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What We Learned This Week with Niko Moreno: Halfway through the World Cup and a bit of Sounders health news, transfer window speculation
1 Playsin 3 hours
Niko Moreno joins Jeremiah to unpack what we’ve seen at the World Cup at the rough halfway point. They discuss their experiences attending games and how they generally came away impressed. In the second segment, the fellas talk about the Sounders; they talk about the health of Yeimar and Pedro de la Vega, look ahead to the transfer window and assess what they think the Sounders will do.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction by Will Bruin
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come
Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup Victory
00:00:12
Speaker
on. Hey, O'Shaughness. Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does just about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what cross! And what a goal!
00:00:59
Speaker
Where's my copy? I got a bunch of them in the car. How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
Nos Arietes Podcast and Sponsorship
00:01:05
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Return Amidst World Cup Coverage
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. I am Jeremiah Oshan. Joining me on this Saturday morning is Nico Moreno. How's it going, Nico?
00:01:55
Speaker
Hey, what's going on, on Jeremiah? We're finally back to at least one of the shows that i think have gone ah a little bit more on the background of this World Cup because we just have it not been able to really find the time for you and I to get together and throw one down. But I'm excited to do it. I'm going to give some shout out to some people that i was able to talk to that love what we learned this week. We're going to talk about obviously everything that we we saw, we experienced. But yeah, man, I'm feeling feeling pretty good, man.
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's been it's been kind of a whirlwind over here. ah You know, we the Sounders have obviously been off, but that does not mean that we have ah not been working.
00:02:41
Speaker
And if you are listening to this channel, you know that I've been recording regular podcasts. If you're on sounderatheart.com, you know that we have been pumping out tons of content. But what we haven't been doing is, like you said, recording this particular show.
00:02:56
Speaker
just because we haven't really, you know, it's it it doesn't really fit so much in our wheelhouse for what the show is usually about. And that's usually very Sounders focused. And we will have some Sounders stuff to talk about later in the show.
00:03:08
Speaker
We'll give a few updates on on how things are going, but we haven't really had a lot of visibility into the
Seattle's World Cup Atmosphere
00:03:13
Speaker
Sounders. But what we have been doing is going out to Lumen Field, watching these games, watching games on TV.
00:03:20
Speaker
And, you know, we wanted to take a chance to sort of wrap up the group stage on this final day of the group stage games. I don't think any of the games today have huge impacts on any of the stuff that we're going to be talking about. i should I guess I take it back. Iran's future in this tournament, I guess, will be determined today. So I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves there. But This has been honestly for me so far beyond my expectations. And I realized that that might seem a little silly. We're talking about the world cup and why wouldn't my expectations be high? But I, i think anyone who has been in Seattle during the buildup into this world cup will understand
00:04:03
Speaker
that there just did not seem to be a lot of buzz. There did not seem to be a lot of energy, almost all the coverage, all the chatter. And I'm not saying just from the press, even from fans, maybe even more so from fans was just about how expensive everything was, how much FIFA sucks, how much the U S government is sort of putting a damper on these things through various policies and all that's true.
00:04:27
Speaker
And yet, This World Cup has been amazing as a Seattleite especially.
Colombia vs Portugal Anticipation
00:04:34
Speaker
But just in general, this World Cup has been a lot of fun. It's been unreal. And let me go ahead and say that there's a big game today, by the way, Colombia-Portugal, baby. Oh, yeah We are fighting for the top of the group. Of course. The top of the group, baby. All we got to do is tie or win. And we are top of the group. Let's go, Colombia. is amazing.
00:04:57
Speaker
10 o'clock on Saturday. So we're still got quite a few hours before the game. So I'm sounding hype right now. I might sound upset next Friday, but so far so good. So that that's, the that's a big one, Jeremiah. Yeah, that is a big, I, I spoke way out of turn. I did not, you know, i was just kind of going off my dome. I should have looked at the schedule more closely, but of course, of course, Columbia is a big deal for us here.
Egypt vs Iran Game and Its Energy
00:05:20
Speaker
ah But let's let's talk a little bit about the games that have been in Seattle so far. I was at the game last night, Egypt versus Iran. And I don't I honestly don't know what I was expecting at this point, because my expectations for each game have really been blown out of the water.
