Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Even if they aren’t happy with bonuses, players aren’t planning to boycott Club World Cup
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Jeremiah and Niko Moreno get together for another episode of “What we learned this week” and they’re pretty much focused on the Club World Cup. In addition to giving a preview of Botafogo and a general sense of what we expect from the Sounders, they also gave an update on the state of negotiations between the players and owners over the bonuses.
The good news: Albert Rusnák says the players will play. The bad news: they aren’t happy and don’t think the fight is over.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
***
Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.
“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Will Bruin's New Role
00:00:01
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. Come on. Hey, O'Shaughnessy.
00:00:14
Speaker
Let's go. What save by Frye. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winning. Here comes Ruiz Dias through the middle to crowd it for Seattle.
00:00:29
Speaker
And now they truly can start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup. Nico leaves absolutely no doubt. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Seattle, Sounders, it's got built.
Game Coverage Seriousness Debate
00:00:52
Speaker
This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Nice work on your little yacht yat thing. And Portland can't say shit. know, what was the thought process i did in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't?
00:01:06
Speaker
Ever since Southert Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take over coming seriously. Go, not Seattle!
Sponsorship Highlights: Full Pull Wines and Marni O'Shan Homes
00:01:18
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.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adietes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. This episode is part of our Club World Cup coverage that is sponsored by Marni O'Shan Homes.
00:01:54
Speaker
So thank you for to my sister for helping a sponsor and and make our Club World Cup happen i love it thank you sis i really appreciate that man uh we're sitting here back in the the war room for the media members at the sounders facility today um even with fifa here and some changes to the facility right it still feels pretty much the same it does Like there's little differences like the they're playing with it. And of course, this I should say we're doing what we learned this week with Nico Moreno. Of course, I should have introduced you at the start, Nico. I'm Jeremiah Shan.
00:02:32
Speaker
But we you know, they have a different ball. There's ad boards along the the the training pitch. They wear different pennies. But really, you know, there the first day there was maybe some extra people here. But it's really feels still like Sounders FC football.
00:02:48
Speaker
Center or whatever it's called. I guess at this point I should know what it's formally called. but yeah Yeah, probably the Swedish Performance Center and Clubhouse. Woo! Look at that. Yeah, but you go to Lumen Field and it feels like a different place. Yes.
00:03:02
Speaker
that's what's and And that's why I bring it up is the contrast is interesting because Lumen Field feels like it's got they've got all this temporary fencing everywhere. They've got these new turnstiles. There's grass on the pitch. They have a whole new protocol for getting into the stadium.
00:03:18
Speaker
It will feel familiar but different, I think, to fans who
Club World Cup: Player Experiences and Challenges
00:03:22
Speaker
come. And one of the things we talked to Albert Rusnak today, it's going to feel different to the players, too. Because unlike a normal game where they stay at home, like Albert said, three or four hours before the game, I'm playing with my kids. I'm just having a relaxing day. This is a totally – this is – like FIFA basically is – Making it maybe purposefully feel almost like a road game. they They're supposed to stay in a hotel. They have to all take a bus to the stadium together.
00:03:49
Speaker
I don't they don't actually like Albert pointed out. He's the not even sure if they're going to use the home locker room for some games for one of the game. One game. Yeah, because they're designated as the road team for one game. So it is going to be an interesting contrast. You know, the the makeup of the crowd will be a little bit different.
00:04:06
Speaker
the like we said, the pitch is gonna feel different. I don't know, how much of, is this, I guess in some ways it's kinda cool because it does make it feel like it's just not another home game and not another, not it's not just like a friendly, like this feels like it's different.
00:04:18
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of tournaments around the world, they have the same dynamic where ah you put the players in a you know like a camp, right of its own, and you you want to make sure that they're eating right, that they are sleeping right, and and all of that can be a lot more limited and controllable by having players in one specific location.
00:04:41
Speaker
ah But it will be interesting because just like we've Albert say, Steph and say, Steph and Fry, sometimes it's nice to just be home, play with your kids, is what Albert said right before, and then go to the game. Steph's talked about, you know, he really appreciates, or a lot of the guys appreciate just being home ah during this sort of game. So it will feel a little bit different. I think that the biggest difference will be the grass. um Yeah. It sounds like they laid it early. Two weeks. Yeah, it's been in for about two weeks. Supposedly the seams are gone. We'll see if that actually is true.
00:05:15
Speaker
Right. Because one thing we've seen when it comes to this sort of feel, and, you know, I've talked to some groundskeepers, and I should do something with that, but, ah you know, some some have a feeling in between. ah ah This one apparently is actually laid on and it's already...
00:05:33
Speaker
Attaching and that's going to make it less subjective to wear and tear slipping. Because it has to be here. It has to hold up. So one of the things that's different about this temporary grass than the previous temporary grasses that they've had here is that...
00:05:49
Speaker
This is going to have six games over the course of 11 days or so. And in the past, they've only had to play one, maybe two games here, maybe three at the most.
00:06:01
Speaker
This is a different wear and tear. This is going to have to hold up in a totally different way than than any of the previous temporary grasses have. Yeah, and that's a positive because yeah if I remember I covered the Panama-USA game here. and twenty thirteen In 2013? In 2013, I believe. I don't remember the year. and And the field was so bad. it felt like when you kick your carpet and the carpet kind of stays up a little bit and you're trying to bring it back down, there were spots on the field that it looked that bad. And I remember the Panamanian coach was –
00:06:34
Speaker
irate And he was just like upset about it. It was just terrible field. So I do think that regardless of how good the grass is, it does take some getting used to the speed of the ball, the bounce of the ball, ah you know, simply your stop and go. ah We have a lot of different things.
00:06:52
Speaker
Guys that use the change of tempo, change of pace, like Ryan Kent and Pedro de la Vega, that's going to be something that you're going to kind of have to get used to. Brian said something about they were going to be able to walk it and FIFA would allow him to just walk. Well, he said he was going to be able to walk it. He was going to walk Yeah, he said he didn't know if he was going to have the players do it, but he said they did get approved to do it.
