Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Keith Costigan Talks Seattle Sounders and Calls Out USMNT Fans
2 Plays47 seconds ago
Apple TV Broadcaster and commentator Keith Costigan talks about the Seattle Sounders MLS campaign ahead of their weekend matchup with San Jose Earthquakes. Costigan also shares his takes on Cristian Roldan and the USMNT fans displeasure with him.
Follow Lobbing Scorchers:
SPONSORS
Haxan Ferments - Specializing in unique, small-batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars, Haxan Ferments is handcrafted in Georgetown and made with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest. Use Code LS for a FREE Hot Sauce w/ purchase!
Sounder at Heart - Our network host and biggest supporter, Sounder at Heart covers the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, and MUCH MORE! Subscribe and Support to the BEST independent Seattle Soccer coverage.
Podium Edmonds - Located at 114 4th Ave N, just off Main Street in the heart of Downtown Edmonds, come shop and explore the best menswear in the Pacific Northwest. Tell them Lobbing Scorchers sent you!
Full Pull Wines - Founded in 2009, they the best boutique wines of the world to members, with special focus on our home, the Pacific Northwest.
MLS Store - New year, new gear! The 2026 MLS jerseys are here, and MLSStore is the ultimate destination for every fan. Every purchase helps support our show!
Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Contact: lobbingscorchers@justoncemedia.com
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Weather and Guest Keith Costigan
00:00:00
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be scorcher.
00:00:21
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? We are now joined by a very special guest. We have got Keith Costigan, the man himself joining the show, Apple TV broadcaster and former Seattle Sounders play-by-play broadcaster. Now you can catch him on Apple TV, calling games all around MLS. We're going to be talking some Seattle Sounders and some MLS league-wide stuff with Keith
Seattle Sounders' 2026 Season: Adaptability and Youth
00:00:42
Speaker
here today. Keith, thank you so much for tapping in and joining the show. ah First of all, great to see you. How are you doing?
00:00:48
Speaker
Good. Good to see you guys, too. and It's funny when you say that the the former Seattle because every time I do a Seattle game, whatever team Seattle are playing, I'm not the former Seattle. I'm still Seattle. You know what i mean? Like there's always like, you're always trying find angles. Like everybody's against Oh, he's calling it. He's Seattle. So it's, it's always funny. you know you can't win, but ah I'm good, man. I'm good. I'm looking forward to, this will be my first Seattle game of the season. You know, I, I know you guys were there at the Vancouver win. I watched as well. And yeah, I'm excited, excited to see the team in the flesh.
00:01:18
Speaker
Yeah, we ah we definitely had a fun adventure in Vancouver doing our live show from the car on the way back. So, you know, there was ah that was a whole thing with that. ah But ah yeah, thanks for tapping in. And I'll get us started just with some Seattle Sounders stuff. You know, when we have someone who covers the whole league,
00:01:34
Speaker
such as yourself we like to kind of get the uh bird's eye view the outside view of what the national perception is of the seattle sounders because you know we cover this team every single day we do these three four podcasts a week we're so plugged in that i think sometimes we lose sight of the broader view so uh when you look at how the sounders have started this season uh you know you had a couple league games and now this conca half champions cup opener What are you seeing so far? What do you like in? Is there anything that's concerning you? What do you think of how the team has ah started off 2026 here? Yeah, I mean, I will say before the season started, I looked Obed moving on.
00:02:12
Speaker
You know, i I wouldn't I mean, bringing in Hassani like you you always have the younger Snyder coming through. Maybe you can get more minutes. was as after the end of last season. But I did look I did. I did start to go to myself. Man, like did Seattle leave themselves a little bit short going into this season?
00:02:27
Speaker
And, you know, fast forward a couple of games in and no, I mean, the consensus for me again is Sounders can be anybody on their day. They're going to be a tough out for for anybody. The next man up mentality is, you know, envied by every other team in the league in terms of the way Seattle do it. You know, no, yamar that's fine. Alex moves across. costsa riene Like, it's it's amazing the way they do their business.
00:02:48
Speaker
I mean, some of the teams I've looked at, um I think the one game they lost, they dominated possession. The last two games that they've won, they've had less possession. And I want to say it was...
00:03:02
Speaker
2021 when 2020, 2021 in and around there when Nico got injured, Jordan got injured and the team became less possession, very much more transition and effective that way.
00:03:13
Speaker
And over the last few years, we've seen the Sounders become a much more possession based team. i don't I don't think any team in the league um adapts to their situation
MLS Growth: Young Talent and Competitive Environment
00:03:22
Speaker
as good as Brian Smetzer's team. So I've seen over the last few games, the Sounders saying, look, Jordan's injured, maybe missed a couple of other pieces.
00:03:30
Speaker
We're quite comfortable with the opposition having the ball and being more devastating in the shorter spurts we have possession. So they're my biggest takeaways. um I still see the Sounders there or thereabouts in the West. And I've been impressed with the performances so far.
00:03:44
Speaker
Just as a ah quick follow up and then Noah will get you in here. But so Seattle did did they have one loss so far this season. um and It was at Real. Salt Lake. And I think we were all kind of disappointed in that result just because looking at the lineups before the game, Real Salt Lake, they had like five homegrowns in there. Felt like Seattle had such an experience advantage and such a talent advantage, even with their struggles at that stadium taken into account. Are you buying the ah RSL thing, though? Because now that I've seen them play a few games, I look back on that now and I'm like,
00:04:16
Speaker
Damn, those kids were actually really good. And I think that, yeah, I think that Aiden and obviously Gozo is incredible. Like, i do you think that they're kind of here to stay at the at the top or upper tier of the West? Because when I look at it now, you know, we'll see what happens. But I'm like, I think they're kind of good, especially because they're getting die Diego Luna back in this new DP that they got looks really good.
