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Pedro de la Vega is going to be a problem!
5.2k Plays8 days ago
We’re back with another episode of ‘What we learned this week with Niko.’ There weren’t so much new learnings as there were lots of bolstering of previously held opinions. The biggest is that Pedro de la Vega looked really, really good. He had two goals in this game and helped create another. This is a player who seems to be looking to prove a point.
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Transcript
Introduction to Fullpool Wines Sponsorship
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Fullpool was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounders supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Will Bruin's New Role in Podcasting
00:00:25
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. now i get to do voice reads for the sounder at heart podcast network
00:00:40
Speaker
about sell <unk> it
00:01:21
Speaker
we all got of sudden go
00:01:30
Speaker
We're seeing some of the hardwood commentary that we didn't take lo seriously.
Preseason Game Highlights and Analysis
00:01:42
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Arietes. This is what we learned this week with Nico. My co-host Nico Moreno. I am Jeremiah O'Shan. We are here at Long Acres. We just got finished with the first of two preseason games that Sanders played today. ah They won the first one 4-0 over Louisville City. That closes out a preseason essentially where they played about 500 minutes. They scored 16 goals.
00:02:10
Speaker
That's close to three goals per 90 minutes. Pretty solid. In this one, Pedro de la Vega had two goals and an assist. The other goals were Skollberry, Christian Roldan, and Yaymar Gomez-Andrade. Pretty solid way to finish this season, wouldn't you say, or this preseason, wouldn't you say, Nico? Hey, man. ah First of all,
00:02:31
Speaker
ah Big hello to everybody listening to, of course, this new segment of Nozarietes. Man, it is literally the perfect segue into the 2025 campaign, which will be at Antigua.
00:02:48
Speaker
because if there was something that this team had to do, going into this season was making sure that offensively they were more aggressive, that they were more sharp, and that they were just simply clinical in front of goal. And it seems like this year there's going to be a lot more of a combined effort, more of a
00:03:16
Speaker
goal by committee than it has been over the last
Team's Prospects and Offensive Strategies
00:03:21
Speaker
couple of years. I talked to a couple of ah you know staff members today, and I was telling them that I have this feeling inside my butt. No, I really do. I have this feeling. and And it's telling me that this team is going to be very good in 2025. Yeah, they looked I mean, they look sharp. It wasn't the best start this prec to this game.
00:03:43
Speaker
But once they got rolling it was sort of like really sort of a downhill situation. De La Vega I feel like was was the most impressive player out there. He looked sharp. He looked engaged. I thought one of my favorite parts of the game was that when they blew the whistle at the end he he was like ah Man like he 90 minutes and you hungry baby he was still hungry. He still wanted to get out there He had both of his goals. were Neither goal was itself super impressive He basically was finishing off back post runs where he was in the right place at the right time a little bit but the fact that he made the run was good and
00:04:24
Speaker
yet His assist was very nice, but he was really just the way he controlled the ball. He was holding off defenders. He was coming back and defending a lot. just like sharp, high energy. And you know, one of the things I think was really important this preseason, maybe the most important thing was getting Pedro de la Vega off to a good start. And I hope it really continues because I do think there's some trust that he needs to gain with the coaching staff. You know, the the scouts have seen him play. They have watched lots and lots of tape of him. They knew, or they believed, they really believed in his talent. But once he got here,
00:05:03
Speaker
he was hurt so much and he hasn't performed at his best, but if he can put together a few solid performances, all of a sudden he's starting fresh and he, you know, I think it's gonna be very hard to put him on the bench if he gets going. And look, maybe his finish or the goal per se was in grade. I mean, it wasn't amazing, but the build up to the fourth goal was so ah put together, so fluid, yeah so smooth, off of a transition moment. ah You can tell where this team is really building a rapport within each other in anticipating where players are going to be, right? so
00:05:48
Speaker
Jordan Morris beats out pressure. He's on a physical battle with another ah midfielder. He basically toe-pokes it right into Paula Riola. Paula Riola just goes right into space, beats the guy off the dribble, gets to the end line, crosses a perfect ball to the far post, and that's where Pedro's
Focus on Offensive Concepts Over Preseason Wins
00:06:09
Speaker
at. so It's all about concepts, right? Crashing the box, a lot of numbers forward, ah making sure that we're being quick with the ball, ah having teams collapse on us, and and by us, I mean the Sounders, and their offensive qualities and concepts, man, and it it it all seemed to be there.
