Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Big win means proper rotation!
0 Plays4 seconds ago
We’re back with another episode of “What we learned this week w/Niko.” Jeremiah and Niko Moreno discuss the implications of Wedensday’s 3-1 win and how that allows the Sounders to rotate a bit more purposefully for Saturday. They also discuss Brian Schmetzer’s comments about the Nicolás Lodeiro situation.
***
Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.
“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.
Recommended
Transcript
Sponsorship and Contributions to the Podcast
00:00:02
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 Sounders supporters.
00:00:16
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:00:25
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 Come on.
00:00:36
Speaker
Hey, O'Shea. Let's go.
Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup Victory
00:00:42
Speaker
The Seattle Sounders have done it. Cup winners.
00:00:53
Speaker
And now they truly can't start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup. Nikola. so The Sounders rule the region!
00:01:05
Speaker
Seattle, the Sounders,
00:01:13
Speaker
it's going to be good! He's gone! That is good! It's finally... This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Come on a win! This is Seattle, Southern, bro.
00:01:24
Speaker
That publicist ain't cheating.
00:01:30
Speaker
I've ever seen Salvatore put a commentary on the media to take Open Cup seriously.
00:01:42
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes. This is This Week with Nico. I'm Jeremiah Chan. I'm here with Nico Moreno, as always. We are here at Long Acres. How doing, Nico?
00:01:53
Speaker
Hey, man. Episode three, i believe. Episode three. Look at this. We're moving, baby. We are. We're here for you guys. Again, thanks for all your input, all your comments, ah supporting this new segment, new show. Man, I'm excited.
00:02:09
Speaker
We are here.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Performance
00:02:11
Speaker
Kim Ki-hee is in town, is in the building. ah we have some news to go over. We got a win. We got a game to talk about, Jeremiah. We don't have to just come off the dome. We can actually talk about a game. We learned real things.
00:02:26
Speaker
ah The biggest is that the Sounders take a 3-1 lead into the second leg against Antigua in CONCACAF Champions Cup. It was not a, we may as well start there. Yeah. ah You know, it was not a perfect performance by any stretch. Nope. I think the first half had a lot of sloppiness.
00:02:46
Speaker
The goal they gave up was especially, you know, one of those things you'd like to think you'd get cleaned up. But I think my big takeaway from this is historically playing in Central America, playing on the road anywhere in CONCACAF is not easy. You know, the Sounders hadn't won a road game in CONCACAF.
00:03:06
Speaker
but if you had i I'm going to assume you didn't read my story. Do you know when the last time they won a road game in CONCACAF was? ah
00:03:20
Speaker
That was a pretty good guess. Oh, OK. 2012. They've played in four, I think, four Champions CONCACAF competitions in the meantime, at least four. Maybe this was the fifth.
00:03:33
Speaker
They played in four up until this year. And they had never won a road game. There were a lot of ties. that You know, they went undefeated on the road in 2022 when they won Champions League.
00:03:43
Speaker
They didn't win any road games. They used tied Matagua 0-0. tied Leone They tied New York FC 1-1. And then they tied... ah new york city of c one one and then they tied Pumas tutu And that just sort of illustrates going on the road, especially preseason. I mean, that's another thing. The Sounders had not played a competitive match before that before that one.
00:04:08
Speaker
Antigua had played eight league games already. They were coming in flying. And at times in the first half, they looked like the much sharper team, I thought. Antigua acquitted themselves quite well, I thought.
00:04:20
Speaker
Yeah, man, look, let's start with the good things because I feel like overall, if I had to put everything in a nutshell and give Seattle its due credit, they show character.
00:04:32
Speaker
Anytime that you go into a game where you have a bad first half, I think that they had a good 10 minutes and then after that, they lost possession. They were sloppy. Pedro De La Vega did not look good on the right side. Gave up a lot. Dribbled into trouble Dribbled into trouble. The first touch and his second touch were a little bit too forward. Yamar had issues defensively, talking to Alex. Alex way too high.
00:04:58
Speaker
I can go on and on about things that were not working in the first half. But Seattle had the character. Even after that equalizer, which was a punch in the face, on the road, one that it's a combination yeah of errors of a whole bunch of people.
00:05:15
Speaker
and you're still able to get back in the game. I got to give credit to Brian for shifting and switching. Pedro Lavega to the other side. I felt like his substitutions were timely.
00:05:28
Speaker
I felt like they were effective. And Seattle was able to get back into the game, get the momentum back, which wasn't easy because you go into the halftime 1-1. And Seattle is able to really get it back. And this something that is one of Brian's foretaste. That halftime talk, we we all know that he has that ability to just motivate the team.
00:05:48
Speaker
I feel like the the tactics were a little bit more more fluid. The team was a lot more direct at times. And they were able to, you know, create some opportunities.
Tactical Decisions and Strategic Rotations
00:06:01
Speaker
Pedro de la Vega himself, I think is also someone that I want to highlight because although he wasn't stellar and he wasn't as sharp as we thought or I thought he was going to be yeah going into this game.
00:06:17
Speaker
When I'm here and and this is something that i like to do, I like to hear from local media in Guatemala or wherever the centers are playing because I feel like they have an unbiased idea. They don't know anybody necessarily.
00:06:29
Speaker
And the guy that everybody kind of talked about was Pedro. They said he's the most talented player on that team. He was the one that was pushing the ball, trying to make things happen. So that alone was pretty good. Now my man of the match has to be Ovid Vargas because he was so consistent. He was so good.
00:06:44
Speaker
Not perfect either. Had some mistakes, had some issues. ah But he was a key part of all three goals. Absolutely. That pass before the pass, he's always there. And that that third goal is all him. Mm-hmm. Well-placed.
