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Lobbing Scorchers: Seattle Sounders are Playing One of Liga MX's Galacticos
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After a widely successful tour of the Pacific Northwest with stops in Vancouver and Spokane, we’re back at the Sounder at Heart studio to discuss the exciting news of the Seattle Sounders’ opponent in the Conacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals: Tigres UANL, one of Mexico’s top clubs who are coming off a thrilling 5-4 aggregate victory after an FC Cincinnati choke job in the Round of 16. We give our takes on the blockbuster matchup, then revel more in the downfall of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, and Minnesota United – who are up next for the Rave Green in league play at Allianz Field in MLS Matchday 5.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Contact: lobbingscorchers@justoncemedia.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Weather
00:00:00
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be scorcher.
Seattle Sounders' Victory and Journey
00:00:21
Speaker
What's up, everybody? Welcome to the Sounder at Heart studio space in the ID. We are laying this one down at 5 p.m. on a Friday. Why? Because we're real grinders. But also primarily because the Seattle Sounders, coming off their epic round of 16 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Spokane, have now learned their opposition for the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. And... ah It was almost FC Cincinnati, but it's not FC Cincinnati. It's Tigris. So we're going to be reacting to that mostly, talking about our expectations for this matchup, if this is the matchup we wanted. And then I think at the end, we might ah talk a little bit about this Minnesota United game coming up on Sunday at Allianz Field. Probably, I don't know about you. No, I don't really care about that game that much. but we're going talk about that game a little bit at the end. But ah how are you doing Noah back from Spokane recharging and getting back into the content groove? How you feeling?
00:01:20
Speaker
Recharging is ah a phrase that I wouldn't use. Frankly, we we were right back at it. We got back yesterday. We didn't stop. We slept for maybe, you know, a couple of hours, got back into the office.
00:01:32
Speaker
There's now a big ass table in here. I'm designing a whole set studio. Things are churning. Things are moving. um Big shout out to the Spokane Soccer Show for hosting us. Benji Wade was incredible in Spokane. I had a great shout out to everyone in Spokane. Shout out to Flat Stick. flat Shout out to everyone who came to the show. Shout out everyone who went to the game. yeah and It was honestly an incredible experience. Us going out there and ah getting to see history and then also, you know, a win for the Sounders, given the fans in Spokane a tree. And we were treated very well by everyone there. So nothing but positive things to say about Operation Spokane. Couldn't agree more. Also, shout out to our sponsors, Hakes and Ferments, Full Pull Wines, Podium Menswear, Lobbingscorchers.com slash sauce, Lobbingscorchers.com slash kit.
00:02:20
Speaker
All great ways to support the show. Also,
Player Highlights: Christian Roldan and Tigres
00:02:22
Speaker
become a YouTube member if you're watching on YouTube, like the video, all that good stuff. No, let's just... Okay, okay. And, and guys... Christian rolled on.
00:02:32
Speaker
a He got called up to the U.S. Men's National Team, correct? Am I wrong? No, you're not wrong. No, of course I'm not wrong. And he's going to be playing in the World Cup. It's going to happen. I want you guys to get one of the new U.S. Men's National Team kits with rolled on on the back. The World Cup's coming.
00:02:47
Speaker
U.S. Soccer Shop is partnering with us. U.S. Soccer, in general, is partnering with us. So if you want... 10% off your entire order of anything u s men's national team, U.S. women's national team, or U.S. soccer in general.
00:03:01
Speaker
Go to lobbyingscorchers.com slash USA. And when you're in the checkout, use code SCORCHERS. Make sure you use it cause then you'll get 10% off your entire order.
00:03:12
Speaker
Good plug. Good plug. And if you're mad that Christian Roldan is going to be playing at the World Cup, stay mad. Stay ready to learn it, buddy. Stay mad. All right. No, let's get into this pod. We might keep it a relatively short one today, but we do have to lay it down because this is big news. And I'm actually very excited to talk about this. The CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals matchup is set for the Seattle Sounders. It is...
00:03:34
Speaker
Mighty Tigris, one of the most storied, successful clubs in Liga and Liga Meckies. And Noah, where I wanted to start with this was just talking about the decisive match between Tigris last night and FC Cincinnati because...
00:03:49
Speaker
T-Rose was down three zero on aggregate going into that match. And I was thinking, man, there's like a real chance that the Sounders are going to have FC Cincinnati in the quarterfinals. And my thoughts on that were, that's great. Like I do not fear that proposition at all whatsoever. And I encourage that proposition, i encourage the proposition. And that thought was thoroughly validated by how this leg to went at T-Gris FC Cincinnati.
00:04:20
Speaker
Bro. Temple massager. that That was one of the all-time temple massager performances from an MLS team in CONCACAF Champions Kind of a car crash, if you ask me. Well, and look, it's on it's frankly not all that different to what we've seen happen to a lot of MLS clubs that go down to Mexico for these games. It's not all that different than what happened to the Seattle Sounders against Cruz Azul last year. this was This was significantly worse than that, but, you know, Seattle got kind of ran on in that series. Most MLS teams, when they're going on the road it to Mexico in CONCACAF Champions Cup,
00:04:55
Speaker
That is sort of what happens, but this was worse. Yeah, this was worse because they were actually up three zero. They were actually up three zero on aggregate going into this game. All they had to do was not exactly what they ended up doing, which is letting Tigris run all all the way over them all game, every second of the entire game. Relentless. was it was
Challenges for MLS Teams in Mexico
00:05:18
Speaker
just It was relentless. They were not ready for the smoke. They were not up for it at all. They got scored on twice in the first 10 minutes of the match, which completely chalked all the work that they did in the home leg. At that point, it's just a toss-up again. and
00:05:32
Speaker
Tigris ends up going up 4-0 on them. And then they actually luck their way into a goal that would have sent them through. Kevin Denke, who had missed a really bad sitter a few minutes earlier, gets on the end of an Evander set piece, makes it 4-4 on aggregate. They would have been through on road goals if they could have just held the rest of the game. And there was never any chance that they were going to do that, but they did get within literally like 30 seconds of doing it. It was inches, man. 30 seconds of actually seeing out that 4-4 and advancing. And I'm not going to lie. No, when I was watching that at the end of the game, I was like, I just absorbed for 30 more seconds. And then the Sounders have I mean, I was looking at it like, dude, the Sounders are going to beat the shit out of these guys. It's even a competition. Yeah. And that's kind of where I wanted to go next was,
00:06:26
Speaker
with the knowledge that we feel like FC Cincinnati would have been a much easier matchup and that now it's Tigris, which they showed in that game, there was a very big quality differential between those two teams. I don't care what happened in Cincy in the first leg. Tigris is way, way better than that team. So part of me was rooting for Cincinnati because of that is what I'm saying. I was like, yeah, come on guys, like get it done, knock them out because they wouldn't have deserved it really at all based on how that second leg went. But because they actually got those three goals in the first leg, they were in a situation where they could have lost for one and still advanced. And of course they couldn't do it. T-Risk scores a goal, literally 30 seconds from full time. And that sends them through. And now the sounders have to play a much better team than they would have if Cincinnati had gone through. And they have to travel to Mexico, yeah which they would not have had to do if they were playing FC Cincinnati. So the thought exercise I want to do along these lines is, you know, which one of these matchups do you want? Because I was thinking that I wanted FC Cincinnati because it would be easier.