00:05:39
Speaker
And so I think I came into this one with an open mind of probably, you know, I think at this point I was expecting a crowd. We definitely got a crowd. it was the third straight World Cup sellout for what it's worth. The only game so far that did not sell out was the first one. And that was like 200 people short.
00:05:57
Speaker
So essentially we've had full houses for every single one of these games. Once again, look if, if FIFA is inflating these numbers, it's not by much because I did not see a lot of empty seats last night, but ah it was again, a,
00:06:16
Speaker
blowing away any preconceived notions or just changing any preconceived notions. First of all, I should say that outside the stadium for most of the first three games, very festive, you know, everyone's happy to be there, lot of positive energy.
00:06:33
Speaker
And i don't, I'm not going to sit here and say that it wasn't positive energy yesterday, but it was a different kind of energy. Iran, I guess, sort of brings out a, a different,
00:06:44
Speaker
a different energy sometimes. And it's both positive and don't, not negative necessarily, but there is more politics around it. And I think that's something that we hadn't really seen in the first few games. There just wasn't a lot of po politics, but this game, you know, there was what, from what I could tell kind of three distinct Iran factions that were outside the stadium, at least there were,
00:07:07
Speaker
certainly some traditional Iran supporters that are just there to support their team. And then there were, uh, some supporters that were waving sort of the, the lion flag that were had a very different perspective on things. You know, they were, you know, this gets into a whole, uh,
00:07:25
Speaker
the the revolution and and they are chanting one thing. And then there was a whole other group that seemingly was disconnected from these that was more about supporting Palestine and and doing all these other kind of things.
00:07:37
Speaker
And, ah you know, we're not, we don't need to wade into the politics of it, but I'll just say that it all created this energy that was just very different. Like I saw more arguing at, you know, outside this game. And then of course, this was also the game that was dedicated as the pride match.
00:07:54
Speaker
I did not see admittedly nearly as much pride presence. There was definitely some, but there was, there was not a lot. ah for better for worse in that situation.
00:08:04
Speaker
And it just kind of all, and then you had the street preachers, which have been a fixture, but man, it was just a very different vibe. And then once you got into the stadium, it was, look, I don't know what I was expecting, but the people were there to get excited.
Challenges and Positivity During Pride Match
00:08:25
Speaker
It was about as loud pregame as I have heard it the entire time. The Iranian supporters were not quite as visible, but they were extremely loud. The Egyptian supporters were much more organized and they were clearly in sections and you could see them all around.
00:08:40
Speaker
They were extremely loud. And for the first 20 minutes or so of this game, really up until the the hydration break, it was It was electric. It was just like, it felt like it was going to explode. People were so excited. We had two goals.
00:08:56
Speaker
And it was it was some of the most exciting soccer that I have witnessed in person ever, frankly. Yeah, look, I was not able to go because I had the day off from my World Cup coverage. So I definitely took that to just be home and finish building my Traeger that I needed to finish building. But watching the game, it was evident that... ah it was It was a full house, and there was the sections of a lot of the Iranian supporters and and the Egyptians who, from the first game, ah not only are they organized, but they they have chants, they have costumes, and they have all these other things. A ton of kids ah that that that are kind of part of... that The way they handled their march and things like that. So although I wasn't there, I could definitely see them being the the group that was more organized. And throughout the game, I mean, you could hear it ah in the broadcast how how lively it was. You know, i was watching Telemundo and my guy Julian, who does the...
00:10:03
Speaker
um on the field ah you know covering ah of the game, ah he himself had to like hold his mic nice and tight to his ear. I mean, his earpiece nice and tight to his ear because he couldn't hear that south side ah corner, I think, of the of the stadium. And man, you could definitely see how visibly difficult it was for him to just listen to what was going on in terms of the broadcast. So Seattle brought it in. And this game was ah very, it had a lot of ebbs and flows, but when it had those highs, i mean, it it really, really hit in a different spectrum, which which was just unreal, but um too proud.
00:10:50
Speaker
supporting groups. And I'm just happy that there was no incidents. There were no issues beyond, you know, the the normal things you perhaps see after a soccer game. But that was all I wanted to see with the pride match festivities with the geopolitical situation. Plus, you know, booze and soccer.
00:11:12
Speaker
There was a mix there that made me nervous that it was going to turn into. Yeah. A bad situation and it really didn't so so I'm i'm really happy that that's what happened and and credit to I'm sure local authorities authorities and and the way that FIFA handled it and of course all of the people that went that kept it all about the game.
