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How much internal competition is too much internal competition?
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From all appearances, it looks like the Seattle Sounders are going to run back the same lineup they used last week despite the availability of several would-be starters. On “What we learned this week” Jeremiah and Niko Moreno discuss whether or not that’s the right call. They also give a brief preview of the upcoming game against the Colorado Rapids.
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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.
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Transcript
Introduction of Podcast and Host Announcements
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.
Celebration of Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup Victory
00:00:10
Speaker
Here we go. Come on. Hey, O'Shaughnessy.
00:00:14
Speaker
Let's go. What save by Frye. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winning. Here comes Ruiz Dias through the middle to crowd it for Seattle.
00:00:29
Speaker
And now they truly can start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup. Nico Lodero leaves absolutely no doubt. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Seattle, Sounders, it's got built.
00:00:52
Speaker
This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Nice work on your little yacht yat thing. And Portland can't say shit. know, what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't?
00:01:06
Speaker
Ever since Southert Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take over coming seriously. Go, not Seattle!
Sponsorships and Community Support
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, c Pacific Northwest.
Training Updates with Nico Moreno
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes. It's Friday, so we are back with Nico Moreno doing what we learned this week. I'm Jeremiah O'Shan.
00:01:54
Speaker
We're here at Long Acres, back at the the old the old spot. Nico, how you doing? I'm doing all right, man. It's a good, sunny week of training. Great week of weather for training. been You know, even Brian's been in a good mood.
00:02:09
Speaker
I know. Can't take that for granted these days. Can't take that for granted. You know, he's not angry at me. It's been good, you know. The players have looked good, so there's plenty to talk about there.
00:02:21
Speaker
But just the vibes in general, I feel like they're changing. Even those people that were hammering down on Craig Weibel and hammering down on Ferreira, now we're in some way or form changing what they said in definitiveness. There's not a lot to be really mad about right now. Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. We'll see. We'll see what happens. Things can always change if they quickly do.
00:02:45
Speaker
ah It was only about a month ago where things seemed to be going perfectly after the l LAFC win, and then and then it was like a few weeks of of frustration. But where we are right now, things seem to be going
Sounders' Transfer Window Insights
00:02:56
Speaker
pretty good. The the transfer window just closed.
00:02:59
Speaker
on when was that? Wednesday? Thursday? Wednesday, I think. And Sounders didn't do anything at the end of the window, but it was a pretty productive window.
00:03:11
Speaker
And it was funny, you know, I went and read, there was a bunch of pieces on like MLS Soccer and Backheeled and other places that were sort of recapping the transfer window. And I had kind of forgotten how much the Sounders actually did.
00:03:24
Speaker
If you go, I mean, because essentially this was the off-season window that just closed. The Sounders signed Jesus Ferreira and Paul Areola. They signed Ryan Kent. They signed Kim Ki-hee.
00:03:35
Speaker
Who else did they bring in? Kalani Kosarienzi, essentially. That's a lot. They've actually added some pieces who have mostly been pretty productive. will be you know It remains to be seen what happens with Ryan Kent, but Ryan Kent, I thought, looked good in his debut.
00:03:51
Speaker
And maybe him by himself is some reason for optimism because all of a sudden they now have seemingly, now that they're returning to health, they've got a lot of talented players that are going to be needing minutes.
00:04:04
Speaker
Yeah, with Ryan Kent, what you did was swing for a home run and hope that he gets there. And they did that by turning a bad situation into a good one. And because of that,
00:04:18
Speaker
I believe that everything that we've said about the team being talented and that Per the circumstances, the front office did bring in a group group together.
00:04:31
Speaker
You could have questions about whether maybe we're light or not as deep at certain positions, but I feel like it's still to be determined because I think what we've seen with Ferreira ultimately can work with him at the striking position. So at the end of the day, it feels like...
00:04:49
Speaker
A lot of the worries that were brought up because of lack of results are starting to be tamed by that talent starting to resurface and show everyone that it can be a collective unit and that it can work and that there's a ton
Team Dynamics and Player Competition
00:05:06
Speaker
of depth.
00:05:06
Speaker
And now the question is, how do we get all these guys on the field? Right. And it's very funny how it quickly goes from, man, we don't have anyone at these certain positions to we have too many people at those same positions. i mean not to Not to put too fine of a point on this, but the way that Mosovsky and Morris are playing right now, if they had a third number nine, that third number nine would not be looking like they're gonna be getting any minutes anytime soon, because The reality is both of them look pretty good. They're both fighting, frankly, for starting minutes.
00:05:36
Speaker
And then behind them you have a group of players who are also all fighting for starting minutes between, you know, Ryan Kent's probably not ready, but it's not after seeing his debut, it's not far off to see him competing to be a starter.
00:05:49
Speaker
You've got Pedro de la Vega, who just came back, looked really good in his last two games. Jesus Ferreira is looking like a much more comfortable player if he is surrounded by the right pieces and and playing in positions that are comfortable.
00:06:03
Speaker
Albert Rusnett came off the bench last week. You can kind of keep going down the list. Georgie Menungu didn't even make the roster. in the game day roster on Saturday. Then he goes out for the Defiance and he dominates Sporting Kansas City too.
