Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Kickoff: Seattle Sounders Feeling ENERGIZED after Club World Cup
337 Plays21 days ago
It was a big three points for the Seattle Sounders in Matchday 21, as Jesús Ferreira and Danny Musovski powered a 2-0 victory over Austin FC at Lumen Field. With Jordan Morris getting healthy, can the Rave Green parlay this into momentum for a charge up the table as the stretch run of the season begins?
SPONSORS
Haxan Ferments - Specializing in unique, small-batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars, Haxan Ferments is handcrafted in Georgetown and made with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest. Use Code LS for a FREE Hot Sauce w/ purchase!
Sounder at Heart - Our network host and biggest supporter, Sounder at Heart covers the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, and MUCH MORE! Subscribe and Support to the BEST independent Seattle Soccer coverage.
Podium Edmonds - Located at 114 4th Ave N, just off Main Street in the heart of Downtown Edmonds, come shop and explore the best menswear in the Pacific Northwest. Tell them Lobbing Scorchers sent you!
Full Pull Wines - Founded in 2009, they the best boutique wines of the world to members, with special focus on our home, the Pacific Northwest.
My Data Removal - Data brokers are selling your personal information! Fight back with My Data Removal. Hunt down and scrub your sensitive information from the internet. Use code "LS" for $10 off your annual plan.
Seattle Sounders Tickets - Get tickets to an upcoming match straight from the club and help support the show at the same time.
MLS Season Pass - MLS Season Pass is back on Apple TV with access to every single MLS match—including Leagues Cup and the entire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs—with no blackouts! Subscribe today to support the show.
MLS Store - New year, new gear! The 2025 MLS jerseys are here, and MLSStore is the ultimate destination for every fan. Every purchase helps support our show!
Follow Lobbing Scorchers:
Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Preview
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. What, the scorcher today? Well, it's gonna be
00:00:44
Speaker
Good morning, everybody, and welcome in to a special Tuesday edition of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff. I'm Ari. That's Nico. We got a great show for you here on this Tuesday morning.
Seattle Sounders and League Matches
00:00:56
Speaker
We're going to be talking about the Seattle Sounders return to league play from the Club World Cup, which was a successful return against Austin FC, a 2-0 victory. We're going talking about the Columbus crew a little bit. That's Seattle's next opponent coming up on Sunday Night Soccer.
00:01:12
Speaker
And we're going to be talking a little more Club World Cup. All the and MLS teams have been eliminated. But ah that's what we're going to be talking about. Inter Miami. They played PSG, which is a pretty good team that Seattle just played.
00:01:25
Speaker
Didn't go that well for them either. And it actually went worse. So we're going to go over our takeaways on that front. ah Nico, how are you doing? Hey, what's going on, Ari? Excited to be back on on a Tuesday today. Obviously, we had to move things around a little bit, but we are back on, and it is after a big Sounders win. So, man, that's always a plus. It's on a Sounders win with a Ferreira goal, which is even better for our discourse because we know how many people love Jesus Ferreira in the chat.
Jesus Ferreira's Performance Analysis
00:02:00
Speaker
So it's going to be is's gonna be an interesting topic. But, man, all in all, Feeling pretty good. We're going talking about Jesus Ferreira. We are certainly going to be talking about Jesus Ferreira.
00:02:11
Speaker
ah But I think there's there's a lot of stuff outside of just Jesus Ferreira to talk about with this game. I mean, you had Alex Roldan playing center back. ah You had Moose taking on defenders with 30-yard runs, scoring goals.
00:02:25
Speaker
ah You had RBW getting sent off at the end. So ah we're going to get all your thoughts on all that, Nico. uh mongo no it's uh it's not moved to tuesday permanently it's just for it's just for this week normally good question normally it's good next week it'll be going back to uh monday same time 8 a.m uh but uh nico let's uh let's talk about this austin fc game to start it off it was uh a relatively comfortable 2-0 win for the seattle sounders which uh i think i think the center back situation is a good place to start because i'm not gonna lie uh going into this game austin fc it it's not like they are have been a juggernauts opponent this year i think coming off of this game they have the fewest goals scored in mls
00:03:18
Speaker
So ordinarily, if you're taking them on at a relatively full strength at home, you're going to be the favorite. But you only had one healthy center back. Alex Roldan was training there as the starter in the week leading up to the game. So it seemed pretty clear that that's what they were going to go with with Cody Baker backing him up.
00:03:38
Speaker
But how did you feel about that, Nico, going into the game, having having a center back that had never played there before in MLS, even a player as versatile as Alex Roldan?
00:03:49
Speaker
To me, i thought it would probably go OK, but it's it's just always dicey when. ah when you have anybody playing a position in MLS for the first time that they've never done it before.
00:04:01
Speaker
ah Stefan Fry was talking about like kind of the similarities and differences and how you need to approach it as a wide back versus a center back. ah But Alex Roldan turned out to, i thought he was pretty lights out. He didn't, I don't think he put a foot wrong. What did you make of ah how they handled that situation and then ah how it ended up going on the field, like relative to how you thought it would go?
00:04:22
Speaker
Look, we're going into the game. I had a lot of doubts, right? I mean, I knew that Alex Rodon was going to be able to help out in the build out because he is good on the ball, because he has a good foot, because he is used to picking up the ball and in in tight spaces and do a lot of great things with it. I think he's a very...
00:04:42
Speaker
intelligent defender and he positions himself well. But when he comes to moving from your usual position, even Alex Rodan has had some issues by just transferring to the left side as a left back.
00:04:57
Speaker
So in my mind, I'm like, oh, you know, he's had those struggles just moving from where he usually picks up the ball, where he usually like triggers certain moments. But My biggest concern was his size, his size going against the guys like Brandon Vasquez, even on set pieces. I asked Steph about it. And of course, he said that's when they're least concerned because they can move and shift players to certain positions.
00:05:22
Speaker
But you're still losing another guy that isn't great on the air. So ah my concerns were mainly set pieces and things of that nature. But going into the game, i thought he was lights out, man. I thought that he himself, people he put himself in great positions.
00:05:39
Speaker
He intercepted a couple of balls. ah He was great as we thought he was going to be coming out of the back. um He was physical, ah but I really do believe that a lot of The work was also done away from Alex Roldan, was not allowing services into the box the way that Brian kind of planned it out They did a great job at pushing Brando Baskets outside ah of the box, out of the 18. Even when he would go and pick up the ball, he wasn't in Brian's scoring positions.
00:06:10
Speaker
And that just makes everybody's load a little bit easier. Brian Smetzer made mention of Jackson Reagan. I thought Jackson Reagan did a great job as well as just kind of being that other guy that would help Alex ah just brace the the the the attack.
00:06:27
Speaker
I also thought it was a little bit odd that Austin once again went with Owen Wolf that, you know, he kind of jumps back a little bit more. ah He's more of like a false nine or or like more of a creative player.
00:06:39
Speaker
He's a 4-4-2, but he really didn't really look like a 4-4-2. Wasn't effective for... Austin in that sense. So I really do think that they made Seattle's life a little bit easier with some of their choices ah in that attack, but it doesn't take a away from the credit that we're giving the Seattle Sounders today for being able to hold up a guy like Brandon Vasquez.
00:07:02
Speaker
And again, going back to Al Jordan, I thought that he, like you said, don't think he set a bad foot on the un field. He made every right choice, every right decision. he was usually in in the right place.
00:07:15
Speaker
Set pieces were not an issue, which once again, I was very concerned about it starting off. So, man, it really makes you appreciate a guy like Alex Roldan that's done it all. He's kind of like the Brad Evans that, you know, has done absolutely everything for this team.
00:07:32
Speaker
ah Goalkeeper, defender, attacker, midfielder. I mean, he's done absolutely everything. And he did it great, man. I do believe that, and I understand people who talk about, know,
00:07:43
Speaker
while this Austin team wasn't great. ah So on that defensive end, I'll give it to you. at the This Austin FC was dead last and on goals. I believe they were tied with ah Montreal.
00:07:57
Speaker
They were bottom, if not last, almost last and when it comes to the XG. So this is a team that struggled to be good on offense.
00:08:09
Speaker
I still don't understand how Austin did so much to get rid of ah Wolf, and then they bring in a guy like Nico Steves that had already failed in Dallas. I just feel like he's his attack, his principles to get the ball forward, kind of the same that they were in Dallas, and it's just slow, and is and it is not effective. So in that regard, I'll give you guys that.
00:08:36
Speaker
We'll talk about the attack, I'm sure, here in a little bit, and that's a totally different subject when it comes to this Austin team. Yeah, no, ah they definitely are a team that has struggled a lot in attack this year, but ah still credit to the defense for keeping that clean sheet with your seventh choice center her back. I don't care who you're playing. You still got to you still gotta get it done when you're that deep down on the... ah on the depth chart.