00:11:32
Speaker
Yeah, if there were any sort of negative, like, look, there was like I'm sure there was lots of little things i saw. you know, I saw at one point two Iranian supporters sort of like going at it and yelling at each other. And someone knocked the phone out of a hand. This is outside the stadium. But like, that was really the extent of what like, there was no point where it felt like things were going to get out of hand. And, you know, there was a there was a pitch invasion after the the goal that got chalked off at the end there.
00:12:00
Speaker
I don't know. i don't really know what was going on there, but there was a pitch invasion and and i don't only even know if it got on caught on TV or not. It did. Oh, it did. Okay. ah Yeah, it was right by the bench. So i'm I'm not totally shocked by that, but it was, it was a great atmosphere. It was another game where I was really glad that I was there.
00:12:18
Speaker
i Like the previous game, I was able to get myself moved into the Tribune. And in case people don't know what the difference between a press box and a Tribune in this press box is usually indoors, oftentimes behind a window, you're kind of hermetically sealed against the crowd.
00:12:33
Speaker
And then I found out for and then for all the World Cup games, FIFA sets up what they call a media Tribune, which is up in the third deck. And they just put you in in seats, essentially.
00:12:44
Speaker
And you know they are and admittedly really, really fantastic seats. You're basically right on the 50-yard line at midfield. and And we were in the front row of the of the section. so So they're hanging over the the third deck.
00:13:00
Speaker
and or the second get deck, I guess, is ah the 300 section. And it was a great they were great seats, but you more than the seats themselves, you just get a real sense of the atmosphere. And it was...
00:13:12
Speaker
It was buzzing. It was really, really buzzing. i I loved being around it. And you know, i think more than anything, though, what really impressed me was how much Iran and Egypt came to play.
00:13:27
Speaker
And neither one of these teams looked like they were willing to just sit back and accept a tie. Now, admittedly, a tie but did not secure anything for iran You know, Iran is still waiting on results today. There's a pretty good chance they'll get in but they have not secured advancement yet. They really kind of needed a win. And they were playing for the opportunity,
00:13:49
Speaker
where if they had won, the they could have still won the group. And if they had won the group, they would have been on a collision course with the United States in the round of 16, which would have been a whole other wild scenario.
00:14:01
Speaker
ah Egypt also, if they had won the game, they would have won the group. ah So they were, and and at the very least, they were playing for the opportunity to stay in the region. Because if they had won the group, they would have played their round of 32 game in Seattle. And then they would have potentially played their round of 16 game in Seattle again, against the United States. And so there was a lot, this was like a perfect alignment of the group because all four teams in the group were still playing for something.
00:14:32
Speaker
All four teams i had different, benefits of winning the group. And so there, everyone was motivated to do well. And then we, of course we're getting updates on the other game, which was Belgium and New Zealand. And for a lot of the game, Egypt looked like they were, it was going to be enough for them to just get a tie and they would have still won the group. They would have obviously been very thrilled.
00:14:54
Speaker
But one of the things I came away from this match after the the post-game press conference was There's a lot of pride, I think on the line. Now Egypt has never had before this tournament, they had never won a world cup game.
00:15:10
Speaker
They had obviously never advanced out of the group stage. They'd never obviously won a group stage. So these were all things that their coach really, you know, who, who is Egyptian really wanted to do. And he took a lot of pride in having a roster that was mostly based in Egypt.
00:15:26
Speaker
There are only a handful, of maybe only two or three players that play outside of Egypt. He was very proud of the roster that he had assembled. He had been very proud of what they had achieved. And then on the other side, Iran has been dealing with all sorts of issues that we that we know about. You know, not like, look... the The biggest one is that in their home country is essentially at war with the United States. They're being bombed.
00:15:52
Speaker
There is ongoing conflict. And so that creates obviously all a whole set of circumstances, but sort of relate or definitely related to that is there's all these restrictions on what they can do. So they're having to have a home base in Tijuana, Mexico. Originally they were supposed to be in Arizona.
00:16:09
Speaker
So they moved across to Mexico so that they could have a little bit more freedom. And then we found out they haven't really even been using that freedom. ah the The Iranian coach said that they're so focused on just performing that they they don't really do much outside of the training facility.