00:06:16
Speaker
He has a couple assists and and is involved in all four goals. All of a sudden, they've got, um like you said, they've got more minute, they've got more talented players than they have minutes to give them, which is really a good problem to have, but it is...
00:06:31
Speaker
A problem in that it's something that Brian Schmetzer is going have to figure out and figure out how to keep everyone happy and and make this thing work. But this is a much better problem than we don't know what we have here. Yeah. And again, it it also goes back to players that were brought in prior. Mm hmm.
00:06:51
Speaker
ah starting to be effective. I think Mussovsky has really given a breather to both Pryant Smetzer and the organization as a whole because having a guy like him just performing, just being productive is great. Having a guy like Pedro, who you got a while back, you... who you had not really been able to showcase and be consistent.
00:07:16
Speaker
Now he's looking like the young DP, like that $7 million dollars player, and that's going to be huge. ah So... It is kind of the dominoes slowly starting to fall in the right direction right for the Sounders.
00:07:31
Speaker
But that's exactly the reason why a lot of times, and me and you have talked about this, everybody can have an opinion. i don't mind people being passionate and excited. But every time that you're too radical with your opinion, you opt to be...
00:07:49
Speaker
very wrong. Right. You might be very right. Things can change very quickly. Yeah. i mean, it was only a couple weeks ago where it looked like the season was spiraling out of control. Right. And now we're talking about them having more players than they know what to do with.
00:08:00
Speaker
And it's just very funny. It's a fine line. You get a couple players back and all of a sudden you slide. Everyone goes back a ah spot on the depth chart and things look very different. And that's why I feel like you and I as, I don't know, communicators or guys that people like to listen to, it's good to have a little bit more of ah of a calmness. And obviously our calmness comes from a a reliable idea. We're seeing what's going on here. We know the group. We know the talent, right? Right. So whenever you know
Injury Management and Tactical Adjustments
00:08:30
Speaker
you fans out there are thinking that we're like going against what you are saying, we're not doing that. All we're doing is providing you a better, deeper idea of what's really happening. So when situations like this happen, we could all be happy because because it is exciting. It's good times in Seattle. Yeah, I mean, I would hope that anyone that is a regular listener to this channel, to this show, to the Center Heart Podcast Network, can kind of is not totally taken by surprise by this change of of circumstances because the the building blocks have been here for a long time.
00:09:02
Speaker
But that said, this week was a very interesting week in training, in part because you have a group of players who delivered back-to-back wins. Mm-hmm. At the same time that another group of players who would be under normal circumstances, your almost automatic starters, are getting back to health.
00:09:21
Speaker
And instead of change immediately putting those guys back in, Brian Schmetzer has decided to sort of play the hot hand. And i think there's something to be said about, this is an interesting conversation point, because on one hand, do you ride the hot hand and do you sort of like send a message to your players that...
00:09:41
Speaker
look, if you play well, you'll get minutes, or do you go with the guys who have proven track records over a very long period of time and say, look, once they're healthy, they're our starters, that's how it is.
00:09:56
Speaker
And it seems to be that Brian is is playing the hot hand and sort of doing something that I don't know even you know Even last year, I don't know if I would have expected him to do this, where it looks to me like Albert Rusnak is going to come off the bench two weeks in a row. Jordan Morris is probably going to come off the bench two weeks in a row.
00:10:14
Speaker
when What's also funny is that and all indications were two weeks ago, Morris was going to start against Dallas, but then Masofsky played well in Dallas, and then he backed it up with another solid performance against Nashville, and now Morris basically has to win his spot back.
00:10:31
Speaker
So for for me, and this is where me and you kind of defer on the opinion, and and look, I do agree that it could be a double-edged sword, in my opinion, if players are fully healthy. yeah Because right now, I have no issue with Bryant-Smithers saying...
00:10:51
Speaker
Jordan Morris is at 80, is at 85, is at 90. No reason to rush him. The team is playing well. We're going to ride the wave. Albert Rusnak, he had an adductor. Maybe he ah is not 100% either. Let's let him sit, relax.
00:11:05
Speaker
In the meantime, we work out with this fantastic duo that has been Pedro and Ferreira. and We're going to allow that to cement itself and continue to be a good...
00:11:17
Speaker
you know, combination play for us, and we're gonna let our guys get get healthy. Now, where I think you get into ah a situation that could be a double-edged sword, it's if, yes, you are definitely
00:11:31
Speaker
rewarding, rightfully so, players for their effort and their effectiveness on the field. But then when you are going to eventually need your top players, your most talented players, there's a chance of two things. One, a guy like Jordan Morris, and it happens with most strikers, going cold.
00:11:50
Speaker
Sometimes the powder gets wet and you don't got that bang. And you need that to be ready for when you need those moments. Jordan's a guy that needs a lot of confidence, that it's a rhythm guy that needs to be on the field.
00:12:04
Speaker
So that'd be my concern with him. And now with Albert, he'd be a guy that is on the opposite end. I don't need no confidence, but hey, um I'm the the highest paid player on the team. I need to be in there.
