Transcript
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. Here we go.
Speaker: Come on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
Speaker: Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what a Where's my copy? got bunch of them How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
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Speaker: This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
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Speaker: Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adiates on the Sounder at Heart podcast network. I am Jeremiah Oshan, joined by one of our regularly recurring guests, Ryan Rosenblatt, ah here today to talk about the newest sounder, Dejan Jovalich, a player that you know quite well from his days with the LA Galaxy and then with Sporting Kansas City.
Speaker: Ryan, welcome to the show and happy to learn a little bit about the newest sounder. Yeah, i was I was about to ask ah how you guys are doing, but I assume you guys are doing pretty well because you guys got yourself a striker.
Speaker: Well, you know, it's funny because it it was like the the loss to Austin was just, you know, a little more than ah a week ago was Wednesday. and I don't know that it's ever been lower than it was after that loss. I mean, it was the eighth straight loss. Austin is God awful team.
Speaker: It was at home. It was probably the smallest crowd the Sounders have ever had for a regular season game. And it was just, it was dire. It was depressing. And then the news breaks of Jovalich signing on Saturday, sort of like in the middle of the first half.
Speaker: And you could feel the spirits lift within the fan base. And then they pull out this tie. It's a tie. It's not even a win. ah But it's kind of how they got it. and And this whole week has just felt like all that is behind us. Now, it's go to we'll see how that how that actually plays out. But I think part of it is just sort of sign a life from the front office that they're willing to spend money.
Speaker: But from my perspective, and tell me if I'm crazy, but this is this is something close to a platonic ideal when you're trying to so figure out the kind of player the Sounders need. I mean, he's got this great personality.
Speaker: He's a goal scorer. he He's a proven commodity. He's relatively young. And he doesn't even break the bank. I mean, $6 million dollars transfer to me feels like a pretty good deal.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, it's funny because, um like, i mean, I don't have to tell you guys, the Sounders team has holes. This is not the only hole in the team. though There are a lot of things they have to figure out, but, I mean, it's also kind of just speaks to the power of a real deal striker and it doesn't really matter what else you got going on in the team. Like, yeah, you're going fix those. Like that's going kind of go away a little bit once the game start. And you're like, Oh, we still can't get the ball for, we can't do these, ah but like having a real deal striker and the ability to get shots, to pull a chance out of nothing, to feel like,
Speaker: Hey, if we get the ball to the front of goal, we're going to score. Like it just completely changes your mentality, not just, you know, as fans, which is kind of what you guys are, but also like we've seen it before on teams in MLS and teams in Europe everywhere.
Speaker: It changes the way a team plays like the idea that, Hey, we don't have to, the goal is not necessarily we have to score. The goal is, Hey, can we get a half chance here? Because that might be enough to score. And it just completely changes the way a team approaches a match and the way a club approaches, you know, roster building. So it's really funny watching um the reaction from Seattle because I was like, yeah, man, it's a great signing. I really love him. I think he's a great fit there. But it also just speaks to when you get a number nine, like that changes everything.
Speaker: Yeah, it is funny because a number nine is somewhat dependent on the service that they get, but somehow it just raises the whole confidence level. I know when Ryan, when Raul Ruiz Diaz was sort of at the, at his peak performance, and that's really the last time the centers have had a truly reliable number nine. And,
Speaker: I would say I'm guilty of this at times that you get sometimes caught up in the numbers and you say, well, Jordan Morris, you know, when he was performing at his best, he was comparable on a production on a game by game production as as Rui Diaz.
Speaker: But there is something extra that a number nine brings and and that Morris didn't really have it. I guess you could call it Riz. You could call it Juice. You could do it whatever you want. But it wasn't really, like, that he didn't really have that.
Speaker: And Jovolic feels like he does have that. and it And it seems like it just sort of imbues the entire team with a level of confidence that, you know, a Danny Masofsky, even if he's scoring 18 goals in a season, doesn't really bring.