00:06:57
Speaker
He intercepts that ball. Knows where to go. The pass is the perfect pace. Perfect pace into a Georgie Georgie. First touch into Albert. Albert back at the net. I thought Albert was really good as well. I thought it was encouraging.
00:07:10
Speaker
Albert's a guy that my only concern going into this season was his health. I advocate the fact that he was brought back. I thought that he was going to bring continuity, experience, and and he let you have it. And you know what I love?
00:07:24
Speaker
about what he said today is how candid he is. He's so honest. You know, you've got to love that. I love him in interviews. You know, when I asked him, I was like, hey, man, you don't lack confidence, but, you know, it had to feel good. It's like, yeah, well, you know, this is the third goal of the game. didn't really know. You know, maybe it was important because of the second leg.
00:07:41
Speaker
I love that, man. I like the fact that he's just an honest dude. So all in all, I think Seattle's able to get the result and gives us something to be encouraged for this opener against Charlotte and moving forward. And I think one of the big things about this result is that it allows Bryan a lot more flexibility with what he wants to do against Charlotte.
00:08:02
Speaker
Because the reality is that they don't need, they I think part of why they won this game, as resoundingly as the scoreline suggested, is because they just had a a big talent advantage.
00:08:13
Speaker
They were sort of able to brute force their way to a win, which I think is itself a pretty big accomplishment. But They don't need to do that again. they They can play a much more even. They can afford to put out a, like they're going to have a talent advantage no matter what in the second leg, but they don't need to overwhelmingly do it the way they did in this game. they can They can play some, i think they I think what we're going to end up seeing is we're going to see more rotation between the Charlotte game and the next Antigua game than the Antigua game and the Charlotte game.
00:08:44
Speaker
yeah I think we're going to see closer to a first-choice lineup than maybe they had originally. Maybe that was always the plan. But I think it allows them to do it where they can maybe reuse some guys that they weren't necessarily planning on reusing because they might be able to bench you know ah bring them off the bench and the next game.
00:08:59
Speaker
Yeah, and especially because you travel to RSL after that midweek game as well. yeah So that has to be in consideration. What I will say is that I think... i would I would sit Obed. Obed got hit, smacked, pushed, on. Yeah, he took some tackles. He took some hits, man. And look, I love the all-woman referee and crew.
00:09:22
Speaker
um I have ah my daughter, and it was probably one of the best moments I've ever had my daughter watching a CCC game. And as soon as she saw the all-woman crew, she's like, yes, queen. you know, let's go, you know, and she was so excited.
00:09:35
Speaker
ah And they did a good job, but they did let a lot of things go. They did a good job. I think that there's some things that they could have, you know, They let them play. Yes. They let them play a lot. I don't think there was any... ah Okay, so it was funny because Brian Schmetzer gave a ah presser today and he and he he thought they were very good. he said, except for that five-minute stretch in the first half where it seemed like five big tackles all got thrown in a row and and it was one of those situations where...
00:10:05
Speaker
ah Let them play is a great idea, but as soon as it starts to ramp up, you can see why referees don't always want to let them play because one tackle begets another tackle begets another tackle, and each one comes in a little harder, and each one is a little ah tougher to not blow your whistle, and then eventually you just you just have to blow your whistle.
00:10:26
Speaker
And that was a situation where it looked like it might get out of control, and I think Obed was the one who ended up taking the worst of yeah all those tackles. Because it's the inertia of the game, man. Exactly. It's the inertia of the game.
00:10:37
Speaker
And that is something that is very pressing for anybody who's followed a game is that that the the game starts heating up. And one tackle pushes the other. And it's just an inertia where all of a sudden it's going to be a big hit. Yeah. and There's a little bit of a scuffle and Alex is in somebody's face, but thankfully nothing else happened. But going back to my main point, because of that, I would sit open. it so and And you have JP, so why not Christian and JP if you want to go more to having a first lineup for Charlotte? yeah So I could see where that could be a rotational thing. But before we move into Charlotte, I did want to ah continue to ah praise the team because this...
00:11:19
Speaker
Antigua team had eight games going into this game. they ah They probably didn't surprise Brian, and and I forgot to ask that today, but they had not played with a 4-3-3 in their last, I don't know, four five games that that I looked into. It was always 5-4-1. It was always a 4-1-4-1. I mean, this was surprising to me.
00:11:42
Speaker
Romario Da Silva was a menace on the left side. I think that... He had the assist. He had the assist, of course, to Oscar Santis, one of the Santis brothers, the guy that we at In-Logers Coaches pointed as the man that should be ah looked upon.
00:11:59
Speaker
And Romario was very good. So Seattle was going in against a team that was more prepared, that had more competitive games going into this one. And because of that, I think that is something that you want to applaud.
00:12:12
Speaker
ah Mauricio Tapia, the coach of um Antigua, you know he was emotional about it. and He said that it was an unjust scoreline, that his team did better.
00:12:22
Speaker
And yeah, you know that the 3-1 doesn't tell you the whole story. So I absolutely get why he would say that. I mean, I would say that he's right. And also, he doesn't really. I mean, that was their shot, really. They're going to have to win, essentially, 3-0 at Lumen Field.
00:12:39
Speaker
I don't want to say that's impossible, but that's not not very likely to happen. Because you've got to expose yourself. and and And if I want to play devil's advocate on the behalf of the Sounders in that one, is saying that, look, I think he should have been four one if not 5-1.
00:12:56
Speaker
there's that gay There's a play in the 55th minute where Pedro already shifted to the left side, gets a pass from Obed, he gets through a defender, gets to the end line, and sets up Ferreira perfectly in front the goal. For great chance.