00:07:13
Speaker
um Maybe they'll I don't know. It'll be interesting with they how they handle tomorrow, because tomorrow they're going I guess we should have probably asked. But i so they're going train here tomorrow. This is today's Friday. They're going train on Saturday at at Long Acres. And then I guess they're all going to like, i don't know what time they have to be at the hotel.
00:07:29
Speaker
my My guess is that just like it happens with any other tournament in a new stadium, there's got to be a, in Spanish, is it's like recognition of the field. yeah did You just walk in, you play it a little bit. I would think that there's got to be at least some time that they get to do that. I would think before the game, at least.
00:07:46
Speaker
Yeah, you usually the day before. you remember when were in Mexico when they were there? But I don't know. But it's it like you said, it's interesting because I guess there has to be like a balance of taking care of the grass and then allowing players to get used to it. So I don't know. But I think there'll be a bigger deal than people think. Yeah, that that'll definitely be interesting. It'll be interesting if that's a good thing or a bad thing for the Sounders.
Sounders vs Botafogo: Team Changes and Player Highlights
00:08:07
Speaker
You know, you so I suppose that anything that isn't normal is maybe an advantage for the underdog because...
00:08:16
Speaker
Botafogo comes into this game presumably as the favorites. How big of a favorite, though, do you think they should be? and I guess from a from a competition standpoint, this is the tournament for the Sounders. If they can win this game...
00:08:30
Speaker
all of a sudden there are possibilities of who knows, right? If they lose this game, the next two games are purely really for pride. And if how competitive can they keep those games? Cause the chances of them winning either Atletico or PSG,
00:08:47
Speaker
Pretty low. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, soccer wise. And this is something that I've said a couple of times. Botafogo this year is not the Botafogo of a year ago. The 2024 champs of the Copa Libertadores lost a couple of key players, including record breaking signing Tiago Almada.
00:09:08
Speaker
um this team this year just hasn't been as elite on offense as it was a couple of years ago. I mean, it was one of the best, if not the best, actually, season Botafogo's ever had. Well, yeah, they they won. Not only did they win the Copa Libertadores, but they also won the Brazilian Serie A, which was the first time in 30 years almost that they'd won that. They'd never won the Copa Libertadores before. So that was a massive season. And Botafogo historically has... They're a Rio de Janeiro club, but they are like the fourth biggest club in Rio, right? Yeah, i call a third maybe. Third or fourth, okay. But they're definitely not one of the top two. Right. So it really is something to to be said.
00:09:45
Speaker
ah this And we talked to JP about it. This is not the motherfucker that he played for because... That was a team that was struggling just to be viable. That's right. that's not not not a stra Not a club that was targeting Copa Libertadores. This is a club that was like, Can we keep the doors open? Yep. And ever he said it. Money. Right. That's what's changed. John Textor completely changed the dynamic of how things happen. And they have very talented players. So I would think that, yes, this is the game for Seattle because of a couple of things. We just mentioned that they are a team that's lost some players, that they're, you know, they're sixth in the league.
00:10:22
Speaker
They're second in the group stage for Copa Libertadores. They struggled a little bit in Copa Libertadores. Yeah. But they have some very talented players. There's no doubt about that, right? Igor De Jesus is a guy that is ah getting ready to go to Nanyton Forest.
00:10:37
Speaker
But that's also something that I'm kind of... And we've talked about this off camera. The fact that... De Jesus, Cubiano, and Jair Cunha are possibly leaving the club makes me doubt how much commitment they might have. you know yeah I know I'm leaving, how much am I going to expose my body?
00:10:57
Speaker
would have one foot out the door, kind of. I mean, it's almost an unprecedented type of situation where they made this transfer and then they're being allowed to stay with their old team for a...
00:11:10
Speaker
you know, like kind of a almost an exhibition tournament. Like I would think Nottingham Forest, if this deal is done, you would think Nottingham Forest is like, look, they can play, but yeah they better not get hurt. I think, you know, like I love to say, Wu-Tang, baby, cash runs everything around me. right You and your best players because you're going to get some real good bonuses. Two million dollars if you win, one million dollars if you tie. You need your best players. And do not get it twisted.
00:11:37
Speaker
Igor DeJesus is a phenomenal player. I mean, this is a guy that. He's an aerial threat. He's fantastic on the ball, the link up play. They move around a lot, whether it's under the 4-4-2 or the 4-2-3-1, the front three or the front two. They move so much. They're always in and out.
00:11:54
Speaker
um So these are this is a player that's going to be very important for Botafogo. And if he's not fully on, maybe Seattle can you know have something to do. The other one was the travel.
00:12:06
Speaker
They obviously started in ah California. That's where they've been at. Right. In L.A. Now they're going to travel again. They're going to come here. People underestimate how much traveling. When they're coming and to get to L.A., they had to come from Brazil. This is a huge trip for them. It's a huge trip. It's a huge trip. Yeah. And one of the other things about that is that this is like, yeah, I mean, they just got they probably get into town, what, tonight?
00:12:31
Speaker
Tomorrow? They probably don't get done down until tomorrow, right? Yeah, I thought it was i thought it was today, but But where are they going to train? That's a great question. Because of the data according to the... I mean, these are we're like having this real-time conversation. Yeah, because River plays tonight here. River Plate is training here, yeah but we got a list of all where everyone's training, and Botafogo is not listed as training. No one else is listed as training in Seattle. That is correct. So maybe they do come in tomorrow because...
00:13:00
Speaker
Inter Milan is going to be at the VMAC. Right. so yeah, you're absolutely right. That's interesting. they might I suppose what they might do is train in L.A. in the morning and then fly here in the afternoon. That makes sense. But, again, that's, you know, some wear and tear in the body that we just talked about the field. I mean, its there are a lot of components that I'm fearful to say because I feel like that whenever the Sounders, whenever I say, look, there's things going on here that the Sounders should take advantage of, they do not.
00:13:24
Speaker
yeah So hopefully we don't need to get into it. I agree. that is we'll leave it last Last week we called that a must win game and they turned in one of their worst performances of the season. We don't need to relive all that. But um I do want to talk a little bit about the Sounders in so far as this has been a interesting week from a injury perspective. On one hand.