00:04:37
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I'm definitely buying them. We we had the first weekend of the season. at Vancouver. And we were kind of like what you said, a lot of young players in here. And Pablo, by the way, like, you know, and we talk about people glass half full, glass half empty.
00:04:50
Speaker
Pablo just tells you the glass is full. Like he is the most positive guy in the world. So we're talking about, well, your new signing, Guilavugi, Diego Luna, you know, Sanabria. And he goes, yeah, none of those guys are playing this weekend.
00:05:02
Speaker
And we're like, oh, man, this is going to suck. And he goes, no, no, you got to see some of these young kids. We got Hezerkani, Moise in the middle of midfield. like these got And so we're like, OK. So literally 15, 20 minutes in, Mo kind of gives me a top, like as if to say the Hezerkani kid. Like, this guy's good.
00:05:20
Speaker
And they had spells against Vancouver away from home, opening weekend, first game, which is a lot more difficult for these young players to adapt. They were unlucky not to come away with something in Vancouver. And you talk to Jasper
Player Spotlight: Christian Roldan's Evolution
00:05:33
Speaker
Sorensen afterwards, he'd say the same thing. So I wasn't surprised. But if you look at the numbers in that game, the Sounders had a lot more. The ball had more of the chances in the game. So...
00:05:43
Speaker
It's never been a happy hunting ground for the Sounders going to Real Salt Lake. But, you know, having seen them the first weekend, I wasn't as surprised with the result. But being super happy with the response, you know, you go to St. Louis, not not an easy place to go play. They're a lot more helter-skelter the way they play. And then to go to Vancouver and win in the manner you you did in in Champions Cup shows you that, again, I think if we're looking back, we'll talk about, yeah, that was it a tough loss against a good RSL team, not...
00:06:12
Speaker
what the initial kind of story would have been when you looked at the lineup. Yeah. The haz um hazard, hazard Connie is something special. Like I am a massive fan of his, after we watched him play, I was like, all right, I've seen enough. I've seen enough, ah you know, give this kid a a bajillion dollars to keep him on your team. Cause he is genuinely going to be like such a, a big piece to this team. But Around that, it seems like across the league, there is this big youth movement.
00:06:41
Speaker
There is this huge movement to play your kids, and it's actually paying off. What do you see working with that? Is that just an MLS thing, or do you think that's something that is working elsewhere? What's what's your perspective on that? I think you have to understand, we we talk about all of these teams, that the the way to to build it a club and and be successful is...
00:07:05
Speaker
on the field, the business element too. And part of that is, you know, the recruitment for young players has become really, really, you know, competitive ah over the last decade. Before it was, well, there's a player in your region. Now all of a sudden you're hearing like David Vasquez who scored two for San Diego midweek He came from Philly's Academy.
00:07:23
Speaker
By the way, he's from central Los Angeles. So all of a sudden, you're you're finding players. You're like, he's going to be really good. We got to pick him off. San Diego, you know, Luca Bambino got him from LAFC. He's going to be a star. um So I do think there's an element of, well, if we want to be a business and survive in the world of football, you have to Play your young players. You have to give them opportunities to move on and not be afraid of, i remember someone said, we're not a selling league or we shouldn't be a selling league. I'm like, everybody's a selling league. like there's There's two teams in one league that probably aren't set like Man City and Real Madrid because like even Liverpool at the right moment sells. So it's like, I think it's important in that regard. And the other part of that is for a long time, the best 16 and 17 year olds in America went abroad straight away.
00:08:14
Speaker
So they were gone to Bundesliga. They were gone to mainly Bundesliga, but, you know, Dutch League as well. Now all of a sudden they're staying. they're they're You know, clubs have the ability to say, no, this guy is 16. Let's put him on a contract.
00:08:28
Speaker
And if he does well, the the clubs are much better at activating, increasing the money. Let's help him, you know, be successful here, play him some more. Now all of a sudden you're seeing a guy at 18 and 19 or 20 like Obed or a twenty like obed who's got 100 pro games behind him. He's not like a sophomore in college. You're like, well, he redshirted the football. You're like, what? What are you talking about? He took a year off?
00:08:51
Speaker
like These kids are ready to go and play now. And I think clubs understand that has to be a part of your model. It really does. And i would say RSL, if you're a young player, RSL will always attract young players because...
00:09:06
Speaker
Young players are looking for the path. Can I get to the first team? Sounders is another. You know, if i'm like if I'm a young player, I'll probably get that opportunity. San Diego as well. So it's going to continue to be a massive part of things.
00:09:19
Speaker
But to be successful, you have to get the balance as well. And I think that's what's kind of separated the Sounders. Like for for every Obed, they have it a Christian Roldan or, ah you know, you look back at Chad Marshall or Brad Evans. like You've always had the good balance of young and mature players to to to guide the group forward. So it's definitely a movement. It's definitely pushed on over the last five, six years. And yeah, long may continue because it's a good thing for MLS, good thing for the young players and a good thing for the U.S.
MLS vs European Soccer: Breaking Stereotypes
00:09:47
Speaker
men's national team as well.
00:09:48
Speaker
you know Speaking of Christian Roldan, I wanted to hear your thoughts on his evolution in the midfield, his importance now in this Sounders team. We've honestly been saying that if Christian Roldan doesn't perform well, the team doesn't perform well. I think these first three games, first four games, have kind of changed that perspective. They're they're playing well even when he is having down matches. But how shocked are you at at just his...