00:16:24
Speaker
But then they've been coming into the to the game markets a little later than they would. they They have to leave almost immediately. And they managed to get through this group stage unbeaten, which is amazing accomplishment for a team that has been dealing with all these
Iran's World Cup Challenges and Pride
00:16:41
Speaker
issues. You know, he, the coach of Oran, basically said that they felt like they had showed the world that they, you know, what they were all about. And it was very proud of their performances.
00:16:52
Speaker
And he also thanked, he also was very clearly thankful, and we've heard this from the players too, of the support that they've been receiving from fans throughout this trip. And that it kind of made it obvious or made it apparent that their conflict is not with Americans. Their conflict is much more about government to government. And I thought that that was probably, ah that's the kind of message that I think you want to hear from fans.
00:17:17
Speaker
a soccer game. And so overall, I just thought it was all very, it was a very positive experience. I thought. Yeah, no, I totally agree. And soccer wise, I thought that they put on up a good performance. I thought that although Egypt handled most of the possession and they had a lot of chances that the clear cut chances or or the better, what you call XG chances were on Iran side. yeah You know, especially there at the end of the game where I feel like this game was the first 20 minutes was high intensity back and forth, high paced. Both teams had chances. And then the last 15 minutes of the game were the same day in between. ah Wasn't as exciting. and it was very disrupted by fouls and stoppage and all this other things, injuries. There was a couple. And so, but, Iran, you know, did did put on a show. Now, did Egypt kind of play this game with not their B team, but they definitely rotated? Absolutely. You saw Marmouche come in in the second half. I thought it was interesting that they ended up taking out Emama Shur, who's one of their better players for Marmouche to get in. i thought that they took
00:18:35
Speaker
Salah far too early. he looked it's only kind of upset. Well, it looks like he was maybe dealing with some sort of injury too. Oh, oh so maybe that's why he was upset because yeah he was visually just ah upset. So yeah, there was definitely a Egyptian team that rotated some, but look, I ran...
00:18:52
Speaker
They took it to him, man. I don't know if um a lot of people are familiar with Maherick Terram of Olympiacos, but he, Terrami, but he is is really, really good. and He looked dangerous every time he got on the ball. He really pushes space very well there in the final third. So it was it was an interesting matchup for what it was. I really thought that Egypt was going to have an easier time with this one. And credit to Iran for, you know, pushing the the envelope. I mean, it was a 1-1 draw. But at the end, you know, that ah valid offside call on on on on the goal was was valid. the think it was correct. VAR overturned that that goal there at the end. But they they really pushed Egypt.
00:19:34
Speaker
They did. and let's talk about that ending a little bit because like you said, the first 20 minutes or so up until really up until the first hydration break, it was kind of just both teams were just throwing everything they had at the game.
00:19:49
Speaker
The score was tied lots of energy. And then for the next, I don't know, 65 minutes or so, it was actually pretty, pretty dark. You know, there there was not a lot going on. It looked like two teams who wanted to push, but didn't quite have the edge to make it happen.
00:20:05
Speaker
And then all of a sudden, sorry, And they'll essentially in stoppage time, Iran all of a sudden realized that they could get a win out of this thing. And they started throwing numbers forward. And it looked like they had scored the game winning goal on sort of a scramble play inside the box and the stadium.
00:20:25
Speaker
I'm just like, it was a massive eruption. And it was sort of, it had this chaotic feel to it too. Like I got doused in beer. I got, you know, it was, it was kind of, kind of wild.
00:20:36
Speaker
ah And it just, in ah you know, the lights were going off and and this is all part of the effect, but, It was feeling very, very, you know, I saw people almost crying around me. It it was a big, a big moment.
00:20:50
Speaker
And we saw the players on the field sort of like trying to get the the referee's attention and getting him to to go to VAR. And the Egyptian coach in particular seemed very convinced that there was somebody offside And it turns out that there was an offside infraction on this play, but it was a little confusing because the goalkeeper had come off his line a little bit to make a play.
00:21:15
Speaker
And so there was a defender that was well behind him. And so I think a lot of people assumed that, you know, they in their mind, it's the last defender. and the goalkeeper, but people don't really remember that it's the way the
Controversial VAR Decisions
00:21:30
Speaker
rule is written. It's the second to last defender, the goalkeeper. It doesn't technically matter where the goalkeeper is.