00:13:47
Speaker
It looks like Kim Kihee might be available. He trained in full the previous two days. He was a more limited participant today. It looked like that might just be purely precautionary. Like they are sitting here literally going, we aren't going to get him hurt this close to the game.
00:14:06
Speaker
We don't know what role he's gonna play. it might He might start, he might come off the bench, we don't know. But let's assume he's not starting. John Bell, and that leaves John Bell and Jackson Reagan as really the as the only two healthy and available natural center backs.
00:14:23
Speaker
They did not look great against Vancouver. they did he not. But, i don't know, is there any, like how worried should we be about that specifically? I'm very worried. I feel like job one,
00:14:37
Speaker
for me is how do we make sure that we do not expose our center back? So how do we play the game? And I think you got to try in the majority, because this is a very good team in front you, to win the possession game and defend yourself with the ball.
00:14:53
Speaker
Try to limit the services into the box and that'll be hard to do because this is a team that has very quality players out wide, including fullbacks that are phenomenal getting forward.
00:15:05
Speaker
um So because of that, I feel like Seattle is going to have to just play a very complete game like we've heard a couple of players say this week. Yes, cliche, very obvious. We're not saying anything new here.
00:15:18
Speaker
But the reality is is that you want to keep this team away from exposing right now your Achilles heel, which is John Bell index and Jackson Reagan. And look, I don't want to over-criticize John Bell, but he just has had a lot of misreads, late reactions that have put him in some compromising positions.
00:15:39
Speaker
And I think Jackson Reagan... It's still a little bit rusty. It's as simple as that. I think he's a little bit rusty. And I think the other thing that is tough is John Bell clearly much more comfortable on the left.
00:15:52
Speaker
But the problem with that is that it sort of takes away one of Jackson Reagan's main strengths. Which is that when they're going into that three center back build out – He can be in the middle when he's on the left, and instead he's on the right, and we see it the last two games. We've seen it.
00:16:10
Speaker
They're not able to use him the same way that they use him in the buildout because he ends up out on the wing, and and, yeah, he sends in some good crosses and stuff, but really his game is breaking lines farther back in the field, and he's just not really able to do that as much when he's on the right.
00:16:25
Speaker
And so it it hurts the Sounders in two ways. It hurts them both defensively, and it hurts them moving – building out And that's been, you know, if you want to know why the team has looked disconnected in the last four games, I think a big part of it is that Jackson Reagan hasn't been able to be. They haven't had a center back who's able to really start the attack
Sounders' Defensive Concerns and Player Injuries
00:16:44
Speaker
effectively. yeah And then on the other side of the coin, when it comes to defense, the other side of the game, you don't have Yemar Gomez-Andrade, a guy that is so crucial when it comes to just correcting defense. Anything that happens, if if a player is too forward, if there's an easy giveaway, you usually have a guy that's there. You also physically, a guy that is as good as anyone when it comes to interceptions, aerial duels and clearances.
00:17:07
Speaker
I mean, that's that's a huge deal. So it is unfortunate for Seattle. But for me, I am worried, going back to your question, when it comes to J-Bell and Jackson Reagan. I was actually very excited yesterday when I saw Kim Keehee. So was i so healthy.
00:17:22
Speaker
I just talking to some of the Brazilian guys here, George and the photographer, his photographer and it's clear that Kim Kihee has that physicality that sometimes, no, that most times it takes when you play a South American Well, and I will say that the other thing about Kim is that he has so much international experience, yeah especially compared to John Bell, where he has, you know, he's been in tournaments like this. He's been in the Club World Cup. He's, I think he's actually scored in the Club World Cup.
00:17:51
Speaker
Uh, He is a player who has so much experience. He understands what this is. This is sort of exactly why you sign a Kim Kihee, and it would be a real shame if he's not able to get on the field.
00:18:02
Speaker
We should talk a little bit about why Yamar is not going to be available. He looked like, you know, a week ago it looked like he was ready to come back or he was getting close to coming back. And then while the Sounders were away, apparently he re-injured himself during rehab.
00:18:19
Speaker
Or not re-injured, he picked up a new injury. He picked up a new injury. you could call it, it's connected. I mean, I've been talking to a couple of, you know, TCOs that kind of do this for years.
00:18:32
Speaker
a job down in South America. And, ah you know, it is something that has to do with maybe ah vamping too hard a guy that's not fully there with that hamstring.
00:18:45
Speaker
So he's compensating on the other leg. And that creates a ripple effect where the way an athlete runs is very important. And you can see that anywhere. they You know, they'll put you, but the the sports science people will put you like in this programmed with like things around your body while they're trying to figure out how you're running, yeah where you, how you planned your feet.
00:19:09
Speaker
And when you're not fully ready to do certain things and you don't see it coming, that's when things happen. So I feel like that's possibly what would happen here. Yammer was very determined to be back and he was probably pushing himself pretty fast.
00:19:23
Speaker
good and yeah that that kind of led to something that apparently is a three to four week situation. yeah I've heard something along the lines of being at like a lower part of the calf ah so that's even harder to deal with.
00:19:38
Speaker
but Basically if it's a knee, if it's something else, you you hit it with a you know shot and you could play, you could take some you know pain medicine and you'll be on there but when it comes to that lower bottom of the calf, there's just no way that you're going to be able to run. So ah concerning.
00:19:55
Speaker
The other one was Stuart Hawkins for you know anybody that maybe was not yeah on with what we've been reporting. Six to eight weeks, quad injury. That is insane.
00:20:06
Speaker
That is insane. And my understanding is that, I haven't been able to totally confirm this, but my understanding was that he actually hurt himself while doing the post-game sprinting that they do that's explicitly done to avoid... Just to avoid injury. like That's not necessarily something where they're pushing themselves, but they're doing it just to sort of get themselves stretched out. And that usually what happens is the players who don't play a certain up to a certain amount of minutes do this ah do this drill basically just to get them stretched out.
00:20:35
Speaker
And ah anyway, it looks like that's how he hurt himself. so that's We've seen it. We've seen it happen before, too. Yeah, exactly. So it's it's it's interesting, but it is something that is concerning. I mean, I've heard all the comments, right? It's interesting that it's proven in Swedish and we have all these injuries. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. Look, it is ironic.
