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Nos Audietis, Episode 264: Featuring Gonzalo Pineda
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It wasn’t always pretty and it wasn’t always good, but the Sounders secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Sounders actually managed to make the most out of their stretch run, winning 3 of 4, including their final two by a combined score of 7-0. The only problem is that they lost Clint Dempsey to a red card, which comes on the heels of losing Gustav Svensson in the penultimate game and Osvaldo Alonso the game before that. They also played the final game without Victor Rodriguez, although it sounds as if he’ll be ready for the playoffs.
Despite all this, the Sounders actually seem pretty well positioned to make another run. Jeremiah and Aaron discuss that possibility before interviewing Gonzalo Pineda and answering some questions.
This week's music: "Star Blazers Theme", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"
Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.
Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsor
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Nos Adieres is sponsored by Full Pool Wines. Full Pool Wines are based in Seattle, owned and operated by Sanders fans, and have been sponsoring Nos Adieres since 2011. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest. Their model is simple. One, they email compelling offers.
00:00:23
Speaker
Two, you request bottles that sound appealing. And three, your wine arrives at their soda warehouse and is ready for pickup or shipping. Their soda tasting room is also open to the public. If you're interested in joining their mailing list or learning more about them, visit fullpaulwines.com.
Guest Introductions
00:00:42
Speaker
Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this.
00:01:04
Speaker
The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle And the hills the greenest green in Seattle
00:01:21
Speaker
Welcome to another edition of NOS Adietes, sponsored by Full Poll Wines, Queen Anne Acupuncture, Verity Credit Union, Designers Marble, and our broadcast partner Bootstrapper Studios. This is episode 264. We're recording on Tuesday, October 24th, 2017. I am your host, Jeremiah Shan, and I'm joined by my co-host, Aaron Campo, and our engineer, Lickett. Later in the show, we'll be joined by Sounders Assistant Coach, Gonzalo Pineda.
Sounders' Playoff Outlook
00:01:43
Speaker
It wasn't always pretty, and it wasn't always good, but the Sounders secured the number two seed in the Western Conference, and will now await the results of Wednesday and Thursday's first round games to see who they play. The most likely opponent is probably the Vancouver Whitecaps, who they'd play as long as they win. But the Sounders actually managed to make it the most out of their stretch run, winning 3-4, including their final two by a combined score of 7-0.
00:02:05
Speaker
The only problem is that they lost Clint Dempsey to a red card, which comes on the heels of losing Gustav Svensson in the penultimate game, and Osvaldo Alonso the game before that. They also play their final game without Victor Rodriguez, although it does sound like he'll be ready for the playoffs. So Aaron, I guess the big question is, despite all of these struggles, despite all of these absences, we're here
00:02:29
Speaker
And yet, it really does feel like the sounders are well positioned to at least make a run at defending this title.
00:02:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I've said a few times over the last couple of weeks, I think this team is better than the one that won the MLS Cup last year. I agree. Even with, you know, without Alonzo and Morris, I think that they've been better. And so that doesn't mean anything in terms of their their actual odds for the playoffs. But I think that the Western Conference is a little bit weaker, too.
00:03:02
Speaker
So yeah, I feel pretty good about their chances. I think that they're almost certainly not going to win another MLS Cup, but I think that their odds are better than everybody but Toronto's, I would say.
00:03:17
Speaker
And maybe even better than Toronto's, as Toronto has to deal with some pretty good teams in the East. So I feel good about it. It's probably not going to be here if they get back to it again, which is a huge bummer. But if they go on the road and win, I guess we can live with that. But yeah, I feel really good. And I think especially in the playoffs and the way the game is played, the goals
00:03:39
Speaker
The goal scoring environment is a lot lower. With this defense, I think it's going to be really, really difficult to keep the Sounders out of games and their attack is shown. It's not elite in MLS, but I think it's shown that it's plenty good enough to expect them to get a goal or two a game. I feel good about things. Check back with me when we have to play Portland in the conference finals, but for now I feel okay.
Offensive and Defensive Strategies
00:04:05
Speaker
Yeah, you know you mentioned the offense and the offense is not you know, it's not gangbusters It's only the the third best offense in the in the West and it's in it, you know compared to the East who is just
00:04:19
Speaker
got so much firepower. They actually rank pretty low in terms of raw goal totals. But they do rank very well in expected goals, which is a theme that we've hit on a lot over the season. The Sounders actually, I believe, were third by Opta. They were first by American Soccer Analysis expected goals, so depending on who you look at.
00:04:41
Speaker
But their offense, I think, is better than it sometimes seems. And I think that we saw that they were capable of beating up on certainly bad defenses. We saw that against Colorado. And I don't know. I guess it should be said, Colorado's defense was not horrible. I mean, it wasn't good. But it wasn't a horrible defense. And Dallas had been OK.
00:05:11
Speaker
You know that I don't know you get credit for they did turn around and beat the galaxy six to one the following week after the centers beat them for zero But you know, I'm I just and then maybe I'm overvaluing these last two wins but I think especially when you include that Vancouver game, which is a team obviously that they are Likely to play. I just think there's a lot of reason for optimism and and as long as they have key pieces out on the field they've been really good and I mean, I'm just
00:05:39
Speaker
I'm very bullish on this team right now. I feel like, you know, anything can happen, you know, but I'm very much with you that I think if you just look at the roster player by player, they're better, they're playing better. And that they're all they've done all this with Jordan Morris getting three goals this year, which is just kind of really wild to me when you think about it.
00:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, it's crazy because, I mean, that was the big question coming into the season is, you know, okay, if Dempsey's back, we can assume he'll get around the number of goals he ended up getting. But if Jordan doesn't produce the way he did last year, then it could be trouble. And he didn't come anywhere close to producing the way he did last year. And, you know, it's been okay. It hasn't been ideal.
00:06:25
Speaker
I don't think anybody expected Will Bruin to have the season he had and that's been a tremendous pickup especially with Morris's injuries and his struggles but you know to get back to what you were talking about in terms of the way the offense and then also just kind of the generally the way the team has been playing over the last few months.
00:06:41
Speaker
I think that the key thing about the season is that you look at where the Sounders ended up in the standings and you look at that in comparison to the teams in the East and that they weren't able to finish first in the Western Conference in a year that I think the quality was definitely down, that there wasn't really a standout team in the Western Conference.
00:07:02
Speaker
And then you consider, you know, all those games that they had earlier in the year where they were having to start, you know, Jordy D'Lem, and they were having to, you know, they were without, yeah, at Red Pack, they were missing a ton of key players. You know, Ozzy Alonzo was injured.
