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Kickoff: Can the Seattle Sounders take down Cruz Azul?
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After an excellent performance in Matchday 3's 5-2 demolition of LAFC, the biggest game of Seattle Sounders season so far looms with Tuesday's Leg 2 clash at Cruz Azul.
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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.
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Transcript
Introduction and YouTube Streaming
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or lobbingscorchers.com slash youtube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. What the scorcher today? Well, it's gonna be scorcher.
Seattle vs LAFC First Half Highlights
00:00:43
Speaker
Good morning, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. This is Ari. Nico Moreno, Pulso Sports, Sounder at Heart.
00:00:54
Speaker
How are you doing, man? Hey, what's going on everybody is having some issues with my background there, but we figured it out. We are ready to go. tried to get fancy with it and I failed, but here we are with it and ready to go excited to be on got my cup of coffee ready to go. We got the rave green mug going so hey.
00:01:15
Speaker
Happy to be here with you and our loving, gorgeous kickoff familiar, man. Yeah, Nico, I'm dying to ah catch up with you about what we saw in this LAFC game and then also talk about this Cruz Azul game. I mean, I was just saying, but it's one of the biggest games that they're going to play all season, this game. And they're coming off about as galvanizing a performance, I think, as they possibly could have had. um I think the first half of that LAFC game was, ah it was great to see them score the early goal. And it was great to see KKR make a play like that. We'll talk about that.
00:01:54
Speaker
It was a great assist from Jesus Ferreira on that play. That was great to see. But the Pedro de la Vega injury really put a damper on that first half to the point where, I think I even ah put on Blue Sky during the first half that the game, that game felt like an abject disaster at that point because they had gone ahead.
00:02:13
Speaker
They were looking good. De La Vega was out there. He was still looking good and they lose him in the first half and him coming off with a muscle injury. You already know he can't play on Tuesday and that is, and you don't know how long he's going to be out after that. So I was,
00:02:30
Speaker
I wouldn't say I was fully crashing out in the first half, but I was like, this is not good. Like, honestly, with De La Vega coming off, the way I was thinking of it was even if they win this game, they kind of still lost with him coming off.
00:02:41
Speaker
However, after seeing them rack four more goals in the ah in the second half and really just... beat the brakes off LAFC, dominate them, like get them out
Seattle's Second Half Dominance
00:02:51
Speaker
of here. Like they don't even, they didn't even belong on the field.
00:02:54
Speaker
So that was cathartic to watch. Let's start right there, Nico. I mean, just what were your thoughts and takeaways from that second half where Seattle dominated LAFC in a way that we just have not seen them ever dominate LAFC? I mean, what did you, what did you make of that second half performance?
00:03:11
Speaker
Yeah. but I thought it was great. And I, you know, put some thoughts on it on X and I think on Blue Sky as well. I really think that it was an overall team win.
00:03:26
Speaker
And even when things got dicey with Pedro's injury and the equalizer, ah getting and starting that second half with such presence and in that response, that character, that's something that's important.
00:03:41
Speaker
um I think Jordan was influential the moment he stepped on the field. I think if there was anything really wrong with the first half performance was Danny Musowski and his inability to really connect or or really get going throughout that game.
00:03:59
Speaker
um And Jordan just, changes everything, right? I mean, it makes everything up to work better. ah He gets into better spaces. He creates a lot more mayhem chaos for the defenders and the team just responded well.
00:04:15
Speaker
Paul Rothrock needed this sort of game. He was struggling after his injury. He was talking about having rust and his sort of soccer,
00:04:27
Speaker
kind of leaves off vibes. You know, he he needs that confidence, right? He needs to be able to have that on him. And not that he's a guy that you might look at and think, man, that guy needs confidence, but it's just about the soccer component, not not, not him as a person or, or anything like that is whenever you feel like you can get through a player in a B1 situation, whenever you think that you can get a shot, like the one that he took off and and and he puts in the back of the net, all of those things are mental states. And,
00:04:57
Speaker
He needed it. So that was important for me. Love to see the fact that Albert Rusnak gets on for Pedro and begins to be that guy that moves everything around, distributes that.
00:05:12
Speaker
um His goal was important, right? To just what we just talked about, that that impulse and that momentum and and everything that goes in of this sort of performance in the LA Galaxy, it all kind of came
Jordan Morris' Impact and Criticism
00:05:27
Speaker
together. Jordan Moore is getting his, right, 87th goal. That was huge, right? that that's ah that's That's not just ah a title and a subline and something that people need to watch, but it just talks about,
00:05:40
Speaker
a player who's gotten a lot of heat over his time in Seattle for decisions and staying in MLS and not doing all of these things. But all I want to say is I have never seen a player as scrutinized as Jordan Morris, take things with such maturity. And I'm sure he's got his lows in his own personal time and he's had lows on the field and has, you know, maybe had moments where he can't get to the back of the net, but he's never stopped trying. He's never been a guy that goes to practice and just takes a practice off. He's always relentless. He's always getting better, growing and watching him get this record.
00:06:28
Speaker
It's credit to him. And it's honestly something that I'm proud to have witnessed from, you know, the moment that I've started covering this team to now. And I honestly congratulate him.
00:06:39
Speaker
And I hope this, he can build off of this and he has another fantastic season, but I did want to make a couple of, I did want to take some time to express that because I feel like maybe he doesn't get said enough about Jordan Morris. He's definitely one of the great sounders of all time.
00:06:56
Speaker
ah He's definitely, you know, the best homegrown for this franchise, possibly, you know, one of the best in MLS history. And I'm just proud of, of him getting to that record.
00:07:08
Speaker
I'm glad, I'm glad you said that because you're right. uh,
00:07:13
Speaker
He took a lot of heat earlier and earlier in his career. There was the whole ah discourse around... like it was most But it was mostly U.S. men's national team fans that were unhappy with his decision to stay in MLS and not go to the Bundesliga or whatever.
00:07:28
Speaker
i don't think anyone ah who matters cares or respects what they have to say. But i thought what I thought was weird was... ah The response from a lot of the Seattle fan base this offseason when it came out that there was the escalators for his ah for him becoming a designated player. Now, I will admit. ah Noah and I both raised our eyebrows, I think, a little bit when we found that out. And i think it's a fair question to ask if that was a good move. But like the reaction that it was this outlandish thing and he's not close to a designated player at all and the fact that he's a designated player on this roster represents a lack of ambition and all those talking points.
00:08:14
Speaker
I mean, he's making that look stupid so far. We'll see. Yeah. Maybe it'll, we'll come to a point at the end of the season where we look back on it and we're like, man, ah Jordan Morris being a designated player in MLS doesn't make sense. I highly, highly doubt that he's already got three goals this season and he scored the most goals in the history of the club.
00:08:33
Speaker
And ah he's also been a, he's been a big game player for this club. So there's been narratives out there that he like doesn't show up in big games I mean, literally go to his player page and look at his playoff stats.
00:08:48
Speaker
and so yeah Maybe he hasn't had his his moments, but I think those are coming up, right? I mean, I feel i feel like when we think of big moments, we think of, ah you know, Raul Enica's performance in CC, a final here in Seattle.
00:09:04
Speaker
ah You think of, you know, the 2019 final here and moments that other players have had. But at the end of the day, he's been important and he has been productive and he has shown up in those big games just because maybe we can't think of a huge moment where he was the guy who put him through. I think that last season, you know, beating LAFC and him having his moment, that's a moment that you can remember, even if Seattle wasn't able to do it in the Western Conference Final.
00:09:34
Speaker
People kept the talking point that he doesn't show up in big games. after he scored that goal against l LAFC in the play in the playoffs last year. Or, you know, I could go down the list.