00:20:56
Speaker
ah It's something that I've asked as well. Yeah, we have. But they have not been able to really come up with, you know, a reasoning behind it. I mean, they they certainly are putting plenty of resources into injury prevention and injury rehabilitation.
00:21:09
Speaker
And it doesn't and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for everyone in the organization to be like, man, we moved into this facility. And supposedly one of the benefits of this facility was that we going to be able to stay healthier.
00:21:21
Speaker
And I don't know that it's like it always feels like your team is the most injury prone team because you pay the most attention to it. But it does seem like the centers have had. a lot more injuries that seem to get concentrated on specific parts of the field.
00:21:37
Speaker
And to, you know, so it's like all of a sudden they have a bunch of center backs getting injured or before it was a bunch of forwards getting hurt or whatever. And it it just seems, or they have ah players all down the spine who are getting hurt. I'm not saying that, like, I do think the Sounders are,
00:21:53
Speaker
ah ah good yeah I think they've hired good people. I think they have access to great equipment. It just goes to show that sometimes this is a little bit of luck involved when you're talking about finely tuned athletes where, you know, you you a little tweak here, a little tweak there. And sometimes goons go wrong. And that's why I'm hoping there's some sort of reassessments. I've i've asked that consistently. you know How often do they reassess their sporting, you know the the way that they handle the the performances database, some of the trainers, some of the trainings. Then it comes to rehab because those are specifically the ones that it feels like they failed right with Jordan. It does seem like the rehab situations have...
00:22:33
Speaker
been the most problematic i mean last year it was pedro uh this year it was it's jordan we've had this this now yamar you know i'm sure we could find more examples if we really thought about it yeah no and that's kind of the thing right i mean we understand there's a problem like we see it internally uh i can only You know, imagine that as an organization, they obviously see it and they're trying to figure it out. But sometimes it is just the way that the cookie crumbles. I hate to say it and I don't want to, you know, insult anybody's intelligence by just being like, because it is a problem. I get it's a problem. is a problem. But it's a lot harder to decipher than you may seem, I think. Yeah, I would say that. And I would also just add, sometimes it's worth reminding ourselves, the people who are most worried about this
00:23:18
Speaker
are the people upstairs are the people in here are the people like as worried fans are about it i guarantee you brian schmetzer is pulling his hair out about this the trainers are pulling their hair about it probably adrian is pulling his hair about it no one is here saying oh what are you gonna do like they're all mad they all are like just as mad as you are and they're frustrated and uh i think it's just a matter of trying to figure out how you go about fixing it um Anything else from these? Any any other players that you think we should be keeping an eye on from Botafogo? Anything else that heading into this game?
00:23:51
Speaker
ah Before we go into ah a break and then talk a little bit more about updates on the whole bonus situation. I will say a couple of things. I think that Jesus Ferrer has looked very engaged all week long. I like what I've seen and of him ah in and out of whether he's playing on the wing, playing up top.
00:24:11
Speaker
um I think JP, I mean, it goes without saying why he's so motivated. He had a banger. yesterday And he's been so good defensively today, had a couple of takeaways, good passes, ah good slip ins, the way he switches the ball. So he might be a guy that you are going to think about. You know, Brian talked about, you know, when if need to bring him in, I'm not going to hesitate.
00:24:34
Speaker
I think he's going to be a guy that's going to be interesting. ah I've been wanting to see more from Obed. specifically over the last couple of games. So I've kept my eye on him. He looks like he's grinding hard.
00:24:45
Speaker
But this is his moment of shine. So he's a guy that I'm going to be looking at. It yeah. And we'll talk about what a football ball. Anybody else from the centers that you want to highlight? I mean, i i it looks like Danny Masofsky is sort of getting work back into the – starting group.
00:25:00
Speaker
yeah I think we're going to see a little bit different of ah of a starting group this week. it's They've been playing around with not necessarily formations, but personnel. I think yeah that is one of the things that the Sounders have. you know na I can't really fault Schmesser for this because I do think that his hand is being forced, but they have not been able to settle into a set lineup um in part because they haven't been able to field a consistent lineup group.
00:25:27
Speaker
um and But it does look like Danny Mosovsky is probably moving back into that preferred spot at the number nine. Yeah. yeah When it comes to the other side, i will say Botafogo.
00:25:40
Speaker
lot of guys to look at. We already talked about Diego De Jesus. ah But a guy that maybe might be interesting for people that ah are like, oh, wow, that's a fullback. Alex Tellez is a phenomenal fullback. He's quality all over. He's played in Manchester United. He's played at Porto. I mean, the guy has one of the most educated feet of foot passing wise that, you know, people have seen. That means he must be left footed.
00:26:05
Speaker
He is left-footed. Of course. You ought to educate him. He's always a left-footer. He is so good. on and he He might be a bit dexterous, but yeah, I think left foot is definitely where he has his strength. sanio Santiago Rodriguez, you might remember him. From New York City FC.
00:26:20
Speaker
ah He's a guy that plays on his same side, and they do so well just interchanging those overloads that overlap when it comes to a Ted just doing it on that side. Santi Rodriguez is a guy that could play anywhere on the pitch, but I feel like he's most dangerous when he's in those inside channels.
00:26:38
Speaker
He's so creative, such a good passer, very good 1v1, and has a great foot like when he comes shooting. um He's been really good for them. So that's another guy that I would think is interesting.
00:26:49
Speaker
And Severino, you know, they just asked um our question. Alvaro's not about him because they've played in RSL before. He's a guy that's been goal dangerous for them in the past. He's a guy that knows MLS, that knows this team very well. So he's another guy that would be interesting to watch in this one.
00:27:05
Speaker
Defensively, they're very good. Freitas and Gregory. Gregory is the... Very well known here in the Pacific Northwest because you and I had that story. They were on the table. they they they They had put all the money that they had on the table for him and they were unable to sign him because of money. And they got JP instead. And they got JP instead. Yeah. And then he ends up going to inter Miami after Chris Henderson yeah happened to go to Miami with a bigger wallet and he takes him down to Miami. He's been extraordinary for Botafogo, by the way. He was a key component when it came to their 2024 run. He's excellent right now. And in Freitas, he's the other pivot for that team.
