Transcript
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'Shaughnessy.
Speaker: Let's go. What save by Frye. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winning. Here comes Ruiz Dias through the middle to crowd it for Seattle.
Speaker: And now they truly can start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup. Nico Lodero leaves absolutely no doubt. The Sounders rule the region.
Speaker: Seattle, Sounders, it's got built.
Speaker: This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Nice work on your little yacht yat thing. And Portland can't say shit. know, what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't?
Speaker: Ever since Southert Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take over coming seriously. Go, not Seattle!
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.
Speaker: They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Speaker: Welcome to another episode of Nos Adientes, part of the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, sponsored by Full Pool Wines and our subscribers. We're recording on Tuesday, May 20th, 2025.
Speaker: twenty five I am your host, Jeremiah Chan. Joining me today is my co-host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer... and producer lick it. ah Well, the Sounders are coming off a three game week in which they won one, lost one and tied one with the last of those being a one, one tie against the Portland Timbers.
Speaker: Personally, I feel like that's about the minimum level of expectation to be satisfied, but maybe not thrilled.
Speaker: I don't know, Aaron, is that a is that a fair way of putting it? Is it is am I being too kind, too harsh? No, I think I think that's totally fair. And I think that it's it's one of those things where there's a distinction between being totally, you know, sober and objective and looking at things in the larger context. And you say three games in a week, all of them on the road to pretty good teams and You beat the team you should beat. You got a point against the team you should expect, you know, you would hope to get a point against.
Speaker: Didn't go great in the midweek, but you were kind of punting that game. And that was the rational thing to do. You got to feel, you know, job done. Right. And that is, I think, the like I said, the sober analysis of the situation.
Speaker: But then there's the reality of the fact that it just didn't feel all that satisfying. Really, um the win in Houston was great. ah The LAFC game was not great. um Whether or not you think punting the game was was the right call, I mostly do. Yeah.
Speaker: And, you know, whether or not you think it really means anything, i don't really think it does. It's suck to watch, you know, to make two hours to watch that. It was a bummer to to experience. And then you've got the, you know, the game in Portland, which I thought the Sounders played well in a lot of ways.
Speaker: um i was really impressed with their ability to mostly shut down the Timbers aside from from the Timbers. One good chance that they took advantage of to their credit. And they created some pretty decent chances. You know, I felt like they were the better team.
Speaker: I think a point was probably a fair result in that game. And I think it's one that you, you know, it doesn't feel terrible, but I think especially after, you know, the the setup being that for no loss in l L.A. saying, well, they better make that worth it. And, you know, they didn't really like it was a point totally fine results. And so, yeah, it's just like the yeah, you can say this is fine on paper, but it wasn't a great experience, I guess.
Speaker: I think I would agree with that. I will just push back in a sort of a broader narrative perspective, which is we are still not halfway through the season.
Speaker: And if you are more concerned with how they're playing and less concerned with, the results of a given game. I did feel like we saw more positive than negative from this week.
Speaker: I think we saw them play. Like you said, they won the game they should win and they were the better team in that game. Even, you know, like you you can't just throw out the red card.
Speaker: And I think we can all agree that it was probably a harsh red card. I don't think it was incorrect, but I think it was probably harsh. and But they they put Houston to the sword as soon as that, you know, they dominated the second half of that game, just like you would expect them to. I was very, I think you can be nothing but fully satisfied with that first game.
Speaker: Second game, you know, the first half I thought was, fine. Basically they were in the game. They were maybe a little unlucky not to go into halftime tide. Maybe it's a totally different outcome.
Speaker: If they go in tide, don't, I don't know, but they got blown out. i mean, they got played off the pitch in the second half. There's no reason to really sugarcoat that they looked awful in the second half.
Speaker: And then I think in the third game from a balance of play, they did a lot really well. They, you know, they created the better chances with the caveat being that the single best chance was was Portland's. no like that's sure That's fair.
Speaker: But in the balance of play, they were the better team. They they they dictated the way that game went. They were more aggressive. They had more of the ball. They took more shots. they you know In the second half,
Speaker: the Portland, the Timbers only ended up with one shot in the second half. And it was like sort of a long range kind of nothing effort. And the Sounders, you know, they didn't create a ton of super dangerous moments, but they had a lot of kind of almost moments.
Speaker: And I guess my point in all this is I came away feeling mostly good about the way they approached the game, the way that they played in the game. And yeah, I was frustrated that didn't win, but you know, I,
Speaker: i I just felt more good than bad. I think I feel good where this team is. i'm not, I don't have any real sense of crisis about, you know, their prospects moving forward, I guess.
Speaker: Yeah, i'm i'm I'm in complete agreement. I think that it's just the emotional, the way it landed emotionally was sort of a deflating, I guess, to some degree. But like the LAFC game, I think there was this desire to make this and make it into,
Speaker: some kind of meaningful thing that happened. And I just like, it certainly wasn't meaningful for LAFC season when they lost five, two in Seattle, you know, and I, and I don't think it needs to be meaningful for the sounder season either. And I think that we saw a team against Portland who did not appear to be phased by that result.