00:09:45
Speaker
This a guy that scored the game-winning goal in the Western Conference final. This is a guy that had a hat trick against FC Dallas in the playoffs. So, I mean, you know, we don't need to mitigate all the Jordan- No, no, no, no, we don't. but And that's why I wanted to just generalize his career in Seattle you know,
00:10:03
Speaker
Just talk about it as a whole, necessarily the moment. Cause like you said, he's been disrespected even this year. It's not disrespected, criticized about, you know, everything that you just said. but at the end of the day like I think he was.
00:10:18
Speaker
I think he was. yeah and and And that's fair, man. Cause I mean, when you have a guy that, just hit 87 goals for your franchise. Yeah, but he should be right to be still disrespected, right? And, you know, we look at MLS in general and we look at DPs and all of these things and that's where we,
00:10:37
Speaker
forget and we get kind of tunnel vision on, oh, he's a DP. But when you look at his product productivity in general, man, I think that he's been phenomenal for the team. And again, it's not easy being Jordan Morris through the injuries, through the criticism, ah through, you know, do diabetes and and all of the the things that he kind of fights against every single day.
00:11:01
Speaker
It's hard to hard for me to hear somebody just hate on the guy because because that's just not right. And I've been a guy that that has talked about his inability to finish and has talked about me wanting him elsewhere, not at the striker position, but that's nothing. That's no indictment on his character at all. He's such a professional. He's such a nice guy, always amazing to the press, amazing to the fans, man. So I have nothing but great things to say about Jordan Morris and whether he can continue to grow in his position and continue to grow in his career and build more moments for him. And I wish him nothing but the best, but, but I'm happy for him in general sense. And now going back to the game,
00:11:40
Speaker
um Unless you got something more to say about that there. All I had, only thing I had to say was Derek Richards, your maniac. Thank you for the $4 super sticker. I'm just real quick.
00:11:52
Speaker
Other shouts from this LAFC game. You mentioned Paul Rothrock.
Paul Rothrock's Standout Game
00:11:56
Speaker
I've been saying that I think this might've been the best Paul Rothrock game of his career so far, which he's had a lot of good ones, but Nico, he took over the game.
00:12:05
Speaker
There was like a 10 to 20 minute period in the second half where he took over the game. Pretty much not single-handedly, but he was dominating singularly in a way that I don't know that I've seen him dominate in an MLS game.
00:12:20
Speaker
He was given Ryan Hollingshead absolute hell out there. It was hilarious to watch. The play where he juked Hollingshead out of his shoes, that's about as much as you can be put on skates. that you'll never you You're not going to see many...
00:12:37
Speaker
Defenders in top flight leagues yeah ah get juked. And him having this sort of game when Pedro comes off has to be ah relief for the coaching staff and for everyone, really.
00:12:53
Speaker
We hope that Pedro is okay. We hope that it's not a long-term injury. I've not heard anything just quite yet. I'm pretty sure that they're waiting for that swelling to go down so he can get a proper scan and and figure out what the severity of the muscle injury is.
00:13:09
Speaker
ah So we'll probably hear from them once they come back from Mexico. I doubt that we get anything before that, but, Having Paul Rothrock having this sort of moment, like you said, is is important. And those were all the things that I think were important about the LAFC game.
00:13:24
Speaker
um So I did want to say something, it goes to the game, so we're not going to move on from the game. But here at Lubbock's Coaches, we don't hide from anything, and and we don't, you know, we're not shying away from any comment that people have said, and I did want to bring this up for you.
00:13:44
Speaker
I realized that this LAFC team was heavily rotated and I realized that the Marlon injury ah kind of compounded the issues that l LA had to hold up
Seattle's Depth vs LAFC
00:13:56
Speaker
this Seattle team. However, not every team takes advantage of those moments. The Seattle team did, they also rotated.
00:14:04
Speaker
it was depth versus depth and Sounders had the better depth. It is a mental, Win as well ah because of everything that LAFC has been your boogeyman for as long as they have and the fact that you hit him and you hit him hard that that's credit to the team.
00:14:21
Speaker
Yeah. um' ah It's a great point. And ah I think that's the beautiful thing about ah that win and how dominant it was. ah People are, we're already trying the LAFC was rotated. So Seattle's win doesn't count. The goals don't count. Ruth snack contributions don't count.
00:14:42
Speaker
The beauty of it is Seattle was also rotating. That was rotated Seattle. Like you said, it was depth on depth. One team's depth was up for it. One team's wasn't like you can't ah you can't use that excuse. ah You know, LAFC fans and our friends over at Happy Foot, Sad Foot.
00:15:02
Speaker
Shout out Happy Foot, Sad Foot. You know, they were they were rationalizing with the. yeah It was the squad was rotated. This focus on CCC, all that. i like, that's how I would cope too. So I'm not begrudging them that, but ah the reality is Seattle was in the exact same situation.
00:15:20
Speaker
And, you know, you could say, ah oh like, ah well, Rusnak and Jordan Morris came on, they subbed on. So those were first choice players going against their backups.
00:15:32
Speaker
But that That's the whole point. That is still rotated Seattle. Like that is a game where it was hedged on their depth and with how their roster is set up, you can bring on guys like Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnak and still still kind of save yourself and keep fresh legs by not playing them the full game, you know? And not only that, but ah LAFC, they brought on Denny Bawanga in the second half. They had Olivier Giroux out there who's become a depth player for them, but that's sort of... ah
00:16:03
Speaker
I think that's, I don't know. I'm not, I'm definitely not saying LAFC is chalked, but like the LAFC of previous years, they had the depth to go into a game like that and remain competitive and honestly take results and win those games.
00:16:18
Speaker
So they can, they can say that they were rotated and that they were punting the game or whatever, but the they were playing a team in Seattle that was in the exact same situation. So that doesn't, that literally, like anyone who is saying that, bringing up the point that LAFC was rotated, so what what Seattle did doesn't count. That point is literally completely meaningless because both teams were in the same
KKR and Kalani's Key Contributions
00:16:41
Speaker
situation.
00:16:41
Speaker
i did also, i think we got a shout out KKR. i mean, he makes a huge play on that goal to to get things started. Like what an individual effort.
00:16:52
Speaker
And this guy, like we talk, we talk a lot about on this show of young players and ah the difference between a young player who's like blending in and trying not to make mistakes and a young player who is impacting the game, moving the needle, like making plays.
00:17:09
Speaker
KKR now in the limited sample that we've seen him, he scored a game winner in the open cup and did a, ah did a back flip, did an OBA flip. That was like sports photo of the year in the state of Washington or something.
00:17:22
Speaker
And then he makes this play in the LAFC game, which we want to talk about how Rothrock ended Hollingshead's career. KKR on that play, the U22 left back kid that was out there for LAFC.
00:17:36
Speaker
that was That is a U22 signing for them. That is like one of their young guys that they're counting on. KKR owned him, owned him. So, I mean, that was great to see as well. I mean, did you have any thoughts on KKR? You know, i got heat for calling it a golazo. Look, it's a golazo to me. Both Paul Rothrock and Kalani had golazos, in my opinion. But it's the pass from Ferreira, the way he puts it, where he puts it,
00:18:06
Speaker
then Kalani's physicality to beat the defender that was or the midfielder that was trying to get possession of the ball, they get into that end line, get into the defender, making that half turn, and then having the composure to put the ball away with his left foot. Man, I i just think that he made a quality play and i stand by the Golazo comment. Look, I've been high on... was saying that that wasn't a Golazo? I mean, it wasn't like from distance, but like the way he... Yeah, someone put Golazo, eh.