00:10:17
Speaker
I don't even know, he's arrived as one of the best players in MLS in his position. Well, he's earned it. First of all, any story you hear like that, we all kind of try to latch onto stories of people that have put the work in to get where they are. There's so much more rewarding stories to follow than someone who was handed something and the beauty of this is like gonna sound like I'm on a soapbox here or something the beauty of sports is you can't inherit anything you know what I mean like you can't have Brian Smetzer for instance just say had a son David and he's gonna play him
00:10:50
Speaker
Within 10 minutes, we're all like, no, he's not good enough. And there's no way you can, like, in in any other walk of life, you can walk into a career based on your your parents, like, whatever, friends. Soccer's different. So he's earned every moment of it. i know I've known Christian since since he was in high school.
00:11:06
Speaker
So I watched him as a high school player, thought he was good. Someone else I knew, I've got to be honest, told me, no, this guy is gonna be he' going to be a top MLS player. And I was like, okay. You know, he goes to UW, very successful.
00:11:21
Speaker
And then at Sounders, remember he was moved around a lot. like and there was that like He came in as a central midfielder. He'd go to right midfield. He'd to right back. he go And everywhere like he would do a role. And I remember i remember saying to Casey, like what's his best role? we were all like We don't know what his best role is right now. He's just he's good like wherever he's needed.
00:11:39
Speaker
And he was a glue piece that without him, the Sounders aren't successful. And within those moments, he's earned the right to be the piece that doesn't move, that the other pieces move around him. And I've loved watching it. And it's it's not always an easy journey to become, you know, that that the the piece on you know that that's helping the bigger pieces to becoming the centerpiece. You know, I talked to Christian earlier and I asked him, like, what's it like this weekend? Like, you see the billboard for this game and it's Timo Werner.
00:12:10
Speaker
and Christian Roldan, Timo Werner, you know, you think of all the fanfare around them and it just reminds you that there's two different paths to get to a destination. And, you know, i if if you don't like the destin the the the journey of Christian Roldan, you're not a fan of of sports and
League Competitiveness: MLS vs Liga Mequis
00:12:26
Speaker
you're not a fan of of somebody who's worked for it. But he has earned every bit of it.
00:12:30
Speaker
And then even when I say that, I have to make sure that people understand. I'm not saying, oh, like, look at Christian. He's done. Christian is a top player. Like, He's like, if you ask any teammate of his, they will tell you.
00:12:42
Speaker
If you ask any, it's no coincidence that national team managers, like, ever I love the the Euro snobs. i'm I'm European. I can still say it. There's some Euro snobs. There's ah some American Euro snobs, which is weird to me. They're like, it's so much better in Europe at the academies. I'm like, well.
00:12:58
Speaker
When have you been there? I've never been. You know, these guys wind me up. and And then they're like, oh, Pochettino, he'll show us. He'll get rid of these, like, American guys and da-da-da. And Poch goes, pooh, Christian Roldan, man, I'll have some of that.
00:13:11
Speaker
<unk>s That's what it's all about for me. So i'm I'm really pleased. But I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised because he's such a clever young man, like a really good person. He shows great humility and he's come from a system that Brian Smetser's built ah in terms of a culture that fosters that, which is like, hey, you just got to keep working. And, you know, fingers crossed, everything goes well, touch wood.
00:13:34
Speaker
We're going to be watching him in Seattle in the World Cup. That's that's pretty incredible. we ah We got a kick out of Pochettino's affinity for MLS as well. He called Christian Roldan the perfect player, which is not something that a lot of the U.S. men's national team fan base agrees with. But, you know, Pochettino is saying it. that's you know we've been We've been saying that for years. When Pochettino said that, we were like, okay.
00:13:55
Speaker
Coke potter team. I think I'm a West Bend's national team fan again. I think what you're saying is a lot of the fan base are idiots, and I would agree. I can say it. It's like literally you're going on. It's so funny. You go on the platforms, and you guys do a great job. You do your research, but you'll see some, and it's just like, come on.
00:14:15
Speaker
Like, oh, this guy is at a you know Fortuna Siddharth. Why isn't he being called in? I'm like, have you watched him play? No. yeah the way Almost certainly not. I've been lucky enough. I've visited a lot of academies like all over the world. I've i've got my coaching license. I've got my UEFA. I've done all of that.
00:14:34
Speaker
Environments are not based on what country they're in. They're based on the people that run them. They they always are. So I've been in Europe and I look at a place and I go... this isn't, God, this this isn't be a place I'd send a young player.
00:14:45
Speaker
And then, you know, I'm around Smets and I'm like, wow, these young players coming up to
Inter Miami and Messi: Challenges and Potential
00:14:49
Speaker
the first team? This is a really, really good platform to move on. um So, yeah, I mean, again, if you're reading through some of the, if you want, like, I guess you're having a bit of ice cream on a Friday night, read through some of the comments on a Christian Maldon post on U.S. men's national team.
00:15:04
Speaker
You get a good laugh about people who have no idea about soccer, so... That's as good a thing as I can say about them. we Me personally, on on Twitter, i am I am posting as much as I can about Chris Ronaldon just to attract that because it is it does it makes us laugh all the time. yeah they are We call them the USMNT bots because they come in droves and they have no idea what they're talking about. yeah And they have ah not their own picture as their avatar. Yeah, it's a Kevin, one, three, five, eight, six, seven, five. A lot of numbers. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all, we know, we know how it goes. we got We got Keith Costigan from Apple TV on the show. ah Keith, you mentioned in one of your last answers the San Jose earthquakes, Timo Werner.
00:15:49
Speaker
promotion your first sounders game of the season that you're going to be calling on sunday seattle sounders verse san jose we did want to ask you about the quakes because similar to what i was asking about rsl i think they're they're probably the biggest other team right now that people are looking at like wait a minute we all thought you were going to be bad and now you're apparently really good what's going on with that ah but honestly i have not watched them all that much the extent that i know about what's going on there is that I thought that they had a horrible offseason when they accidentally lost Christian Espinoza on some like clerical error. They like forgot to pick up his option, and now he's on Nashville SC, so that's not good.