00:09:03
Speaker
So that was good to see. I mean, Brandon Vasquez, that's a guy who, uh, he hasn't really fully gotten going with Austin FC, but like you mentioned, he's still a big physical presence and a proven, uh, MLS goal score.
00:09:18
Speaker
And ah there were there for most of the game, I low key forgot that Brandon Vasquez was even on the field. So that's, uh, anytime you can say that, about the opposing teams, number nine.
00:09:29
Speaker
That's a good day at the office on defense. And as Reese points out here, never seen Reagan put up such a good headed defensive performance. Yeah, Jackson Reagan. I think, I feel like Jackson Reagan's been in really good form, which has been important given all the injuries in the position group.
00:09:42
Speaker
So, as far as this game defensively, i really, i feel like Austin only really got anything going in the attacking end right at the end of the game.
00:09:55
Speaker
a little bit before the RBW red card, they had some nice sequences of play, put Seattle under a little bit of pressure, but they're chasing the game at the end there. And then you're closing out the game a man down because of the RBW red card.
00:10:06
Speaker
ah So that is a that is a good clean sheet for the defense. Let's talk about the offense, Nico. But before we do that, ah Bad Sequels coming in with the $5 Super Chat. Appreciate you, Bad Sequels.
00:10:18
Speaker
Happy July to my two favorite guys. Yeah. Happy July to you as well. Bad sequels. Happy to July to everyone watching. ah It's the ah it's the stretch run of the season.
00:10:29
Speaker
The Sounders are fighting for a top four spot in the West. ah They're not it's I don't think they're like in the shield mix or anything, but if you're in the mix for top four home playoff games, I think that's the baseline of where you want to be at this point in the season and winning this game. They were able to ah fully keep themselves in that mix, not lose any ground in that regard.
00:10:52
Speaker
And so it's big for that reason, but also just vibes wise. I feel like for a team that had technically lost five straight games across all comps, the vibes were actually pretty high going into this game just because you could feel that the players were, were vibing on that experience of getting to play these teams, Botafogo, Atletico Madrid, and, uh,
00:11:14
Speaker
and PSG going out there and competing against those teams. It must've been, they must've been having a blast and you can, you can feel that vibe permeating the team right now. And they managed to manifest that into a good performance and a good win in their first game back against Austin. So that's all good.
00:11:31
Speaker
ah And, Part of that is Jesus Ferreira. Nico looks to be getting going. He scores the game winner against San Diego FC a couple weeks ago. He gets another goal to open the scoring against Austin, which that was an important goal because they were 10 seconds from going into half of that game at 0-0.
00:11:52
Speaker
Shout out to the referee, Tim Biltford tough. He plays advantage. ah He played a lot of advantage in this game, but he played advantage on this sequence that leads to this goal. A great ball from Albert Rusnak over the top to find Paul Rothrock.
00:12:06
Speaker
ah paul And then Paul Rothrock, I thought, was excellent in this game. He gets the primary assist on this goal, frees up the space, taking on his defender, sends that cross to the far post.
00:12:18
Speaker
And what I think was the most encouraging part of this goal was this was a setup where you had Albert Rusnak and Jesus Ferrer both in that band of three, which we've talk ad nauseum about how that has not looked like it's fit or clicked for most of the season.
00:12:33
Speaker
ah I've been saying that her I feel like Jesus Ferreira, one of his biggest assets, best attributes, is his soccer IQ, his versatility, his adaptability.
00:12:45
Speaker
he's able he Historically throughout his career at FC Dallas, he was able to be plugged into different spots, different roles, depending on the circumstances. And he would eventually figure out how to succeed and be productive in those roles.
00:12:58
Speaker
That had not really happened in Seattle yet, but it was it was early enough. where I was preaching, i was preaching patience. And, you know, it's only two goals and there's still the rest of the season to go, but didn't he just look more comfortable? And I think that run on that goal in particular, that's exactly the type of stuff that wasn't happening earlier this season when he was playing in that wide channel.
00:13:21
Speaker
And the type of stuff that he needed to start doing those spots that he needed to get into crashing that far post, making those runs from that wide spot, not drifting centrally. And he and Rusnak clashing. I thought that whole dynamic is but looked a lot better in this game and has generally been looking better in recent weeks. Anyway, I know that the goal in the San Diego game technically came with him playing a different position. He was the number nine in that game, but I would argue that's even more encouraging because that was like more of a classic, uh, number nine goal. So, uh, it's kind of, you're, I feel like you're starting to see the reason why he can be such a valuable asset, not just for this team, but, uh, but for any team, like I've, I've felt the whole time that, uh,
00:14:07
Speaker
I'll take Jesus Ferreira on my MLS team any day, just because of his track record and his ah his versatility, IQ, all those things that I just mentioned. ah What did you think of Ferreira in this game? He gets the goal. He also gets the primary assist on Moose's goal, which was an excellent goal.
00:14:25
Speaker
pass to to thread him through. He was talking after the game about how he and Moose have developed that understanding of where Moose likes to receive the ball. You could see it on that play. He put it right where where Moose likes it and sets Moose up. It's a great individual play by Moose after he receives the ball.
00:14:43
Speaker
I mean, he was beasting on that run and he makes a great finish to the far post, but he's not able to make that run if it's not a perfectly delivered ball from Jesus Ferreira for him to be able to receive it, pick his head up, and and get going and eventually score.
00:14:58
Speaker
So, ah yeah, one goal, one is su assist for Jesus Ferreira. ah He's at two goals, eight assists, I believe, all comps if you factor in CONCACAF Champions Cup, which you want that goal scoring number to be higher. It needs to get higher ah ah through the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
00:15:16
Speaker
But 10 goal contributions, all comps for a high-tam player. Actually, we're at a situation where the production has been fine and looking like it's on an upward trajectory, hopefully. So, yeah, what did you what did you make of Jesus in this game, Nico?
00:15:31
Speaker
thought Jesus was fantastic in this one, particularly. He was very um effective on the ball. And I know that a lot of people these days are more um impressed by...
00:15:47
Speaker
you know, so some shift in this, a quick, like, you know, fake on the ball, some ah guy getting on the scissors and, ah you know, beating you that way. But Ferreira is a very methodical type of player.
00:16:02
Speaker
And I feel like he's starting to really understand the system. And even when he, like he has in the past, has missed opportunity in front of goal. If you go back and you look at everything else that he does right,
00:16:15
Speaker
is hard to look at one of his game and say, wow, you know, Ferrer was really bad in this one. Maybe he's had a couple where you're like, man, he could have done better, but he always,
00:16:28
Speaker
has great ah passing skills. ah He sees the field excellent. He gets into good positions. I feel like he's becoming more aggressive these days on making the the right the right runs and certain runs that maybe he wasn't making ah month ago.
00:16:43
Speaker
And i once again, I go back to the fact that I think he's starting to create a rapport with players. I feel like he's starting to understand a little bit better system. But in this one in particular, I just thought that he was decisive. And that's something that we've been wanting him to do a lot more, right? Whether it's being more aggressive while when he's at the nine and and he's at goal, taking more shots, but decisiveness, right? In this one, you were talking about the second goal where I believe, i forget who he has on his right side that he could have passed the ball to, but he makes the direct pass to Musovsky. He puts it at his feet.
00:17:21
Speaker
I think that Musovsky, a lot of times he doesn't want to go get the ball, right? he He's not Jordan necessarily. He doesn't want you to lead him on the ball.
00:17:31
Speaker
He wants to be able to get it and then he does the work, right? ah And I feel like he trusts his speed a little bit too much. Like, I feel like he trusts his speed a lot more than than any of us do. And at times it's looked kind of funky. It was like, oh, don't know if he really was going to get out of that with the ball in particularly.
00:17:50
Speaker
But in this one, man, he was just committed. The defender is giving him all the space. He's taking it correctly. makes a move and then crosses, completely crosses the ball on the other side for Stuber where he cannot get it. So Mithowski was very interesting. But the pass by Ferreira is one that he wasn't necessarily making before ah because he was thinking too much. Okay, I don't want to make that pass. Maybe I go i play simple and I push up the field.
00:18:19
Speaker
But that particular play, man, it was exactly where he needed to go with that. He helped that transition moment. And I felt like he did that consistently in this game where he was making more progressive passes.
00:18:31
Speaker
So I just thought that he was great. His goal in particular was also very good. He understands where Paul is even before that. If if you look in and you track the entire play, Ferreira's always looking at where the ball is kind of coming to. And he's reading what the defenders, they're kind of forgetting about Ferreira.
00:18:53
Speaker
Everybody's ball watching, ball watching, ball watching. And he starts to kind of like drift into this pocket of space that never closes down. And that's just, again, a smart player that understands what he's has to be.
00:19:06
Speaker
But the most impressive part is him just putting the ball away. Because I feel like more than one time he's been in the right place. He gets there. But it's just a bad touch on the ball.
