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Episode 403: Preview of Sounders-Charlotte
71 Plays2 years ago
Jorge Gonzalez of Top Bin 90 joined us to give some insight on Charlotte's injury situation and a lowdown on soccer culture in the South.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime sounder supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest.
Guest Introductions
00:00:21
Speaker
Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this. Here we go. Come on! Hey, Ocean! Let's go! What a save by Fry! The Seattle Sounders have done it! MLS co-pointers! Here comes Ray D'Ace from the middle to crowd it! The vehicle! And now they truly can't stop the celebrations.
00:01:04
Speaker
Seattle Sounders, the greatest MLS team in history. This is a tiny f***ing doll.
00:01:34
Speaker
Is
Seattle Sounders vs. Charlotte FC Preview
00:01:38
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of NOS Adietes. I am Jeremiah O'Shan. Joining me today to preview Saturday's game against Charlotte FC is Jorge Gonzalez of Top Bin 90. Welcome to the show, Jorge.
00:01:42
Speaker
that why you young people call twerking?
00:01:51
Speaker
Excited to be on here, Jeremiah. How are you? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. So we have a pretty good matchup here. This is the Sounders' first visit to Charlotte, although they did play last year. It's funny how they do these balancing act of East versus West. The Sounders hadn't played New York Red Bulls in three years, and now they're playing Charlotte FC back-to-back years. I don't quite understand the way that works.
00:02:19
Speaker
But happy to see you again. Yeah, I'm excited to be on. Last time that we were on here was right before that Seattle game. And after that game, our coach got fired. So yeah.
00:02:31
Speaker
That's right. This is the first time we're facing you guys with the new coach. I had forgotten that that was the last game of your old coach. Correct. That was the last Miguel game for us. Yeah. So how have things changed, broadly speaking? This was a coach who was hired. I don't know if he was hired to be temporary, but he definitely did enough to get the job permanently.
Charlotte FC's New Coaching and Strategy
00:02:56
Speaker
Uh, with Latongio, yes. Um, Christian Latongio last year was just going to be an interim, but I think a couple of key things played into the factor of having him become the full-time coach is one, um, there was a period, I want to say the last five games where we gave a playoff push and we were right there. We quite didn't make it, but the team played well. You signed intensity into the team. Um, players that we weren't expecting to score goals the way they were like Daniel Rios.
00:03:26
Speaker
scored right so I think that is one thing and the other thing is just the relationships he has with people in the locker room right I think that's very very important he's been able to develop certain players and has a good strength when it comes to player coach relationships
00:03:47
Speaker
And so what is the system that he, it seems like he's brought in a very specific system along with everything else. How would you describe the way that Charlotte's playing these days?
00:03:59
Speaker
So I think the way Shelley wants to play is this versus how we're actually exiting, right? Fair enough, fair enough. Right, well, traditionally CO433 and more possession based with high intensity, right? So if you look at some of the signings, for example, Enzo Copetti is a guy that has a work ethic, right? On and off the ball. That's the typical type of player that LaTonzio wants, right? A lot of intensity, a lot of work ethic and wants his teams to hold possession.
00:04:30
Speaker
And so how, you know, speaking of, uh, Capetti, what is the, what is the, the availability right now? It looks like he's potentially listed as questionable. And then, uh, goes back is, is listed as out, right? Yeah. I think a hundred percent. We won't see camellia as we act with Copetti. I would say it's 75% that he's out.
00:04:53
Speaker
Right. Um, from what I saw, um, I went to the training session and looks like they're integrating both of them
Charlotte FC's Key Player Updates
00:04:59
Speaker
back in. Um, I feel like Coppetti is closer than Camille, but from the press conference that LaTonzio gave us yesterday, he wasn't too optimistic of having either, but knowing LaTonzio, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Coppetti at least on the bench. And I guess, how does that change things if Coppetti isn't available?
