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.
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Speaker: right, welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. It is Friday. are back in the Sounder Heart Studios and we are doing a kind of different thing today. we're We're testing out our live tech, essentially.
Speaker: So we are actually broadcasting this. It's unlisted right now. So we have a very limited audience, but we wanted to try out the tech, make sure we have it all dialed in before we go fully public. But I'm here, joined but for another episode of What We Learned This Week with Nico Moreno and Tim Boss. How are you guys doing?
Speaker: Good. Glad to be here. I'm excited to be here. If you're watching this and you're part of a limited audience, let us know through the comments if there's any audio issues that we can check in. Hopefully we can yeah get somebody to get up and make sure that that that if there is something that you are not hearing or is looking odd, let us know because we are testing it out, but I like it. you know We're taking that next step into bolstering our content in the Center of Heart YouTube page.
Speaker: So, man, yeah, I love it. Yeah, well, it's ah for the it has been little bit of a quiet week, I would say, over at Long Acres. All three of us spent some time down there.
Speaker: Nico, you probably spent the most time. Did you make any observations from training this week? Yeah, I actually had quite a few, mainly surrounding one kid in Clark. He has looked really good. And I know that it's just training. And there have been times where we've seen players that are really good in the training field. And then it doesn't quite translate into the pitch or or match day. But look, I've been encouraged. I think that he fantastic.
Speaker: so sharp on the ball. His touch is immaculate. ah He's had a couple of really good looks. ah He loves to be that inverted winger, which that's why I thought it was such a good fit to a certain degree.
Speaker: And again, being the ball back or whatever you want but in terms of the profile of player he just looks very comfortable in his channels i've been that inverted winger ah he loves to cut inside and pass the keeper uh i think i see maybe maybe score one out of several he took but i just like it there was one time where he did like a half volley half bicycle kick where the ball kind of popped up and he's just a resource right of just the You got your back to goal.
Speaker: You just see it it. You perfectly hit it. the the The contact on the ball was so good. I wanted that to go in so badly, but he just missed by like, i don't know, maybe a foot or two.
Speaker: But just all of those little attributes, all those little moments just tell me that this is a player that's hungry, that has a lot of pedigree, and that he could be an asset. He could definitely be a contributor.
Speaker: You know, the thing about Caden Clark is that no one has really ever denied his talent. And that is part of why he's moved around as much as he has. I mean, he's only 23 years old. think this is the fifth organization that he's played for. You know, he spent ah the most of his career in the Red Bull system.
Speaker: He played for York Red Bulls too. He played for Red Bull New York. He then moved to RB Leipzig at 18, basically as soon as he was eligible to move over there. But that was sort of where career started to go off the rails a little bit. You know, he didn't get on the field for Leipzig. He went on loan to a team in the Danish, phase I believe. Didn't really get any time there.
Speaker: And he came back to MLS in 2020. 2020. 2020. please
Speaker: like james And we'll have to do the math here. But he came back to Minnesota United. He's from Minnesota. Didn't really, played some, didn't really stick there.
Speaker: But he was ah he was considered it still, I think, a relatively high-level asset at that point. Moves to CF Montreal. Starts off gangbusters there. Scores four goals, I think three assists.
Speaker: Comes back the next year. Again, struggles to get on the field. Kind of goes through the same thing. He gets traded to DC United. Doesn't really start so well there.
Speaker: This year, he had only played seven games. And then he comes to the Sounders, basically now looking for a last chance. And the Sounders seem to sort of position themselves as, i think there's two things going on here. One is it's a very low risk move right?
Speaker: Caden Clark cost them almost nothing. They gave up a second round pick in the 2028 draft. They aren't even paying the the discretionary portion of his U22 salary. So all he's doing is getting the cap at the 200K U22 salary.
Speaker: And if he were to stick around next year, they would have to send DC United $50,000 in allocation, which is you know marginal sum. That said, he has talent.
Speaker: they They think that maybe they've shown that he knows now that this is his last chance, that he can't really, that if you if he wants to make it in this league, that this is an opportunity for him to do it. The Sounders, multiple people told me like, look, he wasn't exactly in the best situations. He was at Minnesota. was at Montreal. He was at DC. None of those teams are super stable.
Speaker: I don't know, Tim, what do you make of this? We we found out today that he is going to be available off the bench. i i mean, from the jump, I've been sort of skeptical that this was a move that makes the Sounders better.
Speaker: um By all accounts, he's said the right things. He's done what you would want him to do in training. Like his point that, you know, I'm healthy. Like health is not the reason he's not gotten on the field.
Speaker: that raises other concerns, but for the time being, if he can, you know, give you an extra option coming off of the bench, even that's something that the Sounders haven't had much of this year for a variety of reasons. um There is, i mean the possibility At the very least, the possibility of a player there.