00:16:27
Speaker
And then they also had to ship out Chicho Arango two weeks after he signed a contract extension for what they called personal reasons, and Joseph Martinez left as well. So I think a lot of people were looking at it like, you guys lost everyone. and didn't really replace them and then at the very end of the offseason they do go out and they pick up timo verner but you know timo verner is he's not one of these euro imports that's coming in at like the peak of his powers necessarily like he's a guy who's missed a lot of time the last couple years with injury and then maybe not being at his level of his younger years when he has played so i think there were some questions about that too like how much will he play how much will he actually contribute uh it turns out he's still pretty good he looks honestly pretty amazing for them so far he's had a couple really nice assists and kind of similar to the thomas miller effect in uh vancouver i think he's just upped the vibes like the guys on their team all seem to be kind of rallying around him and making him like their their leader and they are three oh and oh and bruce arena's got them playing it's not like a uh three oh and oh where they're taking results that they shouldn't like no they're playing well they're uh they're beating they're handling their opponents and so ah you know when we look at this from a seattle perspective seattle just emptied the tank uh in champions cup so they're going to be rotating a lot for this game they're probably going have antino lopez academy kid at center back it's going to be one of those top types of lineups but what can you tell us in our audience just about this this quakes team and
00:17:50
Speaker
Why do you think they've been able to surpass expectations like this? Is it just Bruce arena or was the roster better than we were giving a credit for what's going on with these guys? Yeah, I think Bruce takes a lot of credit. Like, I mean, Bruce has made a career out of, like, going place to place and being successful. Remember, Bruce is, like, three or four years removed from New England Revolution at the time setting a points record. And you look through that squad and you're like, huh, Bruce is a good coach.
Team Culture in MLS: The Seattle Sounders Model
00:18:13
Speaker
Like, Bruce and Smets have a lot of respect for each other. And I think the way they handle people, like, you know, forget about tactics. You've got to get people to buy in in terms of what you do and what you work for. um I think Bruce does that really well. We all get wrapped up in this. like I'm with you guys. I want to go back to what you said about Espinosa, Martinez, and Chicho Arango. And you say, oh man, you can't lose them. Isn't it amazing when teams are unsuccessful how many players they can't lose?
00:18:40
Speaker
like they They weren't successful with those guys. That's a good point. so so it's it's like we I've always found like ah you'll hear like, well, he's he's a definite starter. And you go through it all and you're like, OK, nine of their starting 11, you've said can't be replaced, but they're like 12th. So how is that? So I think what you're seeing is a collective group a lot more.
00:19:00
Speaker
you're You're seeing like a front three working for the midfield, like pressing, being connected defensively. um and And being more of a cohesive unit, not necessarily individuals and and looking to individuals to bail you out of situations. It's a much more team functioning effort. a little bit like I mean, if you were to give a comparison, you'd say the Sounders, the way the Sounders do things. um And I think every time there's an absence, there's opportunity. So like Christian Espinosa goes with Senni Buda, who's like a talented young player and a very smart young kid, Stanford grad. you know speaks five languages, like just a good human being. He's like, yeah, I'm ready to go. He steps in.
00:19:40
Speaker
Preston Judd, we know what Bruce thought of. Alan Gordon when he was was at the Galaxy in terms of getting the most out of a ah striker. So he's done well. and Nico Chikiris is a talented young number 10, kind of like the way the Sounders brought along Obed Vargas. So I look in that regard and I say, San Jose are doing their business the right way there. like They're getting the right pieces in. Reed Roberts, another one, a draft pick. We kind of remind you of a Jackson Reagan piece like in terms of how Jackson's matured into a center back and then and then they go out and get You know at a new level DP for me and what I mean by that is a DP that comes in and wants to buy into the culture and the work ethic.
Keith's Coaching Role and Broadcasting Balance
00:20:21
Speaker
We've seen it with Sun at LAFC We've seen it with Thomas Muller and I would put Timo Werner in that bracket too like these guys aren't here to say where's my pay packet like I'm just gonna chill I'm at the end of my career, not a chance. These guys are like the perfect role models for young players. and ah see You see Sebastian Berhalter with Muller. You can imagine Shakiris with Timo Werner, that kind of thing. So it's a really good thing and i Look, I'll be honest. I didn't see this kind of start, but the numbers are there. Their XG in their two home games is above 7-4, less than 1.5 against. And that tells you like they're they're not just winning games. They're dominating both boxes. I think that was the words of Moadu, my colleague, today. like You're getting it done in both boxes. So I'm pleasantly surprised and...
00:21:09
Speaker
i would I would question their depth a little bit, you know, to other teams. The next five games, they play Sounders, San Diego, Vancouver, LAFC. We're going to know a lot more in five games about San Jose Earthquakes, but so far they've been really good and full value for for three wins from three and and three clean sheets as well.
00:21:29
Speaker
You know, you talked a little bit about earlier the evolution of MLS and playing the youth prospects, even the evolution of designated players, what they what they are doing now. Like there is a real buy-in from players.
00:21:44
Speaker
Has there been anything else? I mean, you've been calling games. Forever. what What have you experienced that's been different in the league and its growth and maybe even like
Match Preview: Seattle Sounders vs San Jose Earthquakes
00:21:54
Speaker
with the Apple TV deal? i would say i would say off the field, I've noticed a lot. Like, look look at this conversation we're in right now, guys' generation.
00:22:05
Speaker
You're not like before when this league started, and no disrespect to anybody that covered the league at the very beginning because there's a lot of great people, but it was very much can we get the the basketball guy to come over and help with soccer? Can we get the you know the basketball or the NFL beat writer to do a couple of words? and Now we have like a culture off the field as well. You...