Speaker: Yeah, I think part of it is also just kind of like role and how a guy plays. And like Jordan Morris is a really good player. um He has been a really good player for a long time. But you put Jordan Morris at the nine and he's trying to make runs between guys. He's trying to do a lot of different things. And there's there's a lot of value to that. I mean, kind of one of the bad things you could say about a true number nine is that they kind of box you in because that guy can only play in one place. There's one thing that guy could do.
Speaker: ah But the upside of that is, you know exactly what that guy is going to do. You don't have to shift anything around for that. You say, can we get the ball to the front of goal? And from there, he'll do the rest. And yes, that number nine, especially in a modern game, you have to be able to press, you have to link up. It's not just as simple as hanging out in front of goal. But you know, whatever little bit you lose from a lack of versatility, you're getting back tenfold from just the knowledge that, hey, we don't have to make, like our number nine doesn't have to make this run so that way this other guy can make a run off of him and then we have to build this and, you know, we're going to get the ball to the front of goal, but then who's going to be making the run? It's just, hey, 10 guys, your job is to get the ball into this space and from there he'll do the rest. And that's just massive and, and you know, that's what you get in a Yovalich and it just makes it much simpler for everything behind it.
Speaker: You know, and and I think it's it's informative. It's illustrative of Jovalich that he was so good with a team like the 2024 Galaxy, who were a absolute offensive juggernaut, especially in the playoffs where they had Jovalich. They had ah Ricky Pooj. They had ah Joseph Painsill.
Speaker: They had Peck and they had this sort of just. monstrous machine that could run teams over. And he, you know, he found a way to play on that team to play well. He had 21 goals, I believe six assists in all competitions, six of those goals in the playoffs. But then he goes to the sporting Kansas city who on paper does not have any of the assets that they need to fully realize a player like Dion Jovo, which, and yet he scores 18 goals last year with almost no service at all.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, it's it was remarkable seeing what he was able to put up ah for sporting. And, you know, as a Galaxy fan, i was really bummed when the Galaxy had to trade him.
Speaker: um And that was just a cap issue, a combination of his under-22s um eligibility expiring and also after they won the cup, they baked in a ton of ah cup winning bonuses for that squad, which all hit on the next year's cap. And they just, they straight up could not afford, there was no way to move salaries around to afford him. And so they had to trade him, which was a bummer. um And he ends up in Kansas City, which coincidentally is where I live. So I got to see play a lot. And it was great because I would go down to Sporting Park. And I mean, I would go down there sometimes with people who don't really watch soccer or don't watch um MLS. And every single time they would be like, within 10 minutes, they just be like, Sporting is terrible.
Speaker: Like, you don't have to know the team and know the sport to know that team is god awful. And then Jovlich would finally get his first, you know, half chance in like the 23rd minute. And within like two touches, they'd be like, that guy seems really good. And it's one of those things where like, you don't even have to know what's going on to know that that guy is really good. And the ability that he had to find a way to get chances in a team that could not create chances in any other way um was really impressive. And it is that kind of pure number nine stuff where like, yes, he's going to make the smart run.
Speaker: um Yes, he's going to be able to get a shot away when you don't always think he can. But a lot of it is also just like, Hey, he's going to create a half a yard of space that it doesn't feel like he should be able to do. And then you're going to turn around and be like, why did that center back make such a huge mistake?
Speaker: And then you realize like four months later that like 14 center backs have made the same mistake against him. Uh, and you're like, Hey, maybe it's not all these center backs are terrible. He just kind of has that ability to create space that just those really good strikers have. And you can't really teach.
Speaker: Um, And the the fact that he was able to do that to create chances and score for a team that had no business ever scoring um was phenomenally impressive. And, you know, when he was in l L.A. the first couple of years, he didn't play super regularly. And part of that was they had Chicharito.