00:07:37
Speaker
But by the time it was all said and done and the dust settled, I was i was sincerely thinking like, you know what? Fine, fine. Bring it on. If you want to win this tournament, you're going to have to beat teams like this at some point anyway. You're not going to get through the entire thing on a Mickey Mouse path. If you if Tigris got upset by Cincinnati and that makes the quarterfinals easier, you're going have to play LAFC or Cruz Azul right in the semis. You got to Toluca on the other side of the bracket. They're probably going to make the final. They, ah they lost three, two to San Diego FC in their first leg. And I was thinking maybe Toluca is more vulnerable vulnerable than I thought, but that would didn't seem to be the case. Toluca absolutely destroyed San Diego in their leg too. So,
00:08:20
Speaker
A, like you may as well just, you know, to beat the best, to be the best, you got to beat the best kind of thing. But also it doesn't, it it wouldn't really benefit you that much to be playing Cincinnati in the next round just because it's easier like this. And this is also, this is other thing I was thinking about is it's,
00:08:40
Speaker
It's much more of an epic legendary story. If you do this by getting by Tigris, then almost anyone else, you know, like there's a few of these Liga Mechies teams where if you beat them in these tournaments, it's a huge deal. Tigris is one of those teams and they're really, really good. And this just has more ah so much more juice than Cincy. It's going to be so much more of a spectacle. And the other thing about it is that game that I was watching last night, since he had Tigris,
00:09:08
Speaker
That stadium looks yeah absolutely insane. The environment looked absolutely insane. The Tigris fans were going crazy. The the the Sounders now are in a situation where they're going to one of the most that one of the craziest venues that you can play at, certainly in CONCACAF, but I think even globally. Like yeah some of these Liga and Mechies teams, when you're talking about the the history behind it and the environment and how crazy the fans are and all the things you have to deal with that. This game, when Seattle goes there,
Sounders vs Tigres: Optimism and Preparations
00:09:38
Speaker
it's going to be as crazy as pretty much any of those that you could ever play in. that's That's better. That's more epic. That's a better story. It's got way more juice. So I'm good with it, man. Like I'm not going to sit here and complain about not getting the mickey mo Mickey Mouse path. you know, the galaxy are in a situation right now where they're Mickey mouse and they got, Mount pleasant in the last round. And then, uh, can't remember who in the first round, no disrespect, but it's like, these are only full disrespect to LA galaxy because yeah, no, no full disrespect to the LA galaxy, no disrespect to their opponents, but it's just like, there's kind of no yeah way that they have the resources or spending or roster way to compete with even the LA galaxy.
00:10:22
Speaker
That's not going to help them when push comes to shove at the end of the day, at the end of this tournament. And they still had to absorb the travel. Yeah. So, like, bring on bring on the best is what I'm saying. That's kind of how I feel about it. What do you think?
00:10:35
Speaker
Listen, I am kind of... i kind of wish that we would have played Nashville. I'm sorry, not Nashville, but I wish we would have played FC Cincinnati. Nashville is on our side of the bracket. i i Just because...
00:10:48
Speaker
I don't really give a shit about what people have to say about like the Mickey Mouse run. We already won this trophy with a very hard path. We went to Mexico and didn't lose a single game. Dude, I saw people. ah shouldn't have gone on Twitter, but I literally saw people today saying that the 2022 CCC doesn't count because because they beat Pumas. Which it's like, yeah, people will always have whatever. I just, I don't care. I want an easy path. I want a path that has the least amount of travel, that has the least amount of chance of players getting injured, the least amount of chance of anything bad happening. Simply just the travel down to Mexico. It is 90 degrees every single day there right now yeah where they're about to go play in Tigres.
00:11:32
Speaker
It is hot as shit. Going down there, hot, warm, sweaty environment. Sure, they yeah are they going to be up for the game? I mean, I think the Sounders can do it, but it's always just this factor of like, I'm always just clintons just like holding on for something bad to happen when they have to travel.
00:11:48
Speaker
That said... I don't mind facing. i don't mind facing Tigres. Like I love the opportunity to embarrass a Liga make his team. I love the opportunity to, you know, play a team that we haven't played in a while. We played this team in 2022 at Lumen field, beat them three nil.
00:12:05
Speaker
People want to say, oh that that does That definitely didn't count. That didn't count because when Liga and Mequis teams travel here and lose to MLS teams, then that's when the travel is right yeah You can use it as an excuse then. yeah But if MLS teams go to Liga and Mequis and lose in the same exact same way, then it's they're unambitious yeah and it doesn't count. Which it's, you know, I think Keith Costigan in our interview that we did with him said it really well. It's shifted from can MLS teams just hang with Liga Mechies teams too.
00:12:35
Speaker
Now we're in the era of and MLS teams are being expected to go down to Mexico and win to be considered quality. And that's insane. That's a big change. I think the Sounders can do it. I'm excited to watch it, but I'm not going to lie. I'm going to be nervous. i would love to go, but also it is it is literally going to be 90 degrees. There's going to be, I'm just going to tell you all right now, there's going to be very lengthy portions of this series over both legs that are not going to be fun.
00:13:02
Speaker
They're not going fun to watch. They're not going to be fun for the players to play in. ah If someone gives you the choice between watching even five more seconds of a couple of these games and actually getting tortured, I think we would all pick getting tortured. There's going to be 10, 20, 30 plus increments of time at some point in this series, maybe even more than that, where they're absolutely under siege. Correct. And That's not going to be fun to watch. It's going to be anxiety inducing and we're all going to hate our lives. But that doesn't mean that this can't be done necessarily. When I look at what happened to FC Cincinnati last night.
00:13:44
Speaker
it it it wasn't about talent or roster spending. Look at their roster. They have Evander. He's just as talented as a lot of the number 10s in Liga and Mequis. They have Kevin Denke. He's just as talented as a lot of the number nines in Liga and Mequis. They have Miles Robinson and Matt Miazga. You can say what you want. They are at least in the ballpark of as talented as a lot of the CBs in Liga and Mequis. What happened to them last night and what happens to MLS teams a lot in these scenarios, it's about intensity.
00:14:13
Speaker
It's about if you're up for the for the energy and you're able to withstand those moments where you're suffering and whether you can whether you can punch back when you get punched. And they couldn't do it. Like they they didn't have the dog in them to do it.
00:14:27
Speaker
Does Seattle have that dog in them becomes the next question. You know, I'm not, I'm not saying that it's for sure a thing that when Seattle goes down there, goes down to Tigris, that a similar thing is for sure not going to happen to them, to Seattle that happened to FC Cincinnati.
00:14:44
Speaker
But I think Seattle, I would be surprised if they are as not up for it as since he was, I guess is what I'm saying. like And Tigres are middle of the table in Liga Mequis right now. Like this is not, this is not Toluca. Toluca is not even top of the table right now. Chivas is top of the table, but we don't even need to talk about that.
00:15:04
Speaker
It's not like this is a dominant, insane powerhouse of a club. Like, it's, They have talented players since he made them look like real Madrid last night, but they did almost lose. They were 30 seconds from losing that series to a Cincy team that I think both of us are on the same page at this point of like that team.
