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What is Vlatko Doing?! (feat. Sebastian Salazar) - Ep. 14
44 Plays2 years ago
ESPN and Futbol Americas Sebastian Salazar joins Ari and Noah to talk about the Leagues Cup, Seattle Sounders, Messi mania, USWNT and more. At the start of the show Ari and Noah chat about the upcoming Seattle Sounders vs. CF Monterey Match.
Follow Sebastian Salazar: https://twitter.com/SebiSalazarFUT
Watch Futbol Americas: https://www.espn.com/espnplus/collections/40359/futbol-americas
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Announcement
00:00:10
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome in to episode 14 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillian Wall. We got producer Noah here with me. Producer Noah, say what's up to the people.
00:00:23
Speaker
What's up, people? We have one of my most anticipated guests on today. Yeah, we have the second ever guest in Lobbing Scorcher's history coming on today. So we're very excited about that. We got Sebastian Salazar, ESPN football guru. You probably know him from his takes with her Gomez and on Twitter.
00:00:48
Speaker
And he was gracious enough to give us about 30 or 40 minutes of his time for a really good interview. We covered a lot of the beats that we've been on over the last couple episodes here. We talked some League's Cup with Sebastian. We talked some Messy Mania. We talked some Seattle Sounders. He gave us some thoughts on Seattle from a national perspective, which I think a lot of you might be interested in because, you know,
00:01:14
Speaker
You hear what we have to say, and we're the local guys. We're plugged in on the day-to-day, but he kind of gave us a glimpse into how the team is seen from an outside perspective right now. Sometimes it's nice to zoom out and get the overhead. It's good to zoom out. Sebastian really, really knows his stuff, as I'm sure you're all aware.
00:01:34
Speaker
Definitely definitely stay tuned in for that. You're gonna want to hear that Before we get into
Seattle Sounders vs CF Monterey: Match Preview
00:01:40
Speaker
that. I think we're just gonna lay down a little bit of preview thoughts on Seattle's next League's Cup match coming up on Sunday against CF Monterey of League MX at Loom & Field So why don't we just jump right into that here? No, why don't we do it? Unfortunately, let's do it. Yeah so
00:01:59
Speaker
Here's the situation. Here's the situation. As you all might remember, Seattle's leagues come opener at real Salt Lake. It didn't go especially well. No, it didn't go very well. And we talked about that in depth on the last show.
00:02:18
Speaker
And Leagues Cup might be coming to an end here. It might be coming to an end here. They're not technically out of it As I understand it with CF Monterey waxing real salt lake 3-0 Seattle will need to win this game 3-0 They can also win with 3 like plus 3 GD and
00:02:40
Speaker
plus three gd and then but if it's three zero they then then the tiebreaker goes immediately because every result would have been three zero the tiebreaker immediately goes to the fair play tiebreaker which i think would be kind of sick if they advanced on that so sounders would have to not get a red card basically as well
00:02:59
Speaker
Right, or less than six yellows. Correct. It's something like that. Yeah, yeah. Which you never know what these leagues have. It feels like every game there's like... You never know. If they get the 3-0, I like their chances of moving through on that fair play tiebreaker. And I think that would be pretty funny if they got through on that. So that's what I'm rooting for. But I guess we should probably talk about how likely it is that they get that 3-0.
00:03:28
Speaker
And you know I mean, I'll just say it off top. I don't find that especially likely you know you got CF Monterey They did just play last night, so they're flying up here Short turnaround for them Seattle theoretically. I mean they'll be more rested But I mean I could tell you You know Sebastian gave us that gave us the full breakdown on CF Monterey But I can tell you this is very very good League MX team. Yeah, you I mean they
00:03:58
Speaker
they ran Real Assault Lake off the field just as badly as Real Assault Lake ran Seattle off the field. So that doesn't necessarily mean anything. But I mean, I think it does indicate that a three goal win over this team, even playing at home,
00:04:15
Speaker
That's a tall order, especially with the form Seattle's been in and coming off the performance they put up against real Salt Lake. It's going to be a tall order. OK, so with that mind, I mean, I'm looking for a few things from this game. I think first of all.
00:04:33
Speaker
I mean, they just need to put in a good, solid, competitive performance against this team just to bounce back from what happened in Salt Lake, which was the worst performance of the season comfortably in a season that's had several underwhelming performances. You know, they're coming off their worst one. So they got to bounce back. They got to compete. They got to play well.
00:04:58
Speaker
They got to play well. They're going to have a relatively full strength side at their disposal minus Christian rolled on and on obviously minus Stephen Fry who dislocated dislocated his pinky in the Salt Lake game. Ouch. He's not going to be able to play. So it'll be Steph Cleveland and goal.
00:05:14
Speaker
Steph Cleveland has played well so I'm not necessarily as worried about that you know we've gone in plenty of depth about the struggles this team has playing without Christian rolled on correct but it's also something that they've done a lot so hopefully
Seattle Sounders' Performance Challenges
00:05:36
Speaker
They'll be able to turn it around a little bit and at least put in a good performance. If they get knocked out of League's Cup right here, I honestly, I don't think that's the worst thing necessarily. You get a three week break at that point. Let everyone else duke it out. Get healthy, get rested, recharge the batteries for the stretch around. Eyes on the prize. Eyes on the prize. So I don't think that would be the worst thing. And then if they do get this miracle result and they go through,
00:06:05
Speaker
I mean, that would be huge morale wise. You got to think if they're able to do that. And we've talked about this team being built for tournament knockout tournament specifically. It's true that you never get in the first game, but, uh, you never know what can happen. I'm not going to say it's impossible for them. Improbable is probably better. It's, it's definitely it's improbable. We need a, we need a Jordan Morris, Leo chew three sporting Kansas city performance, something like that. Um,
00:06:31
Speaker
But you know a few things are going to have to happen for them to a get anywhere close to the result they need to advance but also be just kind of turn this run a form around and you know thinking about what we were talking about on the last show.
00:06:51
Speaker
We didn't even really talk about what I think is probably the biggest problem going on right now with this team. The Real Assault Lake debacle notwithstanding, which is, and this is what I'm looking for in this game. They gotta get Rui Diaz going.