00:12:17
Speaker
As he should you know have that mentality of, I'll call it ego. you know It's all right. you know ah Players have egos of their capabilities, and he's going to want to be on. So does that rub him the wrong way? That'd be my only concern if players were 100% healthy. I know that's not the case. yeah But it's, like you said, champagne problems at the end of the day.
00:12:38
Speaker
It is something that I feel like...
00:12:43
Speaker
Most times, Brian has handled adequately, has handled it correctly. So when I look at what we've seen all week, I see competitiveness. I see grind. yeah I see a team that in every single drill, you want to go out there and and give all you can.
00:13:01
Speaker
And all those things are positive. So as long as that remains, I have no issue with it. Yeah, I mean, it's going to be very interesting to see how this plays out. I think you're right that this week is another week where you can plausibly say, look, maybe in a different world, we would have gone 60 minutes Morris, 60 minutes Rustak, and then taken him out in the second half.
00:13:22
Speaker
And maybe they're reversing that right now. it's you know Maybe it's 60 minutes for Mussovsky and De La Vega or whoever, and then you reverse, and then they get 30 minutes. And and so And then as we go on, rubber's going to the rubber is goingnna hit the road at the some at some point. ah The other one that's really interesting right now is, and maybe more intriguing, is Kim Kihee, over the last two weeks, has just been very steady. He hasn't done anything spectacular, but he's done the exact kind of work that you want from a center back, which is just...
00:13:56
Speaker
Stay with your man, connect your passes, clear the ball when you have to clear the ball, be smart. And in a year where Jackson Reagan has not looked his sharpest, you do sort of have to wonder if Kim Ki-Ki continues to play this way, and jackson reagan when Jackson Reagan comes back, I don't think he can just assume that he's going to be the starter.
00:14:18
Speaker
And that is a little bit more of a tricky situation because with offensive players, you can manage that. You can say, look, you're getting your 30 minutes, you're getting your 60 minutes, whatever it is.
00:14:29
Speaker
If you don't play 90 minutes, no big deal. But center backs don't, i mean, part of the reason that Yamar and Jackson had played so much up until now is because that's not how you manage center backs. You don't pull a center back out in the 80th minute just because you want to get someone else's minutes.
00:14:45
Speaker
100%. And even when you do, it doesn't have the same effect. Right. And it's very limited, right, to maybe I'm trying to close down a game, or this or the other. And look, we've had situations here where I got like Javier Arriaga has lost his job to a guy like Jackson.
00:15:00
Speaker
But I don't know if it was necessarily injury related because –
Defensive Strategies and Player Analysis
00:15:03
Speaker
I feel like at times, Javi, maybe he was too sure of himself at that position. Well, but that's sort of the situation that Jackson sometimes gets himself into. That's fair. Jackson is a very, very effective passer.
00:15:16
Speaker
He, at times, can be a very good defender. But this year, we've seen him make a few kind of mental mistakes. And... And you can see how when, you know, you can you can imagine that the coaches are getting frustrated. I'm sure, i don't know, I would hesitate to say that in the postgame on Saturday, that when Bryan said something like, players should take notice of Kim Kihee, that I think the assumption was that he was talking about Jackson.
00:15:42
Speaker
He may as well have been talking about Nuhu, too, who he was also expressing some frustration with the way he started that game. So who knows? Or maybe even more of a generalized message. But there does seem to be a message coming out from the Sounders that's like no one's spot is guaranteed.
00:15:59
Speaker
And if you're not playing, if you're not if you're not mentally sharp, if you're not putting in the effort, which I don't know if if they're really accusing anyone of not putting in the effort, but i do think they're accusing people of maybe not being as mentally sharp as they want them.
00:16:11
Speaker
it's a different world right now, it seems like, especially with a fully fit team where you have you have a solid roster of 20 to 25 guys who all think they should be on the game day roster if not starting.
00:16:23
Speaker
Look, what I'm going to say is that right now, For me, Jackson Reagan's still the guy. and i agree. and And he needs to obviously be mindful that there is a guy that's biting at his ankles a little bit. And and if he doesn't and show up, there's going to be some issues.
00:16:42
Speaker
I feel like under this three-man formation, you need more of a Jackson Reagan because it demands so much more for that center back in the middle of those three to be a playmaker of some sorts, to have the capability of breaking lines with or without the ball.
00:17:00
Speaker
And although Kim, I thought was fantastic in terms of just being so safe. He's not breaking lines. He's not breaking lines, right? So that's where you kind of lose it. But if you go into a four-man back line, and it's Kim Ki-hee and Yamar. Oh, man, I kind of like that because... And I'm going to say this term. This is not a sexist term. just i just want to make sure that I say that. It's just something that we say in Latin America. It goes to, like, an old man's strength. Yeah. Like, man's strength. I don't think that's... a no Well, you know i know, whenever I say man, don't want anybody to think, you know... so what Dad strength is another way of putting... That's the saying here most often. Let's say that. So when it comes to Kim, what I saw on that field is that, look...