00:22:26
Speaker
You have fans, knowledgeable fans, particularly in Seattle, you know, making clubs accountable, being out there, building that, you know, the next generation. You see families with their kids coming along who've played the sport, have been in the sport. that That's kind of been kind of being really cool to watch. Like you think about players now joining first teams and they have real life experiences about watching those teams. Like I remember watching like Jordan Morris when he came in talking about watching the Sounders and Like, wow, that's that is really cool. Like, we're we're we're in the midst of something. And again, you get the snobs who are like, well, you know, you're now you're not as old as you don't have the... Well, the only way to, you know, be a part of history is to create history. And I think we're doing that and we're all involved in in being a part of that. So that's been the cool evolution for me as well, to see more coverage, to see more people out there, you know, with microphones making...
00:23:20
Speaker
commentators accountable, making the coverage accountable, making teams accountable. I think that makes us all better. And and and it's been a fun part of of my journey in terms of covering Major League Soccer. Keith, how are you ah sizing up the kind of hierarchy in the Western Conference right now? I think we're kind of we're kind of trying to feel out where we think Seattle ranks in terms of, ah you know, i think we we both think that they have a really good team and we liked a lot of the level of footy that they played last year. But you got some you got some real adversaries in the West right now. I mean, l LAFC, they got it going on with Denny Buonga. and Sun Heung-min, obviously. ah But then Vancouver, San Diego, we talked about the emergence of Real Salt Lake. well Who do you think is kind of separating themselves from the pack, and where do you think Seattle kind of fits into that?
00:24:10
Speaker
Yeah, i'm I'm interested to know. i won't I won't cheat and ask you guys where you have them in the rankings and then and then like kind of piggyback off that. I'll give mine, and then you guys can tell me if you agree. But... I had at the start of the season that the the best three teams in the West, is San Diego, LAFC, and Vancouver, and I have Seattle just behind that. Now, on any given day, Seattle can beat any of those teams. There's no doubt about that, but that would be the hierarchy in the West for me.
00:24:36
Speaker
um i think Houston have spent big, but I don't see them... breaking into that group of teams. LA Galaxy are always a wild card because they you never know what they're going to do in the transfer market, but they're going to be better this year. um But I would probably have as my number one San Diego ah in terms of...
00:24:57
Speaker
identity watching them play, who they are. I think Mikey Vara should be celebrated a lot more than he is because he's a young coach who's come from our system and is absolutely killing it. And talk about, you know, the the the all blacks model. there One of the rules is no D-heads. I don't know if I'm allowed swear on this. I won't. No D-heads. So...
00:25:21
Speaker
you know He had a big-name player there. Mikey took him on and won. Mikey said, this is what I want. I'm not saying that that was the case there, but I'm just saying you have a manager who's saying the culture is bigger than any named player. And I watched him play, and I go, i love watching him play. So I have San Diego number one, even though the star power of the others might be a little bit bigger. Probably have LAFC too.
00:25:43
Speaker
And Vancouver with Seattle just right there on their shoulders. and And I know Seattle just beat them, but Kubas didn't play. I think Kubas is the best six in the league. I think he changes everything when he's on the field. So I have Vancouver just ahead of Seattle, but I have Seattle right there as well. Hey, everyone.
00:25:58
Speaker
Ari here. I'm excited to tell you about one of our sponsors, Hakes and Fermat's. Hakeson is a Seattle-based hot sauce and vinegar brand, making some of the most flavorful hot sauce around. We've partnered up to craft a small batch green blended hot sauce fermented to perfection with bright flavor and medium heat.
00:26:14
Speaker
We love it so much, the label even has our faces on it. You sold out the first batch, so we made another. Visit lobingscorchers.com slash sauce to order and be sure to check out the full line of Hakeson Ferment Sauces, including their limited seasonal flavors.
00:26:29
Speaker
Some people think California has a monopoly on wine, but it turns out the Pacific Northwest produces plenty of it too. Our sponsor, Full Pole Wines, stocks a huge number of local wines and also lots of others from different parts of the world.
00:26:42
Speaker
The best part? They're run by Sounders fans, and they also have the most important thing I need when choosing a wine. People who know what they're doing, who can tell me what to buy. It's super easy. You join their mailing list, they send out a newsletter covering what they have, and you pick the ones you want to either grab at their warehouse on first or have shipped to you.
00:27:00
Speaker
And then when you go to someone's house, you bring one of those bottles and everyone is super impressed. We're proud to be sponsored by FullPullWines.com. If your kid has caught the soccer bug, you already know how deep this rabbit hole goes. It starts with cleats and then suddenly they want the full kit and training gear and ball of their favorite player.
00:27:21
Speaker
Soccer.com is the one stop shop that has it all. Quality cleats, proper shin guards, training equipment, jerseys and bags. everything a kid who loves this sport could ever want. Whether it's for a beginner or the Sounders' next top prospect, head to lobbingscorchers.com slash soccer and use code SCORCHERS at checkout to get your gear sorted.
00:27:47
Speaker
There's a version of shopping that doesn't feel like a chore and Podium and Edmunds is it. You walk in, Nick, the owner greets you. What's up dude? Massive Sounders fan, probably someone you've already argued with or agreed with in our comment section at some point. And suddenly you're 45 minutes deep into a conversation about the latest Sounders news and you haven't even looked at the clothes yet. let me show you around And then you do look around and everything in there is the kind of thing you buy once and keep forever.
00:28:14
Speaker
Filson, Red Wing, Heritage, Taylor Stitch, Portuguese flannel, nudie jeans, wax London, domestic and European brands built properly, meant to last. They're at 114 4th Avenue North, right in the heart of downtown. And Nick is going to take good care of you.
