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More Leagues Cup suspensions are likely on way
0 Playsin 15 hours
Jeremiah and Niko recorded “What we learned this week” just a few minutes after the Leagues Cup Disciplinary Committee issued their suspensions to Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Tomas Aviles and Steven Lenhart. That’s a good start, but it’s not the end of the punishment as more will surely be coming.
They also discuss the coaching masterclass that Brian Schmetzer put on during the entirety of Leagues Cup.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction to Will Bruin's New Role
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. Here we go. Come on. Hey, O'Shaan.
00:00:14
Speaker
Let's
Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup Victory
00:00:15
Speaker
go. Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. Here comes Ruiz Diaz through the middle to crown it for Seattle.
00:00:25
Speaker
The Sounders rule the region. of
00:00:59
Speaker
you know what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't? Ever since Sander Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take the overcome seriously.
Sponsor Highlight: Full Pull Wines
00:01:18
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.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Host Introductions
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adietes on the Sounder at Heart podcast network. It's Friday. I'm Jeremiah Shan. As always, I am joined by Nico Moreno, my good buddy from Pulse of Sports, Lobbing Scorchers, Soccer down here, and of course, Sounder at Heart.
00:02:00
Speaker
Welcome, Nico. It's kind crazy having this time off. It really is. I've been, I probably should be way more productive with this five days than Brian gave us off.
00:02:13
Speaker
But maybe I haven't, but it's been nice to just, maybe do other things. I've been able to um kind of wind down from, you know, all of the hecticness.
00:02:26
Speaker
Had my son down here for the the weekend, which was nice. Obviously came to watch the game. So it's all kind of simmering down now. And I'm trying to prepare myself for the last bit of MLS play and then playoffs, of course.
00:02:43
Speaker
Yeah. ah It's been it's been kind of a nice respite in some ways. we have I have been busy. I've been ah pumping out content and getting stuff edited and whatnot, but...
00:02:55
Speaker
not It's just like there's less pressure when you don't have to go to training every day and you don't have to. Less driving. Less driving. That's for sure. And kind of nice because the kids started school this week.
00:03:08
Speaker
and And then my wife got COVID. So my wife is... ah I mean, whatever. It's it's the way it is the world now. you know yeah so she's So I was getting the kids out of the house solo today.
00:03:22
Speaker
But that's that's sometimes just how it goes. Sometimes you got to just ah next man up, right?
Post-Game Incident and Suspensions
00:03:29
Speaker
Exactly. Next man up. Exactly. Exactly. That's exactly right.
00:03:33
Speaker
So ah we we are recording on, like I said, Friday afternoon, literally minutes after... the league's cup issued suspensions for the incident, the post-game incident, ah three Miami players get suspended.
00:03:50
Speaker
One Sounders staffer gets suspended. Kind of, I'll run it down for you. So Luis Suarez gets six games. Tommy Savalas gets three games. Sergio Busquets gets three or two games and Steven Lenhart, who I think a lot of people are still learning that Steven Lenhart, we have talked about him at various times, maybe not extensively, but Steven Lenhart. Yes. That's Steven Lenhart.
00:04:14
Speaker
Yeah. That Steven Lenhart is, ah oh as far as I know, an employee of the centers. He is at training almost every day. He works with the teams. He's not technically the team psychiatrist because he is not,
00:04:26
Speaker
a licensed psychiatrist, but he does work with the psychology aspect of the team. And the players seem to love him. and you can kind of see partly why, because in the post game, he was not afraid. Like there's not a lot of team psychology, psychiatrists who are team psychologists. Maybe that's me. That's right. Yeah. I've been, I've been heard of him referred to as the mental health coach.
00:04:49
Speaker
Don't know. Okay. That's a good. i like show That is like how, you know, but, but that's what I've been, that's what I've heard from, players and stuff. Yeah, that makes sense. that would be cms He has a background in, in T in, in sports psychology. Like I said, I don't think he he does not have a medical degree. So you have to be kind of careful with what you actually call him, but yes, mental health coach is a great title. I hope that's actually his coach. Cause I like that, but not a lot of mental health coaches you would see getting in the middle of a
00:05:20
Speaker
of a full blown brawl and throwing people around and maybe even throwing a punch or two. But ah I think that's sort of part of why players love him. I think, cause he's not, he's still like on the, he's still like one of the guys in some ways.
00:05:36
Speaker
Yeah. A hundred percent, especially when the situation finds you, you didn't find a situation, right? I mean, there were kind of plays there. And initially I think he's trying to,
00:05:48
Speaker
remove people, but things escalated very quickly. And once you're involved in it, well, I guess you just got to respond. ah but But yes, he's definitely a guy that is a not just player, but like an organization fave around the facility.
00:06:06
Speaker
Yeah. And So he he gets the the brunt of the suspension from the league's cup. I don't... I mean, honestly, that's... and so Effectively, a slight there's there's a fine that I'm sure won't feel great, but...
00:06:22
Speaker
Suspending the the mental health coach for five games from leagues cup is like ah very much a optics kind of thing. it doesn't really have a ah big impact on anything, but what's the, the shoe that has not yet dropped. And this is what people really care about is what's going to happen in league play. Because the reality is that there's a chance that Luis Suarez will never have a chance to serve the six game suspension that Sergio Busquets will never have a chance to serve his two game suspension.
00:06:52
Speaker
And what people want to know is, is there going to be sanctions in league play? Because this is stuff that that's where this is really going to, the rubber is going to
MLS Disciplinary Actions
00:07:01
Speaker
really hit the road. If the league is going to take a position and I have, i think I'll let you say what you've been able to report out, but I have confirmed that the league office is not taking the position that they lack jurisdiction, meaning the league recognizes that they have the ability to make punishments and that could be fines. That could be suspensions. That could be some other creative punishment, but they, they understand that the CBA, they're not hiding behind the idea that this is the league's cup and we don't, we, our hands are tied. We can't do anything.
00:07:37
Speaker
So I sort of reading between the lines to me, it looks like, this was the first shoe and now the players can appeal any league punishment.
00:07:49
Speaker
They have probably by a suspicion is they have already been informed of what's going to happen. They are going to appeal that maybe that gets changed. Maybe it doesn't, but I would be, i feel very safe in saying that I would be shocked, totally shocked if Suarez plays against the Sounders on September 16th, which would mean that he's going to get at least a two game ban. I would think Busquets and Aviles will also get suspended. I don't know how much the book will be thrown at them, but su Suarez is clearly the sort of alpha villain in this whole situation.
Suarez's Controversial Behavior
00:08:27
Speaker
he's
00:08:28
Speaker
him spitting on Gene Ramirez is gotten the most attention. It is the most ah cowardly and despicable thing, frankly, that happened in all those. I can live with, honestly, I can live with Sergio Busquets throwing a sucker punch. That's, that's, that's weak, but like, whatever, like these are,
00:08:45
Speaker
grown men. And if they want to handle their, their problems like children, i guess that's one thing, but what to me, what Luis Suarez did is sort of like more beyond the pale of this is just disrespectful human to human type stuff.
00:08:59
Speaker
The league cannot just condone that. And they can't just look the other way, but what are, what are you hearing? I've said enough. No, I, what I've, I reached out to, Sources within the Leaks Cup organization.