Speaker: And part of it was honestly just stubbornness from the Galaxy. and the funny thing about him is he brings an attitude that he is always convinced. He is the best player on the pitch. um I guarantee you they play Miami and he thinks that messy cannot hold a candle to him. He just kind of has that attitude. I am the best player on the pitch. I should get the touches, get me the ball. I'm going to score. And it's incredible.
Speaker: um And that's what you want from your number nine. You want get me the ball, get it to the front of goal. I'll do the rest. And, you know, he backs it up and everywhere he's gone, he scored goals. I mean, even when he put up that big season in L.A., it wasn't as if he was playing every minute of every game.
Speaker: um They were still bringing him off the bench, I think six or seven times that year. He was coming up and he still put up those numbers. It wasn't a huge minutes thing. He was he wasn't just stat padding. They were really, really impressive numbers. And you know now that we're looking at this and we're into year five in MLS, and he it was the same thing when he was playing um in Europe before that.
Speaker: And interestingly, is he will give you the chances. He puts up the XG numbers. He also outperforms his XG. And we're at a point now where he's done this long enough that I think it's fair to say he is just a uniquely good finisher on top of his ability to get chances.
Speaker: um I don't think it is dumb luck at this point. And while, you know, I generally think XG over a long period of time will tell you how good a guy is. And, you know, any overperformance, underperformance, that's just kind of finishing luck.
Speaker: um There are outliers to that. I think he is one of those outliers and he's going to get you those chances. He's also going to score more than his chances would indicate. He's been doing it for years now. He's just a really good finisher on top of his ability to get chances.
Speaker: Yeah, he is one of these rare players who is able to consistently consistently outperform their XG, but his XG is still pretty high. yeah It's, you know, and it's, I'm not saying he's messy or anything like that, but there are, it's, it's pretty rare where you find players who are able consistently year over year. And I believe only one year that he was in MLS, did he actually underperform his XG.
Speaker: And to your point, you know, that, that 2024 season in the regular season, He came off the bench in five of his 28 regular season appearances, only played 1900 minutes, had 15 goals.
Speaker: So yeah, I mean, he he by the time he was into the playoffs, he was a starter. That was sort of the the way that season went. But you know he's able to ah make the most of his opportunities.
Speaker: you know You go back to his time in the Austrian Bundesliga. He had that 19 goal season. ah He was with Red Star Belgrade when he was coming up, which is like a superpower in Serbia. And he was able to consistently get on the field for them.
Speaker: ah This is a guy who has performed really everywhere he's been. And one of the things that struck me about him is that he does not i off the field look like a he does not present. He does not talk like a European ah superstar. You know, he does not talk like a European footballer in a lot of ways.
Speaker: He has this humbleness about him. He has this sort of like, at least outwardly, this family first approach. He talks about how he loves chess. You know, he's known to be really into Rubik's Cube. And from the sound of it, he was a little bit, maybe almost like a nerd in in in his youth.
Speaker: And that's not usually the profile that Europeans... ah especially young professional Europeans have. And you know one of the other things i've I've noticed is that I don't know that he doesn't literally have any tattoos, but he has no obviously visible tattoos, which is also so weird for a European player these days, especially for soccer players or athletes in general. But ah what can you tell us about the person that you have sort of come to observe and get to know over the years?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, the funny thing is, he he it wasn't that he was a nerd in his youth. He's a nerd now. ah Okay. He's just a nerd. um He does really just want to hang out with his family, and he plays a ton of chess. And he like you said, he plays with the Rubik's Cube, and he sits around and will like,
Speaker: be talking about any number of things. um And he's really chill um off the pitch. <unk>s He's just an entirely different person when he plays. And that's what makes it so funny is you would never imagine that this guy who's like wants to have these thought exercises or consider it like you'll sit there be having a conversation with him.