00:07:21
Speaker
They had some just just got destroyed in a few games on the road And you know the whole they didn't put themselves in the kind of hole they put themselves in last year But if you take away those results, and I think that it's it's fair to I mean obviously you can't take them away But I think it's fair to say look teams don't usually have injuries to you know multiple key players in multiple position groups at the same time and they don't get put into situations where they're having to start Tony Afaro and Jordy Dellum and
00:07:51
Speaker
in the same game and you know you say okay if they get closer to what you would expect from from that period of time and then they also had that really long stretch where the offense was playing really well and just not scoring if you give them another five points or so you know i think that in another six or seven goals this team looks much much different because
00:08:15
Speaker
going into the playoffs. And so the question is, you know, are they closer to what we've seen over the last month or two or are they closer to what we saw in May? And I think the answer is pretty obvious there. And, you know, you can't go back and undo those struggles earlier in the season, but right now I think this team is playing pretty close to its full potential. And, you know, that's what counts in the playoffs, right? And the fact that they're gonna have
00:08:43
Speaker
favorable CV in the fact that they're gonna get, you know, a team on short rest, not have to play the playing game. That's huge. So I don't think they're as good as Toronto, but I think they're as good as any other team in MLS. And I think that they're a lot closer to Toronto than they were last year. So yeah, it's hard not to feel, you know, I haven't run the numbers and probably that's something I should do. But my suspicion is that the Sounders performance has hinged far more on having four of their
00:09:13
Speaker
top five or six defenders available than it has hinged on what offensive players they've had available. Because when they've had certainly Marshall, Torres, Lirdum, at least those three, and Fry I guess,
00:09:31
Speaker
They have been so good defensively that it allows them so much freedom offensively and they have talent. I don't think there was ever really a serious doubt at least after the transfer window that this team didn't have the talent to compete.
00:09:48
Speaker
But man, they have a lot of firepower offensively. There's just a lot of bodies that, you know, when you can bring Lamar Nagel off the bench, and I think he's perfect for a player that you just need off the bench. I mean, this is a guy who's got two goals in 88 minutes. He really should have three. He came very close to getting his third.
00:10:05
Speaker
and if he's you know if all he's asked to do is provide energy and And kind of get on the end of loose balls and whatnot. That's a perfect role for Lamar Nagel Similarly Victor Rodriguez, you know, we've talked about this a lot But I'm just blown away at how good he when he's really playing. Well, he is really really good I mean if the sounders had signed him as there as a designated player, I don't think I'd be complaining at all. I
00:10:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's funny how labels can kind of affect your perception of what teams have done. And it's also crazy that you can get that kind of a player without having to use a DP spot and a player that, you know, should be able to perform at this level for another two or three years, at least. That's insane. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we had Maro Rosala as a designated player going into the playoffs.
00:10:58
Speaker
Um, and Victor Rodriguez is a better player than Mario Rosales was, you know, even, even when he was at his best here and he's not taking up a designated player spot. Um, he's not even, I mean, I think he's a key part of the offense, but he's not like one of the one or two most important dogs in the offense. It's, it's crazy. It shows how much MLS has evolved and it shows that was a really good signing. Uh, it was a really true deal. And you know, I recall there being a lot of question marks when he was signed about like,
00:11:27
Speaker
you know he's played on these relegation teams and he's never been able to like really be a big star in Spain and you know I'm glad he's a he's a tan player and not a designated player and there was some skepticism you know and I'm not I'm not saying that that was unfounded but man it's it's worked out incredibly well and it's just
00:11:50
Speaker
I think it's opened up so much for the offense. And I think in doing that, even when he's not out there, even when the offense isn't at full strength, there's a kind of confidence that was lacking for a lot of the season and a little bit more incisiveness in the attack that I think was evident against Colorado on Sunday. Yeah. So one of those guys, I think maybe the stat that might illustrate the point I was making best, and I
00:12:16
Speaker
I just wanted to come back to this. The Sounders are 8-2-5 since Kevin Lierdom made his debut. They've outscored appointments 26-8 in his 1300 minutes. That basically works out to like 1.88 goals for per 90 and like 0.5 goals allowed per 90. That's a pretty impressive rate. It allows you to be competitive with just about anyone.
00:12:40
Speaker
But one of the things that I think has been so astounding is that you look at the way that the surroundings were struggling early and
00:12:49
Speaker
look at the lineup that they were forced to use against the rapids where you're missing Calvin you're missing Gustav Svensson you're missing Clint Dempsey for most of the game you're missing Victor Rodriguez you're missing Osvaldo Alonso you're missing Jordan Morris and they were they had all the best chances in that game pretty much and they have Nico Ledero playing ostensibly as a as an eight which actually he looks very comfortable doing um is there any
00:13:19
Speaker
Do you think we learned anything long-term about Niko's last two games basically playing as an 8?
00:13:28
Speaker
It's super, it's tough because it's been two games and he's looked so good there and it's a position he's played a lot as a professional. I mean I think he plays there for Uruguay and I think he's he played there for Boca at times and he has looked insanely good there but it's a big decision that you have to make
00:13:50
Speaker
and the offseason before you start, you know, making your designated player signings and so forth. If he's able to make that move, you know, it means that you've got, assuming Alonzo's back, you've got him in field three, you know, with him rolled on and Alonzo, which I would, I think I would love to see, but that
00:14:09
Speaker
Where do you make your DP signings? Because then you've got Rodriguez, Dempsey, and Morris up top, I guess. And then you've got your back four. So maybe you push Morris to the bench. Maybe it forces your hand and says, OK, you know what? We're not going to exercise Dempsey's option. I don't think either of those outcomes are particularly
Controversies and Incidents
00:14:35
Speaker
likely.
00:14:36
Speaker
So I don't know, it'll be interesting. I just think that with the way this roster is constructed right now, it's unlikely that it's a permanent move. And there's part of me that thinks that maybe that's actually his best position, but they'd have to make so many changes if that's where he ends up staying that I just think it's unlikely that we're ever going to see it long term.
00:15:02
Speaker
So in the short term, the sounders are gonna have to play a game without Dempsey. He got a red card for, I don't know, I think it depends on your angle. I've kind of been surprised by the vociferousness with which some readers of Sounder at Heart have defended the elbow. And even going this far to say that they think that this could get overturned on an appeal,
00:15:30
Speaker
I think I know where your position is on this, but I'll let you share it anyway. The good news either way is that we just found out today that he's not going to be suspended in any additional games. He'll miss the first leg, but he's not going to miss anything after that. He was basically fined for failing to leave the field in an orderly manner, which is probably fair.
00:15:52
Speaker
jaw quite a bit with Mike Defonte. He did pantomime like he was going to kick the ball out. He did clap in the referee's face and he yelled at the referee. So I guess I can't really fault the the fining there. But this, I mean, as much as I hated it, it's the right call, right? He needed to be red guarded.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's really hard for you to convince me that he hit him in the face intentionally. Agree with that. I mean, maybe he did, I don't know. But I feel like if Clint Dempsey wanted to get that from what we saw, though.
00:16:30
Speaker
I think if Clint Dempsey wanted to cock back and elbow somebody in the face, he would cock back and elbow somebody in the face. I don't think that's a controversial thing to say, but he hit him in the face. That's a red guard. You can't hit somebody in the face with your arm. Whether it's intentional or not, you're expected to keep better control of yourself.
00:16:51
Speaker
there was a little bit of a sell job, but I don't, you know, if somebody hit me in the face, I'd probably be pretty pissed off about it too. I think it was the right call. I understand Dempsey's frustration, especially if he wasn't, you know, trying to hit him, but, you know, he did. So I think a red card was the right call. And it was really similar to the contact that we saw from Newhoo on Diego Chara. And I guess it would have been August,
00:17:21
Speaker
you know where he reached back and hit Chara on the face and it was a red card and it sucked because I don't think he was trying to do it but he did it but I think that actually suspending him for additional games would have been pretty ridiculous because I think you really have to be able to say without question yeah he was trying to elbow him in the face and I just don't think you can say that you know by any stretch so it sucks to lose him for a game but
00:17:48
Speaker
I would much rather it be the away leg than the home leg. Especially if we ended up having to go to Houston or something. It is what it is. I really wish it hadn't happened. I think trying to say that it was...