00:09:13
Speaker
And I've talked to more than one person. I've talked to a couple of um sources within MLS. And from Leaks Cup organization or the the body of Leaks Cup, ah what I was told is that to their knowledge, there is nothing that restrains MLS from...
00:09:38
Speaker
um bypassing or multi-league suspension. ah and i forget the word that they use, but it's basically carried it over yeah between what happened in League's Cup to MLS.
00:09:55
Speaker
um I've also was told by another source that this would be particularly true if Inter-Miami decides to set an internal disciplinary action toward mainly Luis Suarez because of the vile and unsportsmanlike
00:10:20
Speaker
action that he had against Jim Ramirez. um Anytime that you set... a statement saying this player's actions do not condone with our view of the sport or our view of our club.
00:10:38
Speaker
the The same, honestly, copy and paste sort of statement that you hear from clubs, they mean nothing if there is no backing from a disciplinary action from that club. So that would be the easiest way for players something to uphold within MLS because once you discipline the player internally, MLS would ah obviously abide by it and he would make it much more straightforward.
00:11:08
Speaker
ah But from the league, I've heard that there's still some investigating to do it. Now, this was a day ago or so. So, i'm i mean, I'm a little bit behind in terms of who I talked to in the league, but showing precedent that There have been other actions and moments where players have been suspended in multiple leagues, ah tournaments and MLS.
00:11:35
Speaker
I would be shocked if that wasn't the decision from MLS. um I would be disappointed in that. inner Miami by not adding to that very vague statement that they put out already ah by using some sort of, you know, disciplinary ah penalties upon, if not just Luis Suarez, I would also add Sergio Busquets in that simply because he's the one that engages ah Ovid Vargas just plain and simple and uses a close fist and hits him in the chin. There was, there was a lot of slapping around, which I'm not condoning either.
00:12:15
Speaker
Obviously from Toto and cello. But I think that the two real big ones for me are Sergio and Luis Suarez.
00:12:26
Speaker
Right. Yeah. I was a little surprised though, that Maxi Falcone was not, part of the ah you can sort of the, a part of the initial suspension. He was pretty involved in, you know, in a lot of this, a wine Gant is another player who seemed to be pretty involved. I don't, you know, I don't want to get into a tit for tat here. I suppose on the sounder side, that if they, if they really wanted to go after,
00:12:50
Speaker
Sounders players, they to sort of even this out for lack of a better term. They could potentially go after Jackson Reagan or Cody Baker and even John Bell. I tend to see like I think any reasonable person sees what happens here and understands that the Sounders were retaliating Like they were defend or even defending themselves. Oftentimes that this was not something that was initiated by the Sounders that that this is almost entirely the, the Miami players ah being the aggressors and being the instigators and the ones who seem to be really itching for a fight. Like, I don't quite understand the
00:13:27
Speaker
thought process behind what the Miami players are hoping to accomplish by, okay you want to, you want to smack talk and you want to talk your trash and you want, you want to sort of bring the, these guys, these kids down or or whatever you want to do. Okay, fine.
00:13:42
Speaker
But I don't, I really like watching it all. I don't understand how it it raises to the level of punches being thrown and people spitting and all this kind of stuff that feels very,
00:13:57
Speaker
just like and unbecoming ah for lack of a better term. These are old pros. You know, this is, these are people who have been there and done that. And yeah you know, this has been discussed a fair amount, but I suppose the idea that this
Sounders' Players Commended for Restraint
00:14:13
Speaker
was beneath Miami in terms of this competition or this league, ah all that sort of goes out the window. Cause clearly these guys are invested in, they care.
00:14:23
Speaker
Yeah, what I would add to that that maybe hasn't been said enough is that if you, if I was defending the Sounders, if let's say I was pleading a case, I would say that,
00:14:39
Speaker
The actions by sounder players are that of any security guard or anyone that has been trained to remove or detain somebody from escalating farther action.
00:14:55
Speaker
so the Sounders weren't necessarily engaging fistfight. They were pulling players off of others. They were, you know, I saw Stephen Fry, Safaree Juarez holding people down.
00:15:10
Speaker
that There's a difference between retaliation physically in terms of punches back and forth and just trying to defend yourself, trying to defend somebody else, but by removing him from them, right? You saw Yeymar Gomez and Giordi going around with his big paws, trying to move people around.
00:15:27
Speaker
That that is very different than them just going back and forth. I said this on On The Lines um show. If the sounder players had engaged into a fistfight, which by all you know means would have been very easy to do because you could say you're befitting yourself.
00:15:47
Speaker
I've been a punch. I need to punch back. I think it would have escalated a lot more than it did. And it would have been up to a potential of a malice at the palace sort of situation where if there's that sort of fist fighting and kicks and things of that nature, maybe the fans get involved. Maybe people are jumping the stands. I mean, it could have escalated to proportions um that I cannot imagine.
00:16:15
Speaker
So regardless of how it is portrayed, I have been very vocal about giving the sounder players a lot of credit for being mature about how they approach that brawl rather than allowing your hood to come out or your manliness or all this.
00:16:36
Speaker
And you're fist fighting somebody because I guarantee you that it would have been a lot worse than it really was. I totally agree with you. And I think that that's one thing that maybe the sounders haven't generally gotten enough credit for in this whole situation is their self-control.
00:16:53
Speaker
And again, you know, this idea, I think it's funny ah not to like, bring it yeah bring it here, but it is sort of funny because one of the things that we've been talking about for the last few months is how is there a self-control problem with the Sounders because of all these red cards and and whatnot.
00:17:12
Speaker
And I really think that this is an illustration of how that isn't what's going on here. Like this is not an issue where players can't control themselves. It's mostly a situation of weird circumstances that have led to bunch of ah bunch of read a bunch of red cards that are sort of isolated incidents. And I think that if you had a team full of hot heads who are just looking to, you know, who were ready to pop off at, at the first sign of, uh,
00:17:43
Speaker
of distress that this would have been, you would have seen it here. You know, you would have seen them losing their mind and you would have seen guys just going crazy. And that's not at all what happened. In fact, you saw a lot of, like you said, you saw a lot of self-control. You saw a lot of maturity.
00:17:55
Speaker
You saw a lot of players who were trying to deescalate the situation. And honestly, one of the things that's remarkable about this is how few my both Miami players and coaches we're not doing almost anything to deescalate this situation. And it is sort of straight. It does look like a inmates running the asylum type of situation where, you know, Busquets and messy and Suarez sort of play by their own rules and they kind of get to dictate how things go.
00:18:26
Speaker
And the coaches and, and staff are sort of just along for the ride. Maybe they, they, implement some control over some of the other guys. Although the way it looked like there were players who didn't even get into the game who wanted action on this.
00:18:42
Speaker
So I don't, it to me strikes me as a completely out of control situation that maybe brings up some bigger issues about, about entitlement and about allowing certain personalities to just sort of like run a team because right now that's sort of what this looks like.
00:19:04
Speaker
And that's exactly why i really do think that if not MLS as the entity, you know, Inter-Miami in some sort of way should uphold some of these sanctions, some of these infractions.
00:19:21
Speaker
I think that it's very easy for Inter-Miami or MLS to suspend Luis Suarez for the rest of the regular season. It's not like those knees couldn't take a break anyways.
00:19:33
Speaker
so you know, I mean, it could be very simple for you to really make people believe that you are not condoning that sort of behavior.