00:13:10
Speaker
Ferrer needs to do better. As the DP, I expect him to put that ball away. And I mean DP talent. I'm not saying DP slot. I'm just saying that you're big signing. yeah and And especially a guy that I believe at this moment in time is the best finisher in the team. He should have finished that.
00:13:26
Speaker
Yeah, and then there was another one where right after ah right after both Georgie and Albert came in Albert found Georgie alone on the wing with a free kick. Georgie breaks down his defender, feeds Christian for a chance, a so almost similar almost opposite side chance, ah and it gets blocked.
00:13:45
Speaker
But very another very good chance. Sounders could have scored a couple more goals, like you said. And it was, i think all that is very encouraging for a team who has struggled to score, ah who looked like they had fixed that in the in the ah in the preseason. And we saw a continuation. They created chances.
00:14:03
Speaker
And it's such a big difference when you can bring an Albert Rusnak, when you can bring a Georgie Manungu, when you can bring Paul Rothrock off the bench. Absolutely. As opposed to bringing as opposed to those all being starters.
00:14:15
Speaker
They just have so many more options. you know Today, Brian was talking about how they were able to change their... They were able to make subs and not drop their level. And that is such a big advantage. And I think that's probably going to be... As long as the Sounders can stay healthy, that's going to be a huge advantage
Adapting to Game Dynamics in CONCACAF
00:14:32
Speaker
for them, I think. Because they can go 14, 15 deep without without really any any drop in in its quality.
00:14:40
Speaker
So I think that was all varying. encouraging what were your thoughts on jordan like i i heard a lot of people criticizing him i think it's a little bit unfair uh simply because he just didn't get enough services he was asked to do a lot of get it he was out wide or he was just out of position or he was having to get back way too far back and that's just difficult for him yeah he wasn't super involved i think he only had something like 19 or 20 touches in the game but also this is That wasn't for, I don't think it was his fault. I think he was asked to do a lot of dirty work. He was a lot of, as always, he was asked to make a lot of runs that aren't necessarily going to be rewarded.
00:15:18
Speaker
he was He was useful in terms of stretching ah Antigua. And, you know, his he'll he'll get he'll get in position, he'll get goals. I don i wasn't discouraged by his performance.
00:15:30
Speaker
I think people get a little wound up in the perception that he can disappear because he is not getting on the ball. but that's not necessarily... You don't want Jordan touching the ball 40, 50 times. No, of course not. Just like when Raul was at his best, he might only touch the ball 15 times in a game, but three of them were, you know, in front of goal. Yep, exactly. and And that's what Jordan didn't get, and you make a good point about he was doing the dirty work. He was...
00:15:58
Speaker
making sure that he pulled markers. He was making sure that he opened up spaces. He was doing some of that pressing ah that that Seattle was trying to work on, right? And then they generated a couple goals of him. Yeah, and opportunities. Goals and opportunities.
00:16:11
Speaker
Arreola's another guy that I wanted to highlight before we moved on. I thought that he was poised. ah Both goals was all for deflections. I'm not you know going to take that away. But Paul Arreola, I felt like, was very good at not losing the ball in...
00:16:26
Speaker
vulnerable positions. Alex didn't do that so much and that worried me. But Paul, he was very good at just knowing when to turn, knowing when to drop that ball, knowing how to move.
00:16:37
Speaker
So that was encouraging for me. Well, I think the other thing I liked in general was that this is a team that understands the assignment. they are not they don't need they don't they don't They know they don't need to put on a show, especially on the road against Antigua.
00:16:53
Speaker
They are there to grind, and they are player they have plenty of players that understand the physicality and they understand the challenges of playing in CONCACAF, not necessarily and Champions Cup, but they have played in CONCACAF for World Cup qualifying or whatever, and they aren't going to be overwhelmed by the challenges that are inherent in that. And I think this is a team that I feel like is well set up to to make a ah potential run in this thing.
00:17:19
Speaker
i think we can probably ah look ahead a little bit from from where we are. And that's huge right now to be able to, like, this is a big result because I think it sets up this, you know, you you just look at the schedule,
00:17:31
Speaker
And it's game after game after game right off the bat. And you and this game allows them to plan. It allows them to take a breath, to say, okay, this is how we want to set up. Whereas if you you know if you have a result that's a little tighter, you you you can't quite do that because you have to be so worried about getting the the next game.
00:17:49
Speaker
ah But that takes us into Charlotte a little bit.
Community Engagement and Support
00:17:53
Speaker
ah This is the season opener. Charlotte is... ah about you know They were kind of the Eastern Conference version of the Sounders in a lot of ways last year.
00:18:02
Speaker
ah They were a defense-first team. They didn't score a ton of goals. they have ah They had the goalkeeper of the year, they but they also made some big additions this offseason.
00:18:14
Speaker
Anything you can tell us about some of those changes that they made? ah Yeah, look, um obviously the big one was Willfield Saha. He's the guy that is supposed to be the big time signing for that ah team. I've talked to a couple of Spanish media members there ah in Charlotte, and they at first didn't even believe that Saha was going to go in. So that tells you enough about a guy that's played the premier level, that's going to be very good.
00:18:38
Speaker
I'm more concerned about the tower, the LeBron James-esque center forward that they have in Patrick Adjiming, that's the guy that I'm concerned about. That's the guy that's going to be pushing, that's going to be finishing, that's going to be giving you absolutely everything that you want out of a center forward, and he might give you some problems. So yeah that that is ah the setup. I also think that Dean Smith's a very smart coach, and he's going to have a very good game plan. He just saw this team play in ah in Antigua, in Guatemala. It does give them some extra film. Give them some extra film. And I think that you've got to give the edge to Dan Smith of just being able to really put together a good plan against Seattle.