00:27:43
Speaker
Serious business guy. I mean, that guy is all business. So Christian Roldan and Obed against those two, it's going to be fun to watch. Yeah, well, that's a good place probably to take a break. We're going to come back. We're talking a little bit more about the latest that's going on with the ah negotiations over the player bonuses from the Club World Cup.
00:28:03
Speaker
You're listening to Nos Adietes.
00:28:08
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Adietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and the Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues.
00:28:21
Speaker
Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gets you access to everything we produce.
00:28:34
Speaker
If you're able to support us at higher levels, starting at $75 a year, you gain access to a host of other perks, most notably entry into our members only discord where the smartest, funniest, and most engaged commenters share their thoughts and ideas to find out more, just visit center at heart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner.
00:28:56
Speaker
Thanks for listening. Nos Adientes, admittedly, is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild. Spice up your life with Hacks and Ferments.
00:29:07
Speaker
Handcrafted in Georgetown and made it with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest, they specialize in unique small batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars. Hacks and Ferments brings bold flavors and natural fermentation together for something truly special.
00:29:22
Speaker
Whether you're a heat seeker or just looking to elevate your cooking, you'll find something you love at haxanferments.com. That's H-A-X-A-N-F-E-R-M-E-N-T-S dot com.
00:29:35
Speaker
And right now, if you use the code sounder at heart, that's all one word, at checkout, you will get a free hot sauce with your order. Again, go to hacksandferments.com, use the code sounder at heart at checkout for a free hot sauce with your order.
00:29:53
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments is a proud sponsor of that Sounder at Heart podcast network. Sounder at Heart's Club World Cup coverage is being sponsored by realtor Marnie O'Shann. Yes, that's my sister. With 20 plus years in marketing, business and negotiation and an MBA from UW, Marnie O'Shann helps home buyers and investors make smart, informed real estate decisions.
00:30:13
Speaker
From first homes to 1031 exchanges and developmental deals, she offers expert guidance backed by financial insight and local market knowledge. Expertise in new construction and well-versed on all types of real estate, she'd like to talk to you about your goals and is here to help you move forward with confidence.
00:30:30
Speaker
While I'm obviously not an impartial observer, I can tell you that I have referred both friends and family to Marnie and she's helped them get what they were looking for at prices they wanted to pay. You can reach her at Or email her at Marnie at Windermere.com.
00:30:53
Speaker
Welcome back to Nois Adiates. So there has been, I wouldn't say developments necessarily in the ah negotiations over the player bonuses from the Club World Cup, but I did talk to Bob Foose, who's the executive director of the MLSPA.
Player Commitment vs Bonus Frustrations
00:31:10
Speaker
We also talked to Albert Rusnak today.
00:31:13
Speaker
And the big thing was Rusnak, I think, gave the strongest statement yet. You asked him directly, are you guys thinking about sitting out? And he basically said, no. Like, as much as we're frustrated, as as mad as we are that this doesn't feel fair, our professional pride sort of is shining through here. And we want to like we feel like it's important to play in these games because we want to.
00:31:36
Speaker
Like, this is something we've worked for. We're not going to sabotage ourselves by not playing in these games. That said... Negotiations, that doesn't close the door on this thing. i have a feeling that this is going to be something that we're talking about, maybe up through the offseason.
00:31:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's unfortunate ah that, you know, all of these things happened. Expectations and in the narrative was not what we expected it all over this whole negotiation. And then nothing's going to get done.
00:32:06
Speaker
The reason why I asked Albert so strongly, and I even went all the way to my untouchable, what are you prepared to do? It's because it was a conversation between players. And there was a group of players that thought about, you know, the biggest impact would be doing something together about potentially just sitting. And it's it's obviously hard. And and those conversations...
00:32:32
Speaker
we will never be able to understand because they they have everything to lose. they you know Like he said, Albert literally said, we worked too hard. We worked so hard to get to this stage, to this tournament. So yeah they definitely don't want to do that to the fans.
00:32:49
Speaker
But they have to be conflicted because if anything I've seen in Stefan Fry and Christian Roldan over this week is two guys that it's not even about the money anymore. It's about the principle. Exactly. I would totally agree with that. It's about being treated as ah as a human being and not an object. It's about being and rewarded, not compensated. Compensated for the job that you were doing.
00:33:13
Speaker
and To me, it's it it came to that point of it's not even about imin's about the principle, and that's some dangerous grounds to go on because when you've done so much to get somewhere and you're going to play and he kind of feels like you're just folding onto your principles and what you were trying to accomplish, man, it's just it's just hard to see. So I really hope that as a group, either there is a resolution prior to that game or when all those players 18 players step into the field.
00:33:45
Speaker
There is a conversation and saying, look, this is about us. Let's just forget about everything that happened. We'll get back to that. and But this is about just... what we need to get here and what we're going to do shine when we're on this field.
00:33:58
Speaker
Yeah. And, i you know, talking to Foose, who is the he's been the the director of the MLSPA for a long time. He, you know, he basically said, we thought we had kind of got to a point with the league where we had a good relationship. Like he thought, like, you know, you you take the 2021 when when they had to renegotiate 2020, they didn't love that.
00:34:20
Speaker
But they thought the negotiations heading originally, the original negotiations for 2020, they thought were very, you know, forward looking, that they felt like they both came with ideas that were both heard out. And the irony of this whole thing is that the clause in the CBA that essentially covers this is actually a artifact from the 2015 CBA, which was the first time that got placed in there.
00:34:44
Speaker
And and they increased it from. $750 in the original 2015 to 2019 CBA to a million dollars, the cap. And they weren't really worried about the cap at that point because you got to keep in mind, even though the idea of the Club World Cup or an expanded Club World Cup had already sort of started to bubble up, for one, there were no details. We didn't know how much money was going to be online. But the most important thing to know about that is that that CBA would have expired in 2024.