00:18:42
Speaker
I was like, all right, well, you know, we all got, you know, all subjective, sure. But I think it was ah a fantastic play and especially for a player that was coming from as deep position as he did and the entire effort and again the the the technical component for you to make that turn adequately and then put the ball away man I I thought it was fantastic and like I said I've been high on Kalani since the preseason um when he had his RSL start I didn't think he played his best game i didn't think he had a good game because of the potential that I see within the player and in this one he just had a complete performance
00:19:19
Speaker
on on both sides of the ball, there's that one play where I think that there is a counterattack from LAFC and Kalani was on the offensive end and he makes a sprint, you know, DK like and and just full retreats, blocks the the passing lane.
00:19:37
Speaker
And man, that that just talks about the kind of athlete that he is. But to me, it's not just his athleticism. That's always been obvious, but His location and ability to understand the game and have that field awareness, I feel that's really underrated when it comes to young players like him.
00:20:00
Speaker
And I see it. I see the way he cuts the field. I see the spaces he jumps into. Even when he doesn't get the ball or maybe there there's a mistake on the on the sequence, he's always at the right place. I enjoy his play. i like Again, I'm not here...
00:20:14
Speaker
sitting in telling you that he's the next Roberto Carlos or anything like that. But I do want to praise a kid when he deserves to be praised because I think sometimes people are like, oh, Nico's hyping this guy. I'm not. i I see a lot of good qualities out of him.
00:20:26
Speaker
And what I see is fair, in my opinion. and and Take it for what it is. But I think that he's a very good player. And I'm glad that he's going to get a contract. We haven't heard anything, but I think it's as clear as day. He announced it after the game. That was pretty funny.
00:20:39
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. He media after the game. And I mean... he has not done that much at this point in his career. I'm sure like he did interviews with the student newspaper at UW or whatever, but like, he's not used to doing these scrums.
00:20:53
Speaker
He looked pretty comfortable at first. And then someone asked him about like a first team contract and he got really uncomfortable because they announced it in the locker room after the game. And i think he wasn't sure if he was supposed to, uh, but then he did divulge it that, uh,
00:21:09
Speaker
I'm sure there's going to be, maybe there already is that I haven't seen. There's going to be some behind the scenes video of them announcing it in the locker room and him getting mobbed by his teammates or, or whatever. But Nico, did you happen to see ah Steve Terundolo's presser
LAFC's Post-Game Reactions
00:21:24
Speaker
after the game? This was interesting.
00:21:26
Speaker
I don't know if it was the whole thing. i looked it up on YouTube, but it was two minutes and 28 seconds. And there was one. was The one I saw was shorter than that. But this was a way ah blazing hot presser of the week, which someone asked me in the postgame live if I thought Steve C was going to give a blazing hot presser. And I said no.
00:21:45
Speaker
Because they're you know they're right like that's and a game that is full of excuses like if you want to make them. So that's what I thought he was going to do. But to be fair, he did not. But this is what I thought was interesting, Nico.
00:21:57
Speaker
Tell me what you think of this. ah He was talking about what went wrong in the game, and he said, I'm paraphrasing, but he said something to the effect of our subs came into the game, ah and they were not up for it in terms of effort and mentality.
00:22:14
Speaker
And he said that cannot happen, which is a very harsh indictment of every single player that subbed on to the game for LAFC. You know who was one of the players who subbed in?
00:22:27
Speaker
Danny Wonga. and Steve C was saying that at his post-game preference about Denny Bawanga. That caught my ear. what did you What do you think of that?
00:22:38
Speaker
Yeah, i thought I thought he focused on the wrong thing. I think if he would have talked about maybe lack of anything, it would have been his starting lineup. And not as an excuse, but, you know, we could have done better there. I thought that the subs did fine, especially La Perla Martinez, who came in and had a baller of a ball. Bawanga was bad.
00:22:56
Speaker
Well, yeah, Buonga was not great, but putting him in that position at that moment in time, don't put the game so much on him. I think that there was a lot of inability to control the game from him. And now they're team that likes to play against that run of play, and that's fine and well. But when Denny Buonga doesn't have that sort of...
00:23:20
Speaker
um inner squad or, you know, like Costello group around him. He has a really hard time getting on the ball. And I think that's what happened. So I don't, I don't know what it is that he was trying to get at. He was definitely coming at those players.
00:23:33
Speaker
um But yeah, I was surprised. I was surprised by it that we heard the exact same press conference and like I said there was one question and that was it so I I said that he got the rest it but maybe that's all he did I don't know to me ah coach saying that very clearly direct he's very clearly directing that at one ah at his star player at his best player he's yeah he said he he said that uh Denny Mwanga was not up for that in terms of effort and mentality that is a that's
00:24:06
Speaker
Not good. That is not your coach is saying that about your star player. um i'm going I'm going to be keeping an eye LAFC drama watch. Cause there was already kind of inklings that Denny Buonga maybe wanted out of there or wasn't entirely happy there. So ah that's, this could end up having wider ranging implications in the Western conference than we even thought. Yeah.
00:24:31
Speaker
Bad sequels. Thank you so much for the $5 super chat. Appreciate the support. What are y'all's thoughts on the passing? I thought it was one of our most fluid games. Lots of one touch reminded me of the Clint Oba days.
00:24:42
Speaker
um Nico, why don't you take that one real quick and then I've got something to pull up for our next topic. So ah yeah, no, I thought that the passing was great and i think it got better progressively in the second half. I thought In order to get ah those passing sequences that they've been working on in the entire preseason, the pivots are fundamental.
00:25:02
Speaker
And I thought that both ah JP, happy birthday, JP, by the way, had a fantastic game and Danny Leyva were both Great, right? I mean, both of those two players have to be so clean with the ball from where they get it to where they get it.
00:25:19
Speaker
um The understanding of people being in the right spacings, both Paul Rotherkin, Alex Roldan. mean, I feel like they they get to the right position. They understand where to be.
00:25:32
Speaker
ah So, yeah, mean, I thought the passing was was fantastic. Again, if everything got better once Jordan came in because – there's so much fluidity in that attacking and for shadow that that's what they've been working on is those dynamic movements.
00:25:47
Speaker
And i felt like Moose was making that transitional moments real tough. And at times he was occupying the same spaces than other players did. And when Jordan came in, it just, um it all came in better. But in terms of passing, I thought that it was one of their best games ah so far, especially,
00:26:07
Speaker
right don I don't want to look too much into the Antigua games. right so I'm going to just focus on this one and say that yeah it's probably their best fully passing game that they had. yeah that that is the seattle That second half is the Seattle Sounders at their best.
00:26:22
Speaker
When they are playing to their potential and their identity, that's what it looks like. and ah that That one touch you know dominant in possession, styling on you, like that's all stuff that they they do when it's functioning at the highest level so to have that to have them be able to put in a performance like that before a game like this is uh you know it doesn't guarantee anything by any stretch of the imagination but it's definitely encouraging um all right nico let's talk some cruzoz because like i said this is ah
00:26:57
Speaker
One of the biggest games they're going to play all season. And ah they put themselves in a tough situation by not getting out to the lead in the first leg. But they also, by not giving up a road goal, they put themselves in a situation where it's all there for the taking. And all they got to do is get a draw. They got a score and get a draw.
00:27:16
Speaker
and they advance. So it's a very difficult task. Don't get me wrong, but it's, uh, you know, there's, there's been years of, uh, CCC where an MLS team in this situation would be considered chalked.
00:27:29
Speaker
And I don't think that they're considered chalk, but this is what I wanted to talk to you about real quick, uh, to get us started on this game here.
Cruz Azul's Challenges and Fan Sentiment
00:27:36
Speaker
This was a YouTube comment, uh, that we got from a Cruz Azul fan,
00:27:45
Speaker
Hold on. Oh my God. Okay. Okay. Hold on one second. and
00:27:50
Speaker
Now I'm kind of nervous. What's going on? Okay. This is just some random Cruz Azul fan. And I just thought this was funny and I wanted to get your take on this. He says Cruz Azul fan here from California. We just lost a coach and got a new coach.