00:19:18
Speaker
And i'll I'll just remind people, Ajermang only recently sort of like got into the national spotlight because he had a great year and then he followed it up with a goal and for the national team.
00:19:31
Speaker
But if you go back to the last time the Sounders played Charlotte back in 2023,
00:19:38
Speaker
Patrick Oshimon is the guy who scored that late equalizer late in the game. That's a three three right? Yeah, it was a 3-3 game. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. and And that was, he was sort of an unknown at the time. he was sort of like just this guy that they had drafted. And ah anyway, he he is a handful. He is he is a big problem. they They have a very good defense.
00:19:59
Speaker
Tim Ream is there. you Tim Ream is there. Quality pedigree defender. Yeah. They got rid of some dead weight that that I feel like wasn't really helping this team in in its cohesiveness. So I think that this group is going to be a lot tighter, a lot more fluid.
00:20:18
Speaker
um The midfield, I feel like it's good enough to ah provide and and get guys out wide. of Pepe is his name. I forget that the name of the the the winger, but they just have some quality guys. They really do. So ah this Charlotte team is not going to be easy.
00:20:38
Speaker
Honestly, I'm leaning on to the... thought process that just that a draw result would be a good result for Seattle. I know people want the goals. I know that they want that win. I mean, it depends. If you draw 2-2, I think people could get behind that. get behind that If you have a 0-0 game, I think you'll have a lot of ah frustration.
00:21:00
Speaker
But, I mean, the Sounders, I think they... yeah I think they're gonna approach this game as a game they should win, and they should. Charlotte's traveling across the country. ah they you know It's not ah an an easy place for them to come.
00:21:14
Speaker
ah They are not a team that has a lot of experience ah in MLS. So these are all things the Sounders can use. Obviously, the Sounders are gonna on a short rest. I was surprised today They had a real training session today. this I kind of thought they might be doing a regen, but no, this was they are clearly approaching this game like, ah you know, like a they did not take the day off. I'll put it that way. A positive note is that there were no injuries. Everybody seemed to be out there. yeah I believe they came on late last night. I mean, it was mid-afternoon, basically, when they got here. Oh, really? So they got little to no time to rest, and now they're they're obviously training here today. Yeah.
00:21:53
Speaker
What I will say, Charlotte's never beat Seattle, which, mean, it's only two games that really played. But funny, anedota But the last time that they were here, I remember being all over that locker room trying to find ah Miguel Angel's number, which is the was the coach of the opening season for Charlotte. And they lose here in Seattle, and he's fired the the the very next day. All of that I did, trying to get this man's number, and then he was gone.
00:22:21
Speaker
Never answered the phone after that. ah But... You know, it's interesting how, you know, so this Charlotte team was an expansion team. It maybe doesn't have the reflectors that the LAFCs do and Austin maybe even.
00:22:37
Speaker
But it's a team with a very good base, a very good fan base. And I'm just excited to see them here in Seattle. I am too. And ah I think this will be a good test for the Sounders. I think it's a, you know, it's it's fun to kind of start with someone that you don't see all the time.
00:22:52
Speaker
So that, so that'll be fun. Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Anietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues.
00:23:07
Speaker
Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gets you access to everything we produce.
00:23:20
Speaker
If you're able to support us at higher levels, starting at $75 a year, you gain access to a host of other perks, most notably entry into our members only discord where the smartest, funniest, and most engaged commenters share their thoughts and ideas.
00:23:36
Speaker
To find out more, just visit center at heart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening.
00:23:45
Speaker
It's getting to be that time of year when you need to figure out how to watch Sounders games. If you're an Alliance member, you are getting a free subscription to MLS Season Pass and you're covered. Similarly, if you're a T-Mobile subscriber, you're also covered.
00:23:58
Speaker
But if you're going to have to pay for one, you may as well give us some of that money. By using the link sounderathart.com slash Season Pass, you'll see us on the next You'll help support independent media while also getting access to every Sounders game, every other MLS game, MLS 360, and all sorts of other content.
00:24:15
Speaker
Just to make things extra easy, we'll put a link in the show notes too. Thanks.
00:24:22
Speaker
Nos Adientes, admittedly, is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild. Spice up your life with Hacks and Ferments. Handcrafted in Georgetown and made it with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest, they specialize in unique small batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars.
00:24:40
Speaker
Haxan Ferments brings bold flavors and natural fermentation together for something truly special. Whether you're a heat seeker or just looking to elevate your cooking, you'll find something you love at haxanferments.com.
00:24:53
Speaker
That's
00:24:59
Speaker
And right now, if you use the code sounder at heart, that's all one word, at checkout, you will get a free hot sauce with your order. Again, go to hacksandferments.com, use the code sounder at heart at checkout for a free hot sauce with your order.
00:25:17
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments is a proud sponsor of that Sounder at Heart podcast network. But yeah, this is ah this is this will be a good test, I think, for the Sounders. And ah as far as training today goes, we ended up talking Albert Rusnak. We've talked to Kim Keehi.
00:25:32
Speaker
We talked to Craig Weibel as well. I don't know. where Where do you want to start with all that? I did think it was i do love Albert is just openly anti-training. yeah Yeah. He does not even it. Marshawn Lynch of the Sounders. Yeah, he does not. he he it almost i i was i should have asked him this. I meant to ask him.
00:25:50
Speaker
But you you get a sense that he didn't mind missing the last couple weeks of training too much. No, and I think he he takes that and and works with it and excels at the fact that his quick turnaround... Yeah, he's in the briar patch. Yeah, and I expect him to start, and expect him to be good against Charlotte. Yeah, I think he probably starts, yeah. He's a guy that...