00:21:36
Speaker
And so there was, you know, even though the guy was, ah there was a guy keeping him on side, he was ah beyond the goalkeeper. And as it turns out, he was about a toe ah beyond the last defender. It's about the Thinnest margin that you can get. And honestly, the only thinner margin may have been a earlier goal that Iran scored, I believe, against, is that against Belgium or against New Zealand, where the guy's butt was basically offside. Oh, yeah, yeah. I think it was New Zealand, but I remember that.
00:22:11
Speaker
And so it's pretty harsh that Iran had, you know, two goals that seemed like they were good goals chalked off for just like really the tightest, tightest infraction of offside. But look, offside is offside. I suppose like I don't really love...
00:22:28
Speaker
You know, to me, it's like if the human eye can't see the offside, it probably shouldn't be offside. But look, i I also understand that the technology that we're using, this is how it works.
00:22:39
Speaker
This is the new game. Exactly. And so the goal gets chalked off. And yet Iran still was not satisfied. They created two more chances. There was a heroic block by an Egyptian defender.
00:22:52
Speaker
And then they and then Iran had a great look at a header. that he missed that the guy miss hits a little bit hits off the crossbar. But in the end, i think both teams were satisfied, certainly with their effort.
00:23:05
Speaker
Egypt clearly very proud to be moving on it, not the ideal result for them, but they're, I don't think they're going to be complaining about a second place finish in this group and Iran not guaranteed to move on, but they are,
00:23:20
Speaker
I think I saw something like 92% likely there's three different games that affect their potential to move on. i don't have them right in front of me, but ah there are, you know, there's a pretty good chance that Iran is is going to live to fight another day in this tournament. So all in all, not the worst result, but I think it also just sums up.
00:23:44
Speaker
We got a little bit of everything during the group stage in Seattle. And i I don't think I had super high expectations for the quality of the matchups. Like on paper, I think the only one that I was really excited about was us Australia that,
00:24:00
Speaker
blew away my expectations as high as those were, but the other three games really did just blow me away in terms of how many people came out, how much energy there was, how happy people were be to be there. I mean, that was really, i think the, my takeaway from this is the way that the people get so excited to see their team in the world cup that they're willing to do just about anything to get to the games.
00:24:27
Speaker
Yeah. Look, I think overall, seattle not only showed out and they were able to reflect the true essence of what this city is about, both on the inclusion side, the the beauty of its natural you know, habitat in, in the areas that, that surround the city, you know, the, the, the body of water, the, the mountains, you know, absolutely everything. They showed their, their passion for the game, how inclusive they are, the, the the real desire to like learn and, and adopt, you know, teams like Iran or Bosnia or Sokovia, although you have no relation to that at all. Um,
00:25:23
Speaker
filling up the stadium, but they were also rewarded with some really amazing games. I mean, you get the first one, Belgium, Egypt, where you're watching the passing of the torch of the the the former best generation of players for Belgium to the new. You had a phenomenal game in that one where... you know Egypt was very, very close to beating Belgium. Then you get the Bosnia-Herzegovina game where you just felt like you were in a European stadium because of the chance, because of all of the energy. at That ends up being a phenomenal game. You got the Australia game against U.S. s where it was just a different level of emotion. It was like us against them in terms of you know the American supporters. Being able to have all of these elements of new, not new, but maybe they're building in their own soccer culture with the country roads being sung together with the um ah national anthem being synchronized and perfectly performed by the majority of of the the stadium, all in perfect harmony. All of those things that the the flyover with the helicopters. So every single game all the way to this one where you're basically deciding the faith of a group.
00:26:37
Speaker
I mean, Seattle, man, they they these games were not supposed to be this exciting. I'll tell you that. Like i going into this World Cup, I was like, oh, they got some decent games. Nothing. to Yeah. you But you don't get any of the of the big boys. You don't get any of the superstars. You know, no no respect to Belgium, but, you know, you didn't get like the Portugal's Argentinas, but nothing, the Spain's, the Francis, you don't get none of that. But man it ended up being just fabulous. And and the experience was amazing. And I hope everybody, if they did not get out to a game, they got out to the the fan zones and the the watch parties, because it it it all has been phenomenal.