00:15:22
Speaker
They're in trouble. Like they have a lot to think about. They have a lot to figure out. Pat Noonan, he's under fire. He said at his press conference last night that we weren't up for this. We didn't look like we were ready for this and that's my fault. Well, okay. You better figure that out. Otherwise, you're probably not going be coaching there for a much longer. But anyway, continue. No, I think you're looking at ah a Tigres team that's it's definitely not bad. They're definitely not a bad team, but FC Cincinnati can put three past you.
00:15:50
Speaker
FC Cincinnati, four. They can put four past you. They can put one at home, three at their home. You know, one at your home, three at their home. And I just, like, if you... That team, Cincinnati, they do have a good attacking core, but um they they don't even hold a flame to what the Seattle Sounders have in a roster right now. like i'm not I'm not sitting here scared of Tigres. I'm not sitting here happy to play them either, but like...
00:16:14
Speaker
What the hell, man? give it Give it to me. Give it to me. At least it won't be just like a wasted midweek effort. You know, brush it off my shoulders like FC Cincinnati would. Because FC Cincinnati, I'm sorry, they're basically like dandruff flakes. Like, you're you're nobody. You're not good right now. Give me a team. I was watching Evander last night.
00:16:33
Speaker
And he was he was basically playing like the brigade says Albert Rusnak plays. And i saw that. And, you know, I think that is kind of a thing with Evander. Is he locked every second of every game? He pulls out these great goals, yeah puts up big numbers.
00:16:50
Speaker
But he kind of looked disinterested last night, I thought. Maybe people disagree with that. But I was keeping an eye on him. And there was second balls that he was not hustling for. and There was one in particular where I felt like he really could have ran it down. And he let up and he started jogging. And I'm thinking to myself, in that so scenario where there's a second ball, you think Paul Rothrock's going to be jogging? oh do You think Paul Areola is going to be jogging? No. Hell no. Those guys don't do that. no So, like, that's what I'm saying. Like, it's about intensity and mentality and whether you have it or not.
00:17:22
Speaker
Since he didn't have it, I think there's at least a better chance that Seattle does have that, at least compared to that team, because they weren't even close, to be real. Dude, he literally only had to play for 30 minutes. He subbed on in the 62nd minute, and he couldn't even give 30 minutes of a damn.
00:17:41
Speaker
Evander? Yeah. No, he put, he, it was the opposite. He played, he played 60 and then subbed off for the last 30. I'm sorry. Okay. But like the point stands, like he went like, I'm sorry. That's what I meant say. But Pat Neenan was saying like, oh, well we could have left him out there to grind it out, but he hasn't been playing full nineties that much this year. But it's like, he wasn't bringing, he wasn't bringing it in the capacity that you need to, to take the result in a game like that. He just wasn't. And I trust Seattle's players to bring that effort and intensity more than I do Cincinnati. So none of that's to say that I feel like Seattle's a favorite in this series or that they're for sure going to win this series. But I do think they have what they need to give that team a run for their absolute money. And that's really what I'm going to try and use as the barometer of what I consider a successful showing. Like,
00:18:37
Speaker
Compete. Give them a run for their money. Score as many goals as you can. Play as hard as you can. Empty the entire tank and then let the let the chips fall where they may. And when those chips fall, you might be getting eliminated. But if that happens, do it with dignity. Don't go down like Cincy did with a whimper, like looking like looking like you don't belong on the field. That's what would upset me is if this series ends up like that. And I don't i mean, I don't know how likely do you think it is that this series ends up like that? Because I would be surprised. But I also I don't want to say that that's an outcome that can't happen because, look, we have there's a lot of the same guys on the Seattle team that were on the team last year when they played Cruz Azul in this competition. And.
00:19:20
Speaker
we can be honest, like they got worked pretty good in that series. They lost that four, one on aggregate. There was periods of that series where they looked kind of like the classic MLS team. That's just under it the whole time and and can't handle the game state, can't handle the tempo. So that could happen. But I do, I think this team right now,
00:19:37
Speaker
is better and more mentally tough than the team that played Cruz Azul last year. And I think that gives them a fighting chance, maybe more than they and ah ended up having last year. Do you think that the Vancouver Whitecaps team that we just played is better or worse than Tigres? Because I think that's a better club than Tigres right now.
00:19:57
Speaker
I think that's a better club than Tigres. And they effectively made the Whitecaps... look like nobody. Seattle won their series against Vancouver by a bigger aggregate. They they won theirs 5-1 on aggregate. Tigris won last night, but they shipped three in the first leg. The Seattle team hasn't got 3-0 by anybody this year. As for if the Whitecaps are better better than Tigris...
00:20:21
Speaker
I think it's pretty comparable, to be honest. I don't think that one is that much better than the other. Like, I will say, you know, Tigres might be mid-table Liga Mequis right now. They might have got worked 3-0 by Cincy in the first leg. But when I was watching them play last night, I was like, damn, this team is pretty electric. Like...
00:20:40
Speaker
I think it almost helped them being down on aggregate as much they were. Yeah, the fight back. Because were just playing so, they were going so hard pretty much the entire time. Yeah, dude, Aguari had two goals and an assist, and same with Jonathan Herrera, who had goals and assist. think their roster probably is deeper than the Whitecaps.
00:20:58
Speaker
They were bringing guys off the bench that were the guy who scored the game-winning goal is insanely good, and he came in as substitute.
Inter-Miami's Struggles and Messi's Influence
00:21:05
Speaker
The 31-year-old. Yeah, and that guy is going to be a handful. Gignac is still on that team, and he's 40. He's 40 years old. He's still doing it. He was out there at the end of the game, too. So, I mean, yeah, the like I don't want to understate. like They're loaded. They're really good. I think they're probably...
00:21:22
Speaker
about as about as good as Vancouver, which I think a lot of Liga Meckies fans probably would crash out if they heard us say that. And also, Seattle beat the Whitecaps badly enough that I think people probably think lower of the Whitecaps now than they did previously, but I don't. sure like I think this white cat that Whitecaps team is still very much a top two, three team in Major League Soccer right now. And a top two, three team in Major League Soccer...
00:21:49
Speaker
that That is as good as a lot of these Liga Mackey's teams. You can deny that if you want, but I think we're ultimately kind of talking about a wash here. So all that's to say that I think if you can if you can beat that that Vancouver team 5-1 on aggregate, then I think you can you can hang with this Tigris team and maybe beat this Tigris team. like I really don't think it's crazier homerism to sit here and say that. and I don't think so either. I really do think this team is is that good.
00:22:19
Speaker
And even so, I think like you have been saying, and really this has just been ringing so true for me, the Sounders are over the CONCACAF-ness. The Sounders are over it, man. They've done too much. They've played in too many of these games.
00:22:33
Speaker
That bullshit doesn't even affect them anymore. At least not to the extent that it does like a team like Cincy, who have just not been in that situation enough to you got to earn your scars in this in this stuff to really have a chance. you think I'm sorry. You think Paul Areola is going back into Mexico and not turning up?