00:17:39
Speaker
Jackson's the bigger guy or taller guy, right? You look at him, you're like, man, that dude should be just dominating. But there's times where he doesn't. And Kim is... When I saw Kim in there, he was like that dad strength where he came in and he was just so physical, so strong. He, like, took out Mukhtar and he got a yellow, but I'm cool with that. I mean, his physicality, to me, was impressive. yeah And that's something that maybe Jackson doesn't have. Yeah.
00:18:06
Speaker
or that Kimmy just does better. And I'll even say the way his hips turn and his ability to get from one point to another horizontally was very impressive. And we saw it here and we mentioned it in this show, or maybe not because you were gone. Maybe well they um maybe maybe we didn't. but Maybe we did, but it was when when he dispossessed Georgie on the open field, yeah it It was in open space. And Georgie is as you know hard to control as as anybody. And he did it. And he did it a couple of times. So, man, there are some things that Kim does well.
00:18:44
Speaker
But I would like to think that with Jackson Reagan seeing some of that competition, maybe he'll elevate his game a little bit. Well, I do think that there's maybe been a... I can see with Jackson how there was some genuine disappointment about the whole national team thing in preseason. Yeah. And I think that maybe that was in his head a little bit. And this is sort of a, or maybe this is just a reminder to him that it's like, nothing's guaranteed, man. Like, just because you wanted to be, just because you thought you kind of earned your spot in the national team and you didn't get it, that doesn't mean your spot with the Sounders is guaranteed.
00:19:16
Speaker
And I do i agree with you. I think Jackson is potentially the best center back in the league. And I don't think Kim is in that conversation even at his best. But that doesn't mean that Jackson's floor is above Kim Keehi's ceiling. You know what I'm saying? That's And so, you know, it's going to be a very interesting conversation if in three weeks from now the Sounders are...
00:19:42
Speaker
playing well, and Kim's been in there every game, it's gonna be hard to just take him out of the lineup and put Jackson back in. That doesn't mean that I don't think Jackson will eventually work his way back. It's just that it's not guaranteed the way that it was maybe in in previous areas.
00:19:56
Speaker
And frankly, it's not that different than the way it was when Kim was here last time, and it was Arriaga, Kim, and Roman Torres who were all fighting for those two spots. Right.
00:20:08
Speaker
And that's a similar, very similar situation to what we have right now, except the difference being that Jackson Reagan and Yamar are better players than Arriaga and Torres were at that time, I would say.
00:20:20
Speaker
But thats Kim is also more experienced. I mean, it's it's easy to forget that... In between his two stints with the Sounders, Kim was playing very high level play in South Korea with one of the best teams in all of Asia and you know going to Champions League and doing all the you know winning league titles. and and i mean He was a starter with those teams. He was a best 11 player in Korea just a year ago. So it's not like he he came in like limping in here.
00:20:48
Speaker
So he's a very good player.
Adaptation of New Signings
00:20:50
Speaker
Anyway, I think these are great problems to have. ah The other thing that's been really interesting in these last couple weeks, I think, has just been the way that Jesus Ferreira has settled into a role that seems much more comfortable.
00:21:04
Speaker
You know, he's still not, you know, we talked about this on on the main No Saudiazza show earlier this week. He's not necessarily the player we thought he was gonna be, but he is, he can be an effective player.
00:21:15
Speaker
yeah And he looks he's looked really good playing as more of a 10 and more of a facilitator than as sort of the point of the spear. Yeah, and it all goes with something that we've also talked about off-camera, which is now we're seeing him with specific players yeah that in one way or another amplify his game.
00:21:36
Speaker
um We don't need to repeat what he said about Pedro and the way he kind of vibes with him, but you're also talking about guys that could potentially, once Jordan Morris is available, I think he things might change a little bit as well. So, specifically to Ferreira, I think that his effort on and off the ball has been outstanding. I feel like his understanding of the team has gotten so much clearer, so much better.
00:22:05
Speaker
i mentioned this on Monday on Loving Scorchers kickoff. When Pedro makes that unreal thread the needle pass to Ferreira inside the box, Ferrer immediately makes the turn, and he's already looking at where Paul Rothrock has consistently been making those prime scoring position runs in that back end, and once he sees it, he just puts it there.
00:22:30
Speaker
That is understanding, and he he's already looking for it. There was another instance where he actually gets a ball down from Obed, and then he makes a pass all the way to the other side of Pedro, and Again, it's it seems like he's slowly sinking in.
00:22:48
Speaker
And just the idea that, like in this one, he played on the left pocket. He had been playing on the right pocket for the majority of of the time that he played in the two-cam position. I thought he played well on the left side. And then there were times that him and Pedro would switch, which creates this balance, which is awesome.
00:23:05
Speaker
So I just think that... his adaptation is starting to be more evident and that will slowly reflect on his play because he is a guy that, in my opinion, goes off of very instinctive play. He wants to. very smart player He's a very smart player. smart player. And I think Christian Roldan mentioned it this week where I think people, he said, I think people don't realize what good of a passer he is.
00:23:33
Speaker
And I think he's right. And although he was brought in as somebody that maybe should have been playing a little bit higher, ah I still think that under this formation, with this set of players, he's going to be...
