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Kickoff: Are the Seattle Sounders Leagues Cup favorites?
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Coming off their historic 7-goal romp over Cruz Azul, the Seattle Sounders made it two in a row in Leagues Cup 2025 Phase One, this time topping Santos Laguna 2-1 at Lumen Field. With two wins and a gaudy +8 goal differential, are the Rave Green tournament frontrunners with one Phase One match left to go?
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Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused live morning show. Join Ari Liljenwall and Niko Moreno live on YouTube every Monday, at 8am Pacific to kickoff your week with the inside scoop on the Seattle Sounders and Major League Soccer. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Pulso Sports' Niko Moreno. Grab a coffee as we talk about the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction & Live Streaming Info
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
Hosts Introduce and Discuss Sounders' Victory
00:00:43
Speaker
Good morning, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari, that's Nico, and we have got another Seattle Sounders League's Cup win to talk about here this morning to start off the week.
00:00:57
Speaker
ah We're going to be breaking down this 2-1 victory last night at Lumen Field over Santos Laguna, which puts Seattle at six points, a plus eight goal differential, and number one on the league's cup table out of, uh, out of either league.
00:01:15
Speaker
They are currently atop the entire 36 club leagues cup table in, in large part, thanks to that, uh, seven zero over Cruz Azul, which pumped that goal differential up.
00:01:27
Speaker
But, uh, Nico, let's, ah let's get into it. How are you feeling here this morning?
Nico's Reflections on the Match
00:01:31
Speaker
Hey, what's going on, Ari? We are ready to rumble. It is ah early. It's a nice cloudy day, too, in the city of Seattle. I love that little brisk in the morning. Got my coffee in hand, man. So I feel really good, man. Obviously a ah good result for Seattle. They grinded it out. You love to see it. And we're going to talk a little bit about why maybe they were not as effective or not as um
00:02:01
Speaker
Explosive? ah maybe Maybe explosive. I was going to say sharp or ah why things didn't go as good as they ah perhaps have looked over the last three or four games.
Engagement & Viewer Support
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah, let's ah let's jump right into it before we get to all that, though. Please like the video. Subscribe to the channel. Like the video. ah Lobbingscorchers.com slash sauce.
00:02:27
Speaker
Lobbingscorchers.com slash archive. Sounderatheart.com slash LS. All links you can go to to support and grow the show. Yeah.
00:02:38
Speaker
All right. Yeah, let's ah let's get your take on this ah Santos Laguna game, Nico. Obviously, coming off the ah the seveno over Cruz Azul that made international headlines, ah they get another three points, this time only scoring two goals.
00:02:56
Speaker
ah finishing the match with 10 men, which, you know, that's that's back in character for the Seattle Sounders. it It had been a little too long since they got a guy sent off. So glad to see them back at it with that.
00:03:08
Speaker
But ah they do see out the 2-1 victory, even though they ah they give up the goal while down a man. at the ah at the very end. Nico, what did you think about ah how they how they started this game and getting the goal in the first half? Because for me, i was not expecting them to drop a seven
Offensive Performance Analysis
00:03:26
Speaker
spot again. That's pretty rare that you see anything really above like three or four goals is a novelty.
00:03:33
Speaker
ah So I wasn't expecting that. But i did I did feel like ah the offense played well enough in terms of chance generation to hang at least three or four on these guys.
00:03:45
Speaker
And they end up settling for two and getting the win anyway. But ah what did you think of just kind of how they carried the momentum from the Cruz Azul game? And then obviously seeing out the result, even though ah they had to withstand Georgie's unfortunate ejection after he scored an awesome goal, we should we should know.
Tactical Adjustments and Player Performance
00:04:06
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, look, I thought that the momentum component was there. and think that the team looked confident to start off. um Clearly, several changes there to that lineup, which that's always going to not necessarily affect the the totality of the game, but it's going to affect maybe the way that you get going, that you get started.
00:04:27
Speaker
um Specifically, clearly having a new pivot. You and I talked about the importance of Danny Leyva, one who had a very good game, I thought. In the majority of the game, he was...
00:04:40
Speaker
ah very poised on the ball. I thought that he put a lot of through balls, even defensively, something that we wanted to see from Danny Leyva. thought he was very good intercepting a couple of balls, anticipating some passes, closing down some passing lines.
00:04:53
Speaker
I thought that he he had a ah good game in this one, good showing by ah Danny Leyva. Paul Rothrock Payne on the right, I thought that he did very good. ah He was probably...
00:05:05
Speaker
The most engaged, the more incisive out of the wingers. Pedro La Vega, I thought had a difficult game specifically in that first half. And i want to kind of provide the reason why I think not just Pedro, but a lot of what Seattle wanted to do didn't quite look as sharp and maybe not as fluid as it has in the past.
Santos Laguna's Disruptive Strategy
00:05:25
Speaker
And I think that Santos Laguna did a very good job at muttering the game.
00:05:29
Speaker
ah slowing it down, disrupting it with fouls. I mean, I think it was, it had to be more than 22 fouls. At one point, I remember looking at the foul count for Santos and it was at 22. Yeah.
00:05:42
Speaker
Yeah. Well, it was 22, 22 overall. And it it was really a game where whenever they saw Seattle started, ah connect and create a sequence of passes. They were hitting somebody hard. They were really pushing the limits of the refereeing. And not all were egregious, tough fouls, although some were.
00:06:01
Speaker
um But I do think that that was the game plan, right? They did not want Seattle to catch a rhythm. And I thought that that was smart by Santos Laguna, a team that was clearly the underdog, clearly the, I mean, we don't say this a lot in the the lee i ma Liga MX, Liga MLS sort of games. over They were kind of the the better team, that the most talented team, the team that that came with more fortitude. Santos Laguna has, as we said it in the preview, they were a poor team.
00:06:30
Speaker
And you know there's there's nothing wrong with that. You got to say when that's what happens. And and they were the lesser team. And I think they played that way. They tried to get
Challenges: Red Card and Rule Debates
00:06:39
Speaker
a lot of numbers behind the ball. I thought that they were good defensively, um although Seattle did have several opportunities.
00:06:45
Speaker
But I think that's why Pedro was a little bit ineffective at times. Anytime that he would try to get in a rhythm. There was one time where gets fouled. The referee gives kind of the um advantage and he gets fouled the game by the same player. I mean, it was it was very constant, very...
00:07:04
Speaker
very muddy, very conca-calfish of them. They really did a good job at it. um But I think that Seattle, for all things considered, ah the Paul Rothrock goal, right, is a known goal. But if the defender doesn't hit that ball, then it was Husky's right there. So that's credit to Paul, who I think got in a lot of good positions.
00:07:24
Speaker
I love Paul Rothrock when it comes to Liga MX matchups because he has that that anger, that character, that fire. I mean, yeah. He was talking so much shit Talking mass man And sometimes you need that And that's why I love the element um But I thought that as a winger He did a lot of good things He wasn't perfect And you know there were decisions that were a little bit too rushed There were moments but that maybe be ah Were not as um on point as maybe he should have been, but all in all, thought he was one of the better players on the field ah for the majority of the game until he was pulled off.
00:08:01
Speaker
And just to kind of conclude I thought that Seattle in the second half did get pushed back a little bit. I think the Santos kind of ah started adding more numbers forward and Seattle in their,
00:08:15
Speaker
attempt to regain a little bit of control. Maybe they dropped a little bit. Um, and, ah then the the substitutions that thought were very good. I did want to see Pedro stay on just so he we could figure out if he could get out of that and maybe create something on his own over 90 minutes. Right. i continue to want to see 90 minutes of Pedro.
00:08:39
Speaker
Um, so even when he's not having a brilliant game, uh, at any moment he can give you something, right? He could spark it. He could shoot it. He could do something specific ah just like he did in the Atlanta game where he didn't have a great first half. And then in the second, he obviously gets a breakaway moment and he puts the ball in back of the net. So I did want to see that, but I get what Brian made the substitution and For all accounts, of course, he'll work because Georgie comes in.