00:22:49
Speaker
Yeah, that's like the the dude. It's a it's a perfect storybook for that guy. You think Jesus Ferreira, the pirate of the Caribbean himself, is going to be rattled by CONCACAF? No. Hell no. Like, he lives he lives and breathes CONCACAF. I know, you know, people say pirates of the Caribbean to insult the opposition that he did it against. I mean, every other player at the pool at that time that was getting minutes had those exact same chances to score the goals that he did, and they didn't do it. And it's also, but more than that, it's just an experience thing. Like he has been there, done that. And a lot of guys on this team, like Christian Roldan, Stuff and Fry, they were on the 2022 team that won this tournament. Christian, Jordan, ah Paul, Jesus, Paul Rothrock was born for CONCACAF. It's just this roster is much better set up to withstand this. Then I think, you know, it's about, it's about as set up to withstand this as you could hope for an MLS team. Yeah.
00:23:43
Speaker
In this situation. And you know in LAFC, that's that that's if you look at the teams that are actually doing well, the MLS teams that are doing well in this tournament so far, it's the teams that have earned those stripes, have earned those scars. LAFC. Danny Bwanda, the all time leading score in CONCACAF Champions Cup, I believe. yeah And they've they've been grinding these games. they've been They've made a run to the finals. yeah They've played away in Mexico. they've They've been there and done that too. And they can go to Alhuense in Costa Rica, which that team's not as good as l LAFC, but that is a very, very hard road trip. you gotta And they've won it twice. They've won it. You've got to be advanced in the CONCACAF to go on the road and take a result there. And and they did that. So LAFC...
00:24:29
Speaker
better than Inter-Miami for that? I mean, i would probably say yes, but like, it's like, and that's, that's a good segue into next topic. was going to say, you know what team isn't built for CONCACAF? Inter-Miami. Inter-Miami's roster is on paper better than anyone else's in MLS, probably in MLS history by far, but guess what?
00:24:50
Speaker
Lionel Messi has not he does not he's not earned the CONCACAF stripes. Not even the GOAT himself is immune to this. And they were playing against Nashville SC. Reed Baker Whiting owns Lionel Messi. Everyone, please get out your notebooks. Welcome to school. Welcome to class. Because Reed Baker Whiting is in session. That's right. He pickpocketed that man in a final. Destroyed him. One of my favorite photos is literally Leo Messi laying on the ground and Reed Baker Whiting is dribbling past him. What does he do? He comes in for this match.
00:25:24
Speaker
Nashville SC wins 1-1. Road goal. I mean, come on. they're not They're not built for that. Reed Baker Whiting is built for CONCACAF. Messi, not so much. One goal over 180 minutes against Nashville SC, and you're telling me that team was going to win CCC? Come on, man. There are levels to this. And you can have Lionel Messi on your team. You can have Hermann Bertramme in his no goals. on your team. You can have Reguilon on your team. You can have Mikael on your team. You can have this guy, that guy. You can spend this much money on the on on that guy and this much money on the other guy. When it comes down to it and you're in this tournament,
00:26:02
Speaker
You got to be up for it and you got to have the experience. You got to be battle tested. And that Inter-Miami team is so not all of those things that they couldn't even make it by their MLS opposition. Again, one goal in 180 minutes. And the other thing that I will, let's just revel in this for a minute. Because first of all, at our live show in Spokane, it was going on. at the same time as Inter-Miami Nashville SC Leg 2. And it was very funny, the entire crowd at Flat Stick when Nashville scored, was it was it was un interrupted in thunderous applause. It was electric. And then when the final whistle sounded, it was ah it was the same thing. But Inter-Miami, you know, i ah
00:26:40
Speaker
I'll be the first to admit I actively antagonized the entire city of Miami and the state of Florida at large over the off season regarding inter Miami. And we may, I made a whole video about how, uh, just because they won one MLS cup, that doesn't mean they've surpassed Seattle necessarily or anyone else. I titled the video. I think inter Miami is still chasing the Seattle Sounders, whatever inter Miami fan base. They weren't, uh,
00:27:05
Speaker
They weren't happy with me. And that's fine. Like I started it so I can take that. But ah but guess what? If you're going to camp out in our comments section all offseason and chirp, chirp, chirp away, just talk and talk and talk. And you got to make it further than the round of 16 and CONCACAF Champions Cup where you crash out against Nashville SC when you score one goal over 180 Freaking pathetic, man. Pathetic, dude. Pathetic.
00:27:30
Speaker
One goal from Lionel Messi over two legs against Nashville SC. I don't even know what we're talking about with that team anymore. Get out of here. Like, you you got your one MLS Cup last year. Congratulations.
00:27:43
Speaker
An MLS team wins MLS Cup every year. You need to win multiple of those for that to establish any sort of legacy. But also... that that Their whole organization knew that they needed to win CONCACAF Champions Cup for their project to be fully, fully validated. And they spent 30 plus million dollars to get their roster to a place where they thought that they could for sure guarantee that they were going to make a run and probably win the tournament. All built around Lionel Messi. They went out and got Bertramé, who looks terrible. They went out and got Dane St. Clair, who I actually think looks pretty bad so far too, which you were, you were saying that you've been beating the, he's overrated agenda.
00:28:21
Speaker
That's looking pretty validated so far. So you know what? Maybe a little karma for you all out there in the state of Florida, because ah there was a lot of chirping, a lot of talk going on. And then that's the performance that the team puts out in the round of 16, not even against a Liga and Mecky's team. I just don't even know what we're talking about. Like, it's it's you gotta to buy for what joke you gotta buy for what you literally gotta buy for what you did nothing that's it's that's that had to be better man that had to be better uh it was fun on the drive home uh from spokane we threw on the uh i think the drive pink dialogue shout out to those guys yeah because we were like let's get some schadenfreude going we need something to kill time on this long ass drive let's plug in an inner Miami podcast and see how they feel about it. And they're not happy, nor should they be. And they fully admitted that Javier Mascherano's tactics in leg two at home were cowardly. yeah They scored that goal, that messy goal in the seventh minute and then sat on it for the rest of the game, tried to bunker troll ball their way out of seeing out of this seeing out the series. And it was one of the most cowardly displays I think any of us have ever seen. And that was this is the this was the drive pink dialogue saying it, not us. They were crashing out over Mascherano's tactics, rightfully so. Because when you have Lionel Messi on your team, trying to troll ball your way out of a series like that,
00:29:51
Speaker
You need to, you should be going for it. You should be going it. You got Messi. You got the most loaded roster in MLS history. And you're going to sit 1-0 83 minutes? Like...
00:30:00
Speaker
like I, Mosherano, he won a little bit of equity back for with winning MLS cup last year, which I would argue he got a little bit lucky on that, but he, he got job security and equity back for it.
00:30:13
Speaker
He shouldn't have that. Now that should all be gone. He should be under a lot of pressure and inner Miami should be embarrassed, man. And we're going to let you all hear about that because you let us hear about all your and MLS cup, whatever over the off season. And we took it. So you're going to take this because that was, know,
00:30:29
Speaker
That's embarrassing, man. That is embarrassing. And guess what else was embarrassing? Getting absolutely bombed off Lumen Field 3-0 in the League's Cup Final and then having your 48-year-old malcontent striker spit on a Seattle team staffer. How many more times are you guys going embarrass yourself before you call it on the messy project? I guess we're about to find out because the latest edition was the most embarrassing thing I've seen yet. Actually, that's not true. Spitting on Gene was the most embarrassing thing. But this was a close, close second.
00:30:58
Speaker
You have to imagine Jorge Moss just gripping his his some sort of sponsored beer beverage. Imagine spending $30 million dollars to win a tournament and that's the performance you get. That's what I'm saying. It's like you have to be absolutely embarrassed and you have to admit.