00:07:07
Speaker
They got to get him going. He hasn't scored since the Charlotte game when he had two goals and you know for as bad as that RSL game was the level of ball that the team has played over the last month or two it really has not been that bad. It's not been that bad. They have played better ball than that and they are still not scoring goals.
00:07:29
Speaker
Did you know that Rui Diaz and Abare have combined for six goals this year? I actually didn't know that. I've been tracking that. That's not enough. No. That's not enough from your strikers. And we tend to overcomplicate these things sometimes. We've talked a lot about personnel, lineup, substitutions, squad rotation, all of that. I mean, if your strikers aren't scoring and they've combined for six goals at the point we are in the season now,
00:07:58
Speaker
A lot of your struggles can probably be attributed to that alone. And I know Rudy Diaz has missed a lot of time this year, so that's partially why his numbers are down. But he also hasn't been scoring for the last few weeks. Jordan Morris has nine. Them combined have six.
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah, and that's and Jordan Morris, you know, he, him and Christian were both gone with the national team. So Jordan was an injury. Jordan. Jordan also had an injury. So a lot of his production was earlier in the season. Like he hasn't really been a factor in the last few weeks and he just got back. So yeah, Jordan needs to get going too. But I just think his last goal was in May.
00:08:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, so I mean so you have Rui Diaz with the two goals in the Charlotte game since he came back and that's it and then you have Jordan without a goal since May. That's just not going to do it. That's not going to do it and so that yeah, they have to get both of those two guys going, but they got to get Raul going if he can get hot. I honestly think that
00:09:09
Speaker
That cures a lot right there. It doesn't matter if you put Lidero at right mid or at the 10, Russneck at the 10, drop back a line, whatever the recipe is. The strikers have got to get going. They got to start finishing their chances. And yeah, they got to start getting more chances. But the chance creation and the attacking play that the team has put up
00:09:33
Speaker
I would describe it as probably lackluster and underwhelming but honestly actively good at points. There's been games where it's looked good and they still haven't scored goals. So if this season is going to turn around.
00:09:50
Speaker
Forwards have got to get going. Jordan Morris has got to get going. And honestly, this game against Monterey is a good spot to do that. If you crash out of League's Cup, but Raul scores, Jordan scores, the teams generate in chances, you at least have something to build off of.
00:10:11
Speaker
But what they can't do is go out there on Sunday and play like they did at Real Salt Lake. They can't play like they have the entire MLS season either other than the beginning half. Thank you for listening to the Sound Rit Heart podcast network, which now includes no sunny at this lobbing scorchers and the cooler guild.
00:10:42
Speaker
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00:11:00
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00:11:30
Speaker
Yeah, but I guess that's where I'm saying like there's been points in in that period of time where They've played all right. Mm-hmm, but not against Monterey a team on Monterey. No, that's true. That's true So I don't think they just have to play like they did They have to play like they did those first games that we thought this team was gonna be a shield contender Yeah, yeah, otherwise it's over. I
00:11:57
Speaker
Monterey is probably good. I mean the only thing I can think of is you know, maybe they're maybe they put it in on On Wednesday and maybe they're rotating maybe they're a little tired that I mean that's that's One thing that you can hope for I guess but I definitely wouldn't
Evaluating Opponents: CF Monterey and Real Salt Lake
00:12:13
Speaker
count on that. They're really really good And they're gonna be coming out Seattle. So yeah, they get no they get no break here. Yeah, it's like if you think about it Seattle got boat race by RSL and
00:12:27
Speaker
The RSL team that just boat race Seattle got absolutely boat raced by this Monterey team. Correct. So I mean, and whatever gap there is between Seattle and RSL at the MLS level right now, which in that game, RSL obviously look much, much better than Seattle. There was that much of a gap between RSL and Monterey. So that just, it doesn't, it doesn't bode especially well.
00:12:53
Speaker
And not to not to, you know, bam in some more nails in this coffin, but no more rolled on, rolled on at least played. And granted, he didn't have the best game, but he played in that RSL match. He did. I don't know how much to read into his performance before he had to get subbed out. I mean, we're talking about this with Sebastian a little bit, but I mean, him and Jordan were both just getting back into the fold. Yeah. So
00:13:23
Speaker
I don't know. Either way, he's out for the foreseeable future. So I mean, protect him. I don't mean to sound like a broken record because basically since the show has started, we've been talking about this, but they got to learn to play without him. Yeah, they got to learn to play without him like.
00:13:39
Speaker
this point he's been out for way way more of the season than he's been in so like He's out again, and you just you can't like you can't hang your hat on that anymore now that he's out out again like you've got to figure it out so I'll be interested to see if Russ snack drops back line and They put Lidero back at center attacking mid. I kind of think that is What they're gonna do
00:14:08
Speaker
And I mean, I think that's fine. I still, you know, there's a long time and they won CCL off it. So I get that. And that's something that I bring up to. I just don't know about this whole rust neck as a, as a holding mid thing. I think it's stupid.
00:14:24
Speaker
I'm getting to that point I'm getting to that point with it that's not like that he can do it effectively and he is not bad at it and they won CCL with him doing it but he is uh that's not he had the pieces around him though to to be able to you had the pieces around you working in a way that like
00:14:46
Speaker
His him not being the best of the best in that position it worked fine But like now when you have a team operating around you that for some reason is unraveled It's just like why not play him in the position that he is clearly more dominant at yeah I mean it's just tough because you know Ladera is theoretically the guy there and Ladera at right mid with Russ neck at the 10 I don't think that
00:15:10
Speaker
I didn't see anything from that where I was like, Oh, okay. This is the solution. Put Lidaro at the nine. Let's see if you can ban. Oh yeah. I don't know. But I rest snack is just not, uh, he doesn't have the defensive profile of a player that that excels there. He's good at the, at the passing aspect of it. He hits really nice through balls. He's a good long passer.