00:06:31
Speaker
Call it what you will, St. Louis is a U.S.L. team. There are only people who say, oh my God, I keep messing that up on X and everywhere. Louisville City is a U.S.L. team and I saw people online talking about, well, it's U.S.L., they're in preseason form. Call it what you will. that That's all right, that's all fair. yeah However, when it comes to your concepts, it's more about just getting in tuned and you don't need to be in front of Club America or, you know,
00:07:00
Speaker
but Any team that you want to you know put out here, Belles, Volca, it's all about just getting your concepts put together. And I saw that in every single goal today. Yeah, you can't get too far ahead of yourself, but you can only judge this team on what they're showing us.
00:07:18
Speaker
Yeah. And what we saw this preseason was a team that had offensive ideas that created a lot of opportunities that was reasonably clinical with their ah with the opportunities they got. I mean, they they, you know, like earlier in this game, Jesus Ferretta played in Morris with a really nice ball. And the goalkeeper the opposing goalkeeper made a nice play, came way out of his office his line. To me, it looked like he what was a handball outside the box. The referee ruled that it came off his shoulder. Fair enough.
00:07:47
Speaker
either way but you like the ideas that are there, and you like the run. I thought that Ferreira and Morris were showing a good understanding of one another. I like that trio of Morris, De La Vega, and Ferreira. They seem like they they all play together really nicely, and it'll be interesting once Albert Roussine gets sort of incorporated, but I don't think it's the worst thing in the world that he's gonna probably miss the first game. Heck, he may, I don't know if you'll be back for the second game or not,
00:08:15
Speaker
But I don't think it's the end of the world that he's going to miss some time because we know what we have in Elbur Rusnak. We don't necessarily know what we have in Ferreira and De La Vega. And if they can start building up some momentum and some rapport,
00:08:31
Speaker
That's good stuff. Look, I got to talk to Jesus Ferreira after the game, obviously, off of the main mics, because he was just in Spanish. And he was just talking about how he feels like he has all of this freedom to get to places, to ah bring the ball out, that ah Brian and this coaching staff are really putting him in a position to really squeeze what he could provide on the field. and And that is reflective on what we saw today. There is that part of his game where I think he's a great finisher. I think he's a guy that could definitely play higher up the field. But when he needs to drop and he needs to be another creative player, man, he does it so well. And I don't want to knock Albert out of the picture, but if Pedro continues to play as good as he is,
00:09:27
Speaker
It's going to be complicated. It is. I think it's moving them away, right? It's going to be an interesting problem to have. Like, yeah, we've been talking about this a lot with various media who ask, like, they're trying to put together their depth charts or whatever. And they're like, OK, so this is a four, two, three, one. And it's like they they have been playing a three, four, two, one.
00:09:49
Speaker
They played it again today. They say this is what they want to do. And in some ways, the concepts are not that different, whether you're playing four in the back or three in the back for the sounders.
Integrating Key Players into Team Dynamics
00:10:01
Speaker
But I think one of the key things is that they want all, they see Rusnak, De La Vega, Freire, and Morris all sort of in that central space.
00:10:10
Speaker
And so I don't think they see any of them as wingers and they've all looked good in these. And so that's where it's going to be. It's going to be a little complicated how you get all four of them on the field together. And I don't know that we are going to see them on the field together early in the season. I think that's something that's going to have to work itself out over time. You know, you were talking about this on on lobbying squirkers the other day, about how you you fit them all together.