00:35:16
Speaker
Wow. And so the only reason the CBA is still active is because additional years got added on when they were basically had their, you know, when MLS basically had a gun to their head saying like, we need to read to negotiate this because of COVID. This is an existential crisis, bubble bla blah, blah, blah. And I think it's fair to say like this theoretical tournament was not front of mind.
00:35:36
Speaker
So this whole thing, though, where it's like the players should have negotiated better, uh, on this original clause, I don't think is a very valid argument, but I'll come back to this. And and we talked about this a lot is in this. we and And we talked about this on the last show too, but I'll remind everyone that the league came to the players when CONCACAF expanded the prize pool for the champions cup, the league came to the players and said, we want to incentivize you to do well in this tournament. We're willing to basically give you half of the prize pool for,
00:36:08
Speaker
And so I think the players understandably thought, OK, well, we can renegotiate. This is a much bigger change. We should be able to come to the league and and have a reasonable conversation about this.
00:36:19
Speaker
And honestly, I don't think at any point the league has been particularly reasonable about what they want from this agreement. They basically said, no, this is our money and we want to keep it. And we would like to give as little of it to you as possible.
00:36:32
Speaker
I have known k Christian Roldan since he he was just a kid coming out of out of college. I've seen him grow into a man. I've seen him grow into a leader.
00:36:44
Speaker
And not once have I heard him be as direct as he was when he said, basically that and MLS is dealing negotiating in bad faith. He literally said that MLS is negotiated in bad faith.
00:36:58
Speaker
Again, this one of the nicest guys that I've ever come across in this team. A guy that would not say that unless he really felt it. And that goes exactly to your point. It seems like they're just waiting for the game to get here because they know they have all the leverage because the players have so much to lose by not being part of this game.
00:37:17
Speaker
So they're dealing in bad faith, man. And that is just a, it almost feels like you're taking three steps back or four steps back it's just when it comes to the league and the players. Yeah. And one of the other things Fu said is like negotiations like this happen on a continuum.
00:37:32
Speaker
You know, you're, it's one negotiation always bleeds into the next and all they're really doing is they're kind of poisoning the well for the next negotiation, whatever it comes up next. And I will point out that just because they don't come to an agreement before this tournament, it does not mean that this is over because the players are still going to be fighting for this.
00:37:50
Speaker
And there's, and so they've got, you know, every year the league and the players have to make agreements that go outside of the original CBA. Sometimes that's opening training camp early. Sometimes it's doing this. Sometimes it's doing that.
00:38:03
Speaker
There's a big one. The league is talking about potentially changing the calendar. ah Now, that's not going to happen right away, but that and that might not happen until the next CBA. But these are all things that are going to have to be negotiated. And if the league is sort of making players upset, and it's not – and as much as we talk about it's just these three teams. It's not just these – all the league – everyone in the – every player is seeing how this is going.
00:38:27
Speaker
And it's just creating a really negative environment. And I don't quite understand why the league is picking this fight, why they are standing so strong on money that's not theirs. This is not money that the MLS had to work for. These aren't. This is money that was basically just gifted to them by FIFA.
00:38:47
Speaker
It doesn't, especially and then when it's even crazier when you think about how performance bonuses, this is absolutely found money. Give it to the player. Maybe it's not all of it to the players, why would you not just say, here's 50% of the additional prize money? That seems like that would have been able to get the deal done.
00:39:05
Speaker
And instead, here we are talking about it two days before the game. What a waste of energy. What a waste of of opportunity this has been. You know, I thought Christian said it really great. we Or no, this is I guess was a foos quote. We don't want to be doing this right now. We would love our players to be excited.
00:39:21
Speaker
yeah Christian said that i said that. I want to be excited about this. What are we doing here? Yeah. And in this all goes into how... much of an overcast and like this cloud of negativeness that has surrounded this whole to his whole tournament.
00:39:38
Speaker
and And you really missed out on an opportunity to really have a full 69,000 spectator stadium and for this tournament because between the pricing initially for the ticketing, on the marketing or the lack thereof, ah the political situation that has prevented or made it difficult for people to get to the States.
00:40:03
Speaker
and Made them worried about coming to the games. And domestically, the fear because of the ICE post and and rumors, or not rumors, reports, of them being around the stadiums and trying to do rates and secure the the stadiums, it just added so much negative things that this just adds on to everything you just said In addition to that, is just it's sad that it it wasn't more of a spectacle.
00:40:31
Speaker
ah the The hype is not quite there. just unfortunate. it's It is really unfortunate. I mean, if you had told me a year ago that we would be sitting here ah you know, 48 hours away or whatever from the start of this tournament. And we'd not be excited that we would be there. mean, if you can just count up the negative news stories about the big, big, big stories. I mean, the whole thing that's going on in l LA right now, there is going to be, there will be protests on on Saturday in Seattle. How big those protests are. We don't know. You can only hope that they don't get, you know, that they don't really get out of hand, but
00:41:08
Speaker
These are things that we have to be aware of. And it's just casting a really weird shadow over all this thing. You know, Gianni Infantino spent the better part of the last you know year kissing up to Donald Trump because he wanted to make sure that this was all smoothed out.
00:41:28
Speaker
And I don't know that any of that work has been useful at all. Nothing has worked. No, definitely. i really don't think that he saw the effect that all of this could have in his pocket or in FIFA's relevance and importance.
00:41:44
Speaker
So it is sad because, look, it really feels like there is a lot of ex spectacle and lay expectation when it comes to other nations. We just talked to JP and he said how – and it is true. Like in South America, the Club World Cup has always been a big deal for – especially the South Americans. Yeah. Because it's like your time to shine yeah and perform against the best in Europe.
00:42:05
Speaker
um and And so outside of the States, maybe there is a lot of that still excitement about it. But here, man, it's just been difficult. and And I hope that I'm pleasantly surprised that tomorrow, i mean, Sunday, we show up and there is 50,000 people in a stadium. yeah I just don't have...