00:09:06
Speaker
He is a guy that we we've been wanting to see get minutes. ah He's a great guy when it comes to being a spark plug guy off the bench. And he gets a fantastic goal, cut inside you know a boomer and puts it in the back of the net.
00:09:18
Speaker
But then unfortunately, he I think he's caught up in the moment. you's got a You got to give him a little bit ah of a break, right? He is coming off the bench, hasn't got a lot of minutes in in quite some time, gets a banger of a goal and forgets that Osase had just recently gotten a yellow for doing the exact same In the last game, yeah, the game before him.
00:09:41
Speaker
Which is just putting the jersey over your head, it which is silly. I mean, I get it. i understand it. I got a bunch of texts from people. My DMs were like blowing up. Like, is this really a thing? It is, right? I mean, if you just lift up your your shirt, you're fine.
00:09:56
Speaker
But once that shirt goes over your head,
Seattle's Resilience Under Pressure
00:09:59
Speaker
then it becomes a yellow. So it's just a very... um Unfortunate for Georgie because kind of it eliminates the entire sequence and the fantastic goal that he had. ah But all in all, I thought Seattle did the job by holding on.
00:10:16
Speaker
And even when they give away that they give up that Christian Dahomey goal that Nuhu kind of is laid on, he doesn't check his hip, and Dahomey gets a ah good goal that I thought from the beginning was not off sides.
00:10:29
Speaker
i thought Seattle did well to just hold on to the lead, specifically with one less guy on the field. ah Yeah, as far as the as far as the Georgie red card post banger, I mean, ah you know, i he meant no malice.
00:10:44
Speaker
okay He meant well. He was trying to communicate that Christ is king. I had it wrong last night. I was saying follower of Christ because that that was actually the Freddie Montero. Freddie had follower of Christ. Georgie has Christ is king. He's trying to notify everyone that Christ is King.
00:10:59
Speaker
and he ended up doing, like you said, putting the Jersey over the head, which Osaze did against Cruz Azul and got a yellow for it. He was already on a yellow. So, ah he, like you said, caught up in the moment, I think, uh,
00:11:14
Speaker
either forgot he had a red, didn't know the rule, whatever the case may be. He gets a red card in the, uh, in the 75th minute. Uh, so it's, it was unfortunate that Seattle had to see out the game for that long a time when they're sitting on a two goal lead.
00:11:31
Speaker
That's like, uh, the number, the number one way you can blow a two goal lead post 75 minutes is to get a guy sent off. And it's, it's just like, uh, it's one of those ones where,
00:11:44
Speaker
getting a guy sent off on a technicality like that is always tough to take. You know, if someone say just for the sake of hypotheticals, I'm not saying this would ever happen, but throw through a ball into the stands and then flipped off the ref.
00:11:57
Speaker
You're like, okay, yeah, but this one it's like, dude, it is It is a stupid rule. I said that on the postgame live last night. I think that we as as a collective society have advanced well past the point where jersey removal needs to be in auto yellow.
00:12:14
Speaker
I think it can be up to the ref's discretion if someone actually delays a restart for a really long time for any celebration, jersey removal or otherwise, then they can give the yellow as it comes.
Critique of Jersey Removal Penalty Rule
00:12:25
Speaker
That situation, it's just like common sense to me. Like, that... that doesn't need to be a yellow card. Like it doesn't. And, uh, it's a rule that I've long argued should be changed. I think, I think, I think any player should be allowed to just, if they want to take their Jersey off after a goal, they should be allowed to do it.
00:12:45
Speaker
You know, like that's what's, what's actually, what's actually the reasoning. Is it sportsmanship? Is it time wasting? I don't know. But, uh, Either way, though, that is a stipulation in the League's Cup policy that if, like you said, if you put it over your... like what's the ah What's the reasoning behind that threshold, too? They're like, well, if you lift it up here, fine.
00:13:07
Speaker
Totally fine. You're good. No yellow. But if you go go up here, you go up here, you're that sent off. Like, I don't know. It makes no sense, man. I honestly try to go back and... and Understand the reasoning behind it And one could argue that ah a A long celebration Like you know a lot of teams do you know They do the little salsa Or they do the sprinkler Or whatever you want to do On the corner of the goal post Or whatever whatever it is that you want to do It can take longer than you just
00:13:38
Speaker
Take it off your shirt, put it it back on. Like, you know, is is that okay? I just take it off, put it back on. It's not because the rule says just don't think of your shirt. So it just, it just, it makes no sense. Cause like, like you mentioned, I don't understand the reason behind it.
00:13:50
Speaker
Like, If it's a delay, it doesn't necessarily mean that because you take your shirt off, you're delaying the game. mean, you can grab the ball, take it all the way to the front, take off your shirt, put it back on, and is that a yellow? I mean, you know what? I just i just don't understand it. But the reality of it, and I thought that
Defensive Strength and Game Management
00:14:05
Speaker
Brian was spot on last night and just said, look, regardless of whether one – Georgie first yellow was ridiculous ah by all accounts.
00:14:14
Speaker
okay Okay. Can you explain that? Cause I, I, I know I haven't seen the replay, but I didn't have an issue with it when I saw it live. I looked like to me, like he trucked a guy, but that I could be wrong. What happened? Yeah, no, it's, it's the the inertia of the play. It's just, it's a regular 50, 50 ball.
00:14:31
Speaker
And the referee just thought that it was ah too aggressive. And then, There was some recklessness, obviously not to the point of a red, but enough to a yellow.
00:14:42
Speaker
A guy that just came on the field, it just he made no sense to me. What if your shirt said, pro is awesome? There you go. I love the ref. Yeah, that's beautiful. Referees are great.
00:14:55
Speaker
They probably still would have just sent them off. No, I mean, you know, if yeah ah Christ is king. You wanted to tell everyone that Christ is king. and Yeah, I mean, if if if if Jesus is king or whatever, it's not good enough, then I just don't get it. But but the reality of it the reality of it is is that it's a rule. And like i said, Brian, I thought was put on that even if he didn't think the first year was a yellow,
00:15:17
Speaker
Georgie knew, yeah and he should have known that putting your shirt over your head was yellow because it had just happened. And when New Who it is the the peace mayor the the voice of of reason, and he's trying to get you back. And you know he's like, come on, man, just put Put your shirt down. Come on. Like, that that's that's crazy, right? So, look, ah credit to Nuhu as well. i thought Nuhu had a very good game. I thought that. He was great defensively.
00:15:43
Speaker
He had a lot of moments on ah offense. And, you know, keeping his cool. This was a a physical, like I said, they did a job good job muddying the game and slowing it down. And I thought, you know, he kept his cool ah for the entirety of the game, not to mention going after – Georgia, you had tell him to put down a shirt. So that that's credit. That's growth. Good for Nuhu in that game.
00:16:07
Speaker
ah Pat asked, catching up later, so sorry if this was already asked, but is Nico going to upload Brian's press conference? Normally uploaded pretty promptly to Sounders YouTube, but it's not there. Yeah, someone did mention that earlier, and I did a quick cursory check on if it was up, and I did not see it on the Sounders YouTube. I did not check the League's Cup YouTube. Maybe it's up there, but I would imagine it'll be up some point today. The proceedings last night did finish pretty late, although they usually get them up night of. No, they they put up all of the other... um They put up all the other interviews Which leads me to believe yes all the players they either forgot or they're not going to do it And I wasn't at the game Usually i would absolutely put it on immediately i just
Success of Live Streaming from Stadium
00:16:49
Speaker
was not at the game So I didn't record it myself However, i will go back after this show And try to download it ah Through either Leagues Cup or Or elsewhere And I will put it up on Poole Sports But yes, I just I wasn't at the game Otherwise it would have been up for sure
00:17:06
Speaker
yeah point though we weren't at the pressers either because we were just we were streaming from the stadium and that was a lot of tech to uh to set up but we actually pulled it off thanks to everyone who uh tuned into that that's what we're gonna try and oh i'm got to check that out yeah we they gave us a little broadcast booth that had been vacated we just set it all up in there and uh let it rip uh way closer to final whistle than we're usually able to do for a home game where i have to like take the bus home and stuff takes like an hour.