00:28:01
Speaker
Who's making horrible decisions. I would greatly all caps appreciate it. If Seattle Sounders could destroy Cruz Azul in Mexico next week, if Cruz Azul loses, then they fire the coach. And I need that to happen.
00:28:13
Speaker
not for betting purposes, but because I can see how much having this coach we have affects us negatively. We need him gone as soon as possible. Y'all got this tire them out. The coach doesn't make significant subs until the 80th minute.
00:28:25
Speaker
Uh, and then he goes on to say,
00:28:29
Speaker
Cruz Azul doesn't have a home field right now. They're using someone else's home field. They won't play that much better. They'll just be more comfortable to play on real grass. He had another, this guy had another comment about how he's a Cruz Azul fan actively rooting for Seattle because he wants the coach fired.
00:28:45
Speaker
Uh, so I, uh, I did not realize the extent of the discontent, uh, in their fan base that they would have fans that are actively rooting for, uh,
00:28:55
Speaker
for Seattle to win this series. What do you make of that? Is that sort of sentiment ah something that's common in Mexico with this team right now? Or like, cause to me, I look at that and I'm like, if there's a, if there's that much discontent around their team and their fan base right now, and they don't even have a home field, this might, this might be like a more wounded animal than I even thought.
00:29:24
Speaker
ah Yeah, this is exactly what we've been talking about from the very beginning. There's some real turmoil in the back end of what you see out of the team on the field.
00:29:37
Speaker
This is the narrative and it's been the narrative all season long since interim head coach Vicente Sanchez took over for Anselmi and he's being scrutinized because that Anselmi team was so fun to watch and it was so good and it's funny because they never won anything, but they they did get very far in tournaments.
00:29:57
Speaker
um And that excitement is what what people were looking for. And I think they got used to have a certain style of play. And now when an interim coach has to do other things and be a lot more conservative, and I've heard the same sort of criticism about the, his substitution patterns and some of the lineups that he puts together.
00:30:17
Speaker
so it is the narrative. This is all a reality. And this is something that, again, we we talked about from the very beginning. I mean, it was, It was a problem. Maybe people didn't think it was important because sometimes we don't look at the context of how a team is coming together to play a Sounders team. I do. I know that the first thing I look at is where the team is.
00:30:35
Speaker
Are there any issues? How long has it been working ah with this specific coach? How long has the ah cohesiveness and the continuity of this group goes along? Is it one season, two seasons?
00:30:46
Speaker
And this squad has had a lot of issues, right? It's... Definitely something to watch because just this weekend, Cruzul tied one with Monterrey.
00:30:59
Speaker
I thought that they were the way better team in the first half, but their issue has been not scoring goals. They have not been able to finish. And they had a ton. El Cuatro Sepulveda had at least two that he should have put away.
00:31:11
Speaker
Rotondi had a couple that he should have put away. This is a Monterrey team that we say to Ramos, by the way, who scores in this when he just posterizes somebody off of a cross of a corner kick.
00:31:22
Speaker
But this is a this is a quality Monterrey team. um Maybe not the best Monterrey of all times. There's another coach on that end that is getting a lot of heat in Monterrey. ah So this Cruzul team has a lot of issues that might help the Sounders on Tuesday. And again, they just played at home.
00:31:44
Speaker
It wasn't a sellout crowd. It was a vibrant crowd, but it didn't really seem to help the team in the second half when things started to go bad. ah In the 74th, POV gets a red card.
00:31:57
Speaker
So Monterrey really gets on top of Cruz Azul. Kevin Muir had to be huge for the team at the end. that The goalkeeper stopped a couple of really big um opportunities from Berterame.
00:32:11
Speaker
So, There's a lot of holes in this team and you might not see it, but the the lack of consistency within just 90 minutes of this passing game tells me that Seattle has a chance, man. They have an opportunity to definitely go over there and do it. Now, but don't go over there and get overconfident.
00:32:29
Speaker
Play your game. I do want Seattle to be mindful of when and how they commit guys forward because, again, you don't want to give this team a lot of spaces.
00:32:42
Speaker
They're a different squad than what we saw here at Leuvenfield. I want to make that very clear. And you'll see it. Rotondi is going to be all over the pits. You will see it on that on the left side. He is a guy that's going to be so important. Charlie, Giacomakis, he had a bit of a knock on his shoulder, which was interesting. He stayed on, but he had a bit of a knock on his shoulder. So, hey, man, there's a lot of things that Seattle could expose from Cruz Azul.
00:33:07
Speaker
So if that fan... Once we sent the Sanchez out, hopefully that's a lot of the crowd But uh, there's definitely been a huge narrative behind getting rid of vicente sanchez Unfortunately, because he's such a nice guy man. I really I like this MLS guy, you know yeah What is going on with their like with their home field? I feel like I was told this but I would like why are they playing it at neutral sites?
00:33:31
Speaker
I all right we We talked about this in the first episode going at Cruz Azul. I know we did. I will say it again. Remind me. mind me No, no, that definitely. So Cruz Azul, long story short, basically ah was playing at Chilera de los Deportes, which is ironically where America is playing right now.
00:33:53
Speaker
as they make a remodel to Estadio Azteca for the upcoming World Cup. Got it. And it's an 80 year old stadium near 80, I think it's 78 to be fair, but it's almost 80 years old.
00:34:07
Speaker
Cruz Azul was paying a a huge hefty part of their revenue in terms of ah what they're paying to play there. The concessions, ticketing and other ah percentages that was going to the group that owns the stadium.
00:34:25
Speaker
They were having a whole bunch of calendar issues where just like it happens here with Loomis sometimes there are events that are going to be part of that stadium and Cruz so wouldn't be able to play there.
00:34:36
Speaker
ah There was a moment where if America was not going to go to the final. They would have played out of Mexico City because there was nowhere else to play because there was a an event happening at Ciudad los Deportes.
00:34:53
Speaker
So it's been a huge... basket of things that have been issues. There's also obviously problems with the facility. And when Cruz Azul went and asked about changing those things, they said, Hey man, go ahead, but it's going to fall out of your pocket. Like fix whatever you want, but it's on you. You know, it's like your landlord saying, Hey, Ari, if you want to, you know, fix the toilet, go ahead and buy another one. and How about Amanda? It's your place. What are you talking about? yeah but That's kind of all the issues that happened. And they decided they were going to just leave.
00:35:24
Speaker
And funny enough, Anselmi, who is now gone, he was the person who said, hey, let's play at CU, CU Universitaria, Pumas Stadium.
00:35:35
Speaker
And that's kind of what happened. That's why they've been playing there. But there were options of but going elsewhere, but but they're a pretty big fan base. So there were options of a playing in Puebla and, you know, other stadiums around the country. But they ended up deciding to stay in Mexico City in Estadio Olimpico.
00:35:53
Speaker
And that's why they've been playing there temporarily. This is actually a pretty fun little opportunity for Seattle, just like in a hypothetical world where they go out there and beat Cruz Azul at all. But like even if they say it's like a decisive...
00:36:10
Speaker
victory for seattle which i'm not but I'm not predicting that, but just for the sake of argument, if that did happen, like that this coach would get fired, their entire organization would be sent into turmoil.
00:36:22
Speaker
The amount of pressure that is on them in this game is immense. It's way, way more pressure than is on Seattle. There's a lot of pressure on this game for Seattle. Don't get me wrong.
00:36:35
Speaker
If Seattle loses this game or doesn't advance, they're going to have to deal with the like can't win big games or Rusnak is a ghost narratives or whatever.