00:42:25
Speaker
a high level of expectation for it yeah i know that's sort of how i feel too and i mean i hope and i and who knows maybe this picks up maybe the momentum does pick up as the tournament goes on i don't want to diminish i don't want to dismiss that as a possibility but where we sit right now it just doesn't seem very likely um i mean if the sanders get it 3-1 win. I mean, man, this tournament is going to be just exciting. It's going to be exciting. Exactly.
00:42:52
Speaker
will mention that we're partnering up with Lobbing Scorchers to do a live watch-along at Fast Fashion Brewing in Soto on Saturday. If people are interested in coming to that, coming and hanging out with some of the folks at Lobbing Scorchers and Nos Adietes and Sounder at Heart,
00:43:09
Speaker
ah That's going to be at 4 o'clock or so. We're going to open the doors at 4 o'clock. I think the game starts at 5. It's 5 o'clock. And i we're actually, I guess, FIFA is going to have some representatives there given doing some giveaways. Oh, nice. So it's going be kind of a fun little event. If people want to come out, i think that would be a lot of fun.
00:43:25
Speaker
I'm going to try to be there. You know, I've got a lot of family stuff. I can't promise anything. But, ah yeah. Yeah, I wanted to be there, but it's my son's graduation. That early kind of takes... It trumps it a little bit. yeah I kind of got to be there. So and we're going to do a graduation at 8 in the morning. But then there's obviously the graduation party at my house. And i kind of got to be there. You do kind of have to be at a graduation party for your son.
00:43:50
Speaker
As much as we like to think our life revolves around the Sounders and soccer, sometimes there are other priorities. Absolutely. that that Otherwise, I'd be there.
00:44:01
Speaker
Make sure that you do go. Those guys are hilarious. They're they're great hosts as well. So it'll be fun. If you show up, it'll be even better. So it's the game per se. I've heard that it's not selling well. down there either. No, they are having... That's been one of the... I mean, none of these games other than... Apparently, Boca and Real Madrid have sold pretty well, and I guess the Sounders are probably the third best-selling, but Miami's games have not been selling very well. That's interesting. Because the media's been there.
00:44:31
Speaker
The media has been...
Media Presence and Coverage Gaps
00:44:32
Speaker
They've been running hard in Miami. We were talking about this, how it's funny that we're sitting here, again, 48 hours before the game, and there is no foreign media Seattle. Like...
00:44:44
Speaker
at these at the practice, the practice is open. Like, this the Sounders are probably the only team in the whole tournament who are having open practices there where they're allowing media to come watch.
00:44:55
Speaker
The only people here are the people that are here every week, every day. And it's just funny how, I don't know, it it is it does speak to sort of the the way that the Pacific Northwest gets overlooked that, you know, we'll probably have some of the biggest crowds.
00:45:10
Speaker
We probably have the most local media. and this doesn't And it doesn't really feel like like the world has descended upon us at all. No, no. We got three guys from the zone and that's about it. It's the same people that has been coming here.
00:45:23
Speaker
I'm interested to see what the press box looks like. I am too. It would be funny funny if it's all of a sudden it's packed. and yeah Like, where were you guys? Oh, you could go to training? We didn't know. We were somewhere else. We're at the VMAG. We didn't enter Milan.
00:45:34
Speaker
But it willll it'll be interesting. Yeah.
00:45:38
Speaker
too I mean, I don't want to get, you know, if if we want to talk a little bit about our expectations for, you know, signings for the summer window. Yeah. I think both you and i can be sure that,
00:45:52
Speaker
The 10-day window. The 10-day window. And honestly, it was kind of a for everyone. One of the only players that got signed by anyone in this tournament was the guy that LAFC signed. And he had been pretty bad, actually, at Liga in the last couple of seasons and Liga MX. Although realize he had been, at one point, he had been very good. But the last couple seasons had been pretty underwhelming at Clifton. He was good against LAFC. It was funny because me and my dad were watching that game and my dad's like, who's the Javiro guy? Like, you know, is that like Ecuadorian? Like, I was like, I don't know, dad. And I go look it. I was like, oh, he's Dutch. You were way off. And I was like, he's so good. He's so good on the ball. He's pacey. Oh, that's funny. So, yeah, he actually had a decent game against LAFC. I mean, that's why they signed him, I guess. Yeah. But it's definitely not your knock it out of the park type of LAFC. No, it wasn't Cristiano Ronaldo. Yeah, exactly. It wasn't your LAFC type of signing.
00:46:45
Speaker
Look, I don't want to give them too much heat because I'm still trying figure out if the Sounders are going to play. You're going to sign anybody in the That's crazy. That's crazy. I don't want to scare anybody, but a couple of leads that I had have gone completely flat. I talked to...
00:46:59
Speaker
basically the the president of the team and there have been no negotiations and there's another team that's interested in him. If he goes somewhere else, I might give you guys the name. If not, um I keep that in my pocket.
00:47:09
Speaker
ah There is talks with a Colombian striker. That's all I'll say. ah But i'm not quite sure I'm not quite sure if he's like a Sounders guy or a defi or a Defiance guy.
00:47:23
Speaker
Yeah, so that's a good place to be. Yeah, exactly. So people are going to be like, wow, Nico really does what you got for us. But I'm trying to give you guys something because, you know, we've been talking a lot about, you know, other stuff. And and I wanted to give you guys a little something.
00:47:37
Speaker
But it's not great. so No, it's it's kind of... The last I heard is that the original budget for looking at a U22 was somewhere in the $3 to $5 million dollars range. And you go, okay, $3 to $5 million, dollars you can get a pretty good player, U22 player at that. And it's sort of like gone... As as like a ah Danny Masofsky has started to perform and Osas de Rosario has started to perform, it's like, well, maybe don't we don't need to spend quite that much. And it's like, well, so then what are we even doing here? Yeah, no, it's... ah And I believe you, man. And it makes sense to what I'm hearing on the other end. Yeah.
00:48:14
Speaker
Because, look, right now, for any of the guys that I'm looking at, you're going to leave at least four. I mean, at the minimum four. To me, I don't even, honestly, the way I feel is if you're going to go out and sign a U22, anything less than three, keep the money.
