By Far The Greatest Team Football Podcast

How can a team that failed to win the World Cup still be remembered among the greatest of all time — and did the Netherlands of 1974 change football more profoundly than many champions?
Season 5 of By Far The Greatest Team continues with one of football history’s most influential and endlessly debated sides: the Netherlands at the 1974 World Cup.
Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by Dutch guest Lars Kuizenga, who brings his knowledge of Dutch football and a national perspective on a team whose influence extended far beyond one extraordinary summer.
The story begins long before 1974.
The Netherlands did not officially embrace professional football until 1954 and then missed six consecutive World Cups. Yet within two decades, Dutch football had been transformed. Feyenoord won the European Cup in 1970, Ajax followed with three successive triumphs, and the ideas developed by Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff and their predecessors were ready to be presented to a global audience.
The Netherlands almost failed to reach the tournament at all. Belgium completed qualifying unbeaten and without conceding a single goal, but missed out on goal difference after a late winner against the Dutch was wrongly disallowed for offside.
Once in West Germany, however, the Netherlands appeared to be playing a different game.
They defeated Uruguay and Bulgaria in the opening group stage, with only Sweden holding them to a draw in the match that gave us the Cruyff Turn. They then dismantled Argentina 4–0, beat East Germany 2–0 and overcame defending champions Brazil by the same scoreline.
Across six matches before the final, the Dutch scored 14 goals and conceded only one — an own goal.
Cruyff was the conductor, but this was far more than a one-man team. Johan Neeskens, Willem van Hanegem, Ruud Krol, Arie Haan, Johnny Rep, Rob Rensenbrink, Wim Jansen and the unconventional goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed all contributed to a system built around intelligence, movement and collective courage.
In the final against West Germany, the Netherlands completed 16 passes before their opponents touched the ball. Cruyff burst into the penalty area, Neeskens converted the first penalty ever awarded in a World Cup final and the Dutch led after only 88 seconds.
But the hosts were European champions, filled with Bayern Munich’s finest players and led by Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller and Sepp Maier. Paul Breitner equalised from the spot before Müller scored what proved to be the winner.
The Netherlands lost the final but won something more complicated: immortality without the trophy.
Jamie, Graham and Lars explore the origins of Total Football, the personalities who made it possible, the internal tensions behind the beautiful image and how the team became connected to a wider period of Dutch cultural confidence and change.
They also ask whether the romantic memory has grown greater than the football itself — or whether the Netherlands of 1974 genuinely deserve to stand alongside the most successful teams in history.
🔑 Takeaways
How Dutch football developed from late professionalisation into European dominance
The contributions of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff to Total Football
How the Netherlands narrowly qualified ahead of an unbeaten Belgium side that conceded no goals
The tactical principles behind the famous 4-3-3 and positional interchanges
The brilliance of Cruyff, Neeskens, Van Hanegem, Krol and their teammates
How the Dutch dominated Argentina, East Germany and Brazil
Why the World Cup final changed after its extraordinary opening goal
Whether influence, performance and legacy can outweigh the absence of a trophy
The final ranking of perhaps football’s greatest-ever runners-up
Join Us
Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and head over to our YouTube channel, where you can watch the show and discover additional football-history rabbit holes.
Visit the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, articles, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:
How great were they?
If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and tell everyone about it!
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

How did a club drifting towards another relegation battle become one of the Premier League’s most consistent challengers — and just how great was David Moyes’ Everton?
By Far The Greatest Team continues with the story of Everton between 2002 and 2013 — an 11-year period of stability, intelligent recruitment, European adventures, near misses and some wonderfully unpredictable footballers.
Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by regular guest and Everton supporter Declan Clark to revisit the first Goodison Park reign of David Moyes.
When Moyes arrived from Preston North End in March 2002, Everton were level on points with the relegation places and seemingly trapped in a cycle of decline. He immediately described Everton as “The People’s Club” and began rebuilding its confidence, culture and connection with the supporters.