00:31:16
Speaker
The Messi era has been a failure. There is nothing that you can say to me that will convince me that winning a shield, which is the least important trophy in Major League Soccer, because again, incredibly unbalanced schedules, just doesn't matter. No one cares about it in the league in North America. It's a Mickey Mouse trophy. Then winning MLS Cup at home against a team that is literally the geographic farthest team physically possible,
00:31:47
Speaker
Congratulations. You won one trophy that means something. And you spent, outspent the league two to one. Two to one. You cannot tell me that this team has been a success with Lionel Messi. He's done nothing. He has done nothing. Congratulations on your MVP, my friend.
00:32:08
Speaker
Too bad you shift. Two MVPs. Congratulations on your back-to-back MVPs. Yes, Lionel Messi will be known as... The GOAT, right? He will be known as the MLS GOAT, potentially, one of the greatest players to ever play in this His stat sheet production is... But he is going to be remembered.
00:32:25
Speaker
Inter-Miami will never be remembered. No one will give a damn about Inter-Miami because this is how they actually play. This is how they actually play. You can sign whoever you want. You can do whoever you want.
00:32:38
Speaker
This team is trash. It's coached like trash. Javier Mascherano, people were telling me all last year, he deserves coach of the year, Shouts. He deserves coach year. What the fuck are you talking about? This guy's biggest tactical change last year was to take out... An aging striker after he spat upon multiple people and started a brawl. Oh, congratulations. Great job. Great tactical maneuvers there. One of the best coach in the league, by the way. Yeah, best coach in the league. And
Preview: Sounders' Upcoming Matches
00:33:06
Speaker
he's literally doing a bad knockoff version of Minnesota United.
00:33:12
Speaker
how do you How do you fail at being a bad knockoff version of Minnesota United? Cowardly, disgusting, Bertram is trash, Messi's fine, everyone else's ass.
00:33:25
Speaker
Dissolve the club. You've been a disaster. You've been an embarrassment. You've been an embarrassment. Man, like, you know, I was, as usual, i was a little more cautious than you were ah leading up to declaring the whole era an abject failure. It's kind of hard to disagree at this point. It's a marketing gimmick, Ari. It's not about the football. It's about the marketing. They can't even win a tournament that they have said, this is our biggest priority.
00:33:54
Speaker
This is our number one priority. They can't even get close. You can't even get close. You lost to Nashville s SC. That's not even a real club. Christian Espinoza owns you. like Christian Espinoza. He's been on the San Jose earthquakes for the last seven years, and you couldn't make it past him. Okay, here's here's the new agenda, Ari. Is Christian Espinoza...
00:34:13
Speaker
Better than Lionel Messi? He might be. He might be. He might be. His team is moving on in CONCACAF Champions Cup and Messi's isn't. What do you think Messi's thinking right now? This is the other thing, Inter-Miami fans.
00:34:24
Speaker
You know how old that guy is? It's time to go to Newell Young, boys. 38, 39, 38. He's old. He's not going to be there for that much longer. He's really not.
00:34:35
Speaker
And what are you going to do then? I guarantee you're not going to be camping out in our comments section because you're not going to have anything to say. so Who's going to come there? Mbappe? Yeah, good luck. Yeah, and you know I know we're going hard on Inter-Miami right now, but i you know i'm I'm a little bitter about the off-season discourse. I harbor some ill will.
00:34:54
Speaker
over that. And, you know, anyone who doesn't like it, tell the boys to go out there and play better than that. Cause that was sorry as hell, man. That, that was embarrassing. Like, and, When you were in league's cup final last year, that was literally the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen on a soccer field. Yeah. You, your striker crashed out and spit on a team staffer. And then you had to accept your second place medals on the field in front of everybody. And then watch the Seattle Sounders lift the trophy with confetti falling down and celebrating the title that you just lost to them.
00:35:25
Speaker
It doesn't get more disgraceful and humiliating than that. The loss would be bad enough, but then you throw in the brawl starting and the spitting, yeah and that that turned it into one of the most abjectly disgraceful displays of poor sportsmanship that you'll ever see in any athletic competition. So...
00:35:45
Speaker
I mean, it's it's it's tough, man. It's tough. But, you know, if yeah if you guys don't want us to be reveling in it like this, then you can't have results like that because that is just, oh, my God. Anyway, we can that dude we can we can keep it pushing now. But did you have anything else on Inter-Miami? Let me interrupt me say one more thing. Yeah, please. Let me say one more thing.
00:36:05
Speaker
there There can't be enough reveling in this. When we beat Inter-Miami, The next week, we went down there and we played them, and they beat us 3-1. 3-1. 3-1. I'm so sorry. Obed Vargas, goal racer. Obed Vargas, Atletico Madrid legend, scored against you. You're nobody.
00:36:24
Speaker
Messi, you're nobody. He did leave MLS. Keep cooking, though, because I forgot to bring this up. Keep cooking. I just think it's interesting because inter Miami fans constantly say, well, it doesn't matter. Like we, we beat you the next week. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Which that is, I cannot believe that people say that it's the stupidest thing ever. Like if you were one of the people saying that, like you need to reevaluate the entire path that your life has taken, because that is one of the most hilariously embarrassing takes that you could have possibly ever conjured up. But anyway, congratulations guys.
00:36:58
Speaker
You are able to win a random game after midweek fixtures, after losing in a cup final. Maybe you're going to go on to win another Supporters' Shield this year. Hell, maybe you're going to go to win another MLS Cup this season.
00:37:14
Speaker
But you will never be the Seattle Sounders. You will never even be close to being the Seattle Sounders, a club that can get it done with kids that they find in Alaska.
00:37:25
Speaker
Literally found a kid in Alaska, put him on in a CONCACAF Champions League final and won the trophy. You will never win that trophy because you're cowardly and you hide behind aging stars who do nothing.
00:37:38
Speaker
They do nothing. You will never be the Seattle Sounders. You wish to be us, but you can never be us. So I'm sorry. We welcome you, though, if you want to be if you want to become a Sounders fan.
00:37:49
Speaker
You'll never have Pete. You'll never have Pete Kings, dude. You'll never have King Pete. I'm sorry. All right. We cooked on that for longer than anticipated, but it was worth it. yeah i loved I just absolutely loved.
00:38:00
Speaker
i We weren't watching it. We were doing our live show at Flat Stick at the time. i was watching it through the eyes of literally a bar full of like 300 gleeful sounders. but You know how much Inter-Miami are hated across the league is that I could hear in unison the cheers across the United States. The whole bar erupted like when they lost. Like that's you're the villain. And yeah, you're the you're the villain. that's That's what it is at the end of the day. so But the villain always loses, Ari. The villain always loses. villain always loses in the end. And that's what we saw in this tournament. it's just they They just really did not, they were not even close, man. And I was i was saying over the offseason, like,
00:38:37
Speaker
There is no way with how much money that they spent and getting Bert Arame, who has been an elite player in CONCACAF for years. Like that is like the perfect move that you could make, the ambitious move you could make to try and make a run in CONCACAF. And that that dude can't even score a single goal. So it's it's hilarious. I inject it into my veins. And yeah, if you were in our comment section over the offseason, Lobbing Scorchers wins again. So big ups to us. Noah,
00:39:06
Speaker
Honestly, that was the second to last topic I had for the evening. So why don't we just talk about this Minnesota game a little bit to close it out. Sure. We can call it a wrap for this episode. If you want more content, bonus become a YouTube member. We're going to put out a bonus episode alongside this. So it's just, listen, what can I say? We should take an ad break here, though. Okay.