00:26:13
Speaker
is always motivated to just prove it on the field. And that's all fine by me, you know? And not everybody has to be a vocal leader and a physical leader. He is a leader on the field, and he he plays at his best, and he makes this team better.
00:26:27
Speaker
I think that in terms of distribution in that final third, ah he's going to amplify that. feel like Jesus had moments, but he did not look as...
Nico Ladero's Impact and Future
00:26:41
Speaker
Connected. Connected. ah In sync, as I wanted him to. Yeah, he had moments. But you're right. I would agree with that. He was not like he had the pass to Areola that set up the first goal.
00:26:51
Speaker
He had that good look off of the pass from Pedro. But than that, he wasn't super involved. And, I mean, that'll come. I'm not super worried about him. But, ah yeah, i'm im I'm excited to see Albert. I'm excited. like we might get to see an extended look at Georgie. That would be kind of exciting. Yeah.
00:27:07
Speaker
I would hope so. I think he earned that. He definitely earned it. He was a problem. He was a problem. It was funny. We asked Albert about him, and and he said, you know, our goal is always to get him out in isolation.
00:27:18
Speaker
And I just knew after 70 minutes that Antigua defender wasn't going to know what was coming. No, no. That guy has a problem right off the bat. I mean, Tasmanian devil on that side just, you know, all over. yeah he's ah i mean, he he gets almost gets an assist.
00:27:33
Speaker
Right? a First touch of getting in. yeah And then, of course, the the movement, the... The ability to just break down a defense, and you could tell that that fullback completely gave him ah a lot of cushion.
00:27:48
Speaker
Once he's at the speed, he's like, man, I'm not getting forward that much. It's 2-1. Let's just keep it that way. yeah but But he's always going to be able to get behind you, so so that that's good. I did want to mention ah the fact that you talked about players in.
00:28:01
Speaker
Pei Biel was the guy that I wanted to remember. They do retain him. But one that I'm interested to see is former Portland. Eric Williamson. That's going to be a guy that I feel like is going to be impact player.
00:28:12
Speaker
I'm guessing he'll start in this one. I'm not really sure. yeah But he's a guy that i' I'm interested to look at in terms of this team. Last seen in Seattle sarcastically clapping in Obed Vargas' face after he was red carded. i remember that.
00:28:27
Speaker
Which I would hope i hope, I'm sure Sounders fans will remember that. They'll probably give him a ah good greeting. He'll get nice little welcome. For some reason that bugged me so bad because he had just come into the, he didn't do anything to draw the red card. He just, being a punk.
00:28:40
Speaker
and And Obed really didn't do anything wrong to deserve the red card. People remember he got red carded for basically throwing his hands up after, for, 50 feet away from the referee, and the referee just decided he didn't want to have any, even though he had let a ton of dissent go. We don't need to get into all this, but it was one of those things that drove me crazy.
00:29:02
Speaker
ah But yeah, the other, we talked to Kim Kihee today. He was all smiles. He seemed to be in a great mood. He made it very clear that the reason he came back here is he just loved Seattle. His family liked it. He wanted to be part of this. He talked a lot about bringing trophies. This is a guy who wins everywhere he goes.
Kim Keehi's Return and Roster Strategy
00:29:21
Speaker
And you can tell he he, I mean, we were told that he's probably two or three weeks away from being able to get on the field for the Sounders. But yeah, he he's gonna be he's he's not be a distraction in the locker room.
00:29:34
Speaker
Players seem to really like him. And it sounds like his English has gotten a lot better. That was like one of the running jokes when he was here last time, how he didn't really speak English. But it sounds like he's he's picked up a fair amount of English in the meantime.
00:29:46
Speaker
And I think that's another valuable depth piece that just speaks to the culture that the Sounders have built, that a player like that wants to come back here and is you know willing to basically come here and play for free.
00:29:59
Speaker
Yeah, and ah very self-aware. mean, he was very open. He said, look, I haven't been played in two months between yeah the offseason and figuring out my visa and everything that you know has to do with moving to the United States for the meantime.
00:30:14
Speaker
So I like that. He's not providing any false expectations. expectations, you know, what to do. And in terms of his role, his translator, you know, I think he got the whole gist because he smiled when we smiled. But he's like, look, if I got to sit on the bench and watch the games, that's what I do.
00:30:27
Speaker
But I'm going to go in. i'm going to try to do what I can to bring trophies. And I really believe that if he's going to be a guy that's going to be a positive influence, that's going to do whatever you want him to do, and that his experience,
00:30:39
Speaker
Even in Korea, that that you know maybe we don't know a lot of that league, but when you're playing for a top team of that category where he was a main component, I could trust him to come in, the experience, be aware. Also playing in Asian Champions League. like They were one of the um they're the one of the top teams. and They might be the top team in all of Asia, which is something. i mean These are some big clubs in Asia. yeah Absolutely. 100%. I think he's a really good piece. and Brian did mention that you know he has some...
00:31:07
Speaker
Conditioning to do, and you know, fitness stuff. So, yeah you know, don't expect him anytime soon. But ah that was a positive note. love Love to see him. Love to hear that he's back. Seems to say all the right things. And and I think we expected that from him. Yeah, exactly. I mean, think it's very much a see which is what you get situation with Kim Kihee.
00:31:24
Speaker
ah Sort of on a similar note, you know you had a story. We've talked about it a couple times now on this podcast. ah you had and you had us you You were able to sort of pull the curtain back a little bit with your Nico Ladero reporting. The story came out on Wednesday morning.
00:31:40
Speaker
Maybe not the best timing, but hey, with the stories come when the stories come. You can't really control that. And essentially, you gave ah a version of the story that was maybe, that it felt, ah fair to say,
00:31:54
Speaker
felt like it was coming from a player who felt Spurn's perspective or his camp's perspective. And i think both Brian and Craig effectively confirmed the main elements of your story, which is he did talk to the Sounders.