00:19:16
Speaker
He doesn't quite get it there. He has one in this game that He's also right in front of goal. He could potentially put it away, but he takes a bad touch. So he's working on that. But putting that ball away in that specific moment in time, like you mentioned, right before the half where it hurts the opposition the most because you're going into halftime and what you were maybe thinking about putting together for the next half, it all goes away. You know, you've got to delete it, try to figure it out what you're goingnna do, what going to be the adjustments.
00:19:46
Speaker
So it was a timely goal, a timely goal by Ferreira. And we're always going to judge him, unfortunately, or poor people are always going to judge him on only goals because that's the way he was almost portrayed so to a certain extent. and And I don't think it's him or anybody necessarily, but because Raul Riediaz was leaving and the necessity coming into this field,
00:20:10
Speaker
Season was goals. You're always going to think of him as that's the only way that he's going to be important for this team. But it really isn't. I mean, his goal contributions this season have been phenomenal, like you just mentioned.
00:20:23
Speaker
I mean, the stats are there, but I really do think that he's becoming a lot more decisive and a lot more aggressive. And that's going to help him out even more moving forward. I think two things are true. ah One of his biggest assets throughout his career has been his skills as a facilitator and a playmaker.
00:20:41
Speaker
And that part of it has pretty much translated. Like the assist numbers are there, but it's also true that the goal scoring to this point in the season has not,
00:20:52
Speaker
been there and for you to maximize the value that you're getting out of the trade in the acquisition, he needs to be scoring goals. I feel like I've been clear enough about that the whole time, ah but ah it's just a matter of if that part of it or or actually ever arrives.
00:21:10
Speaker
And it looks like it's starting to, I think it's, you got two in the last three league games. So that's great to see. And as far as Moose goes, i I thought it was an encouraging moose game as well. This was the most dangerous and most like the moose of that five game goal scoring streak that we've seen in a while.
00:21:27
Speaker
Of course, the goal he did score was was excellent. The way he received the ball, the run that he made, I mean, that's what, 20, 30 yards? Like he solo run sets himself up far apart bar post finish.
00:21:40
Speaker
ah But he also had at least two other very high percentage chances in this game. I have no idea how that one, like right in the second minute or whatever that that was. it wasn't a goal where he chases the ball down over the top and ah and puts that ball on target.
00:21:56
Speaker
Somehow it goes off the post, lands to the Austin defender who whams it off the post again. i don't know what he was doing. That was almost an own goal. but you just You want to see Moose getting in those spots and ah putting the goalkeeper under pressure. He was able to do that in this game a couple times, even outside the goal that he did score. So ah good stuff. like I thought the performance offensively, you only end up with ah with two goals. But as far as the amount of danger they were generating, the quality of chances they were generating...
00:22:26
Speaker
could have had three or four. Even Ryan Kent, when in his substitution, got in on the action with ah ah setting up Ferreira for a chance at what really could have been another goal. So that was also ah that was good to see as well.
00:22:40
Speaker
ah Ryan Kent kind of looking like the Ryan Kent of old, at least on that on that play. Did you have any thoughts there? Well, yeah, ah and and I would say yes, Ken coming off the bench was once again effective.
00:22:53
Speaker
ah But we're forgetting a little bit about Albert. I think Albert Rosnack had a really, really good game. You would talk about that 10-minute chance that Mosavsky puts on the on the post. That's an Albert Rosnack play. And it's interesting because...
00:23:09
Speaker
Seattle was very good on possession. And this is a team that they're a possession based team, but they're hot and cold sometimes with possessions. Sometimes it's really ineffective. Sometimes it's really just backward passes and not progressive.
00:23:23
Speaker
sometimes it's too rushed, which, you know, it's kind of funny that, you know, you go one way or the other, but in this one, it was just right. Like the three little bears, it was, it was just right. And that, that play in the 10th minute, it's the team is getting forward.
00:23:39
Speaker
Albert Rusnak can get past half. ah There's a lot of, Austin players in front of him, so he kind of drops the ball back all the way back to Jackson Reagan. Then he kind of takes his face out wide.
00:23:51
Speaker
Jackson grabs it, gives it right back to Albert Rusnak, and then as Austin shifts and starts pushing forward, you kind of see Danimo Soski get into really good position.
00:24:03
Speaker
He has one defender next to him, but he has his whole left shoulder wide open. He's kind of telling... Albert with his body where he wants the ball. And then Albert just puts it on a dime right on top of the defense.
00:24:18
Speaker
I think Danny Masoski put himself out in a very good position to bring the ball down. He takes his space and puts that ball in the in the post. But all of it happens because of Albert Westman. So Albert, the pass to Rothrock was very good as well.
00:24:32
Speaker
I thought that he had a very good game in terms of Link-up play, ah understanding when to put through balls, and then how dangerous and how high percentage these passes were when they were moving forward.
Player Performances and Team Challenges
00:24:45
Speaker
So I think Misowski had a very good game, probably the best that I've seen him.
00:24:50
Speaker
ah There's that chance. there's the He has like a half volley. He tries. ah But beyond that, he was just he was so aggressive. He was really making this Austin defense work.
00:25:01
Speaker
And we talked about Austin, right? Not very impressive on offense. But what does that mean necessarily? Well, not necessarily always, but if you look at what their understandings, they haven't been very good offensively, but they have been very good defensively.
00:25:14
Speaker
They have been very good. They are, think, second in goals allowed in the Western Conference. And it just has been very good. theyve They have a lot of numbers back. They make it really complicated.
00:25:25
Speaker
They overpopulate ah the position wherever ah you want your players to kind of get those half spaces. They don't give you a lot of half spaces. ah They're a good defensive team. And I thought that Musavsky's work rate um where he was putting his himself in, the position he was putting himself in, and the play by Paul Rothrock and Alba Rosnack, as well as Ferreira, just kind of made it all perfect to really break down the team that, as I mentioned, does a very good job at just having a lot of numbers behind the ball.
00:25:56
Speaker
So in that sense, I was very encouraged to say, well, we've been concerned about Seattle's attack and their effectiveness in front of goal.
00:26:06
Speaker
And in this one, it was very good in all ends. I'm glad you brought it up. It was a good game for Albert Rusnak. Those balls he was putting in over the top were we're on point.
00:26:18
Speaker
ah he He sets up that that first Moose run and and the Rothrock run. And I think what's a like what's exciting about that is that Jordan Morris made his return in this game. And we already know that he and Albert Rusnak have a pretty good connection, sometimes excellent connection, on plays like that, balls over the top, through balls.
00:26:41
Speaker
ah So as Jordan gets fit, hopefully, and stays on the field, works his way back into the fold, if you have Rusnak in form in that role as ah as a facilitator, i think you're going to see both of those guys ah start racking their numbers. I mean, they showed that they didn't that last year, and that it just hasn't really...
00:27:01
Speaker
i come to fruition this year because Jordan hasn't been able to stay on the field. ah But he he says he feels good now. He made it through this game all right. And i'm ah I'm looking forward to seeing that connection kind of take hold again.
00:27:13
Speaker
And hopefully it'll out ah offer a boost to this this offense going into this stretch run of games. ah Let's hit a couple from chat here, Nico. I got one for you from ah Steve Davies.
00:27:24
Speaker
He asks a question for Nico. We heard from Craig at the business meeting that he is negotiating with players with offers from a ah four five league in Europe, probably Italy or France thoughts.
00:27:38
Speaker
ah Yeah, I think I, I started in this show um or if not on, on my Friday show with Jeremiah, that the team has been trying to bring in a U22 player that they have not,
00:27:54
Speaker
being able to secure the players because I think they're having a hard time competing on the economic component that's as important as anything else.
00:28:05
Speaker
But they've been trying, even in the 10-day window, they were trying to get guy here quickly enough, but they just haven't been successful. I said that there was a Serie forward, ah one that wasn't necessarily a starter, but that was a very interesting player.
00:28:23
Speaker
ah one that I obviously don't have the green light to share, but at the same time, it's encouraging that the team was trying to go and get that specific player for me. i mean, not for you guys, because you know who he is.
00:28:34
Speaker
But at the same time, ah this is the way where they've been going.
00:28:41
Speaker
ah Without saying too much, they've been ah scouting Europe heavily, ah including the team, you twenty one WEFA ah the tournament.
00:28:55
Speaker
ah So they've been really looking down there and they have had a lot of ah guys that they thought have all the marks, right? They they check all the boxes. they They have a list of things that they want that forward to get, but they haven't been able to secure them. Now, it's good that they're not settling. And I know nobody wants to hear this, but ah in in more than one of these conversations,
00:29:21
Speaker
occasions they could have settled for a player that maybe wasn't the guy that they went out there to look for and they haven't right because Craig has said consistently that whoever they bring in he wants that player to be better than whatever he has in the clubhouse in the bench or he's going to come in and perform uh that he's not just going to come in just to sit and uh I feel like that's the right way to go. Why bring in a player right now that is going to lock you in for two, three years, that's going to lock up salary, that's going to lock up a U22 spot if you're not really certain on.