His first full season brought a seventh-place finish and the emergence of Wayne Rooney. A 16-year-old Rooney announced himself with that unforgettable goal against Arsenal before becoming England’s most exciting young footballer at Euro 2004. His tournament-ending injury and subsequent move to Manchester United left Everton without their greatest home-grown talent in a generation — but also helped finance the next stage of Moyes’ rebuild.
After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2003–04, Everton produced one of the great Premier League surprises by finishing fourth in 2004–05, above Liverpool and inside the Champions League places. Their European dream ended against Villarreal amid the controversy of Duncan Ferguson’s disallowed goal, but Everton had re-established themselves as a serious force.
Operating under the financial restrictions of the Bill Kenwright era, Moyes repeatedly found value where richer clubs were not looking. Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Leighton Baines, Steven Pienaar and Seamus Coleman became the foundation of a team that finished in the top eight nine times during his tenure.
Not every signing worked quite so successfully.
Jamie, Graham and Dec revisit the chaotic, curious and occasionally loveable collection of players who passed through Goodison — including Per Krøldrup, Andy van der Meyde, Royston Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi. Some disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived; others became cult heroes through commitment, personality and the willingness to run through a brick wall.
The high point came in 2009, when Everton reached the FA Cup final after defeating Manchester United on penalties in the semi-final. Louis Saha gave them a dream start against Chelsea by scoring after only 25 seconds, but Moyes’ best opportunity to win a major trophy ended in a 2–1 defeat.
The episode considers both sides of the Moyes legacy. He transformed Everton into a respected, competitive and remarkably consistent Premier League club, developed outstanding players and was voted LMA Manager of the Year three times. Yet there was no trophy, Champions League qualification ended before the group stage, and the biggest matches too often remained just beyond their reach.
Was Moyes the manager who restored Everton — or the man who eventually reached the limits of what that Everton could become?
🔑 Takeaways
How David Moyes restored stability and belief after arriving in 2002
The emergence, impact and eventual departure of Wayne Rooney
How Everton finished fourth immediately after one of Moyes’ worst seasons
The controversial Champions League defeat against Villarreal
Why Moyes became one of the Premier League’s smartest recruiters
The successes, misfits and cult heroes who defined the era
Everton’s journey to the 2009 FA Cup final
Whether consistency without a trophy should still be considered greatness
The final ranking of one of Everton’s most important modern teams
Join Us
Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and head over to our YouTube channel, where you can watch the show and discover additional football-history rabbit holes.
Visit the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, articles, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:
How great were they?
If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and tell everyone about it!
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

How did a largely home-grown, part-time team from southern Sweden come within one goal of conquering Europe — and help change the way an entire country played football?
Season 5 of By Far The Greatest Team continues with the remarkable story of Malmö FF between 1978 and 1980.
Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by regular guest Phil Craig to revisit a period when ABBA were conquering the charts, Björn Borg ruled Wimbledon and an unfashionable Swedish football club was quietly preparing to take on Europe.
At the centre of the story was young English coach Bob Houghton.
Appointed in 1974, Houghton introduced a clearly defined 4-4-2 system built around zonal marking, collective movement, pressing, physical preparation and an organised defensive line. His methods challenged Swedish football’s traditional reliance on sweepers and man-marking.
Rather than importing expensive stars, Houghton transformed a predominantly local squad. Many of Malmö’s players combined football with other employment, yet together they developed an understanding and tactical discipline capable of troubling Europe’s biggest clubs.
Their extraordinary 1978–79 European Cup campaign took them past Monaco, Dynamo Kyiv, Wisła Kraków and Austria Wien. The semi-final was settled by Tommy Hansson, a player who had already agreed to drop into lower-league football because he needed a secure job.
Malmö became the first — and remain the only — Swedish club to reach the European Cup final.
In Munich they faced Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. Weakened by injuries but characteristically organised and resilient, Malmö were defeated 1–0 by Trevor Francis’s famous diving header.