Speaker: He is a guy who has gotten run in the past with the national team and showed fairly well in some of those stints. um As recently as a year ago, he was putting in a solid performance with the U.S. national team. He won an assist in two appearances in a January, the 2025 of January.
Speaker: He's a guy who's got skill. your point, he's not been in great situations up to this point. um Not only just the instability of those teams, but none of those teams have been good teams when he was there either. um There are arguments that could be more that the Sounders currently are not a good team either, but he's going to be around guys who are...
Speaker: you know We know that the environment in the club is a good one that helps. It's more professional environment. Certainly. They've got veterans that accomplish things. They've got coaches who have one thing.
Speaker: you know Whether or not they're in a good place right now, I don't think anyone is sitting here saying the Sounders are a dysfunctional organization. Right. I think... this is probably one of the best circumstances he could walk into where he needs the opportunity to prove himself that, you know, that 10 game stretch at the end of the season in Montreal is closer to who he really is than all of 2026 up to this point is. um And the Sounders need someone who can...
Speaker: step on the field and provide something special, even if it's just in flashes. ah i am hopeful that it works out for the best, but it's also, you know, if it doesn't work out, the cost is mitigated by how little they're having to give up for Yes, it's very low risk. So i I just think that options are good to have.
Speaker: I think that so far, Paul Rothberg's played way too many minutes. I still feel like he is deservingly the starter ah to a certain degree, but I would like to see him be able to you know, take a game off. I'm guessing Colorado, you know. potentially you can get him off the field and whether, you know, you go with Jordan and you push Kalani higher once but ah you're able to put Alex back and right back. I mean, there's options you can have, but you add to them. Sebastian Gomez has been pretty good. I don't want to dismiss the kid. i That's another player that,
Speaker: I think he's played well, but I don't want him being such a big part of the the offense. i don't want to put I don't want to compare them because I i think Paul Rodriguez earned himself, at least by standards of what he's done so far this season, the ability to say, hey you're a real starter. I'm saying Gomez is more of a necessity and in someone that you're kind of having to rely on because you had so many injuries. But now that you know we could potentially – move on to the injury aspect of it where it sounds like more people are getting better. he was great to see Jordan Morris. And and we i asked him this week about how important was it for him to once again be able to get around a defender and then hit the top speed and be able to get across midfield all the way
Speaker: on goal. And he said is it was great to just see like he could once again be the guy that he once was. And all of those things are important because the Sounders are going to dig themselves out of the hole that they're in If they're going to end this 11 game winless streak, Jordan Morris has a lot to do with it.
Speaker: I think on, you know, the Jordan Morris situation, side of things, injuries, going back to Paul Rothrock, being able to get him a game off here and there.
Speaker: Beyond that, just not needing, you know, you didn't, you want Jordan Harris to be back to a place where he could play 90 minutes. But you want the team to be in a place where you don't need Jordan Morris and Paul Rothrock to play 90 minutes every match.
Speaker: That you have guys, you know, Paul Areola coming back and being able to get involved again, being able to get meaningful contribution for minutes from Caden Clark.
Speaker: Suddenly, not only are you not running guys into the ground, but you're also able to even if the broader approach stays the same within a game, you're able to show different looks within that approach that it isn't, you know, strictly getting to the end line and playing a ball directly across the mouth of goal or ah cutback, um you know, creating different interchanges at the edge of the box and creating opportunities differently so that
Speaker: teams can't just set up for one thing and expect that that's going to an all-batch ball game yeah i i totally agree you know it gives you different ways to attack the game it could bring you that super sub-port rock that sometimes works so well for this team so yeah i think all of it has is elevated training as well i think that's another thing i've learned this week is that It's been very intense at training. ah There was a shouting match between Hassani Dodson and Precky at one point of the ah training ah this week. And, you know, it goes back to just, you know, it's 11 on 11, full field.
Speaker: And you know how coaches sometimes will call, they're the refs out there, right? Right. So either you call a foul or you don't, or be, you know, you're going to have to live with that. And I think there was a moment where,
Speaker: I might've missed what happened. And then Hassani was complaining about the no call and Precky just led Hassani have it. So it's been elevated intensity, you know, Kaden Clark, you know, he's a guy that feels like he's playing with a chip on his shoulder with some proof. Jordan Morris himself. It was nice to see him today smile. Like it's been a while.
Speaker: since I remember Jordan Morris coming up the field with a big grin. yes ah It's been so frustrating for him to be out. He also mentioned that this week, so difficult to just try to get through and not be able to be available.
Speaker: Christian will down being back. I mean, all of those things, I feel like you've seen The group feel great with not just the acquisitions, but getting some guys back from the injury side of things. A couple of other things that we learned this week is that Jackson Reagan could be available here very soon, which was what Brian called a very like positive, like a a huge positive. I'm hearing that Ferrer Rice...
Speaker: expected to come back before the 10-week frame, which is also good. We've seen him out there quite often. Yemar Gomez-Andrade sounds like he's probably not going to be ready for Colorado, but maybe right after that. So all of these things are really going to be a factor.