00:28:29
Speaker
Lobbingscorchers.com slash podium. See, like if you would if asked me before the season, that's exactly how I would have sized it up is you kind of got this top, top tier of LAFC, San Diego and Vancouver. And then realistically, Seattle's like just a slight tier below that, like you said, can be any of those teams on a given day. But in terms of where their roster is at and all that stuff, you probably put those teams above Seattle. But then, you know, you ah you watch a game like we watched last night, and I'm sitting here thinking, like, wait wait a minute. Wait a minute. Like, whose level is what level now? Because, I mean, and you're right, Kubus didn't play. But, like, even with that taken into account, i I came out of that thinking, like, the gap between Vancouver, San Diego, and LAFC in Seattle might not be what I what i thought it was. But ah on the ah on the topic of San Diego specifically, i mean,
00:29:22
Speaker
I love that. Well, so they were there in their Champions Cup game. They were getting red cards against Toluca, which is, as I understand it, like one of, if not the best teams in the Liga Mequis right now. They got a red card really early in the game, still scored three goals, got another red card late in the game. They end up 3-2ing it because there was a red card and a penalty at the end. But that was an insanely impressive result. Like, honestly, to score three goals on that team,
00:29:47
Speaker
down a man for as long as they were that is incredible like that is one of the best ccc performances i think that i've seen it it kind of it kind of got overshadowed not overshadowed but like the red card at the end made it slightly less impressive but it was it was an impressive performance but where i wanted to go with that is like when you look at the uh league of mechies first mls matchups in ccc so far kind of seems like the balance is not what it usually is. You had San Diego taking it to Toluca while down a man. You had FC Cincinnati absolutely destroy Tigris. I think there's a couple of other other results in there that I'm not thinking of that sort of made me... Like, usually...
00:30:26
Speaker
Liga Mequis is considered to have a huge advantage in this tournament, rightfully so. yeah ah But even in times where it feels like and MLS has a chance, it's still super competitive, close games, like really intense. But there's more blowouts on the MLS side, it seems like right now. Do you agree with that? And do you think that there's like a that's a sign of a shifting balance of power at all? Because I hesitate to ever go there.
00:30:48
Speaker
But like I'm looking at the results so far, and I think that maybe that is kind of what's happening. Yeah, no, there there definitely has been. that that like I think back to nine, ten years ago when we would have Santos Laguna come in to to Seattle, and i was like, wow.
00:31:02
Speaker
Like Darwin Quintero, those kind of players, you're like, ooh, Santos are like so good, or Tigres right when Gignac arrived, and you're like, man, we're going to have to do a lot to compete. What what was what was always good about Liga Mecchi's teams is...
00:31:15
Speaker
one through 16, 17, they have the ability to pay a lot. So they have the ability to have deeper squads. So sometimes you have like the seven or eight, and then after that it drops off a little bit. I think MLS has done a good job of bridging that gap and providing more resources for the teams to get competitive and the quality of...
00:31:38
Speaker
the the the quality of you know, um the facilities and what we're bringing through and and setting up reserve league. Like, there's there's a better pathway now in Major League Soccer. And, you know, we've seen a lot of players leave League Mechies, come to MLS, like those kind of... so So you're competing on so many different fronts, like South American players that, you know, normally might have gone to League of Mechies are now coming to Major League Soccer at a younger age. So that all plays into it.
00:32:03
Speaker
I still think, you know, the games we talk about are generally in America. They're in the United States. So, you know, to do it on a more consistent level away from home is going to be big as well. We're going to see Leagues Cup this year where we're going to have games in Mexico. We're going to have games in Monterey. Toluca are going to be home. can't remember. Toluca is the first one. Yeah, I mean, that's going to be such a great. I hope you guys are going to go to it. Like that's going to be incredible. Yeah, incredible to be there.
00:32:33
Speaker
But we did. we saw We saw Vancouver last year go away from home twice and get results on the road against Liga and Meckie's team. So, It's there and there. I don't have, like, when people say Liga Mekis was, for years you could say, yeah, they're the better league. Now it's it's a gray area. they're both They're both there fighting for it. And I think this year's Leagues Cup, CCC, will will tell us a lot as well. But this year's Leagues Cup, where we have games back and forth away and at home as well, will will tell us a lot about the ah the the power structure of both leagues. But it's it's definitely much more of a level playing field and than a decade ago, five years ago.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's, you know, one of the transfers that I have noticed and kind of tipped me off to this idea that Ari was having too. Danny Leyva goes to Nekoxa, which admittedly is not a top tier team. They're probably tier two in Liga Mekis, but a team that's on the up and they're making signings and moves.
00:33:31
Speaker
He looks like one of the best players on that team. He was not even breaking into the Sounders starting lineup. He was going out on loan and not even breaking into lineups in MLS.
00:33:42
Speaker
he go to He goes down there and is absolutely tearing it up. Now there's something to be said about change of scenery and all of that, but... To your point, like you have academies in America producing players good enough to go and start and play in Liga Mequis. And that's just... I think that's that's the difference between the two at this point. It's big. And by the way, you have a lot of the Liga Mequis academies who have staff on the West Coast who are at every tournament, every game, and they're like, we got to get the next great young player. like du There's a real competitiveness now. um Obviously, America and Chivas have done a
00:34:19
Speaker
a great job of, you know, you know, tapping into the fact that they still have such a massive following in, in America as well, like from families and kids who are like, wow, my first, my first dream is to play for, for America or, or Chivas. But on the other hand,
00:34:35
Speaker
you know, all of a sudden we have the resources to keep those young players here. A little bit like I said with players that have gone abroad, but I mean you have Efrain Alvarez who's doing really well at Chivas now as well. so So those kind of players, like you're having stories back and forth.