00:32:11
Speaker
Brian said he actually talked to them twice. And, you know, the perspective on why the deal didn't get done, I think it's fair to say is different from both sides. But what what did you make of of what Brian and Craig said?
00:32:26
Speaker
Yeah, look, ah mainly mainly Brian. I mean, um i want to make it very clear, and I hear this online all the time, and I have absolutely ah no reason to shy away from anything.
00:32:38
Speaker
ah People assume that I have these super close relationships with lots of players, including Nicolás Tadero. I don't shy away from it. I'm a likable dude. but But that's not my only networking in terms of resources. Yes. And... and and I've been doing this for, i think, 12 or 13 years.
00:32:57
Speaker
I've met a lot of people. I've made a lot of connections. So this was well-resourced. It wasn't just one, just to put that out there. Well, I think, and I should say, to the and I don't think it needs defending, no no no one is challenging the facts of your story. no No. I think the only dispute might be in, from Brian's perspective, the characterization of the Sounders position.
00:33:22
Speaker
Exactly. And that that is all that I wanted to kind of touch on when it comes to Brian. He was pretty straightforward. I asked the question because I needed to ask it. Me and Brian have a relationship in which I don't know if he thinks I don't like him.
00:33:37
Speaker
I will be very straightforward with him. I i like him. I've always been. i think you have a very healthy, ah sometimes adversarial relationship. Absolutely, man, like a big brother or exactly like a cousin that lives somewhere else and and then you just banter.
00:33:53
Speaker
But I'm always going to be straightforward. And this story needed to be told, needed to be said. ah People thought about it, right? When you're thinking about Nico moving to Houston, the first thing people were saying was like, why not here? Exactly. So that story had to be said. I totally agree.
00:34:09
Speaker
and and if we And if we aren't reporting that, I don't know who else is. And it just becomes a, what are the, what does everyone do How is this not, how does this not come? If Nico's on the market, how is he not in Seattle? And this is the explanation.
00:34:22
Speaker
And I think from the Sounders perspective is that, They just didn't really see a role for them. They feel like their roster is maybe not totally set, but the degree that they that it's not set, they're not looking for another veteran presence. They're looking for someone who is a younger player who is going to compete for minutes from the other side of the roster.
00:34:43
Speaker
They don't necessarily need another... you know it i might I think you could have figured out a way to get Nico Ladero into this roster, but i'm also I can also appreciate how the Sounders are saying, we don't need more competition for Pedro, Jesus, and Albert.
00:34:58
Speaker
We need competition for other spots, and we need it to be players who are going to be around for a long time. And for whatever reason, I think they just didn't feel like Nico, from a roster-building perspective, fit.
00:35:11
Speaker
There's another version of that story, though. But to your point, and do not let this get past you, Brian, and this is just me again, this is my opinion in yeah terms of me and his relationship.
00:35:25
Speaker
He did not say the name Burnell. burnnell Oh, right. Yeah, he just, ah he just out of the blue, they said, what's your breakout player? That's a good catch. I actually didn't pick that connection, but you're right. Someone asked him, who's your breakout candidate? And he didn't say anyone who's on the roster. era Who do you say? Is it Snyder Brunel? Snyder Brunel. Who's not even on the roster. Who's midfielder, who's the guy that maybe Nico would have occupied the spot for. Brian is a very intelligent person when he throws stuff out. But, man, I catch it all, baby. That's good catch. I'm Jerry Rice out here, man. So what I will say is this.
00:36:03
Speaker
Seahawks legend Jerry Rice. That's right. That's right. That's where I got his autograph. Exactly. My favorite player was like... ah What I will say is this. In my opinion, a guy that just played 1,700-plus minutes that has that had 13 assists last season and in all competitions for Orlando could absolutely help you in one regard.
00:36:25
Speaker
If Ferreira, Jordan, and um Danny Masoski are only three strikers, I don't want... Ferrer playing a whole lot of 10.
00:36:36
Speaker
I would much rather have a guy like Nico take that spot instead of Albert or vice versa, whoever you want playing that position. And I feel feel very comfortable putting him there. Not to mention that he played holding mid for Oscar Ferrer last season. And he could definitely do it. For Brian, too, at times. Yeah, for Brian, too. So he could definitely do the job. So in my opinion, and that's anything but that, I think he would have fit.
00:37:00
Speaker
In the story, all I... portrayed was a hypothesis of why maybe that wouldn't have happened. yeah It is no secret. And everybody in the Sounders universe knows that Nicolás Adéreo's departure was not as glorious as it could have been, or maybe or maybe some people expected it to be. Or as amicable. Amicable. That's another. I mean, I think that's a that's I think it's pretty obvious from all the reporting that Nico would have preferred to stay here and to keep doing his thing.
00:37:36
Speaker
And the Sounders said, no, thank you. And I think that you can you can paint it however you want. the And I think Brian made it sound like this was not an this was not the issue, but I think it's hard to escape the reality that the last two seasons, they have had club legends who were not...
00:37:57
Speaker
totally on board with the decision-making process. And the Sounders managed that, I think you can argue pretty well. They, like, it didn't destroy the locker room, that they were able to sort of work their way through it.
00:38:12
Speaker
And I think there has to be some consideration that Brian gave to, no matter what Nico is saying, i don't want to bring this, I don't want to go for this again if I don't have to.
00:38:24
Speaker
and I think that's a justifiable position. Sure. Even if I would have liked to see, I think Nico could play a role here. I think that he could have, they could have figured it out.