Speaker: But
Speaker: this is a must-win game. and And it's no longer about like performing. It's about getting it. It don't matter how you do it. Right. Because you cannot go into these games thinking, hey, it's about, you know, play well or this. You got to get some points. I mean, i there will be a a timeline where now you're playing for 2027 and the spring season and not so much this season.
Speaker: But we're hoping it doesn't get to that. But it all starts here against L.A. And then I should, we should all say Kalani Costa Rienzi is, do we already mentioned that the Kalani Costa Rienzi is actually back. We haven't touched it Yeah. So he, it's pretty, this is the first time I i remember a situation exactly like this is on Tuesday.
Speaker: Brian gave us an update on Kalani Costa Rienzi says it's nothing too serious. He's out maybe two to three weeks is what he told us. And then today he's full blown training. Like he is,
Speaker: with the starters, he is full all into training. And we asked Brian about it and he's like, yeah, he basically made a miraculous comeback. so I don't know if he's still got a sprained ankle or what is going on there, but I guess of all the players to recover quickly, for some reason, Kalani is the least surprising of them.
Speaker: And, and so that's, that's a nice boost for the Sounders going into this game because Kalani has low key been pretty reliable offensive offensive player for the Sounders in this stretch of games where the Sounders have really struggled for goals.
Speaker: Kalani seems to have a pretty regularly popped up and at least put good shots on frame. If not, actually he has, he had the goal against FC Cincinnati, obviously,
Speaker: But I'm with you. I think that ah to the degree that you can have a must-win game that is not a literal must-win game, this is about as close as it gets. I mean, i don't know if one... The Sounders are getting a little bit lucky in the last few weeks with ah the results of teams towards the bottom part of the stuff. In the last few weeks, the the bad news is that on the the top end,
Speaker: At one point, it looked like the Sounders could actually climb all the way into third if they got hot. I don't think that's really in the cards anymore. But there's no reason they can't get into sixth if they get hot. And the teams from sixth to 13 or 12 have really all been very ah cooperative with the Sounders and kept themselves very much within ah shouting distance. If the Sounders were to win the game...
Speaker: there is a very realistic possibility that they could jump at least to a tie in points. i haven't looked at tiebreakers, but they could be in a, they can essentially be in a playoff spot if they just win this game. But then if they don't win this game, it starts, or if they lose this game, the math starts to get really wonky because for one, one of the teams that they are chasing is the LA galaxy.
Speaker: So this essentially a six point game with them. and And it doesn't take that far. It It's not that hard for results to start going against them. Right now, the centers have two games in hand. There's a lot of mathematical permutations that can see them theoretically jumping up the table.
Speaker: But it with every missed opportunity, it gets tougher and tougher. And there's not that many road games that are much more winnable than this one left on the beach calendar.
Speaker: Yeah, in terms of... getting into a playoff position, you know, the results on Wednesday pretty much all went favorably to some extent. None of the teams that they're really in competition with for a spot got more than a point.
Speaker: just You know, beyond the scenario where you win this game or you guaranteed don't get into the playoffs, know, This game, really the next five games are all pretty, I mean, they're all must win at this point, but the next five are all teams sort of clustered around the bubble for the playoffs. And if the Sounders were playing like a team that is going to win games, you would say those are all super winnable games. Yes. um
Speaker: And certainly this galaxy team is gettable. Yeah. ah You know, I think going in Seattle's favor, Dejan Jovalich,
Speaker: loves to score against the galaxy he's played them yeah ah four times since he left them he did not score in the first of those games but he has scored in each of the three oh i didn't realize that okay um that's good news he also what like he won skc and the galaxy played twice this year already he scored in both of those games and skc won both of them oh okay He's got a good record against the Galaxy.
Speaker: i i We were talking about i a really good record at ah at Dignity Health Sports Park. Yeah. um And, you know, Jordan getting back into the flow.
Speaker: Historically, the Galaxy have been a team that he loves to play against. But I was looking, it's been a while since he scored against them. He went on a run of four straight games with a goal against the Galaxy, but he hasn't scored against them in almost three years.
Speaker: ah So it would be a good time for him to, you know, open things up again. Yeah, you know, one of the things that I, you know, to your point when you were talking about Jordan Morris and and some of the comments that he made is today I asked Andrew Thomas, I asked b Brian Schmetzer about what Jordan brings to the team and how, you know, I do think Christian is probably the most important player pound for pound when it comes to the Sounders ability to dictate games. And i mean, look, christian I think that's almost a given.