Speaker: You know, they, they came out, I think with a ah pretty clear understanding of what they wanted to do. And I think they were by and large able to do that. um You know, Portland is ah is a really scary attacking team.
Speaker: they they and And over the last few years, they have given the Sounders nightmares. And I think the Sounders were able to pretty effectively keep them from doing the things they like to do. Obviously, they had a great chance that they created. And think You know, there were some definitely some lapses on that play, but the Timbers are really good at creating defensive lapses.
Speaker: They're really good at putting teams into situations where they don't have a lot of great options. And that was the only time they were able to do that in that game. So I think you have to be pretty happy about that. And I think if there was this sort of crushing blow to the momentum ah from the LAFC game, you're you're just not going to see a defensive performance like that against the Timbers. And so, yeah, I definitely felt pretty good about the way the team played after the Portland game. Sure.
Speaker: Like, I just really, really wanted to win as I as i think everybody does, especially. Yeah, I... Yeah. So I, I went, I wrote about this, but in case you, you didn't read it, I, I did try. I traveled to the game. I actually sat in the supporter section.
Speaker: yeah was the first time that I've sat in an away section since COVID, at least I don't honestly remember. I've only, I've only done it a few times. I've done it in Vancouver. I've done it in San Jose. I've done it in Portland a few times.
Speaker: And I, feel like the last time I did it was like 2019, 2018, maybe. i don't know. i it was i do i could tell you the game, but I know i don't want to look it up right now.
Speaker: And i took my I took my 12 year old daughter with me. We took the train down there, ah hung out with my cousin, um my cousin and her son came with us to the game.
Speaker: And, you know, they were they were they were rooting for the Timbers, but they were polite about it. They were sort of under. I told them, like, look, we're sitting in the supporter section, so you're not going be able to wear Timbers gear.
Speaker: And you got to kind of keep it on the down low if you're going to cheer. And they were fine with it. And honestly, i had... And this is maybe... where yeah i I went back and rewatched the game. So I do think I have sort of an analytical approach to this, but in the moment I just had a great time. I enjoyed the game.
Speaker: I was disappointed by the result, but I, I did have just a fun day. It was ah a really satisfying experience to go down there. And so I guess that's somewhat,
Speaker: I'm sure that's influencing my relative. Like I wasn't really mad at the end of that game, even though I wanted to win the game, but I just was not, i think if maybe if I'd watched it on TV, I would have been more frustrated, but And I, and I, again, I rewatched it and I think you can come away feeling like the Sounders left some points on the table, but at the same time, they didn't generate a ton of great chances. They generated a few good chances and a few chances that maybe could have been better, but it wasn't like they got robbed or something. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah I guess that's sort of why I'm more sort of accepting of that, of that result. Yeah. And it I mean, it hasn't necessarily been this way as frequently the last few meetings, but I think that it's easy to forget with, you know, all the hype and emotional elements of this rivalry that this is just the way that games are a lot of the time.
Speaker: Right. there It is no matter like the the Timbers are a really good attacking team. The Sounders, I think, are a really good attacking team. ah The Timbers are not great defensively generally. And for, you know,
Speaker: for whatever reason, they seem to be able to generally get it together to play pretty well defensively. I thought they they looked really good defensively in this game, in fact. um And, you know, it's just it's just there's a lot of tension in these rivalry games. And I think this was another one of those where nobody wants to be the one to lose these games.
Speaker: And I think that that was really a factor of play in this one for sure. Yeah, the Timbers did not get stretched. I will, you know, that that is one of their, when when they are struggling, it's because they're getting stretched.
Speaker: And they didn't do that in this game. And I do think, you know, Phil Neville probably deserves some credit for changing the way this team approached games. You know, last year, they were sort of a just go all out. They were attacking always, but they were giving up a ton of chances.
Speaker: and you know I don't know. It hasn't led to the most attractive soccer, but they have clearly dialed that back. They might give up 20 fewer goals than they did last year. They're probably are going to score 20 fewer goals than they scored last year, too, though.
Speaker: And you know they have you know it's interesting. ah David Costa is the the replacement for Evander, and he reminds me a lot of Albert Rusnak. And notably he had the assist in this one. Roos neck had, of course the goal.
Speaker: Maybe we want to talk about that. It was a really well taken goal. i just yeah I thought the the whole buildup on that was really good. Christian Roldan had a few passes. you know yeah It was his pass that kind of sets it up because he plays in Danny Masovsky.
Speaker: Masovsky does a really good job of holding off the defender and then poking it to Rusnak, who sort of does his trademark move where he you know cuts it back a little bit and then hits it near post.
Speaker: I thought it was a really well-constructed play. And it was maybe ah actually I thought it was really good to see Mussofsky do something that wasn't just scoring a, you know, putting himself in a good scoring position, but actually doing something in the buildup, which he hasn't done a lot of.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that that's a sign that he is maybe a little more comfortable in the system, you know, because I i noticed that as well. I thought he he provided just some really solid hold up play in this game. I thought that he he had he had a couple of of nice little sort of creative moments in this, which has not, like you said, really been a part of his game. We've seen too often. So um it was definitely it was a quietly very solid performance from Musavski, I think. um And yeah.