00:36:46
Speaker
So that's all definitely pressure, and I don't want to deal with that discourse. But literally, like the... it It sounds like to me the functionality of Cruz Azul as an organization is kind of on the line. They need they need to win this game.
00:37:00
Speaker
like They have to win. They do. Vicente's playing for his life. I mean, for his career, for his job. That's the reality. That's exactly why he held some of the guys ah from the Seattle first leg and wanted him to play against Monterrey because he knew exactly what it meant. And it didn't really work for him because...
00:37:18
Speaker
He didn't get the result he wanted. Again, he could have. I bet in the first half, Cruzuz should have been at least up to zero, at the very least, and and they just didn't do that. ah But this is what's funny.
00:37:33
Speaker
Bogut played 90 minutes, full 90 minutes. ah he He came off, but he came off in the 90th minute. Ignacio Rivero, another... Key component of this team, play 90 minutes. Giacomochis came in in the 67. I told you he had a bit of a knock. He stayed on, but something to look at.
00:37:50
Speaker
So, man, they they took no prisoners in this one. day really went after everything. And there's a lot of tired legs, in my opinion. Willard Dita played 90. He had played 90 here.
00:38:01
Speaker
Alita played 90. Charlie played 90. I mean, man, it's going to be a team that I'm sure that they're used to playing consistently. And I'm not saying they're going to go over there and be...
00:38:12
Speaker
ragdolls, but hey, look, there's no doubt in my mind that there's a lot of high mileage on a lot of these players going into this game. Yeah, absolutely. um Gerns, thank you for the $2 super chat. Much appreciated. Will this game be on TV? I can't find info on this. Yeah, CONCACAF is famously ah ah difficult to obtain their broadcast info.
00:38:34
Speaker
I feel like these ah these games have all been on FS2, right? i think it's either They have been, but there have been a whole bunch of issues with FS2 and this is awful by the way and they do it all the time. It's so stupid.
00:38:46
Speaker
they They take off the game for basketball games and It happened to my wife and my daughter ah in the first leg where they're like hey where can we find the game that the FS2 just switched to a basketball game and it's always like mid-major college basketball.
00:39:02
Speaker
It's like um out Appalachian State versus Virginia Tech. Blows my mind. Blows my mind. But for the comment ah If you get a chance to ah get 2DN, usually it's like Comcast 116 for HD.
00:39:20
Speaker
ah But, you know, the the the the Mexican channels are very good about this particular type of game. I'm 100% sure that that's going to on 2DN. and That's where I usually check them out. um If you can't find it, and they haven't had all the games, but on YouTube, Comca has been pretty good about putting the entire game live on YouTube.
00:39:39
Speaker
Only Spanish commentary though. So maybe fun time to just try your Spanish. um And then the number three option that worked in the first game in Antigua was downloaded. the I guess we'll just go ahead and say Fox Sports app.
00:39:55
Speaker
They're not, you know, funding the the show, but we'll just say it for the sense of the comment. But yeah, Fox Sports app on your smart TV or or phone, and they had the the game. But yeah, it's been complicated. Come pick up sucks about this sort of stuff, especially with a partner like FS that apparently doesn't care about soccer.
00:40:14
Speaker
Yeah, people in chat are saying FS1. I've had this soapbox for years and years now about Fox Sports and how they treat these games. If you're if you are not going to air the game in its entirety without switching it to like your college basketball obligations, you need to relinquish your broadcast rights, and that needs to be...
00:40:39
Speaker
given to somebody who will play the full game. That is it. That is it. Like I, I feel like I shouldn't have to keep saying this in the year 2025. I've been saying it since 20, like 14.
00:40:52
Speaker
um But they do this every year. They don't, they don't care about soccer. They don't care about this tournament. And it's, it's honestly a joke.
00:41:03
Speaker
Like it's a joke. So. And it's always Fox sports. And like, I hate to just yeah hit him like that, but, I remember a couple years ago, like I was trying to watch, I forgot what game that the Sounders were on. Maybe it was against Leon and and there was NASCAR on and the game wouldn't come on. And it was already like in the 18th minute of the the game or something like that. And the game didn't come on to the second half or some ridiculous thing like that. I just, it blows my mind.
00:41:29
Speaker
Yeah. And I, ah I mean, that's why I don't feel bad. Like if you want to illegally stream that, go for it, I say, because, i mean, they bring it on themselves by having terrible production value and not even airing the whole game. But anyway, that's enough airtime for ah Fox Sports.
00:41:46
Speaker
um I guess looking... ah looking more at this cruises will match up Nico. They're going to be, ah they're going fielding. Like you said, a much stronger lineup than they were in the, in the first leg um game plan wise tactics mentality.
Seattle's Strategy Against Cruz Azul
00:42:06
Speaker
How do you size this up as far as what Seattle needs to do in order to take the result that they need in this game? ah I would like to see a little bit of what ah they they did against LAFC, which was mirroring the the formation. So ah playing with three in the back. So I would like to see your three that everybody knows, Jackson, Yamar, Nuhu.
00:42:33
Speaker
Shout out to Yamar, by the way. I've never seen him be as good. on his passing as he was this weekend. So hopefully he, he takes that on because he was so good in his passing. I had the stats here.
00:42:44
Speaker
He had, and this is numbers that I don't usually see from him on the passing and not all, you know, forward passes or anything like that, but he had 61 of the 64 passes, 95% of his passes. That was interesting.
00:42:57
Speaker
So that's going to be important. i So I would like to see that happen. Obviously Christian and Obed are going to be key. Um,
00:43:05
Speaker
Not sure if Ferrer is starting this game with Pedro. I was going to ask, like, and let's talk about the lineup. Like, I think it is pretty straightforward as far as the back line is going to be Nuhu and Alex Roldan as your wide backs, Reagan and Yaimar as your CBs, Christian Obed double pivot.
00:43:27
Speaker
ah But like the attack is where it gets interesting. The way I would predict it, I guess, would be, Rusnak Central, Jordan up top, Ferreira on one side.
00:43:45
Speaker
Who do you think they're... What do you think that bay the front four is going to look like? I think it's going to be Jordan up top with Ferreira and Albert playing as a dual cam behind him.
00:43:56
Speaker
god And your wingbacks to me are going to be Paul Arriola on the left and Aleppo Dunn on the right. ah To me, that seems to be the the best formation they could possibly put right now for this specific game.
00:44:11
Speaker
No disrespect to Rothrock because he was unbelievable. And you're going to have him. He's going to be your first man off the bench if you need him. He needed to play he needs to play at least 30 in this game. Like with with how he looked in that last game.
00:44:24
Speaker
he was He looked like the most dangerous player on the field. Like, I mean, it might sound funny to say about, again, a guy a guy like Paul Rothrock who burst onto the scene like he did. But like ah when I was thinking about it, I was like, damn, like I feel like um maybe maybe you don't start him, but he's got play.
00:44:41
Speaker
Yeah, but but for for me, I want to see Paul, and Paul Arriola, I mean the other paul the older Paul, yeah because his experience, because he's got such a good connection with Ferreira that I want to maximize that. ah His service is in the box, and it honestly, his link-up play is very, very good, and I think you're going to need that against Kunzun.
00:45:04
Speaker
ah So that that's the way I would set it up. In terms of The tactics, again, just being mindful and understanding that you cannot give this crew to the Azul team a lot of space to get behind your back line.
00:45:18
Speaker
um Set pieces are going to be important. Restarts in general are going to be important for Seattle. Throw-ins, quick free kicks. I mean, things that... these Mexican teams are very good at, and not Mexicans, but in general, a lot of teams are, and and Seattle has at moments struggled with those restarts this first start of the season.
00:45:38
Speaker
So being very on, you know, disciplined, focused on those moments. ah I also want to see Seattle be good on set pieces.
