. But Barca never even loved Maradona. Says it all

[@smith077906]

Shearer choices going to the Tyne or the Rio Besos. No wonder he looks depressed. However loyalty in football has gone these days.

[@agustowelch1216]

English players need that kinda of experience it will only make the players mature and be better for the national team. I always wonder why english players harder leave the prem league to play overseas. The arguement is the EPL the best, fine but the best players in the EPL teams hardly english. Besides arsenal and spurs with saka and kane respectively. Need to gain these types of experiences

[@danielb7143]

Money is a big reason. You have to have a certain amount of English players in your squad in the Premier League, so the best teams will pay more to get the best English players to fill their quota. They can command higher wages than they would be able to abroad where there isn't the "English Tax" element involved.

[@coljjw4019]

We need a dedicated paper for the Man U Circus

[@L_Martin]

The class thing is really surprising to learn. I had just assumed football was a working class sport all over the world.

[@bighas96]

Working class my arse its a sport for every class who can afford to and have time to go to & watch their teams play regardless of where you come from in life

[@L_Martin]

@@bighas96 That's a nice thought, but historically this sport belongs to the working class.

[@bighas96]

@@L_Martin true but times changed

[@LusoTrapo]

shearer doing fifteen keepie ups no chance HAHA brilliant

[@iamtnarea1503]

We could do with more Lineker analysis, who younger viewers may not be aware of how good he actually was, and less of Micah "I laugh every two seconds"' Richards.

[@jackc913]

I think there's room for both. Micah seems like a good guy, and there is value in entertainment. Look at the NBA on TNT!

[@yan.weather]

What Lineker describes was a bit creepy tbh wow. Like some twisted opera

[@Carrera90]

Only one out of the three that I would listen to…

[@xavisanchez7522]

Yes lineker, Barcelona IS so different that is not SPANISH, but is CATALAN

[@billywalendom]

richards and shearer have nice chairs

[@andyhello23]

Lineker played for barcelona when they were second rate spanish side People look back thinking barcelona was always barcelona. No, lineker played for barcelona when they were second rate team Johann cruff went in and redid barcelona, and shaped barcelonas foundation, that took a decade or two later to flourish.

[@roytofilovski9530]

Barca and RM dominate Spanish football and have always dominated. It's essentially a two team league. The English league is far more balanced. That is why English club football dominates financially. The chances of a top 4 club losing a match is much higher than in any other major football country.

[@mohamedkhalifa730]

Did I just see Alan shearer say he can’t do 15 kick ups

[@paulparker1137]

I remember being in Barcelona whilst he was playing for them coming out the stadium after a tour & seeing Gary in his car & the locals sworming his car trying to get a autograph

[@think-tank6658]

This is nice podcast from BBC..away from nonsense

[@stevelee4952]

linekar was at Barca when they were so dominant. Here in Spain there are only two teams. So far removed from the PL.

[@BalbirSingh-nb5hb]

❤❤❤

[@Warzulu77]

Just image the pressure of 90,000 people watching you and not so much supporting you but inspecting you.

[@angrycatalan325]

F.C. Barcelona is our catalan National missing team, that’s why there is so much pressure in there.

[@entertainment6949]

He is exaggerating a bit here saying we are the same crowd as in the opera... not as working class as in England sure, that socios are middle-class or even wealthy it's true as well, but definitely not the opera crowd.

[@TeamOfThe80s]

Of course Shearer could do fifteen kick ups

[@ravecrab]

I think he's saying it'd be a high pressure situation.

[@mediacenterman8583]

Went over your head. It's the spotlight trepidation that he is referring to. Catch yourself on!

[@elchoppo1160]

I saw him do one once. With Neil Lennon's face !

[@TeamOfThe80s]

@@elchoppo1160 😂

[@TeamOfThe80s]

@@mediacenterman8583 calm down son

[@MetaFootballTV]

That's why Shearer didn't sign for FCB back in 96.....couldn't keepy uppy.

[@DAKESIS17]

Cant keep it up 15 times??!! Get on it, mate, of course you could. I can do 50 keepups easily, I am sure a professional can do 15:)

[@danielvandam]

1:05 wasn’t that Gary?🤔

[@vinnyvasquez]

Alan was either bored or jealous of Gary's story. Kept looking down and stroking that bowling ball head.

[@Vassinatorz]

They're close mates, he's probably heard all this from Gary in the past

[@wodenravens]

Haha, I noticed that. He didn't like that. Fair play though, there is always going to be that professional jealousy amongst top pros. The reason they got to the top is because they hate being second best. I am not a massive Shearer fan, but it was a natural reaction, especially considering he played at Southampton, Blackburn, and Newcastle.

[@wodenravens]

@@Vassinatorz Doesn't mean he is not envious. It's natural rivalry amongst top pros. It's a human reaction. Doesn't mean they aren't mates.

[@glennseaward3050]

@@wodenravens envious he's a legend on his own man.

[@alexharriott1159]

now we know why Shearer never went barcelona

[@floors2go_PLC]

Struggling to Keep what up Shearer 15 times 😅😅

[@blackboywiththesauce2359]

And then there's people who think Man u is bigger than Real Madrid lmfao

[@taslok2003]

I should have taken football more seriously. Shearer is bad at keeping the ball up??? omd

[@johna3789]

How often do you see players doing keepie ups in a game?

[@jeremycarter284]

He was no Ian Rush

[@neilreading3552]

Lineker was a diver at Barcelona, went down on a hair trigger.

[@Nerdyfootballfan26]

Is the PL highest ever goalscorer trying to tell us that he couldn’t do 15 keepy-uppies? Do me a favour

[@johndagger-ng9sj]

Lineker is the only player with the least shirts swapped by other players……his were always “shitty”

[@jackiewolfenden1426]

Why is Gary on the naughty chair?

[@sirkazm]

Gary KNOWS!!! But he forgot to mention that the output of the 2 news rags that cover Barça is rather microscopic compared to the other team's 2 rags (diario ass and marcaca), whose output disparaging Barça ALONE is gargantuan in comparison. And that is before they even think to write about their own team.

[@joecollins1006]

Shearer is clearly jealous. You can tell just by the way he’s fidgeting, can’t stand him, and can’t wait for Kane to take his record.

[@monumahan1409]

Hit the nail.!!!!😆

[@yourdasellsavon9928]

A lot to guess from a bloke sitting in a chair

[@blaquenguni9249]

I think it bothers him that he never moved to a big club and was only rumored to join Man.Utd bad Shearer went to Juve or Barca maybe, also Gary kinda said, without stating directly, that England football culture is mickey mouse compared to Latin countries, which is kind of a dog to someome who's a legend of English football. No one really raves about Shearer outside of England as far as strikers, Shevchenko, Batistuta, Crespo, Vieri, Kluivert, Raul, Del Piero etc are revered more simply coz they played in those prestigious clubs at some point or did incredible things vs them (Batistuta)

[@keithy507]

Yeah he definitely looks uncomfortable there. I’m sure deep down inside he wishes he signed for a massive club that is known all around the world. Not like Blackburn rovers and Newcastle United!! 😁 What was he thinking!!

[@elhoth]

Garry looks 10 years younger than his real age ( 62 )

[@dcanmore]

... and then you get beat by Dundee United (twice) and dumped out of the UEFA Cup :)

[@nimascolari1508]

Shearer talking about keepy ups 15 times "no chance" 😂 🤦🏻‍♂️ says it all. One of the deadliest strikers in football history had his priorities right. Dembele bag of tricks and still one of the biggest transfer flops in football history.