Speaker: you know Obviously, I want him to get back on the score sheet again, but I do think that that's really the the difference that you can see having a guy who was just more comfortable playing that kind of striker role in this the system that I think kind of requires that kind of play um versus you know maybe some other guys that have ah have played that role to less success at times this season.
Speaker: yeah I've just been very... i think the most impressive thing about Masovsky so far during this stretch of games isn't just the scoring. And the scoring is clearly the most impressive thing. But it does feel like he's doing... Everything he's doing just feels...
Speaker: not not like a player who is playing out of his mind, but like a player who understands his role, who understands the system and is just doing his best to optimize his talents within that system. And it's not, you know, yeah I would feel a little differently if he was just banging in goals or he was, you know, I don't, I don't know. It it is funny because,
Speaker: Jordan Morris and Raul Rui Diaz, for instance, have had runs like this where they scored at a similar pace. But they I don't know if they ever made it look, don't want to say easy, but make it look so repeatable.
Speaker: like yeah There is a d dynamism to the way that both Jordan and Raul play that inherently feels like I don't know, like they could take over a game, but also you can understand how they disappear.
Speaker: And Masovsky, just if there's something about the way he plays where it's like, no, he could just keep doing this for another for, ah you know, there's no reason he couldn't do this for a whole year. You're not going score 30 goals, but.
Speaker: Right. he He's the closest thing the Sounders have had to like a true poacher since Eddie. Maybe. i mean, maybe. Yeah, it's obviously Raul scored plenty of of those goals. Jordan scores plenty of those goals as well. But he ah like he's kind of just like a poor man's Chris Wondolowski at this point is kind of the way his game feels.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that's a very good analogy. He's popping up in those spots so frequently and a way that, like you said, is repeatable in a way where Jordan just, you know, muscling past guys and scoring on the break is not going to happen as often as Danny seems to be popping up in those spots.
Speaker: um Raul scoring a weird worldie from 30 yards away is not going to happen as frequently as Masovsky popping up in those spots. So I totally understand what you mean by that. And to be clear,
Speaker: When Jordan is healthy, I think he walks into the starting lineup. I don't think there's any question about it. But it is really nice to have a guy that you just know you can depend on to at least be in the right spots and and cause some problems for the opposition in and game out.
Speaker: Yeah, on that point, you know I know there's been some discussion about whether or not Jordan should walk into the starting lineup. I think what the way Mussovsky's playing is that it gives the Sounders a little bit more freedom to maybe not rush Jordan back into the starting lineup.
Speaker: But I do think that once he's fit and he's deemed ready to go, he's going to be the starter. And I do think it's worth reminding everyone when he's played this year, he's been really good.
Speaker: It's, it's not like he hasn't been good. He just has been hurt a lot more this year than we're used to him being hurt, but he has three goals in, you know, less than 300 minutes. He's, yeah he's playing well, you know, he, he, yeah and he, and he's doing, he's getting into good scoring positions.
Speaker: He probably could have four goals pretty easily at this point. So like, I think maybe it's worth a little bit of taking a step back before we, we hand the job to Danny Mussofsky, who is a 29 year old currently in the middle of a ah career year. So, you know, you ride the hot, you, you, you ride like, I, I don't think he's going to fall apart, but I also think yeah this is not a 20 goal scorer. I don't, I don't think that at least, but and also, also this is a guy who a month and a half ago,
Speaker: People were saying, i don't care who we have at Defiance. but They have to be better than this guy. This guy's a waste of space. I can't believe this guy's on the team. This guy's this specific guy is the reason Craig Wildbowl should be fired.
Speaker: So I do think that it's okay. like Maybe we're jerking the rudder a little too hard back and forth on Danny Masovsky at this point. and Maybe it's a little closer to the middle. ah And you know he's he's just a very solid and MLS rotational striker on ah on a good team.
Speaker: Yeah. ah One player who i I am ready to maybe get a little bit more hyped about and that maybe we have somehow, I don't think we've slept on him, but Albert Rusnak right now is yeah has to legitimately be in the MVP considered discussion. like He's on six goals and three assists.
Speaker: If you run his stat you know his rate stats against basically anyone in the league ah over the last... year he compares very favorably and i mean you can put him up against ricky puge you can put him up against uh leo messi you can like literally anyone in the league you can compare his rate stats over the last year and he will be right there in terms of attacking players he is yeah playing really really well he is right now
Speaker: I think he's got four goals and two and an assist in his last four games. He's and he just he just looks like he is his is hitting a different level than even last. I mean, he was good last year.
Speaker: i do think he is playing better right now than any point last year. Yeah, I think so. I feel like I'm curious what you think about this. It almost feels like there was a conscious decision to build the team's attacking style around Albert Rusnak and his strengths this year. Because i know one of the criticisms of Albert in years past, and I think especially last year, was like, yeah, he's good, but I want somebody that's more aggressive playing in that role. I want somebody who's going to try to find the killer pass a little more often.