00:45:50
Speaker
Cruz Azul tends to have some issues and you saw it here. Nguyen gets a ah great, I think he hit the post, ah right? The the the crossbar. ah So those things I feel like Ciaro needs to exploit and really make those set pieces count.
00:46:05
Speaker
I think Albert Rosnack has been so good ah about putting ball in the right positions. We got to make that happen. Guillermo Gomez-Andrade tends to get into the right spaces. Can he get... a goal of a corner of free kick.
00:46:17
Speaker
So those are the things that I feel like are going to be key components for Seattle. Obviously, over possessing the ball in this one. I want to keep Cruz Azul off the ball. um There is something about was what what we kind of talked about in terms of the stadium.
00:46:35
Speaker
I feel like it's a double-edged sword when ah team that has so much pressure on right now, ah They're going to want a quick goal. They're going to want to get the fan base ignited right off the bat.
00:46:48
Speaker
If you're able to keep the first 45 with no goals, that's a good thing for Seattle. And you really take the air out of the stadium because it's going to turn from excitement into full-on pressure.
00:46:59
Speaker
And that's good for Seattle. So ah possessing the ball, just being mindful about long tells of possession. And you just got to be clinical. The moment you get an opportunity, you have to put it away.
00:47:10
Speaker
Jordan, Ferreira, that's why you brought him on, right? That's why you got Ferreira. That's the way you want your new acquisition to start to build his name is in this sort of opportunity, this sort of game. Jordan, you just broke a record. Now, cement that even more by putting yourself in the top of the history books by getting this game and finishing the chance in front of goal.
00:47:33
Speaker
The momentum is there. um I'm sure that he's going to come with a positive attitude after a game like he had. So can he do that? That's going to be key. I agree that the longer it stays 0-0, that suits Seattle. But i would say ah I would say it's more about – in a game like this, I view it more about the first 20 than the first 45. If you can get to 20 with the game state – not out of control or crazy and zero zero. And like you said, take the air out of it.
00:48:05
Speaker
That's sort of, to me, that, that is the first thing I'm looking at in a game like this is, can you make it to 20 with the game state intact and without conceding? If you can do that, that's task. That's task number one.
00:48:19
Speaker
And then really like, If you can just score one goal in the first half, like you're in pretty you be in pretty good shape, assuming that you're able to make it through those first 20 without conceding. you know like ah It's just all about like withstanding that early pressure, I think.
00:48:38
Speaker
um Good question from Aaron here. How open do we expect the second leg to be? Feel like we couldn't play our possession passing possession game against Antigua because they were such a physical team and broke everything up. Nico, you got any thoughts on that?
00:48:52
Speaker
ah I think that we just talked about it. I mean, it has to be ah quality. I feel like it's going to be very open. ah Even with their best 11, don't think, and, you know,
00:49:05
Speaker
Maybe I'm wrong, but what I've seen out of Cruz Azul, looking at the last three games and doing the research that I have, ah they really don't have that huge disruptor against Monterrey. They play Lira as that disrupting full-on six.
00:49:20
Speaker
I'm going to take it away. I'm not going to allow you to get a series of passes and sequences, but they're very gappy. I mean, they're very gappy. And because they're so...
00:49:33
Speaker
um Because they they demand so much out of their fullbacks or wingbacks, depending on what formation they set on. They create a lot of pockets where those three in the back, they have a lot of responsibility.
00:49:47
Speaker
Piovi, Dita, Sanchez, those are all good quality guys. You saw how good Dita was in ah the game here in Seattle. But maybe getting those moments to really exploit them, that's something that is going to be part of, of being able to possess the ball and move things around, shift things. Uh, when he comes to that repress as well, ah being, being more effective with that repress, if you're able to get a ball, get those moments, you, you see how Kevin Meir plays the game.
00:50:19
Speaker
maybe at times you want to be a little bit more direct and not so much possession-based if you get a chance to get the ball on a repress. but But again, going back to the main point and in the comment, I feel like Seattle is going to be very open with it, and ah they need to win the possession battle in this one, in my opinion.
00:50:40
Speaker
I think the set piece thing that you mentioned was a was a great call out. Seattle was the best set piece team in the league last year. And ah they have been executing their set pieces really well to start the season here, but they keep jumping off sides or offside. And it was great to see them get a set piece goal ah against LAFC. But Ferreira almost got that waved off.
00:51:06
Speaker
He really like, yeah, I think the way that it was, well, it was, it was marginal. ah And I think, ah i think the VAR was absolutely correct to come to the conclusion that you couldn't obviously tell either way, but I will, I will say it guys, if that was CONCACAF VAR, they're waving that off.
00:51:27
Speaker
The way that CONCACAF VAR works is if they didn't appear to appear in obvious, the best, as best I can tell the way they think of VAR, if they see, any like half evidence that maybe the call should have gone the other way they are going to overturn it so my point is you got to be on it with that like ferrera uh if he does that in or if anybody does that in this game they're going like they are going to take that goal away the mls they had that right that's how you're supposed to use it but uh anyway i think uh
00:52:05
Speaker
with With Seattle's ability and aptitude on these set pieces in a game like this, that is like that is a huge X factor. And that's something where ah this is ah you know we've been longtime defenders of Albert Rusnak, I would say. I think he's a guy that takes a lot of ah heat that's over the top.
00:52:24
Speaker
um But it's not just him. like Especially with no De La Vega, like he's got to step up. Ferreira's got to step up. Jordan's got to step up. like this is ah This is where your big money guys...
00:52:36
Speaker
you got to You got to be able to score in this game. If they get clean sheeted, I'll be very disappointed. To me, I think Ferreira needs to be the guy in this one. I think Ferreira needs to be creative. I think he has to help out in in the distribution component.
00:52:51
Speaker
And I feel like he has to be a presence in the final third as well. I've been wanting to see him more active in that end part of the of the field. ah In this one, he was good and in passing wise. and and I think he gets to the right places, but I want to see him more active and he's going to have to be more active against a very physical, very fast, very quick Cruz Azul team that, oh, by the way, is very good at absorbing pressure and passing through pressure.
00:53:22
Speaker
ah me and Jeremiah have both talked about how good Ferreira can be ah when it comes to those trigger points and when to repress and when to press. That's going to be huge.
00:53:33
Speaker
If you can get a moment where you get ah this team coming off the back and and you can get a moment where you get the ball in a vulnerable position, you gotta make it count. And and for me, Ferreira is gonna be huge in that in that part, in that aspect of the game.
00:53:50
Speaker
Now, um keep I keep talking about Ferreira and I'm not really sure he's gonna start. He has to start. I hope, I think so. that That's why I'm kind of nervous. I think he's a must start.
00:54:02
Speaker
But me and Brian have not, you know, been really good about seeing eye to eye when it comes to, you know, starting 11s this year. So, man, I hope that he starts. I think that he's a must start. But, you know, we'll see what what Brian comes up with.
00:54:17
Speaker
Schmetz listens to the show. Did you hear that we got confirmation on this?
Brian Schmetzer's Leadership and Team Morale
00:54:20
Speaker
I did. I did. I love that, man. Noah, he's... He's so cool when he asks a question, man. He's like, yeah i don't know.
00:54:28
Speaker
I don't want to call him like Matthew McCann, because he don't got like just Southern draw, but the way he just puts it together. yeah and the The way he puts it together, i was just like, oh, okay, that's that's him. Because i don't know I don't know who asked the question.
00:54:39
Speaker
And then I had to like rewind him. He was like, oh, yeah, you know, you can take that on your part. No, that's good, man. Brian's always very good about just checking out the the local scene, and he he's not shy about it. And I like that. People thought that he was given Noah attitude. I i took it as like good natured, like, ah but I was somewhat surprised that he clearly like, i don't I don't know if he actually listens to the show, but he knew he knows about it.