00:18:06
Speaker
that it was somehow like egotistical or him having a hot temper. I think he was just kind of got unlucky and he was a little bit out of control and a little bit reckless. But if it's not Clint Dempsey getting sent off for that red card, I don't think anybody says anything like that. I think they say, well, that sucks or whatever. But I don't think that they're going to, you know, be impugning of his character for whatever reason.
00:18:30
Speaker
A lot of sounders say it's just like to ascribe a lot of motivations to things that he does. And I, you know, fair enough, I guess, but I don't see it. I think he just got a red card and it happened to be pretty bad timing. But, you know, I mean, that's Clint Dempsey, right? He plays a certain way. He's always played a certain way.
00:18:47
Speaker
The benefits far, far outweigh the negatives. Yeah, and I think that, you know, Brian Smetter kind of said it best today was, you know, Clint Dempsey got to where he is. He's the player that he is because he plays a certain way. And he kind of does play on that that borderline between being aggressive and dirty.
00:19:08
Speaker
I don't know that this was necessarily a dirty play, but it was an aggressive play and sometimes aggressive plays Pass over into red cardable offenses and You end up with a situation like what we had what we had I'm not I guess I'm frustrated because I want Dempsey to be on the field and I'm frustrated that
00:19:33
Speaker
he hurt the Sounders chances of advancing out of this round, but I think that on the whole, I'll still take the whole package. He's been really good down the stretch. My suspicion is that he's gonna be really good in the playoffs, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he ultimately impacts this team's run. It's just a shame that he, you know, that he,
00:20:01
Speaker
He made, I think, a mental mistake, and I think he needs to be smarter. But I don't think it was purposeful, and if it was, I certainly don't think he meant to elbow him in the face. I think he was trying to kind of swing his arm and send a message, but I don't know. I guess I'm just not bent out of shape about it. But yeah, I guess that's kind of where we are. For your perspective,
00:20:40
Speaker
Vancouver having to play on the road is a huge advantage for the Sounders or any team that they're playing in the playoffs. I think that Vancouver has a completely incompetent manager and a really talented team. And I think that Vancouver has won and had a pretty good season in spite of their manager. I think that the fact that he didn't start Freddie Montero in a must-win game in Portland. That was bizarre. What was that about? Yeah. But he doesn't start Freddie Montero on the road a lot.
00:20:58
Speaker
do you feel like the sounders match up pretty well with them?
00:21:08
Speaker
because he wants to get results. He's terrible. They're a really talented team, but they're not talented enough. They shouldn't have overcome how much he's tried to send him back by being a garbage manager.
00:21:27
Speaker
Um, I'm not, I'm not a fan of, in case you couldn't tell. Um, so yeah, I mean, I think that the Sounders match up really well with Vancouver. Vancouver beat the Sounders, uh, early in the season while they were still kind of trying to figure some things out. Uh, and still, I think shaking off the, not the rust, but, uh, just trying to get back into the groove of the season after a short off season, uh, the Sounders have played, you know, really well against them since then. Um, I would much rather play them than play sporting Kansas city or Houston, especially sporting Kansas city.
00:21:57
Speaker
Houston's dangerous at home, but I think the Sounders would probably be able to gun with them a little bit. So even if they're losing on the road, it'd be like 3-2 or something, which is not a terrible result on the road. But Sporting KC is just miserable to play against. And even if you get by them, you have to deal with having played Sporting KC in the playoffs. And yeah, you get some time to rest up and get healthy.
00:22:25
Speaker
Man, they take chunks out here. I'm hoping for Vancouver, especially because I don't want Portland to get San Jose in the playoffs. That would piss me off for karmic reasons.
00:22:40
Speaker
So yeah, that's where I'm at. Fair enough. Alright, well that's probably a good place to call this a segment. We're going to come back. We're going to have an interview with Gonzalo Pineda. Admittedly it happened before the Rapids game, but that is a very little consequence in the interview. We'll come back, take your questions. You're listening to Nos Arietes. Queen Anne acupuncture has over a decade of experience healing the injuries of athletes.
00:23:09
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Gonzalo Pineda's Journey
00:24:36
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Arietes. We are joined by Gonzalo Pineda, the sounder's assistant coach. What's your formal title? Is it assistant coach? Yes, assistant coach. Yeah. And of course a former player here. You were here in 14, 15? Yes, that's accurate. Yeah.
00:24:52
Speaker
So what was the, when you first, when the opera, so you were obviously, after you retired, you went and played, you went and did broadcast work for Univision, which I got to tell you, I've been, I was very impressed by, I don't speak a ton of Spanish, but you seem to just carry yourself in a very confident way. You know, you see a lot of players struggle with that transition. How was the transition for you?
00:25:12
Speaker
It was probably easier for me because I knew that it wasn't the job I wanted for the rest of my life. So I knew since the very beginning that it was more like kind of paid vacations, things like that. I was planning to be there for three years getting all my license, like my coaching license.
00:25:30
Speaker
And after that, let's move to be a coach. But the offer from Sadler's came out like in the next year, and it was a very easy decision for me to take it.
00:25:43
Speaker
And so you were living in Miami. How did you find, I guess, other than Seattle was the only American city you've lived in, right? Yes. How did you find Miami in comparison to Seattle? Very different. It's just not quite the opposite side of the country, but it's the style of living, the people, a lot of Latin people, which is cool in certain ways, but in some others is not the best.
00:26:06
Speaker
especially with families, you know, a lot of parties, a lot of things, and things that you don't want your children to see at this point. So it was challenging a little bit, but what I'm happy is just we have the experience. My children are very adaptable now, so now they know different environments, they know different people, different cultures, which is good for their development as human beings, I think.
00:26:30
Speaker
Yeah, and I got to tell you, I'm sure you've heard this a million times, but you have two of the cutest kids, I think, of any sounder's person that's come through the team. Thank you. It's been fun seeing them on social media and whatnot. So do they remember Mexico much, or do they feel more American at this point?
00:26:50
Speaker
I think they are very proud to be Mexican but obviously especially my daughter she speaks I think well not better but she speaks a really good English but the Spanish is like I don't know and my son is better in both but yes it's sometimes I have to explain them a little bit of Mexican history a lot of
00:27:14
Speaker
even Mexican little this land you know how we talk in Mexico City things like that because sometimes I don't want them to lose that part but with soccer for example my son is very proud of Sanders I mean actually I think is the most exciting team for him to cheer because he was really excited about this crowd in Central Link and all people clapping at the very beginning and the way they supported him it was amazing for him so he's very passionate about soccer so
00:27:45
Speaker
Since I recall I'm a pumas fan in Mexico and he has the same a little bit, he loves pumas and everything but I think that inside him he loves more sounders because he's the one he lived more closely and especially with him I noticed that he's a little bit more on this side of the continent than in the south part with Mexico, right?
00:28:08
Speaker
So if Sounders play Pumas in Champions League, you think he's going to be rooting for Sounders? Yes, of course. Of course, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. Also, he's very loyal. He's very loyal. So even though I play for many different teams, and he'll remember, I think, Puebla, he'll remember Crucesul, he'll remember Caretaro.