00:10:33
Speaker
And it's it's not the worst problem in the world to have to, they're gonna be playing so many games potentially, I kinda feel like it's just gonna work itself out. It is, and Brian was very transparent about being cautious with Albert. There's no reason to force him to play at Antigua or even back at home, depending on what that result plays out. Especially when you see a Pedro Lavega that's gaining confidence that looks good, that looks dangerous. Because today he was immense. I mean, he was all over. yeah he was He was dominant. He was dominant. He was dumbmin he was one of those players that just you couldn't take your eyes off and it wasn't just where he was getting to in the end line in those half spaces but what he needed to get on the ball dribble through pressure. There was a point where there should have been two yellow cards to two different players because they're just trying to grab him from his shirt from his collar because he was just that good today and
00:11:30
Speaker
He is probably the only player in this roster with maybe the exception of Georgie that can do that for you. That can truly be a headache on the ball yeah and can take on defenders one-on-one every single time.
00:11:47
Speaker
Yeah, he he had one play today where he, the ball was sort of going to the sideline and he was sort of fighting off a defender. And and it was, you know, you see players hit Rabonas and you don't always know what's the point. Like we saw Dempsey made some Rabona cross. A lot of times they they're like, they do it as crosses and it's always more of like,
00:12:07
Speaker
Look at this thing I can do. Like a cheeky play? Yeah, it's not necessarily a helpful play. But in this case, it was like, it it was very useful because he was fighting off the defender and he wraps his right foot around it. And he hits this just wonderful little ball down the sideline that plays ariel in and didn't come to anything. But it does show this the level of skill and an aptitude that he has for understanding The situation, the space, it was essentially there was no downside to that. It was like a like you sometimes play coaches get frustrated when players do things like that because they're just showing off. This was not about showing off. This was about making the most of a of a nothing situation.
00:12:45
Speaker
No, the difference is when you do it, when it's not necessary. And in Spanish, we call it a recurso, a resource. So whenever you need that resource to do that rabona, because it's the best way to get the ball where you want it, that's the best technical part that you can do that play in. So I missed that one. I might have been on my way around and I missed that specific play, but I'd love to hear that because that is something that it is part of his tools that maybe wasn't as visual last season because of the injuries, because of the pressure, because you're going to do so many things. He wasn't playing confident last year. Not confident, not not to his instincts. It feels like this year, that's not the case. And and you could see it. You could see it in Spain, in Marbella. You could see it here today.
00:13:30
Speaker
and If anything, it's providing you a player that could boost your ceiling, which is probably the only question mark this season, because the floor is as high as it's ever been. The floor of this team is as high as it's been since I started covering this team in 2010.
00:13:52
Speaker
It's never been this high. So a guy like Ferreira having a great season, a guy like De La Vega having a great season, and even Morris, who, you know, he got into some dangerous positions today. Maybe he wasn't able to, you know, score, but he is doing some of that dirty work in terms of making teams commit to him and and pulling that that markers off of spaces where that's where Pedro gets there. That's where other players get to. Even Alex Rodin, when he's playing out on that wingback position, and we talked about it today, when he tucks inside so deep where he's just another midfielder, crashing the box. That's why he got that goal in Marbella. So all of those things do happen because of work that the nine is doing. So I like to just say that
00:14:38
Speaker
the If this continues to be the norm and they can basically build off of this inertia, the the ceiling immediately just goes up higher. I think De La Vega is definitely one of those players who can raise the ceiling. yeah he can If he can come in and be a... sp Because he has that special talent. Whether or not he realizes it remains to be seen, but he has the potential to sort of push that the team to another level.