00:15:36
Speaker
He's a great passer. He's a technical player. He's a technical player, and in that position, you know, you want someone of the Jow Paulo profile who's going to get into tackles, intercept balls, you know, a two-way presence, and it also has that and also has that, you know, part of the logic is probably that when you pair Rusnak and JP there, JP plays that role and Rusnak can
00:16:02
Speaker
focus more on being a facilitator from that deeper line role. Part of what changed my tune on this was I was looking at his metrics on football reference
00:16:18
Speaker
He grades out really high on all the passing metrics and like expected assists and like all that stuff that you would expect And then you look at his metrics for on the defensive side Like you know interceptions tackles all the stuff they have listed for that and he grades out really low And it's like yeah because he's not not his position. Yeah, so I don't know it's an experiment that I get why I
00:16:42
Speaker
They did it and they've done it to positive effect at points, but not really as much this season and it's they're just kind of in a tough spot with that now because you got Rusnak and Ledero as two of your DPs and you're kind of to get them both on the field you got to bump one out of position and I don't I don't think that's really how you get the most out of both of those players, but at the same time
00:17:10
Speaker
That's sort of where they're at with the roster. Yeah. Tough scenes.
Seattle Sounders' Roster Speculations
00:17:16
Speaker
How to change that is something that they're going to have to deal with over the offseason. What I don't think you can do is run it back next year with both Ledero and Russnak on the roster and plan one of them out of position to get the other on the field and two of them taking up a DP spot. Yeah. There's going to be a lot of change coming up.
00:17:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean there has to be a lot of change coming up and that's something that You know as it gets closer to the offseason We're gonna be we're gonna be talking about that a lot more. I've been resistant to getting too deep into the rebuild talk and what the roster is gonna look like next year and who's gonna be moving on over the offseason and
00:17:59
Speaker
Just because I I felt like there was still a lot to play for this season and it's more about Figuring out how to maximize this season than it is about planning for the future quite yet Now saw that tease in the beginning where like exactly all of that is true Yes, that can be back if that was even like reality. I don't know a hundred percent but
00:18:25
Speaker
Mean seeing that seeing that RSL leagues cup game Yeah, that sort of that that kind of accelerated perhaps the timeline for When that stuff needs to get talked about here's here's the deal They can crash out of leagues cup Maybe they move on with the miracle probably not whatever but
00:18:51
Speaker
They have 10 games or so after league's cup of the regular season to demonstrate what type of team they are and to show that they can contend for silverware this year in the playoffs. If they 2016 it and get super hot and make a playoff run.
00:19:11
Speaker
the conversations might change a little bit. They're not going to run back the exact same roster, like, regardless. But, you know, maybe at that point, they'll think of it a little bit differently as far as, you know, maybe guys earn spots or Russnak as the holding man looks amazing and they win MLS Cup off. That would probably change things.
00:19:40
Speaker
If they look like they have over the last month or two, or anywhere close to how they looked in that first League's Cup game, I mean, we're talking about a transformative offseason at that point, like you have to imagine. I mean, there ain't no way they could look at that and just say, nah, we're just going to run that back again. I don't even think that's in the cards at that point.
00:20:10
Speaker
It's going to be interesting times man. It's going to be interesting times. They got this they got this league's cup game We'll see how that goes. I'm just looking for a better performance. That's basically it I'm just looking for a place to watch soccer and drink beer, which is what I'll be doing on Sunday That's because that's about all that. It's worth. That's probably a good call. You know who knows maybe those surprises maybe maybe though I know I just want to see him play well and
00:20:39
Speaker
put that or put that rsl game in the bin and i don't know i just i just never want to think about that again so i wouldn't be i'm not going to be tripping too hard if league's cup is over shout out to league's cup shout out least it's been it's been a pretty fun tournament i'm going to enjoy continuing to watch it yeah mls teams have been performing decently well and we talked to spashing about that so
00:21:04
Speaker
Why don't we just get into that interview right now? We'll, we'll wrap this intro right there. And we're gonna welcome in Sebastian Salazar and get to all the stuff I talked about. But yeah, we'll see what happens on Sunday, man. We'll see what happens. It's an opportunity to put that first game in the past, hopefully. And yeah, let's dive in with Sebastian.
00:21:31
Speaker
All right, it's time to welcome in our second ever guest in lobbing scorcher's history and we've got a good one today. You all are going to like this one.
Sebastian Salazar on MLS and League's Cup
00:21:40
Speaker
We've got Sebastian Salazar in the building. You already know who he is, but I'll give the brief intro just in case.
00:21:47
Speaker
You can catch them on ESPN, ESPN FC, Football Americas on ESPN+, laying down takes with Herc Gomez very frequently. We love Herc on this show. We love Herc. MLS Cup winner. But we're excited to talk to Sebastian today. Sebastian, welcome into the show. Thanks for coming on, man. How's it going?
00:22:07
Speaker
No, great to be with you guys. Thanks for the introduction there. Yeah. Herc's other half, as a lot of people say, or his official photographer on the road. Everybody's like, Hey, let me get a picture with her. Will you take it? Yeah, man. Glad to be on with you. Glad to be on. I know there's a lot of love for Herc in Seattle. There is a lot of love on our TV segment on Football Americas.
00:22:27
Speaker
Yeah, I think people forget sometimes the role that her cat on that 2016 MLS Cup team, you know, he came in partway through that year and he really he actually provided a lot of leadership in the locker room and the young guys really always spoke highly of him. So yeah, we love her here.
00:22:47
Speaker
See, I'm a Sebastian fan, so. Yeah, there's kind of two camps to it. There's two camps to it. I'm a journalist guy, so I'm like, you know. Journalist is a big word to use with me, but I'll take it as a compliment. Take giver, take giver. I'm a take giver too, so. There you go.
00:23:05
Speaker
Uh, Sebastian, we had a, we had a few things we wanted to hit with you here today, but we'll, we'll lead it off with leagues cup because you know, that's the big thing going on right now. MLS season's on break. Everyone's playing on it, playing in it. Uh, there was another slate of games last night. And, uh, so I guess to start off, we just wanted your thoughts on this tournament so far, you know,
00:23:27
Speaker
What I'm looking for in a tournament like this, whether it's CCL or now we've got this expanded edition of League's Cup, the first year they're doing it like this, how does MLS measure up? And how are we doing against these League IMAX squads? And so far, we've been doing pretty well, I think. There's been a few results that have kind of raised my eyebrows. Tigris and Club Leon and Monterey all won last night.
00:23:54
Speaker
But then you had a couple more one-sided results in favor of MLS. New England Revs won 5-1, Philly Union won 5-1, Minnesota United had a game where they won 4-0 even though they were down a man. So what are your thoughts on what you've seen so far and just the overall dynamic and the rivalry between the leagues we've got going on with this tournament?
