Liechtenstein: Europe’s strangest national team – Plus Germany’s drug dealer striker & Italy’s coach turned priest

About this episode

This episode explores Liechtenstein's unique national football team and discusses intriguing stories from German and Italian football.

Liechtenstein have the strangest national football team in Europe. They have no domestic league to develop players, sometimes take just one fan to away matches and, for years, had just one professional footballer. So how do they make it work? Why is it so hard to generate support for the team? And what change to international football might improve their fortunes? In this episode, we put the micro-state under the microscope and examine how Europe’s richest country is also home to its strangest national football team. Plus, the German winger with a secret double life and the Italian coach who disguised himself as a priest. Equator's World Cup 2026 course with David Goldblatt: https://www.equator.org/courses/world-cup-2026 Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stamping-Grounds-Exploring-Liechtenstein-World/dp/0349114889 Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 01:03 – Liechtenstein at the FIFA Series 08:07 – Europe’s strangest national team 18:41 – Sudan’s bizarre 12th-tier call-up 20:21 – Puerto Rico’s tournament triumph 23:08 – Equator’s 2026 World Cup Masterclass 27:22 – The German winger with a double life 30:07 – Italy’s coach disguised as a priest

People in this episode

Hosts: Lee Wingate, Paul Watson

Topics covered

• Liechtenstein national football team
• European football
• international football
• Germany football
• Italy football
• football development

Keywords

• Liechtenstein
• Germany
• Italy
• football
• national team
• David Goldblatt
• Stamping Grounds
• soccer
• European football

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Stamping Grounds

Places: Liechtenstein, Germany

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