00:34:51
Speaker
Ultimately, i think this helps Liga and Meckies too because you want to have competition. the the The best games to watch, the best journeys of anything is is is competitiveness. And, you know, for a long time, Liga and Meckies ruled the roost and conquered Cav. Those days have gone. It's going to be back and forth. You know, I remember at the end of last season, ah one of the Mass brothers was on the field at MLS Cup and he was like,
00:35:16
Speaker
the just one And he was like, man, we're coming for CCC. We want to get like, I love that. Like I walked away thinking, man, this is the way it should be. Like you have you have people that like genuinely want to win in those rivalry games against other countries, other teams. So it's going to be good. But yeah, the the levels right now at the very top end, not much in it.
00:35:35
Speaker
Do you think Inter-Miami, this is the year that they're going to win CCC? Because I kind of felt like it probably is because their offseason was insane. And I still think that's probably the most likely outcome. Anytime you have Messi, you kind of have a built-in advantage. But I will say they have not looked super incredible so far. They got blown out by l LAFC. And then also, the one thing that I'm kind of hoping for, like Bertramis started kind of slow. He hasn't scored yet. yeah So, you know, I have zero doubt that he's going to start scoring. But for now, it's kind of fun that he's not. And I'm hopeful that he won't start doing that. But like, do so do you think that they're going to reach the level everyone thought that they would based on the offseason additions that they made? Or has how they've started made you think a little like maybe maybe they're going to be like the inner Miami that we always know, which is, you know, messy lead attack going to score a bunch of goals, but can get scored on. and thusly can get knocked out of tournaments.
00:36:33
Speaker
Yeah, I still have a concern. I do. And Bertrami, for me, was the best nine in this region for the last couple of years. Almost went to Portland, by the way. Portland really, really wanted him. There was like five MLS teams that I've been trying to get You would be happy know Bertrami said, no, I'm good. Yeah.
00:36:50
Speaker
I mean, i you can't really blame him. I wouldn't want to live there either. ah But I did say, look, you know, I'll always be honest when I when i you know get predictions right or wrong.
00:37:02
Speaker
I did say to Mo at the start of the season, it's not easy. i don't care how good you are. It's not easy to just go and play with Messi. So the idea that like Bertrami will go and say, yeah, immediately click.
00:37:14
Speaker
I don't know. like I'm kind of with you. I'm in your camp, Ari, that like I think it does happen eventually because when you're that good, like you're going to score goals. But on the other hand, it's it's not that easy. like you're You're all of a sudden going from being the centerpiece of an attack at Monterey to how do I fit in because he really is the centerpiece, but he kind of drifts. So like what is my role there? So so there's still...
00:37:36
Speaker
There's still a work in progress. And when you're a work in progress, you're vulnerable because teams will will have a ah bite at you now. I know they they drew this week, nil-nil Nashville. I bet Nashville fancied themselves in in in the second leg. Like, I really do. Like, you get you get a goal early, you fancy yourself to go through. Now, generally, Inter Miami have had their way with Nashville. And if they move on, it's another couple of weeks down the road and they're less vulnerable.
00:37:59
Speaker
But, yeah, i I mean, it's not as simple as saying we signed better players. We're going to win that next and move on. Life doesn't work like that. This game doesn't work like that. So, yeah, I i wouldn't i wouldn't have them as favorites right now. wouldn't have them above.
00:38:15
Speaker
above an LAFC. I wouldn't have them above Nemec. I wouldn't have them above Sounders right now based on what I saw last night. But but it's messy. we we We go a little bit deeper. We all have room to change those kind of early early season predictions. But there you go.
00:38:31
Speaker
It is like, that is such a, we talk about it all the time. You can't just sign a player and expect him to show up the next day and turn it on and be integrated. Yeah, you hope, you hope. But like sometimes those big DP signings are not as easy to fit as like some academy kid who you've had, you know, playing in training and you can call him up and you never know what's going to happen. You know, I look at like,
00:38:58
Speaker
The Sounders have their academy and their second team all trained with their first team. They're doing the same drills so that it's like it's like a churn in. They churn them out, right? And we're looking at that for the Sounders where they have basically no center backs left.
00:39:13
Speaker
Everyone's injured. They're going to start Antonio Lopez. Antonio Lopez is starting its center back for the Seattle Sounders in an MLS game against a Western Conference rival.
00:39:25
Speaker
And you're like, sure, okay. Why not? but But I liken this to... I'm a Liverpool fan. So everything for me comes back to Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp, when he was building his culture, like they talk about, will Liverpool need a a backup left-back?
00:39:40
Speaker
And Robertson would get injured and he'd say, no, Milner's going to play there. And okay, Milner, he's not really a left back, but okay. And he'd play there. And then Robertson would come back and Trent would get injured. And we'd say, well, who's the backup right back? And he's like, that's also Milner. And what what what I learned about from going over there to visit was when you have a strong culture of people that hold each other accountable, it's way better than throwing an outsider into the mix and risking affecting players.
00:40:08
Speaker
the the the collective if if that makes sense so you see that in i remember Nuno Espirito Santo was another one who said it Pep I think Pep struggles right now because he's dealing with a bigger squad than he's ever had when you have a small squad and you have players that like Alex Rodon go center back go Sarienzi come right back all of a sudden there's just a belief of like no we work together like I'm not going to be held to the flames if I don't play well because we're doing this as a collective. So I think there's that that's a big part of it. it's it's It's buying into that. Like if I have 16 players, if somebody goes down, you're next up.
00:40:45
Speaker
I'm not going to turn away from you. I'm not going to... Tell everyone you're not good enough and go elsewhere. I'm going to bring you in and give you the opportunity. So there's two schools to it. um You know, coaches will probably tell you, yeah I want to sign another center back. But I think the ones that build cultures will say, no, I want to bring in the next player and showcase that we have a ah group that are accountable to each other and we'll fight for each other. And, you know, Sounders have shown, you know, the only team to win every single trophy that they've they've been involved in. And there's a reason for that. And they've done that really, really well.