00:15:05
Speaker
And one of the things I do like about Morris that we don't always get to talk about so much, because so much of the energy around Jordan is is he scoring goals or is he not? or And that's fair. That's what a number nine's main job is to do. But what i'm what I'm seeing this preseason especially is that he's surrounded by players where if he's willing to do the dirty work, if he's willing to make runs that sometimes go unrewarded, if he's willing to fight off defenders and come back into the midfield and and spray balls out, do all these kind of things that aren't really sexy,
00:15:35
Speaker
That's going to open up a lot of space. And that's one of the but things that he has in his toolbox. if he's and and And sometimes it gets lost when they need him to be a 20 goal scorer. All these little things don't matter as much because you they need they need that's his main job with that with the team set up the way it was last year. But with the way it is this year, if you've got De La Vega, if you've got Rusnak, if you've got Ferreira, all scoring goals and and giving assists,
00:16:04
Speaker
Morris can just sort of fit in and and and be a you know being a sort of like force amplifier to take ah a Garth Loggway term. And that's when he's been at his best, in my opinion. yeah Jordan is never at his best when he's got to be the guy to score every single goal, every single time, every single miss is amplified because you're losing a 1-0 game or you're drawing a 0-0 game.
00:16:30
Speaker
this year, and I'll repeat the the emphasis on that committee where everybody's going to be getting some goals. And I feel like Brian kind of told us this early in the the season. I mean, Yamer got a goal today, right? I mean right it's i think there were at least 10 different goal scorers during preseason, maybe 11 different goal scorers. That's a good sign. That's great.
00:16:51
Speaker
The worst thing in the world is if you put up these numbers and it's just one guy. I mean, De La Vega had four goals. That's great, but Edda had a couple goals. Morris may have had a couple goals, but mo it's just that the spread is is wide and vast and everybody's getting in on it. You know, Danny, you said you've got to watch a little bit of the second game today. You said Danny Leyva scored, right?
00:17:12
Speaker
Danileva put in a ball into Stu. Stuart scored. Oh, Stuart Hawkins scored. And it was it was a crossing from Danileva, who looked great, who looked very good in the second half game. Georgi, I didn't get to watch the whole game, but I watched the first half. Georgi had a shot where he takes on two players, ah shoots it ah maybe five yards away from the 18, and he goes three inches lower, and it's a goal. But he just went that much higher, and he did not hit the post. He just went over. so All those things put together, man, just just get you excited because you can get so much contributing players throughout the season where you need those players to contribute. And we have beat this dead horse. It makes Seattle unpredictable. and it makes you It gives you this gambit of but of players where you can do and plan and attack games
Exciting Coaching Strategies for the New Season
00:18:04
Speaker
differently. And look, for all the heat that I've given Bryant Metzer over the last couple of years,
00:18:10
Speaker
This is as exciting as I've seen the approach into a season B since 2022, since we were in CCL and you know you had certain players this year as a strategy and as a as a way of play, as a soccer module, this looks very good. And as much as he continuously tells me that I am wrong, that this team is the exact same thing and they build out the exact same way and they press the exact same way. There's differences in the nuance. There are they are nuances. And he said it himself. He just cut your dicks and stuff. But there are nuances. And there's nuances I'm excited about. And he's given me.
00:18:53
Speaker
again, a sense of excitement and, um you know, ah urgency to see the season, because I am excited about it. it And that's props to him and Freddie yeah Juarez and Preckie and, you know, this whole coaching staff.
Podcast Network Support and Sponsorships
00:19:10
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00:20:00
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00:21:38
Speaker
Yeah, it's been it's been exciting. ah you know It does look like they're they're going to play this 3-4-2
Tactical Changes and Player Development
00:21:43
Speaker
-1. And I said earlier in the show that it from a personnel standpoint, it doesn't really look that different from a 4-2-3-1, which is what they normally play. The nuances, I think, are really about what you're asking the ah De La Vega and Ferreira in this game, or it could be Rusenak in another game, what you're asking them to do. And they don't they're not asking them to be wide. They're asking them to stay in those half spaces in the middle of the field. And that's really one of the key differences. And and and whether it's Ariola, whether you call them a wingback or you call them a winger, the idea is to get the whiff from both De La Vega and Roldan. Or not De La Vega. Ariola and Roldan on either side.