00:17:35
Speaker
So yeah, that's should be, we're going to try and do that as the new protocol for home games, just so we can get the these lives going as close to final whistle as possible. But ah last night was our first night setting that up.
00:17:47
Speaker
So we weren't able to like stream the zoom call or anything, but I'm proud of us just for figuring out the tech. uh back to the game nico uh aside from the ah georgie ejection you did hit on two things that uh were at least my biggest takeaways which uh poly prime time great to see him back out there bionic hand uh he looked he looked great he looked like himself he was uh he was cooking on that uh Right side.
00:18:16
Speaker
That's that's, I think that's something to like a a notable takeaway, which is that with De La Vega kind taken over on the left, like you can't really take him out of there right now. Uh,
00:18:27
Speaker
Paul has played mostly on that left side this year and he's done very well at that, but it was good to see him look that effective and dangerous playing on the right.
00:18:38
Speaker
And, uh, it's just like, uh, the, the winger depth right now looks really good. Like you can kind of mix and match and plug anyone in. And it seems like they're in good form. They're going to be creating chances. They're going to be getting after it.
00:18:51
Speaker
So that was good. And then, the Obed Danny Leyva double pivot, like how well that functioned. I thought, I don't know if you noticed this Nico, but I thought that ah Obed did a really good job of like adjusting and adapting to sort of playing with a double pivot partner that has a bit of a different skillset than ah then Christian.
00:19:15
Speaker
it It felt like he was ah kind of taking over a lot of that dirty work covering ground ah playing defense, all the all the Christian rolled staples.
00:19:26
Speaker
He was sort of gearing his game more towards that as opposed to what he's been doing playing with Christian the last couple months, which is just like getting getting increasingly aggressive and audacious in attack, getting forward a lot, taking guys on. like He chilled out on that a little bit because I think it was necessary ah with – it being a new, a new partner in there with a different skillset.
00:19:50
Speaker
And then, like you said, man, Danny Leyva stock up, like he was fantastic. His, ah his passing is just very good. I still think that playing him in a more, in a more advanced role could be ah something worth giving some run, but with JP still out for at least a few more weeks, I would imagine he's,
00:20:11
Speaker
just to know that you can plug Danny Leyva in at that spot. And I thought he was like, all I would ask in that scenario, theoretically, is that he play like replacement level, not make any egregious mistakes, uh, and just do his thing out there without, uh,
00:20:27
Speaker
without getting run on. And not only did he do that, but he was an actively positive contributor to the attack. And he also was in the, ah in the Cruz Azul game as well when he subbed on.
00:20:41
Speaker
So honestly, I think with the situation that they're in at that spot and basically, you know, having the best double pivot in the league, but then kind of it's up in the air behind that you got Snyder Brunel in the mix now who we were hoping would get a start, but it ends up being Danny Leyva.
00:20:56
Speaker
But ah good good stuff from Danny. i love to ah I love to see that. Nico, did you have anything to add to either of those or any other takeaways from this game? No, you bring up a great point, which is that perhaps you know we've been looking at it the wrong way, or maybe Brian you know had a ah a really good thought there to just kind of make Obed the Christian part of the pivot process equation And honestly, didn't cross my mind necessarily.
00:21:29
Speaker
And I thought that he did well. Obviously, he has that ability to to engage. He's a very good defender, probably more than he gets credit for. ah He does cover a whole lot of ground. And i thought him and Danny, they really fit in well. I mean, these guys have been playing with each other for a very long time. They know each other probably better than ah Christian and Obed necessarily do, you know, outside of the field and within the field. But I just...
00:21:55
Speaker
I was very pleased. I thought that For all accounts, every single touch that saw from Danny was very positive. I mean, there were a couple of times that he got dispossessed or a couple of bad balls. But I mean, overall, I thought that he was... I was trying to find the stats for it because, I mean, I'm not stat guy myself, but in the eye test, he looked very good.
00:22:18
Speaker
And stats-wise, it looked he had 31 37 passes, accuracy on ah he had ah 48 touches, eight passes into the final third, which is was a team high, ah two of three inaccurate crosses, one for one on accurate long balls, and defensively, I thought he was very good as well. He won five out of five ground duels during this game. So, man, credit to um Danny Leyva, who, per FUDMOP, he was the highest rated player.
00:22:53
Speaker
So, again, I don't... necessarily do the stats. I'm trying to be better at it. I'm trying to balance myself out, diversify. I'm a, you know, fill it in the gut. I've been watching him my whole life type of assessment guy for it. But, you know, sometimes the numbers do help to kind of elevate or enlighten other components of it. And I thought that, you know, Danny Leyva was arguably the best player on the field. Yeah, at least for it. Yeah.
00:23:22
Speaker
Yeah, at least for portions of it. So, yeah, that was great to see. Nico, let's just do a ah quick table check both to, you know, note where Seattle stands on it, which is very good standing, but also just kind of check out how other teams are doing and look at some of the other results and maybe potentially teams that Seattle is going to have to play if they do advance.
00:23:45
Speaker
It's not guaranteed that they're going to advance. But they are in literally like the best position to advance of any team in either league. ah We can we can look at the tiebreakers, too. I know some people have been curious about that. And so there is that that is posted on the league website. but Let's look at the table first.
00:24:03
Speaker
Let's look at the table first. Just ah just as just a stock check. See what's going on. ah There you have it. These are the league's cup standings. I'm going to try and zoom them in a little bit for you guys.
00:24:15
Speaker
ah So there you see it. Seattle, number one, six points, 2-0-0, and a plus eight. Plus eight. So, yeah, like, they are basically, Nico, the way I see it, like, any result...
Strategic Position in League's Cup
00:24:30
Speaker
in this club to you want a game and they're probably good like i think a draw probably does it because think a draw does do it because you've got these see you got these one two three four five six there are six teams right now scrapping it out to try and get into the top four all on four points if seattle gets a draw versus tijuana they'll be at seven inner miami and portland could jump them ah But the likelihood that any like group of these teams win to tie Seattle on seven and overtake their goal scored, which is the number one tiebreaker and goal differential, which number two tiebreaker that probably is not happening.
00:25:11
Speaker
like that It could happen, but it's extremely unlikely. So really, it's i don't think it's a play for a draw situation, but I think it does does have to inform how you tackle this game a little bit in that ah you don't you don't necessarily need to be going for broke like immediately after kickoff. like a lot a lot of the these This group of four-pointers right here,
00:25:38
Speaker
Like they got to, they got to play aggressive. They got to get after it. They got to try and score as many goals as they can. Seattle's not in that situation. They're in a situation where even, ah even a zero zero probably gets you through, which you don't, I don't want to see that because I want to see them keep this attack rolling, but no, I mean, they're in, uh, they're in as good a position as they could possibly be in.
00:26:00
Speaker
Uh, you jump over to the league and Mechie's table here. Just, uh, let's just check in and see how they're doing because, ah
00:26:09
Speaker
Like, they they have they only have – there's two teams that took all ah all six points available so far on the MLS side. Portland and Seattle both have six.
00:26:21
Speaker
And Liga Mequis, they got – Tigris is doing well so far. They're top of that table. And then no one else has taken all six. I thought there was another team in there.
00:26:32
Speaker
But ah then it goes straight to Juarez, Mazatlan, Toluca, Pumas all on – all on five. So yeah, like I said, guys, number one, number one on the, yeah on the table so far, you can't really, you can't do it up much better than that. And like the, ah the, the seven spot versus Cruz Azul is actually significant here because I'll pull up the tiebreakers now just just so they're out there and and and people who might not know about them.