Their European adventure was not quite finished. When Forest declined to contest the Intercontinental Cup, Malmö faced South American champions Club Olimpia, losing 3–1 across two legs staged in Sweden and Paraguay.
Jamie, Graham and Phil explore the personalities, tactical innovations and cultural circumstances behind the achievement. They also examine the wider influence of Houghton and fellow English coach Roy Hodgson, whose ideas helped reshape Swedish football and provided foundations later built upon by Sven-Göran Eriksson and IFK Göteborg.
Finally, Malmö FF face the question asked of every team on By Far The Greatest Team.
How great were they?
🔑 Takeaways
How Bob Houghton transformed Malmö through unconventional British coaching methods
Why zonal marking and 4-4-2 represented a tactical revolution in Sweden
The remarkable European Cup victories over Monaco, Dynamo Kyiv, Wisła Kraków and Austria Wien
How a largely local, partly professional squad reached the 1979 European Cup final
Malmö’s subsequent Intercontinental Cup matches against Club Olimpia
The influence of Houghton and Hodgson on the future of Swedish football
Whether reaching one European final was enough to make Malmö genuinely great
Join Us
Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and visit our YouTube channel for full episodes and additional football-history rabbit holes.
Head to the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:
How great were they?
If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and tell everyone about it!
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

How did two Argentine World Cup winners, a pair of Wembley classics and one unforgettable European night turn Tottenham Hotspur into one of English football’s defining teams of the early 1980s?
Season 5 of By Far The Greatest Team continues with the story of Tottenham Hotspur between 1978 and 1984 — six years in which Spurs embraced international talent, rediscovered their taste for trophies and became pioneers both on and off the pitch.
Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by regular guest Stu Burgess to revisit the eventful reign of Keith Burkinshaw.
Freshly promoted in 1978, Tottenham made an extraordinary statement by signing Argentina’s World Cup winners Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa. At a time when overseas footballers remained a rarity in England, their arrival brought ticker tape, global attention and a completely different footballing culture to White Hart Lane.
The transition was not always easy, but Burkinshaw gradually assembled a wonderfully entertaining side. Glenn Hoddle supplied imagination and technical brilliance, Steve Perryman provided leadership, while Steve Archibald and Garth Crooks formed one of the most effective attacking partnerships in English football.
Then came Wembley.
Spurs defeated Manchester City after a replay to win the 1981 FA Cup, with Steve MacKenzie’s spectacular volley almost overshadowed by Ricky Villa’s extraordinary solo winner — one of the most celebrated goals in the competition’s history.
Twelve months later, Tottenham returned to Wembley and defeated Queens Park Rangers, again after a replay, to retain the trophy. The football, the iconic kits and the unmistakable sound of Chas & Dave made Spurs one of the defining teams of the era.
The story also contains a much darker warning. Tottenham’s 1981 semi-final against Wolves witnessed a serious crowd crush at Hillsborough, exposing safety failings that English football tragically failed to address properly.
By 1983, Tottenham were changing away from the pitch as well. Under Irving Scholar, Spurs became the first European sports club floated on a stock exchange, embraced shirt sponsorship and participated in the first live Football League match shown on British television for 23 years.
Football was becoming a television product and a global business — and Tottenham were standing near the front of that transformation.
The era concluded with the 1984 UEFA Cup.
Following a dramatic run through Europe, Spurs faced Anderlecht in a two-legged final. Graham Roberts forced the decisive equaliser at White Hart Lane before goalkeeper Tony Parks became the hero of the penalty shootout.
It was Tottenham’s third major trophy under Burkinshaw — and his final match as manager.
Along the way, Jamie, Graham and Stu explore the near-miss involving Diego Maradona, Hoddle’s emergency appearances in goal, the evolution of Tottenham’s famous Le Coq Sportif and Umbro kits, the later controversy surrounding Anderlecht and Burkinshaw’s memorable farewell:
“There used to be a football club over there.”
Finally, this talented, innovative and occasionally chaotic Tottenham side faces the question asked of every team on By Far The Greatest Team:
How great were they?