00:29:58
Speaker
ah Now, the other end of that coin is that it's very obvious to me. that the budget is not great. And ah Jeremiah has said it himself in in our show that he's you know i've been told that the budget has actually a decreased rather than increased.
00:30:15
Speaker
And that puts you in a bad situation when it comes to the negotiating table, because as we all know, the market in globally in soccer has changed. And if you're not willing to come out of pocket with $4, $5, $6 million, dollars you're not going to get those top-end U22 players. I mean, if you're getting a guy that's a free transfer, and we'll go back to trying to find diamonds in the rough, and you've got to try to figure out whether they work, whether they don't.
00:30:45
Speaker
But if you want a guy that's proven, that is going to come in and play, that if if it is that important and in your list of demands for a player, that he needs to be better than whatever you have here at the clubhouse, you're gonna have to spend some money. and And I just don't know if the budget is quite there for this team. So yes, they have been looking, they have set a lot of offers, multiple players is what I said before, but they just haven't been able to be successful.
00:31:15
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see what happens with it. You know, there's been so much talk about this U22 spot. The fact that they haven't used it yet. They could have used the last window, the Club World Cup window, to bring them in. The way I see it, I don't i don't want them to settle or rush into signing a player just to sign one.
00:31:36
Speaker
ah theyre They seem to be claiming that... ah that if they had done it already, it would have been like a settling type situation or doing it just to do it. They don't want to do that. They want to be more tactical about it.
00:31:49
Speaker
Make sure they got the right guy, a guy that can come in and contribute right away. ah so if that's what they're saying, and ah I will, I can give the benefit of the doubt on that up to this point. And, uh,
00:32:01
Speaker
i just I guess I want to just wait and see who they bring in. And at that point, we're going to be able to assess it. But like I think the idea that they that they like this is something that they already should have pulled the trigger on, we just don't really know that until we see who they actually bring in. And if they bring in someone who who works out and is a contributor, then i think we'll all be happy about that.
00:32:25
Speaker
And it's really I don't think it can be judged until we see who this player is. But it's good question by Steve because the context is important and you know I'm glad that Craig is a guy that's going to tell her how it is. i mean If anything, I've been impressed by Craig is that he, if you ask him the question, he's going to give it to you straightforward. I mean, he, it's literally a very blunt type of person. So that, that he said is something that we've been reporting, but it's not something that every GM is going to tell you.
00:32:55
Speaker
Not every GM is going to let you know that this is what's going on. And this is the reason of, you know, what's happening. ah most GMs are just going to keep that internally and be like, yeah, we're looking for guys. So I appreciate Craig bringing that up. But the reason why Steve's question is so important is because I see a lot of, you know, these people that report on opinion-based type of segments and, you know, they live in this,
00:33:19
Speaker
and i said this I say this often, they live in this realm of made belief about how things should happen and how the Sounders should operate. And, ah you know, they kind of feel like this is, you know, a FIFA game in in a PS5 and you can just click on the player and he automatically comes to your team.
00:33:38
Speaker
but But the team has been looking, then they've been trying, including, like I said, in the 10-day window that they had, but they just haven't been able to do so. Now the the reality and one that we all know,
00:33:48
Speaker
is that this team is not out there looking for a $20, $30 million dollars player because it's just not going to happen. Now, if you want to you know lie to yourself and say, well, I don't understand why.
00:34:00
Speaker
Look, I don't have Adrian Hennel's checkbook with me, and I don't have his Chase account. don't have his Chase. i don't know I don't have his account you know information. where I don't know what this guy is trying to put or not put, but the reality of it is that the operating budget for the soccer team when he comes to transfers, it's just not very big.
00:34:18
Speaker
So, you know, that that's something that we wish that would change. And Adrian, I think at one point it's going to have to, you know, figure out that, for him to keep up with the rest of his league in this market, ah he's going to have to figure something out.
00:34:33
Speaker
That's a fair point. We're going to find out how broke they really are. We'll see what this transfer fee what this transfer fee is. yeah ah But, you know, ah even if it's not like an Atlanta United $20 million to $30 million fee, i I don't value that as ah as much as the substance of the production.
00:34:55
Speaker
ah You can spend 22. You can drop a 22 spot on a manual latte lot. That in and of itself isn't going to get you anything. So if it's more like a in the range of a De La Vega type. OK, here I guess here's my question, Nico, in terms of what you know or can say about what type of fee we would be talking about.
00:35:15
Speaker
Is it in the range of like a De La Vega scenario, higher, lower or rough lower? Lower. A lot lower. A lot lower. All right. All right. Well, ah then we're going to money ball in action.
00:35:28
Speaker
If they money ball it and the guy is coming in and producing at a higher level, then that's that's fine. I i don't care. like what the number the guy has to produce. Like the, when you start to get in trouble is when you money ball like that. And then it's a, you get what you pay for a situation, but some teams are better than others at finding value like that. Seattle has proven ah pretty effective at that over the years. Although I mean, you have guys like Rui Diaz who they dropped $10 million dollars on, I believe. What was Ladero's fee?
00:36:01
Speaker
I was, it was a little less than that. I want to say. Yeah. I think it was a total of like eight something for Lodero. But that was another time. I mean, again, I don't know what it is that kind of changed, but now not only are you, or it feels like you have less of a budget, but now, and I've said this before, a Lodero type or a Raul Radias type in today's market, it's costing you at least 15 million, at least 20 million.
00:36:32
Speaker
Go try to find yourself... a ah golden boot winner in league IMX for less than that, then they'll just laugh you at the door. Uh, so that's just the way of of the world, but, um, man, there was something important that you kind of mentioned and it totally escaped me, but, uh,
00:36:52
Speaker
Look at that reality. De La Vega. Oh, yeah. There you go. La Vega, right? So ah definitely less than De La Vega. And this was a guy that you went out there and looked at, had some health concerns that, you know, was, that had a lot of talent.
00:37:07
Speaker
So that's kind of what you were looking for at that price tag. Now you go for a U22 player, we reduces the amount you know, you know, your pool of players that you're going to go and look for, it it makes it even harder to find a guy that's proven at that age or that you could feel like they're proven at that age.
00:37:25
Speaker
And for that specific number, man, that's difficult. And ah the budget part that you mentioned, and this is what I... forgot, ah they've done it before. It happened with Gregory.
00:37:35
Speaker
i dont know if you remember Gregory they were going to bring in They were at the negotiating table with Bahia. ah They had x amount of money. Bahia ended up wanting a lot more after that. And then it all fell apart. And you ended up getting JP as a replacement for ah less money than you were going to get Gregory initially.
00:37:55
Speaker
And that worked out pretty well. So Seattle has a good cont Contention plan I think for when things go south um So we'll see what that looks like For this specific position Exactly we're ah we'll We'll see who it is And hopefully I mean that it's a fun little storyline to To track it's always fun to have a new Big time acquisition Even if it's not on an Arthur Blank fee Thanks for that question Steve That was great That was a good little discussion there. Let's keep going through chat here.
00:38:27
Speaker
Brian says, I can't believe Austin have 26 points. They look like one of the worst teams in MLS. they they don't ah They don't score a lot of goals. That is certainly true. And I don't know. I think the whole thing going on there with ah poaching Estevez from FC Dallas and then having it start like this. Brandon, they...
00:38:46
Speaker
It's another example, man. They, the, the, what was the fee on Brandon Vasquez? 10 plus million dollars. He has, he has, you want to know who has the same amount of goals as him this year? Danny Mussovsky. So, I mean, make of that what you will.
00:39:02
Speaker
ah But I think the that type of thing kind of shows that the fee is not necessarily the be all end all. you got to ah You got to just see how it how it fits and how it works and then judge it. Even though I know it's and know it's tempting to want to ah to come and swing in on the discourse like beforehand without knowing. But that's just where I stand on this whole thing at the moment. I'm going to see what they do with it.
00:39:29
Speaker
If they cook, I'm going to give them credit. And if it looks like a bust, we'll ah we'll take that situation as he comes. ah Ryan's got a bit of a national storyline for us here. Thoughts on Toronto parting ways with both Insigne and Bernadeschi.
00:39:41
Speaker
Honestly, surprised that it didn't happen sooner. Nico, that's got to be... ah but but it couldn't be more perfectly timed with what we're talking about. How much money did they spend on these two guys?
00:39:54
Speaker
i want I mean, between salary and transfer, I mean... 50 million might be about right. And that's not even the only ah like sunk costs that they've had the last couple years.
00:40:07
Speaker
i don't know They are one of the worst teams in the league of the last two or three years. And among the highest spenders, you want to talk about Atlanta United transfer fees, Toronto FC does that.