00:28:29
Speaker
And we were playing against Pumas, and he was cheering for us, for Pueblo, or for Carretaro. If I am there, I say, like, no, dad, I'm going to wear your jersey. I don't like Pumas if he's playing against you. So things like that. So he's very loyal to our company, and that's cool. Yeah. That's great. And so the opportunity presents itself to come back to Seattle. And you said it was an easy decision. Was it because you wanted to get into coaching, or did you really feel like a connection to Seattle specifically?
00:28:58
Speaker
I think it was both. I think it was perfect because we wanted a little bit of both. We wanted to come back to Seattle to live because we really miss this part. The people here are super friendly, super open-minded, and the environment is just better for our kids. So as a family, we were thinking, yes, maybe at some point we have to think to come back to Seattle.
00:29:20
Speaker
And I don't want to be unfair with Univision because they are a fantastic company. They were amazing with us as a family and they took care of perfect care of us in every single detail. But as a city, just comparing cities, I mean, Seattle is much better, I would say. And especially, of course, like the coaching side, it was like perfect, like the city we want, the job I want. So it's just like perfect, very easy decision to make.
00:29:47
Speaker
So more about the job, it seems like if you watch a game, it's impossible to miss that you and Brian are talking constantly. And it would appear that you're a pretty important part of not just whatever prep goes into the game, but the strategy that goes into the game, the tactics that go into the game. Describe your role a little bit and how you see yourself fitting in with the way Brian runs the team.
00:30:13
Speaker
Well, I try to help Brian probably with the style of the team he wants, like his own vision of football. I try to adapt a little bit myself, but also giving him more options, more like a different vision. So sometimes if he says something, I want this. I say, OK, that's OK, but what if we do this? And just for him to have a different idea, sometimes he thinks that's
00:30:38
Speaker
Sometimes he says, no, I prefer mine or things like that. But I always try to be more open, a little bit more division and try to see different things, new things that maybe he can feel is valuable and can help the team. So that's a little bit my role in everything. So every time we do video, I try to do maybe a little bit different or try to evolve a little bit more.
00:31:00
Speaker
And the same with the tactics. I'm always probably a little bit more aware of the tactics of the team, the style of the team, and the combination between players. And that's a little bit my role in everything. In every aspect he's looking for, I try to give him maybe a little bit of a different vision. So I'm not like, yes, I agree with you, Brian. Or, yes, I want this. Yes, I agree. No. Sometimes I want to disagree with him and say, yes, maybe what if we do this? What if we do that?
00:31:27
Speaker
And so how much change can you affect once the ball is in play? I mean, do you feel like the coaches can still influence a game after it started? Or do you feel like it's at that point, it's just about who you're bringing substitutes? No, I think I think after that is all players decision making. I think
00:31:47
Speaker
I was a player and sometimes I didn't hear. I didn't pay attention to the coaches. I mean, sometimes when you have a little bit of a break or something, maybe you can do a coaching point with someone, but not too much. I think it's pretty much our own excitement on the bench that we want to do things or talking things, but I don't think we affect too much the players at that point.
00:32:07
Speaker
What are some of the things that you've learned since moving to the sideline that maybe you didn't appreciate as a player? Probably to have a bigger vision because I think as a player sometimes you are focused on yourself and your job and doing well and preparing yourself to play and decide if there's a competition between you and your teammate a little bit, right?
00:32:32
Speaker
We are in the same position, so I want to play and he wants to play, so it's a little bit of selfish a little bit. And as a coach, I think you have to be aware of everything and everyone. You have to take care of everyone at the same time, at the same level of attention. So it doesn't matter if it is clean-densey or a rookie like Wingo, we have to take care of both at the same level of attention.
00:32:54
Speaker
And that changes a little bit your point of view sometimes in training sessions, how you design the sessions, how you take care of those players that didn't play too much. So tell a bit of that maybe less selfish and just your own attention on your own job. You have to take care of everyone.
00:33:12
Speaker
So one of the things that you've been kind of credited for, and I don't know, maybe you haven't gotten enough credit for it, frankly, is the growth of Christian Roldan. He was a player who you played with, who at the time, you know, you were kind of seen as his mentor. But this is, you know, if you look at maybe across
00:33:30
Speaker
MLS if there's one player who's improved more each year. I don't know if there's one more than Christian rolled on How would you say your role in that has been and and and how would you describe your relationship with Christian?
00:33:43
Speaker
I mean, it's a little bit to me. First of all, it's unimportant, the credit or not. First of all, to me, it's just like unimportant. But I think that is a little bit of a myth on that side, because I think Christian Roldan is fantastic. And without me, he could do great and fantastic at the same level. He's a fantastic player. But the best part of Christian Roldan is
00:34:06
Speaker
the field. I mean on the field is amazing training sessions, everything, but off the field he's such a pro, he's such a good person, such a smarter kid and such a hungry kid. He's always looking for ways to improve, for ways to see their mistakes or his mistakes
00:34:26
Speaker
and try to improve a little bit on those and it's just fantastic. It's just a great kid to coach and very easy to coach. Maybe, yes, I played the same position and in his first season I think I was the starter for several Sounders and I was coaching him a little bit because I saw a couple things that I liked.
00:34:49
Speaker
And yes, but it was very easy with players like that. I had a lot of Christian role dancers around my career and not all of them were as humble as Christian or as capable to learn. So it's all the criticism Christian, I think. It's him just doing great and just him.
00:35:09
Speaker
One of the things that I think people have said about Christian for a long time is that he's nice, and that he's a good kid, and that sometimes maybe he was too nice on the field. And you're one of those players who I think everyone who meets you off the field thinks Gonzalo Pineda, nicest guy I've ever met.
00:35:29
Speaker
If you only know you on the field, no one says that. They probably say he's the toughest player I've ever played against. So I don't know, did you see that kind of dichotomy in him? And have you done anything to work with him in terms of convincing him? No, you can still be great kid off the field, but you don't have to be nice kid on the field.
00:35:48
Speaker
Yes, still it's a little detail that of course we saw and we have discussions about it because it's in their core. It's in Christians being nice also on the field and being very friendly but also very competitive because to me that's the good balance. He's nice, he's friendly on the field but he's very competitive. He goes to a 50-50 ball, he goes with everything. Not bad intention, not bad tackle but
00:36:18
Speaker
he tries to really win the ball. So that's the right balance to me. If he's a little bit like too nice and sometimes, yes, a big player, maybe Jermaine Jones, for example, big tackles and then he goes down a little bit, then yes, I'm going to say, hey, you have to be tougher.
00:36:34
Speaker
But it's not the case. I think Christian is doing well, but yes sometimes especially sometimes in playoffs You know those little details like sending the right message to the opponent like okay. I'm here. I'm Christian Roldan Yes, maybe but that's on him I won't affect that because I think is his own core and his own values and and and actually I know his parents very well and and I know they want him to stay like that like I
00:37:00
Speaker
A nice kid and and I appreciate that and and I still like that because as I said He has the right balance between being nice but super competitive, you know not to make this too much about Christian But you know, he got his first taste of the national team this year In terms of his potential. I mean, what do you what do you see is as like how high can he go? I mean, is he a player that could be a national team starter? Is he a player that might have a future in Europe?
00:37:28
Speaker
Yes, both. I mean, I won't push for it, especially on media or social media, because that's unfair with the rest of the players. But I think, of course, Cristiano Roldan, in my vision, he is going to have a big role in the US national team.