Speaker: right And it feels like they have intentionally tried to set up their offense so that that's not as much of a concern, right? So that they are that they are leaning really heavily towards into the way he wants to play and the way he wants to dictate the tempo and dictate the offense. And I think it's, it's working really well. And they're, they're putting him in positions to score goals more frequently where he's not just purely a creator. Like he is getting a lot more chances to score.
Speaker: And maybe I'm making that up. Maybe I've, I've pulled that out of nothing, but I think that if that was ah real thing that happened and that was a consideration of like, Hey, how do we make our offense work the best with this guy at the center of it? I think it was a really smart move because,
Speaker: It's humming along pretty well now, and he he looks extremely comfortable. He looks extremely dangerous, and I'm extremely glad that they brought him back. Yes, I think that was, right now, looking like a very smart decision.
Speaker: i think it helps that there are players who can do dynamic stuff elsewhere on the field. like you can If you put him on the field with a Ryan Kent and a Pedro de la Vega, that's a...
Speaker: he doesn't need to be hitting the killer pass all the time because he has wide players who can support that. Similarly, he has, you know, players like Christian rolled on and Obed Vargas who can ah also do, you know, some of this stuff. So I think the the whole part is just looks a lot better right now than like, I do think this team looks better than they did.
Speaker: You know, I don't I'm going to say they played better against Portland than they played at any time last year. But the way that when this team is humming, they look like a better version of any version of the that they had last year.
Speaker: And, you know, if they can put it all together, i think this could be a really, really good team. And we still haven't seen, you know, what I think what was maybe most encouraging about this this road trip. is you know there was some talk like, oh, well if we're so deep, we shouldn't have lost 4-0 to LAFC.
Speaker: Let's not forget, they were missing Jackson Reagan and Jordan Morris. So those are arguably their best defender and their best offensive player last year. to for them to not have been involved at all on this road trip and then to still kind of end up feeling like they were the better team in two of those three games.
Speaker: That's pretty good. i do think when they aren't, you know, you can definitely see how Jackson Reagan would help this team in lots of different ways. You can see how, you know, I don't know. They're they're not maybe not missing Jordan as much because Masofsky is playing well.
Speaker: But I think Jordan and Jackson both are going to raise this team ceiling and the ceiling already seems reasonably high. Yeah, I think that this is a team that has to be considered an and MLS Cup contender. i don't I don't think there's any real question about that. I haven't seen any reasons. think that they're not.
Speaker: um and And I think last year's team. if they scored a goal at times, right, it felt like a miracle. It felt like they had to win every game one nil.
Speaker: And this year's team, you know, against the Timbers, yeah, they scored one goal. They they didn't score more than once, but it it wasn't like a any mystery where the goals were going to come from, right? Like they look like they have a plan. They know what they're doing.
Speaker: a lot of the goals last year just felt like they were just going to make them happen through sheer force of will, which is crazy. A lot of set piece goals last year. lot of set piece goals. And it's it's a credit to, you know, the guys for for doing that and for, you fighting as hard as they did. That's all wonderful.
Speaker: I like this better. i like feeling like every time they go forward, they can create something. They can create goals in all sorts of ways. They can look, you know, they're dangerous on the counterattack, especially when Jordan is healthy.
Speaker: ah But now that they've got Ryan Kent, he's not the only guy that can get in behind defenses. um They look like they can create just from nothing in possession. I mean, that that's been the single biggest complaint and a totally valid one over the last...
Speaker: three or four seasons has been the if the Sounders aren't getting out in transition or they're not scoring set piece goals, it's the horseshoe at death. They're not creating anything in possession, but they're a team that wants to possess the ball. So it's this vicious cycle and they're scoring a lot of goals from possession this year. Like they are just breaking down teams in a way that they haven't really been able to do as much.
Speaker: ah in in quite some time. And, you know, it's just, it's it's so nice to have a team that is multifaceted in attack that can score in a bunch of different ways ah that doesn't have like elite guys all over the place. Like they don't have, you know,
Speaker: guys who were going to score 20 goals at multiple different positions or even 15 goals in multiple different positions. But they have guys that can credibly be expected to score eight or nine goals, um which is something I think was the hallmark of a lot of the best Sounders teams of of years past, right? Was that they didn't necessarily have a guy that was ever going to lead the league in scoring, but they had more guys who were going to get close to double digits than anybody else. And that's kind of what this team feels like to me.
Speaker: Yeah, i would I would agree with that. And I think one of the interesting players in this whole thing is Pedro de la Vega. You know, he doesn't have a ton of counting stats right now. He's only got a goal and two assists.
Speaker: But of course, that ignores the three goals that he had in in Champions League play. So it does feel a little bit differently. But... I just, I do think he adds a level of dynamism to this team that is going to end up being really important and, and does raise the ceiling. And I think both him and Ryan can't both raise the ceiling of what this team can be and that they, yeah neither one of them are, i don't think in their final form yet, I think is probably positive.
Speaker: ah Ryan Kent in particular, you You know, he his the he had those two games where he had, the you as recently as Houston, where he had that amazing assist. yeah He had three assists in his first, I think, three appearances, four appearances.
Speaker: came back to earth a little bit in these last two games. One of the interesting things, I guess he had, he had mentioned to the post game that he had never been on a road trip like this. And i I, was like, Oh, I'm kind of curious.