00:22:25
Speaker
And so, but you're going to, you are going to see, you know, you're going to see New Who basically playing this day and you're gonna see reagan you're gonna see yamar the And the back five basically plays the same, where you see the differences really in those, in those wing play. And it also allows Obed Vargas a little bit more freedom to join the attack, which is another interesting nuance that, you know, we talked to him yesterday. You had a, you had some really good stuff with him in Spanish about his sort of understanding of of his place in the in where he is in his career right now. I mean, he did repeat the idea that he he needs to step up in terms of goal contributions. I like that he was talking about improving his soccer IQ. That was good stuff. But the really interesting stuff I thought was what you were talking to him about in Spanish in terms of his future. Why don't you talk about that a little bit? Yeah, I mean, ah
00:23:18
Speaker
Obed Vargas has been very ah clear with his idea of not settling, and I like that word, settling to just the next thing. The next step in his career is not going to be a lateral. It's not going to be is something that is going to be a little bit better than MLS.
00:23:38
Speaker
He knows that he has the potential to play in Europe, and he wants that to be the step. He wants the challenge, he wants the pedigree, he wants to develop, because that's what he said. I want the next move to be a place where I can develop, and if that place is right, then I'm gonna go. But right now, I'm not worried about how much they're offering for me. I'm not worried about who's asking for me. These are just rumors. i don't I don't even know about half of them. But that's the way he's approaching the game. And to me, it talks about who he is as a player and how he's approaching the season. He could be a player where he's just content with what he did last year, breakout season,
00:24:18
Speaker
Mexican national team cap, whatever you wanna call it, it was a great season. So he could just be on, um gonna and I asked him exactly this in Spanish, like, is it about just writing the inertia? And he's like, no, it's about just, it's getting better. It's me doing more than I did, like I still didn't think I did enough. And that to me, man, that's the right mentality. That's what you want out of a young player.
00:24:40
Speaker
And today, talking about those pivots, the way him and Christian are working together is fantastic. Christian is on this path of just doing whatever it takes to get this team going. He's gonna sacrifice, he's gonna cut, he's gonna pressure, he's gonna be physical, he's gonna cover space, and he's gonna allow Obed to be Obed. And let that man cook. Let him shine. and And that's not every player, man. Not every player has that.
00:25:08
Speaker
Unselfishness? and yeah and so yeah he's um he's just Yeah. I think the the superpower that Obed has to me is he has this amazing calmness and he doesn't seem to get overwhelmed by the moment. He doesn't seem to get overwhelmed by the attention. He seems to just know that if he stays true to himself, it's going to work out.
00:25:32
Speaker
And, you know, there was a time, you know, it's funny to think back now, you know, this is a guy who broke into the scene at 50. I mean, he made his debut at 15. He breaks into the regular, you know, he's a ah regular player at 16. He started. He plays in a CONCACAF Champions League final.
00:25:49
Speaker
you can And then he suffers this setback where he suffers a you know broken back, essentially. He misses a bunch of time. And then he spent the whole of 2023 basically just coming back from that. And when we started 2023, I remember talking to him and he was sort of he was frustrated. He was frustrated that he wasn't playing, but he was but he wasn't mad. He wasn't mad at anybody. He was just, I want to be better. And in all, he just kind of put his head down And he just gets ready. He ends up playing 3,300 minutes last year. He has two goals, nine assists across all competitions. Great season. It makes his debut for the Mexican national team. He's the same Obed. Same Obed. Absolutely no change in his mentality. He still, you know, he still laughs. He's still easy going. He's still talking smack about his dad.
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, he's so critical of his own play. He's so critical of his own play. I mean, he's he is such an easy player to root for. And there's not a lot of players who you you you can sense when they are becoming in their own head and when they start to they're reading all the stuff going about him. And somehow he it's like he seems to know what people are saying.