00:19:44
Speaker
Because Luis Suarez has the rap sheet of a hoodlum from spitting on people, biting multiple people, which that alone should like really make you raise your eyebrows.
00:19:58
Speaker
Racial slurs, a lot of racial slurs, some that have been found out, some that have not. So he's been suspended by, doesn't mean that he hasn't been involved in others.
00:20:10
Speaker
You and vulgar actions to to fans. So this is a guy who, that's what that's who he is. That that is Luis Suarez. He's a disgusting human being. He's a great player, but he is an awful human being.
00:20:25
Speaker
And We all know that as a club that is signing a player, you know what he comes with. you You know who he is, man. So if you really want to say we don't condone it, that is not who we are as an organization, then have the pants to suspend the player and discipline and let him know, uh-uh, not in this house.
00:20:48
Speaker
No, you don't. But I'd be very... disappointed if that's not the case. Would I be surprised? Not necessarily because you don't want to ruffle the feathers of Juan Lionel Messi, but it really is a thing of whether you mean what you say and say what you mean.
00:21:08
Speaker
Yeah. ah And it's too, but you know, it's, it is funny that the Sounders sort of seem to have dodged a bullet a little when they, you know, this that it was pretty well reported that the Sounders at least made some effort to sign Luis Suarez a couple of few years ago.
00:21:24
Speaker
and, And it's, very you know, like, lucky honestly, lucky that this that it didn't happen. And I don't know how much effort they really put into it. It may have been sort of a cursory effort. You know, Garth Logoway maybe makes a phone call and says, hey, Nico would really like you to play here.
00:21:41
Speaker
But ah yeah it didn't happen. So ah thank God, really. ah But I don't know what to expect at this point. My...
00:21:53
Speaker
my inkling is to think that we won't hear anything until Monday. Although I so suppose it's possible that the league could issue something tonight or even tomorrow. I don't know when, like they, the, the players have 48 hours to respond in it, in an appeal.
00:22:12
Speaker
to the league. If the league, my suspicion is the league has already informed Suarez and the, in Miami about what they're intending to do. And now they have to let the appeal process play out. And honestly, I don't blame that.
00:22:23
Speaker
I don't blame the league for not announcing anything before the appeals process is played out because you want the appeals process to have the air of legitimacy. And the only way it looks legitimate is if you haven't already sort of announced the punishment before the appeals process plays through.
00:22:40
Speaker
That's just a matter of legality, I think. So I don't, at this point, I feel very, I feel a lot better about where things stand than I did yesterday, where there did seem to be some question as to what might happen here, especially you hear enough people repeated enough times that, well, this happened in leagues cup. So MLS doesn't really have jurisdiction.
00:23:02
Speaker
You start to wonder, And like I read the CBA, the CBA to me reads very clear that the the commissioner, not the disciplinary committee, let's be clear. This is the league office. This is good point outside of the disciplinary committee purview, but it is not outside of the purview of, you know, this is something that is sort of considered extra beyond the normal run of play like the Danny Masovsky thing where he let's be real. He'd lightly bumps the referee. It's wrong.
00:23:33
Speaker
He deserves the the suspension he gets, but he doesn't do something that's beyond the pale of what you expect to see in a soccer game. And I think what separates this is this is not normal soccer stuff.
00:23:44
Speaker
This is something else. This is something bigger. This is something that does frankly harm the, the integrity of the league. It harms the, the image of the league and, and the commissioner and the league office have an absolute duty to not make it look like that a player like Luis Suarez is sort of just above it all and can do whatever he wants.
00:24:07
Speaker
And actually the fact that Luis Suarez has put a bigger light on the whole thing because he's such a global star. He's such a a controversial star.
00:24:19
Speaker
And that's exactly why, you know, ah I love Brian's message. love what he said, that he didn't want this to be the story. But in Spanish in or in Latin America, we always say that you cannot... um cover the sun with one hand. The story was so much brighter. it was so much bigger that than anything that could have done that. It's sad. It really is sad because I've seen more coverage in 2DN, ESPN ESPN,
00:24:47
Speaker
about the fact that Luis Suarez has this rap sheet of yeah incidents as an awful human being and the fact that he's been allowed to carry himself like that in the world of soccer.
00:24:59
Speaker
And, you know, the Sergio Busquez apparently has had other sort of incidents as well. ah So that that's been the story. And and it is sad that it kind of overshadows what really happened here with the Sounders.
00:25:11
Speaker
But I will feel better. if all the coverage leads to Luis Suarez being hit both financially and with some suspensions.
00:25:23
Speaker
Yeah. ah Yeah. I would agree with you there. So the other sort of controversy that has been simmering is whether, what, Leo Messi may have said to Sounders, we, you know, Alan Gordon on the MLS journeyman podcast basically broke the news that, uh, that, so that Messi told Pedro de la Vega, basically you're never going to play for the national team as long as I'm there.
00:25:53
Speaker
And, whether or not. And I think the, to me, I i don't really doubt that messy said that or comparably other really bad stuff.
00:26:05
Speaker
I think the real question is, Is that nor is it nor is this normal banter or is this something where he actually is doing what he said he's doing? I'm skeptical that messy cares enough about Pedro de la Vega to actually use his power to keep Pedro from getting onto to the national team.
00:26:27
Speaker
So there's a couple of points here. Okay. First of all, i obviously did some digging around. I haven't yet even posted it on, and X or any of my social media because I don't really know how much it really does. Right. I don't know how big it really is because yeah I think it's normal that me asking those close to Pedro de la Vega circle and, you know, doing some digging around that The reaction is no. Messi didn't say that. Messi would never say that to me, that that it's not here nor there.
00:27:02
Speaker
Pedro does not want to be involved in this. Pedro doesn't want to be involved in this. Understandably. and But I'm going to take people at their word. right ah So I'm going to say that all the sourcing that I've done has led to – not um confirming that that he's already been said, that that you mentioned. okay What I would say is that I could speculate that Pedro did say that there was a lot of things said with Messi, but those are things that stay on the field.
00:27:30
Speaker
He said that right after the game, right? Oh, that's just things that happen in the field and you say things that you don't mean, right? So... Was it said in a moment of ah heat and frustration by Messi?
00:27:43
Speaker
That's very possible. I mean, if I'm the GOAT and I know that I can say, Jeremiah, if you continue to challenge me on things that I say, you will never, ever get on a podcast in your life again. I'm going to finish your career today.
00:27:57
Speaker
You know, you're going to like, oh, shit, and maybe I got to just chill out, right? So it is something that someone could say two simmer someone down who's been a pain in my ass the whole game, someone that was very influential throughout the game, just to get him off that game, get him off his mental state, right? So even afterwards, even after it's all done, right, you're still upset that you just lost, that you just got yeah three zero yeah and you're going to use your status to just put you down, right? So I haven't been able to confirm it. However, i would not be surprised if it did get said, even if it was just to say it. But what I would add there at the end to just conclude this, the likelihood of Pedro Lavega playing for Argentina is very slim.
Pedro de la Vega and Argentina Prospects
00:28:48
Speaker
I know he's a young player, but in Argentina, Things are different. And if you're not playing for Manchester United or Manchester City, it is very rare that ah guy like Tiago Almada gets called up because he's in Atlanta United. So it's happened before, but Tiago Almada had this profile, this...