Speaker: if If Christian can't get back to 2025, Christian rolled on the centers probably don't have much of a hope. But if we can take that on some, if we can sort of take that as a given, i do think Jordan Morris becoming a viable offensive threat again, something that he hasn't really been for an extended period since 2024. I mean, he, he was good at times when he was healthy, he was good last year, but he just hasn't, he wasn't able to stay healthy very much last year, but if they can get it even, even if he can't get back to full strength, even if he's not 2024,
Speaker: Jordan Morris, if he can just be a threat in behind, if he can start running like he did against the Chicago fire, if he can provide some holdup play and maybe just as importantly, if he can be a force on the press, because the Sounders press has maybe been,
Speaker: the biggest thing that has suffered during this losing streak. And a lot of that is because they've been asking Albert Rusnak to be defensive presence.
Speaker: And look, I think Albert Rusnak is a really good player. he is not a good defensive player at this point in his career. He he is a liability offensive or defensively. And if he, if you're asking him to lead your press, you're asking for a lot, you're, you're just sort of like fighting a losing battle at that Yeah, and um that's taken hit since Jesus has been. Especially, yes. He's one of the best pressing attackers. Absolutely. You know, he creates so many good moments off of repressed moments.
Speaker: He's so good at anticipating balls and ah being able to kill off passing angles. i I just, that's part of his forte of play, right?
Speaker: mean But think that for me is, and go into this game, we've kind of been able to and see this that with Joe Vlitch being so good off the ball, even against the Red Bulls, right? Because there was a lot of chances to create it. Link up and drop in those passing patterns.
Speaker: That's going to be a key. And and what we can talk about the the Galaxy here in a second. But just watching him this week is just a huge part of his game. Like, it's not just about... scoring goals and being able to attack space and look against the Red Bulls, watching him defend and like throw his body on the line and, you know, trying to, you know, cut off angles when he needed to get out wide and defend. i mean, he's a guy that is giving you something extra. So I do feel this thing is getting some,
Speaker: really important resources back. And and you can see this team starting to believe a little bit that i mean that they can get out of this. And I'm hoping that going into this game and maybe if Kalani is able to stay and not not have an injury, you start to get away from the mentality because it felt like every game we were going into sometimes we were just waiting for the next guy absolutely we're waiting for the next guy well who's gonna come off this week absolutely i don't even think it was hyperbolic at this point i i would be willing to bet that almost every game since the since the world cup break they have lost at least one player to entry during the game uh a shocking number of them in the first half
Speaker: ah So it is not, i don't think it's just a perception. I think it's a, it's close to a reality that they have just suffered this almost unbelievable string of injuries. And that does play. You got to imagine that plays games with the players heads. There's just not.
Speaker: And it's, you know, I think there's an interesting contrast because on the field, they do not look like they're playing really confident. Maybe the first half against the fire was the most confident they have looked on the ball. Maybe even,
Speaker: through the whole fire game. But this last game against, even though they created some chances, they didn't look quite as confident.
Speaker: Sounder at Heart has been around in one form or another since 2009. In 2026, though, we make a pretty significant evolution when we go analog. Yes, that's right. In the year of our Lord, 2026, we are publishing a real life magazine. We're calling this thing 4, as in Sounder at Heart 4.0. But we're stylizing it as IV because we absolutely love Roman numerals. And if you want to refer to it as IV, that's cool too. The first issue has a comic book style cover that was hand drawn by local artist Kevin Newbern. Features by Tim Foss, Susie Rance, and Charlie Boehm. A statistical deep dive by Kat Bush. A Q&A with b Brian Schmetzer. A column by G. Willow Wilson. And photographs by Noah Reif, Max Aquino, Mike Russell, and Jane Gershowitz.
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Speaker: But in training, it looks like they're still having fun. Like today they were, they were having fun. It was like, it was a, it was a a positive vibe around training.
Speaker: And I just got to believe that if they can get a win under their belt, if they can have a game where they score two, three goals and they, and they look like themselves, they're, that it's not that hard to bring it back where they are. They're getting wins. Now I know I did a podcast ah earlier this week on no study at this, where I was pretty down on the sounders chances.
Speaker: i think that was mostly in the aftermath of this Red Bull game. And I do think that a lot of what I said is true in that if you can't get a win here, oh yeah you really have to start looking at the future. You have to start just doing some math and saying, look, what are we,
Speaker: what can we get out of this season? Cause right now it doesn't look like we're going to get much, but if they can get a win, it starts a little, look a little bit more positive. It's just to look a lot more positive, frankly.
Speaker: And the galaxy don't seem like a team who are so difficult to beat that a win is out of the question.
Speaker: I think it's,
Speaker: It's an odd spot to be in, but. This Galaxy team is definitely beatable. This is a very, like if you need a game after, you know, it is frustrating to be on what an 11 game winless streak or whatever. Yeah. Three games unbeaten, but you don't have a win in that three games going on the road against, you know, the Galaxy aren't the biggest rival at this point, but it is a historic yeah rival for the Sounders.
Speaker: As I've noted, a team that several of these guys like to play against, not just Jordan and Deion, but Christian always seems to... Yes. yes Christian and Alex both...