00:27:00
Speaker
uh can can know what's up with that but while i pull that up nico i mean what i i think i think the thing to talk about is sort of what i was getting at with like when you are number one on the table and you only need a draw to pretty much ensure that you finish in that top four and you advance ah how much into what degree does it change your tactics? Because i think you, to me, it's like ah you don't, you don't want to like park the bus, play for a draw, play for the zero zero. There's no reason to do that at home, but you do, you gotta be smart. You gotta be smart. You can't let anything crazy happen.
00:27:35
Speaker
You can't let the game get out of control and then have a situation where maybe you lose by like two, three goals. And then all of a sudden, it gets dicier as to whether or not you you're, you keep that positioning to advance. So ah how do you sort of think that they should ah they should tackle this dish that take, and then I'm going pull up these tiebreakers.
00:27:57
Speaker
ah Yeah, no, I think that you need to lock it up um and put in your best line of your best foot forward. We'll talk about Scholes here in a little bit, but they had a very good game against Colorado.
00:28:08
Speaker
ah Going back to the tables, I think that there's a couple of things that stick out to me. One, Choirs is the Cinderella story there. They are second to last League IMX. They had a pretty tough... um Sword of a group and and they have ah definitely came up to play that Cincinnati game Was remarkable and you know, what what wasn't expecting them to to to get a result there Portland on the other end I think that there also have been very interesting just because they've gotten in a couple of wins, but they haven't played great look and I don't want to like
00:28:44
Speaker
crap on their parade, but it's just, look, San Luis and Querétaro, Querétaro's dead last. And, you know, them and Santos probably fighting for, ah in terms of play as the worst teams, but regardless of, Santos still mid-table, and Querétaro's dead last. And then San Luis is not farther, ah not much farther up from Querétaro, so I just...
Review of Rival Portland's Performance
00:29:07
Speaker
Look at their play. They've had struggles. The first game that they won, was literally four. They went four four. Chances on goal. They won 4-0. And in this one, that day wasn't it was a struggle the entirety of the game. And that goal comes off a corner kick, which is all good and well.
00:29:23
Speaker
But I'm just saying that they just haven't been as dominant as perhaps the Sounders have been. so that that's just interesting. And when you keep you you keep going down the line, you do have to credit Seattle for being able to manage these games, even when it gets dicey like it did against Santos Laguna, because there are going to be tactics that teams can do to just bring the the game down to the same level. And they're if anything, that the Mexican teams are not afraid to win the bad tactics or even if it doesn't look pretty, a win is a win. So I think that Seattle for the way they've approached, the way they've been able to execute, the way they've been able to hold on, the way they've rotated, you know, when you look back at this game, Kim Kihi had a very good game as well coming in in for Guillermo Gomez Andrade. We already talked about Paul Rothrock, Georgie Mungu coming Osase came on. I thought he had a good shift when he came on.
00:30:20
Speaker
I personally still want to see especially with how good Paul Rothrock was, I still want to see De La Vega on the left, Albert in the middle, Paul on the right, and Ferreira up top.
00:30:31
Speaker
and just I just want to see it. I just want to see it. I don't know if I will in the next game. Danny Masovsky for the accounts was trying really hard, but he wasn't very effective during the game.
00:30:41
Speaker
He got a couple of knocks, and there was that play that he creates the penalty on, but... It was kind of a weird... He should have first time that. Sequence of events. yeah yeah He should have first shoot the first time that. You could talk about the first touch. A whole bunch of things that he could have done differently.
00:30:57
Speaker
But he kind of goes down. There's a PK that's called... Like in the second sequence where he gets the ball back. But the referee ends up saying that... As he's fallen, by the way, pulling, ah slightly pulling the jersey was a bigger foul than the initial contact that Valanta gave him from the back as he enters the 18.
00:31:18
Speaker
So I just, I thought it was terrible refereeing for what it's worth. ah But um at the end of the day, that's what happened. But Danny Wysowski, I thought he struggled. Therefore, I want to see Jesus Ferreira in that role. That's just me. I know, not a popular take, not a sexy take, but it's my take.
00:31:35
Speaker
i'm I mean, we talked about that on the ah on the last show, and that that is something that ah it's not it's not even about being like, oh, Ferreira is like for sure this great option at the number nine. It's about finding out. Like you need you need to ah you need to know if that's something that you can go to in a pinch if you need to and feel good about it. So – ah i I understand like why they ran Moose in this game. And maybe it's maybe it's something like if that when you do subs in the second half, like you slide them over. But I do want to see that get run.
00:32:07
Speaker
i thought Moose had a better game that than people are saying in the sense that ah he was he was getting in dangerous spots. And first of all, i do think you you got to give him credit on the own goal as well because it's his run that forces the CB to to have to slide to cut that cross out.
00:32:26
Speaker
And if he doesn't do that, then Moose has a tap in. So it was a good run to contribute to that, ah to that own goal. And then on the play where there was the crazy sequence where he got, uh,
00:32:39
Speaker
where he went down in the box and it looked like he got fouled like outside the box right before that. And they had to review it for 25 minutes and stuff. It's a really good run that he makes behind the the defense to start off that whole thing. So, ah yes, he I think what he could have done differently there is when when that second ball like off ah off the Rothrock,
00:33:02
Speaker
ah touch deflects to him, just rip it right there instead of taking that touch to try and get to it. I mean, it's one of those things that it's like, it's easy for us to sit here and be like, oh, just just first time it, you probably have a goal there.
00:33:14
Speaker
When you're out there in the heat of the moment and and you take that touch and it doesn't go exactly how you want it, it's It's easier said than done But I think if we're talking about like What he could have done to Just not leave that up To the ref to make a call on PK one way or the other When that falls to you man Just hit it Just hit it You're right there but But at least like He was contributing to Some of the danger that they were creating So ah Yeah for me still has to Like it goes to the decision making It goes to
00:33:49
Speaker
um he he he's very limited in, in, in the dribbling department. And I feel like a lot of times he, and he, and he, to his credit, there's been a couple of times in this MLS season where he scored goals going right at defenders, um, and kind of dribbling into the 18.
00:34:08
Speaker
But at times I feel like he believes he's a lot faster than he really is. And then he catches up to him and then he just doesn't look great. Um, And also when he plays to his back to goal, I just think like he struggles.
00:34:20
Speaker
He's a great poacher. I think he does put himself in good situations. And I get the the nuance that that that Brian wants to exploit when he comes to what he does well for this system.
00:34:34
Speaker
But I still would rather have a good connector up there and a guy that can do a little bit more on the ball um specifically. but And – Let's say this, Ferreira is the offside leading scorer of the tournament.
00:34:47
Speaker
I mean, that that that dude just can't seem to miss when he comes to an outside position. so It's everyone with that, man. That is one thing that if we're nitpicking, you know, not going to nitpick a win over a Liga Mackey's opponent where you get a follower of Christ red card in the 75th minute.
00:35:05
Speaker
that much. ah But, like, they could have had... They have nine goals in this tournament so far. If they literally just could stay onside... Like, the the thing about all these, they've had, like, four or five offside goals so far, and the frustrating thing is, like, at least, I feel like for most of them, you they don't need to be offside. It's just, it' like...
00:35:26
Speaker
If they just stay in position and time it up right, then these are goals like it's not but like there was a couple the one that Ferreira hit and then Albert
Impact of Offside Goals on Performance
00:35:38
Speaker
Rusnak.
00:35:40
Speaker
Oh, well, oh God, that I wanted that one. That was such a sick finish by ah by Rusek. that That deserved a goal. Yeah. and And that ball from Rothrock on that one was incredible. That oh, that sucked just because it was. And that's a little bit, ah you know, if knew who instead of putting the ball to Paul.