🔑 Takeaways
Why the signings of Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa represented a landmark moment for English football
How Keith Burkinshaw rebuilt Tottenham following promotion
The importance of Glenn Hoddle, Steve Perryman, Garth Crooks and Steve Archibald
The stories behind Tottenham’s unforgettable 1981 and 1982 FA Cup triumphs
How football kits, television and Chas & Dave helped define the identity of the team
The disturbing safety warning provided by the 1981 Hillsborough crowd crush
Tottenham’s pioneering move onto the stock exchange and the growing commercialisation of football
The dramatic route to the 1984 UEFA Cup
Whether three major trophies and enormous cultural influence made this Tottenham side genuinely great
Join Us
Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and head over to our YouTube channel, where you can watch the show and discover additional football-history rabbit holes.
Visit the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, articles, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:
How great were they?
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don’t forget to subscribe, give us a rating and tell everyone about them!
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

How did one of England’s most famous clubs find itself in the Second Division — and did Tottenham’s year outside the top flight ultimately help transform English football?
Season 5 of By Far The Greatest Team continues with Tottenham Hotspur’s 1977–78 promotion season — a story of relegation, recovery, final-day tension and the beginnings of a new era at White Hart Lane.
Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by regular guest Stu Burgess to revisit a moment when Spurs were searching for a way forward.
The glory years under Bill Nicholson were over. Tottenham had finished bottom of the First Division in 1976–77, while the controversial sale of legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings to Arsenal added to the feeling that the club had lost its direction.
But Spurs kept faith with manager Keith Burkinshaw.
With Steve Perryman providing the leadership and a young Glenn Hoddle revealing his extraordinary talent, Tottenham attempted to return to the top flight at the first opportunity.
They scored more goals than anyone else in the division, including an extraordinary 9–0 victory over Bristol Rovers, during which debutant Colin Lee scored four times. Yet a late-season wobble meant promotion remained uncertain until a tense final-day goalless draw at Southampton secured third place ahead of Brighton on goal difference.
Jamie, Graham and Stu examine the drama of the campaign while asking whether Tottenham’s promotion represented a convincing recovery or simply a narrow escape.
The story then moves into the summer of 1978.
With restrictions on overseas players being relaxed, Burkinshaw and Tottenham made the remarkable decision to sign Argentina’s World Cup winners Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa.
They were not part of the promotion team, but their arrival became the defining next chapter in the story that promotion made possible — changing Tottenham and helping open English football to a more international future.
Along the way, there are the usual football-history rabbit holes, including changing transfer regulations, wonderfully dated broadcasting and the cultural impact of two Argentine World Cup winners arriving in north London.
Finally, the 1977–78 Tottenham side faces the question asked of every team on By Far The Greatest Team:
How great were they?
Style of Play
Keith Burkinshaw’s Tottenham remained committed to attacking football throughout their season in the Second Division.
Glenn Hoddle supplied vision, creativity and technical class, while Steve Perryman provided energy, intelligence and authority.
Spurs scored 83 goals in 42 league matches and could overwhelm opponents when everything clicked. However, this remained a transitional and occasionally vulnerable side — ambitious, entertaining and rarely inclined to achieve anything the easy way.
🔑 Takeaways
How Tottenham declined following the departure of Bill Nicholson
Why Spurs kept faith with Keith Burkinshaw after relegation
The controversial sale of Pat Jennings to Arsenal
The emergence of Glenn Hoddle and the leadership of Steve Perryman
Tottenham’s record-breaking 9–0 victory over Bristol Rovers
How a final-day draw at Southampton secured promotion
Why the signings of Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa changed English football
Whether a team finishing third in the Second Division can possess genuine greatness
Join Us
Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and head over to our YouTube channel, where you can watch the show and discover additional football-history rabbit holes.
Visit the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, articles, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:
How great were they?
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don’t forget to subscribe, give us a rating and tell everyone about them!
If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!