Speaker: What is, what is the longest road trip this guy's ever probably been on? And best I can tell the longest road trip he ever went on was from Glasgow to Ufa, Russia, which is sort of like a little, uh,
Speaker: it's It's in the western part of Russia, but still ah not near the european border the rest of Europe border. That was about a 3,000-mile round trip.
Speaker: Just the Houston leg of this trip was like 3,200 round trip. And then they added another 2,400 miles of air travel that same week.
Speaker: Suffice it to say... I don't think Ryan Kent has ever been any done anything like a 5,000-mile round trip in his life. No, I can't imagine. 5,000 miles of travel in a week in his life.
Speaker: Yeah, I can't imagine. And you know it's got to be different. it's It's got to take some getting used to. Yeah. Yeah. I would, I would definitely think so. um But so I think we're going to see, i can see how maybe he was feeling it a little bit. He did not look as sharpest against the Timbers.
Speaker: He had you know, the Sounders did a good job. I thought of getting him isolated. But credit to Mascara, who is not necessarily known as a ah great defensive player. He, you know, every time got isolated on on Kent, he came up, you know, they they were able to to defend him well, you know.
Speaker: ah So full credit to him. I think that that's. yeah you know, what are you going to do? um Sometimes, sometimes the defenders actually do their job well and, and you sort of just tip your hat a little bit.
Speaker: um one One thing I did want to note, ah the Sounders right now rank um
Speaker: their ninth in open play scoring, which It's not, you know, they're not, that's not leading the league, but it's a lot better than last year, which I think they were either last or second to last in open play scoring. So, ah you know, that's, those are positive. That's a, that's definitely a positive sign. I think it speaks to what we're saying when it's team seems more fun to watch.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely. And and I think to not to keep making this excuse because eventually it stops being it's not not an excuse, but eventually it starts subsequently a factor at all. But they did have a big chunk of the season, which is still very young, as you pointed out, where they looked a lot like last year's team, unfortunately.
Speaker: right And then i don't have any fear that they're going to revert to that because I think there are pretty clear reasons why that was an issue and pretty clear reasons why we shouldn't expect it to be an issue again going forward. um But that's definitely impacting those counting stats. So I think that there's a good chance that they're by the end of the year, they're like a top five goal scoring team from open play. Yeah. And they're not um right.
Speaker: And they're not that far out of there now. They're not. What's interesting, though, interesting, not in a good way, is that last year they were such a dangerous set piece team. And this year they look not inept on set pieces, but they certainly don't look nearly as dangerous as they did last year.
Speaker: And it's not like they had like a lot of turnover. They were explained that. So it's ah no it does, I guess, kind of speak to the fluky nature of set pieces. Yeah, I don't have a good explanation for that because you're right.
Speaker: ah The main pieces that made them a good set piece offense last year still there. Although i guess Jordan and Jackson were both, pretty big parts of both their set piece offense and set piece defense.
Speaker: So it's possible that that maybe explains it. ah But, you know, the the same guys are serving the ball. They've got, you know, plenty of players you would think would be good defensively. And they've been bad.
Speaker: They've been worse both offensively and defensively on set pieces this year than they were ah last year. yeah so you know, that may work itself out. I would hope so, because if if they can get even to 80% as dangerous on set pieces as they were last year while continuing to be as good for open play, um they could be in the very, you know, sort of an S tier level of a attacking games in MLS, which would would certainly be nice. I think we've earned a that over the last few, after the last few seasons.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. ah I will say that the Sounders are... tied for fourth best in the league in open play goal difference. So that kind of another thing that speaks to sort of what you're, you're saying and, and the teams that are near the top are all the teams that you would expect.
Speaker: It's Vancouver, Philadelphia, San Diego, LAFC. These are the teams that are sort of off to the best starts this year. So the centers right there. All right. Well, I think it's a good place to take a break.
Speaker: We're going to come back and we're going to do a power ranking of, I don't know what we're calling this, maybe power ranking of where we think Jesus Ferreira season is going to go. We'll call it power ranking the narratives around Jesus Ferreira.
Speaker: And so we're going to have some Jesus Ferreira discourse. This is essentially what I'm, what I'm warning you about. ah But go ahead, listen to some, ah some ads and ah we'll be right back.
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Speaker: Welcome back to Nos Adietes. So in this segment, which we are calling Power Rankings, and if you have forgotten, We are going to be power ranking the possible narratives around Jesus Ferreira season.
Speaker: We picked five possible narratives. I'm going to go ahead and go through them. And we'll basically... start at the worst possible narrative, meaning this is, he could be like a bad outcome for him and the sounders to the best possible narrative for both him and the sounders.
Speaker: And so basically we're going starting with, he's totally washed. This is, he's just never going to be the same player. Sounders made a huge mistake and this is a, this is bad.
Speaker: ah The next one would be, he's going to be a decent rotational player. but he's still essentially a waste of his salary. ah Then in the middle, you got he's going to become a regular starter.