00:36:00
Speaker
ah swings the ball across directly to to Albert, that's a goal. And there's no doubt about that. Now, that goes to your point of it's very easy for me sitting on this chair and last night sitting on the couch with my dog on my lab ah that say, oh, man, how do you not see Albert? Or what know who make that ball through?
00:36:19
Speaker
ah but But that's kind of the little things that You mentioned and it in terms of the offsides and that have cost Seattle a couple of goals. ah but But again, I do like the approach and Brian responded about it.
00:36:35
Speaker
um You know, his response about it last night was very good. He said he just talks about our intent to attack. and are intent to make runs and are intent to be in certain positions. So he is going a positive route on that. I think that the team has looked aggressive offensively, and I'd rather have that. But but it is something to perfect, to perfect.
00:36:57
Speaker
Yeah, i I agree with what Wade is saying here in principle. Don't see a problem with offsides as much. Coach put it perfectly means we're trying to get in scoring position. And I definitely think that, you know, it is it is like an indication that you are making good runs. You're putting yourselves in dangerous positions.
00:37:16
Speaker
Yeah. So I don't like I don't mind ah an offside goal here and there or even like a few of them. But it to me, it is frustrating when you have situations like ah like the Rothrock one and a couple of these other ones where it's just like it's unnecessary. Sometimes the goal gets created because of the advantage that you get.
00:37:38
Speaker
right from being offside a few of these. It's not like that. Like it's like that, that should just be a clean goal. If you literally just start your run 0.6 seconds later, you know?
00:37:50
Speaker
So hopefully that's something that I'm hoping we see get cleaned up a little bit just because it's like, man, like imagine what this offense would look like if they were, if they would stayed on side for a couple of these, they would, that and that game could have been way more comfortable.
00:38:06
Speaker
ah There were a couple, like the Ferreira one in the second half where yeah yeah he was way off, and then ah ah number nine, Jackson Reagan, also got played in over the top at one point, and was he was looking like Moose out there, I guess, and then he was just way offside.
00:38:22
Speaker
That was incredible. He put that in. Yeah, watching Jackson. I'm pretty sure he had a nice little back heel flick too, like right after that or something like that. But yeah, he was he was out there. He was he he was trying and in that final third. So that that was good.
00:38:39
Speaker
i also So before we we move on, I do want to talk about a little a couple of concepts that I think continue to work very well for the Sounders. I thought that their press was... Unreal ah yesterday. It's been for the last few weeks.
00:38:54
Speaker
Santos Laguna had no idea what to do. They were panicking. They were just throwing the ball. They were just – they didn't know how to handle the pressure, and it was very effective, and everybody was moving.
00:39:06
Speaker
and so adequately and they were picking up the ball where they needed to. And it's the first line of press and then it's the guys behind closing those ah passing channels and getting those ah initial balls and then being positive with the first touch once Seattle gets the ball, not recycling, not pushing it back. No, just we're going to get it. going to make the first pass an aggressive pass forward.
00:39:31
Speaker
I thought that that was very good. i thought that Jose Abella was the most frustrated guy in the planet. He cried the entire game. If it wasn't because of Nuhu's presence and you know, the physicalness part of it, it was depressing and it was to his guys.
00:39:46
Speaker
This game went so bad that Kevin Belonta ends up fighting... um Franco Fagundes at the end of the game. I don't know if you saw that from the press box. Okay. i like I saw that. I didn't see it from the press box, but a when I was watching the highlights, I saw on the broadcast that they were getting in each other's faces after the game. did was there Did you see you more to that? Literally, all I saw was like a tiny clip that I think the Sounders video team included intentionally. After the final whistle where he went up to his own teammate and was like getting in his face. What did you was there more to that on the broadcast? And did you know why? That was it. But I mean, it was obviously a bad decision and a bad look for the team because he just talks about the disarray the Santos Laguna is.
00:40:32
Speaker
But you can. I kind of understand where Fagunas is coming from. I mean, they just got a goal by Christian Dahomey. there You know that there's seconds left, if not you a minute or seconds left.
00:40:45
Speaker
And the first touch from Balanta, rather than just putting it all the way across to try to win a secondary ball or or just getting it forward to keep the time rolling, keep the referee from blowing that whistle, he goes sideways. And they they continue to pass. And that was his frustration. And Balanta, obviously. That makes sense.
00:41:06
Speaker
Kevin Blanta obviously just like, ah, they just start going at each other. But yeah, it was, it was, it was very interesting part of the game. That was funny. Anytime you get the ah other team crashing out at each other, that's, a that's what I'd like to see.
00:41:19
Speaker
ah I had one more thing before we get to the, Oh, what you mentioned about, ah about the press. Yeah. It was really good again in this game. It's been fantastic for the last few weeks. And I think it's kind of an under discussed aspect of why the attack is playing so well and producing so many goals right now.
00:41:35
Speaker
ah They are, they're just, they're just on it. They're, they are forcing teams into losing possession, making mistakes and getting really good, ah high leverage, high quality transition opportunities by, by working hard on defense. It's like, it's, I think Schmetz has got to be loving it because that's Schmetzer ball to a T like Dogs on defense, every single every single time you have a team knocking the ball, like your you time your your triggers up that get that send you at the guy, and then you put these guys under pressure, and you make them play out of it. Some teams are going to be able to do that, and maybe you have to be less aggressive with it.
00:42:13
Speaker
Right now, no one's it doesn't seem like anyone they're playing is dealing with ah that pressure that well. And that is i think I really think that's given them – ah ah few a few few of these goals like just the work that they're doing on defense and pressing the opponents putting them under pressure winning the ball getting out in transition and then just cooking on the counter uh it's been great to watch and it's a very like that is something Sometimes you score a goal that's like out of nowhere or maybe low percentage, not that repeatable.
00:42:47
Speaker
ah Like these De La Vega bangers come to mind. Although like those are apparently those are high percentage for him, but you can't like live like that week in week out. You're not going to get like a crazy Galazzo every single week. You're definitely not going to get one of the best goals I've ever seen every single week.
00:43:04
Speaker
So repeatable stuff, like how you're executing in transition, how you're pressing, ah how you're how you're winning the ball, where you're winning the ball. Those are things that ah that translate week over week.
00:43:17
Speaker
So that's another encouraging thing is that that aspect of the game, especially in the first half, I thought ah looked really good again. Nico, any thoughts on anything related to that? and then I'll pull up these tiebreakers.
00:43:28
Speaker
Yeah, I thought that even though Peter La Vega was not as brilliant and not as a magnet on the ball as he usually is. A lot of it's because they were going on the right side for a majority of the game. And I think that they were exposing Gutierrez on that side consistently. They did a good job at it.
Pressing Strategy and Success
00:43:51
Speaker
I thought it defensively. He had five or six defensive recoveries. I thought that he pressured ah well. I thought that you know he was putting in the effort in that regard. But it all goes back to just the system. The system overall is looking more and more effective and more more and more in sync.
00:44:11
Speaker
um And I think that's going to be a huge weapon for the Sounders moving forward. Effective press and being able to create ah chances, just adds, it amplifies the amount of chances that you get. So it's it's something that I think with the right guys on the field, it's going to be an elite weapon for the Sounders.
00:44:32
Speaker
You have to give credit to the attackers for that. De La Vega has been working hard. He's been on it. I think that's kind of, for me, been an unexpected benefit of Jesus Ferreira. I never considered him when he was on FC Dallas as like ah like this super prominent two-way threat. I kind of figured he was just more of a pure attacker. who I mean, I never...
00:44:58
Speaker
heard him criticized for being bad on defense but this guy is like he never stops running he's pressing he's getting after it and is uh in his 1v1s so he uh if you're wondering why he's like a first choice starter on this team outside of the fact that he's actually been providing final product and getting on the stat sheet lately it's because like schmetz is always going to play a guy uh who works that hard, who runs that much and who gets after it on defense and like Ferreira, man, he's he got some like Paul Rothrock in him with that. Like he he gets after it. So that was, that was good to see as well.