00:37:46
Speaker
and maybe in Europe I see just because of the way he's improving year by year and I see I still think that Christian right now is really good player but his ceiling is still too high I think he can be a much much better player more valuable player for this league for this country and maybe for another club in Europe
00:38:08
Speaker
So you have obviously some very impressive experience at the national team level with Mexico. We just came through what I think everyone in the United States would agree is the most disappointing result, the most disappointing, you know, they haven't missed a World Cup since 1986 and here they are getting ready to look at, you know, six more years before they, they're potentially five more years before they're in another World Cup.
00:38:33
Speaker
What do you think from the national team, you know, you take your experiences with the Mexican national team, you know, you look at the way they went into, you know, they've never, they haven't missed qualification. I mean, what do you think the biggest difference between the Mexican national team mentality and the US national team mentality might be?
00:38:51
Speaker
I think at some point, honestly, I think the US national team stopped to improve. I think at some point they were doing really well year by year. After World Cup, they were improving in too many ways, two very different ways. The league is improving.
00:39:08
Speaker
But at some point, the national team was a little bit on the same level with the same tactic, with the same style, the same yacht product, the same academy's style of development. And that's where I am a little concerned from the US. If they don't change that, if they don't change the way they develop the players, I think it's going to be not good in the future.
00:39:38
Speaker
But also, it is also sometimes you need a hit like this to really say, OK, we're doing wrong. We can do better in certain ways. But yeah, it was very surprising to me. So no, no, no United States in the World Cup is like no good. But at the same time, to me, it's a great opportunity to grow and to do better next time.
00:40:02
Speaker
So what was your experience playing against the United States? Is the rivalry as fierce as we perceive it to be?
00:40:11
Speaker
Yes, especially because I live in this London Donovan Sarah where he was like, you know, probably a little bit of a target for us to kick because he was antipatic with us and he was like always like a swagger a little bit, you know, and he was always scoring goals against us. So it was a little bit of that rivalry, not just the US, but also with Donovan, he was very specific with him.
00:40:39
Speaker
But I would say that in terms of the style, I think that America was always like super physically. He was all about set pieces and big center backs, you know, Oniego, Brooks, like things like that. It was always the game like that when Mexico was able to go to a style, to place the style, like talk a little bit, play out from the back and have been in control of the situation, Mexico did great.
00:41:05
Speaker
When we led them to be physically, we challenged 50-50 balls, they always won. So it's a little bit of that, always that battle. So that's where I say like, Mexico improved a lot. Right now, we have a really good squad with really good style, but America stay with the same, the same physical. And I think nowadays you can just stick with that. I think you have to need, and now you have a little bit better players to me. You have better players maybe to create a little bit more possession style.
00:41:33
Speaker
or maybe transitional style, but different, not just physically, not just long balls picking the second ball and try to score, set pieces. And at some point I felt like the US was all about that.
00:41:45
Speaker
So you grew up in Mexico, obviously, but you always seem to have, I don't know how many players I've heard tell this story, but you learned English among correctly listening to music. You always had kind of an affinity for American culture and for kind of learning this. And so it's no mistake that you ended up playing here, it doesn't seem, and that it doesn't seem any mistake that you feel comfortable here.
00:42:08
Speaker
But how would you describe your kind of view of America living in Mexico and in terms of like the way you kind of coached yourself, you taught yourself English essentially?
00:42:20
Speaker
Well, it's too many factors. When you are in Mexico, you have even public schools, you have like English as one of the matters there. So I learned in there a little bit. My dad speaks a little bit of English. I was learning by only watching movies sometimes or TV series like 24 with Jack Bauer thing and everything. Sometimes I remove the subtitles in Spanish and I was just listening.
00:42:50
Speaker
And then I tried to learn a little bit, of course, with music, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, all that stuff. And well, I think it wasn't good enough just to play here. The first time I was here, I was strolling with the language. But it was a good start, maybe. But yeah, that was the way how I learned English, basically.
00:43:12
Speaker
And do you imagine that more players, I mean, we've seen, like, for a long time, Mexican players, just other than Cuauctomol, I feel like for a long time, he was, him and Rafa Marquez were like really the only two. Yeah, Pablo Pardo. Pablo Pardo, yeah. Right, that's right, that's right. But now it seems like we're getting more and more Mexican players that aren't necessarily the big names. Do you feel like that's something that we're gonna see more of, that Mexican players coming to MLS, you know, having kind of a life in the United States?
00:43:39
Speaker
Yes, I think especially the players that played in Europe, and now they sometimes prefer to come to the US, to the MLS, than Mexican League, probably because of the money, because they are DPs, and they won't get that amount of money in a lot of teams in Mexico.
00:43:54
Speaker
But also, I think the vision has changed right now because in the past, if I'm honest, when I was like 25, 26, we saw the vision was, okay, when I'm 33, I'm going to retire in the U.S. being the DP there, maybe in Galaxy or maybe in San Jose, very Latin, or Dallas, or Chicago, and then I'm going to have a good reward for my career.
00:44:20
Speaker
She's not, she's gonna play for money, a lot of money, right? Nowadays, a lot of players, they want to do that and not anymore because now the DPs have to really play good football or being a super big star like Beckham or like, you know, like Thierry Henry, things like that, or being a really super talented young player like Almirón or Joseph Martinez, Nicole Odeiro here.
00:44:44
Speaker
So now the vision has changed. Now, OK, now I can go to MLS maybe to play good football because now they have better players, better league. And also the young players, they see America sometimes or MLS like a next step maybe to be in Europe sometimes. So young players like, for example, Gubo Torres, he was here with Chivas USA, blah, blah, blah. And maybe he had the vision to at some point going to Europe. And this one was a good test for him if he can do it at this level.
00:45:14
Speaker
So I think the vision right now from Mexican players has changed with MLS, so not anymore like this paradise at the end of your career is more challenging and now we have this vision, okay, MLS is serious and MLS is getting better, so I really have to perform there.
00:45:30
Speaker
So we'll end it on this note.
Playoff Mentality and Preparation
00:45:33
Speaker
You guys are heading into the playoffs. This is the ninth straight season. The Sounders have gone into the playoffs. Although it's the first one that they've gone in as defending champions. What is your kind of, what's the message that you're giving to the team and what is, you know, what do you think this team can still, like, it seems like from the outside, we still don't really know what this team is because it's been so hard to keep.
00:45:55
Speaker
the same players. But how would you describe your team going in and what's the message that you're giving them? I think playoffs is all about mentality. I think the very specific example of that is last year. I think last year was, I mean, when I saw Sanders on TV, I was in Miami and I was like paying attention to them. It was all about mentality. All about tough players like Nelson Valdez, like Fribar, like Ulsi, like Roman Torres, Nico,
00:46:24
Speaker
All these guys just fighting for each other and just maybe not the most spectacular football, but a lot of mentality and they were very competitive. So maybe this year we've been playing sometimes good football, you know, playing out from the back, we've been better, created a lot of chances. But I think we have to remember the heart that they put last year. I think that's something that I would like to see in this playoffs. I think they are very close on that.