00:26:58
Speaker
He just doesn't care. No, no, absolutely. And, you know, that's something that you go to your head very easily. yeah But it's the opposite. information It's about just getting rid of the noise. And if there's something that he said that I thought should scare teams is that he feels like the game continues to slow down for him.
00:27:16
Speaker
continues to Zoldan Afer like he was playing a step ahead last season. Now now now it's even slower, now it's even quicker on the ball, even quicker on his turns, even more aggressive when he's breaking pressure with the ball. So man, is you there's so many good things to to talk about when it comes to that pivots. And in terms of depth, I feel like this team, because Paula Riola we haven't talked a lot about,
00:27:45
Speaker
Every game that I watch Paul, the more confident I am that he should be that guy on the left side. He just, he holds it down very well. Holds it down. he He runs up and down the line so well. He is, you know, he's not going to be the, he's not going to be a clinical finisher, but he's going to get his goals. He's going to get the assist he had today was really nice. Like he oh it was beautiful. I mean, it was like a, yeah like, I don't know, 30 yard ball that he put through traffic basically. And it just was, yeah and da and della it was an easy finish for De La Vega, but it was an easy finished because it was such a good ball.
00:28:23
Speaker
that's a great point because in my mind in Spanish when when I used to play soccer there was a thing that was instilled in me that I didn't have that I wish I did because I just held the ball too long and it's called decisiveness and he seems like he knows where he wants to go and he gets there immediately with the ball and on defense today he's not the biggest guy in no as i'm all about I'm all about short power here, but he's also like a smaller frame But defensively today he put his whole might into it He was lowering his body a little bit more and he was getting guys almost at the thigh But he was doing his job defensively and to me that's what I want to save him because I have no doubts about from his offensive play.
Defensive Strategies and Tactical Flexibility
00:29:06
Speaker
It makes me a little bit more nervous on defense, but between his experience, his field awareness, and his ability or ah desire or or freedom to sacrifice his body, put it on the line, he's going to every ball with all his might. So you know he's gonna be able to just push you out of the ball.
00:29:28
Speaker
Can he do it? And this is where maybe things will still need to wait and see. If this team goes back to the 4-2-3-1, I don't know if he's the guy. But at this point, I feel like, why not? Why not just put him there? I mean, I get that Newhoo would end up sliding to that side. But hey, if there is a moment where you've got to be a little bit more offensive, and maybe you bring in Newhoo late to lock it down, why not? But he's a guy that in terms of depth, in terms of everything that we've talked about today,
00:29:57
Speaker
I think it's quality and and another guy that I do not want to not highlight is Kalani. and In the second game? In the second game, just 45, but I've been high on him the whole preseason, but today he just looks like the best guy on that side of the field, comparing them to the USL guys that were on the field. And it didn't seem like maybe they, I think Louisville probably played a mixed group too, because some of the players who started in the open cup were being held for the second game. And I, I mean, I would guess what makes sense for Louisville's perspective is like, we don't want to throw it all on one, like we want to keep it as balanced as we can, because we don't want to get, ah you know, embarrassed either. But which speaks to Kalani's
00:30:42
Speaker
ah play I've been very impressed with him throughout preseason. I love his athleticism, but he's technically, I think, underrated too. like he His technical ability has gotten better and you know over time.
00:30:58
Speaker
And i I'm at the point now where I i thought he was going to be a long shot to make the roster out of preseason. I now am not would not be as surprised. I kind of feel like him and Standard Brunel, good chance that both are going to get signed, but if not before the season very close to the beginning. Especially because we failed at this and I blame myself ah that we didn't ask more about the timeline on Reid. But he was just sitting there today. He's not close. So he might be maybe two months out. I don't know. They're not going to rush. I mean, there's no reason to rush him back. But I think that the impression I get is that he is nowhere close to being back.
00:31:38
Speaker
So bringing a guy like Kalani to just add on and you know there's gonna be little you're gonna have to take Alex off or whatever. I think he's a guy that is definitely making a a name for himself in a case to be part of this roster.