00:55:07
Speaker
Yeah, look, to be honest, if he's giving Noah attitude, it's nothing to do with Noah. It probably has to do with me. I'm the black sheep of the London's quarter. So go ahead and take that. He gave it to me.
00:55:18
Speaker
ah take it, Noah. You're the man, baby. You're too cool for school, man. I'm the black sheep. If you get any heat from Brian, it's my fault. But no, look, I do want to praise Brian for the way he handled that that the...
00:55:34
Speaker
that game against LAFC. And, and, uh, I saw that, um, he gave the game ball, I believe to, uh, Kalani and you know, he talked about, you know, you earned your spot and you know, Craig's gonna find you all of those things, man. I feel like the right vibes going into this game is going to be important that camaraderie that that that momentum that's been built and Brian, if anything, has always been good about that and the way that game ended everything he said in the locker room were all the right things. So I really hope that the team goes out there and uses that and builds off of that because that's gonna be important.
00:56:10
Speaker
You got to credit ah Schmetz for a lot of the development that we're seeing with some of these guys. Like I think Rothrock is the best example in the last couple of years where ah the role that Schmetzer and the coaching staff played in his development and his eventual breakthrough doesn't always get talked about as part of the storyline.
00:56:34
Speaker
um But Schmetzer is a coach who I would say earlier in his head coaching tenure had a reputation for maybe not trusting young players and being too beholden to his vets.
00:56:46
Speaker
ah But really in the last couple years, like first you have, I mean, you have a few examples of it, especially with some of the Academy kids coming up, but Rothrock, the Rothrock breakthrough, I'm telling you guys, like not every coach has the, uh, what's the word, I guess, wherewithal to actually get it's, it's part about, it's part of partly X's and O's start that over. It's partially X's and O's coaching, but it's also about having just the faith and, uh,
00:57:17
Speaker
giving a guy an opportunity and letting him capitalize on it. And now we're, I think we're kind of seeing a similar thing with KKR where you got a credit. ah Like I said, it's not just Schmetz. It's the whole coaching staff for trusting what they're seeing in training and then giving, ah giving the player that opportunity. KKR, some coaches wouldn't have put them out there to make a play like that. And this coaching staff did. So I think. the Yeah. it I don't want to, you know, this,
00:57:44
Speaker
I don't want to get him too off the hook and maybe give him, don't want to glaze Brian because you know what mean? I'm always very fair with Brian. You got to keep him in check. To my understanding. So like the Paul Rothbard thing came in kind of as a must start situation because of all the injuries, all the issues that you had. So both Georgie and Paul, yes, he does give him that, that, that.
00:58:06
Speaker
Boto confidence by putting them on, but those those boys earned it on the field. And it was, it wasn't something that, wasn't necessarily a a possibility or an option. It was more of like, that's this is all we have last season.
00:58:20
Speaker
This is all we have. We need to get some guys on. That is true. But Rothrock wasn't necessarily a name that you would say wouldn' would need to be put out there, even in a situation where it's by necessity. you know but know Because of the winger position and because of his two-way ability, I think that's a lot. That had a lot to do with it. ah but But again, that's why these guys earned it in the field. What I will give... um Because again, it depends who you ask. I mean, you you talk, you know, about some of the younger guys that maybe are not getting some time. You might hear opposite like Stuart Hawkins and, ah you know, Danny at one point. And, you know, but but that's not here nor there. I think that Brian, if I'm going to praise him on something and and I'm not trying to change your opinion, that's great, man. I love that you you see it that way. But for me, it is holding the that the young guys to a certain standard and it is keeping them, you know,
00:59:12
Speaker
motivated and yet not allowing him to get too big headed or, you know, yeah really keep an expectation slow. Not even, it's not easy to do that. it's It's a balance. Right. And I feel like even in front of the cameras and, you know, in public settings, Brian has no, no problem saying, Hey, okay, let's, let's chill just recently. Right. i mean, he had a great game and he talked about Paul Rothrock having maybe,
00:59:36
Speaker
What he said ah parrot having a parachute just in case the missile blows up or something like that, right? Because they called them the whole rocket or something like that and he kind of Um i holy prime time um I thought it was Paulie primetime.
00:59:50
Speaker
No, in this last press conference, I don't know if it was Noah. Somebody said something about, they called him, that it was a Paul Rockhead because of the shot. Oh, no, it was Nico. Nico Antoine, I think, is the one who asked the question. But anyways, I just feel like Brian always does a good job at making sure that expectations are low on the guys and that they are mindful about it.
01:00:10
Speaker
Sometimes it's a little too harsh, but I'd rather have that than maybe... getting one of these young guys have big moments and then having expectations that they cannot fulfill.
01:00:22
Speaker
So I give Brian a lot of credit for that and the way he's handled a lot of moments but with this team. And look, for all the issues that that at times were clear last season, this locker room looks very united.
01:00:36
Speaker
And it seems like they're all insane. They're all on the same page. And, you know, Brian has to do with that. You know, that the good comes with the bad. When Brian needs to be credited, I'm always going to credit him. When he doesn't, then I won't.
01:00:47
Speaker
So in this one, I think that this specific group has a really good attitude. And that's credit to Schmetzer. Someone in chat mentioned it earlier, but in a game like this, like vibes like that do matter.
01:01:01
Speaker
Yeah. Seattle is riding high right now. They're coming off their best game of the season. They're feeling pretty good. Cruz Azul, I mean, based on everything I've been hearing and that we've been talking about, they're, I wouldn't say...
01:01:18
Speaker
entirely roiled in turmoil, but they're like, they're getting there. Like I said, ah the amount of pressure that's on them in this game is immense. Uh, like there are jobs on the line for certainly for their coach, probably for guys on the roster too. Like if they don't get results, they're probably playing for jobs to an extent as well. So, uh, it all sets up for what should be ah fun high stakes,
01:01:47
Speaker
back and forth heavyweight clash. ah Yeah, and look, but to stay on the on the Brian topic, when it comes to this specific game, I do want to say that his responsibility is going to be that starting lineup and that starting setup.
01:02:02
Speaker
But a lot of the ah results of this game, I'm going to put on the players. It's going to be on them to execute. It's going to be on them to be up to the task. It's going to be up to them to get those nerves off their you know system when it comes to playing a Stadio Olimpico.
01:02:21
Speaker
It's going to be on them, in my opinion. Ferreira, we talked about. Albert, we talked about. Christian being that captain that he needs to be. A guy like Ovid Vargas that has been as electric as he has. Can he have a huge game in this one?
01:02:36
Speaker
Steph being the leader back there, making sure that he's always ready for the moments, the defense, everybody. It's going to be on the players, and I will absolve that responsibility off of a Brian. He's going to set it up. We'll see how he sets it up.
01:02:52
Speaker
And then from then on, it's going to be up to the players to whether they are up for the moment. ah Yeah, I totally agree with that. Nico, we're coming up on an hour 10 here, so I think we can start the process of ah wrapping up this edition of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. if If you guys have any final questions or topics, agendas, observations as we wrap up here, go ahead and drop them in chat.
01:03:14
Speaker
ah But I guess... to wrap it up here, Nico, any, any final thoughts either on what we saw in the LAFC game, as it pertains to this Cruz Azul game, or just this Cruz Azul game in general, I get like, let's talk about how are, how are you feeling about Seattle's chances in this game? You don't have to make a prediction, but um are you feeling good about their chances of advancing? Or are you feeling dicey about this?