00:46:53
Speaker
But next game, especially against Colorado, has to feel like a playoff game. And I want to see that mentality toughest. I think we saw a little bit of that against Dallas. I think we saw a bit of that good mentality. And I think it's the most important thing to have in playoffs. Well, Gonzalo, I really appreciate your time. You've been more than gracious with it. And best of luck going into the playoffs. Best of luck on Sunday. And yeah, thanks for doing this. OK. No, thank you. It was my pleasure.
00:47:23
Speaker
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00:47:30
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:48:26
Speaker
Let's go JMaxwell0202 asks injury updates regarding Ozzy and Jordan. Best I can tell, Alonzo is getting near to return, but it sounds like Morris is more likely to be
00:48:42
Speaker
a little farther away. I don't know that I would necessarily expect him to play in the away leg, which is the first leg. I think there's a chance he's going to be back for the second leg, but I'm kind of thinking he's going to be a bench option from here forward no matter what he does. What do you think, Aaron? Is that bench a good thing for Jordan Morris, though?
00:49:06
Speaker
I mean, I think that long-term, obviously, no. And I think the team is better when he's starting, but I think that it makes sense for the playoff run. He can be really effective off the bench as a change of pace option. He gives the Sounders, I think, much better options than they have currently. And I think that in the way playoff games tend to go, having him off the bench might be preferable than Bruin.
00:49:34
Speaker
And you know, I think that's I think that's okay and also he's not gonna be 90 minutes fit right away and If things are working in the playoffs, you don't really want to change things around too much. So yeah, I think I think that's probably the way to go I just thought of a question and I haven't asked this before but Which player is more important do you think for the playoffs? I
00:49:57
Speaker
I think that Alonzo is probably the more important player to have back starting just because there's like this cascading effect of what his presence does, especially with Svensson out. You know, if you get Alonzo back all of a sudden you can, you know, you can move Lidero back into a more offensive position. You can, you know, it just allows you a little bit more flexibility with your midfield.
00:50:22
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that's true, but I think that Morris coming off the bench is going to make the Sounders a lot more dangerous in late game situations, give them a little more tactical flexibility. I think you're right. I think Alonzo was more important. If I had to choose one, I'd say that he's the guy. But I think it's pretty close. And I think that if one of them is going to be a game changer, it's more likely to be Morris.
00:50:53
Speaker
Michael underscore leiper asks how crazy was the Western Conference this year for playoff teams from 2016 didn't make it this year Yeah, I guess you have galaxy rapids Dallas and RSL all fell out I guess we would probably all agree that rapids falling out is not a huge shock but the speed with which the galaxy became awful is astounding I think
00:51:21
Speaker
Yeah, it doesn't necessarily shock me that they missed the playoffs, but the fact that they ended up being the worst team in the league is pretty stunning. And I think Dallas missing it is also insane based on how things looked. At the end of last season, at the beginning of the season, a few told me a month ago they were going to miss the playoffs. I would have thought you were crazy.
00:51:45
Speaker
Um, so yeah, pretty, pretty wild year. And, and there's just so much separation between the top five and the bottom one, uh, that team being San Jose who are legitimately trash garbage. Um, and I'm no business being in the playoffs. Um, but I think, you know, any of the other five teams that made it have a good shot at getting to the final and, um, not a great shot at winning, but, you know, a reasonable shot, I guess.
00:52:16
Speaker
That being said about San Jose, I hope we don't have to play them at all. Well, I guess the good news is that if we played them, it would be in the conference finals.
00:52:29
Speaker
And I guess it's good that we would be in the conference. I actually kind of am relishing. I know Aaron, well, whatever, we can get into this later. I assume there would be some questions about this. T underscore Rob Thomas has a couple of different questions about lineups for this first round that we're in. I'll just ask, what do you think the lineup will be?
00:52:52
Speaker
Well I'll start by assuming that Alonzo and Rodriguez are going to be ready, and if they are, then I think you see Lirdum, Torres, Marshall, New Who, and then Jones on the left, uh, Rodriguez in the middle, and
00:53:09
Speaker
Lidero on the right and then your two defensive midfielders would probably be Alonzo and Roldan and then up top you'd have Wilbruen. That's a very unorthodox way of going around the lineup, I realize. But if Alonzo and Rodriguez aren't ready, wow, there's going to be some interesting line of decisions.
00:53:30
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, God, I really hope Rodriguez is ready. I mean, the, the, the Sounders attack looked pretty good on Sunday, but they were playing the rapids. Yeah. Who are shitty in the best of times. And, um, you know, really bad on the road and really, really bad on the road, uh, in a game that means absolutely nothing. So to them, at least. Um, so yeah, I'm really hoping that Rodriguez is going to be able to go. Cause that first leg is going to be really important, I think.
00:54:01
Speaker
Speaking of the first leg, BT Bogan-Schutz asks, after two solid wins, is there any concern for a loss of momentum having to buy before leg one?
00:54:12
Speaker
No, I mean, there's only, it's a week, assuming the Sounders actually open on the 29th, which is what everyone seems to assume is going to be the case. I think that's perfect. You know, the Sounders will have had a week between games. I don't think you really get too concerned about momentum when you're talking about a week between games. The issue, I think, might be if they go beyond, if they advance out of the conference semifinals.
00:54:35
Speaker
they'll play the conference semifinals second leg on November 2nd and then I don't think I don't think the next leg is until like the 21st or something crazy like that so it's like 19 days between games that could be a little bit more of a problem
00:54:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it depends on how much stock you put in momentum. I don't put a lot in it, and I know that this team is hurting. They've had a long season. They've had a short off season. They're not the youngest group of guys. So I would much rather have that time for everybody to get rested up than to potentially lose any momentum, because I think that that's going to
00:55:20
Speaker
I think getting healthy and getting rested is going to be a much bigger benefit.
Defense Strengths
00:55:26
Speaker
Okay. Doosby asks, if defense wins championships, who are the best defensive teams in the playoffs? I mean, Casey and the Sounders to me are probably two best defenses. Yeah. And defense certainly helps you win championships, but you actually have to be able to score goals in case you can't do that.
00:55:47
Speaker
I mean, Casey scored 40 goals this season. That's crazy. So, yeah, I mean, I think the Sounders have the most well-rounded team. Toronto's defense is really good, though. I think it gets overlooked. I don't think it's as good as the Sounders are sporting Casey's, but it's pretty damn good. It's still missing their number one keeper, too. It's true.
00:56:14
Speaker
Matt Letzinca asks, we want to play Vancouver, then Houston, right? If not, what are your best playoff outcomes for the Sounders East equals New York Red Bulls all the way? Yeah, I mean, clearly we're rooting for the Red Bulls in the East. That's the only way the Sounders can host the final.
00:56:31
Speaker
I'm pretty much rooting for reverse order except swap Atlanta and Chicago. Um, like that's, it's, it's boring, but yeah, I don't, I don't want to play at Yankee stadium. I sure as hell don't want to play Toronto. I think I would actually rather, no, no, I wouldn't say that I was going to say I'd almost rather play Toronto than Yankee than have to play at Yankee state. It's, it's closer than it should be given how good Toronto is.
00:56:59
Speaker
Yeah. Wouldn't it be kind of hilarious if we had to play Toronto in the final again and we beat them 0-0 and went to PKs? It certainly wouldn't be inclined to give the trophy back. As far as the West, I guess I'm rooting for, I don't know what I'm rooting for. Yeah, no, I think I am kind of rooting for. I think I'd rather play the Whitecaps than anyone else in the West. That's also the most likely opponent.