00:23:47
Speaker
an X factor in some games. And, you know, if he needs to be on the bench, if he needs to be a rotational player, I don't think it'll go to that extent. But at the same time, I feel like he could hold that. And he's so mature.
00:24:00
Speaker
He looks like he is buying in to what his coach's time is feeding him. And to me, those are all good things of a player that I think is eventually going to shine. Yeah, I would agree with all that. I also point out that there was a good moment late in that game where he made a run into the box that Ryan Kent spotted.
00:24:21
Speaker
Didn't quite connect, but it was the kind of little movement in and around the box that we don't yeah haven't seen the Sounders making a whole lot. And it was good to see a player recognizing the run that Ferreira was making there.
00:24:34
Speaker
And it was also a little peek into the creativity of Ryan Kent, who... you know we didn't see We only saw about 10 minutes, but I think we saw a lot of the same stuff that we saw from him in training.
00:24:45
Speaker
And it was good to see it translating out onto the field. It'll be interesting to see how that evolves. But we're going to take a break. We're going to talk a little bit about the Tacoma Defiance. who There were some developments with the ah ticketing situation, we understand, for the Open Cup.
00:25:01
Speaker
And yeah, we'll be right back. And you'll listen Notos Alietes.
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00:25:08
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:26:09
Speaker
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Speaker
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Match Preview: Sounders vs. Colorado Rapids
00:27:51
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Arietes. We're doing what we learned this week with Nico. And going into this week is going to be a big game for the Sounders. A big test, I think. Maybe the Sounders' biggest test of the year, I guess, depends on how you look at it.
00:28:07
Speaker
But they're going to be playing the Rapids. A Rapids team who is... is looking good, ah who's been a little up and down, who look like they're maybe going through a formation change, but the Sounders are also catching a little bit of a break because Zach Steffen picked up two yellow cards after essentially after the game and their own previous game, and he's gonna be suspended for this one.
00:28:29
Speaker
And it looks like the goalkeeper in his place is a player, a pretty limited player with just MLS Next Pro experience, a guy named Nico Hansen.
00:28:41
Speaker
It's not 100% sure who's going to start, but it that it's looks like it's between him and Adam Beaudry, who is a youth in our U.S. youth youth international. Neither one of them are very experienced. I think Beaudry might be carrying some kind of knock, though.
00:28:54
Speaker
But, yeah, this is a ah pretty good opportunity for the Sounders. If they can get a road point or a road win, ideally, that's a lot of that. Now we're really getting some momentum going. Yeah. And I think that should be.
00:29:11
Speaker
the mentality and I overheard, and i don't know if it's the first time I've heard him say this, but it really popped out, but Brian categorized this Colorado team as a beatable team. He was like, they're a beatable team. And that that kind of popped out. And I hope I'm not misquoting him here, but I'm pretty sure he said that. And, I mean, I guess it's an absolute opportunity to beat this Colorado team without Zach Steffen, with a team that can definitely challenge goalkeepers because if we've seen anything from this...
00:29:44
Speaker
Sounders team from Dallas to Nashville is their willingness to take mid-range shots, yeah their ability to get to certain positions, to challenge defenders.
00:29:56
Speaker
This Colorado team is very different than Nashville in terms of pressing, but in their in in their buildup, their offensive attack, it's somewhat similar. We'll talk a little bit about, you know, their most talented players or the players to watch.
00:30:10
Speaker
But when it comes to the Sounders and this opportunity, It has to be one that you take as we're going to go in here and we're going to go for three. If we get one, awesome.
00:30:20
Speaker
But we're going to go for three. We want to keep this momentum going. We just beat a very good Nashville team at home. We play well on the road. Let's see how it works out. So ah when it comes to Colorado, I look at three players.
00:30:36
Speaker
One. is ah Rafa Navarro or Navajo, depending on how you say how you want to say it. But he is an athlete and he's a clever runner and he does not stop. He presses well, he's all over the field, he's gonna come in and out, he's gonna be hard to gauge.
00:30:55
Speaker
Something that the Sounders i have issues in the past with, so that has to be a point of emphasis for this Sounders back line. He is their most dangerous player, without a doubt.
00:31:06
Speaker
I think that his link-up play and his passing is a little bit underrated. But when he's in the 18, when he's in the box, that is where he's more dangerous because he's going to put the ball in the back of the net. Not necessarily what we saw against Houston because I watched the whole night again this morning just to make sure I had a better idea on this team. And Colorado should have ended that half.
00:31:30
Speaker
Three won. okay And they didn't because Navarro missed couple of opportunities. Georgie missed one. Yappie has one where he gets greedy and he has Georgie in the box by himself. He does not pass the ball.
00:31:44
Speaker
So these teams can create a lot of problems. But it all starts with Navarro because of everything he does offensively. The other guy that I thought shined, and it's not because he's our old friend and old ah you know guy we used to see here,
00:31:58
Speaker
Josh Atencio was so good in the last two games for Colorado. In this one, he sets up Navarro twice. One with a perfect ball in the 21st minute because he's one of their main outlets when it comes to their build-out. And he puts a ball on a dime behind the the ah defensive line for Houston.