00:31:52
Speaker
But talking to to just and i took the Craig, he's as proud as he should be of the overall roster and what the what the team could potentially do. And for all the heat that he got, Jeremiah, ah man I have to agree, man. i'm I find myself looking at this squad.
00:32:12
Speaker
Maybe it's not the most talented group in MLS, but it's definitely one that I feel like when I look at the Western Conference, I know what they're going to do. I feel very confident that they're going to be a top three team in the Western Conference.
Strong Start and Roster Improvement Strategies
00:32:27
Speaker
And I hope people believe that coming from me, that's a big deal, because I'm not a homer. I'm always the guy. There's the pessimists or whatever. But this year, coming in, i just I feel pretty good about them being a top three team, because Aside from LA Galaxy and them, there isn't a team that I'm like, man, I could see them just doing that well. Well, I think, I mean, the Galaxy had to have lost some guys. LAFC is definitely, you know, don't get me wrong. LAFC is probably going to end up being there at the end of the season because they always are.
00:33:02
Speaker
It was just last year where they, I think they only had 20 guys under contract in the season opener. They obviously won the season opener against the Sounders. They're going to be there, but they've lost a lot of players. And I don't know, I just don't think, I think the Sounders are positioned at the very least to start strong. We'll see how that holds up over a long season.
00:33:22
Speaker
But I like what the the job they've done this this offseason. I think they've done a good job of giving themselves some room to add. It sounds like they're going to eventually sign a U-22. I haven't heard much about what direction they're going with that. They they technically could sign two U-22s. I don't think they have the the salary cap space without borrowing money.
00:33:44
Speaker
i So i don't I don't think they're going to make too many big moves, but hopefully they they have the ability to make something happen in the summer if they if they need to. Exciting times. It is. it is what What I would say is that, I don't know if it was in this show or in Lopez Courches, but they were asking about that second U22 spot, so I do want to address that.
00:34:07
Speaker
it It looks like the plan is still to just bring in one U-22 and the other U-22 spot will be used in the likes of Obed, Josh, or anybody that fits under that category. Obed probably deserve, I mean they're probably gonna have to give Obed that's what i'm thinking some money. He's been playing on like $90,000 or something. And even if even if it's just to sort of set the bar for whatever the next team is to sign his contract, I would think his family rightfully feels like it's time to get paid a little bit. And even you know you you don't want to borrow against the potential for too long. And he deserves to get paid, and and he should get paid. So hopefully thats that works out.
00:34:49
Speaker
um Just out of curiosity, you know last time on this show we mentioned the possibility of Nico Ledero coming in here. Have you heard any updates as far as that situation is going?
00:35:03
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's just a possibility, so there's nothing. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Yeah, we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Like it's something that was in the works or anything like that. It was just ah something that I thought would be interesting. We got a lot of good comments. Roughster, you know, he was he was on for it, ah bringing him back 10 minutes. ah Go for it guy was also on board. So just letting you guys know that we do read all of the comments you guys provide. the seahawk for said he didn't want um nico i mean i think there's some there is some balancing like let's just we don't know I mean, as of now, Nico is still playing for Orlando City, so there's not like, he's not a free player the Senators can just go out and get. and and
00:35:45
Speaker
The conversation we had was sort of under some assumptions that if the sounders were going to sign him, it was going to be because he got bought out sure or something like that where he's essentially a free. None of this has happened yet, so we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. But i it is probably fair to point out that there is some Those assumptions are not givens. We can assume them. That doesn't mean they're actually going to happen. I think one of them is we don't know if he's going to get what Orlando is going to do. yep ah But I think another one is we don't know Nico's mindset. Is Nico looking to come here? is If Nico leaves, does he want to compete for minutes? Does he want is he want to just be a locker or does he just want to be a locker room guy? Because those are two very different things. If he wants to come compete for minutes, he probably needs to go. I don't know that Seattle is the right place for him.