00:57:24
Speaker
And and I don't mind the idea like I don't think I would like to play Portland in the conference finals I would rather them get knocked out by whoever they have to play but I don't hate the idea of never having to leave Cascadia for the entire You know until the finals
00:57:42
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there are certainly advantages to that. And I think that the Sounders actually match up pretty well against Portland. They didn't lose to Portland this year. I think that they would have a solid chance of getting a win in the way leg, which is huge. And they're probably not going to do that as Houston, as you pointed out the other day. That being said, I just can't deal with it. I cannot deal in Portland yet. Your heart.
00:58:08
Speaker
Just can't take it because if we win that's you know, that's that's amazing If we lose that hangover lasts longer than a playoff hangover usually does I you know, I I normally would be inclined to agree with you, but there's just like and I don't I guy again I'm not looking forward to playing Portland but that winning MLS Cup last year relieved so much of that particular angst and I feel like
00:58:35
Speaker
I could deal emotionally, like I don't wanna deal with it, but I feel like I might be able to deal with it emotionally. But we'll, I don't know, going to Portland is the most nerve-wracking soccer experience I've ever gone through, so. The fact that Portland, if they win, would have knocked us out of the playoffs twice, and we would have never done it, would be... But we're never gonna repay that favor if we don't win.
00:59:03
Speaker
That's true. And I feel like we do actually match up well with them this year. We do. I don't have rational reasons for not wanting to play them. It's not rational at all. They could be sixth, and I would feel the same way. Am I a bad person because I want the crew to be Atlanta? No, I think I want the crew to be Atlanta for a lot of reasons.
00:59:33
Speaker
Okay, moving on. Tim Murphy asks, with injuries and whatnot, do you think we maybe get to see Koval at some point in the first leg? I think that's a good question. No, no way. I mean, I guess if there's enough injuries, there's always a chance, right?
00:59:48
Speaker
But it does seem like Kovar has, I mean the fact that Harry's ship started as a wide midfielder on Sunday and Aaron Kovar didn't get off the bench I think speaks directly to this idea that Kovar has just really fallen down the depth chart.
01:00:24
Speaker
I'm inclined to think we can. I don't know that
01:00:29
Speaker
Motivated Dempsey is someone I'm worried about I I feel like he is He looks so good. I think that's what's so frustrating about Sunday is that he looks so good until the stupid red card that he took I I mean I I definitely would have bet you know based on his first 20 minutes that he was gonna Set the that he was gonna get a couple goals
01:00:52
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that if like when Dempsey has done things like this in the past, not even things like this, I mean, because I still am completely unconvinced that what he did was in any way intentional. I mean, I think that it's a red card and I think that he's probably trying to kind of
01:01:11
Speaker
send a bit of a message, but I don't think he's trying to hit the guy in the face. Clint Dempsey, he's not an idiot, and I think he just kind of missed, and that's why he got sent off. But when he got suspended for the sack tap, he didn't come back and do a bunch of stupid stuff. When he came back after the red card winning, he didn't come back and do a bunch of stupid stuff.
01:01:32
Speaker
He's a chippy player, he always plays that way. Sometimes he gets caught, but I don't think that him being motivated or pissed off or frustrated really has anything to do with it. I just think that sometimes he's not quite clever enough to get away with the stuff he wants to get away with, and sometimes he's unlucky.
01:01:53
Speaker
Yeah, I'm certainly not worried about it and I'll be very glad when he's back. I was almost convinced that he was so like he knew he was in the groove that he was trying so hard to get a goal there that he got over enthusiastic to get a goal. I think there's a lot of truth to that.
01:02:12
Speaker
Yeah, and I also think there's, you know, it also, there was also a bit of like, it was kind of heartbreaking to see him go out, especially after watching him walk in to the field with all four of his kids in tow, lagging, and I don't know if you noticed this, but the...
01:02:28
Speaker
usually when they walk in, they're in sync. And so all 11 players are next to their opponent and they walk in and it's just like beautifully choreographed kind of thing. Well, yesterday on Sunday, it was not in sync because Dempsey was the second to last person and he had dropped way behind his person while he was like carrying one kid and dragging along three others.
01:02:55
Speaker
And then Chad Marshall was carrying his daughter, and he was like, put him down, and then they were like walking, and she was kind of just strolling. And he was like, hey, mom, it's cool. Also, the girl who walked in with Christian Roldon, who I assume is not his daughter, had some serious swagger. I was very impressed.
01:03:15
Speaker
There was one kid that, and you probably only would have seen this if you watched the game on TV, who during the national anthem they showed her and she just had her hands over her ears and looked like she was about to cry. Nice. That's pretty great. Nice. That's pretty great. Nice. Okay, last playoff related question. Matt Oak asks, how mad is the league going to be when we repeat? Mad. Really mad.
01:03:39
Speaker
That's okay. Yeah, that's fine. Yep. I mean they're People are gonna hate the sounders no matter what so I'd rather them hate us because we're winning them last hops very true Okay general questions now Adam P underscore 360 and hooligans underscore 29
01:04:00
Speaker
Both asks Stephen Fry related Keeper of the Year questions. I'll just group them together and you can answer. He should be for sure, but why won't Stephen Fry get Cold Keeper of the Year? If Fry doesn't want Keeper of the Year, what more does the guy need to do?
01:04:14
Speaker
He needs to play as well as three or four other Goalkeepers play this year. I actually think that Stephen Fry had a really good shout for Goalkeeper the year last year. You could just look at his stat. He didn't have as many shutouts, but every other stat was actually... I want to say he led in both saves and save percentage, which is not an easy feat.
01:04:34
Speaker
And he you know, he was really really good last year He was really good this year, but I don't think he was as good as last year Although I think that weirdly he might get more votes this year like he wasn't even in the top three I don't know if he was even in the top five last year but I don't think he's gonna win this year and I and I have to admit that Tim Malia seems like the pretty obvious choice as well and
01:04:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the numbers he's put up this season are incredible. He's had, arguably, one of the best goalkeeper seasons of all time. Fries had a great year, and he's a great keeper. But I think Malia has been better. I think Hamid has been better. And I think there's a case that Guzzan, Robles have also been a little bit better. So if he was going to win it, I think you're right. I think last year was the year to do it.
01:05:28
Speaker
Yeah, who won last year? Was it Blake? It was Blake, and I didn't think that Blake was. I mean, I was a little surprised at how easily Blake won. Like, but he didn't win. He had a much, much better season this year, too. He didn't win for his stats last year, though, right? Because it was some weird, like, he just got voted it. I mean, he had an enormous number of highlights saved, yeah. So you never know. Never know. SPTheGhost asks, how much will Kurt Schmid's departure hurt the sounders going forward?
01:05:58
Speaker
I'm sorry, say that again. How much will Kurt Schmid's departure hurt the sounders going forward? Oh, I don't, you know, I think he was a useful guy to have in the front office. I don't think he was anything like the main guy. And I hope for his sake that the reason he's leaving is because he's been promised a much bigger role with the galaxy than he had with the sounders. Although they have a lot of, they didn't, in all this shuffling, the only person they fired seemingly is
01:06:28
Speaker
Anulfo and so there's a lot of decision makers And the Venus motor. He actually wasn't fired. He's like still president of soccer or whatever the title is Yeah, so he they just like took away some of his technical
01:06:43
Speaker
responsibilities but presumably he's still gonna have some say. It's a very weird organization right now and I don't know that if I'm Kurt's agent that I tell him it's a good move but I can't blame a guy for wanting to work with his dad and I can't blame him for you know for wanting to move back home which I presume his like family and stuff is in LA. And I think they did make him director of Scouting. Oh did they? I hadn't seen the announcement.