00:48:34
Speaker
Keep the money. If you're talking about U22 players, because that guy is not going to come in here and compete for a starting spot. and Certainly not right away, but like that's not the level of player they should be targeting. Dwayne DeRosario is a fine player. I think he might actually be a decent MLS player. But if you can't... at like The player they bring in has to be a clear level above him.
00:48:58
Speaker
Exactly. And Craig is going to sit on the... You know, his heel of I told you guys, if if I was not going to get a guy that was he's not going to sign someone just to sign someone. I'm not going to sign somebody. and And I would understand people going completely bananas over. there I do, too. Like he's in a tough spot because I think on one hand, he knows he needs to sign someone.
00:49:22
Speaker
But on the other hand, he's not going to he's not going to just sign someone just to be like, see, you I did it. What do you want? Look, nobody wants to run over their own boss, but at some point he might have to just be like... What you want me to do? I have no money. Damn, that's kind of tough. But, I mean, yeah maybe he's not going to be that direct, but at some point he might have to just sit in front of us and and provide not an excuse, but a circumstance that he's dealing with because, man, it's tough pickings. But long story short, guys, out of the three guys that I was following, there's still one that's a possibility, and that guy would have to...
00:49:56
Speaker
That guy would not come for any less than $3 million, if if if anything. yeah So it's it's difficult out there. We'll see what happens with this Colombian striker. I will keep you guys updated if anything clears. But, again, not as exciting as you guys might want if I'm trying to figure right out defiance. know, we're trying give up the hype.
00:50:14
Speaker
Yeah, if it's a defiance or a Sanders player. So, yeah, with that, I hope you guys have a fantastic weekend. um ah Yeah, and I will share one more note. There was a little bit of confusion today. The Sounders put out, they have this like clothing line that they're collaboration that they're doing with this company called Hometown.
00:50:34
Speaker
And it's, I mean, it's not for me, but whatever. it's It seems cool if you're a younger person and I'm not going to get into style or whatever. But it seemed weird because it's it mentioned a jersey was also going to be coming out.
00:50:46
Speaker
And I'm like, oh, maybe this is a teaser for the third kit. Because we know there's a third kit coming out. right ah But no, the third kid apparently is going to come out after the Club World Cup. Why? i don't know.
00:50:57
Speaker
I'm not involved. I can't couldn't get you a good answer. i My best impression I get is that Adidas was just like, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to wait. We're going to just release it because a bunch guess a bunch teams are getting ah third jerseys this year and most of them are coming. at Miami, of course, they just came out early.
00:51:13
Speaker
ah that So they'll have it for the Club World Cup. Because it only makes sense. I mean, why wouldn't you wanna put that New Jersey in a global state? Why not? i don't know. It seems like some people are yeah scared of making money.
00:51:26
Speaker
That is insane. Like, I understand. I mean i don't understand. But my guess is that they want to do the same thing they did a couple of years ago where all the teams wear their new jerseys on the same.
00:51:37
Speaker
But it's okay to not have three teams in that week. Or they could get again. Or you could use it again. You don't have use it just once. You could use it again. Right, exactly. Oh, we forgot the Sounders. My suspicion is something like, well, LAFC got in late, so we couldn't move everything around. And we just honestly, we kind of forgot about the Sounders.
00:51:55
Speaker
that is i don't know that's that's i'm joking i hope i'm joking uh but anyway that's that's what we got i think that's that's a good note to that's a real good positive note to end on that's right it it has been man if you were not feeling well i know you listen to this and you're gonna be you're gonna get some yeah people be you're not being very good hype men yeah well we're not we're definitely no You know what, i was trying it really hard, and you know but but it's just not working because that's the reality that we're on.
00:52:24
Speaker
that That's another thing. I i heard a comment and talk about, I hope you guys really go off script. Look, we have no script. There is no script. We tell it how it is. We give you guys what we really do believe.
00:52:35
Speaker
ah We, once again, are going to give you our educated guess and and and analysis on everything that we see that we have in store for you guys, but there's no script.
00:52:48
Speaker
we We were not going to talk about it, but look, I'm just going to say I was as upset as anyone about the Vancouver result. I guarantee to win, and it was an embarrassing loss. I said it. I said it on Twitter.
00:53:00
Speaker
I'll say it again. so it was embarrassing. So we we're going to create something we have to, but there is no script here. We just... I mean, I'll just tell you, we we went off on it pretty... The only reason I didn't want to get into it today is Aaron and I spent a lot of time on Tuesday ah unpacking that game. Nice.
00:53:18
Speaker
It was an embarrassment and it was very bad. And we've said it before. The vibes heading into this tournament are not great. And I really hope next week when we record this, we're like, no, actually, we're super excited because we just beat Botafogo and we we're coming off a tie against Atletico.
00:53:36
Speaker
And we are almost we're as long as we don't embarrass ourselves against PSG, we're moving through. i would love I would love it if that was what we were doing next week. I don't know if though that that's what I'm planning. Yeah. I don't know either, man. dad That PSG game, i you know, it's a little scary.
00:53:54
Speaker
They're they are right. yeah know They're a pretty good teams they they pretty team. They are. All right. Well, Nico, thank you for doing this. Of course, people can follow you on Blue Sky, El Rolo, and W. ah You are, of course, also on YouTube, Pulsal Sports. You can read them, listen to them on Lobbing Scorchers and Sounder at Heart.
00:54:14
Speaker
And, uh, We'll be doing, actually, I'll be helping out Fox 13 on their post-game coverage. that's new. Yeah, it's going to be kind of fun. You know, we were there with ah Aaron Levine ah on Thursday, I believe, and now on Wednesday.
00:54:32
Speaker
And now we're going to do something post-game. I'm guessing break down the Botafogo game, which will be interesting. That's great. So, you know, check me out there. It'll be, course... rep in Sounder Heart and we'll be there the I'll have to get you Sounder Heart shirt wear. That's right, it's right here. Hey, here you go.
Nico Moreno's Media Engagement
00:54:48
Speaker
All right.
00:54:49
Speaker
Well, I'm Jeremiah Jan, this is Nos Adientes and we'll catch you next time.
00:55:18
Speaker
I expect the LAFC who's motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really ruin the party.
00:55:34
Speaker
i feel a lot better than