00:05:19
Speaker
I thought what happened is, so traditionally we, one of the things that Latonso did really well last year was switch Carol Swodersky and other DP from that nine to more of a 10 creative role kind of second striker right behind the nine. And so what will happen is if we don't see Swodersky, if we don't see Copetti at the nine, Camille will get pushed up to that nine role.
00:05:47
Speaker
and so how has how has swedersky been he's he's it seems like he's the star man essentially for sure yeah he is the star man i think um
00:05:59
Speaker
At the beginning of last year, he started off well, scoring then through the middle of the season. He kind of had that adjustment period and ended the season very well. It's been something similar this year where he's been more consistent. I think Charlotte played, when Charlotte are playing really, really well, it's because Sordersky is pulling the strings, right? I mean, he's creative. He's the most technical player that we have on the pitch. And I think he's our, our most important player now is him.
00:06:29
Speaker
And so more broadly speaking, this is a team who has been a bit suspect in the back defensively.
Challenges and Atmosphere at Charlotte FC Games
00:06:39
Speaker
How would you describe the defensive struggles and where are those coming from? Or is it just a back line that's bad? Is it a midfield that can't hold to the ball?
00:06:49
Speaker
It's a little bit of everything, right? I think one is the style that we play versus the personnel that Charlotte has, right? If you ever see us, right? When we hold possession, our full backs tend to be higher. So a lot of times we are struggling when it comes to transition, right? Like a lot of our center backs have to be good in one v one situations and they haven't been.
00:07:13
Speaker
As you know, Anton walks passed away, which was a very, very huge blow to this team. They were able to bring Tuloma in from Portland, but he just hasn't been the player we thought he has, he was going to be. So I think that is the personnel versus the style that we want to play and just Charlotte making very, very
00:07:35
Speaker
terrible mistakes, own goals, passes to forwards. Like, it's stuff that like, you really can't blame Latanzio for our center backs passing to the striker and them scoring, right? Right. That wasn't in the plan. So it's been a factor of those two things mainly.
00:07:54
Speaker
And so this is going to be, like I said, this is the Sounders first visit to Charlotte. When Charlotte came into the league, I want to say that there was definitely talk of this could be another Seattle or this could be another Atlanta in terms of sure they're playing in a football stadium, but they're going to have big crowds, big energy. There's a lot of demand here.
00:08:16
Speaker
True to form, they have drawn really well. What is the atmosphere like at Charlotte Games? And what can we expect that to be on Saturday?
00:08:27
Speaker
I think I'm trying not to be biased, but I do definitely think it's one of the best atmospheres in MLS, right? In terms of we're averaging over 30,000 fans the second season as well, which is great, right? That match, that first match of the season, it was close to 70,000 people, right? So there is a huge buzz.
00:08:48
Speaker
for the Charlotte fan base. And what I really like too is when we were down 3-0 against Atlanta at halftime at home, the crowd booed the players and booed the performance. And you know what?
00:09:03
Speaker
Yeah, it sucks that we're losing, but I'm like, this shows that these people care about the product, that they care that they're demanding their team to be better, right? So I think we've seen that I've been pleasantly surprised with, I wasn't expecting it to be this much of a culture, but it is.
00:09:20
Speaker
When Charlotte are playing well and when that when the bank is behind them, it becomes a very, very tough place to play at. At Nashville last year when they lost 4-1 here, Philadelphia came here and lost 4-0 as well. So I mean it when everything is in sync, it becomes a very, very difficult place to play at.
00:09:40
Speaker
And how like is it? Are we expecting a normal sized crowd or is this going to be like a like I assume they mainly don't open the the upper? Yeah, they don't open the upper. They do it for special occasions. I think we'll see over 30,000, but it will be kind of that that main average between 30 to 33, I would guess.