00:32:19
Speaker
And Navarro once again misses that shot. ah But what he does for them on the ball, in distribution, he's also that guy that consistently help out Vines because Vines is the guy that consistently gets forward for ah Colorado. On the left side. On the left side, whether it's Georgie or Bassett because they do switch out.
00:32:41
Speaker
Whoever's on the left side is going to tuck in and Vines is going to push out. He's going to be the widest guy. And the guy that covers is Atencio. And he did it so well in the last two games. So he's another player to watch. And finally, usually I will leave this one for Zach Steffen.
00:32:56
Speaker
um But we're going to do that third one for Mihaljevic. Obviously, the brains of the operation, as we heard from Brian today, he's the guy that is the creative player. Not just that, but he is killer on set pieces.
00:33:09
Speaker
You do not want to give this guy a chance on top of the 18 with a soft foul. So something to be mindful of. But beyond that is just his connectivity. Him and Navarro are starting to get a report.
00:33:22
Speaker
And that's some that's a connection that if I'm Brian Dismatcher, I want to... limit I want to minimize. I want to destroy. i do not want to make sure that there's a rhythm between georgie Jordi and Mihaljevic and Navarro. So those are the three guys that I think are the players to watch for this specific match.
00:33:41
Speaker
Yeah, and I'll just add, this is a team that has recently changed formations slightly. They had been playing like a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, and now they've moved to sort of a 4-2-2-2, which is very similar to what the ah which what Nashville is doing, but what essentially does is it puts a second forward up top with Navajo, and then you have ah Bassett and Mihailovic sitting beneath them, and then you have Atencio and...
00:34:09
Speaker
Oh, I forget his name. Why am I blanking his He was very good. he he he has He's more of the disruptor. right He does a lot of that, you know getting winning the ball back, ah doing the simple work of just leaving it, whether it's on one side to Bassett or maybe dropping it ah to the back line because they do go direct.
00:34:29
Speaker
They are not afraid to get the ball forward in a moment's notice. And that's something that Seattle is going to have to be careful when they're selectively high on their press. um I'm curious on how that's going to work for this specific game because we know that Colorado is going to press, but Seattle at times, uh, not all the time. They can be very selective with it. How do they play this game will be interesting. Brian talked about how the ball lifts and how they do go direct.
00:34:56
Speaker
So he clearly knows that that's something that they're going to use against this team. So how does that work out is going to be interesting, but Colorado, a top team. What I like most about them is that every single player on that field is quality.
00:35:08
Speaker
Uh, Defensively, not so much, but on the ball, there's so much talent. Reggie Cannon, Vines, I mean, you go but with Bassett, everybody can move it well.
00:35:19
Speaker
What I do think is that Seattle's going to have... some moments to exploit the space behind Vines and at times the space behind Reggie. It felt like the the the biggest issues that they've had this season is controlling the flanks and the wide play. And that's where the Seattle Sounders have looked amazing. Right. So I feel like Seattle can really hurt this Colorado team as long as there's balance, as long as they're disciplined, and as long as they don't start off this game slow.
00:35:50
Speaker
And that this will be the last thing I'll because I feel like I'm talking way too much. No. This Colorado team starts off like a cannonball. I mean, it's like a bullet off a gun. ah Like I said, they put ah Houston in a lot of issues.
00:36:04
Speaker
They just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. Houston actually ends up ah getting the lead first. But they start off the game with a lot of intensity, playing you right forward, trying to get you on your heels.
00:36:16
Speaker
So Seattle's going to have to be mindful of that. Yeah, it's going to be a very... This is a real challenging matchup, I think, for the Sounders. I mean, it's a good test. This is not a team that's going to sit back and absorb, which I think the Sounders have actually looked better this year, the last couple years, really, when teams want to play, when teams want to press them a little bit.
00:36:36
Speaker
And the Sounders do have a history of success at Colorado. They're 10-5-2 all-time two all time there They've won their last two trips to to Colorado. You know, it's it's it's a place where the Sounders should feel like they can get a result, especially with a backup goalkeeper.
00:36:52
Speaker
You know, we asked Brian today about testing the goalkeeper early. He didn't, you know, he's like, sure, maybe you take a couple extra shots. But ultimately, you want to be getting into into good shooting positions.
00:37:03
Speaker
Yeah, and testing them with, like, crossing the ball early. That's more, I think that's probably a better test than just taking some long-distance shots. The biggest problem with the goalkeeper is how he handles his box and how he handles that range of, come when am I going to come out? So set pieces, hopefully, for the Seattle Sounders' ability to get a result.
00:37:22
Speaker
They're going to have to be dangerous with those balls. And, you know, if we're thinking that... Albert Rusnak's not in. I'm not really sure if there's a better guy for set pieces when he comes to
Trade Insights: Josh Atencio to Colorado
00:37:34
Speaker
that. Maybe Ferreira? Maybe Ferreira takes the set pieces. That's ah that's an interesting, I i didn't really look into that too much. Who's been taking set pieces when Rusnak is out? I guess it's probably Ferreira. I think Ferraris is one of them. But again, I would like to see them utilize that.