Seattle's Prospects Against Cruz Azul
01:03:39
Speaker
I am feeling good. I am feeling good about them potentially advancing. ah because of everything we talked about, just rewind the show. And I think I've been pretty positive about their chances of getting in a result down there in, in study Olympico. And that could be a one, one, that could be a two, two, right? I mean, I think Seattle could definitely get a result to to move on, but with what I've seen talent wise, with what I've seen it of what they just did for LAFC, I think Seattle has has good chances of of winning this game.
01:04:15
Speaker
If I had to, you know, i'm not going to put a percentage on that or anything, but i feel pretty confident that that Seattle could go out there and get a result, which is night and day from, you know, what made me move for the scene if the team had not been showing signs of progression this season.
01:04:31
Speaker
So I do feel confident that Seattle can go out there and get a result. um Anytime that you have a stellar defense, you give us yourself a chance. Anytime that you have a team that understands and has is all bought in on the identity of the team. And I see that from Seattle, you're giving yourself a good chance and there's a lot more turmoil right now in the crew is sold than than on Seattle then. So ah yes, I think that there's a good chance that Seattle can go out there and get a result.
01:04:56
Speaker
I feel the same way. Like, uh, It's definitely attainable. It's going to be very difficult. You've got a yeah desperate opponent on the road, and these games are really difficult anyway. But like this is like... ah you know i think I've said this before, but these are the games that you want to play in. You've got to relish this. You've got to love this.
01:05:18
Speaker
This is why you do it, is to have a chance to test yourself in a game like this, in an environment like this, against an opponent like this, and really... you have such a great opportunity to like make history, make your name on the international stage.
01:05:34
Speaker
We saw this team do it in 2022. If they do it again, I mean, it just, it just adds to it, you know? so ah There's definitely nerves associated with this. I definitely feel nervous before these CCC games. But at the end of the day, ah i think any player on this team, if you ask them to a man, they'll tell you, like, I like i love this. like this is This is why I play the game, you know? So yeah it's exciting to have a game like that this early in the season and really get to see what this team is made of.
01:06:12
Speaker
100%. And this is the parameter that you're looking for. ah This is the moment that you're going to build on. And it's exciting. and And I'm honestly anxious for for the game and seeing how they respond.
01:06:26
Speaker
Team flew out on Sunday. They're going to have a a training day on Monday. And obviously, the typical outlook of just playing on the field and getting used to those fields, checking your cleats, making sure that everything's the way you want it on game day.
01:06:43
Speaker
This team has put up performances at that same stadium. You know, I'll never forget that 2-2 against Pumas for the CCC final. And I think that hopefully some of those things kind of come back to certain players that were in those positions, Yamar and JP and, you know, all these players that but Alex Roldan, all those players that were so important in a specific game.
01:07:09
Speaker
so They know the stadium. they've They've been there, done that against a a much more hostile crowd, I might say, because the I don't think I've seen a Puma Stadium the way I saw it that day. And maybe because I was present at that moment. But man, I don't know Cruz Hill could replicate that sort of ambience.
01:07:34
Speaker
Got one more here for Maney to close it out here. Seattle wins CCC. Will people downplay it like they do with the 2022 win where the weaker teams won, giving Seattle an easier route to victory?
01:07:46
Speaker
People will. try and downplay it. Like that that's the thing is people will try and downplay it no matter what the path is. ah We've talked about the easy path narrative surrounding 2022 quite a lot because, I mean, I think it's hilarious.
01:08:00
Speaker
Like just the notion that there's an easy path at all in this competition. That's not a thing. It's really not. Like if you hear someone say that, They're not correct. Like that is, not there's no easy. and And not, I mean, outside of the fact that it wasn't an easy path.
01:08:16
Speaker
So no that Leon team, people underplayed that Leon team so much. That team had so many quality players. Yeah. They wanted to make sure that so many quality players.
01:08:27
Speaker
They had a stadium that in a fan base that is huge, that created an impact. I don't know how Seattle went and got that draw without Yamar, without Raul.
01:08:39
Speaker
I'm pretty sure that Freddie Montero started that game. I mean, Seattle had issues of their own, and they went, and they played their hearts out against a Leon team that, like I said, it was very quality. So that's a bunch of nonsense.
01:08:52
Speaker
But to the question, this year is ludicrous to even say anything like that. I mean, if you get through Cruz Azul, regardless of turmoil, and then you get the winner out of Chivas in America, and you win that game, and you move on, there is no harder path to get to the final than what the Seattle Sounders have today. I don't know if they'll do it.
01:09:13
Speaker
<unk>s It's incredibly hard. We'll see how plays out. But and if they were to do it, man, it'd be... the greatest CCL run of any, you know, team in MLS, right?
01:09:24
Speaker
We've seen teams get to those finals and not quite get there, but man, this road to that final is, is incredibly hard. The degree of difficulty on this folks is incredibly high. I won't,
01:09:35
Speaker
beat around that. I won't lie to you about that. no That is why it's such a great opportunity. Because, i mean, I think to the ah to the original question, um if Seattle does make it happen this year, and they actually like win the tournament, then no one can say shit.
01:09:53
Speaker
not a damn thing that is the uh that is the opportunity that is presented with this um all right nico i think that's a good place to wrap right there uh thanks again for another great edition of lobbing scorchers kickoff thank you all for tuning in thank you for the support if you haven't done so yet go ahead and like the video sub to the channel uh follow uh we're five follows away from 300 on instagram as we try and grant gain credibility on that platform so if you haven't done so yet go follow us on ig uh do i have anything else to shill i don't know uh yeah i don't know if you have that tech i send you mike my guy about the the chatter i wanted to give but um forget that guy's name because i'm i'm using my phone for for the platform but
01:10:43
Speaker
I think his name was Jade, ah but he was a coach for Cascadia um FC. oh yeah I did a little bit of reffing this weekend as part of the volunteer hours that I have to do for my daughter's premier soccer.
01:10:58
Speaker
um Obviously just small 4v4 for like little kids that are part of like the junior academies. And there was this coach for Cascadia FC that you know, say, Hey, you're Nico. And he's, I mean, I love, love his court chairs and, you know, love the show.
01:11:15
Speaker
And man, I just, I always love to hear that. And so I wanted to give him a shout out because he does, ah first all his is little girls that that were playing the game were outstanding. I mean, the passing, the spacing, these little kids look like they were out there just balling.
01:11:30
Speaker
But coaches, especially when it comes to the youth levels are a lot of times unrecognized and, They are the ones that build out soccer players for the future. So, you know, want to give them a big shout out because love to see that. You know, I've done it in the past in the recreational level for the city of Kent.
01:11:50
Speaker
And there's no more rewarding moment in field than seeing maybe two, three, five years later, a kid that you were the one who put on the scene to like the game. And then all of a sudden they're on their way to college or on their way to a premiere program. And it's always great. So I want to give them a big shout out.
01:12:08
Speaker
for that's yeah that's awesome love to hear that love to hear that people are enjoying the enjoying the podcast enjoying these live shows i know that i've been enjoying these uh i love kicking off the week like this catching up with you getting to talk about the result that was in the game that lies ahead great stuff hey we're gonna keep uh we're gonna keep putting these out all season and um next time i see you guys where We might know Seattle's ah CCC fate, so that's exciting.
01:12:40
Speaker
Yeah, then no i I might have to do the effort and be on the reaction pod or live stream on right away if I can. enable to ah We should be able to do that um because it's a road game, so I'll be around.
01:12:56
Speaker
It is a road game. ah I'm going to see what the schedule looks like. It's going to be pretty late night, but I'm going to try to be on because it's going to be Either amazing and glorious or it's going to be real tough to talk about. But either way, i want to be part of it We'll be there either way. All right.
01:13:12
Speaker
We're getting out of here on that. Thank you all again for tuning in. Appreciate the support. We'll catch you guys next time. Peace.