Speaker: He's going to chip in with goals and assists, but he's just maybe not the most critical player on the team. Then you go up to... He's going to play up to his contract, so you're talking about a TAM-level player, but it's mostly probably ah you know a playmaker, not necessarily a goal scorer. And then finally, you've got... this is You know, say what you will about a start.
Speaker: He's going to return to 2022 form. Eventually, he's going to be a DP attacking player. He might even leave the Sounders for Europe. So given those five outcomes, Aaron, which one do you think is the least powerful, meaning the least likely to actually play out?
Speaker: I think the idea that he's completely washed is the least likely. um I think that he has not played that way this year. He has five assists. He's looked really, really good in some games.
Speaker: ah He's been a passenger in others. I'm certainly not denying that. But i I think that right now, most teams would be happy to have him. Contract notwithstanding, would be happy to have them, you know, on their team.
Speaker: I would agree with you. I think that is the least likely outcome. And I will, as evidence, just use that Brian Schmetzer, who I don't think is easily won over. i don't think anyone is making him do this.
Speaker: He chose to start Ferreira in a critical. ah Darby game on the road against the Portland Timbers. And I think if.
Speaker: He I think we he would know. I think he has a good sense of whether or not this player is just washed. And I think he knows he's not. He if he if that was really the case, there's no way he'd be getting as many minutes as he's getting. He certainly wouldn't be starting in a game like that.
Speaker: They easily could have started Georgie Manungu. They could have set it up so that Pedro De La Vega was starting. They could have started Paul Rothrock there. There's a number of things they could have done, but no, they chose to start Jesus Ferrer, albeit on the wing.
Speaker: But, you know, and and he played like 70 minutes in the game. ah i don't know. What did you how well did you like? This is a good time to talk about it. What did you make of his performance against the Timbers?
Speaker: I thought he had some really, really good passes. I thought that he ah I thought that he had some, you know, some good runs that that kind of went unrecognized.
Speaker: He wasn't great. um I think that my biggest frustration with some of the criticism of him in the Timbers game and also just generally this season is that he plays a certain way.
Speaker: And it's a way that people like to make character judgments about. And it feels like we're doing the Freddie Montero thing all over again to me a lot of the time. So I think a lot of people feel like he's not trying. And I think that that's a crazy thing to believe about a professional athlete, especially one that that Brian Schmetzer is not going to continuously start and defend a guy who is not trying hard. Right. That's a ridiculous thing to say. Yeah, I think that's that we can put that like that's should not be a.
Speaker: A narrative, I don't think. like I don't even think that's a possibility. The the guy clearly cares. i mean, did you like the way he celebrated the goal, I think, is a great indication that this is a guy who is absolutely invested in in this team.
Speaker: For sure. um But, you know, he wasn't, I mean... I have defended Jesus and I will continue to do so as the segment goes along. I think he's, you know, a really good player. But if you were skeptical of him, I can't say that he's done anything to make you less skeptical.
Speaker: Yeah, that is fair. And I think the Timbers game was a great example of that, where that game was really sort of crying out for somebody to take it by the throat. And it just never seemed like he was going to be the guy to do that.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, I would agree. but All right, well, so what do you what do we got as the second least likely outcome? Second least likely, I would say he's going to be the guy he was in 2022 again.
Speaker: He's going to you know, become an elite goal scorer that has teams all over Europe drooling and, ah you know, is ah is a guy that is considered the future of the u U.S. men's national team.
Speaker: i don't see that at this point. He just does not look like the same guy physically, I think. um And i think it's been long enough since his injuries that the idea that he's going to recover that is becoming pretty unlikely.
Speaker: So maybe he becomes that guy in a different way. Maybe he adjusts his game and... You know, the fact that he's lost a step or two, he's certainly not slow, right? But he he's definitely not as explosive as he was in his younger days.
Speaker: ah So maybe he adjusts and finds a way to put up those numbers in a slightly different way. But it it seems unlikely to me at this point.
Speaker: Yeah, I... I think I'm with you on this one too. i I do think he is a very good player, but if you just look at his, you know, going back for a whole year,
Speaker: He is in the 11th percentile for shots, total shots. He's in the first percentile for successful take ons. He is just not a dynamic player right now. He's not shooting a lot. And it's been even worse since he was this and in those for those particular stats.
Speaker: He's got like so he's he's taken. Seven shots this year, I believe, which is. yeah ah know You're just not going to you're not going to become a a big time goal scorer by. t Yeah, he's taken seven shots this year. He's put one shot on frame.
Speaker: There just seems to be something missing that's going to keep him from being the dynamic play because he went at his best. He is ah very dynamic player, and that is just not we're not seeing that right now. No.
Speaker: It could come back. i don't want to I don't want to discount that possibility. He's just not showing it right now. and And until he shows it, there's no reason to really believe that he's going to be that player again.
Speaker: And that's just an unfortunate reality right now. um Yeah. He is a good defense. I will say that he his defensive numbers are actually quite good, which I think under so like undercuts the whole he's not plugged in thing.
