UTD Podcast: Inside the brand new series
Manchester United’s official podcast launched at the end of October, with the first two episodes starring club legends Bryan Robson and Dimitar Berbatov.
In the series - which you can download from our official music partner Deezer and all of your favourite podcast apps - presenters Sam Homewood, Helen Evans and David May sit down with past and present Reds in a range of settings to reveal never-before-heard tales about life at Old Trafford.
“It’s an opportunity for former and current players to have a chat about all things United,” says Homewood. “For the former players, the joy is you get great stories out of people when they’re players and also stories they maybe haven’t told yet.
“We got some incredible stories from Robbo and Dimitar Berbatov that if you don’t ask, you won’t hear. I think because we’ve got Maysie with us, they trust that they can tell their stories in front of him because he’s in some of them.”
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The mix of presenters – Homewood, a United fan, Evans, married to former Red Jonny, and Treble-winner May, who is also the subject of an upcoming podcast – allows listeners to experience a range of different perspectives around United.
“We started off with a pilot that we did on Maysie, just to see how him, Helen and Sam would get on together,” explains producer Matt Tasker.
“That was really good and Maysie nearly broke down in tears. He got watery eyes. It was a 40-minute chat and I’ve known him for four or five years, but he was saying things I’ve never known him come out with. He kind of got in that mood where he’s close to tears. That was a nice moment, it was very powerful, so we will be putting that out soon.”
“With the current players, certainly in my head I think the joy is not saying ‘how did you get on on Sunday?’ but trying to cut through the caricature they’ve become in the media,” adds Homewood.
“Footballers are so famous now, especially their social media presences, and that’s who they become in the eyes of people. It’s stripping that back and finding the humanity that exists within players.
“People will go, ‘well he’s just on Instagram, that’s who he is’. Well, that isn’t who he is and I know that because we sat down and had a chat with him.”
Episode two of UTD Podcast - out now - involves the team sitting down with former striker Dimitar Berbatov in a Knightsbridge hotel, a typically classy setting for the elegant Bulgarian.
Berba talks us through his early life behind the Iron Curtain, the impact his father, also a footballer, had on his career and much more in a revealing 45-minute interview.
“He gets stuck into his past,” reveals Tasker. “His childhood, growing up and queuing to get bread with his family.
“But I think the best stuff was him talking in general, because he was so cool as a player and didn’t give much away. Our expectations were that he was going to be quiet and reserved.
“But to hear this sweary, kind of caricature, was great. He said that when he scored the hat-trick against Liverpool, he was dancing inside, but didn’t want to celebrate much because he wanted to keep it cool. It was interesting to hear him let that mask slip just a little bit.”
Listen to UTD Podcast on Deezer and all of your favourite podcast apps.