00:27:13
Speaker
No, exactly. And I think that in some ways, it worked out better, honestly, that we did not have a Argentina or a Brazil or even a Germany, because I think what ended up happening was...
00:27:30
Speaker
the real soccer heads came out. The real fans of these teams were like Bosnia packed that stadium out in part because the tickets were not super, you know, they were not the most expensive that they were for the other games.
00:27:44
Speaker
Same thing for like, I think the reason Egypt, Iran was so high energy was because actual fans of Iran and Egypt were able to get, they were still expensive seats, but they were still able to get in.
00:27:58
Speaker
And I think that that enhanced the energy here. And I think that that's really the thing that I'm most proud of with Seattle is that we didn't have the sexiest matchups and we still had an amazing time. And I think in some ways it was ah it was an even better time. I think that the, know, there was a story in the Seattle times that just ran the other day about the decision not to have the the one big fan fest down at the Seattle center.
Diverse Community Watch Parties
00:28:26
Speaker
the, Reading between the lines, essentially what it seemed like is that there was just not enough money. There wasn't enough funding to justify doing a you know an event where there might be 10,000 people there on any given day.
00:28:41
Speaker
But the way that the it ended up working out, I honestly think was better. yeah Even if it wasn't entirely the plan, and I know that the local organizing committee is sort of retconning that saying, oh, no, this is always the plan. And look, I don't know if I buy that.
00:28:56
Speaker
But it did work out better where we had this distributed model. You know, there, obviously there is the four main watch parties in Seattle at pier 62 at the armory and at the, uh, sorry, the armory slash Seattle center at victory hall.
00:29:12
Speaker
And where was the other one? I'm forgetting. Oh, a soccer house at Pacific place. And those, those all, I think worked great. But what was even more amazing to me is all the smaller outdoor watch parties that have popped up all around downtown that have been all over the state that have been all over the East side. Renton has this awesome watch party. ah You know, all these things that I think were really made possible because they didn't need to have the full FIFA branding.
00:29:42
Speaker
And communities were sort of free to just do the thing that they thought worked best for them. And I would love at some point to just kind of gather stories people will have from going to these various watch parties, because the watch parties to me are...
00:29:57
Speaker
in some ways, the perfect distillation of what the World Cup is. what Having the World Cup in your market is more about getting different communities together and being able to enjoy soccer in whatever way they want to enjoy them.
00:30:13
Speaker
You know, I look at like ah the Occidental one where they're they're calling it Brick Park. That's been a real central gathering place. That's not one of the official spots. I think that's awesome that we're able to keep propping these things up.
00:30:27
Speaker
And the energy and in the city has just been amazing. let's ah We have two more games left. The tournament itself is barely half over, which is just wild to think. ah Yeah, no, 100%. I have been using the word melting pot um from the very beginning of of ah the World Cup and what it was going to be about and what we were going to see. And it has truly been that. And I think those watch parties are a a big reflection of of it. I did something not very, um like, super...
00:31:02
Speaker
crazy in terms of like the atmosphere, but I ended up going to the armory there under the space needle. And it was more of like a family vibe because it's obviously like a food court of the, the, the essentially the food court of the Seattle center ah space. And look, it was, it was awesome. You know, it was 60 deep in terms of Colombian fan base, but there was like 20, maybe 15 person group of people from Uzbekistan. I have never you know, talk to or or knew anybody from Uzbekistan. And it was kind of cool just getting to talk to him for a couple of minutes. And, you know, there was all older group, like a lot older gentlemen, and there was some teenagers. And it was kind of cool just seeing that demographic that maybe you're not used to seeing, or maybe you don't notice. Right. And so that's the part that, you know, really, i really enjoy ah about soccer and and and the World Cup and and and having it in your hometown.
00:31:59
Speaker
Absolutely. No, it's been, it's been, you know, I think everything I hoped it would be. and And I'll go from when we first, all the excitement about getting the world cup back in I guess it was 2018 when this was all announced.
00:32:15
Speaker
When it was the World Cup was first announced and then 2022, I guess, is when we found out. When did we find out that it was was it that long ago? 2022 that we found out Seattle was going to be one of the host cities and all the positive emotions about, oh, man, it's going to be so cool to have the energy here that honestly had been diminished a lot over the over the next four years.