Speaker: And he will just like bring up a hypothetical thing is like a thought exercise like, okay, like, here's the thing we're talking about. But what about this? And like, you can tell though, it's not in a like trying to be a contrarian way, but he's like, okay, let's think this through. Cause that could help hone in on what we're actually talking about here. He's a really thoughtful, really smart guy. And he's really quiet and he's pretty chill. Like he just wants to sit down and like have a quiet conversation with you. That's it until he gets on the pitch. And then he looks like he wants to fight everyone, get the ball and will like scream in someone's face after he scores. Like it's a really, really funny combination. um
Speaker: And he he's genuinely one of my favorite people to come through the club. and He's one of my favorite people in the league. And, you know, when you go back to his early years with the Galaxy, um like I said, he wasn't playing a ton and he was behind Chicharito and he was putting up numbers when he did get to play. And there was talk about whether or not he would leave the club because, you know, you're talking about a guy at that point because he came over to the Galaxy um when he was 21 years old And 22 year and he so and he scored a couple goals. And then, you know, he hits his 22 when he's 22 that next season. I mean, he scored, I want to say a goal every 90 minutes or so um in limited minutes. Yeah. like he He would, I think he was at like, exactly. In fact, Yeah, I think he I think if I remember, it was like 11 goals in like less than 1100 minutes and in a thousand minutes. Yeah, thousand three minutes, according to FB ref. Yeah. And so he's putting up these numbers, but he's still not getting a chance to start. um He's out only seven starts that year. Yep. He's out playing Chicharito and like, sure, sub effects, et cetera, et cetera. But he's he's out playing Chicharito. And, you know, I am among a lot of people who are like, hey, man, this guy should start in the next season.
Speaker: Same thing. Like he he started a little bit more, but I mean, he's still not even starting two thirds of the time. And there were talks about like, you know, you're young, you're in your early 20s, you're putting up numbers, you've performed at a high level.
Speaker: Back in Serbia, you performed at a high level in Austria, like there's a market for you you could go back to Europe, you could play at a high level, you can do all these things. And he straight up refused to even consider a transfer. And he's like, I, this is the club that brought me here. This is where I wanted to be.
Speaker: I think that I could be a club legend. I want to be a club legend. And like, that's the attitude he brings. And, you know, eventually, you know, salary cap is what salary cap is and he has to move on. um But I mean, that's the type of attitude and a type of player that the Sounders are getting and, you know, watch him go out and score four,
Speaker: you know, seven goals down the stretch here and watch him put up 19 next season and put up 23 the year after that. Like, listen, a lot of things can change. But I wouldn't be shocked if we're sitting here in seven years.
Speaker: Jovlich is what would be 33, 34 at that point. And it's put up a bunch of numbers and he's just like, no, like... but my career is going to say like, yes, I won an MLS cup with the galaxy or whatever. My career is going to be like Seattle Sounders legend. Like that's the type of attitude he brings. We're like, I, I like, I think he's walking in there thinking that like my goal is to be here year after year after year, put up numbers and I want them to be singing my game, my name when I come back for a game 15 years after I retire. Like that's who, that's who he is. And you know, we'll see if he, you know, performs at a level sticks around long enough for that to be the case.
Speaker: But that's the type of player you're getting. And then, you know, when that's when you're done talking about that, he's going to be asking you about like chess opening moves and stuff because that's who he is, man. Yeah, I love to hear all that. I have to imagine it helps that Precky is here. Precky is apparently a player that he ah idolized as a youth or he was certainly familiar with, at least. I guess one of the the things that was notable when he went to Kansas City is he talked about Precky's time with the Kansas City Wizards and how he was this legend and how he sort of maintained a relationship with him.