00:29:11
Speaker
sort of light about him being this prospect that was going to be huge. One that maybe Pedro doesn't have or that he doesn't have in terms of main Argentinian fan base and media.
00:29:27
Speaker
So the light, it was very, very small. And that's why it'd be kind of odd for you know that to be thing of importance. and Not to mention the fact that, as you said, how much does Messi really care about Pedro La Vega being part of not being part of the national team? I just, I don't know how much weight that would have.
00:29:48
Speaker
Yeah. And I guess the other thing, at least from me, correct me if I'm wrong, but at the very least, it sounds like Pedro de la Vegas camp is at the very least taking the position that they don't actually think that messy is actively trying to get him kept from the Argentinian national team. Like whatever he said on the field, whatever he said after the game, it's, it's banter. It's what it is. And he, they don't think that there is a,
00:30:19
Speaker
a shadow network working against them to keep them from no the national team. And if, and if, and presumably if Pedro like Pedro's not going to, is not on the verge of being called into the Argentina national team based off of what he's done the last couple months.
00:30:34
Speaker
But if he plays the way that he's been playing the last couple months, he's probably going end up getting sold to ah a European team. And if he continues to play the way that he is, he's going to get back into the national team now.
00:30:45
Speaker
Right. I suspect that's, you know, these are things that Pedro is a smart guy. He is a, he's not a child who is easily hurt. So I guess what ah my take on this is.
00:31:00
Speaker
Messy, I guess maybe does his research. He knows about his opponents. He uses that. He may use that in trash talk, but like, it's also trash talk. Like I asked, I also was trying to like, just dig around a little bit to ask some former players, like what's the worst thing you anyone's ever said to you? And most of them were like, i don't really remember because it's not something that I,
00:31:25
Speaker
think about that often. Like it's, it's not a thing that stays with me that long. And I, I what's i was, I will say the one surprising thing from this is that Alan Gordon, a former player was the person who broke this story. Cause you would think he would have been like,
00:31:42
Speaker
ah like And I don't know how I don't know how he I tried when I first heard it I tried to figure out how Or who he knew Which I'm guessing it could be something that someone heard Messi say But I just didn't know how he fit in the equation
00:31:59
Speaker
I mean, I really don't know. I mean, I don't know how many ties he has to the Sounders. I don't know how many ties he has to Pedro. that That sounds even more far-fetched.
00:32:11
Speaker
Again, I'm not saying that that it didn't happen. I'm just saying that at first I thought, I was like, wait where is he getting it from? But you're right. There is a code. There's a code as well. I mean, it's not that it's not just the players don't remember, but there's also codes of players not saying things that...
00:32:28
Speaker
happen on the field, right? um I can tell you that, you know, there's been times where obviously away from the mics and in a completely different setting, players do talk about that sort of thing. And, you know, you'd be surprised what, what's said or what's done.
00:32:44
Speaker
ah you know, in in South America, there's things like, you know, you grab someone's like generals and, you know, there's all kinds of stuff that you do within the game that you don't necessarily talk about later, unless it becomes a situation like Cinedine Zidane headbutting somebody in the chest because of what was said. Then oh all of a sudden you kind of have to open that kind of worms.
00:33:06
Speaker
But, If it's just like this, you're not going to see a player take that seriously or bring it out. And if it does, it usually doesn't tend to fit well for the player ex exposed in that sort of conversation.
00:33:21
Speaker
Yeah, no, i I would agree with you there. And I think it makes sense to me if you're Pedro de la Vega, you don't want your name associated with this. You don't want to be involved in this. you like if If people want to get on Messi, keep me out of it. I don't want to be the person who is the snitch, for lack of a better term. Yes, this yes.
00:33:43
Speaker
i So I can definitely appreciate how messy or how Pedro wants to distance himself from this whole story. ah To be entirely fair to the sourcing on this, I personally have no doubt that this probably happened.
00:34:02
Speaker
I just don't know if it's that big of a deal. And I don't know if, If page like I can, I can appreciate how Pedro just doesn't, doesn't want to be involved because it's not, it's, he, he probably is not worried about it. What he is worried about is looking like looking bad as a result of it, I think. And that is fair. And I, and I, I hope he does not, this is not end up being something that's attached to him because that would be unfair to him.
00:34:27
Speaker
ah Yeah. A hundred percent. I mean, you don't want to be the guy that, set that mess he told you that you were going to be blacklisted from the national team and victimize yourself. And I mean, that's just all that in all terms, both. There's no upside. Professional level, no upside, zero upside, zero.
00:34:46
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So ah anyway, moving into other stuff going on this week, it's, it it is kind of a, an interesting little, little respite here that we have.
Christian Roldan Joins U.S. National Team
00:34:59
Speaker
We have a bunch of guys that get called into the national league. Christian rolled on was a late addition to the U S national team. And I will say that might be one of the cooler developments to come out of leagues cup. Cause I think that was probably tied to this, that hit the way he helped shut messy down in that game, the way that he played throughout leagues cup and really going all the way back to the club world cup where he was,
00:35:21
Speaker
very much a key component of limiting PSG, Botafogo and Atletico Madrid. I'm really looking forward to seeing, hopefully seeing him get on the field for the national team and playing in a position where he is set up to succeed.
00:35:37
Speaker
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00:35:48
Speaker
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00:36:23
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:37:53
Speaker
I'm excited because despite all of the negative press and criticism that Pochettino has established since he became a coach away from the results.
00:38:14
Speaker
It has been about calling more MLS players. And I think that that is grossly overlooked. a lot of times just playing in Europe doesn't necessarily mean that you are above the level of an MLS player, not because of the league, but just because of your form, just because of how much gameplay you're you're currently on, right?
00:38:39
Speaker
That's the the whole reason why players move around other leagues where maybe, yes, I'm not playing at AC Milan anymore, but now I'm getting more playtime, right? And that is closely overlooked because we're in this...
00:38:55
Speaker
like moment in time where, yes, this is the golden generation and that's the golden generation because these players are, you know, all of a sudden playing in the best leagues in the world, but playing is the, the big emphasis right there. Are they really playing? Right. So for me,
00:39:14
Speaker
And obviously, as someone who has some bias to him, I think that Christian Roldan has deserved a spot in the national team before. I don't think that there are true sixes that blow your mind in this Ewan Smith national team, especially when ah guy like Moussa is being used in in other places and you know he's more of an eight or whoever it is that you think would go in that sixth position. I think that Christian Roldan as a dual winner, as a guy that can play defensively. And i know that he hasn't played that in the past because people got all over my comments. How many minutes has he gotten at the six for the U.S.? president None, right? He's always played on the wing. He's played little. bit higher or whatever that that might be. But this is a whole new coach. He's in a whole new other moment in his career.
00:40:08
Speaker
I think that he sees the game even better than he did before. He is a guy that physically can keep up and has shown you, proved to you that he can keep up with the best of the best at the highest level.
00:40:20
Speaker
And keep throwing stats. I mean, that he has never had any goals for they with the national team. That's not the role that he's not going to play. He's going to play as a six that has a job to cover X amount of space, to play simple, to maybe get forward and help on the attack at times.