00:45:35
Speaker
I'm going to pull up the tiebreakers now just to, we I've had a lot of people ask me about this. And yeah, So let's ah let's just get this out there. So so everyone knows the situation and form inform the population phase one tiebreakers right here.
00:45:51
Speaker
Here it is, guys. All right. You got six of them. Clubs are level on points with their phase one matches. The following tiebreakers and descending order will be implemented to determine who reaches the knockout rounds. So the first one is wins in regular time.
00:46:04
Speaker
So Seattle already has two of those, and they're one of two teams with two of those. So the the everyone else only has one win.
00:46:15
Speaker
So they can't lose that tiebreaker to to anyone who's below the top two spots on the table right now, even if they lose the the Tijuana game.
00:46:26
Speaker
So they're in good shape for that one. and then the And then the number two one is goal differentials. Okay, which is ah notably quite good right now. It's at ah it's at a plus eight. that's That's the benefit of hanging the seven spot is you put yourself in a great position for that tiebreaker.
00:46:42
Speaker
Then it goes to most goals scored, which they are also leading the tournament. in right so uh also in good shape there you want to put a couple more past uh tijuana to really solidify that but uh they've set themselves up nicely for that one he was goals conceded they've conceded one across two games so we'll see uh where that ends and you know it would have been nice if they conceded it at the very freaking end of this game so they could have been looks good yeah i mean yeah like one goal across two games is uh that's fine and it also is as far as a tiebreaker theoretical tiebreaker scenario goes if they are able to maintain that they should be in relatively good shape there ah fewest and then we've got the fair play table which is uh it's got a defined here points based system on which the number of yellow and red cards is counted for players and members of the technical staff that one
00:47:34
Speaker
not Maybe not as ah as good a shape. They did ah they did get a Christ following in red card in this last game. So, i you know, I think a Christ red card, that shouldn't diminish your standing on the fair play table.
00:47:47
Speaker
But, you know, ah it's probably it's probably going to. And then if you're still tied past that, it's a ah ah draw organized by League's Cup, which that would be pretty fun content. I don't know if they would stream that or if we would just have to take their word on how that went.
00:48:04
Speaker
I kind of hope someone has to find out if they advance or not through a ah League's Cup organized draw. But ah the point being, I mean, here, like, this is just the stuff you got to think about as far as ah based on the result of this next game, what the tiebreakers could
Favorable Position for Advancement
00:48:21
Speaker
look like. I mean, they are in phenomenal shape on ah one through four of those.
00:48:28
Speaker
So it's really like at this point, They are in a situation, Nico, where you just got to take care of business in this next game. Literally, like, all you need is a draw.
00:48:39
Speaker
But, like, go out there, try and ah try and beat Club Tijuana, which I think that is a that is a good segue because Seattle so far has played what would what is supposedly – I mean, not even supposedly. They played the best team from Mexico, the rating CONCACAF – champions cup title winners and uh the team you know spent 50 plus million dollars over the last like year or two building what was supposed to be the most powerful roster in conca cap they 7-0 that team then they played one of the worst teams and i mean uh i think the i don't i don't care because it's tournament play and it's a win is a win but uh
00:49:20
Speaker
that That Santos team, they should have beat worse. That team that team is very not good. like there Their offense was a mess in that in this game. like they They got their first shot on target in the 88th minute type thing.
00:49:34
Speaker
so yeah Honestly, the fact that Seattle gave up a goal to them and didn't beat them by multiple goals is the only like minorly like tilting thing. but like I'm not even tilted about it. It's fine.
00:49:44
Speaker
ah But ah now they have, like, Nico, what can you tell ah tell us about Club Tijuana, like on the scale of quality between Cruz Azul, one of the best teams, and Santos, one of the worst teams? Where do you where do you see them? Where do they fall?
00:49:59
Speaker
Yeah, before that, i just want to add that, I mean, that's the beauty of soccer, right? That it's not linear, and it's not, you know, just because you beat the best team doesn't mean you're going to, by a lot of goals, doesn't mean you're going to beat a worse team for more goals, you know, that we're not going to put eight or 10 on, on Santos Laguna.
00:50:15
Speaker
It was definitely a a performance that I thought Santos Laguna did a good job of just doing their best to stay in the game as long as they could. Offensively, they were going to be limited and that's what they were trying so hard to get set pieces because that was going to be their only way to score. And I said, this is in the pregame that you and I did is just that set pieces was going to be the one and only way that they were going to try to get in this game. So credit to Seattle for holding on to today but that. But that's the reason why.
00:50:42
Speaker
Now, Cholos, the Tijuana, they're a better team. And I said it last time. They're a full step in front of Santos Laguna. Yeah.
00:50:53
Speaker
Mainly ah because I think offensively they could do a lot more. ah They don't need the allll in the ball in possession. If you look at the Colorado game, that's a great a prime example of what Cholos can do. They win that game two one with like 40% possession, but they create 20 shots, nine on goal.
00:51:11
Speaker
They're a team that is very good in transition, um that I always like to give little like nuggets of information that I find interesting in the solos department or team.
00:51:24
Speaker
um Sebastián El Loco Abreu, the crazy Abreu, he's the the coach for shows at Juana. He's known for having a record, I'm pretty sure, of in his playing career, playing for 31 teams in his career. He retired at the age of 44. So that that's that's pretty interesting because as a coach since 2019, he's been in seven teams.
00:51:48
Speaker
So he's he's kind of new. He ah is a coach that's definitely trying to stabilize and find a place, but he has a lot of character. He might not be like a tactician genius, but I think he's a great motivator. He gets his teams going.
00:52:04
Speaker
ah He's done a lot with this showless team. and As of right now, you know, putting them mid of the table with a 16 year old Hilbert tomorrow. That's like the feature, the great feature of this team.
00:52:18
Speaker
I think that they do, uh, defend very well, and and they structure a lot better, and their their counterplay makes them pretty dangerous. And specifically on set pieces, they have a lot of big bodies.
00:52:30
Speaker
ah They're a team that can definitely... find the corner or a free kick in which, you know, whether it is Poroso, the center back or Blanco or Nicholson, and they have a lot of very athletic guys that can go up there and get the ball. So they they're a team that I think Seattle is going to want to,
00:52:54
Speaker
From the very beginning, the the first 45 minutes, really set the tempo and really try to score early on just so they can manage the game and they can force Scholes to just open up open up a little bit.
00:53:07
Speaker
Open up a little bit. So I think that the first goal for Seattle is going to be crucial to kind of control this game a lot better. The LA Galaxy did hang five on this team, so they can be scored on. so Yes, but I'm pretty sure that they got a red car early in that game. I want to say... Oh, maybe that was it.
00:53:28
Speaker
ah Was it? Oh, maybe not. Maybe not. um Maybe that's another game. No, but you you're right. No, I mean, the deep five on them, it was an early penalty kick on on Tijuana. I had the notes on that on the game for some reason. I thought they got carded on.
00:53:42
Speaker
but um But yeah, no, you're right. I mean, obviously, ah that's kind of part of what I said, right? If if you score early in the 17th minute, you kind of force the team to kind of get out and not play so on the counter. um And I think that's going to be important. And you might see...
00:53:57
Speaker
This team play a lot more like they played against LA Galaxy than what they did against Colorado. They were playing in altitude. ah they I think that they played a lot more conservative.
00:54:10
Speaker
I think against the LA Galaxy, they opened up a little bit. so that might work to set its advantage. Another important thing about Cholos is that they actually play on turf. Estadio Caliente is is's known for being one of the few places in Mexico that plays in turf.
00:54:25
Speaker
They actually just got a new turf like in 2024, but they are very accustomed to playing in artificial ah surfaces. So I think that's going to play to their advantage as well compared to the other two teams.