01:07:12
Speaker
I think so. And if in that case, it is, I think a pretty big promotion, um, which the, you know, curtain off. I've got a pretty big promotion too, and that didn't work out great for him. So that's not always a great reason to do something, but, um, I get it, but I'm with you. Like he'll be missed. I think, you know, I think he's obviously very good at his job, but, um, I don't feel like he's in any way irreplaceable. I think that that's probably true of, of pretty much any scout and MLS. So.
01:07:43
Speaker
And speed to go second question. I think this is a loaded question probably for Aaron But who is the most handsome sounders player of all time? Oh
01:07:53
Speaker
It's tough. I mean, we've had some good-looking fellows on the team. Brad Evans is... I feel like Brad Evans is more people who prefer gentlemen, seem to think that Brad Evans gets the nod. So I would go with him, most likely. I mean, from I guess objective. I mean, I'm happy to defer to men who are more regularly judging, but that seems to...
01:08:23
Speaker
coincide with my own biases as well uh... better than asked which nosedia slash sounder heart staffer would best replace curt uh... i don't know i don't know that we have anyone that would that really should be working uh... on the technical side of the sounders but if we're gonna throw names
01:08:52
Speaker
I don't know, Ryan Kelper seems like you'd be pretty good at that. You like anyone though? He'd out there be scouting me like, no, I don't like... No, I think he wasn't, but you know, that's not the worst thing in a scout. You know, to hate everything.
01:09:05
Speaker
Josh is uh, he's good at football manager. So maybe hmm. Oh well, maybe that's what I would I guess that if if the sounder said hey We want to hire the new s2gm from your ranks. I think what I would suggest that we do is Everyone spend the summer spend the offseason playing football manager and then whoever had the best, you know Had the best results. I would that's who we put forward
01:09:30
Speaker
Yeah, that seems like a good... I'm more... It's the same thing. I'm more in favor of them having a competition to see who can tackle Chris Henderson the best and whoever does the best gets the job. Oh, that's so interesting. Interesting methodology. You guys are listening. Twibbereally23 asks, assuming Alonzo, Morris, and Rodriguez are still out for Sunday and with Dempsey suspended, can we afford to keep Nico in the band of two? I don't think we can.
01:10:00
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think we can either. I think unless like the only way we can keep them back there is if like I guess if Alonzo No, I I just think you need to you need that you need them Yeah, I don't think you can afford to especially if you're playing a counterattacking team like Vancouver I don't think you can afford to have Nico with that much defensive responsibility. I
01:10:28
Speaker
If we, if we ended up playing sporting KC, maybe, maybe, but even then still, and God against Houston, I don't even want to think about it. Yeah. It's fun to watch, but it's not, nothing long-term that we can do against every team. I mean, I, I guess there's, if you,
01:10:49
Speaker
Going to the offseason and you kind of make that decision, I think you can maybe figure it out, but I don't... I think it's one of those things where it works really good when you feel like you have the clearly more talented squad, and it's very problematic, especially against counter-attacking teams. Fair enough. And I apologize, I thought that was... I should have put that in the playoff portion of the question. It's okay. It's really okay.
01:11:16
Speaker
Wally Rosito asks, is Leardham the best right back we've ever had? I mean, I guess the competition is DeAndre, right? Yeah, I don't think James Riley is really in the conversation. Or Adam Johansson. Or Brad Evans. Or Brad Evans, I guess. I think Yedlin might have been better by the time he left.
01:11:40
Speaker
but- And Lyrdham's really good. Yeah, he's really good. He's really, really good. And I think that Yedlin was a completely different player after the World Cup. I think that that did a lot for his confidence and just maybe even getting exposure to that level of play, you know, because he's obviously a quick learner, but that was really only like three or four months of that. And he was here for two years, so.
01:12:11
Speaker
His assist on brewing school was amazing just for the fact if you rewatch it several times, you can see he's making that decision on the fly to kind of stop what he was going to do and then hit it across like on the ground. Yeah. Just amazing to watch.
01:12:27
Speaker
Lyrdom and Rodriguez have one of my favorite abilities in wide players, which is the ability to not just pump the ball into the box when they get to the end line and actually do something else with it. There are so many dangerous chances that we have that come from Lyrdom and Rodriguez stopping
01:12:48
Speaker
holding up the ball, cutting the ball back, instead of just kind of pumping it into the box. And it's just wonderful, wonderful to see. Yep. Okay. I'm not actually, I'm not going to have you answer this because I already have the answer from another tweet, but I'm going to read it and answer it with the other tweet. Wilcox4u asks, would a team of 11 new Hoos be the best team of all time or the worst and why?
Hypothetical Team Scenarios
01:13:15
Speaker
And this tweet is the only correct answer. Beemer 527 says, it would certainly be the best in entertainment value. Yeah. I think that's totally fair to say. I actually think it would be pretty good, though. Yeah. Honestly. I don't know. I mean. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
01:13:33
Speaker
So if you're going to have, I mean, in the, in the genre of teams made up of 11 players of that are clones of each other, new is a pretty good guy to go with. Um, I mean, I'd rather have 11 new who's that 11 Nico Lederos. Fair. I would, I think I might rather have 11 beardums. I'd probably rather have 11 Christian role. Don's the guy I would most prefer to have 11 of.
01:13:59
Speaker
I would want 11 tauruses because they would be frightening the other team. That would be pretty good. Okay, last question. Murmur000 asks, she's been a very vocal member of the podcast, but what upsets Aaron Campo's cat the most this season?
01:14:20
Speaker
Uh, the fact that I have stolen her chair, I think is the clear answer. Um, yeah, she's really pissed off about that. I don't know what to do about it. It's super, it's super unfortunate thing. Um, also I got really excited when Kovar scored that free kick, uh, in the US open cup and that she didn't like that at all. So she was on my lap. I think we need to find a chair sponsor for Aaron next year. She would take that one too. It's.
01:14:50
Speaker
It's not about the chair, specific with the location. No. It's the power. Oh, it's a power. It's that, I'm sitting in her chair. So where, in all her, all the chairs are hers. It's like, she wants to drink your milkshake. Yeah, yeah. Short and skinny of it. Good stuff, everyone. Thank you to our sponsors.
01:15:17
Speaker
Focal Wines, Queen Anne Acupuncture, Very Credit Union, Designers Marble, and of course our broadcast partner Bootstrapper Studios. Thanks to Gonzalo Pineda for spending some time with us. Thanks to all you guys. Looking forward to another long year of having to record Seminary regularly. Let's hope that
01:15:39
Speaker
Let's hope there's a reason for us to a good reason for us to be doing this again in a week But anyway, I am Jeremiah Shan. I'm signing off on behalf of Aaron Campo and Lickett This is no study at this. Remember you'll never be out alone
01:15:55
Speaker
Green Douglasburg where the water's cut through. Down to wild mountains and tangents you flew. Canadian northwest through the ocean so blue. It's Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Your power is turning our darkness to dawn. Roll On, Columbia Roll On.
01:16:42
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!