00:24:15
Speaker
Yeah, so I think the first thing that has to be said about this tournament, and I know it's being talked a lot about on ESPN de Fortes, is that it's all being played here. So when you want to look at it as a measuring stick between the two leagues, I think it tilts it pretty far one way. The other reality, I think, from the Liga Aimecki's perspective is at least it's some of the lower level clubs.
00:24:41
Speaker
There was like a lot of hesitation about what this tournament was about, what it would mean for them. Was it kind of like a glorified American tour? And in fact, some of the players threatened not to go. Like on a couple teams, there were last minute discussions to get guys on the plane to play in this tournament.
00:25:00
Speaker
I don't know exactly how seriously kind of the mid and lower level teams in League of Mechis are taking it. And from a competitive standpoint, like DC United beat Montreal and they're through to the knockout round already. Like, I mean, it feels very easy to qualify for the knockout round. So I think from a competitive standpoint, it's really hard to measure, but I do think basically what you're seeing, we didn't really get a look at the best of League of Mechis in match day one. We're getting a little bit of it now by the
00:25:28
Speaker
time, you know, in 24 hours, we will have gotten a look at America and Chivas as well, who are, you know, if not the biggest spender, certainly the biggest brands to come out of Mexico. But I think what you're seeing is that the expenditure in the middle and maybe lower levels of MLS is getting smarter and smarter and
00:25:45
Speaker
when you add smart money to more money you're gonna be able to beat up on the web last of the world in the case of like a minnesota you know what just doesn't have the resources to build a team that that's gonna compete against these mls teams that are now going out and spending big bucks the middle of mls used to be
00:26:02
Speaker
Um, really, really cheap, you know, as, as recently as seven, eight years ago, like before the last CBA in 2015, those rosters were super thin. And now they've really, you know, relative to, to some of these teams in Mexico that don't spend, uh, they've taken out, but I think once we get to the knockout rounds, then we'll really get a much better comparison. Cause we're going to get a teams taking it seriously and we're going to get the best of the best. And so far we're not getting like best versus best in this tournament. Now, when you've got, you know,
00:26:32
Speaker
Masatlan and Juarez playing in front of 950 people in Austin. That's not the best of either of these leagues represented. And there's plenty of other matchups as well that you can point to that aren't really entertaining.
00:26:46
Speaker
and aren't really intriguing, I think, from a national or international perspective. Yeah. It's a fair point about the travel, and I think that's a caveat that's worth bringing up. I saw the clip of, I think it was Club Leon. They got stranded in Vancouver at the airport for like 14 hours or something. So that is definitely something, a disadvantage that League of MX has to deal with in this tournament.
00:27:12
Speaker
At the same time, I kind of feel like I hear so much from League of M.E.K.E.'s fans and media about how much farther ahead they are of MLS and how much better that they always are. So I'm like, oh, you can't handle a little travel? You can't handle a little road game, you know? I mean, but I do think it is a fair point. I do think it is a fair point. I'm interested. I don't know that there'll be road games all the time.
00:27:36
Speaker
You know, I think, I think just at that point, like when you got a club America in the United States, it's effectively outside of the travel going to be a home map. Yeah. If you got to achieve us in the United States, I don't really care who they're playing in MLS. Like unless the MLS team makes a concerted effort to only sell to their fans, it will be, you know, it'll be a de facto home game, you know, plus a plus a quick, a quick flight.
00:28:01
Speaker
What can you tell us about CF Monterey? Just give us the breakdown. They beat RSL 3-0. RSL beat Seattle 3-0. Seattle had one of the toughest performances I've ever seen from a Sounders team. It was awful. And that RSL game, real tough to watch. And this game is going to be even tougher. The team that they just lost to 3-0 got beat 3-0 by the CF Monterey team. What mission rolled on? Yeah.
00:28:29
Speaker
and Christian rolled ons in concussion protocol again. So I mean, can you tell us anything positive about this matchup from a Seattle perspective? Do you think we're in for a tough one out here? Yeah. I mean, if I look at the two rosters kind of players available today, I don't really see how Seattle can win this. If I always puts out
00:28:50
Speaker
The team that they put out against RSL, it's going to be really tough. They're so strong at the back. Andrález, you know, one of the best goalies in Ligamexis. He's not a guy that's going to make a mistake. Their back line has been playing together forever. Marina Moreno, Yirré on the right. They have incredible players. Maximus, Maximus is a guy who's just, he's a nightmare at the CONCACAP level.
00:29:13
Speaker
And Bertram is a guy who, when you went there, I think a lot of people questioned it. They didn't know if Realis needed him, or maybe he was at that level. And it took him a while, but he's starting to catch fire now. He's a really, really, I think, a player with a huge upside. So I think the way Realis is playing now,
00:29:36
Speaker
You know, it'll depend on the 11 that they put out, but, um, you know, it's, it's tough to see Seattle competing against that team. I hate to say that. I just think that my Alice today is, is the best of Mexico on paper. And they, they seem to have turned a corner from the last, like, let's say 12 months, but really last six months where they were brutally inconsistent. Um, and now, now they seem to be, you know, in a much better place.
00:30:04
Speaker
Yeah. Well, that's not all that part of prognosis, but I mean, now that I think that's the answer that we expected with the form that Seattle's been in lately. I mean, you know, you'd ask me last year when Seattle was balling out in CCL and going head to head with some of these really good league and max teams. I might like their chances more, but.
00:30:26
Speaker
The form they're in right now is just tough and I think we wanted to ask you about that next. I'm curious your take on the Sounders from a national perspective. We follow it locally every single day. We talk about every single game. So we're super plugged in. So we see everything. But I'm curious from the outside.
00:30:46
Speaker
I think the question people are asking out here at this point is did they wait too long to rebuild, you know, it's an aging core and It seems like they might have waited too long to hit the reset and move on to the next cycle and it's something that I go back and forth on because I think you earn equity in winning trophies guys like Nico Ledero and Raul Rui Diaz and even Brian Schmetzer and
00:31:14
Speaker
they've put so much silverware in the trophy case that I think, you know, you earn equity from that. And but it might have been a situation where they waited too long in this cycle to move on. I think I think it's fair to ask. So I'm wondering what you think how you see that from the outside and more national perspective. Yeah, I mean, anytime you have a team that's super successful,
00:31:41
Speaker
It is the big question is how long do you hang on to your guys and that's.