00:54:37
Speaker
What do you think of Roberto Mora? He's kind of all the rage right now in ah in Mexico. And know when I were talking about him, like, I think it's pretty merited. Like, it's not just delusional hype or like putting something on a kid that's uh doesn't have a good chance of living up to it i mean when i watch him play and we all saw the goal that he scored in the the all-star game and then also you know watching the gold cup a little bit as i did it was uh it was very impressive how playing you know he's 16 playing at the international level in a tournament like a you know big concacaf tournament like the gold cup
00:55:15
Speaker
he was balling. Like he was not just ah blending in. He was standing out. He's scoring goals and ah it's going to, I'm looking forward to ah seeing Seattle like get to play a, like a prodigy type player of a rising profile like this. Like that's always interesting to see, ah see how they're going to do. And then also there's the subplot of he and Obed kind of going against each other and Obed also being considered in that tier of,
00:55:45
Speaker
uh, up and coming young players who could be filter future building blocks for el tree. Like, what do you, what do you think of this kid? Is he for real? And what can we expect to see from him in this, uh, in this game?
00:55:57
Speaker
He's the real deal. Uh, uh, know, uh, from, I had heard of him early, um when
Emerging Talent: Roberto Mora
00:56:06
Speaker
Oscar Osorio, um, was still the, um, head coach down there. And, uh,
00:56:13
Speaker
He is a player that for all metrics, for all purposes of being a great prospect, ah kind of broke the mold for the League MX because they're unfortunately one of the stigmas of that league is that ah even when Mexico has championship and ah very good performances at the youth national team level, there's usually a really hard time for those players to get into starting lineups and get into a lot of minutes. And he's he's been the anomaly and he has done very well. And his his vision is how he glides on the ball. He's filled awareness.
00:56:58
Speaker
um He's confidence. He can shoot it from anywhere. He's not afraid to shoot it from anywhere. He's a guy that at 16 years old is taking set pieces for shows at Tijuana. I mean, he he's a guy that,
00:57:10
Speaker
At his age, you can tell he plays way beyond his years to the point that he is, without a doubt, going to be moving on from Shullos, I think, quite soon. He's in the exact same category as people are putting Kevin Sullivan on, right? I mean, it's that that type of young player. you know Now he's in Manchester City. He's doing way better way better than Sullivan, though. like he's Exactly. Exactly. 100%.
00:57:36
Speaker
They obviously went early on him. And I think that this guy could very easily, he's been compared to Padre, to Iniesta, they call him the Mexican, every name that you could possibly think of.
00:57:48
Speaker
But I do believe that there is a lot of potential to this kid now. you do got to be careful on on making sure that he stays grounded and that he continues to progress.
00:57:58
Speaker
ah There's been a lot of situations with young players in Mexico, not that young, but young, that they have gone to Europe, burned out and came back. Linus is, who plays for Tigres now again, he's a perfect and example of a young, very talented player for America then that just left to Europe a little bit too soon, didn't quite make it and then was back.
00:58:19
Speaker
So, but I do believe that he is a, a An excellent talent. And I think that you're going to see it here ah firsthand. He's probably going to be a player that's going to draw a lot of neutrals to this game yeah because he is a sight to see.
00:58:36
Speaker
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I'm really looking forward to like getting to watch him play in in person. We got James coming in with the first super chat of the show. Thank you, James. Let's go, James. dollar And it is a well-timed one because this was the last topic I wanted to hit with you, Nico, which is Noah Ohio, as reported by a Sounder
Transfer News: Noah Ohio Decision
00:58:56
Speaker
at Heart.
00:58:56
Speaker
That deal has fallen through. The player does not... ah want to come to Major League Soccer. james James is asking after the Ohio collapse, do you think AU22 still happens?
00:59:09
Speaker
ah And before you get into that, Nico, I mean, we we talked about it a little bit on the post game live last night, but as far as like how and why this deal fell through and the implications of it and stuff,
00:59:21
Speaker
I mean, what was reported is that his agent was like was encouraging him to to do it. He said, this is this is a good ah move for your career right now, and you can get your stock up. what I don't know what argument he made, but his agent was telling him to do it.
00:59:34
Speaker
And it was Noah Ohio himself who decided, like no, I want to keep the Euro dream alive. I want to stay in the air to be safe and play off the bench, you know, ah which i'm I'm not even clowning on him. Like that's his, ah that's his prerogative. It's his career. But like, you know, I don't, I don't think there's, I would not want him to come here if, if he's not all in if he's not fully bought in and wanting to ah really like make his mark with this team and and not, not just think of it as like, oh, like I'm using this to get to that like, that's where you get issues with buying and motivation in that stuff.
01:00:12
Speaker
So if that's the way that he personally feels, A, I'm not sure if there's anything Seattle could have done about it because that's just like what he wants for his career. But B, like I would much rather not have him on the team if that's like how he feels, which he's entitled to to feel that way. Like I said, it's ah his career.
01:00:28
Speaker
But ah so, Nico, I guess – uh first your take on just the the that the deal did fall through and no ohio will not be a seattle sounder and then also like what's up with like what's up with the u22 search now like are they still gonna sign a guy are they talking to other targets uh what uh what's up with that uh yeah so um as of saturday i talked to jeremiah uh firsthand and you know he mentioned um the context behind what he reported. And yes, it it was just the player's decision.
01:01:01
Speaker
I went ahead and made some calls. And the only thing that I would add to what you mentioned is that from his camp, there was also some... Concerned that he hasn't really solidified himself in any specific team.
01:01:16
Speaker
And Inutrić, he's found a home. He's loved by the fans. He's struggling to get minutes, but he almost wants the challenge of just staying in one place for a longer time. And that's that's a valid point.
01:01:28
Speaker
That's a fair point. decision and a fair, you know, kind of theory behind why you want to stay somewhere. So obviously it ofdesa is also a phenomenal league one that can develop you and help you grow a when you are making the decision to make, to, to move to MLS, I feel like you have to be bought on. You have to almost be, be certain that you're going to get a lot of play time because you don't want to move somewhere where maybe you feel like you're not getting this the same development or the same exposure or showcase to, you know, whoever's,
01:02:08
Speaker
perspective and subjective to to to that opinion and not get a lot of playtime. So I think there was a lot of components that didn't make this happen. And yeah, they move on. They absolutely are looking to for other U22 strikers because I know that that I get a lot of questions whether it's just a striker or other positions.
01:02:30
Speaker
Striker is what they've been looking at. It's where they are looking at. they ah They have actually taken some names off their list, some because they've been already bought out and others because maybe they didn't fit the profile.
01:02:44
Speaker
They definitely want a guy that has a specific name um profile of of a striker, the one a Jordan Morris-like type of of player, and that at times can get um misconstrued by numbers. a lot of the data database that they use at times will send you to a player, you go and you see him play, and you realize that that a specific striker is more of a false nine or is more of a secondary striker that needs another striker to be next to him.
01:03:15
Speaker
ah So I think that the scouting department and Craig Weibel have done a good job at putting together a group of players that fit the profile that they want. They haven't settled for anybody. They haven't settled for the but ah wrong profile or a player that might be too young, which has been a reoccurring and very ah standardized reason why some players have not been taken for that position.
01:03:42
Speaker
So to me, I've always said that as much as fans want to hear it, sometimes panic buying is more detrimental to a club than not buying at all.
01:03:53
Speaker
I'm not saying, hold on, I'm not saying that I think that this team should not go out there and get somebody. They should be mindful, they should be careful, but they should absolutely go and get somebody. Now, the other thing that continues to be true is the the budget, right? I mean, if you're going to go down to South America and you want to get yourself...
01:04:10
Speaker
a top prospect like Nascimento, you're going to have to come out of pocket for it. ah If you decide that you want to go after a guy like Segovia, you're going to have to come out of pocket, especially when you don't have other elements like the big city market or Lionel Messi sitting on your bench.
01:04:26
Speaker
ah Seattle has a lot of obstacles to go through to kind of sell that young player into coming to MLS, to come into the Seattle Sounders, not to mention the fact that you're already...