00:39:27
Speaker
Just so we know and we ah we can actually, you know, jump it in here. we'll take We're going to take an ad break. We'll be right back. Hey everyone, Ari here. I'm excited to tell you about one of our sponsors, Hakes and Ferments.
00:39:39
Speaker
Hakeson is a Seattle-based hot sauce and vinegar brand, making some of the most flavorful hot sauce around. We've partnered up to craft a small batch green blended hot sauce fermented to perfection with bright flavor and medium heat.
00:39:50
Speaker
We love it so much, the label even has our faces on it. You sold out the first batch, so we made another. Visit lobingscorchers.com slash sauce to order and be sure to check out the full line of Hakeson Ferment Sauces, including their limited seasonal flavors.
00:40:05
Speaker
We get a lot of emails here at Lobbing Scorchers. Mailing lists we forgot to unsubscribe from, recruiters begging us to go work for FIFA. But one of the most common is people who want to know how we maintain such an effortlessly classy yet fashion-forward wardrobe. Mostly me, I think, but Noah too, I guess.
00:40:21
Speaker
Well, the answer is our sponsor, Podium Menswear. Podium is based in Edmonds and they carry really quality stuff like Filson and Red Wings. They cover all the basics and also have some stuff that's not as easy to get here.
00:40:33
Speaker
You can shop in store at 14 4th Avenue North in downtown Edmonds or online at lobingscorchers.com slash podium.
00:40:45
Speaker
Some people think
Minnesota United: Challenges and Strategies
00:40:46
Speaker
California has a monopoly on wine, but it turns out the Pacific Northwest produces plenty of it too. Our sponsor, Full Pole Wines, stocks a huge number of local wines and also lots of others from different parts of the world.
00:40:58
Speaker
The best part? They're run by Sounders fans, and they also have the most important thing I need when choosing a wine. People who know what they're doing who can tell me what to buy. It's super easy. You join their mailing list, they send out a newsletter covering what they have, and you pick the ones you want to either grab at their warehouse on first or have shipped to you.
00:41:16
Speaker
And then when you go to someone's house, you bring one of those bottles and everyone is super impressed. We're proud to be sponsored by FullPullWines.com. Welcome back from the ad break that you definitely did not Better have not skipped it.
00:41:30
Speaker
Noah, let's talk a little bit about, I really, again, like I said at the top of the show, I don't really care that much about this right now. This season is all about CCC right now. It's all about this Tigris series. It's all hands on deck. Everybody lock in. that is the ah That's the thing going on right now. But the Sounders do have a matchup on Sunday, recording this on Friday. Games on Sunday, 11.30 a.m.
00:41:50
Speaker
and Pacific time kickoff. That's kind of weird, but. ah Sure, whatever. I'm okay with it. I'm actually okay. Yeah, no, I like earlier in the day more than later in the day. Get it done. One can get the post-game show done, calls taken in the afternoon. That's going to be fun.
00:42:03
Speaker
ah But, you know, you do have to, when you're playing in CCC, play your league season as well. So Seattle will be doing that at Minnesota on so ah on Sunday. Against a 54-year-old James Rodriguez. Yeah. So the site, man, you know what's, uh, I didn't even really put this together, but we're going to get to revel even more in the downfall of, uh, Seattle's opposition, because this is a rematch of the, uh, round one best of three series between these two teams and that did not to win a game.
00:42:32
Speaker
yeah Yeah, well, they they did advance. They did technically win the series, which was, it turned out, ah their MLS Cup final. It was their MLS Cup final. I've never seen a fan base more excited about round one victory than that one. Seeing their head coach, who I literally can't name. I was going to set you up for it, but just go. I'm so sorry, but when there is literally a send-off video for your head coach, who, again, I cannot say his name. He's like Voldemort to me.
00:43:02
Speaker
Jumping up, screaming, going on his knees like we just fucking won MLS. You won no trophies, buddy. And then you got your ass handed to you at a middle to lower end championship club. Again, i fucking predicted that. i literally said you are going to be irrelevant. You're going to be nobody. You're going to be boring. going to be shitty. Once your terrible coach leaves, he's going to go to a middling championship club and then get fired. I literally said all of that.
00:43:30
Speaker
All of it. It's on the podcast. I've posted the clip. What happened? What happened, Ari? All of that. And they're a middling club, and they're not good. And they signed James Rodriguez on a six-month contract.
00:43:44
Speaker
He has yet to play a full game. He's yet to start. He came in after they were down 6-1.
00:43:52
Speaker
And he doesn't look like he really wants to be there, to be quite honest with you. So Minnesota United, I got to be honest, this is going to be my MLS Cup. This match where I get to watch Peter Kingston put it on your head, where I get to watch Tino Lopez absolutely demolish you, where i get to watch Paul Rothrock go sicko mode on your head.
00:44:16
Speaker
We better win this game by 100. Genuinely, this is this game is actually important to me. ah now Now that I've talked about it, this game is very important to me for my posting needs. See, if they weren't in a CCC series against Tigris right now, I would be fully on that exact same page.
00:44:31
Speaker
If they go out and are gassed in Minnesota and it doesn't look very good and it's like ah not that good of a draw or maybe they lose the game by a goal or whatever, maybe even they get played off the field. I'm not...
00:44:43
Speaker
going to care all that much. But what I will say is ah it's kind of it's kind of like a negative episode, but it's because these are they these are the two fan bases that we have beef with yeah yeah from last year. So they're... It's kind get back. You had Inter-Miami crash out, which that's get back. And now you got Loons Away coming up, which is... But we...
00:45:05
Speaker
we We did try tell you, Minnesota, we tried to tell you last year, you know, congratulations on Dane St. Clair trolling your way through a round one best of three series. Fair play. Like ah when it comes to the playoffs, its ends justify the means and they advance based on what the format is. But we did say at the time, you are not coming within a country mile of MLS Cup playing like that. Like you never will. Your roster is not that good. Honestly, Rick Rams, ah the reason the re runn he was The reason he was doing that was because he knew his team wasn't that good. And guess what? It got way worse over the offseason. They had a lot of guys outgoing that they didn't replace. They shipped out three best players. And out of desperation, let's be clear, out of full on desperation and the need to generate some sort of excitement from anywhere, they signed 43-year-old Hamas Rodriguez. It's again a marketing move. Aren't you getting like weird vibes from that so far? Like yeah every time their coach talks about him, he kind of seems like like, I don't know. I could be wrong, but just sort of reading the tea leaves, it seems like he's not super stoked that they went and got Hamas. I think he probably feels like it's more of a marketing stunt than yeah something that's going to help him as a coach. Hamas,
00:46:19
Speaker
is still, I guess, an okay player, but this is not Real Madrid-Hamas. He has not been that for five, six years at this point. He is when he plays for Colombia, but that's it. I would be surprised. He signed here so that he could have fitness to play for Colombia's squad. This has nothing to do with Minnesota. And I think the coach knows that. Yes, he knows that because, again, when you're trying to build a culture, when you're trying to build a locker room, You don't want to sign a player who is a leader-type player who is probably off to the side doing whatever the fuck he wants as your DP for six... He's not a DP. He's on Tam, but like, bro, I'm sorry. This is one of the dumbest fucking moves of all time. They're kind
00:47:01
Speaker
I think the idea is they're trying to build their attack around him eventually, but it's always good when your GM and your coach are not on the same page. It really feels like they're not with it. The coach doesn't seem super stoked. He's there. i don't think anyone thinks that you think Hamas is really that fired up to be in Minnesota United. I mean, maybe it may. I probably not though. Probably not. But anyway, like a long way of saying this Minnesota team is not good right now. Like Seattle should be able to take a result in this game with a rotated. San Jose is much better. Yeah.