00:41:16
Speaker
Keith, I just got one more for you and then we can let you go. Thank you so much for joining the show. But San Jose versus Seattle on Sunday, your first Sounders game that you're calling of the season.
00:41:28
Speaker
How are you sizing this one up? I mean, you got a situation where you have a Seattle team that's juggling Champions Cup right now. They just played a really big, pretty intense game. that they took a great result. But, you know, those take a lot of gas out of the tank.
00:41:41
Speaker
And yeah they're going to be rotating a lot. Schmetzer literally told us after the game that and Tino, I think it's Tino, Tino Lopez. And Tino Lopez is going to be starting this game, which, you know, I have not really watched him play all that much. Although he did get into the end of the Vancouver game. And I was like, wow, that kid is great.
00:42:00
Speaker
big like i feel like he made it he made he instantly subbed in made a slide tackle challenge in the box clearance beautiful it was like he's got mls that's such a poker player well i'm gonna have to give this young kid and you've done your homework on him smats you know he's he he did spener does not start a center back without knowing Yeah, no, exactly. But it is it is one of those situations, like kind of like the RSL game we were talking about. like You look at the lineup that Seattle's going to have to put out there. You look at how the Quakes have been performing and the players they're going to have out there. And to me, i always look at that and I'm like, all right, I mean, this scale is tilted way towards one of these teams over the other. And we've seen that
00:42:38
Speaker
Countless times where teams have been trying to go for it in Champions Cup like Seattle's doing right now and their league form suffers for this exact reason. They have to put out like really rotated lineups with young guys and academy kids to be able to balance their league games. It's exactly what Seattle is going to be doing on Sunday. But I've also learned that if there's any team that can still take results in those situations, it's this team. Like I don' i haven't watched Antino Lopez play that much before last night, but based on the track record of this team's development, I've You know, I feel not that scared or bad about the fact that he's going have to play. But ah also on the flip side of that, the San Jose team looks really, really good right now. So how how are you kind of sizing this up? And do you think the scales are tilted as much towards San Jose as it might seem like when you look at the lineup that Seattle is going to field?
00:43:27
Speaker
Yeah, I do. By the way, think about how you felt the night before the first time you found out Paul Rothrock was starting. You know, Jackson Reagan was starting. Kosa Rienzi was starting. yeah Alex Roldan, who was released and then re re-signed. And, oh, he's going to be a right back.
00:43:42
Speaker
It always seems to work out. like and It's not a coincidence because these guys know what they're doing. um Yeah, i I give a slight edge to to San Jose because of the CONCACAF Champions Cup play. But again, i don't think it's a mammoth trip week like you've had. like You're not coming back from Mexico. You're coming back from Vancouver. You're not going East Coast. You're going to San Jose. So I still see the Sounders getting something from this game. i i see... a bit i see You know, 2-2 sticks out for me in terms of, you know, San Jose maybe having a good start to the game, but Sounders showing their quality a little bit later on. But I think it's going to be an entertaining game. I hope we haven't seen Timo Werner start a game yet. i'm I'm hoping, like, you know, I'm in an unbiased position now as the commentator of this game for Apple. um i'm I'm hoping to we see him from the start. If we do, I think that's that's going to be a fun thing for any neutral watching. But I do think it's going to be a back and forth affair. I think both teams are going to go for it.
00:44:39
Speaker
I'm interested to watch because I mentioned the possession. San Jose's two wins, two wins at home. They've had less possession. Sounders have had less possession in their last two wins. So I'm wondering at the end of this game, whoever wins is going to be the team with less of the ball overall.
00:44:56
Speaker
In my opinion, that's the way it would work. But having said all that, I'm going for a draw. So maybe it's going to be 50-50 possession and 2-2. So there you go. Keith, before we let you go, anything that you wanted to plug or let people know about what you guys have got going on at Apple TV, either in the near future or just throughout the ah throughout the season?
00:45:16
Speaker
No, just look looking forward to, you know, again, with Apple TV, we know in years gone by, we've had um we've had MLS season pass no longer. So if you have Apple TV, no more excuses, no more extra wall.
00:45:27
Speaker
You can watch the game. um I'll be on. think I'm on Seattle the next week as well. Minnesota. I was going to be on the the CCC, but I'm actually coaching a U.S. Open Cup game against Spokane Velocity on Wednesday. So I'll be hoping to pull up a a cup upset there. But next few weeks, I'll be with with the Sounders and, you know, hope hope all the fans that aren't lucky enough to be in the stadium can can join us on Apple TV and and continue to watch this air Sounders team develop on the Braunschweig.
00:45:55
Speaker
This guy is what broadcasting yeah he's broadcasting and coaching at the same time. i i coach VC fuion um oh county Fusion. so um you know We have ah an academy, an MLS Next Academy. We have players that come through. so yeah we we We won our division last year.
00:46:10
Speaker
Knocked out of USL 2 by Ballard 2-1 in a really good game. Shout out James Riley because I think he did a great job there. and they They knocked us out in the national quarters. They went to the final. Unfortunately, fell short. But, ah yeah, I mean, I love being out in the field with with players. So that'll be exciting. But when I get off the field, I'll be checking on the Sounders score and then i'll be yeah I'll be covering that Minnesota game as well. So that should be a good one too.
00:46:34
Speaker
Well, we are Velocity fans, but we will honestly, I think we can root for we can root for you in that game. We are going to Spokane in a few days. So home of the Spokane. Oh, yes, yes, yes.
00:46:47
Speaker
Keith Kosigan from Apple TV. Thank you so much for joining the show. That was a lot of fun. We'll have to get you on again soon. Have fun at the game on Sunday. First Sounders game of the season. That should be great. And yeah, we'll talk soon. I appreciate you guys and keep up the good work.
00:47:02
Speaker
Thank Keith.