00:40:38
Speaker
But he is a player that can fit a role in a way that I don't know if anybody else can necessarily, ah ah specifically from this camp, right? Can you add more people? is he going have competition? Absolutely. But the fact that you are so upset that he's being called, that's what I have an issue with. Like, why are you so outraged of arguably the best six in your domestic league to get a call up?
00:41:04
Speaker
Come on. the the yeah The responses on Twitter to the announcement were like perfect. They were just so perfect. And I think one of the things that I'm always amazed at how often this gets brought up, that he's never scored a goal as if somehow that is a, as if somehow that's important, but this is, he has, so he has about 1500 minutes at the national team level.
00:41:31
Speaker
It is not that strange for a midfielder to go 1500 minutes without a goal for anywhere. And, you know, I guess he's played in some reasonably, you know, like some big, some like games where he was asked to be a little bit more offensive. He does have three assists.
00:41:49
Speaker
He, yeah he in fact had assist at the gold cup, which was the last time got called in. I just don't know what, I don't know. I, the whole fandom, the whole national team fandom is just such a strange thing to me because it's, it's like they just, they are perpetually and almost exclusively looking for the next big thing.
00:42:11
Speaker
They're looking for the player to be sort of the American Messi to be. And if they're not, if they don't have that potential, if they don't have potential to be an absolute superstar, they just don't have time for it.
00:42:22
Speaker
They don't have interest in sort of building a roster or building a culture or trying to create a cohesive piece of team. They just want to find the next guy who's going to score a hundred goals for the U S and that's just not how this works.
00:42:38
Speaker
they They're literally role players that make great teams, right? I mean, right soccer is a team sport, and there are times where you might be better off with a guy that maybe doesn't have the biggest ceiling and cannot do everything, but can do one or two or three things extremely well.
00:42:57
Speaker
And that's going to fit to a system. And when you connect it together with other talented players, then it's amazing. But I laugh at all of these things fans I laugh at a lot of these influencers that talk about the importance of having these European players because I've been there, done that.
00:43:16
Speaker
In Colombia, we were always the stepchild South America. Then our players started getting to Europe and it was all about bringing your European players. And then when you realize that those European players weren't really working with the national team, then you're like, no, we got to get the guys that are playing domestically because they're still hungry. They're still there.
00:43:34
Speaker
Right. Columbia just called the 39 year old striker by the name of Daito Moreno, who had his best years a long time ago, a long time ago.
00:43:45
Speaker
He played here against the the Sounders with Cholos a while back. That was his prime. But you called him a 39 because he's leading the league. He led the Sudamericana in goals for, you know,
00:43:59
Speaker
a Colombian team, right? But the media and the fans were just like, we we need this guy because these guys in Europe are not cutting it. So we need this MLS player now and he has to come in because that's just the way of the world, man. So for me, I laugh about it. I think that a lot of people should look And that's Pochettino has gotten so much criticism because he talked about some you just got to look at the player and not the league that he's playing on
00:44:32
Speaker
But that's a, it's a reality. It's, it's a reality. Just, just look at the player, look at the system, look like he's going to work out and forget about where he's playing.
00:44:44
Speaker
Yeah, I would totally agree with that. And I actually, it's funny because even for all the struggling results that Pochettino has gotten, I actually do appreciate just to be implementing. Like he's just not, we're not used to having a coach like this who just is not as confident ah He does not have any loyalty to any faction within the U S national team structure. He's here to do a job and his job is to create the best team possible at the world cup.
00:45:17
Speaker
His job is not to build a soccer program. It's not to, you know, ah ah believe to win a PR battle. He's just here. He's a short timer. Who's here to do a job and he's doing what he thinks is the right thing to do. And I find that just that his,
00:45:34
Speaker
His perspective is refreshing because he's not, you know, he knows that he's going to get another job after this.
Pochettino's World Cup Strategy
00:45:42
Speaker
The World Cup is going to end. And my suspicion is that the day after the World Cup ends, he will bid farewell to the U.S. And we will judge him exclusively on how successful he was at the World Cup.
00:45:53
Speaker
And that's fine. That's, that's what I want. That's honestly what I want out of a national team coach to set your team up the best way, you know, how, and to try, like, I don't need you to build a product. Like Berhalter was here for when he was first signed in 2018, he had a very different directive. We need you to rebuild the program, you know?
00:46:14
Speaker
That is not what he is, what, what, uh, which is asking being asked to do. He's being asked to get us ready for next summer. And you know, this is how he wants to do it.
00:46:26
Speaker
Let's see how it goes. You know, it's like, I, I love that, you know, people are mad. I'm mad. I don't understand some of the, the call-ups, but I do at least trust that it's coming from an honest place of wanting to do, do the right thing and to be, to, to, He has, it he he has, whatever his, his game plan is.
00:46:46
Speaker
I believe he has one. So um I don't know. I'm, I'm, I'm curious to see how this goes. I'm really glad he called up Christian will done. And I have a feeling Christian will done is a kind of player that he'll like. Now he needs to go on Jackson Reagan too.
00:46:58
Speaker
Hey man, sure. Why not? I mean, you look at some of the open holes that this national team has and, and If what you've been working with hasn't worked, why not look elsewhere? that that That's the crazy part. If this US Men's National team had been laid out in every position, I'd get it.
00:47:21
Speaker
But you you have holes. And why not bring some of these guys that that are playing in your domestic league? you In a league that's growing, a league that has... national team players all around the world. It's not like you're, you know, getting them from the, what a modern league. I mean, no disrespect or, you know, whatever you're, you're getting guys from a league that is a legit league, but let's take to Christian Roldan. I think that,
00:47:46
Speaker
He has the versatility that a national team coach would want. I think he has the experience. He has the heart, the commitment. He's a locker room guy. He's a team guy.
00:47:59
Speaker
But beyond that, look at his metrics. You know, in a time where we love stats, where we love metrics, his metrics have to be up there with Just the best. oh I mean, the the amount of space that he covers, the amount duels that he wins, and the the the amount of of key passes that he puts together from that position, doesn't necessarily ask a lot of that.
00:48:22
Speaker
I just think that Christian Roldan is a guy that has been snubbed. in the past. I think he's been snubbed from a European dream. i think that he's been snubbed from ah times where he should have been more involved in a U.S. national team.
00:48:35
Speaker
And this is his time. If he's going to do it, he's going to with a coach that has an open mind and he's not seeing things in a freaking funnel it just because he wants to hear people be happy about calling European players. So,
00:48:50
Speaker
I'm just excited for k Christian. I'm excited for Christian. I think he deserves that. I think he's had a phenomenal year. And I think that if you give him a chance that he gets significant minutes, I think he's going to surprise more than one person.
00:49:04
Speaker
Yeah, I do too. I really, I'm, I just wanted him to get a shot because I do feel like this is, this is sort of how he got into Greg Berhalter's good graces to where it's, it's like, once he got in, it was very clear what he could do for the team and what he, that he's a glue guy, that he's one of the people that people want to have a around And he's a good player. He's a really good player. and I think that's sometimes what gets overlooked is he is an excellent player. He is for my money, one of the two or three best number sixes that the U S has in the whole player pool.
00:49:39
Speaker
And he deserves this. He deserves this chance. That's it's it's simple as simple as that. All right. Anything else going on this week? We have a weekend off for the Sounders.