01:04:38
Speaker
at a disadvantage when you sit on the negotiating table with a limited budget. So the search is on. i have a good idea of a couple of players that are still on the list, some that have been vacated from it, but some that are still pretty present.
01:04:54
Speaker
ah So we'll stay on it and hopefully get you guys say a new report through Saundra Hart, of course. and And so just sit and wait.
01:05:05
Speaker
isn Michael Pogson coming in with the 20 bomb. yeah no Thank you, Michael. Appreciate that. That's that's big time. Michael, what do you want, man?
01:05:15
Speaker
Let me know. What's up? What you want to know? What's up? All right. I had one more topic that ah I wanted to hit, but I can't even remember.
01:05:26
Speaker
what it was. So I think we could start the wrap-up process for this ah this episode, Nico. i Yeah, man, look, what what what what I would say is, I don't know if you want to do the the lineup grapher, but I think that you're going to get a...
01:05:43
Speaker
You're going to get a lineup closer to the main or the the best 11. I think that you're going to absolutely 100% need Nuhu in this game. I'm telling you that the athletic ability of some of these attackers for a Cholo's team that...
01:05:58
Speaker
for all accounts is not very good. They get moving, man. They really push the the line. i thought that Ventino was good against Colorado. i like a guy like Odoños Preciado, the Ecuadorian. He's very, very good, very quick, very fast.
01:06:13
Speaker
And Nicholson, man. I mean, anybody who watches Conger Calf knows about, you know, Jamaican and striker Nicholson. So that this is a team that can really move the ball forward.
01:06:24
Speaker
quickly when they want to. They're very direct and they're not afraid to play with the knife on their teeth, right? And they're going to concede possession, but they're going to stay on the front foot when they do get the ball.
01:06:38
Speaker
ah So it's going to be interesting how Seattle manages. i still i still believe that Seattle has every weapon, weapon,
01:06:49
Speaker
ah metric on their side and they should be the favorite going into this game. ah But, you know, Sholos just showed Colorado at home in elevation that sometimes that means absolutely nothing.
01:07:01
Speaker
i so I think the FOTMOP default here might just, I think this might be exactly how they run it. ah That's the first choice back line, first put choice double pivot, De La Vega on the left, Rara on the right, Rusnak at the 10, Moose up top. Like, do you have any amendments to that? Because I don't. I think that's how they're going to run it.
01:07:19
Speaker
No, I think that's how they're going to run it. I think that's how they should want ah run it. like You are in phenomenal position to advance, and it's up to you to take advantage of that so you can't mess around. You've got to just put your big dogs out there, ah try and just get this thing settled as early as you can. like If you can pump a a couple past them in the first half,
01:07:42
Speaker
and the first half ah then you're then you're probably chilling. like You're probably good. so i definitely This is not a so ah scenario where I want like Christian to rest or like ah them to be experimenting or mixing and matching. like Nah, like you go for it here.
01:07:58
Speaker
you try and get on them early and just like get this whole advancing thing out of the way, stress-free, which would be nice. ah It's they've done great work to put themselves in a position where, where advancing is right there. And it's just about, it's up, it's just on them to take care of business. They don't need help from anyone else.
01:08:16
Speaker
They don't need outside factors right now. You take care of your own business. You go through, you got to, you got a shot at the trophy. ah i would say that that the only one that I might be uh not 100% on might be Musoski he uh I mean for if he's if he's fit that's gonna be the lineup but he took a lot of punishment there at the end he was hit a lot he's had some issues with his uh hit before uh I think that if anything I would do Ferrera and um Oh, I see. I put Osase in. And Paul Rothrock, that would be only line of change I would have. Some people aren't going to like it. Some people aren't going to like it. But Nico and I are in favor of this, so we're going to do it.
01:09:00
Speaker
you can put it on me man put it all on me i i would want i would want to see this but like honestly for this game assuming that you have uh you have moose available that's i mean that's how i would run it uh and i mean it seems like he schmetz isn't quite there as far as like starting osaze in a game like this he's gotten to where he doesn't have an issue playing him which is that step one but i would be pretty surprised if uh if Osaze were to start like a game where advancement is, uh,
01:09:31
Speaker
is on the line. I don't think that you're going to see KKR for Alex. I think, I mean, Alex is in fantastic form right now. And he's also the one that Schmetz like trusts in scenarios like this more than anyone. So he's been incredibly physical. I really do think that Alex is one guy that also for this Liga MX games, he really lifts that level. He, I don't know if this is time with El Salvador or what it is, but, but when he comes to this Liga MX teams, he is more physical than he even is at the and MLS level.
01:10:05
Speaker
Uses his body very well. I thought that he's been excellent moving forward. He's been very good in those inside channels whenever he has to. he He's part of the helping press. He's part of the helping out of the...
01:10:18
Speaker
ah the build out. ah So yeah, man, I think that that Alex has done a very good job. And as a credit to so Albert, we didn't mention him. He's been kind of on the quiet scale because he doesn't get on the stat sheet, but I thought he was very, very good on connectivity. He should have had that Extremely accurate on the passes.
01:10:35
Speaker
That goal would have been phenomenal, right? I mean he's right at the right place, right time. I continue to think that he's, and the stats showed it. If you need to see it, go to Jeremiah's website. Blue Sky, where he looks at the difference between 2024 Albert and 2025. He's just so much more aggressive on his shots.
01:10:55
Speaker
He's dribbling. ah He's helped out so much on the build-out, too. he He's catching the ball deep and then just making those long strides whenever there is that opportunity to get a guy behind the back line. Yeah.
01:11:08
Speaker
Albert's another guy that maybe we haven't talked about enough, but and this is going to be a good game. and I think Seattle is going to take it very seriously. They're going to lock it in and they're going to put their best foot forward. And if they can manage it again, I think that is going to be a very important component for Seattle to strike early to get that first goal, just that can manage the rest of the game.
01:11:27
Speaker
But it's going to be interesting. I like this agenda from Jerome. Alex Roldan, defender of the year contender? I didn't say it. I didn't say it. But he, like, I feel like in the last few weeks, he's, ah James mentioned it as well, like the competition with KKR has, like, elevated Alex's game. We've talked about it a lot this year.
01:11:49
Speaker
he i don't think he's been, like, consistently at this type of level yeah all season to, like... be in that conversation for right now. i like the show. I do like the show, but he is the last like three, four weeks.
01:12:03
Speaker
I mean, i don't know about defender of the year, but he has been at like ah a best 11 fullback level. i like Defender of the last two months. ah You know ever since he's even had to try center back, you know, I think that we could leave it at that. Maybe maybe Defender of the Month, but he's been very good and and he's trending in the right direction. And that's all that you want ah moving into the more crucial part of both domestic play and League's Cup.
01:12:31
Speaker
ah All right, Nico, I got to get out of here on that great episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. Thanks for hopping on, as always, to start off the week here. Everyone still watching and chat, like the video, like the video, like the video.
01:12:49
Speaker
Share the content. Yeah, share, like, comment, subscribe, write reviews.
01:12:56
Speaker
i don't know when What am I missing? what am i What do we need to shill here? I think that's it. Get some hex on hot sauce. Yeah. Loggingscorchers.com slash sauce. Yeah, exactly. That's what i was looking for. Good shout.
01:13:08
Speaker
ah We'll be back at it. What day is this game, Nico? I can't even remember. It's Wednesday. wednesday We got a game on Wednesday, so we're I think we're going to aim to put a pot out tomorrow. 8 o'clock game. Wow, that's going to be a late one.
01:13:25
Speaker
Oh, that'll be a late one. we'll probably We'll try and fire up the late night postgame live from the stadium again. I thought that worked pretty well. So we will – the train keeps rolling.
01:13:35
Speaker
We'll see you guys this week. Thank you all for for tuning in, and we will we'll catch you for League's Cup Phase 1 finale. Peace.