00:10:01
Speaker
Yeah, it's always a trip because, you know, the Sounders get used to playing in front of crowds that are that big, but they don't almost ever get to do it on the road. Obviously, when they go to Atlanta, they've been to Atlanta a couple of times, and so they've seen it there. But outside of that, I don't know how many times they've played in front of 30,000 as visitors played in front of crowds that big. So it's always interesting to me to see how they react to that kind of atmosphere, because they oftentimes talk about how when teams come here,
00:10:30
Speaker
they're able to sort of rise to the level because it's like a new thing for them. And it'll be exciting to see this. I'm looking forward to the game. I kind of love some of the like, for lack of a better term, like the silly stuff that goes along with it, right? Like you guys do this. What is this thing you do at the end of the game where they sit on a throne? Is that still a thing you guys are doing? Yeah, so if we play well, man of the match, obviously when we don't lose, right? Someone gets a coronation. So one of our players
00:10:58
Speaker
Coordinated right and also a tradition that we started as well is like right before the game starts they play peppers and They do the pause man. So you see all the fans jumping up and down. So like it's a very hype atmosphere, right? so one thing that you'll see is whether the whether the whether the product on the pitch is good or bad the fans are always having a good time, so
00:11:22
Speaker
Anything else people should know going down to Charlotte if they're making the trip? Is there a spot they need to hit up or anything they need to know about Charlotte fans? Yeah, we definitely have a tailgate, right? So it's on 703 McMinn Street. So right before the match is all the supporters groups are there.
00:11:40
Speaker
And they're very welcoming. Like you won't see like, oh, okay. Like you have another team shirt, get out of here. You know, one of the supporters actually, they, they have like a list of things like first for away supporters. Like here's some of the things that are some of the activities that you may want to do while you're in Charlotte as well. We're very, that Southern hospitality. So I'd say that, the other thing I would say is in stadium, watch out for the beer showers. If you're near the supporters section and we score,
00:12:09
Speaker
more likely than not, you will get soaked. That is awesome. I'm happy to hear that. It has been a neat thing. When most people started getting into MLS, there was a long time where there was just no Southern presence. Then for a while, it was, okay, we got a team in Orlando, but that doesn't really feel like the South to, I think, a lot of people.
00:12:31
Speaker
And now we have this real southern contingent of fans, whether it is Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, and multiple teams now in Florida. It's pretty exciting to see. And one of the first things, my first experience is
00:12:47
Speaker
with your guys' sight was a video that you guys were doing where you were like kind of bringing in NASCAR culture and all this kind of other stuff. And I thought that was great. I just think it makes the league so much more interesting when we have teams from the South from all, you know, representing different parts of this country and you get different flavors.
00:13:05
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's this a beauty to have MLS man. It's the United States. It's so massive that way right go to a certain area and it's like something totally different that you're not expecting right and and it's unfortunate who knows the next time Seattle is going to be in Charlotte based on you know, how right because he's the division or the conferences are becoming
00:13:25
Speaker
so big that it's like, you can't really, you're not going to do this every other year. So it's, it's an experience that I hope people relish and get to enjoy. I love when we say like, Oh, we have a close match this week, only in Atlanta, four hours away, right? DC six. I was like, only an MLS will you stay driving four to six hours is a close match.
00:13:48
Speaker
Oh, yeah, trust me, I know we know all about that up here. It's, you know, we have Vancouver, which is two and a half hours and we have Portland, which is two and a half hours. And other than that, there's almost no one that's even really within realistic driving distance. So it's it's it is it is a wild league in that way. But
00:14:08
Speaker
Jorge, thank you so much for doing this. Where can people read you? Where can they follow you? They can follow us on all our socials at Top Bin 90. We're on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and then our website, topbin90.com.
Follow Top Bin 90 for Charlotte FC Coverage
00:14:25
Speaker
We have articles coming out at least twice a week. We preview our opponent of the week.
00:14:30
Speaker
that Charlotte plays every Monday. And then we typically drop a player article or something very specific on Thursday. So we've got all our platforms have a little different flavor to which I love, but top been 90 everywhere. Awesome. Well, thank you for doing this. I am Jeremiah Shan, sending off her nose out of yet this and we'll catch you next time.
00:15:49
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!