00:49:49
Speaker
Their next game is against the l LA galaxy. And then after that, enter Miami on a midweek game in Miami. That should be interesting. Although I fully expect Miami to be a little shorthanded for that game, but looking at the Sounders schedule,
00:50:07
Speaker
there's still a lot to play for. and And in the meantime, they actually got a result that really helped them because LAFC could have but sort of had control of their destiny. And now the Sounders have control over the number four spot, meaning that they, if the Sounders went out, they will finish no worse than fourth.
00:50:26
Speaker
Whereas early, you know, before my, or before LAFC dropped points in their last game where they lost, actually, they lost their last game that LAFC could have potentially passed them because of the games in hand, but the Sounders,
00:50:40
Speaker
I think got a, like the only game on the schedule that looks really, really tough is that Miami game, just because it's on the road. It's midweek. Miami is a good team.
00:50:51
Speaker
But other than that, I feel like the Sounders have it set up pretty well here going down the stretch. Yeah, no, I, I think you're, you're, you're spot on.
00:51:02
Speaker
um i think it'll be, You know, interesting how they harnessed everything that they've kind of lived through moving forward. It was interesting seeing um Son not have, you know, his best game, you know, with LAFC. I think that um a lot of times we just think that these players are go just going to come and have perfect games all the time. And as much as that is a very good team, that's going to be one of the toughest teams that Seattle faces. and And I think that the reasons why...
00:51:33
Speaker
I have been very clear that, look, this was a fantastic win for the Sounders. It was a championship that, man they're going to remember for the rest of their lives, but I wouldn't just put them as number one to win MLS is because there's still a lot of teams out there that I don't know if they match up as well as what Seattle has faced lately. I think Seattle still has some things that,
00:51:55
Speaker
are still to be determined. You know, kryptonite for the Sounders continues to be teams that bunker down and play off of the counter. You know, how does that kind of work out? How do they match up against a team like San Diego that, just like the Sounders, have a very clear identity, that they play...
00:52:11
Speaker
extremely quick soccer, very direct that they do possess, but they can off of a quick moment, just hit you on the counter. Right. And that that is a very good form Vancouver and the way that they play at times with their three man backline, you know there's a lot of things that Seattle is going to have to decipher.
00:52:28
Speaker
But what I do know is that the team is in a position where there's so much confidence. There's so much cohesiveness that they can dare to dream. that They can absolutely dare to dream. I think they're a heavy contender without a doubt.
00:52:47
Speaker
And as long as once certain pieces are coming back, because I do expect Albert to be fully on once this break is over, um we'll see where Jordan Morris is at.
00:53:00
Speaker
um We'll see, obviously, what happens to Ryan Kent, who we saw jog and do some very minor stuff, but it was interesting to see him out on the field. So there's still some guys that are going to be able to come in.
00:53:12
Speaker
How do you deal with that? I think that's still to be determined. Obviously, Donnie Misofsky has been on a heating streak. How do you implement Jordan at some point? I mean, there's some questions out there, but they're all good questions for the Sounders.
00:53:28
Speaker
They are good questions. The Sounders are ah definitely in a situation right now where they have seemingly, they they will soon have, or assuming they don't just have trade one injury for another.
00:53:41
Speaker
There is a very real possibility that they're going to end up with more good players than they can even put on the game day roster. And that's, you know it's a good problem to have. I mean, it there is a it is a problem on some level and it's, it's funny because you can only like, it's tempting to go, well, you know, maybe, maybe they don't need Albert Rusnak, but then you, it's like, well, let's be real. Albert was on the field.
00:54:07
Speaker
for some very good performances. He was on the field for the seven zero win. You know, ah you can, you can say, Oh, well maybe they don't need Jordan Morris, but when Jordan Morris has played, he's been really, really good. People have kind of forgotten that because of how good De Rosario and Musaski has been, but Morris has done nothing to hurt himself other than get hurt.
00:54:31
Speaker
Yeah. Like he has not been bad by any stretch of the imagination. And you can kind of go down the list of injured players. And i think you can, you can sort of argue that all these guys deserve to kind of get their spots back.
00:54:47
Speaker
but the guys who have been filling in have been so good in their spots. It's going to be fascinating to see how Brian manages all this. And one other thing, I think one other takeaway i wanted to touch on and that we maybe have not da ah delved into so deeply in the postgame,
00:55:07
Speaker
is Brian Schmetzer deserves a ton of credit for the way that he has managed this roster. He has always been pretty good about that aspect of it, even if you and I didn't always agree with the way he was doing it.
00:55:22
Speaker
But he does seem to have... unlocked a different kind of player management where he is pushing all the right buttons when it comes to substitutions, when it comes to rotations.
00:55:37
Speaker
And that's really been satisfying to see. And, and i even, you know, he's given you a hard time for giving him a hard time, but I think all of your criticisms frankly have been legit and he has responded whether conscientiously or not.
00:55:56
Speaker
and And fixed a lot of the things that we felt were were sort of blind spots for him. But you bring up a great point because ah I have been very open and I never, ever, ever hold back punches. And and by punches, I just mean my statements, what I say, I'm never going to say. I didn't say that.
00:56:15
Speaker
There was a time, there was a moment last year where I was not sure if Brian Metzer was the best guy for the job moving forward. I thought that his coaching had gone stale.
00:56:27
Speaker
I thought that he had one one too many problems in the locker room. I felt like he had handled certain personal situations, not in the best possible way. I thought that a lot of his tactics had kind of lost their spark.
00:56:42
Speaker
And I didn't know it is the most important part. I had no, not even the most minimal sort of confidence that he could reinvent himself. And this year,
00:56:54
Speaker
He has done it this year. As much as he'd love to say, and he felt so offended by the fact that he was called a defensive coach. That's always been his calling card.
00:57:06
Speaker
That's always been Brian's matter ball. It's a team that was relentless, that, you know, had grit. Everything that he talks about, right, that that that we all know, that's Smetzer Ball.
00:57:19
Speaker
It wasn't that they were Wilfred Nancy grade on the offensive spaces and that they were so fluid and things like that. But he's really focused, emphasized from Marbella here on making this team more offensive.
00:57:36
Speaker
And he put wrinkles and he wanted to do things differently, And he's done it. So I think he's collecting the fruit of the work that he's put together. and that's credit to him.
00:57:49
Speaker
And I'm not afraid to say it. I had no confidence that he could do what he's done this year, but he's done it from the way that he handles his substitutions.
00:58:01
Speaker
The amount of players in his rotation and And maybe you you can, you know, feel free to correct me, Jeremiah, but it feels like he's used so much more of his bench, of his depth, of his younger players than he ever has, than he's ever has this year.
00:58:20
Speaker
And it's all because he is absolutely pushing all the right buttons. And he's created an offense that's fun to watch. Look, um my dad, he is a casual watcher of the Sounders. And he's like, oh, man, dad, son, I didn't know we had all these good players. I said, dad, this is the same players I was telling you about in May.
00:58:41
Speaker
And he's like, oh, really? Well, they just move so well. they You know, that the offense is so fun to watch. That's the thing that you've created now. And this a guy that, again, he he would not know who are the new players, but he could definitely sit in front of a TV and tell you that in May, this team looked a lot different than he does today.