Speaker: ah He's, you know, so anyway, take that. there Seems very committed for sure. Yeah. um All right. So number three, what is the median level outcome you think here or not? Sorry. What's not the median level outcome? What do you think is like your mid level? Next on the list. think it's where I think, well,
Speaker: I would say he is right now. and I think, I think most people probably would, I think most people would probably agree with this. I'm sure that there are people who feel differently on other side, but I would imagine this is the median opinion, right? Is that he's a guy who is going to start plenty of games and he's going to be an important player. He's going to put up some production in terms of goal contributions.
Speaker: Um, but he's never going to be the guy. He's never going to be the guy that, uh, you know, you feel like is, you can really lean on in big games. Uh, and, and that's kind of how he feels right now. Not necessarily a passenger, but not, not a protagonist either. Okay. So you think that his current form is not particularly likely to hold. You think he's going to improve from where he is now is what I'm getting from, from this, from you ranking this third.
Speaker: I think that, yeah, I think so. um I think that if,
Speaker: I think that, ah yeah, I think it's middle of the road in terms of potential outcomes, plausible outcomes. Actually, I should take it back. do Are you saying, so you think that the, ah you think it's possible, that I guess, where are we putting him now? I guess this is, ah so where we're putting him right now is that he's a rotational guy.
Speaker: yeah but he's not going to live up to his salary essentially. So that's where he is now. Yeah. And I, and I think that that it's, I think this outcome is significantly more likely than the other two, but I think it's got a couple of other ahead of it.
Speaker: ah Okay. So yeah, yeah so if I think that, yeah, I'll agree with you there. I think he's got, he's going to be, in I think he's going to improve over what he is now, but, you know, uh, okay, fair enough.
Speaker: So yeah what do you got it at the next, the, the second most likely outcome of his season is what, So this is where, to me, these are the two most likely. These last two that we have left. This is where it gets tougher.
Speaker: And we talked about this before the segment, and i won't I won't divulge what we discussed, but I think where I landed is he becomes a guy who is ah regular starter, who is one of your key players, ah but he is not a guy that you really feel like is a max ish Tam kind of player, right? He's more like you're happy to have him on the team.
Speaker: Maybe like fifth or sixth best attacking player. I think in this, I think in this scenario, he's maybe higher than that. Like maybe four, say fourth. Yeah. Like of the, the,
Speaker: four guys who are in the sort of like roughly DP quality conversation at the beginning of the year. He's a solid fourth of those. Okay. um He's, he's going to get, you know, he's going to get plenty of starts.
Speaker: He's a guy, he's going put up a decent number of assists. He's going to chip in with some goals. He's going to be a guy are happy as on the team, even if you're not getting the max, like the maximum value you would hope to out of his, out of his salary.
Speaker: um But he's still not, one of your most critical attacking players. Yeah. And I think that that's the second most likely outcome ah at this point based on what we've seen so far.
Speaker: And then, so you think then the, the number one most likely outcome is then that he's basically going to at least play up to his contract.
Speaker: And i do. Yeah. Yeah. And maybe be, you know, like a a genuine playmaking sort of like a real second 10 type thing. Maybe not a goal scorer, but certainly someone who's going to be providing a fair number of assists.
Speaker: Yeah, so I think in this world, and this is a pretty good outcome, I think, right? Obviously, the best outcome is he is ah clear-cut DP who scores 20 goals and chips in with 10 assists and is one of the best players on the team without question. And But I think this is a really good outcome as well, because I think that you've got in this scenario, you've got three creative players who can also score your team in Rusnak, Jordan, sorry, Rusnak, Pedro and and Jesus.
Speaker: And they all go about those things in different ways. Right. Rusnak is a sort of metronomic guy who can pick out the killer line breaking pass, but, ah you know, tends to.
Speaker: be a little more um selective, let's say, in and when he chooses to crush the issue. And then you've got who is like maybe more of from what I've seen so far, i think when he's at his best, he is maybe sort of that more traditional wide playmaker who, um you know, is is playing through balls and linking up then and um not necessarily taking on guys a lot, but just playing finding the soft spots in the defense and trying to exploit them. and then you've got Pedro, who's just going to dribble guys to death ah and Ryan Kent, who's going to do you know similar things.
Speaker: So you've got like some really complimentary pieces, guys that are going to do things in different ways. And and I think that's a really good outcome. And I really do think, I mean, if you said, okay, pick between this outcome and the previous one, right? My second, most likely I'm like 51, 49. I think they're really close.
Speaker: Yeah. um I've been a Jesus defender. I think people have been way too hard on him so far of this season. um But he's certainly not at this level yet. But I think he can get there. I think there's a lot of reason for optimism that he can get there.
Speaker: And yeah, so I think I think by the end of the year, we're going to be happy with this trade. Feel like he's earning a salary um and glad he's on the team. Yeah, I really do.
Speaker: i So I'll be a little bit more pessimistic. my i like I like his game. I think he's a creative player. i think he's useful. I think he actually... i think the trade will bear itself out as being a good move, even if he is not a bang-on starter, frankly.
Speaker: i think the Sounders could afford... to make this move as long as he's not a DP. Now I think where did this is going to get tricky is if he ends up putting it, let's just say he, he goes five goals, 10 assists in each of the next two seasons.