00:36:38
Speaker
If he's coming here to be a locker room guy, maybe it makes more sense. But we don't know. I don't i mean, I don't know what his mindset is. um So I don't know. It might or may not happen, I guess. When it comes to Nico, I like to think of him as a a hopeless romantic when he comes to
Lodeiro's Future and Career Decisions
00:36:54
Speaker
soccer. He wants to be in a place where if it's the end of his career, and I feel like it is, he he he sacrificed his body a whole lot last season, right? i be And he's a guy who takes care of himself better than anybody who I know, brings in guys to take care of him, pays out of his own pocket to get national team guys to do all kinds of work on his body. Health-wise, he's never a guy that's out drinking a beer, having a scotch. Believe me, I would tell you if that was the reason. And he's not. So he has his body in a whole other shape, but still I feel like he knows that the end is coming in terms of his career. And he would love to stay in the United States because of his family. And the only other place where he can have that romantic goodbye is in Nacional of Uruguay.
00:37:42
Speaker
He just doesn't want to do it to his family. So that's why I thought it was an interesting idea. And going back to the whole U-22, only one that you're bringing in in the summer, if Obit is leaving and your U-22 is a striker, which means you believe that's what it should be, yeah because to be honest, I feel like you would be a wasted U-22 at midfield or at a 6, where in those positions,
00:38:09
Speaker
You've created a a pipeline with Ovid, with Danny, with all these players that you've built out to be available players in that position. You can go out, in my opinion, in the college rankings and pick a guy out of the the draft and and mold them to be a disruptive six or be a center midfielder.
00:38:32
Speaker
it is a lot harder to find that sort of player up top. You don't get the striker fork. They don't grow on trees at a college. They don't grow on trees. They'll decase the Dunkin' McWires. Those guys don't grow on trees. And you can find them sure, but it's a lot harder to do. There's like one per draft. There's one per draft, exactly, 100%. So if you can go out there and get a guy like Nico to just fill in a spot,
00:39:01
Speaker
and maybe give Danny more time because Nico will be willing to come in to just play minutes. Nothing in particular, because again, I feel like he's more of a hopeless romantic when it comes to that.
00:39:13
Speaker
So that's why I brought it up. that Nothing that we were thinking it was set in stone. I think that was being worked out. It was just more of a hypothetical situation okay and and one that me and you all feel like we could do because we like not to toot our horn, but I feel like we have a good insight on what the team might need, what the team looks like. so So that's why we bring this up and because I'm sure that in the discourse and for people and that's what you want to do man I mean you you want to go into the office on Monday and I mean I know it's not the NFL But if you see a fellow Emma Lesser and you want to talk some stuff that might be a topic of conversation So I feel like it was ah it was a good idea. I still don't
00:39:53
Speaker
dismiss it. I think that maybe if the sound is already in a bind and something wants to come about, maybe we'll see whether that comes to fruition or not.
Engaging Football Discussions and Audience Interaction
00:40:02
Speaker
But again, that was just some fun conversation that we had. Okay. Well, that's a good place to probably end this. Nico, once again, thank you for for doing this. We're going to try to do this every week.
00:40:14
Speaker
ah We are going to, you know, we'll we'll have more coming on Nos adiates. We'll be hearing a lot more from you on Lobbing Scorchers. You're doing this kickoff show on on Monday mornings, 8 a.m. on Monday mornings. That is quite a commitment. Yeah, nice and early, man. I mean, my my mornings usually start, you know, just like that.
00:40:33
Speaker
seven o'clock well as I yeah get up like at six and just get going real quick and We had a really good response on the first episode. So man, I'm excited to continue Doing that and doing probably more in season a breakdown of the game that just was and you know where we're going So I see a lot of potential there. So I'm excited about it for sure.
00:40:55
Speaker
Awesome, awesome. Well, that's a good place to call this. This was what we learned this week with Nico on No Study at Disc, part of the Sounder Art Podcast Network. I am Jeremiah O'Shan, and we'll catch you next time.
00:41:44
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!