Speaker: revel in getting to play in Southern California. There are plenty of guys who like going up against their brother who is yeah not on the field, but very much part of the galaxy. It's a game that a lot of these guys will have circled and it is a good, you know, if you can go on the road, you get a win against the galaxy. It doesn't matter what sort of galaxy team it is, but that can be a galvanizing thing. And I think,
Speaker: Looking at some of the that Red Bull game, the combination play between Jordan, Albert, and Deion is really intriguing and exciting. Yes. I think getting Jordan back, going back to the injury stuff, Nico, you noting that this is the first time in a ah long time you've seen Jordan come off the field after training and he's smiling. Going back to the Chicago game, I think one of the biggest positives almost was you know, Jordan started getting into runs, but never quite hit top speed. And it was the kind of thing that I think we've seen from him several times when he comes back from an injury, especially one that is some sort of soft tissue thing, or when he's done his knee in the past, it will games before he really is like, not worried each time he cuts or gets into a full sprint that
Speaker: is this going to be the move that does it again? And i think watching the Red Bull game, it seemed like that was gone for him. There wasn't this thought in the back of his mind when he has the opportunity to go for a run of like, well, maybe I don't go, you know, maybe I just get into fifth gear. I don't go for sixth because what if stopping from sixth is right. Yeah. close It out again.
Speaker: that thought isn't there and he's able to play more instinctively, which him being able to do that, especially... Being able to play him on the wing opens stuff up for other players yeah so much more, especially with a forward like Dayan who likes to connect.
Speaker: Having Jordan will be able to spread the back line from the wing and be an outlet where one of the challenges throughout this season is that a lot of the time,
Speaker: Rothrock is sort of the only outlet and he's a good player. He can beat guys one-on-one, but he's not the fastest guy He's, you know, any of the physical traits, he's not going to be your number one.
Speaker: He does a lot with what he's got, but... Having him be your primary option just isn't going to be a winning equation most of the time. Having Jordan able to be a target out on the wing, he can hold it up so that other guys can get more involved.
Speaker: also gives you the option of continuing to use Rothrock as an outlet, but the team has to respect Jordan out on that opposite wing a little bit more than they have to with, you know, I'm a big Seba Gomez believer, but if you're another team,
Speaker: You can say you can you don't have to worry too much about him yeah or you just need to leave one guy. Jordan, you probably have to have a dedicated guy and one of the center backs or one of the mids has to be thinking about him at least.
Speaker: You are going to open up more space yeah And we saw that happen a few times against the Red Bulls yeah where where Jordan got in behind or at least the threat of him getting in behind forced the Red Bull to play differently. You know, obviously the the one that got the most attention was the the the chance that he basically won the ball and then he he but touched it around the defender. And then he out outraged he fully outraced a couple defenders, got a decent left-footed shot off. It was saved.
Speaker: But it was just good to see the action. But he had two or three other plays where, you know, one where I'm i'm thinking of where Horvath had to come way off his line to clear it. There was another one where he made a really nice touch at the at midfield to put himself into space.
Speaker: And and it's just the is it's just a threat of someone being able to do that. that opens up defenses. And as long as Jordan is forcing teams to respect the ability for the Sounders to get behind, that's going to open up a ton of space in the midfield.
Speaker: And that's really one of the things that they've struggled to do throughout this, ah this winless run. Yeah. and look, no disrespect, because again, I hate to,
Speaker: add on to the narrative as if Paul Rutherford didn't deserve to be a good player for this team or be a starter for this team, but he's looked pretty exhausted. And I asked Ryan about it where he said, look, that there's that opportunity against the Red Bulls that it's a beautiful ball, by the way, from two who,
Speaker: back where seven fixed up and it said, but sets up that pass on the far post and Paul doesn't quite get there when he gets to lift it up. And Brian said himself, look a month ago or so he gets behind them. Right. Uh, I've heard from, you know, just being around the the facility that some of his, some of his recovery runs are really taking a hit. Uh, because one of the beautiful things about Rothrock is the two way capability, right? Right. He's going to out-hustle. He's going out-will you. that's That's the Paul Rothbard way. And so that's taking a little hit. So it'd be nice to see him get some time off and be able to come in a little bit later and be able to maybe take advantage of tired legs in the game. So all of it just seems right. Last thing I'll say before start focusing more on on the Galaxy game that you guys didn't touch on, but I saw this week.
Speaker: I forgot how good Christian is. in the box when it comes to set pieces. And yeah that's something that he's, he did earlier this season. I believe he had like, was it two goals, two goals in one game, two set pieces.
Speaker: And, but today he was getting behind so many corner kicks and so many free kicks. He's just, I don't know, it just very good at finding where he needs to be. And so that's another way that you can create help for Dejan. Because if there's anything that, I think you said this, Jeremiah, after the Chicago game is that Joves gets two goals.