00:58:59
Speaker
And that's all credit to not just Brian, because Brian deserves a lot of it, but Freddie Waters, Precky, who's a name that consistently comes up whenever you ask a young player, hey, but who has done it for you? who really helped you? Precky always comes up.
00:59:17
Speaker
Freddie Juarez is a guy that's watching the game upstairs, comes down, gives you notes. The guy that's working with the guys on the field. Andy Rose, defensively, with every single one of these players, Keith Kehey, Jamar, Reagan, all your defensive players, they have nothing but great things to say about Andy Rose.
00:59:35
Speaker
Tommy Dutra, that as we've talked before, he just has a basement full of goalkeepers. that is exactly what has this team where they are now. They have an identity.
00:59:46
Speaker
They know what they're playing for and they feel like they can do it with any team, but that's credit to the coaching staff. But mainly, especially for me, Bryant's matter has truly surprised me this year.
01:00:00
Speaker
And I would say that after,
01:00:05
Speaker
covering him since 2016 when he was an intermed coach, this is the best coaching job that I've seen him do because this is the one team that doesn't have the magic of Oledaro, that doesn't have the goal scoring or three juggernauts of Jordan, ah Nico and Raul, or didn't have the Clint Dempsey's.
01:00:27
Speaker
He's doing with a very good, talented group, but a group that collectively just, man, makes makes you want to sit down and watch the game. I've watched the final four times.
01:00:38
Speaker
Four times I've watched it. And I'm still just... Impressed of how they bracketed Messi and how every single person, Pedro, Christian, Obed, Reed, would have this permanent look on Messi.
01:00:55
Speaker
Whenever Messi was open on top of the 18, it was ah Jackson and Yemar pushing forward. I mean, man.
01:01:05
Speaker
I've watched the game four times and every time I come just amazed of how good the tactics were and how well executed they were. So I'm not afraid to applaud Brian's matter, have him take his victory lap. If he wants to come at me and tell me, Oh, you didn't believe he could be, he could say it.
01:01:24
Speaker
Cause again, I'm a man that I always, i say what I feel, feel what I say. I walk the walk, talk the talk. And he surprised me, man. and and And that's credit to him. Yeah, I thought it was interesting the way he sort of got around the I'm a defensive coach thing was to say, I just ask that all my players defend first.
Brian Schmetzer's Coaching Evolution
01:01:46
Speaker
And I guess exactly like it. And I guess there's there's a part of it where he can go. And that's what I'm still asking them to do. And I guess that's true. but absolutely he does. He does seem to have loosened the reins in terms of the, like he's willing to take a lot more risks this year.
01:02:00
Speaker
He is, ah you know, he's someone that it takes something to win him over. He's not someone who is willing to just believe someone on faith on, he wants to see it. He wants to see players earning their spots and training, but you know,
01:02:16
Speaker
And so I don't know. it may It's a little chicken and egg, I suppose to say, well, this year he's doing it, but maybe it's because the players have just done a better job of, of earning it. I don't know, but either way he deserves credit for building this roster for using it in an effective way. Even times this year, i have wondered whether or not he was doing, he was managing things, but as we sit here right now,
01:02:42
Speaker
you know, two thirds, three quarters of the way through the season. i i am with you. I think this is the best job that he's ever done. If the coach of the year vote were right now, I would vote him coach of the year without any sort of second thoughts. I think he's done an amazing job and he deserves all the credit that he's getting. And I hope he's enjoying it. And I, and if he wants to keep, uh,
01:03:03
Speaker
viewing you and I as sort of thorns in his side, that's fine. And we're willing to take it. I think that's part of what makes this, you know, that's what part of this is, right? Is we say stuff and we show up to training and we let the coaches come back at us, you know?
01:03:20
Speaker
And I, and I think that's, that's a key component of this whole ecosystem And don't let, don't let Brian convince you. Otherwise i think deep down he respects and appreciates the pressure that, that you especially put on him.
01:03:36
Speaker
And i I would like to think he feels the same way about me. I think he feels the same way about sounder at heart and sort of keeping the sounders organization honest. And we, we are on you know, we're on their side, but we aren't,
01:03:51
Speaker
We aren't following them blindly. We're not just taking everything they say as gospel. We are reporting. We are doing our due diligence. And we're trying to give as accurate of a picture as possible because we all want the same thing, which is for this organization to be successful. We want them to be popular.
01:04:07
Speaker
We want fans to come out. But we also we also don't believe that smoke blowing smoke up of anyone's ass is going to help in that cause. Yeah. And I love that you said that because, look, He makes me doubt it. A lot of times I feel like he wishes I stubbed my toe on a rock multiple times.
01:04:24
Speaker
But at the same time, and I've said it before, man, this is what I love about what we do is that i try to prepare myself and conduct my way in a manner that if you were to pull up a show from...
01:04:38
Speaker
five months ago, you could hear consistency in my statement. And i don't know if you remember this, but there was a point where in this show, I said, look, if I got to be Brian's master's Drago picture on the mirror, that he's just like,
01:04:53
Speaker
F this guy, I got to prove him wrong because he's preparing in front of the freaking mirror he's got the picture of the doubter there. Then I'll beat Drago in your mirror because I have no problem with it because I i do want this team to do well. I never hide my biased way. I have an affiliation to the team. and Obviously, I do that in the most objective way when it comes to coverage, when it comes to content, ah when it comes to when I call the radio, ah you know, games, although, you know, we're we do 1360, which a lot of times is okay to be the homer on it, but I still handle my myself to the standard that I like to keep myself in.
01:05:30
Speaker
ah But that does not mean by any way that people don't know. i mean, look at the flag behind me. I mean, I don't hide it. I mean, I i do affiliate with the Sounders. That is the team that I want to watch.
01:05:40
Speaker
that Aside from my childhood, Team Nacional, who's also green, this is the other green that I follow. That's just the way it is. But I'm always going to hold them to the high standard. And I'm always going to be real, man. So I'm just excited for the time that we live in I was just blessed to to to see Seattle people.
01:06:04
Speaker
give out that image from the the atmosphere of the 69,000 plus to the the fact that I was able to go on radio in Colombia and Argentina and say that most of the players in that ah ah game that that were that participated had either played for Tacoma Defiance, been part of the academy, were kids from Seattle was great because not a lot of teams can say that.
01:06:31
Speaker
And that's what this team has kind of put together. Right. And that does not mean that I'm never going to want more and I'm never going to not criticize and all of these things, but I can absolutely enjoy it. And I think that's something in the fans should enjoy as well.
01:06:48
Speaker
I agree with you there. and it it was a great advertisement for the Sounders. And to just circle back to the thing where we started, i do think that it ends up being the fact that all the attention got paid to the fight does sort of in a broad sense change.
01:07:07
Speaker
illustrate what's going on here as a positive thing overall, that there was so much energy. There was so such a big crowd that the tension was so high. I'm sure a lot of people thought the Sounders won the league.
01:07:19
Speaker
You know, that was the sort of treatment. This was all given. And hopefully the Sounders can ride some of that momentum. You know, i talked about this on no study at this yesterday, but One of the things that was a bummer that happened in 2019 is they had this MLS cup and then COVID happened. So they didn't really get to carry a lot of that momentum in 2022.
01:07:40
Speaker
it was so early in the season that there was time for it to completely unravel. And so by the time 2023 came around, people were more up in their feelings about missing the playoffs and they were excited about winning 2022, champions league.