00:31:47
Speaker
you know, made more prominent in MLS. Like I remember her telling me stories after they won MLS cup in 2016, guys getting the call on the plane back about getting cut because of the roster restriction. So as you perform and as you have to pay guys more, not only is it, is it difficult to know when to cut guys for emotional reasons. Um, but there's a, there's a huge financial pressure on MLS teams, you know, in managing the roster and then trying to, to compete with other teams that are spending more, especially in the international space. So.
00:32:16
Speaker
You know, you look at the team and I would agree with you as not a bad player, you know, like these guys are not necessarily past it. I don't think from a, an MLS productivity level. Um, but I do think.
00:32:34
Speaker
We're on the downside of what this team is capable of when we talk about getting trophies without a significant overhaul. I think the rest of MLS is getting better. That's the reality. I think that this kind of run for the Sounders starts really in 2016, from nothing that summer. And we're now...
00:33:00
Speaker
seven years, six years into that. That's an incredible run at the top. And by the team, by the way, the team's not bad right now. What do you got? It's five, five points off the top of the West or something like that in the West, 1.5 points. So.
00:33:16
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that's not terrible, especially by sounder standards early in the season. But I do think when I start to look at the teams that I have seen play the best this year,
00:33:31
Speaker
Like Seattle's not in that conversation in a way that even when they were not producing good results early on, you still kind of felt they had in them. And now I see other teams in the league that I say, okay, that team's in tier one and maybe the Sounders have it other than like their history. And I know I can trust these guys and there's that emotional kind of like when the games matter, I know they're going to step up. I know they're going to take it to another level. But if I'm just basing it on kind of what I've seen this year, it's hard to really say that
00:34:01
Speaker
you know, that this team is one of the best in the league right now. And right now, the other caveat there is right now doesn't matter. It's July 27th. It's never mattered if you're the best in the league on July 27th. True. The performance against RSL was just alarming. Seattle wasn't competitive. And that's just something that we're not used to seeing from a Seattle team. There's usually a baseline of that that we can expect, which we talked about on the last show. But
00:34:29
Speaker
I think, yeah, if you look at the table, 1.5 points per game fourth in the West, you know, they're still in it as far as league play goes and making the playoffs. But I think the deflating thing was just how list list that performance at Salt Lake really was just compared to what we're used to seeing from a sounder squad.
00:34:48
Speaker
Yeah, I'll I'll admit I didn't catch the back game and it's full. I just saw the highlights, but I'm looking at the lineups now and it's clear that the lineup suggested they were going to take it seriously, right? I mean, that's that's that's what you're telling the team as Brian Schmetzer when you put that line about there. I think there's probably a couple of things to look at here, not to excuse the listlessness, but to explain it one. You know, first match day of a new competition that.
00:35:17
Speaker
we don't know exactly how important it is or what it means. And then the other reality is how many of your guys are coming off Gold Cup and where are they in kind of not just their fitness, but they're, you know, getting reintegrated back into the team. I know you think like, Oh, well the Roldan brothers don't need too much to get reintegrated, but at the same time, you know, it must take something to get back into the swing of an, of an MLS season. And now this, this league's called tournaments. So,
00:35:47
Speaker
You know, to me, I look at that game and as long as that's not a pattern, you know, as long as it's not a pattern that you're seeing that type of performance, but away from home, given everything else that was happening, I think there's some explanations there.
00:36:07
Speaker
Yeah. And they never went away at RSL. That's true too. That place is really tough. It's tough. It's tiny. It's really loud. They do a great job, not just with the fans, but the in-stadium presentation to boost the noise and the altitude. People don't think about it as an altitude place, but I've heard a lot of players complain about that wall at 20 minutes.
00:36:33
Speaker
where like you're out there in the desert and suddenly you're struggling to breathe. Yeah, people don't realize too. I've heard a lot of players say that RSL fans are like the rowdiest in the league in terms of heckling. Yeah. I don't know how much that affects games, but that's something I always think that's funny when I hear that because I'm like, you know, you wouldn't expect the RSL necessarily to have the craziest fan base. But Stefan Fry says they're always coming at him.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah, they're right on top of you is the thing they're right. They're like literally right there on the field and then they got the overhang that kind of bangs the noise back down in. I mean, so it's a, you know, for a smaller stadium, it's a it's a pretty cool place. It's got an amazing backdrop there to the, you know, the scenic there of nature just wild.
00:37:15
Speaker
wanted to ask you about messy mania man because the messy era is underway and i think it's going so far about how we all thought it would as far as his performance on the field it's been pretty phenomenal to watch he's scoring goals for fun uh and i just think you know it's probably to be expected but
Inter Miami's Transformation with Messi and Busquets
00:37:35
Speaker
Just how staggeringly different Inner Miami looks with him and Busquets in the fold. I wasn't even really... When Busquets announced that he was coming too, I was like, oh, okay. One of Messi's Barca boys, I don't know. Maybe he doesn't have much left in the tank or this is kind of a side story to it. And then you watch him take the field and you're like, oh my God.
00:37:58
Speaker
God, like this guy is a footballing God in his own right. So from what you've seen so far from inner Miami and after that Atlanta game, I mean, do you think anyone's going to be able to stop that team with those two guys on the field? Because you got them out there with like Robert Taylor and Noah Allen. And they look like they look like twenty nineteen LFC. Yeah. So Robert Taylor banging in like goal of the week goals just out of nowhere. He looks like him.
00:38:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's just crazy. It's crazy how much those two guys elevate, elevate everyone else on the team, no matter who it is. Yeah. Lynn looks in his prime again. Yeah.
00:38:40
Speaker
totally yeah it's funny it reminds me you know my dc uh ways of dc united in 2018 they were like god awful terrible runny shows up and suddenly everybody's much better and on top of that you know a guy like lucha acosta who now we see is is a legit mvp candidate went from like pretty decent player to
00:39:01
Speaker
you know, the best player in the league, it felt like, for six months, at least, because he was the guy that kind of Rudy chose as his new running mate. Obviously, I love the point about Busquets, because it gets buried, right? It's like the third or fourth paragraph in the messy story, but he's really like the gas to the messy engine. I don't know, like, as soon as they go on, I think it was the first connection between them. Busquets turns, and it's almost like a no-look,
00:39:30
Speaker
team-splitting pass to Messi that puts him perfectly and straight onto his left foot at the D, right? Right at the top of the area where you've seen this dude score a thousand goals before, it feels like it. And yeah, I think the shot got blocked. It was a good play by the Cruceso defender, but it really tells you how important that connection is, right? That those two guys are going to bring something magic. And when Inter Miami put them on in the whatever,
00:39:57
Speaker
53rd minute, whatever it was when he went on, it was like someone flipped the switch. And this team that had looked for me, and I watched them a lot because I'll be honest with you, they were a good punching bag for a long time. A team that got caught cheating, that still didn't make the playoffs. Big name owner and David Beckham.
00:40:17
Speaker
call themselves inner Miami, but playing Fort Lauderdale. That's a good punching bag for us on football Americas. I watch them a lot and they weren't just statistically and in the standings, the worst team in the league. They looked the worst team in the league on the field and now
00:40:34
Speaker
just based on these hundred minutes that I've seen, I don't know that I've seen another team in the league look better this season. I mean, that's the swing that these two guys have made. And it's really, I mean, it's so much fun to watch. And I, I, I guys, I don't think we're done, right? Like,
00:40:50
Speaker
Jordy Alves coming. I mean, Luis Suarez, it feels like it's gonna happen, if not this window, the next. Every time I was saying this the other day on the show, every time I open my phone, it's like, Gremio says no, now Gremio might do it. But they're also doing what Atlanta United did.
00:41:07
Speaker
which is they're tapping into the Tata Martino Rolodex. They just signed a Paraguayan midfielder who's going to shore up that, you know, the midfield, the center of the midfield. They're linked with Argentine, like young attacking prospect who everybody's really excited about down there. Those are the dudes that Tata Martino brought with him to Atlanta United, and that's why they won. You know, that's why they were great. So I really think that in the long term, they're going to rack up
00:41:36
Speaker
about every trophy that you can play for as long as everybody, you know, stays healthy. And in the short term, even like nothing's impossible. They could win league's cup. They very well could win the open cup. They're 90 minutes from a final there. And honestly, I know that the number of points that they have to get
00:41:54
Speaker
per game, it's got to be like, I don't know. It's like 20 points per game. Yeah. Yeah. To reasonably get in in their last 12 games. I don't, I don't see why this team playing this way with the improvements that we know are coming couldn't get that. And then once they're in a knockout tournament, like I'm good. I just wants to play them. Because again, to the point about the league, the league, I make these big brands that come here.
00:42:21
Speaker
If Messi comes to your stadium, it's not your stadium anymore. It's a mecca for him. And so everything becomes around him. And if what happened with Atlanta United the other day is any indicator, as much as Messi coming to, and this is something I also saw with Rooney here, and I'm just imagining it's on a much greater scale for Inter Miami. Not only do the dudes that are going to training with him and playing with him, do they step up their game because they don't want to disappoint that player. But I think on other teams,
00:42:49
Speaker
there's an awe factor. There's a, we're watching this happen, especially the first time you play. And that I think is something that might explain what happened yesterday or the other day with Atlanta United. Messi is, you cannot, I mean, every player in the world, I'm sure the coaches at Atlanta said, you know, do not give this guy space, you know, know where he is, bracket him, put multiple guys around him. I know that was the plan.
00:43:13
Speaker
And in the first 25 minutes, he scores two goals. And they're goals where he has acres of space. I can only explain that by professional players turning off because they're in awe of something. And if you run into him for the first time in the playoffs, good luck. Good luck. You're going to need it, I think.
00:43:29
Speaker
I was going to ask you about that Atlanta United game plan, because I think you're right. There probably was an element of that, but like they were also playing like a super high line, throwing numbers forward at the beginning of the game. And yeah, Messy and Busquets just had all the space in the world. And I'm like, you cannot. I mean, I don't think there is a good game plan for defending those guys. But like, I don't know. What did you what did you think of Atlanta's tactics in that way?
00:43:55
Speaker
Well, I think they showed everybody the blueprint for what not, especially when you think about when you think about adding Jordy Alba back and there's like a left back who, you know, is just an A plus player, not just linking up with Messi, but when it comes to build up. So if you're going to press a team and by the way, it worked a little bit against Cruz Azul.
00:44:16
Speaker
Busquets did make a mistake, you know, but he's coming on as a sub there, you know, first time on the field. He's not going to make many of those mistakes, but if you're going to press a team that can play out through Busquets and Alba, I mean, you know, you're playing with fire, especially with the high line that they were doing. So I guess my theory then would be the way to defend this is the exact opposite, is to do what everybody did against the great Barcelona teams when they were at their pump, which was
00:44:45
Speaker
really drop yourself back into two lines of four and work to draw them in, have them ping it around the box, and hit them on counters and set pieces. And I think that's the way, and some MLS teams are gonna have to humble themselves, some MLS coaches who like to play a certain way, but if you wanna press,
00:45:09
Speaker
and you want to run at this team, you better not just create turnovers, but you better finish them. Because if you're pressing and not taking advantage of the few chances that you might create trying to get the ball off these guys, it's not like, will they burn you? It's how badly will you be burned? And that's what happened to Atlanta United. They were burned very, very badly very early in that game, and it was over. And you don't want to find yourself 30 minutes into a game, and it's over.
00:45:37
Speaker
No, yeah. I mean, inner Miami right now, it's electric every time they're on the ball and attack. That game was fun to watch. Must watch TV. We're going to grab a US Women's World Cup take from you real quick here, and then we'll let you go.
00:45:54
Speaker
So two games for the US WNT in the group stage So far a 3-0 win over Vietnam and then 1-1 against the Dutch last night And what I wanted to ask you about is just we were talking about it But the US is spot as the top dog seems like it's under siege a little bit more than I can remember in recent times
US Women's National Team: Rising Competition
00:46:16
Speaker
and
00:46:16
Speaker
And we got everything we could handle from the Dutch last night. I watched most of the game. It was a really good game. Well played. It was a spectacle for sure. But do you think that we're still going to win the cup this year, I guess? Or is this the year that the dynasty falls? Because it seems like this is the most threat that we've been under in some time.