Speaker: And that's it. Like, no there's literally nobody else that's creating chances. And you're like, man, you know, this seems like it needs something else other than Joe Village. And I think that's what it is. It's those set pieces where Christian's going to give you one. It's the one when Jordan is beating somebody off a dribble and gets you another one.
Speaker: Having those other players that's not just your brand new striker is the only way you're going to be able to get out of this slump. And look, fortunately for the Sounders, like that San Diego has looked really poor as of late. Portland is kind of ah of a...
Speaker: coin toss RSL is probably the worst out of all three teams, Minnesota, another team. That's Minnesota. All teams of the centers are playing soon, by the way. and So there is, I do feel optimistic starting with this game though.
Speaker: Like I am saying right here, right now that this is a game that the Sanders should win. And I'm saying that they should win this game. I feel like they match up. Well, I feel like they have the ability to play this game centrally watching the galaxy.
Speaker: allow Ocampo and savvy and, and, and Vancouver so much time to cross the ball was comical. Like, and how easy in quick patterns that were able to just carve up that midfield, man, if I'm the sounders, man, i'mquatering I'm slathering. I'm, Oh man, I need to get in this game because it looks so simple. So for me, it starts here.
Speaker: If you don't win this game, They're cooked. I'll go ahead and say they are cooked, but I do feel like they're going be able to go out there get this win. Not a result, a win. Yeah, I agree.
Speaker: I think one other element of, you know, building on what they've done in the last few games, one of the issues that I did notice in the Red Bull game was even in some of those moments where Jordan gets out,
Speaker: but doesn't have runners with him. And so he then does stop and sort of turns it around so that they can keep possession. kind of goes back to the, you know, mentality challenge of dealing with an 11 game winless run, the injuries, all of these things where, you know, maybe one, you haven't been used to having a guy with the speed of Jordan on the field. And so you are going to play differently for the other guys on the
Speaker: on the team than you do for Jordan, but also you have experienced so many times in the last three months where an opportunity like that happens and the, you lose the ball and immediately the other team counters. And so, you know, that happens enough times, maybe another guy doesn't make the run and another guy doesn't make the run.
Speaker: It all starts to build. You have Jordan make the run. the team in training and video sessions can look and go, look, we had an opportunity to create an attack here.
Speaker: Jordan didn't get the support that he needed. How do we make sure that he gets that support? I think you can start building on that internally and maybe against the galaxy.
Speaker: When Jordan makes those runs, he's got another, you know, one of the other wingers and Snyder or Christian or Hassani, whoever is out there makes that run to support. And Jordan has options where he can lay it off and continue his run or, you know, play a switch to someone else on the wing. Like,
Speaker: get more numbers into dangerous positions and accept that, yeah, things my not the might come down, but you got to give yourself the chance to score the goals.
Speaker: Yeah. Where else do we see the galaxy potentially being able to hurt the Sounders? I mean, this is a team that has some offensive talent. You spent a fair amount of time watching them. You obviously identified their weakes defensively, yeah,
Speaker: their strength is really more going forward. Yeah, no, for sure. They're a team that's very direct. They understand that Chucky Lozano usually plays for Chucky Lozano FC.
Speaker: his His magic is being able to get him in transition, get him in open space, allow his speed to get in. He's going to want to cut inside. And I asked... I'm to tell us a little bit about it because between him and Pablo Ruiz, you've got a couple of guys that can really rip it from mid-distance. So I think that's going to be one of those resources that they might use. But I do think that the Sounders might want to not press this team as high.
Speaker: because I think what they want to do is the line of competition to be really high, but there's more space for them to run into. Taylor is another player that he benefits of having space to run into. He's not the most shiftiest player on the ball, but he can definitely get behind you. Same goes for the Japanese striker whose name I forget, but he's another one that just wants to be able to get behind. So,
Speaker: Maybe more of a mid-block against this team might be better because I do think that you might be vulnerable if you find yourself in a spot where we've seen you kind of get a little bit more of a longer niche to get higher up the field. And that has put the team in some difficult situations. Obviously, having Christian fixes everything because he's a guy that understands. He's so defensively sound that he's going to be able to cover. But I do feel like this team can hit you directly and on transition, and you want to keep that away from You don't want to give them an easy way out to get you behind the score right away because they do feel like this is a game where the Sounders need to strike first or at least not allow the Galaxy to score first.
Speaker: And maybe at home, they have their own pressure. So if it's zero, zero, I have time. That's a good thing. Cause that, that you're kind of taking the air out of the sales of that team, where if you give them an easy early goal, that's just setting yourself up for failure.
Speaker: And the galaxy need the reality is the galaxy need points as bad as the sounders do. I mean, this is not just a game where the sounders are ah looking for points and the galaxy are out of it or something. I mean, the galaxy are every bit as much in the playoff race as the sounders are, which is to say,
Speaker: They're out of it, but they're not too far out of it. Uh, so the Sounders, ah This is a team that they are going to be competing for that they need to jump one way or the other, whether or not they're in the playoff race. The Sounders do need to jump the Galaxy in the standings.