00:40:19
Speaker
They do that. And they are like wooden spoon contenders every year. And if you look at, Insigne and Bernadeschi just on paper. There's a reason they went for that much money. Insigne at the time that Toronto FC signed him was the starting number 10 for the Italian national team.
00:40:35
Speaker
And I believe like powered them to a Euros victory. And ah Bill Manning, I think of ah whatever ownership group runs Toronto FC. He literally freely admitted at one point, he was like, yeah, I was watching the Euros and I was just like, I want that guy throw whatever bag it takes to get him in. And they did that.
00:40:54
Speaker
and how did that How did that work out? How did that work out? So, again, perfect example of the fact that it's about spending your money smartly and tactically, not just the amount that you spend. Although, I'm not you know i'm not preaching against dropping huge bags. like ah There's definitely a place for that. And I do think there is a point to what you said earlier of like ah in terms of keeping up going forward.
00:41:20
Speaker
Can you be doing these money ball fees on these players for less than De La Vega and still keep up? We're going to find out because based on what you're saying, that sounds like how what they're going to try to do.
00:41:31
Speaker
It could work. But, you know, I think a team with a track record of Seattle, there's at least a higher likelihood that it's going to work out than a team like Toronto, who they sign these guys pretty much based on, like you said, like a FIFA, like,
00:41:45
Speaker
they They employed that exact strategy that some want Seattle to be employing, I feel like. And it doesn't always work. And in this case, it actively back backfired. Bernadeschi at least had some good moments for them, and good good runs of play, good runs of forms.
00:42:00
Speaker
good runs of form. Insigne, is he the biggest bust in terms of like value that he provided relative to what they paid for him in the history of the league? If he's not the number one, and he is up there.
00:42:12
Speaker
ah They got pretty much no meaningful production out of him. No like big time moments, no big time wins out of him. zero And not only that, but but there was like attitude problems. There was locker room discord. There was fights on the training ground. There was swearing at his teammates, cussing at the coaches. Seems like he was more ah dialed in this year in that respect. Like he was, there was no like off field or training ground controversies.
00:42:39
Speaker
But when you, ah with the news today that they're parting ways with both of them, his legacy is of The biggest bust of a transfer in MLS history Like and if he's not the number one He's like one of them so I don't know where did what did you think When you saw that news Nico You basically said it all I thought that it was A year and a half too late I felt like It was kind of interesting that ah Bob Bradley ended up being the scapegoat and these guys just stayed and just collected another couple of years of salary when they were the the biggest problem.
00:43:17
Speaker
I would think, and actually I'm almost 100% sure without you know doing too much digging here, that Insigne is by far the biggest bust in MLS history. i mean He's the third highest paid player in the league right now. he He's making $15 million in salary this year.
00:43:36
Speaker
There's ah two guys who are making more money than him. One of them is Lionel Messi. There's one other guy. But Bernadeschi is up there, and Insigne is on $15 million. It's crazy. like it's crazy and And because of his age, he came, he wasn't like an old player. He wasn't like a guy that you were expecting to come in and just like, he wasn't Higuain or he wasn't, you know, like Andrew Pirlo. Like this guy, well, you said he was still a national team player.
00:44:02
Speaker
He was playing for Napoli pretty consistently. ah he was a guy that you thought was going to come in and just wreck the league. I remember just being in the press conference we like, man, I can't believe, I mean, not personally, but, you know, in the Zoom.
00:44:14
Speaker
And I was like, couldn't believe the fact that they were getting this guy. and It definitely did not, it wasn't just not productive, but it was almost ah a hole in your salary cap.
00:44:26
Speaker
It was a bit of a cancer, as you mentioned, with all of the dynamics between him and the coach and all these things. thought that passing on Bob Bradley was a bad decision. I thought that he was a guy that could have put Toronto on the right trajectory, and they decided to can him because of these two guys.
00:44:43
Speaker
So, yeah the This is a bust beyond just on the field. I mean, it might've been a bust at a point that it almost takes down Toronto as an organization. I mean, it was that bad of a signing. So yeah, I can't think of anybody that was worse, but going back to the question, a little too late.
00:45:04
Speaker
ah I don't know how person that's paying this checks is just continuing to sign them, knowing how unproductive and how problematic they were.
00:45:15
Speaker
And nobody happened to think, hey, man, let's just cut it at the root. Let's just pay these guys and send them underway or whatever it was. But ah yeah, man, I'm not surprised.
00:45:27
Speaker
I kind of wished. Once again, that it had been them that were let go rather than Bob Bradley. ah But, you know, that's just the way they decided to go. And they've had results tied in hand with those terrible decisions. So where Toronto has been over the last couple of seasons is all self-inflicted.
00:45:49
Speaker
My favorite memory of the Lorenzo Insignia Federico Bernadeschi era at Toronto FC will always be the the vaping scandal. Bernadeschi vaping his nicotine like on the training ground and in the locker room, and but then also on the team plane, and they were like, dude, you can't... it vape on the plane and he had an issue with that uh there was a lot of just crazy kind of stuff reported but like also just behind the scenes that i heard that i can't really share about that whole uh dynamic but uh it uh it doesn't go off the rails much more than that and that's that's that's just it's just one of those situations where i look at it and i'm like you know
00:46:31
Speaker
baby seattle season has not gone like smoothly without a hitch this season by any stretch they're at like 1.58 points per game you know which is lagging a little bit behind where you expect a seattle team to be but like uh not off the rails to uh the vaping on the training ground blow up between your two dps that stay on the team for another year and a half to two years and uh your team's just still wooden spoon contending every single year that's tough man it's tough uh Jake says Schmetzer ball works against two thirds to three quarters of the league. It has mediocre time getting results against other top five clubs.
00:47:08
Speaker
Maybe, but like how how much of that is that like when you're playing better opposition, it's just harder to get results, you know, like, there was a there's a lot of talk or ah in the playoffs last year about how like seattle got it didn't count that they made it to the west final because they didn't score goals enough goals in the houston series and they were kind of like squeaking by but um i mean for me it's like that's the playoffs man these are these are the best teams they're competitive games they're the best defenses in the league ah the the Galaxy game was a good example. Like that is a game that was decided on the margins and Seattle got shut out in that game.
00:47:45
Speaker
The Galaxy got shut out in that game too through 85 minutes and they made the play that won the game. So credit to them. But I just think in generally speaking, like,
00:47:56
Speaker
Is it a Schmetzer ball issue or is it just an issue of when you're, when you're playing the best teams in the league, it's inherently just ah more difficult to score goals, more difficult to win the games. And those teams are good. They're coming at you and they're probably, they're going to get you sometimes. So, uh, I don't know. It's, that's just kind of food for thought, but don't, do you have any thoughts on that? nia Oh, man. Um, i mean, look, you you guys have heard me talk about Schmetzer ball before,
00:48:26
Speaker
You guys have heard me talk about a year ago when right before the playoffs that you mentioned that the Sounders got as far as they did by not scoring goals. Even before that, i had mentioned ah and I have no issue repeating it that.
00:48:45
Speaker
Brian Smithers is a guy that has created a culture and identity. You have to be. um thankful and and and you have to praise him for the job that he's done over the years.
00:49:03
Speaker
um There was a point in time where I thought that his um his time had come and and you know that his his voice in the locker room, and I said this ah a couple of times, had become a little bit of white noise and it was kind of difficult for him to get much more out of the guys.
00:49:24
Speaker
um
00:49:27
Speaker
And you have to make a choice. Either you are okay with moving forward with Schmetzer and understand that his floor is high and that he was always going to put you to certain tournaments and he's going to continue to be this motivator that, you know, gets the guys going. And as a strategist, he's growing as well.
00:49:48
Speaker
ah But you're always going to wonder, you know, what what what if you had somebody else? Is that going a push you or not? um And then that decision was made. before those playoffs that they were going to extend his contract. He was going to stay for a while.
00:50:02
Speaker
And to Brian's credit, he hasn't necessarily reinvented himself because his concept, his principles are the same. i don't think that there's anything brilliant about what he does tactically with the team.
00:50:16
Speaker
ah But, you know, he tried a lot of things in Marbellia. He tried to change the the format. He had wrinkles in his attack.
Coaching and Management Insights
00:50:24
Speaker
Um, He has done a good job at keeping this team very united, very cemented, despite losing some huge leaders in the locker room.
00:50:37
Speaker
I will never... um downplay how important I thought Nico was for this team and how he would continue to have been important for this team had he been here. um And that's no disrespect to Steph, who's a very good, excellent captain.
00:50:53
Speaker
But there was just something different about Nico that I don't know if anybody will ever have. um So you've got to credit Schmetzer for, if not reinvented himself, doing enough to revamp what he's doing to get these guys going in the right direction. I mean, you see what they did in the Club World Cup.
00:51:11
Speaker
You see what had they've been doing in moments during this MLS season. So Schmetzer ball, per se, in terms of the system, although I do feel like
00:51:25
Speaker
doesn't, It doesn't push the potential of certain players like Pedro Lavega and other guys. It is very effective. And even if it is with the guys that are Schmetzer type guys, like like Paul, like Kalani, ah you know, by having these two fantastic pivots, it also kind of amplifies anything that Brian does because Christian Roldan has been so incredible, ah so good.
00:51:51
Speaker
And Ovid Vargas has been amazing. So instrumental and so different on the ball that it kind of helps everything else out work.
00:52:04
Speaker
But I don't know if it doesn't work with the top players, top teams. I mean, this is the exact same Sounders team that beat Nashville 4-0, 5-0. four zero five zero 4-0? 3-0. 3-0. 3-0.
00:52:16
Speaker
And Nashville, I mean, look where they're at. yeah and They haven't lost since. They literally have not lost since. They are 12 unbeaten with eight wins since. They look like one of the best teams in the league. They're one of the top teams in the East. I mean, they are a very good team in my in my opinion. San Diego has been balling. That's another team. That's another team you beat. Probably the best team in the league. Probably the best team in the league now that Vancouver's chilled out a little bit. It's probably San Diego.
00:52:40
Speaker
So all of that rant to say that I understand where the question's coming from and that I understand where there's a criticism and that wonder of what would happen under a different system.
00:52:54
Speaker
But the grass isn't always greener on the other side. So I understand why sometimes the team has been reluctant from moving forward from Brian. ah And I'm not, again, me and Brian have worked issues, but I'm not going to disqualify him as, as a coach that has been very successful,
00:53:15
Speaker
ah I think that he has limitations and and he understands those limitations. And he, I feel like his biggest attribute, and, you know, I've said this even throughout the world, our club world cup, I was asked if Brian, you know, proved anything.
00:53:32
Speaker
And well, he proved that his system works and and and it that character, because that's what every single team talked about. Hakimi told me that that the the character of the team is kind of what he was impressed by.
00:53:48
Speaker
And that's schmutzah ball, right? It's kind of going up off of that, making sure the team responds, making sure they're in every game. that they They always feel like they can go more.
00:53:59
Speaker
What is this word that he talks about? Relentlessness, right? that that That's Brian's ball. And although it's not brilliant and it's not... outstanding and and it's not a lights out. It's not tiki taka or I don't know, all ah purpose football or, you know, whatever. i mean, it's, it's been very good and it's been successful. So I don't know if i would agree with a hundred percent of the question, but I know where you're coming from.
00:54:23
Speaker
I'll take the word of ah Hakimi and Connor Gallagher, who's the one that I heard express a similar sentiment. Those guys, I mean, they're some of the best in the world. Hakimi is the literal best in the world at his position, and they don't have to say that stuff, like. That they don't that that was the thing. They both they were both complimentary of how Seattle played them pretty unprompted.
00:54:45
Speaker
i know i I don't know think I was there for Hakimi's interview, but I was there for Connor Gallagher's. And they asked him just a general question about the result. and he And he said, honestly, it was funny. It was disrespect and respect at the same time because he couldn't remember the name of the Sounders.
00:55:02
Speaker
But he said fair play to the other team. Like they put us under it at times. They're clearly like a very like a good side that ah that put us under pressure and made us work for that result. So I'll take his word and in Hakimi's word as well. Let's hit a couple of these super chats that we got.
00:55:20
Speaker
In the chamber, we got Rosie with the $2. Thank you so much for the support, Rosie. Appreciate it. She asks, or she says, please tell me the Sounders are close to signing a striker this summer. Apparently they are, but they're broke, so we'll see who that means it's going to be.
00:55:34
Speaker
Matt with the $5. He's got a question for you, Nico. Matt, thank you so much for the for the super chat and for the support. Appreciate you. Nico, does the productivity of Musavsky and budget issues make you think we might still go with a CDM center defensive mid with the U-22?
00:55:49
Speaker
Are we still looking at that at all? No, I do not. It has been looked at, ah but the consensus continues to be who will take the torch after Jordan Morris goes.
00:56:04
Speaker
ah This team needs to think of a generational change, and that's going to be difficult to do because, you know, you bring up a great point. ah Christian seems to be the guy that might play until he's 50 at this exact same rate, but that's not reality.
00:56:19
Speaker
What happens when Ovid goes? If he goes, you know how do you replace that? Is JP the long-term solution? Absolutely not, obviously. So there is obviously a need to push it there. Is it the younger guys like Schneider that you know have been high regarded from the Tacoma defiance? I don't think so.
00:56:37
Speaker
I do believe that this team would benefit of of having... a quality international talent at that position at some point. So although I like where your head's at, looking at the current roster and at the current needs and knowing what I know, yeah, it it did not move the needle. This is what you need at Musovsky.
00:57:01
Speaker
This is what you want out of your... second option or your sub striker, right? I mean, you you want that out of him, but then you you want somebody to be the guy, which brings up the fact that I don't know what happened to Osase de Rosario.
00:57:16
Speaker
um And, you know, I've said it in the past that, you know, it's sometimes it it's hard for Brian to pull the trigger to put a lot of these younger guys in attacking positions. And yeah, Osase kind of hasn't Getting any minutes he hasn't been around So you know Are they not seeing what they were hoping Out of him um i would think so but I don't know necessarily i think he's I think he's just buried on the depth chart Right now yeah I think if anything I've seen more of Osaze than I would have expected Because ah I think one thing about Schmetz Is he's reluctant to give
00:57:52
Speaker
I don't think, I don't know if it's reluctance, but he just doesn't give a young player of the profile and point of his career as Osaze chances to play a ton of minutes all the time. But like they brought Osaze in versus Atletico, if I'm not mistaken, one of the club world cup games, he was in there, which I was not expecting to see.
00:58:10
Speaker
ah But I think with Jordan coming back and Moose looking as good as he did in the last game, I don't, I just don't know if there are a lot of minutes for him right now, but ah my follow-up question you, Nico ah coming off Matt's question would be, ah what like, does an Obed Vargas potential transfer and transfer fee have any effect on anything that we're talking about as far as either what they might target or the amount of money that they're able to put into into this U22 spot?
00:58:39
Speaker
ah Yes. And, you know, there is that sense of...
00:58:46
Speaker
mean, I don't want to call it like sell to buy, but, you know, it is going to help out. And he's not the only player, right? I mean, I've said several times that Pedro de la Vega ah continues to have value and continues to interest teams in in and out of MLS.
00:59:03
Speaker
um And so, you know, what does that look like if he's to go? ah and yes, it should help your overall budget. I know that there's a limit and I don't have that number necessarily ah to reinvest back into your ah current salary, but either way it does help out.
00:59:24
Speaker
and And it is something that the team is um conscious of. Scott Curtis with the $2. Thank you, Scott. Thanks for all the support today, everyone. Really appreciate all of you. All right, Nico, I guess let's ah let's keep it pushing as we hit the hour mark here. The Seattle Sounders are in the stretch run of the season, and we're in the stretch run of the show.
00:59:46
Speaker
I figured we could just riff on ah the Club World Cup in Inter-Miami for a bit because they played PSG. Didn't go well. It did not go well. I would venture to say that it did not go ah even close to as well as it did ah when Seattle played PSG, which, you know, when you take into account that ah they have Messi and the Barca boys, it's just a different expectation that's ah that's put on you in a tournament like this and in a game like that.
01:00:15
Speaker
I certainly did not think they had any chance at all a beating PSG or even keeping up with them to any sort of significant degree. But I mean, that game was not evenly. like remotely close.
01:00:26
Speaker
ah Seattle at least like had some sort of like dignity in that game. Inter Miami really didn't. They gave up the first goal in like what, like the eighth minute or even like before that might've been more like the fifth minute.
01:00:38
Speaker
And then it was four zero by halftime. And then I mean, PSG when they're, i mean, they're the best team in the world when they're playing a team that's that overmatched and they get a multi-goal lead, it's pretty much dusted. Like there's, they're so good in possession that,
01:00:52
Speaker
ah there's There's no team on planet Earth that is harder to come back against than that team because ah not only are they one of the best attacking teams in the world, but I think they are the best defensive team in the world.
01:01:06
Speaker
And that all combines together to make the best all around team in the world, the team that just won UEFA Champions League. But ah I don't know, like, I guess to start, Nico, did that game go any differently than you then you thought it would? And then what do you kind of take away from the fact that ah this Inter-Miami and the Barca Boys project...
01:01:27
Speaker
ah was not able they got out of the group you have to give them that if for no other reason than that the financial reward that they got from that they got three results in their group ah two million dollars for their ties and then another two I want to say for the game that they won against Porto So honestly, like I'm not I'm not trying to diminish their group stage performance at all.
01:01:48
Speaker
ah They made MLS history by getting out of that group and by by winning a game, beating Porto. Their group was not what Seattle's was, but it was it's no there's no easy groups in the in the Club World Cup.
01:01:59
Speaker
So fair play and credit to them for that. ah But then it was a it was a categorical flop against PSG Messi's former team. um So what did you think of how that game played out? And like, what do you think that it signifies about where things stand for Messi and the Barca boys? Are they, ah is he going to be like, I was seeing stuff about how he might want to go alone somewhere before the World Cup. Don't know if that's true, but ah what do you think of of of that whole, of this whole thing, Nico?
01:02:28
Speaker
All right, so the the game went exactly as I thought it would. Actually, was the one wager that went my way this weekend. And that was nice because everything else did not go well for me there.
01:02:39
Speaker
ah But the reality of it is is that you knew was going to be more than three goals, or or at least I did. That's what I waged on. and And the reason of that is, is because...
01:02:53
Speaker
For everything that Miami does well, ah which is attacking moments, having a couple of fullbacks that get forward very easily and everything that Segovia has done in Redondo, all these players are very good on the attacking end, but...
01:03:10
Speaker
when you're one of the teams that gives the most goals in MLS you're going against PSG, is it's not going to go well for you, especially wide, because this PSG team, they're so good getting with and exploding those flanks with Dwayne, with Hakimi. I mean, the overloads, absolutely everything that they do is literally based on wing play.
01:03:31
Speaker
And you got two fullbacks that can't defend. Chelo, God bless his heart, he tries, He's doing his best. He's doing his best out there. He can't do it. He cannot defend. that that's just not his He just cannot defend.
01:03:45
Speaker
And Jordi Alba, you didn't get him because he was a defender. You got him because he was the Jordi Alba that was going to match up with Messi. He was going to be the guy that is getting forward. That's basically just another winger. I mean...
01:03:59
Speaker
and And they just dismantled them. and Not to mention the fact that their center backs aren't great and that their hold-up play is fantastic. I mean, in in possession, they had 33 or 34 possession in this game, so they couldn't but protect themselves with the ball because it's also not their cane.
01:04:16
Speaker
They want to get forward. They want to try to get with their speed. And none of it was going work. against PSG because PSG is faster, better, stronger. ah You talked about defense. i absolutely agree.
01:04:27
Speaker
And it's not defending that we're going to bunker down, but they're going to heighten that line of confrontation and they're going to play you in your field right in front of your 18. And and Messi and the Barca boys and Macerano will have nightmares for weeks to come from that entire game because it was all PSG and it was always going to be all PSG.
01:04:56
Speaker
People think that it's ah something along the lines of, well, you know, they were trying hard against Miami. It was like, that's not necessarily it. PSG... at came to Seattle needing result. They didn't know what the other game was like.
01:05:13
Speaker
ah But Seattle was is just a better defensive team. And you saw the way that in In the first 10 minutes of the game, i remember talking to you. You were right next to me.
01:05:24
Speaker
The way Seattle's pressing, the way they're defending, they're making PSG have stupid turnovers. I mean, there were passes that were just going out of bounds for PSG. And I don't think that PSG expected that from Seattle.
01:05:38
Speaker
But Messi and Inter-Miami, they played right, exactly right to what everyone knew they were going to do. And it was just very easy for PSG to pick them apart.
01:05:50
Speaker
ah when When it comes to Messi, I do not believe that he's going to want to get loaned out before the World Cup. I think that's just some rhetoric from you know people, especially in Argentina, that will say just anything to ah discredit ah MLS for one and then for two.
Messi's Future in MLS
01:06:09
Speaker
that you know They all freak out about Messi where he's going to be in this upcoming World Cup.
01:06:15
Speaker
But I do feel like... He's starting to maybe feel like, is this worth it? I mean, is is it worth it for me to continue to not not stain my legacy? Because I don't think anybody's saying, well, Messi's not the greatest as of all time because he's not going to win an MLS Cup. but But Messi's a winner. He's used to winning. He's always won.
01:06:35
Speaker
And aside from Leeds Cup, they haven't been closed. And, you know, you could... take that shield and say that's a trophy, but it really isn't, especially not for a guy like Messi.
01:06:47
Speaker
Messi wants a real trophy. Messi wants to win a final and win a championship and be the best at league. And that shield doesn't necessarily represent that. So I do feel like there is a wear and tear in terms of his mentality of where he's at.
01:07:01
Speaker
And I do think that he's going to want to weigh out at some point after that contract is up. ah He's not one to just turn down money, so I don't know if he's just going to like, oh, I'm just not going play or I'm going to go get loaned out somewhere else.
01:07:13
Speaker
I do feel like he has a sense of pride. He's going to want to stay with his team until his contract is up. But I feel like once that's done, um feel like Messi's done. I think the ah the shield that they won in the points record, i consider those I consider that a meaningful trophy and a significant accomplishment.
01:07:31
Speaker
but ah But you're right. It's not the same thing as like a tournament trophy where you know you you go into it, like you like you said, win the final and all that. And they have not. You don't understand it, Ari. Let me, let me just interact there real quick, especially what you don't understand it in South America and in anywhere in the world.
01:07:50
Speaker
If you are the best team across points and you get a trophy, you won that lead. Yeah. and But not in MLS, in MLS you get two. So the fact that the,
01:08:02
Speaker
There's no understanding from him. I could see how that could bother him in some way, where it's like, you know, we won this title and then we got bounced out by Atlanta. That makes no sense at all. ah So I do think that there is a sense of also culturally how maybe to you and I, maybe it's like, wow, that is a big deal to win the shield.
01:08:20
Speaker
I don't know how much he meant to mess it. I'm enjoying watching Lionel Messi find the rigors of being the sixth to seventh best team in Major League Soccer. It's not always a glamorous place to be, but I think it's fair to say at this moment in time that Inter-Miami, like,
01:08:40
Speaker
They're, they're, they're kind of, they're well off the pace that they were expected after how dominant they looked through the whole regular season last year. i think a lot of it, you know, has to do with the average age of their core being 43.2.
01:08:56
Speaker
And then a lot of it is what you were talking about with, it's not like they've ever been a particularly good defensive team. Their, their whole strategy was, ah we'll have messy in the Barca boys out there scoring three to five goals a game. And then on the other end of the ball, we'll just ah figure it out.
01:09:13
Speaker
ah That only, that only takes you so far when, ah when all these guys are pushing 50, Matt Malcolm with a two 99 super chat. Thank you. Or a super sticker.
01:09:24
Speaker
Thank you, Matt. Appreciate that. And then Matt Sexton, the mats are just coming through in the clutch today with another $5. Appreciate you. He says two years in the MLS for messy without playing Seattle. And of course he's trying to leave before he has to play us.
01:09:39
Speaker
Hey, I'm hoping, I'm hoping that he is playing, in, uh, in September because I'm going to that. It's my birthday week. It's like weird. It's like a Tuesday game or something. I don't really know why.
01:09:53
Speaker
but it is like over my birthday. So I saw that on the schedule. I was like, If the Sounders are playing Messi on or near my birthday, then I probably got to go to that. So ticket spot. I know. I thought about it myself, man. It's my birthday, too. I'm September 16th. I didn't know we were that close. the 18th.
01:10:10
Speaker
Yeah. yeah yeah So I'm the 16th. And I looked at that in the schedule. And I was like, man, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out. I don't think so. But... It definitely crossed my mind. I also was thinking i about going to Vegas for the Canelo fight.
01:10:25
Speaker
ah But ah as you know, and people know, but my son is good. um I just signed him up to Pullman. So i that's kind of coming off my pocket. They're coming up. So maybe it's better to just kill this year. And then we'll maybe. Wazoo, is that what you're saying?
01:10:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, he's going to go to Wazoo He's a Coug That's it, man, congratulations ah Pro Striker says Miami winning the Shield was weird in the sense Reactions from the outside, the Rebs didn't get the same recognition, for example I think part of that is because it was the points record, maybe But ah the Rebs said that as well You're right Yeah, they did I think that's kind of probably purely because it was Messi and the Barca boys so Yes, it was ah Jake is coming in with some stats here.
01:11:12
Speaker
Spending totals came out. Seattle is the 14th highest spender and 12th on the table. Does jumping up on spending have a good chance at bumping us up on the table? hu You would think so. i mean, it's it's interesting because if you look at global football, and it's been like this for a while, and as far as I can tell, it's still like this.
01:11:32
Speaker
But a lot of... I have never been able to get into European footy as much, partially for bandwidth reasons. You know, I'm covering MLS every day. i really, i don't have like the time or bandwidth to be like locked in following any other league in the world as much as I do and MLS, but it's partially because there's no, uh,
01:11:52
Speaker
There's what is the intrigue to it? The way that it's worked for many years is if you spend the most money, you get first place and you win the league. If you spend the second most money, you get second place in the league.