00:46:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean the conversation for a while now has been, you know, when's the rest of the world going to catch up? And I actually thought it was going to be the last World Cup. I thought 2019 was going to be it. I was very sure of it. I was very sure that I saw better soccer players elsewhere. And what I didn't take into account is the
00:46:59
Speaker
physical superiority and dominance in that aspect of the American women. And it's what you saw down the stretch at the last World Cup, right? In every knockout game, they played teams that had very talented, very good players and they physically wore them down and dominated them. European team after European team after European team, just at the end of the game could not handle the US women's national team. What's interesting is the Dutch manager just before this game was talking some trash
00:47:29
Speaker
Or maybe he was just being kind of blunt as Dutch managers tend to be. But he said, look, the US women always had a superiority in the fitness. They don't have that anymore. What do they have left now? And when you watch that game last night for the first hour, you thought, well, this guy was right. You know, the Dutch players were
00:47:55
Speaker
not just taking cleaner touches than the American players, right? Which is kind of like, Oh, you're a better soccer player. They were making better decisions on the ball. They were moving it quicker. They were so much more dynamic. And it was to the point where I was like, okay, this is, this is really a bad indicator for what's to come later in this tournament. Cause this Dutch team is not the best version of this Dutch team. And they're definitely not the biggest threat in the tournament to the United States. They're not the team that plays the best, you know, there are other
00:48:22
Speaker
teams that play better. And then kind of what usually happens, happened. It didn't happen to the extent of the US coming back and winning the game, but they could have. They got a set piece and a gutsy play. And I want this more than you do play from Lindsay Horan, get some level. And then a little bit of the switch gets flipped. And you see what this team could be. They're roaring forward. They got players.
00:48:50
Speaker
pouring into the box, five, six at a time, a team that for the last two years, really going back to the Tokyo Olympics and beyond has lacked, not just dynamism, but really finishing touch in a critical way, started to look like, hey, this team is creating quality chances that are gonna go in. They didn't finish them, but I think there's something in that last 30 minutes that says, this team still has it in them. I think the big question is,
00:49:20
Speaker
Does the manager know with the players he's got?
00:49:25
Speaker
how to take this team to the next level in this tournament. He still has huge questions in his starting 11. And based on last night, I have to wonder if he knows how to manage his bench. He brought Roosevelt on at the half, because he had to, because the team was desperate. And now I think whatever her physical situation is, she has to play every minute possible the rest of the way. Because without her, this team is not going to beat the best teams in the world.
00:49:55
Speaker
to not make another sub to leave alyssa thompson who's an just incredibly dynamic player on the bench to leave lind williams out who has been scoring goals in the nwsl for not a decade basically to leave megan rupino off who i mean at the end of the game when you need a goal
00:50:13
Speaker
And a goal would have been important last night, by the way. Winning that game means you're going to win the group, means you definitely avoid Sweden, most likely, in the next round. You don't want Sweden in the next round. You don't want that. You don't want to go into the bracket as a second best team.
00:50:29
Speaker
nine out of 10 times, that's going to make your journey to the final, not just a little bit harder, but a lot harder. So it was important to get the win last night and to see the manager leave all of that firepower on the bench with the game tied for me raises questions if, you know, I'm considering they only won two out of six games under him at the Tokyo Olympics. I think this is a fair question.
00:50:53
Speaker
whether he knows how to get the best out of this team. And he's got to figure some things out quickly because there'll be favorites against Portugal, no doubt. Like, even if they don't play their best, they'll probably win. But you get to the knockout rounds and especially get to the quarterfinals.
00:51:10
Speaker
It's going to be a coin flip game. And if he doesn't know what the best center back pairing is, which if it's julie ertz, like, whoa, a player who hasn't played that position for the national team in four years is just going to slide back and up top. You know, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman have not scored yet. And, you know,
00:51:31
Speaker
those players score everywhere else that they play. So when I see this, I just, I really worry about the decisions and kind of how confident black going to Natsuki is.
00:51:42
Speaker
in the 11 that he's putting out there, you know, he started Savannah Demello last night. I mean, so he started the same team twice, back to back games, which tells me that that's what he believes is his best lineup. Let's think about that. That means that he believes Savannah Demello, who didn't play for
00:52:03
Speaker
ever with the national team just gets called in like late late ab and julie ertz who's again didn't play club or international for two years and is now playing a different position that's the best 11 of the usms national team
00:52:20
Speaker
If it is, I just doubt that that's going to be good enough with how good the rest of the world has gotten. I think you're not setting players up. You're not setting the team up in a way to succeed if that's the best 11 that you've not really been working with for the last year and a half.
00:52:36
Speaker
Yeah. Sorry, long answer. That was great stuff. I'm late watching that game. Great stuff right there. Yeah. I mean, I've been feeling for a while that I don't really know if Vlogco knows what he's doing or like you just broke down what the best lineups are. He plays players out of position. You know, like the crystal done thing has been going on for
00:52:56
Speaker
Really long time now. He didn't start that to be fair to him. But yeah, that is true. That is true But you know, he also hasn't solved it. So it's just crazy that we're still the Christian rolled on Yeah, we were talking about it because the Sounders do the same thing with Christian rolled on where that like you just do at the US as well yeah where there's just never a set position but
00:53:21
Speaker
I guess if I could get one more Women's World Cup take from you. So we were talking about, it's pretty exciting to see the young guard coming through like Trinity Rodman and then Sophia Smith is the one where I just think the upside with her is through the roof. So what's your opinion on this young guard coming through and what players are you kind of looking at to see if they can
00:53:49
Speaker
Break out or start showing the upside that we all know that they have with this future generation
00:53:56
Speaker
Yeah, I'll start with Trinity Rodman because, you know, again, I'm based out of Washington, so I get to see her a lot and I've got to see her progression a lot with the spirit. She's just a really fantastic, fantastic player. I think she's going to be a stalwart in the national team for, you know, the next five to six years, which to maintain a kind of starting spot in this national team for that long is a really significant achievement. That's kind of what I see her ceiling.
00:54:24
Speaker
There's another player when we talk about a really young guard that I think is worth mentioning as well. That's Alyssa Thompson. I've only had the chance to see her play a few times because she just joined the National Women's Soccer League straight out of high school with Angel City. But in terms of like physically and I'm really talking not just speed but quickness and explosive quickness and jumping ability and
00:54:47
Speaker
She is, to me, the most exciting player in the pool. And the fact that she already has some of the attacking skill, quality, finishing ability, creating an ability that will surely only grow as she fine-tunes her game, I think she could be a player that physically dominates the game. And those players are really exciting. But I'll finish on Sophia Smith.
00:55:11
Speaker
because she's the one that, for me, has the highest upside. And that's the one, if you look at the next gen of US women's national teamers, is the Ballon d'Or candidate. And when I look at her game, I don't see a problem. At 22 years old, she has an incredible finishing ability already. And she has all this pace. And usually that finishing ability
00:55:41
Speaker
comes later, right? You see young players with pace and the ability to get themselves into really good opportunities. I'm thinking of somebody like Vinicius Jr., right? For the first three labels of years of his career is labeled as kind of a guy who just can't finish, like has no end product. And now we think of him as one of the best players in the world. Sophia Smith,
00:56:00
Speaker
has always had what Vinicius Jr. lacked in that regard. She's always had that finishing touch. You know, she joined the league in 2020. That was like a lost year. 2021, you know, she shined in bits, but she was so dominant last year, not just for the, not just, you know, at the NWSL level, but at the national team level as well. She was a soccer player of the year for the women's national team. So, and then, I mean, she's the, she carried that over and
00:56:29
Speaker
you know, had a great start to this season as well. She had a hat trick in her last game before, you know, before the World Cup break in the NWSL. So she's a player who's just like always scoring, always scoring in bunches. She's only going to get better. And what would be really interesting for me with her, because we saw Trinity Rodman had that great year and the NWSL locked her into the, you know, the biggest contract ever. First million dollar contract in NWSL history.
00:56:55
Speaker
I'm very curious to see, especially as the link between U.S. soccer and NWSL kind of further and further dissipates. And the link really between the national team and the NWSL, you know, kind of loosens up. If Sophia Smith would be
00:57:11
Speaker
would take her game to another level by going to Europe. I'd love to see her at like a Barcelona or a Manchester City, one of the real best teams in the world. And that might be the ticket, as we talk about like the rest of the world catching up, that might be the ticket to reestablishing dominance or at the very least
00:57:30
Speaker
Um, making sure that the rest of the world, if they have caught up, don't pull away is we got to get our best players being playing the best soccer against the other best players in the world who are now in Europe and getting the best coaching. Uh, I've been talking to some, some pretty big name, like European coaches over the last year, year and a half in the women's game. And I always like ask them about NWSL and it's very clear to me, um, the best coaches in the world do not want to be in the NWSL. They want to be.
00:58:00
Speaker
in Europe, they want to be at those big clubs, those they want to be playing for Champions League. And so I think if that's the truth of the coaches, it's probably the same for the players. So Sophia Smith is kind of the first person on that list, but there's a lot of them that I think, you know, over the long term could be benefited by time in the European club game.
00:58:18
Speaker
Sophia Smith is so good, man. It's it's phenomenal to watch, you know, like when I think about Trinity Rodman, I feel like she's more she's less polished. Like the talent in the upside is crazy, but she's not as polished yet. But then you watch Sophia Smith play like I was watching her play for the Thorns when they were in Seattle. And she's just different. She's just it's it's different to watch her play the game.
00:58:45
Speaker
We're going to let you go on that one right there, Sebastian Salazar. Thank you so much for coming on Lobbin' Scorchers, man. We really, really appreciate you giving the time for a relatively new Upstart podcast like the one we're working on here. Super awesome to have you on.
Conclusion and Guest Farewell
00:59:01
Speaker
Great takes. Anything you want to plug? Yeah, if you want to plug your socials or all the work you're doing, feel free to.
00:59:13
Speaker
Yeah, so we got a bunch of women's World Cup specials going on over on ESPN and ESPN2. Let's do some soccer studio work on the linear side of the television, which is always nice. We'll have those, I think, on August 2nd. They're kind of around the women's national team games for the US, usually kind of a preview.
00:59:31
Speaker
And then on Football America as we're kind of cranking it up, we're going to like three days a week over the next couple weeks. You know, just check her social is what I tell all you folks in Seattle because I know everybody follows him. He's always tweeting. We used to do the show kind of Mondays and Thursdays. And then what we learned at the World Cup was that you just, no matter if you're on the platform that's broadcasting it or not, being live after the games is the best. It's the way to kind of generate the most interest.
00:59:58
Speaker
Our strategy this summer has been like, OK, we'll go after the women's national team games. We'll go after the Gold Cup games as you guys saw. So if there's a big game, just pop on ESPN Plus afterwards. And there's a good chance that we'll be on over there. Awesome. Well, thanks again, man, for coming on. We really appreciate it.
01:00:19
Speaker
Hopefully we can do it again soon. This was fun. I'm sure our listeners are going to love hearing your takes on everything. So yeah, hopefully we can do it again. But until next time, thanks for coming on and good luck with everything you're working on, man. Much appreciated. Nah, man. Thanks for having me. Always great to talk to folks from Seattle. I know whatever I've said will definitely generate some engagement. I know that.
01:00:48
Speaker
All right, thank you so much to Sebastian Salazar for coming on for that, and generously giving his time to us here on Lobbing Scorchers. That was a great interview. Had fun talking ball with them. The man knows what he's talking about. One of the best national pundits out there right now, 100%. So awesome to have him on the show. Hope you guys enjoyed that. And we're going to be trying to line up some more guests like that in the future here.
01:01:14
Speaker
It's always fun kind of getting a new perspective from someone who we might not we might talk to not talk to on a regular basis, so Good stuff and thanks again to Sebastian and we'll we'll call that a wrap here on episode 14 of lobbing scorchers keep rating five stars Toss us some reviews toss us some more reviews. We've got like six or seven reviews up on Apple pods right now, but I
01:01:39
Speaker
We could use more. I know that helps with the algorithm and the support, so if anyone wants to help us out with that, that would be much appreciated. We're on our knees begging. You just can't see it. Tell your friends. Tell your parents. Tell us Sebastian Salazar. Yeah. Tell everyone you know. And until episode 15, we out. Peace.