00:37:49
Speaker
A guy that I think could come off the bench and be killer on set pieces Danny Leyva, who's got him some minutes this season. But it's go to be interesting. But ah we cannot not talk about Josh Atencio. I mean, it sounded like Christian Roldan knows, and Stephen Fry also knows that he's going to go out here and want to play his heart out. Yeah. i mean i mean, he was not, based on everything we heard, he was taken by surprise when he found out he was being traded.
00:38:17
Speaker
it didn't sound like the Sounders had been actively trying to make it happen. But the story, that as I understand it, is that the crew had been particularly aggressive about trying to get...
00:38:30
Speaker
Josh Atencio, and it finally got to the point where the Sounders felt like they needed to see what the market would bear, and so they kind of put word out as to what kind of offers they were gonna get. And the Rapids ended up coming with a very strong offer, I think it ended up being about 1.3 million and total in GAM.
00:38:46
Speaker
And so that's ah the sound I think this is one of those situations, and I've said it before, that it ends up looking like a win-win-win where yeah the Sounders get some extra got some real assets out of it The Rapids get a player who has some upside.
00:38:59
Speaker
And frankly, Atencio gets a very clear path to playing time, which did not exist here. no I mean, the reality is that he had been moved to center back. I don't know that he would have been playing at all, like literally. no If he had stayed at center back, which also suggests that he had kind of slipped down the defensive midfielder depth chart a little bit, or at least the Sounders felt comfortable with other players there.
00:39:23
Speaker
ah in the you know In the last two years, they had essentially moved. Christian Roldan back there. Xiao Paolo was coming back. They also have Danny Leyva. Snyder Brunel has also started to emerge as a player who might be getting some minutes there from the Defiance.
00:39:36
Speaker
It made sense for everyone. That doesn't mean that... Josh Atensio might be perfectly happy with how this worked out. That doesn't mean he won't be very motivated to show the Sounders they made a mistake. Absolutely, and that's exactly it because I totally agree.
00:39:49
Speaker
Watching Josh Atencio over the last couple of games with Colorado, I don't think that there's anything he's doing that would surprise us because we know his potential, but he's just doing it so consistently because he's getting the minutes. He's been a starter just about every game. It doesn't matter who's next to him because he's done well ah with ah Fernandez, who's now in Portland. Omir Fernandez. I mean, Fernandez is now in Portland.
00:40:13
Speaker
ah He did well. ah he does I think the best of his work, obviously, ah with Laris next to him because he's more of the disruptor. But, man, I just feel like his ceiling continues to get high because of the situation. He's a very good player. i mean, that's the thing is that I don't think anyone really ever doubted his ability.
00:40:32
Speaker
And it was really just... circumstance after circumstance kept kind of conspiring against him, being able to get consistent minutes here. I don't know if he ever got, I mean, I think he started eight straight games now for the Rapids. I don't know if he ever started eight straight games for the Sounders. That'd be something to look at, but I can't think of eight in a row. Right. I don't think so. i felt like it would there was always a rotating door. There was always something that would, a little injury here or another player would emerge there.
00:40:59
Speaker
But I, Again, I think he's going be very motivated for this. This is the team he grew up watching. This is the team he grew he played with since he was like 13 years old. there's gonna be This is very similar to Jesus Ferreira going to Dallas. And I just really didn't ask Brian about it, but I guess his answer would have been very cliche anyways. Yeah. Yeah, you know. ah We know we understand the game, and he got a better opportunity. I don't know if there's anything that he would have said differently, but it is interesting how it will play out. So we planned to have him in this show.
00:41:33
Speaker
We didn't, but maybe we should do it next week. Maybe we should talk to him after the game and figure out, you know, what that was like, his experience, maybe have a little deep conversation. They do have another game against the Sounders come later in the year, so maybe that's another opportunity okay Should we save it or should we do it next week? what do you I don't know. We'll talk about that. We'll talk we'll talk talk about that off air. That'd be interesting just because i really want to you know pick his brain ah on on how everything played out Because like you said, he got the best of both worlds, if you will. But you know there's got to be a little sense of like, man, what if I could have done it over there. Right, exactly.
00:42:09
Speaker
Well, on a totally different subject, it looks
Tacoma Defiance Open Cup Preparations
00:42:13
Speaker
like there's going to be some developments coming out soon with the Defiance game against the Timbers in the Open Cup, which isn't until next... It's it's still a week away from...
00:42:25
Speaker
It's not this coming Tuesday, but the Tuesday after that. But that's a pretty enticing matchup. And from what I understand, the Sounders have been going kind of back and forth as to whether or not they would sell tickets for that game. Now, if you don't know, ah traditionally the way it works for Defiance games and the way it's worked in the first three Open Cup games,
00:42:44
Speaker
is that if you're a Sounders ah Alliance member, meaning a season ticket holder or someone who just buys an Alliance membership, you would get free access to Defiance games. You just show your Alliance card or proof of membership or whatever and you get in.
00:42:59
Speaker
ah For everyone else, you could get in just by giving a donation to the Rave Foundation. And so there's not really a formal ticketing process for that. And from what I understood is that the Sounders originally thought that's just how they would do this game for the Timbers.
00:43:14
Speaker
And then there was some internal discussion. Maybe that's not the best idea. to me I don't think that's that would have not have been a particularly good idea because you you're going to have some number of Timbers fans coming up.
00:43:27
Speaker
You're going to have ah reason ah presumably a decent group of ECS folks. And regardless of how many other people come, just the fact that there's going to Portland folks and ecia a decent ECS group, yes I think you're going to need some level of security. And not that it's going to go crazy. but You just want to have some controls in place. so My understanding is that they are going to do, they're going to start selling tickets through Ticketmaster relatively soon. But I think that my understanding is they've made that decision i am I hope this game gets treated like a big deal because it feels like it has potential to be a really fun matchup, especially for the Sounders, who I would assume are treating this like a house money game where if they lose to the Timbers, big deal, their second team lost to the Timbers, but if they win,
00:44:17
Speaker
Those are like permanent bragging rights. Absolutely. For the rest of their lives. And right yeah this is the Tacoma Defiance team that has the momentum, has some confidence. And I'll tell you right now that there is no more dangerous matchup for a top team, regardless of what it is, Arsenal, Manchester United.
00:44:36
Speaker
Anytime that they play a smaller team, it's that... there's There's no... They're going out with nothing to lose. right A team that goes in there with nothing to lose is a dangerous team. The Rosario has been hot.
00:44:48
Speaker
and You know... Georgie's played with them last year. Peter Kingston seems to be like a... He plays like a man. ah You know, this is something that, hey... if um I'm curious what the Timbers will bring and how that will play out. But regardless of, I think your point is well taken.
00:45:05
Speaker
And I really hope that there's enough measures because you don't want to be reactive through the bad situation. You want to be proactive. It's better to be better prepared, have more security than you need. And nothing happens. And nothing happens. Nothing happens. It's all good and well. All right. We wasted an extra couple of dollars.
00:45:22
Speaker
But if something happens and it's on you and because you you were prepared. Or negligent, which is worse than, man, that's just a bad look. So i ah um you brought this up. I had honestly no idea. As always, you're so connected when it comes to this sort of situation. But as soon as you mentioned it, my mind went to that.
00:45:39
Speaker
if If things happen and there's negligence on the part of ray ultimately the sounders, because that's the organization. No, absolutely. It's it's the sounders. If something goes wrong, the sounders are going to have to own it. And to me, the if for no other reason, even if you don't think that many fans are going to come, I just think it would be a big mistake not to be prepared just in case something did happen. Because ah that's the world we live in. It's like you just never know what's going happen. I don't think anyone expected the red card wedding to turn out the way that it did. And can you imagine if they didn't have all the security in place they need that they had in place? That could have been a real nightmare so situation.
00:46:16
Speaker
And not that this is has the potential to be the same thing, but there's always, anytime two rivals play, there's always potential for something to go off the rails. And I think especially in a situation like this,
00:46:29
Speaker
It would just be silly to not be prepared. Or maybe even more, like you said, I mean, if let's say there is a lesser crowd that is here for Tacoma Defiance and there's a huge crowd for the Timbers. Oh, that be even worse in some ways. That could be even worse because it could honestly motivate him even more to be more aggressive, to be more difficult. So again, none of us are saying here that that's going to be something that's going to happen.
00:46:53
Speaker
But I really hope that the Sounders, as an organization, are prepared for it. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Absolutely. 110%.
Nico Moreno's Content Promotion
00:47:00
Speaker
Well, I think that's probably a good place to call this a show.
00:47:04
Speaker
ah Nico, thanks again for doing this. I love doing these weekly check-ins with you. Where can people find your stuff? As always, Puzo Sports on YouTube, Puzo Sports on the social media in general.
00:47:19
Speaker
ah Thursdays with... Soccer down here on Thursdays with Nico, Thursdays 7.30 to 8.10, 8.15. age fifteen Mondays, of course, on Lobby's Courters, Lobby's Courters kickoff. We've had a lot of interaction. great great Great show for you guys to watch it, of course, every time here.
00:47:38
Speaker
Appreciate all the comments, everybody getting on. ah The only thing that I think I have on my notes that we might have missed is just ah Jackson Reagan has been doing some very light work, obviously still, you know,
00:47:50
Speaker
Quite a few weeks away. ah Leo Burnley, hamstring. I don't know why he's been so injured so consistently. He has been dealing with one thing after another, seems. Yeah, so he has a hamstring. He's been off. Not like he was going to be maybe a guy for the Sounders. But but for Defiance. Defiance is definitely something to watch. and That's all I have. Yeah. All right. Well, that's good stuff.
00:48:10
Speaker
I am Jeremiah Chan signing off for Nos Adiates, which is part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. We'll catch you next time.
00:48:40
Speaker
I expect an LAFC who's motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really ruin the party.
00:48:54
Speaker
You guys like that? and ah what Awkward joke, dad joke right there, huh?