Speaker: Precky is, of course, a Sounders assistant currently. And, and I have to imagine that that helps in all of this. The Sounders also have another Serbian player, Nikola Pekic. I don't know how ah familiar they are with one another there. They have never been teammates on any level, as far as I know, but it all speaks well to kind of, you know, one of the things that struck me about him when he, in his introductory press conference is that there is a certain characteristic that Sounders players tend to have. And it's this sort of,
Speaker: and salt of the earthiness and it's this, ah you know, they just kind of want to get out there and and work and, you know, it's all, you know, marketing speak or whatever on some level, but he does give off this very clear inclination, like,
Speaker: he he He codes very clearly to the Sounders. I feel like this is a match made in heaven. ah I'm honestly, i do think it's an interesting commentary on the state of and MLS where a guy like this who has his track record can sell internally for $6 million. dollars And then Kansas City can go out and try to, you know, they're to probably spend $20 million dollars to replace him.
Speaker: And honestly, if they replace him with an equally productive player, that'll be somehow seen as a good investment. And ah it is very, it's a weird place we're in right now.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, I think that if you gave the Sounders $12 million and said, go abroad and try and find a striker, they would come back with a worse striker than Jovalich. That's a fair... I agree. And that is not a dig at Sounders recruitment or scouting, but I think that's true basically every team in the league.
Speaker: It is... bizarre to me that he went for this. year I mean, it's not because we see how these things go. It is bizarre to me that MLS is set up in a way where like that can happen. And that, you know, when the Sounders say, well, we'll pay 6 million. How did, you know, a dozen other clubs not come in and say, we'll pay nine, we'll pay 10. We'll pay like, it's, it's bizarre to me. Um, we know how that works, but like, yeah, man, it's great signing, great value.
Speaker: And, you know, I'm, I'm thinking back to, um ah MLS cup. And when he scores, what proves to be the winning goal in 2024, um, he did the Robbie Keane celebration.
Speaker: This is, that's right this is for forget but that this is a guy who was, uh, probably like 14 years old back in Serbia when Robbie Keane was playing for the galaxy. But like he did his homework on like, what is l LA galaxy history? And in the biggest moment, he's like, I'm going to shout out this guy. That's who you're bringing in. And like,
Speaker: he's go to be like all He's probably already done his homework on like, all right, what is it about the Sounders? Who are their players? What is their history? um ah you know Based on what he did in LA, like I bet you he's going to show up to you know season ticket holder event or something or other, and he's going to sit around and not just like smile and take the picture with random Sounders fans. He's going to have a couple of questions for him because he's going to be trying to mine and figure out, so what's this club about?
Speaker: Um, yeah that's who you're bringing in is a guy who's like, he's going to be deeply invested in this club. And I think he's going score and man, that that's a hell of a fun thing to have. I give it, give it, you know, maybe not in 12 months. Cause who knows what the viber on the sprint season will be, but give it 18 months. And I think that Sounders fans are going be in love with him.
Speaker: All right. Well, that, that feels like a good place to, to close this out, Ryan. Uh, it's always great to hear from you. It's especially great to hear from you when you have such awesome things to say about the player, the sounders just signed. Uh, what are you up to these days? I know we obviously were, we're contracting with you during the world cup. You had these great series of world cup columns.
Speaker: I just read another column you had about the, uh, the Kansas city Royals fleecing the city of Kansas city, uh, for their, for their newest stadium. But, uh, What else you got going on?
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, I'm in a bunch of random places. um You could, you know, I'm, I've got my sub stack, think outside the ball. I've got a couple more things coming in the next two weeks or so about, um you know, about some European stuff, also about and NWSL and kind of what women's soccer in the U S is going to be facing um with the country's general opposition ah to trans people and how American women's American soccer is about to have their moment when they find out whether or not um they give a shit about these people or not. And it's going to be a real test for them. So that's coming in a couple of weeks and some other stuff. and then, you know, I'm at ESPN FC and couple other places. So I don't know, ah other places on the Internet, I guess you can find me and who knows where I'm popping it up at any at any given time.
Speaker: Sounds good. Well, Ryan, it's been an absolute pleasure. We're going to get out of here. i am Jeremiah Shan. This is No Sarietes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network, and we will catch you next time.
Speaker: Let's go and sounders.