Speaker: And that would probably trigger ah DP is DP escalator that puts them in. and I think that puts the sounders in a little bit of a tough situation. Cause that's not really, those aren't DP numbers to me, but,
Speaker: I, that he might not hit those things. And that might be like the best outcome for this in a weird way might be that he's just below the, the, whatever the escalator is. And i think like right now, the way I look at this team, I think the best version of this team is probably Ryan Kent, Albert Rusnak, Pedro de la Vega, and Jordan Morris as your four main attackers. And,
Speaker: That doesn't mean Ferreira can't work his way into one of those spots. I just think that's the most likely outcome based on what we're seeing. Now, Maybe that's being too bullish on Ryan Kent.
Speaker: Maybe that's being too bullish on Pedro de la Vega. But those are the two, like just there, like I'm more excited about what they, their potential looks like right now.
Speaker: ah And maybe I'm a sucker for the dynamic, like like this these dynamic plays, but I want to, that's the part that I'm still not seeing from Ferreira that I really want to see. And I'm, I am getting a little, I'm starting to wonder if that's just not going to be in his game anymore.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a fair thing to wonder. um I do think that he, he seems like the kind of player to me that when he gets a little bit of confidence in a part of his game that maybe hasn't been clicking that, that it can start rolling. And I know that that's the,
Speaker: something Brian Schmetzer has said as well, but it's also a thing that people say when they're hopeful that a guy will get back to to being a player that they used to be and they they never do. So, um but it's it's definitely something I've noticed as well. Like, I don't i don't think you're making that up.
Speaker: Yeah, i mean, he he hasn't take him he didn't take a shot in any of those three games that he played for the Sounders and this last week. yeah That's concerning to me. ah He wasn't necessarily bad in any of those games. He just was not, like I said, he just wasn't a dynamic force in the game. And i you know like i at this point, I would feel probably better about Osaze de Rosario getting minutes at the nine then yeah then ferrera And that's another thing that's like, I understand that it would be interesting to see how he looks with a Pedro de la Vega and Ryan Kent as the wingers.
Speaker: But then i i don't know if that – I think that that's going to be tough too because in that scenario, who's playing the – like is he playing as a 10 in that scenario? And then like I don't i don't really know.
Speaker: i don't i don't know the – I just don't see him being a 9 in the way the centers are set up even as a – sort of as a false 9. I don't know that that's going to be his best is best role.
Speaker: And you know he's kind of like a distant – third or fourth, like fourth or fifth, maybe even at the, in the number nine depth chart. Yeah. Which is, and think that that is, i don't think that it, um that and invalidates the trade makes it a bad decision. I agree But I do think that it's something I think everyone was hopeful for, right. That he was going to be able to be a guy that could give Jordan a break and,
Speaker: I think if Danny Masofsky had not started clicking, this would be a real big problem, right? That Jesus... I do think that part of what has knocked him down the depth is as much about Danny Masofsky just being clearly, he's clearly the number two.
Speaker: And Rosario, certainly there's a way a world where he passes De Rosario on the depth chart. I'm just saying, based on what we've seen so far, I would feel better about De Rosario than...
Speaker: than Ferreira as the number nine. Yeah, for sure. I think that if we're going to see Jesus as the nine in a situation where it is not injury dictating that that happens or suspensions or whatever,
Speaker: it's in a game where you're ahead comfortably and you're making late substitutions. Right. And you say, you know what? We kind of do want to see what this looks like with a couple of wingers, like actual wingers out there. So let's, let's give this a shot.
Speaker: It's not something you say, well, we've got Mussovsky and he's been playing really well, or Jordan is back healthy. Yeah. But, you know, the guy who stunk it up as our forward for three games and and it was the worst stretch of the season and we looked completely anemic offensively.
Speaker: Well, we've got some we've got some different personnel that we can put around him. So let's give that a try again. i just I don't really think that that's a smart a smart call or one that Brian Schmetzer is going to make.
Speaker: I would I would agree with that. Well, ah that seems like a good place to to call it. ah Aaron, thanks again for for joining me. ah We're going to be getting into getting through last week. what These three games a week are or taxing.
Speaker: ah so They're rough, yeah. I'm glad we got through that. ah We'll be back on on our regular um regular schedule now. And yeah, we've got some some good matches coming up.
Speaker: But we've got a a big game this this weekend. this ah you know we a couple of of Several weeks ago, Mark and power-ranked our most important games of the the upcoming five.
Speaker: And the Dallas game was number two on my list behind the... ah the St. Louis game. So this is yeah for me is kind of a must win game coming up on, on Saturday, but we'll have more. We'll talk about that plenty later in the week.
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Speaker: If you join at the advocate level, you actually get access to backhealed.com, which today just had a ah really great feature on Obed Vargas that you would get access to. So ah keep that in mind if you're you're thinking about supporting Sounder Heart.
Speaker: um With all that said, am Jeremiah Shan signing off for Aaron Campo and Lickett. This is No Sadie at Dis. Remember, you'll never get alone.
Speaker: I expect an LAFC who is motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really brew in the party.
Speaker: You guys like that? in a what Awkward joke, dad joke right there, huh?