01:07:51
Speaker
ah champions league that can obviously still happen. i don't think that's what's going to happen. The Sounders are going to make the playoffs. Hopefully they'll make a good run and there's going to be a lot of good feelings. Like this has the potential to have a lot of good feelings carrying into not just the off season, but into next season. And so hopefully this is a ah turning point in the, in sort of we, I feel like in the last few years, really since 20, since they won champions league, there's just been this sort of internal fight,
01:08:22
Speaker
in terms of the way the Sounders want to be run and the way that the, the way that the fans sort of view the team, you know, we've seen a lot of price increases since then.
01:08:33
Speaker
Right now they just came out with season ticket prices. They're effectively stable. They aren't just, ah you know, they're, they're down. Yeah. Yeah, they're not shooting them up. ah there's ah a few new There's a few new perks that season ticket holders get.
01:08:47
Speaker
So this is, i think, some real positive, it feels like a real positive time. And I hope that we're able to carry this momentum into 2026. And yeah, I guess that's kind of where I'll i'll leave my bit.
01:08:59
Speaker
No, i I think it's it's it's great. And Just the the the general sense that this team, you know, has built what they have, i you know, it's it's credit to everybody, right? You kind of see it as ah when Brian Smetzer got really emotional about this is like an organizational win and, you know, he credited Adrian and everybody, you know, that that that that's that's heartfelt. That's that's very true.
01:09:26
Speaker
And I think that both you and I have been critical of of Craig, have also given him his flowers, been critical of Brian, now we're giving him his flowers. it It is something that happens because there's a standard.
01:09:40
Speaker
Look, I'll be real brief with this, but I did a show with Glenn. Oh my goodness. I just had him.
01:09:50
Speaker
Glenn Davis in Houston. He has a ESPN show in Houston and he wanted me to come in and just talk about the sounders culture because he's a guy that's down there.
01:10:03
Speaker
fighting by himself with the front office to figure out what it is that's wrong with Houston Dynamo, a team that apparently cannot get people going to the stadium, that they spend all this money in transfers, but they can't seem to win.
01:10:18
Speaker
There's no culture. There's no Academy. There's no anything. And he's over there being extremely critical, going right at the front office, something that, you know, you and I both know well about and He just talks so great about the sounders. He's like, man, I wish that I was there. I wish that we had something even similar to that because the the the the bar is so high, you know? So well you guys are criticizing because the bar is up here and I'm criticizing when the bar is low.
01:10:46
Speaker
Right. And we can even meet that. We can even meet the bar that's low. So right the Sounders have set the bar at the highest level because they're a winning franchise.
01:10:57
Speaker
They're franchise with the best fans in MLS and they have to uphold that. Right. But I love to talk about just having a little bit of insight into what other clubs are feeling because it does bring perspective to things and it makes you think ah cherish even more what we have here in the Pacific Northwest.
01:11:19
Speaker
Yeah, I would agree with that. I feel like one of the things that gets lost, and I think that this is what got illustrated most vividly in the Sounders Miami game, is that the Sounders haven't taken any
Sounders' Sustainable Success vs. Miami's Approach
01:11:30
Speaker
shortcuts.
01:11:30
Speaker
This has been a long process. You can accuse them of a lot of things, You can accuse them of being cheap. You can accuse them of making some bad decisions, but they aren't looking for shortcuts. They aren't looking to how to circumvent the way that this all works. Because even back in 2009, part of why they were so successful coming out of the gates is because they had been building. this this has been part of a project that has been building since literally since 1974. At the very least,
01:11:59
Speaker
at the very least you would say it started in 2001 when Adrian Hanauer took over ownership of the USL team or took over control of the USL team. And, and the Sounders at each and every stop, it's been very incremental.
01:12:13
Speaker
It's, it's been one step at a time. They, they are very good in the USL and then they get to MLS and they don't win right away. Not that they wouldn't have loved it, but I do think it's important in, in this whole thing that it wasn't a year until year seven that the Sounders won their first MLS cup.
01:12:31
Speaker
And I think it was good for them to have to go through some, some struggles and to go through some, some introspection and to wonder if they had gotten ahead of themselves before they get that first MLS cup. And it's been just progressive ever since then.
01:12:44
Speaker
And I, and I think that's what I love about following this team is that it feels sustainable, that it feels like there's a re there's a, a real core here that there are real roots in the community.
01:12:56
Speaker
And, and I think anyone who's being honest about what Miami is doing is they are trying to supercharge all of it. They're trying to fast track themselves into relevancy. They're trying to fast track themselves into being a super club into being the real Madrid sort of of the United States.
01:13:14
Speaker
And it's tough to do it that way. And I think what they're seeing right now is that it comes with some, you you you cut corners and you end up with things like this, where you have a Luis Suarez or a Sujur or Busquets, or even a Messi, who I don't think entirely respect the organization.
01:13:32
Speaker
Because they think they are, they think they're above it. They think they're, it's like, they think they're calling the shots. And so, you know, I guess we'll see who knows. Maybe, ah maybe Miami goes and wins MLS cup. And we're having a very different conversation here in a few months. how hen It doesn't seem that that's likely. I say that they don't, I think there's a better chance that the sounders,
01:13:55
Speaker
go off and and get to the MLS final than for Miami to get to the MLS final. I think that they have been found, they have been studied, and there is a blueprint on exactly how to attack that team.
01:14:10
Speaker
I've said it once, twice, a thousand times, Rodrigo DePaul doesn't mean that going to win it all. And as much as he does provide you with some upside, you're have to do He does not cover all the holes, all the holes that that team has.
01:14:25
Speaker
In the East, there's too many good teams. I just don't see him getting out of the East. I do not see them going out of the East. I would put money on the fact that they don't even make it to the final of the Eastern Conference.
01:14:39
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you might be right. You might right. The East looks pretty tough. I would much rather be in the Sounders shoes right now than Miami's. No question about that. Well, let's call it.
01:14:49
Speaker
ah Nico, thank you for hopping on here and doing a impromptu hour long show. And I'm happy to do it, man. we We started off, I don't know what we're going to talk about. And then the the League's Cup stuff came and then it just started rolling. so That's what I love about the way we we move, man, Jeremiah. I've told you a dozen times, man, i think that if you know me and you just start just chopping it up, that's how we kind of started this whole thing. I think when I kept telling you, me and you would just sit there and talk by the car.
01:15:21
Speaker
And at Starfire Parking Lot for like an hour. I was like, why don't we just put it on tape? So I love it. I hope that the ah audience loves it. I do want to give a shout out to all the audience, all the positive ah input that you guys have. Even in the bad feedback. I absolutely love it. Thank you to everybody.
01:15:39
Speaker
for listening. This is why we do it, man. I love that you guys enjoy it. and we're going to continue to stay ah consistent with the times and and the Fridays and making sure that you guys have some sort of content at the end of the week.
01:15:52
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, with all that said, I want to sign off for Nico Moreno. You can find him on blue sky, El Rolo and W you can find him on YouTube at pool. So sports at soccer down here at lobbying scorchers.
01:16:07
Speaker
And of course you can find them on sounder at heart. I am Jeremiah Oshan. This is no Saudi at just part of the sounder at heart podcast network, and we will catch you next time.
01:16:45
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders.