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What a week for Seattle baseball, the Sounders, and Cristian Roldan
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In a bit of a departure from the normal soccer talk Jeremiah and Aaron take a minute to discuss what a surreal couple of weeks it has been for Seattle sports. In particular with the Mariners being 2 wins from a possible World Series berth for the first time you'll have to forgive us for taking a minute to soak it all in.
Diving back into the actual soccer show the guys review the Sounders home win against Real Salt Lake and the importance of that win. We wrap it all up in what was almost a real-time reaction to the breakout performance the Sounders’ Cristian Roldan had for the USMNT against Australia.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. Here we go. Come on. Hey, O'Shaan.
00:00:14
Speaker
Let's go. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. Here comes Ruiz Diaz through the middle to crown it for Seattle.
00:00:25
Speaker
The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:59
Speaker
you know what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't? Ever since I wrote a commentary that we didn't take the outcome seriously.
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Seattle Sports Dynamics
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Adientes, part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network, sponsored by Full Pull Wines, Hacks and Ferments, and our subscribers. We're recording on Tuesday, October 14th. I am your host, Jeremiah Shan. Today, am joined by Aaron Campo and our engineer, Lickett.
00:01:58
Speaker
ah You know, this is going to be a little bit of a different show. We have ah the RSL game to discuss a little bit. We have Christian Roldan's performance to talk a little bit about. He just had a kind of a breakout performance for the U.S. national team.
00:02:11
Speaker
But really what I wanted to get into, Aaron, well we may as well just start right here, is this has been kind of um this is kind of an amazing week, kind of an amazing period that we're in with Seattle sports.
00:02:25
Speaker
And we were talking about this in the press box the other day. And i just kind of wanted to get your perspective as someone who is really a Seattle sports fan more than I am. I have to admit, I really am. I'm a Sounders fan.
00:02:38
Speaker
I have found myself lately rooting for the Mariners, and that's sort of what this is about. But this has been, a it's got to be kind of a surreal place for you to be. I mean, I know you as a long-suffering Mariners fan, and I realize this is not a Mariners podcast, but this feels like a special moment, and it feels worth addressing.
00:02:58
Speaker
The Mariners are up 2-0 in the ALCS. They're coming home yeah for three games against the Blue Jays. This has got to be a little surreal, right? It is. I mean, it i don't know if people know how big of a Mariners fan I used to be. I don't know you know if that's a thing and we've ever talked about on here. But for years, the Mariners were number one, a number one team I cared about the most far, far and away.
00:03:26
Speaker
um They were the first team that I felt any connection to after my family moved out here. um I grew up as a sort of nominally a Cardinals fan. and Didn't grow up as, but, you know, that was kind of who my family rooted for.
00:03:39
Speaker
And, you know, the only team I really cared about was Memphis, Memphis State um at that time. And, you know, the Mariners were not very good when we first got here. And then the 95 run happened and and I became a huge fan. And um I was obsessed with them for years. And then about, i want to say it was 2007,
00:04:02
Speaker
2008 would have been 2008, actually, because 2007 was actually a ah pretty good year, if I remember correctly. um Whatever year the wheels fell off the bill, the ah um Jack Zarendic team, I just said, I can't do this shit anymore, man. I can't. You know, I watched 150 games a year for years, and that was a lot of extremely bad baseball.
00:04:24
Speaker
And I just said, I don't know why I'm doing this to myself. to And so, yeah, so the Mariners became less important to me. But I think that anybody that has been a team a fan of a team for this long, like understands that it never really goes away, you know? And so over the last few years, I've definitely gotten back into the Mariners, not to the degree that I used to be, because I, I'm not in my twenties. I have like shit I have to do. So I can't watch 150 games a year anymore, but, um,
00:04:51
Speaker
And yeah, it it feels surreal. Like it it is definitely a waiting for the other shoe to drop kind of situation. um And the Sounders were the beneficiary, you know, of me falling a little bit out of love with the Mariners all those years ago because they were new on the scene right after that.
00:05:08
Speaker
but They were good. They were competent. They were everything the Mariners had not been for so long. And you know, the 2014 year was, was pretty great. The Seahawks won a Superbowl. The Sounders won a supporter shield, but the Seahawks were always like of the Seattle teams, the one that I was the most of a bandwagon fan of.
00:05:29
Speaker
um Like I haven't watched the Seahawks game in a while. I'll be honest with you. So like, the Mariners have such a special place in my heart that it's, ah it's, it's pretty insane to watch. And, you know, again, the Sounders have won a trophy this year. Maybe it's not the trophy that I care about the most, but it it is a trophy. Nonetheless, they still have puncher's chance. I think it may get an MLS cup run.
00:05:48
Speaker
um And so to have like two teams being good at once is just not really a thing that you see that often in Seattle sports. ah And, you know, at least in my lifetime, the closest I think we've had was obviously the Sounders and in the Seahawks and you know, the, 2013-2014 timeframe and ah the yeah Sonics and the Mariners in the mid-90s.
00:06:10
Speaker
So that's not you know that's not a lot of overlap there. it It isn't. I'm guessing 2008 is the year that you're talking about because they lost 101 games that year and they fired their manager. They also fired Bill Bavese.
00:06:25
Speaker
So that's that's probably the year that you're referencing as the wheels falling off. You know what? I think I'm... Was it 2008 that they fired Bavese? Really? Yeah, it's at least this little website called Baseball Reference, which tends to know. Yeah, that's crazy.
00:06:39
Speaker
Yeah, because I remember I was still on board for the first couple years of Jack Zarensic's term. But yeah, no, you're right. So it must have been like 2010 when I really fell off, really fell off. away Well, either way, it's kind of a remarkable thing because I i don't know.
00:06:58
Speaker
I'm guessing a lot of our listeners do realize this, but it's this kind of an amazing phenomenon that I, as a ah transplant have noticed is that the Mariners have this sort of sleeping support that's just ready to explode.
00:07:14
Speaker
Anytime there is a shred of, positive energy around this team. And there is a lot more than a shred of positive energy around this team. And it just has me thinking about like what this is going to be like, this week is going to be like, because we've never had, I mean, the Mariners are going to host at,
00:07:34
Speaker
at least two games. And if they only host two, it's because they've swept the ALCS. I don't want to jinx any of this, obviously, but this is just, it's just an amazing time. ah You know, and i and I, I think it's also worth reflecting that really since the Sonics left, Seattle sports have actually been low key, pretty good.
00:07:54
Speaker
Like it's true. No, it's, it is true. You know, and it's, and it's kind of funny. Cause I think, There's this idea that Seattle sports outside of like the Sounders and the Storm have been sort of the, you know, and people, I guess, are really, they you know, they talk about the Sonics leaving and they talk about the Mariners never having won a World Series, but they have been reasonably competitive.
00:08:18
Speaker
the The Seahawks had that nice run that, you know, ended admittedly in 2015. But there's been a fair amount of positivity around Seattle sports. And this year in particular, just seems like like the the Seahawks are playing well.
00:08:35
Speaker
Sounders have obviously won. The Mariners are in the ALCS. And I don't know. I don't know where I'm going with all this. I'm just sort of like enjoying. i think the thing that really struck me was watching game five against Who are they playing?
00:08:51
Speaker
they The Guardians. The Blue Jays. No, the Tigers. They're playing the Tigers. hey ah Watching game five against the Tigers. And I'm sitting there going like, oh my God, I actually care what happens in this game. right could not as a like i grew i' i'm I'm sure I've told this story before. I grew up a hardcore A's fan. I would say that you you know through the mid-2000s, I was...
00:09:13
Speaker
like bleeding ah A's, you know, that was like my team. And really it wasn't until I got here that I stopped really caring so much about the A's, but, and now the A's are are really effectively dead to me. And so I have this freedom of, yeah.
00:09:29
Speaker
like allowing myself to really kind of root for another team. And so it's been kind of exciting to get, to get into this, to, to actually, like I said, I watched a lot of the game yesterday and and I'll probably watch a fair amount of the games for the next few days.
00:09:43
Speaker
And I don't know. I just thought it was a ah nice departure for, for, and I'm, I think more than anything, I am enjoying seeing people I like, Feel happy about their team.
00:09:56
Speaker
Like it's a very like, and so i I guess this is all me just saying, enjoy this Mariners fans. It's a, it's, this is amazing thing to see as a, uh, not quite impartial observer, but it's, it's a really cool thing to see. And I'm, I'm really enjoying this ride and I hope it keeps going.
00:10:13
Speaker
Yeah, I hope so, too, man. It's, ah you know, I feel like getting back to the ALCS after almost 25 years is enough of an accomplishment to make this a pretty special time. But yeah, getting to the World Series for the first time ever would be pretty sick. And soccer is my favorite sport.
00:10:29
Speaker
The Sounders are my favorite favorite team. And I don't think anybody's at any. real danger of unseating them. But, but playoff baseball is unlike anything else in sports. It's just, it is the worst thing in the entire world and the, but also the best thing in the entire world in a way that no other sport can really match um because there's just so much tension and ah it's good to know all that wiring is still in place, you know?
00:10:53
Speaker
Yeah, i had I kind of had forgotten, to be honest with you, what it was like to live and die with each pitch. and yeah And sort of leak the the unique nature of a baseball, you know, ah tactical battle of, you know, fouling off pitches and, ah you
Sounders vs. RSL Game Analysis
00:11:12
Speaker
know, everything else. But anyway, 10 minutes on the Mariners is probably sufficient. I'm sure nobody will be upset about that.
00:11:19
Speaker
Yeah, let's let's hope. ah The Sounders played a ah game. It was not the most compelling match, but it was ultimately a reasonably important game. I think if nothing else for vibes.
00:11:32
Speaker
The Sounders, of course, beat RSL 1-0. They got an early goal from Paul Rothrock. a Really a nice ah nicely worked goal where... Jordan Morris creates a turnover, makes a nice dribble into the box, cuts it back to Pedro de la Vega, who doesn't really, i don't know what he, that he knows what he's doing with it, but he ends up making a perfect touch to Paul Rothrock at the far post.
00:11:53
Speaker
And he's able to, you know, score that. And it seemed like the Sounders were flying. About 10 minutes later, Jordan Morris draws a penalty that needed to be VAR. I got to say, we might as well talk about this a little bit.
00:12:05
Speaker
ah I was a little surprised that it required VAR because that was about a stone cold of a penalty as it gets. I mean, the guy kicks Morris. The ball doesn't move. Yeah, it was pretty it was pretty shocking. Yeah.
00:12:19
Speaker
And and and but at the he gets the penalty. And then Morris takes it. He, of course, it gets saved. It should be said that ah Cabral, the goalkeeper, has now saved four of eight penalties. So he's a very good shot stopper.
00:12:33
Speaker
It was not the best penalty, I will admit, by Jordan Morris. It was maybe a bad, you could even say, I suppose you could argue that it was a bad penalty. he He hit it at a height that was very saveable. He didn't hit it certainly hard enough or far enough to the post to really have that. He was basically banking on the goalkeeper guessing wrong.
00:12:53
Speaker
ah Essentially is the only way that that was going to score. That said, i understood and I appreciated him taking it in part because he hasn't scored since May.
00:13:06
Speaker
And i would think that it would be a good confidence boost for him to get it. And there wasn't really an obvious person anyway, like Alex rolled on, maybe was a candidate. Jesus Ferreira has taken a few penalties, not as many as people might think that he's only taken, i believe five penalties in his career.
00:13:23
Speaker
And that includes with the national team. Uh, but maybe later in the game probably would like her for a or Alex Rodon to take that. What did you make of the decision though, to have Jordan take that penalty?
00:13:36
Speaker
I think if there's not a, ah clear and obvious, uh, sorry to use, use that phrase, but if there's not a clear dedicated penalty taker on the team, I'm, I'm actually generally okay with the guy that won the penalty, getting to crack at it unless, yeah you know, we know for a fact, they're not a great penalty taker.
00:13:53
Speaker
um, I, you know, penalties get saved sometimes. Um, ah we know Jordan's not Brad Evans or, or Nico Ladero when it comes to taking penalties ah Raul for that matter.
00:14:06
Speaker
Um, I just don't know if there's anybody that was on the pitch where i I can point to them and say, yeah, that they obviously should have been taking that, that penalty. So, um, Yeah, im I'm fine with him getting a crack at it. I obviously would have liked him to convert it.
00:14:21
Speaker
ah Yeah, I I went into this game knowing ah what the score is um during in the game. My wife and I were were out to dinner. ah Shout out to Gron on 6th Avenue in Tacoma, one of the best restaurants in the Puget Sound region.
00:14:35
Speaker
um There's not sponsored content. I just really like it. But so I knew going in to the to watching the game, what had happened. And it doesn't kick you in the gut the same way and when stuff like that happens in the game.
00:14:48
Speaker
But it was still pretty annoying, you know, to to see. Yeah, what I would have really put the probably put the game away. It would have. And and i I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a bad penalty take. I think if you put it on frame unless you squib it, right, I'm not going to call it bad necessarily, but it was certainly mediocre.
00:15:08
Speaker
And, you know, I just, I i want better than mediocre from the guy taking the penalty. it's It's the kind of thing you can kind of live with in a shootout because you're not the one stepping up to the spot in a shootout. I mean, you are, but you're not the one volunteering to do it. It's because you've got to take, you know, you've got to take the spot kick.
00:15:24
Speaker
So... it was It was frustrating, um but there's just there strikers who, you know, from the way they play the game, this guy is going to be really good at taking penalties. And there are guys who, you know, from the way they play the game that maybe they're not going to be as good. And I would definitely put Jordan in the second category there.
00:15:45
Speaker
Yeah, he I will in his defense, though, you know, this is the fourth time that he has taken a penalty, either in a game or in a shootout. He has converted his two shootout attempts, both of them quite well.
00:16:00
Speaker
If memory serves, he had the penalty last. This is the second time he's taken a penalty in a game. Last year, he had the penalty against Pumas, and I thought he, know, he took that well. I don't have honestly, I don't really I don't wouldn't have a lot of.
00:16:15
Speaker
concerned about him taking being in a shootout in the future. I don't know. He's not the guy. He's not the first guy on team sheet to, to take a penalty in a, in a game that matters, you know, in in the game, but I don't have a problem with him being in the shootout lineup.
00:16:30
Speaker
I would say that, you know, if I had to pick five guys, he's right in that mix, maybe with Ferreira and, and Pedro de la Vega editors that I wouldn't, I would, and maybe even Danny Leyva, another player who I wouldn't mind seeing take penalties. Leyva could have potentially taken this one too.
00:16:49
Speaker
a guy who has now been on the field for at least two penalties this year. And, it, with an opportunity to get his first career goal and, and he didn't get to do it.
00:17:01
Speaker
Uh, but the Sounders to their credit, they were able, they picked up kind of right where they left off. They kept creating danger, ah The next real good chance came from Pedro de la Vega.
00:17:12
Speaker
He gets a good look at a right footed shot, sends it just wide. And then almost immediately after that, Kalani Kosarienzi, believe dribbles into the box and he has Rothrock to his left, right? This is the play that he has.
00:17:31
Speaker
I think he has Rothrock to his left and he does. He, And it would have been ah not the easiest pass, but he ends up shooting it with his left and it and it goes wide. Felt like between those two that it was, you'd like to see one of those at least get on frame.
00:17:46
Speaker
You would. Yeah, it it definitely felt in that period of time, i'd say roughly like 10 minutes after the missed penalty, that it felt like the Sounders were kind of like trying to get that goal back almost and yeah pressing a little hard in situations where I think that some slightly more heads up or I hate to use the term selfish, but people know what I mean. Less selfish play um probably.
00:18:08
Speaker
would have given them a chance at some better results and and would have made the game a little less nerve wracking because I, same as with the penalty, I feel like if they got a second before our cell got their first, it was probably lights out.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah. ah And for really for the first 30 or so minutes, the Sounders were kind of on top of of RSL yeah their press was working really good. They were sort of set up that one of the the changes for this game, I guess we should state this.
00:18:37
Speaker
The Sounders were missing ostensibly 11 players, but they were missing five genuine starters from this game. Uh, Yamar was out. Kim Kee, he was out, uh, Obed Vargas, Christian rolled on.
00:18:53
Speaker
Who am I missing?
00:18:56
Speaker
ah Snyder Brunel, Reed Baker Whiting. these are These are key players. Georgie. Georgie. Yeah, I mean, these are all players who would you would expect to be playing a role in this game.
00:19:11
Speaker
And they ended up starting in in sort of a hybrid 4-2-3-1, depending on what part of the phase of play they're But they were pressing out of a three four three And it was working really well. like They were giving...
00:19:27
Speaker
They were giving ah RSL really all they could handle. And it was it was good to see because that's one of the things that I think we've seen weighing in the post-Leagues Cup is that their press has not their repress has not really been as effective as it had been before that.
00:19:46
Speaker
Yeah, I totally agree. this This felt a little bit more like... um that team that the league's cup team ah that knew what their identity was and and felt confident enough to carry out their, their game plan. um I think some of that has been players getting healthy and having to reintegrate into the team and maybe they've had to change the way they were doing things a little bit.
00:20:09
Speaker
This felt like the first game where Jordan and the rest of the guys were really, um in sync, you know, um i thought Jesus looked great at the 10. I mean, I don't want Rosnack moving back a line necessarily, but he and Jordan felt like they had really good chemistry in this game. He's just made several just sort of mouthwatering kind passes.
00:20:28
Speaker
Yes, he did. Um, and And but it did feel like they were able to consistently start attacks and dangerous positions because they were pressing hard. And one of the things that we talked about much earlier in the season, much, much earlier, back when things looked quite a bit more dire, was the Sounders were pressing fairly effectively, but they weren't doing anything with those opportunities that they were creating. Right.
00:20:51
Speaker
And I think that that has been kind of the case over, you know, the last month to six weeks or so, where it's not that they're not pressing. It's not that they're not pressing effectively, but that decisiveness when they get the ball just wasn't there as much.
00:21:04
Speaker
um And I don't think they had been pressing quite as effectively either. I will say that. But I think it was a combination of the two. And in this game, you know, they felt really crisp. They felt decisive.
00:21:16
Speaker
And it was nice to see that again. Against a team in RSL that has given them some trouble um over you know over the last couple of years. Never an easy out, as they say. No, definitely not.
00:21:26
Speaker
Definitely not. And so the Zenders get it to halftime. And I would like to think that they... I think they probably felt pretty good about things. They were out shooting RSL 10-4... ah RSL did not you know did not really generate any genuine chances.
00:21:43
Speaker
The Sounders had an expected goal of 1.85. A lot of it came from the penalty and and the goal they actually scored, but they were they were generating chances. And they were they were looking like the team that was more likely to win.
00:21:56
Speaker
And you know the most encouraging thing, I thought, was probably the play of Zhao Paolo and Danny Leyva in the central midfield. This is ah this is a pairing who we haven't seen since spring essentially like this is ah they may have played together i think may has maybe been the like the last i think they played against lafc maybe ah in may but they have not played together much at all in part because palo has been hurt a lot of the time this was his first start since may i believe and they you know they
00:22:33
Speaker
This is the actually, and I think it was the the first time in like four months that he'd even played more than 30 minutes. And Jaipo looked good. You know, I thought that was a really genuinely good development that they can still get quality minutes out of Jaipo.
00:22:47
Speaker
Alex Roldan deputized again as a center back. He looked good there. i John Bell looked good. ah Danny, la like I said, Danny Leyva looked sharp. He looked good.
00:22:58
Speaker
All the reserved Kalani Kosarienzi looked solid. Everyone that you sort of maybe had questions about, i thought was doing the job that you wanted them to do.
00:23:10
Speaker
Yeah, I think to get ah clean sheet against Portland, obviously, was step one, right? Getting a clean sheet against RSL with this group of players is a pretty nice step to to feeling confident to going into the playoffs that you can grind out these games. i mean, that's one of the things we've been talking about um over the past you know six weeks or so is the Sounders.
00:23:33
Speaker
were a team that we felt pretty confident going into the playoffs last year that could grind out these results that could get these one nils. And they didn't look like that team as much this year, but in this last few games, I'll be at their home. They're against teams that aren't necessarily offensive dynamos, but the Sounders have not faced a ton of threat. I mean, I think I don't know offhand what the XG against Portland was, um but against RSL, it was less than one goal. They had a pretty decent XG that I think it was 2.1 against our. Oh, can't.
00:24:00
Speaker
are like Sorry, the Portland is actually and and our cells actually. So talking about the defensive side, right? um Yeah. So between those two games, Portland had points. Both of them actually had point six.
00:24:16
Speaker
Yeah. So pretty good. You know, you you can, you can live with that. I think compared to what the Sounders had been doing defensively for, um you know, prior to that.
00:24:27
Speaker
And, and I think that that's just really important to, to show that they can get back into playing defense that good. um And hopefully that'll give them some confidence going into the playoffs because it was definitely the thing I was the most worried about was, Hey, the team is going to have to play a lot of games on the road and their defense just does not look super solid.
00:24:43
Speaker
I think it's looked extremely solid in the last couple of games. Yeah, the the road form is is definitely their biggest concern, I would say, at this point. i but you know, the so the second half starts...
00:24:56
Speaker
And RSL makes one change. They bring in Willie Agata. And frankly, there's still not not much has changed in terms of RSL's ability to generate chances.
00:25:07
Speaker
ah they They still, you know, that they're getting a little bit more dangerous. But the Sounders' chances are sort of starting to dry up a little bit. ah Until the They get a really nice chance in the 70th minute where Jesus, I believe it's Jesus Ferrer, plays a ball into Paul Rothrock, who takes it off his chest, hits it first time, and it goes just wide.
00:25:32
Speaker
ah yeah That felt like maybe the chance to to break it open. But then they get another good look. this Again, Ferreira puts in an absolutely gorgeous kind of blind ball that plays Morris in this i would leave in like the seventy ninth minute.
00:25:52
Speaker
He takes a dribble. He has Rothrock running. He just taps kind of like makes an easy pass over Rothrock. Rothrock converts it. Big sigh of relief. Sounders going to win this thing.
00:26:03
Speaker
All is great. Then the flag goes up. And yes, it does turn out that Morris was a little late in getting on side. And what's annoying about that one is that he yeah he would have scored that.
00:26:15
Speaker
i mean He would have been able to win that even if he had gotten onside like his. He did not get himself an advantage by standing in an offside position there. Right. And that's sort of the most frustrating offside you can get. It's not that he was going early or anything like that. He just never really got onside.
00:26:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's ah it's frustrating. I think it was I think it was you actually that that said this in the discord about the past came so completely out of nowhere that it seems like he right didn't have time to adjust to to how good of yeah it that was. Probably the problem.
00:26:48
Speaker
Yeah, which is, you know, i guess if I guess if there's going to be a cause to to being offside, that's not the worst one in the world. But there there were a lot of moments like that in this game where it felt like they were so, so close to clicking.
00:27:02
Speaker
um that had I been watching it live, not knowing, not knowing that they ended up winning, I would have been completely convinced that, Oh, well they've blown too many chances to get out of here with three points. Uh, so, you know, it was was refreshing that they didn't.
00:27:15
Speaker
Um, and I think this game, this is the best I felt about Jordan since he, uh, got back from injury, which is maybe kind of funny to say in a game where he missed a penalty, uh, had a, you know, a, a bad offside call that took a goal off the, uh, off the board and,
00:27:33
Speaker
you know, just had some chances that maybe you'd wish he did a little better with, but he just looked so much more like his old self and and much more confident and willing to run at guys and and um more in sync with, with, a with Jesus, especially then I think we've seen. So that's, that's definitely a relief heading into playoffs, especially as, as Moose's form has kind of taken a dip.
00:27:54
Speaker
Yeah, so before, though, the Sounders got out of this one, it did briefly look like they had they had indeed blown it. Mussovsky commits a, frankly, dumb foul.
00:28:05
Speaker
ah he A foul he does not need to commit at all. Kind of a trend. and its it Which is kind of a trend, unfortunately. And ah RSL gets a free kick from, you know, 30 yards away or whatever.
00:28:17
Speaker
They send a ball to the back post. Guy heads it back across. Agata heads it in. tie game. Sounders have blown another late lead. Yeah. Despite sort of outplaying the opponent only this time v a r and intervenes. And yes, the, the, ah the guy who had the assist, whose name was escaping me was absolutely offside.
00:28:41
Speaker
Frankly, he was just as, if not more offside than Morris was on his goal. So I don't really have any, and and like the sounders did a good job of holding their line. i don't I don't feel guilty about this goal getting this allowed. It's a bad goal. It should not have counted.
00:28:58
Speaker
this is When I talk about how I would rather live in a world where that call gets corrected than a world where VAR doesn't exist and and theoretically it all comes out in the wash, I just feel better when ah obviously mistake, they missed the the offside call.
VAR and Its Impact on Games
00:29:16
Speaker
They got it right. Right. This is yes is exactly why I like VAR. Yeah, i'm I'm, you know, I'm with you. I've had some issues with the implementation at times. Yeah, it's not perfect.
00:29:29
Speaker
But yeah, it's calls that are this bad. um I'm very glad it it exists. um The calls that are a little more ticky tack. I wish that there was a. I wish that there was a standard that way.
00:29:45
Speaker
You know, because like obviously for offside calls, clear and obvious is not the standard ah because they review everything. And so they want to get the call right. And I just like when we're doing. You know, back into the left, minuscule fractions of a shoe tip, it's it can be very annoying.
00:30:05
Speaker
But for calls like this, I think unless you are ah just total VAR instant replay abolitionist person, across everything, you have to appreciate it in a situation like this.
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. ah But the setters in the end, they get out of the game with the win.
Sounders Playoff Prospects
00:30:24
Speaker
They end up using among others, Peter Kingston gets his and MLS debut and Tino Lopez.
00:30:30
Speaker
ah They another emergency call up. gets on the field and plays actually a a fair number of minutes. Stuart Hawkins, ah we didn't really talk about him. He gets 30 minutes. I actually thought Stu Hawkins looked really good.
00:30:42
Speaker
ah Maybe the most confident he's ever looked. He's a 19-year-old center back who has been hurt for like the last four months. And looks like, i don't know, I would actually kind of like to see him against New York City FC.
00:30:56
Speaker
But yeah my big takeaway from this game is really just... This is a deep team and it's kind of remarkable. They can kind of mix and match with almost everyone that they, i mean, let's not get over, go over the top.
00:31:09
Speaker
The starting 11 in this game was a solid group. ah Like, yeah, I don't really have any complaints about the starting 11. Um, But they they had a very thin bench.
00:31:21
Speaker
They had, I think, three players that started that we knew were not going to be able to go 90 minutes. And so they were going to have to use players off the bench who they didn't really have many of. ah But I think this was just a a a good table setter for going into the playoffs. they get They're now at 52 points.
00:31:40
Speaker
They have a couple wins since the League's Cup.
00:31:46
Speaker
They're not flying into the into this thing, but their defensive issues seem to have been mostly solved. They are playing with some confidence.
00:31:56
Speaker
i i feel I feel mostly good after this game. Yeah, I think so. i think that you know in a weird way, as much as you would like to see them throttle Portland and as much as you would maybe...
00:32:09
Speaker
feel a little better about them, you know, beating RSL for one or something like that, seeing the proof of concept of, no, this team can grind out one, one, no wins. If they, if they, you know, they, they can do that.
00:32:21
Speaker
Um, they're going to be playing better teams in the playoffs. Although Minnesota is certainly not likely to score more goals than, than a Portland or RSL. I would, I would wager. Um, but you know, if they get past Minnesota, obviously they're going to have to deal with teams that know how to attack.
00:32:36
Speaker
Um, So it's not the same level that they're going to have to get to if they're going to get out of the playoffs and and get to to a final. But I feel a lot less resigned to an early exit than I did maybe two or three weeks ago, I guess.
00:32:54
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I look at the the West and this has sort of been our... We've said this many times through the years, but I look at the West and I just don't see other than LAFC. I don't see a team who I'm really freaking out about playing.
00:33:07
Speaker
Now, if the Sounders get l LAFC in the in the first round, which is certainly a possibility, the optimist in me says, well, we we're probably going to face them anyway. And I just as well face them in a three game series than in a one off.
00:33:23
Speaker
I would rather put off playing them, though, as long as possible. And so yeah I think the Sounders pretty clearly would most like to play Minnesota United.
00:33:34
Speaker
But if they get San Diego, I think I'm OK with that as well. i If they can just avoid, if LAFC you can just win their season finale and make it easy on us, that would be great because they'll finish second or third.
00:33:46
Speaker
yeah And we don't have to worry about them. Yeah, I think ah the thing with LAFC for me is that I think the Sounders over three can beat Minnesota, San Diego, Vancouver.
00:33:59
Speaker
i really think that. I don't think that they would be the favorites, you know, i sure especially against Vancouver. um That's a tough ask. I don't think they can beat LAFC over three.
00:34:10
Speaker
I just don't. I just think LAFC is too good right now. but I think anybody can beat anybody in one game, you know? Right. And that's, that's the format we have, you know, that that is the plan format that we have. Everybody has planned by the same rules.
00:34:24
Speaker
And so, yeah, I would, I would, I understand the the thought of, and rather if we're going to get knocked out, I'd rather get knocked out early and just be able to relax. I do kind of get that, but um for me, I want the best chance at at getting to an MLS cup final.
00:34:41
Speaker
I do too. ah And, you know, we'll we'll have, this is one of the least interesting Certainly, of the i this might be the first time in Sounders history that they are absolutely locked into not just the playoffs, but they are locked into their spot in the playoffs. And they only have three potential opponents in the first round, even.
00:35:06
Speaker
ah This is not the most intriguing from a Sounders perspective that it's ever been. The sixth spot is also locked in, I believe. ah The one spot is locked in So there's just not there's a lot not as much potential movement on decision day as there usually is.
00:35:21
Speaker
But, ah you know, that's OK. I would much rather have a low stress. I'm glad that the Sounders are going to play at New York City FC without anything on the line like that suits me just fine.
00:35:34
Speaker
Yeah, it it does make it interesting of like, what do you do with this game? Do you use it to really dial in your tactics for the playoffs? Or do you say we're just going to put as many guys as we can and bubble wrap, give the kids a chance and ah whatever happens, happens.
00:35:51
Speaker
I think it's going to be a balance. ah Like yeah Christian tonight played, you know, Christian Roldan played in the these two games with the U.S. national team. He played.
00:36:02
Speaker
a hundred odd minutes, a hundred, about a hundred minutes. Yeah. I think you've probably just given the day off, it would, it would be a little silly to me to play him, but you know, Obed has had almost a full week off. I don't see any reason why, you know, maybe, maybe you give it, he played a lot though during, you know, with Mexico, but that not that much more than he would have played with the Sounders.
00:36:23
Speaker
I could see the argument for playing Obed a little bit easier. yeah, Then let's see who else did they got. um You know, you probably don't need to start new who, but if the option, if it's between him and Reed Baker Whiting, maybe you do start them.
00:36:41
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know. It'll be, it's going to be an interesting lineup. I think the, The one I'm most curious about, I think, is Stuart Hawkins versus John Bell at center back.
00:36:53
Speaker
Or I suppose maybe even against maybe versus Alex Rodon. don't know. Maybe starting Alex in the playoffs is like a real possibility. I would tend to think that giving Stu a look, though, and seeing how he handles New York City FC is like a real good test for him.
00:37:09
Speaker
And if he handles this well, maybe that gives you a little bit more freedom to not rush. ya Give the Yamar another week off. right So i do think this is ah an intriguing week as far as lineups go.
00:37:24
Speaker
Yeah, it'll it'll be interesting to see. And I think for me, like for for my own entertainment ah purposes, i would much rather see some of the kids get a chance and see a little bit of rotation or lot a lot better rotation ah because it makes it, you know, if they trot out nine of their best available 11 teams,
00:37:45
Speaker
and try to treat it like a straight ahead game, and don't care. what like i just want to I just want guys to not get hurt, and I'm probably going to be playing Bellacho or something most of the time. But you know if Stuart Hawkins is starting, um if they you know go crazy with the lineup, do some some interesting stuff tactically, just to see what happens, that that could be pretty fun.
00:38:06
Speaker
Yeah. Well, all right, let's take a
Podcast Sponsorships and Offers
00:38:08
Speaker
break. We're going to come back. going to talk a little bit more about Christian Roldan's performance for the U S national team in their two one win over Australia.
00:38:17
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:40:36
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Adiates. So...
Christian Roldan's International Performance
00:40:41
Speaker
We have a whole lot to talk about in this second segment, but I did want to take some time just because it happened right before we recorded and it's fresh in my mind.
00:40:50
Speaker
But Christian Roldan just put on quite a performance for the U.S. national team. i You know, I don't know if it was a huge shock that he got the start against Australia tonight, ah but Pochettino clearly is starting to put some trust in. it's It's funny just to see the journey that he's made, you know,
00:41:09
Speaker
A month ago, month and a half ago, he hadn't been called into the national team and two years. And now all of a sudden he is starting games against, you know, with pretty close to a first choice lineup.
00:41:23
Speaker
ah He gets a start. Doesn't go real well at the beginning. ends up kind of failing to clear a ball in the box and Australia scores to take a one zero lead early in this one.
00:41:37
Speaker
And it was, I would imagine a lot of people going, well, there you go, Christian. This is why we don't want you on the team. But then 15 minutes later, he sort of shrugs off a tackle, puts in this gorgeous ball to Haji Wright, who finishes and then and it equalizes.
00:41:53
Speaker
And then and the second half, there's a foul ah sort of on the, on the U S side of the, of the field and rolled on, picks up his head and sees right. Making this run.
00:42:07
Speaker
He sends a gorgeous ball over the top, right? Makes a nice move and then finishes. And all of a sudden, The U.S. beat have, you know, this is it's maybe not it's it seems a little silly, but this is like the U.S.'s first win over a top 25 team in a long, long time.
00:42:26
Speaker
Granted, it's at home. It's, you know, they have all the advantages here, but you you kind of take what you can get. But more than anything, Christian Roldan. really kind of did did a job here, and everyone is kind of talking about him.
00:42:42
Speaker
ah After the game, Pochettino is talking about how this is exactly the kind of player that we want on this team and just pumping him up. it is It is very satisfying to see.
00:42:55
Speaker
like ah right as you know if they were gonna if you pick the 25-man roster for the World Cup tomorrow, almost a lock that Christian Roldan is going to be on it. Yeah, I mean, I think he I think it would have to be. And um which is I'm very happy for Christian, but kind of annoying for me because it means I have to.
00:43:14
Speaker
Pay attention to the S during the world. I know I was like all ready to check out on this thing. Yeah. Um, but now, you know, I'm still not going to go to any games, um, for, for reasons, but, uh, yeah, it's, I'm, I'm very happy for Christian. I think that Pocatino is, is the, the first coach that with the U S national team that has understood what kind of player Christian is.
00:43:36
Speaker
and yeah um deployed him in that way. And I think that that that makes a huge difference. um Obviously, you know, the the guys that we all know and love are never going to budge.
00:43:50
Speaker
um They've, I think a lot of them have ah already started being a little bit revisionist about, about this game even, but um you know, who cares? They're, they're morons and what they think doesn't matter. And it never has, and it never will.
00:44:02
Speaker
um And i'm I'm just happy for Christian. You know, he, he took advantage of this opportunity that, you know, I mean, I remember us having a conversation when um there was ah a squad that came out a little while ago you know,
00:44:16
Speaker
would have been three or four months ago, I think um that, you know, was supposedly if you're not in this squad and you haven't been in any of the squads recently, you're just completely out of contention for, for the world cup and, and neither Christian nor Reagan were we're on it. And it seemed crazy to us that, that neither of those yeah guys made it. It still seems crazy to me that Reagan hasn't made it, but Christian has just played so, so well this season. He has been, you know, I think,
00:44:41
Speaker
arguably the sounders most important player maybe not even arguably i don' know opinion i don't know on that's even a controversial opinion yeah um and and he he's just i think he's been the best defensive midfielder in mls beyond a shadow of a doubt and uh he was on yeah my he's on my best 11 i'll i'll say that right now i i think that anybody who doesn't have him on his best 11 lives on the east coast i will just i'll Although it seems like the main guy who's going to contend for him is this, uh, the San Diego number six, uh, or whatever his name is.
00:45:17
Speaker
Uh, but and want to read you this quote from, from Christian today says I'm riding the wave. I've had such a great second half of the year. It's been great to enjoy the moment. I'm continuing in that way and not being satisfied.
00:45:29
Speaker
I know i can reach another level. that's That's what I want to hear from Christian going into the playoffs. That is... and you know, he has been all year. He's had to answer questions about how, look, don't you need to rest?
00:45:44
Speaker
You're playing all these minutes. You're, you know... ah aren't you tired? And he's like, I'm, I'm just, my attitude is I'm going to say I'm ready to go every single time. And it's like, this is, this is the stuff that Pochettino wants to hear.
00:45:59
Speaker
And it's, it's, if anything, it's a little surprising to me that it's taken him this long to sort of like grasp that Christian is his type of player. ah He is always team first. You know, there, I had another quote from him earlier today from last night's,
00:46:15
Speaker
yeah he or Yesterday, he had an an availability with the U.S. national team. And i want to try to find this quote because it's I thought it was really good. He says... I belong here. That's what I tell myself every day. Each and every day, I compete at a very high level in training and I'm just waiting for my number to be called.
00:46:33
Speaker
If my number isn't called, I want to be the best teammate I can be and I'm still going to compete off the bench or in training. Sometimes your name isn't called and you can still make an impact. That's my mindset throughout camp.
00:46:45
Speaker
I feel like I belong. I really think I can make a run into the World Cup squad. Half of that is believing and manifesting that you...
00:46:56
Speaker
that you believed that you something and whatever, ah but that you have to, that you, you have to believe basically that you belong on the team. And it's just like, that is, that is like per that you can't, if you were going to pretend to draw up the perfect player that you want, one of these guys on your team, it's this guy. Yeah.
00:47:19
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, even if you, The joke about the him being on the last World Cup squad was, oh, he's in the mascot. He's the, you know, he's locker room guy or whatever. But like, yeah, like you do need to have guys that that instill that attitude into a team of, frankly, a bunch of jaded little crybaby.
00:47:38
Speaker
I'll just stop saying what I feel about them there. You know, this is a super unlikable team full of guys who think they are entitled to success and entitled to their place on the team. And I think the way that you change that is bring in guys who had to work their asses off to get there and who didn't get called in just because of the club that identified them as being a good prospect when they were 16 years old or whatever.
00:48:00
Speaker
ah You bring in the guys that had to fight and scratch and claw their way into relevance and into the national team conversation and, you know, not to sound like all of the jaded old U.S. national team veterans that they trot out for the ESPN broadcast. But like, there's some truth to it that those teams that were good when they weren't supposed to be, a lot of that was because they had to fight so hard for it.
00:48:26
Speaker
Right. And... You know, I think that you can't have an entire team full of and MLS scrappers and and go very far in the World Cup. I don't think anybody's arguing that, but you have to have some of those guys on the team to push and to to exactly so give some of these guys a credible threat at their playing time if they if they don't show up and they don't work hard enough.
00:48:46
Speaker
Absolutely. and And I think that it's worth reminding ourselves that Christian has been an exceptional player. Is you know, is he on pure talent?
00:48:57
Speaker
I don't know even know what that means. What is talent like, what is pure talent is effort and will and sort of togetherness are those not also talented, but whatever like raw talent is, maybe he's not, you know,
00:49:13
Speaker
you know Maybe Tanner Tessman is a better player, and Tanner Tessman looks like he's made some strides as well. But I just think rolled on is a really good shout to be on this team. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets some minutes in the World Cup.
00:49:32
Speaker
I wouldn't be surprised if he starts big games. ah you know Matt Doyle oftentimes compared him to Kyle Beckerman in the 2014 cycle.
00:49:44
Speaker
He was a guy who clearly wasn't the best player, but he just sort of made himself... really useful and he ended up starting a bunch of games for that team and did a pretty damn good job.
00:49:57
Speaker
you know Maybe he doesn't give the team the their highest ceiling, but man, yeah he's not going to get cheated. And I think that's really... and And I got to say, I love that also for the Sounders going into the playoffs.
00:50:10
Speaker
Because this if you want to figure out a way to get Christian motivated for the playoffs, dangle a ah World Cup spot out there for him, right? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I really like the Beckerman um comparison because i think that...
00:50:27
Speaker
they have so much in common, even though I wouldn't say their games are like necessarily super comparable, but like they're guys that are MLS lifers that everybody kind that watches the league kind of knows could have played at a higher level and had and had success. and And I think we'll always kind of wonder what what would have happened.
00:50:46
Speaker
um But also who every other, the fans of every other team hates just despises And the fans of their team are like, how can you like, how is it possible that you hate this guy? Because they're not dirty. Like Kyle Beckerman wasn't a dirty player. He's a dirty hippie, not a dirty player.
00:51:02
Speaker
um You know, he he was just annoying. He was just annoying to play against. And Christian's the same way. And that's that's another thing that like it's good to have one of those guys on your team in international football.
00:51:16
Speaker
yeah, yeah, that's, that's about, that's about it. Yeah. Uh, well, I think that's probably a good point. We don't have a whole lot more to talk about. There's no reason to, to extend this longer than we need to, but, uh, it was good getting this on the record. Aaron, we have, uh,
00:51:32
Speaker
I'm sure we'll have plenty more content coming out this week, but ah yeah, signing off in but on behalf of Aaron Campo, or I should say thank you to our sponsor, Full Bull Wines and Hacks and Ferments, of course our sponsors.
00:51:45
Speaker
If you i also issue a reminder, If you want to get onto the Sounder at Heart Discord, ah become a supporter, send us an email, and we'll get you all signed up.
00:51:57
Speaker
But it was good hanging out with you, Aaron. Thank you, Lickit, for once again producing and editing this wonderful episode. I am Jeremiah Shan. This is No Sarietes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
00:52:11
Speaker
And remember, you'll never get alone.
00:52:42
Speaker
Let's go and sounders. um