01:12:03
Speaker
You spend the third most money, you get third place. And it literally goes down exactly like that. So what what is the intrigue of something that has a predetermined outcome? You literally know the one to two, maybe three teams that have any chance at all at winning the league.
01:12:16
Speaker
And it's usually just one team. ah So like, but MLS with the salary cap setup doesn't work like that. Like your spending is not necessarily correlated to how well you perform on the table.
01:12:31
Speaker
That being said, ah I think as the league continues to evolve and develop, hopefully teams are freed up to spend more money at some point down the line than they are right now.
01:12:43
Speaker
yeah, I think you do you do you can't just not spend at all and be you like a true, true contender in this league. Although, like look, it's it's very interesting when you look at it. We talked about ah Toronto FC and Atlanta United.
01:13:00
Speaker
Look at the Philly Union. like What money do they spend? Nothing. Pretty much nothing. And they're ah they probably they might win the Shield this year. So i don I don't know. it's like I kind of don't know what to think of this discussion. What do you think, Nico?
01:13:14
Speaker
I think it is important. I think the reason why you don't see it as clear cut as other leagues is because of the salary cap space. And that kind of forces you to look at your roster build different. And if you like Philadelphia and Seattle does have a academy that can sustain you and give you, you know, a core base of players, it, it,
01:13:41
Speaker
lessens your necessity to go out there and spend a bunch of money. But both of these teams, I mean, Philadelphia, obviously they'll tell you that they want to win something. They haven't won anything. They want to stop being the champions of moral victories.
01:13:55
Speaker
So ah obviously they need to go spend more money and Seattle in their end, they they have this perfect equation of if we continue to have the support from our academies and or the common defiance players and find this diamonds in the rough and we can moneyball maybe some parts of our roster but we can inject some a really big type of Raul Riddiaz, Nicolás Tadero, you already saw what that does for you.
01:14:30
Speaker
It wins you championships. The problem right now is that you do have that core team of very good players. And that includes Jesus Ferreira, who you went and got with Garber bucks.
01:14:42
Speaker
So it wasn't necessarily something that, you know, you needed to go and pay in cash. So now you have a highly rated player, high AQ, all these things. But now it is your obligation to go and spend big money on places where they're going to amplify your game.
01:14:59
Speaker
So if Ovid goes in a perfect world, it'd be great for you to go out there and bring a guy that's going to replace him that in this day and age might cost you at least eight to $10 million. dollars um And then you put that there and ah the replacement for Jordan Morris at some point is a DP striker that's been proven that had 17 goals in Argentina last season. and And that's going to cost you 20.
01:15:26
Speaker
So that's going to increase you and it's going to push you up when it comes to that but spending table. And that is going to give you more opportunities to be successful. Now, is it a guarantee?
01:15:37
Speaker
No. ah But because the Sounders have such a good infrastructure, I say the potential is pretty high. ah Now, it doesn doesn't even have to be that high of a wages. I'm just throwing numbers out there.
01:15:49
Speaker
But The whole point of what I'm saying right now is that if there is more money and you do are a top 10 team in salary or a top nine a top five team in salary with what you already have working for you, there's a high likelihood that you are, if not one of the best teams in MLS, you are the best team in MLS.
01:16:10
Speaker
So I think that there is a correlation of some sense that not for every team it works like that. But I think for Seattle specifically, i have no doubt that if Craig Weibel had a bigger budget to go and get to tell Sean Henderson, hey, Sean, get me these guys and we can sit on the table and we can get those guys, that it would absolutely reflect in Seattle's overall play on the field. Yes, absolutely.
01:16:36
Speaker
PK says pretty sure, man. City paid the most but not did not win. I mean, yeah, it's it's probably not as binary as I was portraying it, but I think generally speaking, what I was saying is typically how it works globally. It might not be first, second, third like that. but Like in Liga, like in France. Yeah, but like in Italy.
01:16:56
Speaker
There's only two to three teams in any given league that have a chance at winning anything in any given year. You literally like you know what's going to happen before ah before it happens.
01:17:08
Speaker
But i will I will say there's like kind of two sides of it because i won't lie, like PSG, you know they're they have the highest spending bill in the world, and that's why they're the best team in the world they are very fun to watch play like having every single guy in your starting 11 be a top two to three uh player in the world at their respective position it creates some beautiful footy so you can't deny that but as far as intrigue for who actually has a chance at uh at winning anything that's sort of just always been my hang up with like getting into the uh epl or the bundesliga like oh
01:17:47
Speaker
Sick. man Manchester City won it again. Bayern Munich won it? No way. No way. we didnt didn't see that one coming. Oh, PSG won Ligue 1? Crazy. I didn't think that ah that would happen again. Like, it's just, I don't know.
01:18:02
Speaker
It kind of bores me.
U22 Spot Recruitment Discussion
01:18:04
Speaker
All right, let's close it out with this one from ah a school here and you go and then we can get out of here for this episode of Lobbing Scorchers kickoff. ah He's yeah he yes. Craig gave us a clue at who we're looking at for the U22 spot from the business meeting.
01:18:17
Speaker
With that clue, do you have a better idea of who we're talking to at the moment? ah Yes, I do. um And I I'm I just don't know if they're going to be able to close it.
01:18:32
Speaker
So don't get super excited. um But yeah, they we know where they're looking. You know, I've said where they've been kind of paying attention to. There are some names that may be more excited than others.
01:18:47
Speaker
I'll tell you that. um And so we'll see where everything lies down at the end. um But I don't know why I have the sense that regardless of If they do end up getting, you know, one of these three guys that I'm finally looking at, I'm not really sure people are going to be excited, to be honest.
01:19:10
Speaker
yeah And that's kind of the the bummer of it all is you're going to have to be open-minded about, you know, what what the team is kind of looking for and the overall potential and and and and give the scouting team the the benefit of the doubt because they've, you know, they've they've had some, you know,
01:19:29
Speaker
Not great choices or are the the only utility you've had to compare it to was Leo two, which didn't really go your way. ah But, you know, they've had other, you know, good finds. So we'll see where this one goes. That is going to be their second one.
01:19:45
Speaker
um But yeah, I just don't know how excited you guys are going to be. If they're broken money, balling it. I'll keep an open mind, like you said. doubt they've hit They've hit on these things in the past, but it's got to work on this one.
01:19:58
Speaker
It's got to work. and but But I think generally speaking, ah to me, correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like we're talking about 20 to 21-year-old number nines in Europe who are –
01:20:16
Speaker
like proven not not like fully proven, but are of the profile of the type of guys that they feel like could come in and meaningfully contribute in relatively short order. Like you like you said earlier, Craig Weibel has been very clear that this isn't a developmental spot. So, I mean, if he's preaching that, then, I mean, whoever it is has got to come in and hit the ground running. and Like, there's no, ah and you know, injuries are injuries, but there can't be like ah they they They kind of were saying the opposite stuff about De La Vega. They were preaching patience and like, we don't necessarily need him to carry the load and be a major contributor right away.
01:20:54
Speaker
and I think this season they were kind of given similar, like, you know, he's coming off injury. ah He might not be full speed right away. They they were kind of ah qualifying it a little more. They're not qualifying it with whoever this player ends up being.
01:21:11
Speaker
So yeah. we're going to see that'll be at least a little fun, little intriguing storyline to keep, uh, keep tabs on as we have been all season, but it's like, it's getting to that time now where, ah this might, uh, this might happen, but all right, uh, Nico, let's call her a wrap right there. We're at
Audience Engagement and Future Plans
01:21:28
Speaker
an hour 20. Uh, thank you all so much for tuning in here this morning on this Tuesday edition, lobbing scorchers kickoff. Appreciate all you ah tuning in and all the super chats.
01:21:38
Speaker
Uh, Like, comment, subscribe, rate five stars. We're pushing 2,100 subs on the channel. I think we're like four away. So if you are watching or for whatever reason and you have not subbed to our channel, please get us over that 2.1 I hate being like...
01:21:55
Speaker
that's i hate being at like 2096 like i can't have that so let's get it's over 2.1 also lobbying scorchers hot sauce out now lobby scorchers.com slash sauce just go there use code ls and you get a free bottle with your order you can't beat that and it's a great product tastes awesome but uh All right. ah We're going to vacate on that. The dub pod actually ended up dropping yesterday. So if you haven't checked that out it yet, Noah and I laid one down.
01:22:24
Speaker
And that is out both on our YouTube and all on your audio feeds where you get your podcasts. And then I'll be back at it for Under the Lights on Thursday 730. Nico, thanks for laying down another show. Appreciate you, man. And we'll catch you next time.
01:22:42
Speaker
Thank you guys. We'll see guys around. Don't forget. Subscribe, share. Let's go. Go over 3,000. Peace. peace