Speaker: And like and we said, this is as good of a chance as they're going to get at least until like, because the next game is the Rapids. They have this two game week coming up. And then they're also going to be missing a bunch of, potentially they might be missing some internationals during a bunch of this homestand that they're about to have.
Speaker: So there's not a lot of easy games left for the Sounders. The Sounders are not a team that can avoid ah afford to look at anyone easy opponent right now. But, you know, hopefully this is ah the week where maybe they turn around and and we can we can start having a little bit more of a positive conversation around the Sounders.
Speaker: I would love that. Yeah. Yeah, no, for sure. And momentum's a real thing. Momentum's a real thing. I mean, I think it needs that momentum. They need some confidence. um It'll be interesting to see if pencil plays this game.
Speaker: Cause was looking at this and he was questionable for the Vancouver game, which maybe they're holding them for this one. That would add a whole other level of not just speed, but.
Speaker: quality and finishing for that team. So that would even emphasize even more that you need to make sure that whether it's Kalani or Nuhu, you cannot allow both to get forward. Kalani is the guy that gets the go-ahead, but man, I've seen Nuhu so much higher on the field. Well, i mean, I guess that Red Bulls, guess Red Bulls, especially he was all he, I mean, in and to his credit, he was involved both as a passer and as finisher in some of the better chance. subset I will say that there was a set piece that the Sounders designed that seemed to purposely set up new who for a shot from outside the box.
Speaker: It was a really nicely designed Yeah. I don't know why they would be designing any plays though for new who to be taking shots from outside the box. That is a separate subject. We don't need to get too far into, but look, I'm with you, Nico. I think the Sounders should feel like they are favorites in this game.
Speaker: even if the Even if the book says no, I think they should go into this game with that mentality. And hopefully they can get back on the on the right track and we can be, you know, we can we can start having fun again talking about this team. Look, man, i again, I was astonished and like I couldn't even believe how bad the center backs were because the... the el the LA Galaxy, that that's some big names, right? Yeah. left as And Justin Haig, those are guys that yeah everybody wanted. Yes. You know, whether it was free agency or not, and just watching how easy they were to beat. I mean, if the Sunners don't do it now, man, I just don't know how they're going to be able to do it because they do feel like a team that has the quality to really take advantage of all those but mistakes. And look, don't even get me started on Garces. Like there has to be a study.
Speaker: on that guy because I don't know. He was so good the first year, this Colombian guy, that he was – I remember there was like a story how he was like the fastest center back in last. Yeah.
Speaker: And he just has been awful. He came in late in this game, and it creates penalty. I mean, just awful. So the Sounders got to be able to take at the advantage of a team that's more defensively.
Speaker: Well, ah that's about all we have for the bulk of the show. I did want to close on a light note. ah You two were throwing the football around before oh yeah practice, and it got me thinking, and we started talking about the Sounders top decathlete, and I don't mean literally the decathlon, but which Sounder do we think is the most athletic? If you were to just throw a bunch of balls out on this on the field,
Speaker: Who's the one player that you would feel most confident would be competent ah using various different? ah For me, it's Paul Rothler. I mean, he put some zip on the ball. I mean, and you know what? He reminded me how sad it is that I haven't played a turkey bowl in maybe like five years. I was a guy that would every year. I would go with my boys, would play like full-on tackle. Like we were used to full play full-on tackle. There we go. And when I saw the ball coming at me, like there was so much fear. Yeah. that I caught it like a little kid, which you're never supposed to allow the ball to hit you. Yeah. supposed to do the Yeah. Yeah. None of it. I just, i I wanted to make sure that at least I wasn't going to drop this ball. And it hurts so bad. Like, i'm pretty sure I'm dirty there. Cause he just, it's mad me dead here. It had some mustard in it. I feel bad missing. this It has some mustard in it. So not just that, but just watch them just golf at times.
Speaker: I think he'd be a really good, at least, uh, uh, hitter in terms of baseball. I could see him, you know, even being a shortstop or outfielder. I just think that if you put him on on multiple sports, I think Paul Rothrock just with his grid and athleticism, he'd be my my my pick.
Speaker: I have a hard time thinking that it's anyone but Paul Rothrock. Sure. In part because... I think he's a guy that even if he wasn't a professional soccer player, if he was just like a guy at your office that someone was like, Oh, did you know he was a D one athlete?