00:47:31
Speaker
Yeah, like they've played a lot better teams than this so far this year, and they've won five out of six games. They are in the middle of ah the Seattle Sounders Roadshow. It's an insane travel schedule. There can't be all that much gas in the tank. But ah like you said, man, like it's it's a situation where if you have Pete out there in this game, I feel actively good about that. If you have Tino out there in this game, which you're going to have both of those guys out there in this game, I feel actively good about that. They're going Petkovich probably in all likelihood starting this game. I feel good about that. Everything I've seen from Petkovic so far, I feel like has been a lot better than I expected. So I think, you know, you're probably going to see Rothrock start this game. It seems like what they're doing is having CCC be the Areola thing and Rothrock's the super sub, which I'm fine with. I think Rothrock has been cooking as a super sub in ah CCC. he had two goals as a super sub in CCC so far. So I'm good with that.
00:48:27
Speaker
But you're going have Rothrock out there. I imagine you know Schmetz is incapable of benching Christian and Jesus. Impossible. It can't be done. So you're going to probably see guys like that out there. But whatever lineup they put out there, i cannot think of a team I'm less intimidated by. than They're going to get up for this game, Ari.
00:48:45
Speaker
They're going to get up for this game. You don't think Andrew Thomas leading the in the goal wants... Get back. this is You don't even have to have bulletin board material because all of these guys were on the team last year. They know they want to win this game. This, I'm telling you right now, this could be a bloodbath.
00:49:02
Speaker
This could be a bloodbath. I would be surprised just because of the fuel
Jordan Morris' Return and Striker Options
00:49:06
Speaker
take situation. telling you. I feel like it's very low. I i mean, maybe, but like honestly, Ari, the feeling that I have for Minnesota United, you don't think that...
00:49:17
Speaker
All of the players who were involved in that shit show of a three-game stretch want that. Schmetzer is not the kind of guy, he he wants get back. And he I think he's going to get his get back.
00:49:29
Speaker
Hopefully, man, because if they lose this game, then we have to hear about it again from Minnesota fans. They're going to clip our damn podcast. Everything that we just said just now, we're going to get clipped. But you know what? I don't care because like... How many trophies you guys have? Yeah, like I frankly don't respect the opponent enough in this situation to care about their opinion. Correct. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just got to earn more credibility they have after...
00:49:53
Speaker
what we saw with the Ramsey ball last year, which the real Minnesota United fans out there, and I know there are some of you out there. Yeah. A lot of them acknowledged that it was trolling what was going yeah on last year, but there was a lot too that were like, nah, man, that's just, that's just footy. You know, you gotta, I love negative football. I love negative football. We do what it takes to win. Isn't this fun and cool and quirky? No, you guys were, it was a terrible team to watch. It it got it did get results. like I can't really argue that. they got They finished higher in the West than Seattle last year and scored pretty much the same amount of goals somehow. So good bit, but that's not going to win you anything, and it definitely doesn't earn all that much fear or respect in in my eyes, which...
00:50:35
Speaker
You know, I'm sure Minnesota fans don't care about that, nor should they. I'm just saying, man, like when I go into a game like this, it's there's not a lot of a lot of juice from the opposition here for me right now, especially because their roster is pretty, pretty decimated. They got six old in Vancouver, six old.
00:50:53
Speaker
That's not good. you can't you can't lose six. They had to put Hamas out there for his club debut when it was 5-0. Yeah. And then got they got scored on again. that was funny. That's what I'm saying is like, dude, the midweek...
00:51:06
Speaker
midweek upset, frustrated Vancouver whitecaps put six on that team. You're not telling me that the Sounders aren't holding a fucking grudge from last season.
00:51:17
Speaker
It, it could be a bloodbath. Moose was going off at the end of that series too. yeah he would He looked like he could ah I mean, he, uh, he ended, he ended up only getting two goals, but he was, he got unlucky to not have like three or four, frankly. So, I think if Moose starts this game, I think he's going to be motivated and hankering to score. So, no, I mean, if they if they draw this game, I'd be like, fine, whatever. If they lose, I'd be mildly tilted but more focused on CCC. But I think there could be something to what you're saying. Like, I know for a fact –
00:51:52
Speaker
Everyone on the team is not happy with how that series went ah last year. They felt like they were way, way better than that Minnesota team. In fact, I think we know that they were way, way better than that Minnesota team. And they got Dane St. Clair.
00:52:08
Speaker
Okay. They got trolled and they got eliminated. Fine. Whatever. But this is a chance for get back. And it's a chance to keep the road show going, man. Like the road show has been cooking so far. They haven't lost the game yet. They're road dogs, man. guess they the ri Real Salt Lake game, but I consider Roadshow like all the successive games because that was the second game of the season. This is like we're into it now. They've been traveling for the last couple weeks. They're going to keep traveling. They got to go to Minnesota. So I think they will be up for it, and I think that i think that they we we could see an inspired effort because of all the stuff that you're talking about.
00:52:46
Speaker
I'm here for it. Let's see it. We will see you in Minnesota. But we're not going because I would never go to there. Definitely not going to Minnesota for this game. ah There is one more news item going into this game that we do need to do before we call it a day, which is that it is Schmetzer. Brian Schmetzer confirmed. Jordan Morris is going to play in this He's going to play.
00:53:06
Speaker
Like it's probably going to be 20 minutes, 15, 20 minutes at the end of the game, but he is going to play. So that indicates that both Jordan and the team feel like he is healthy enough to do that. So obviously there is always the chance that he gets hurt eight minutes into it. But ah theoretically,
00:53:22
Speaker
That he should be in a place physically where that's not any more at risk of happening than it would be at any other time. I still think that what we're we've been seeing is just insanely bad luck. I know people don't want to hear that, but ah I'm I personally excited. I'm very, very excited to see what this offense looks like with Jordan Morris back playing because we've talked about how. So, well, let's talk about this because we've been to've been doing the Osase-Moose debate over the last couple weeks. And I think it's fair to say that neither of them have really separated themselves in that way. They've been starting Osase. Moose did score goal in the last game. ah But like I don't think either of them have done anything to a level where I feel like Jordan should have his a starting spot on the line because of how well either of them are playing. And this is this is how I was...