00:38:35
Speaker
I think that the Sounders roster looks better with him on it than without him on it. But I can't really blame Brian if, even though he claims it wasn't this wasn't the reasoning, I am sure that played some part in it. No, and and look, as a journalist, if I may delude the definition of journalist, I feel like my job is to at times shed some light on things like that. with so We saw what happened with Raul Rides and it was visible what happened and knew who and all that stuff.
00:39:04
Speaker
We at Sounder Heart covered that story. Same thing the way we covered the Nicolas O'Darrius story. but Those are things that I feel like it's important to provide that transparency of the player. Let's be real. This is what drives interest.
00:39:20
Speaker
If it's all sunshine and rainbows, it gets boring. And and i mean I can understand why you don't want to invite that stuff, but like the coverage of this is, I think, really important a really important part of the whole ecosystem that we're in. And this is maybe getting a little inside baseball.
00:39:40
Speaker
But as long as we're being truthful and honest and transparent about what's going on here, i don't have any I don't think any I don't think there's any harm
Future Prospects and Team Strategy
00:39:50
Speaker
or anything. I understand that some people may not always like what we're reporting, but it's I do think it's genuinely important and it's genuinely good for the whole.
00:40:00
Speaker
endeavor that we're going through here. And hopefully people appreciate And that's kind of why the only thing I would disagree with Brian is I felt like he called it on unfairly or or something. It seemed like he wasn't happy with, with the wording. And yeah I'm going to tell you that I characterized the story exactly how I wanted to portray it And we ah were just, as a hypothesis, he was able to provide a statement to, you know, say and provide context to it.
00:40:26
Speaker
And that's it. So, um, But if, you know, Brian or this team and the players want to look at me like this, the the shortest Ivan Drago you've ever seen that you can put on your you know, mirror and and you can just, you know, try to prove me wrong or I'm the bad guy, I'm the villain.
00:40:40
Speaker
That's fine, man. But I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing. and And this is a story that I felt like a lot of people wanted to hear. So I'm excited that we took it on. And I'm excited we took it on. I am too. I am too. And I think we got... ah you know and And frankly, it's it's fine that there's a another follow-up to it that Brian seemed to want to put on the record. like he you know He could have just said, yeah, we talked, and that he could have left it at that, and and it probably wouldn't have been worth writing up. But he gave us a whole...
00:41:08
Speaker
explanation of of where he felt like, ah where his mindset was, and hey, good for him. And I believed him. There was, i don't know if it was just hatred towards me, but I saw sentiment in his eyes when he was saying, to I thought about it. I literally contemplated bringing him back.
00:41:24
Speaker
And I believe him. I absolutely believe him because I felt it. so Yeah, and the fact, and we we had we knew that they had two at least two conversations, and I think it says something about the consideration that they gave it, that it wasn't you know that they had two conversations, that it wasn't no thanks,
00:41:40
Speaker
Yeah. And if he feels like Burnell's going to be a guy that he wants to provide more playtime and he sees this you know ah prospect in, that's fantastic. I applaud it. That's good. And I will note, Snyder looked really good today.
00:41:55
Speaker
yeah it's it's It's notable that we are now on game day minus one for the regular season opener, and both Snyder and Kalani Kosarianzi are both still training with the first team.
00:42:06
Speaker
I don't... see any everything I've heard is that they are not going sign them right away because they don't have to that's literally the only reason is that they don't have they have the MLS rules allow them to play this out longer if they want and it sounds like the centers are happy to let it play out a little longer and not tie their hands unnecessarily. But I really, i mean, him talking about Snyder unprompted today is the clearest sign yet that they are eventually going to sign him ah probably sooner than later.
00:42:37
Speaker
And like I said, that Kalani is still training with the first team tells me that he's probably going to get a first team contract as well. ah and i But ah I guess that the date haven't speaks to their depth, and that sort of brings us back to where this all started, which is this team looks like it can handle multiple competitions, and man, they are going to get tested these first...
00:42:58
Speaker
two weeks of the season, we go at Antigua, home to Charlotte, ah home Antigua, at RSL, on the road. No, I guess home against Cruz de Sewell.
00:43:09
Speaker
And then who do they play? And then they go at Cruz de Sewell. Then whoever they play week three and then at Cruz de Sewell. Is it LAFC? It might be LAFC. Oh my God. It's like... No, it's it's a It's a tough road to ahead. And Cruz Azul is a top team. yeah They just put five on, I think, Real Hope in CCC. ah They are very talented. They got a lot of firepower up top.
00:43:35
Speaker
So that's a difficult game. So Seattle will be tested. But I will say that I'm confident that they can come up with a game plan that that the collective play of this team can match the individual talent that these other teams have.
00:43:54
Speaker
And going back to your point on how important that 3-1 was here at Antigua, now you're able to maybe rotate and and give some guys some some time to rest for that ah game here at home against Antigua.
00:44:09
Speaker
And then you go to RSL. Pizzle, you've never won. Well, not since 2012. twelve Imagine that. So that is a long time. i feel like that's ah a rivalry that maybe lost some heat and stuff like that. and now I feel like, I hope that Seattle's gonna go in there trying to win. You know what's crazy about Ryo?
00:44:29
Speaker
Whenever they play we also like I feel like it's always these short rest games. It really is. It's crazy. is They never play them when it's just like a normal week. It is it is very funny how that works out.
00:44:40
Speaker
But yeah, this this first couple weeks of the first month of the season is just an absolute gauntlet. I wish, yeah you know, the you and I went to Mexico City together for the Champions League final.