Speaker: Any sport that they told you right after that, you would believe like, Oh yeah, he was the sixth man for a like small D one yeah sure basketball school, or he played, you know,
Speaker: he was a backup running back or center fielder for whatever. Yeah, sure. He, you can imagine him being any of those things. I think one of the, as we were discussing, I think one of the prerequisites for being this type of guy is having played college soccer in the U S that just the dynamics of being on um,
Speaker: college team you're around guys who even if you didn't grow up playing multiple sports sure they played multiple sports and so you're gonna get roped into ah shoot around or you know throwing a football or a baseball around like you're gonna pick up those skills um i think the other candidate i would really put forward is andrew thomas um one of the things i learned when i talked to him for the magazine was that part of how he became a goalkeeper and a wicket keeper in cricket was that he built those sort of hand-to-eye skills in a way other kids in london didn't because his dad is american
Speaker: They grew a football around. They did these sorts of American sport, father and son, stereotypical activities that had a catch. They had a catch.
Speaker: And then he went and played soccer at Stanford. Like he checks enough of the boxes that I, you know, you wouldn't be super surprised to catch him in a batting cage or You know, that would be an interesting test. Yeah. So the other player that I think probably I'm assuming is just going to be a generally good athlete.
Speaker: And this won't surprise people. I don't think, but Kalani Kosarienzi, he was a gymnast as we've kind of told the story before, but he was a gymnast ah in his younger days. That certainly creates a foundation.
Speaker: But the fact that he went to a public high school, I think that right there puts them in a higher tier of potential ah versatility for his athleticism because Anyone who was forced to be a, or not forced, but that chose to be a specialist when they were 12, 13 years old. And that's really what most of soccer is now, is is these guys, once they are, they're identified relatively young as elite athletes, they're they're kind of pushed to just pursue that path.
Speaker: Soccer is essentially a year-round sport at that level. And that just doesn't leave a lot of room for having a catch for going down to the beach and and playing touch football with your buddies. Because all of a sudden you've got coaches and you're saying like, that's just not smart.
Speaker: Yeah. And I think that the longer you put that off, the more chances you had to just play pickup basketball, to do all kinds of things that we're talking about. As far as I don't know that this tells us anything about how good of a soccer player they are.
Speaker: But I always think it's fun to just think of which athlete, which soccer players especially, are kind of the best generic athlete. Kalani would seem to be like a guy that'd be hard to tackle. He's so strong. Shifty, too. Shifty, like a Wes Welker type. You know, like slot receiver. You're going to keep in between the markers. I mean, yeah, I give you that.
Speaker: I would also put Kalani forward as probably the only guy on the team that I would... Like, if I had to... bet my life on a Sounders player being able to do a kickflip.
Speaker: Kalani is the only one I would agree. Like maybe not the same kind of athleticism, but I think Brad Evans was, is would be the, the obvious other at candidate, but he is long, but on I think and physical activity you put Kalani yeah into and say like, you have 24 hours to figure out how to do the thing. Yeah. I think he's the one who figures out how to do. That's a good show. That's a good show.
Speaker: Well, I think that's a good place to call this. ah Hopefully those of you that happen to watch us live on YouTube were able to give it us some notes. I know that the mic levels were maybe not where where they needed to be, but we are working out the kinks and hopefully next Monday we'll actually be able to do a real live show for...
Speaker: a show that Nico is going to be doing with Adam race, a name you may know from, uh, Ballard FC, from Seattle, you, from a few other things where he does play by play. He also has done some work, uh, covering the sounders for us and for other outlets.
Speaker: Uh, anything you want to say about this, this upcoming show, it's going Mondays at 1 PM. And what, what are we calling it, Nico? We're calling it sound check. That's a Monday sound check. That's what we're calling it. ah I'm excited about it. You know, I love the the feel of ah being able to break the the game that was just recently there, have the night to kind of rewatch the game as well, provide a little bit of insight.
Speaker: ah Adam is very... understanding of the game he knows watching for and he brings a different perspective so i really like that and mainly look i knew that he was going to resonate with the audience for sounder heart because he's so like embedded into the the culture of sports within the city that i just have a really good feel about it uh we're gonna try to at times maybe open up a lines for you guys to do hop on maybe 10 minutes, not the first show possibly.
Speaker: We also have some really interesting guests in line who may be coming to do a couple of shows. So, you know, just a real different look of what we've provided before for Sounder Our Heart audience.
Speaker: Adam, i have found to be a very thoughtful and curious yeah watcher and observer of the game. And so I'm excited to see what he brings to the show with you, Nico.
Speaker: Thank you. I appreciate that because he's enthused as well. He's excited again. Yeah. Yeah. he I felt bad. We actually came in on Monday. No. So Monday, yeah, we came in on Monday and we were trying to figure out, we were going to try to do a sort of dry run and we just canno not quite figure out the tech.
Speaker: Luckily, i think we have now figured out the tech. So that's good. But thanks a lot for listening, for watching. This was No Sarietes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
Speaker: doing it live on and on YouTube as well. Hopefully you will continue to tune in, continue to listen. am Jeremiah Shand, signing off for Nico Moreno and Tim Boss.
Speaker: This, ah we'll catch you next time. Yeah, that's right. It's live to you, baby. exactly Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: Let's go at Sounders.