00:54:12
Speaker
Thinking of it now. you Tell me what you think of this framing. Like what we've been talking about with the Osase Moose debate is, you know, you got Osase, who's much more well-rounded. He offers you a lot more in hold-up play and link-up play in terms of playing within the offense. yeah He's much more physical. He plays bully ball, but he's not scoring right now. And with Moose, you have a guy who doesn't offer you as much of that all-around attributes, but is incredibly, incredibly, uncannily good at getting in good spots to poach goals. And he's been doing that dating back to last season. And I still think if you ask me who's more likely to actually score a goal in a given game, I would pick Moose. So what you need, what you need,
00:54:54
Speaker
is a striker who has the combined attributes of Osaze's all-around game, the hold-up play, the link-up game, the ah the physicality, the pace, all that stuff, but with Moose's finishing ability and his ability to get in good spots in the box and find goals and actually score them.
00:55:11
Speaker
That's literally just Jordan Morris, skill set-wise. He he yeah is the physical ability and the well-roundedness as of Osase with the ability to find spots and finish as Moose. Correct. So if you put that skill set onto this offense,
00:55:27
Speaker
I think you're going to see it elevate. And to me, so that brings me to my, my big point, which is that I think you, I think man, like I understand why they came out at the beginning of the year with Osase up top and Jordan listed out out wide because of how good Osase was in preseason. Now that we've seen how the team is looking for a few games,
00:55:49
Speaker
I think the first choice 11 is one of the Pauls out wide in that spot and Jordan Morris at the nine. Like, I think that's, I think that's what you got to do because both of the Pauls look incredible right now, especially Rothrock. So that's, that's your best lineup in my opinion. That's your best lineup. And Jordan Morris, I want to see him as the starting number nine on this, on this team as soon as he's back. And I really think there's genuinely a lot of potential for that to elevate the offense because I feel like the offense has looked good, really good at times so far this year, even with Osase not scoring. Imagine how it would be, though, if Osase had been scoring.
00:56:26
Speaker
Jordan Morris, say whatever you want about him. You can you can crash out about the ds DP escalators. That's fine. The dude is literally the most the leading goal scorer in the history of the Seattle Sounders. All right? The idea that he can't score goals or isn't reliable when it comes to scoring goals it is just literally not bared out statistically. like it does hes he the The floor is what I have the most confidence in with him. you know like he is going to get If you put him in enough minutes without him getting injured, he's going to get you some goals. That's just going to be baked in. So like, that's kind of what this team needs from that spot right now is the goal production, the consistent goal production. But also, you know, I think Moose's skill set is probably realistically lends itself more to a super sub role in most situations. So that's how I feel about the return of Jordan Morris. What do you think? Well, i completely agree. I mean, i I've been saying for a long time, Jordan Morris is the nine.
00:57:21
Speaker
Jordan Morris is the nine. When he was playing in preseason, I literally said on this podcast and others, I was concerned about him being a winger. about him i know I understand that he tucks in more. He's more of a like false nine winger. It's like a weird but whatever. It doesn't matter. I don't like it.
00:57:39
Speaker
he He can finish. He has good hold-up play. He has great vision. He is an incredible passer. People forget that. He has exactly what you're saying. He is Moose Inosaze in one body. Exactly. He is and should number nine. thought about it like that, i but then I was like, wait a minute. Wait, guys. they have we have We have this at home. You have them. It's the combination of both those players. So literally, let me... let me Give me Moose. Give me Osase continuing to play as well in that rotation. But I think Jordan Morris is your best option at the number nine. And I'm just honestly, as a human being, I'm very happy that he's he's coming back and that that injury was not as severe as it could been. It's exciting that he's going to be playing on Sunday. that's a lot That's a lot sooner. It's honestly a lot sooner than I thought he would be working back into the mix just because I felt like they've been playing pretty well. They've won five out of six games to start the season, all comps, and you really, really, really, really can't be rushing him back in this situation and having him get re-injured. If he gets re-injured again eight minutes into the game or eight minutes into his first appearance, he's going to crash out. I'm going to crash out. We're all going to crash out. We're all going to crash out. I really I'm trusting here that if they think that this is the the right time and that they know what they're doing, maybe that's misguided. But ah I also think that he probably is more adamant about making sure he's fully healthy and good to go before he comes back. So if he's feeling like that and he's being honest about that, then hell, yeah.
00:59:17
Speaker
Get him out there on Sunday. Let's see what he can do against this trash team. And then ah maybe that gives you a little bit of a boost going into this Tigris series. I'll tell you what. If you give me the choice between any of these three strikers in this Tigris series and both of these legs, give me Jordan Morris all day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, however you want to put it, man. But, like...
Episode Conclusion and Future Preview
00:59:38
Speaker
We also have proof, a lot of proof of concept that he comes through in these situations, which it's kind of, I feel like his reputation almost is like the opposite of that. Sometimes i don't yeah where people are like, well, he doesn't do it in the big games. And I'm like, I mean, did you watch the playoffs in 2019? Did you watch the playoffs in 2016? Did you watch TCT? Did you watch have you watched him play one time in his career? Like, He's scored some of the biggest. Did you watch the playoff games against LAFC? Yeah. ah He scored like a ton of the biggest goals in club history in the biggest moments in the biggest situations. And not only that, this is a stat that I don't think I've brought up before. And I'm not sure a lot of people who perpetuate these narratives don't know. He is the leading playoff goal scorer.
01:00:22
Speaker
out of any MLS active player with, I think 10 or 11, literally not a single MLS player right now has scored more playoffs goals than Jordan Morris. So I wish we could just kind of dispel. I feel like anytime people have these like anti certain players agendas, you have to do the, well, when he does score goals, it doesn't count. So I'm going to say that he doesn't score the goals in the big games and the big moments.
01:00:46
Speaker
He literally does. And if there's one guy on the team that I trust to score a goal against an opponent like Tigris, like this team that they're about to play, it's Jordan.
01:00:57
Speaker
It still is, even even with the injuries. so Couldn't agree more. I love you, Jordan. Welcome back, King. Welcome back. Excited to watch you play on Sunday. All right. I think we can call it right there for this episode. I'm not sure how long we went there, but we've been ripping this content all week across the state. So if it is a short one, with that. This what we love.
01:01:18
Speaker
This is what we love. We will do this until we die. Yeah, actually and frankly, you know, I was like not sure I was going to have the juice for this one today. And then we started more juice than did. And then we started talking about InterMiami and I was good to go, man, because. Ari was like, i don't know if I want to come to the studio today. said, get in your car, get down here. i promise you, once you get here and cook it, it'll change. Once you get here and you start reveling in InterMiami's absolute embarrassing crash out, their latest one, you know, they love doing that. It's their biggest passion in life. And they did it again, blessing us with the content. Yeah.
01:01:49
Speaker
it doesn't get better. So that really, yeah, I feel like I'm flying on adrenaline now, but all right, we'll, we're going to call it wrap right there. We're gonna be back at it on Sunday. Post game show. Post game show. We'll be taking calls, talking about whatever the result be, talking about how Pete played, all that good stuff. And then, yeah, Nico and I for kickoff on Monday. So the grind doesn't stop.
01:02:08
Speaker
And a bye week next week. Bye week. But ah we'll still be doing all that CCC coverage. And I'm looking forward to this series, Tigris. I'm going to stick by it. I'm actively glad that it's not easy-ass series against FC Cincinnati.
01:02:23
Speaker
Give me the drama. Give me the best opponent. Let the chips fall where they may. But all right. Until Sunday, we'll catch you guys next time. Love y'all. Bye. you in the bonus.