00:44:53
Speaker
That was quite an adventure. I would love to promise to do that again with you, but I don't know gonna be able to swing it. That's going be tough. But I would love to get back to Mexico City. they might get another shot at playing in Mexico City if they advance. It might be Cruz Azul. I mean, if we go through, think... No, if we 100% play Cruz Azul in the next round, but then after that, I think we might play America as one of the teams that they could potentially play. So this is going to be... We might hold off for America, maybe. Yeah, we might have to, yeah. Because might try to swing it for America because Estadio Azteca, I mean... It's either America Chivas, right?
00:45:30
Speaker
Right, yeah, both ones are good. I got family Guadalajara, man. Do you? We'll stay down there. Oh, all right. We might be cooking up something here. Oh, yeah, I'm away from down there. So we get down there. A huge house. We have our own room. I mean, her aunt got a villa. That thing's amazing. All right, well, now we're really cooking. All right, well, Nico, I think that's it. I think we emptied the notebook. Was there anything else that you had that you wanted to make sure to get into today?
00:45:58
Speaker
No, I don't think so. I think we hit the agenda of everything that we felt like it was important to you know bring out here, what we saw, what we noticed, Kim Ki-hee, everything.
00:46:09
Speaker
ah Anything else that stood out from what Craig Weibel said? Maybe that um in terms of the... I don't know, it sounded like he was saying that there might be another player ah with the u twenty two Yeah, they they they seem to be, I mean, he was very noncommittal about what they, I mean, yeah I will say brian Brian seemed to almost be hinting at maybe a signing coming sooner than later. Like he you've made a statement about, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say, but which, you know, you're always...
00:46:39
Speaker
Hope. You always hope. ah we you know We did see that the Sounders were compensated for Manuel Nassimiento, who LA Galaxy signed. They got $50,000 in allocation for his discovery rights that will turn into an additional $150,000 allocation if if they exercise his loan option. So that's kind of neat.
00:46:58
Speaker
And apparently... The thing that kept the Sounders from signing Nascimento is, according to Weibel, is that Botafogo was really focused on getting a player back from the Sounders.
00:47:08
Speaker
I don't know who that player was. He did not say who that player was. It seems like the logical conclusion would be maybe someone like Pedro. Yeah, I have heard that Botafogo was interested. and And you can see why the Sounders aren't that interested in Nascimento.
00:47:23
Speaker
Right. That kind of situation. Of course not. i mean, you would just pay $7 million for the kid. yeah He's just starting to come through. You're hoping that he breaks out for you. So, yeah, it makes no sense. And you look, Asimete is a fantastic player, extremely talented, typical for what Greg Dan is doing down there. Don't know how he would. I mean, he's 20 years. He's not going to come in and be a starter. No. No, no, no, no. He's definitely a prospect that you're have to work through. He's not your 21, 22, ready to go. That's not the player. There's potential there, but I don't think he's a sure bet.
00:47:55
Speaker
So all in all, I think the Galaxy can manage that player more than in Seattle. I take this team very... Everybody's hitting the road running. We're running a very well-oiled machine, and I don't know prospect that young would necessarily fit well here.
00:48:14
Speaker
yeah so but But it was interesting that they had the the rights. yeah it was interesting i thought it was very interesting that they had the rights. Talks to the scouting, talks to everything that people at times tend to question, question criticize when it is literally Sean Henderson's been running the show for a very long time. Since all the design is Nico, Raul, he's the same guy.
00:48:34
Speaker
He's the guy running the show back. The soccer side of this organization is pretty competent, think. Yes, we absolutely. 100%. Absolutely. Well, Nico, thank you again. ah Of course, people should be following you on Blue Sky, on Twitter, ElRolo, NW.
00:48:51
Speaker
ah You are, of course, putting out videos on Pulso as well. you can Most of the days you you post the the video from training ah for interviews and stuff. So if if the Sounders are slow to put it out or sometimes they are even they don't even shoot it.
00:49:08
Speaker
That's right. can, course, continue to read him on in Sounder at Heart as well. He's on Lobbing Scorchers on Mondays. How's the live show going on Mondays? It's going great, man. I feel like we're getting a lot more interactions than I thought at that particular time. I've heard people say, it's too dang early, but people still showing up.
00:49:26
Speaker
So I appreciate that from everyone. i feel like it is a good time to talk soccer. and Right after the weekend, I think it's going to be even better.
00:49:37
Speaker
So the slot makes sense. Ari's fantastic. He's well knowledgeable. We also hit a little bit of the overall league content. yeah So I like that. We have Noah in the background doing his magic. So, you know, it's all another well-run ah show. So I'm excited, man. I think that people are liking it and we're going to continue to do it.
00:49:56
Speaker
Both things through, of course, the Sandra Hard ah podcast
00:50:04
Speaker
uh this week noah and i have reached an agreement to actually put the live shows in the private rss feed for sounder at heart so if you are a paid subscriber to sounder at heart you can access the audio only versions of the live you the lobbing scorcher live shows in our private rss feed i would encourage you to subscribe to that uh and You don't need to, you you'll get everything you get through the Nosarietes feed, plus everything on Lobbying Scorches, plus everything on the Cooler Guild. It's an easy way to sort of get all your pieces without, with just one feed. So ah anyway. Love it. Do that, man. I mean, hey, couple of coffees or a couple of lunches. You don't go out. You could put into Sounder of Heart. Help this project. Help independent journalism.
00:50:52
Speaker
ah Yeah, man. So go ahead and do it. Put some money in Nico's pocket. Nah, man. Come on, man. Come But thank you so much for doing this, Nico.
00:51:03
Speaker
ah Thank you to the the listeners for for doing this. ah Give a plug to Full Pull Wines and Hacks and Ferments, who are sponsoring this podcast as well. I am Jeremiah Oshan. This is Nosarieta signing off for the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
00:51:19
Speaker
ah That was good stuff. We will catch you next time.
00:51:59
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!