00:32:36
Speaker
It just for one reason after another ticket prices, there's look, I'm going to get into all the details of why people started to sort of get down on the world cup, but there were a lot of reasons.
00:32:48
Speaker
And it was just been so satisfying to sort of see that ultimately soccer one, I think soccer has won. It's been a lot of fun. i and i I don't want to say that there's been no,
00:33:02
Speaker
negative outcomes from this thing because I don't, I don't know what's going on with everybody. But from what I can see in Seattle, you've have a lot of seemingly local vendors benefiting from, from what's going on down there. i would hope that the communities nearby are seeing benefits too.
00:33:22
Speaker
Like I, I certainly hope that there's overflow into like the ID and into Pike's place and into, you know, all the various, uh, all the all the various ah local vendors that are around town. So, you know, certainly if people are are hearing more negative things, i I'm all ears on that. But from my perspective, it seems like it's been good.
00:33:47
Speaker
ah Transportation has been good. you Like last night, I took the light rail out of downtown about an hour, hour and a half after the game. That was super easy.
00:34:00
Speaker
So, I mean, just really nothing but positive things say. And we have two games left. that's ah That's another thing. I'm very curious to see how this flows into the into the knockout stage when we don't know, when it's not a set who is going to be playing here. So it'll be interesting to see how they how that ends up working out.
00:34:17
Speaker
We obviously have an op, potentially the United States looks like they would most likely play Belgium in the round of 16. And then the round of 32 is going to be Belgium. Do we know who they're playing?
00:34:31
Speaker
ah not not Not last I looked. yeah No, we just said Belgium right now. Yeah. ah Let's see if I can get a projection on this. ah Bear with me very briefly here.
00:34:43
Speaker
ah Belgium looks like they will most likely be playing Senegal, but that's... pretty 50 it's like Senegal or South Korea are the two most likely opponents. That could be a pretty interesting game too. Uh, so those are two potential opponents for the United States, assuming the U S can get past Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is going to be played in Santa Clara.
00:35:08
Speaker
So a lot of fun soccer still left to be played. A lot of really important soccer left to be played. Anything else that you want to say about the world cup up to this point?
00:35:20
Speaker
No, I just want to use this time to shout out a lot of the fans that I was able to see ah in in all of the games, right? I mean, like you said, we haven't done this show in a while because we both had assignments for the World Cup. were're running around trying to do things and we haven't got together. But I did see a lot of fans that love what we learned this week. Derek Richards, who...
00:35:43
Speaker
I believe I had a cup of chowder in the 300 level section because I didn't want to go down to get the the food out of the, you know, FIFA lounge. So I ended up getting a nice cup of chowder and I got to talk to him, chat with him for a little bit. um I was able to also meet. Yeah.
00:36:05
Speaker
eddie Eddie Jarvis, that is another one. I'm trying to remember which one that is. Oh, no, no. Look, this one is interesting. Julianne Newman, she is from Yakima, and she was here in a full Bosnian outfit, just supporting Bosnia. you know this She said that that that was going to be their new team that they wanted to you know kind of...
00:36:31
Speaker
have together. So a shout out to Julian um and Isaiah and Isabella. ah They both were, um, ah with her apparently her kids are part of the Sounder Academy. So um not that nice shout out for them as well. And then Eddie Jarvis who bought me a Seattle hot dog after the game on Wednesday. So shout out to, to, to him as well. um And yeah, that's about it.
00:37:05
Speaker
Well, that's awesome. I did also run, I'm not as good about getting names of people that I run into, or maybe I should say I'm not as good about remembering names. ah I guess this is why you, what you're texting me constantly, you're why you're, you're taking notes of people that you're meeting, which I appreciate the very smart of you. But yeah, shout out to everybody who came up to me and said, hi it's been great. Just sort of being out in the community, seeing people, but let's,
00:37:32
Speaker
Take a break there. We'll come back. We have a little bit of sounder stuff to talk about, not to get your, you know, and nothing huge, but we do have some sounder stuff to talk about. You're listening to Nos Adientes on the Sounder Heart Podcast Network.
00:37:45
Speaker
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00:38:27
Speaker
i could not possibly be more proud of the work everyone put into making this and I think you're going to absolutely love it. If you'd like to get your hands on one of these limited edition copies, we're currently selling them for $15 on our website. Get yours now. Nos Adietes, admittedly, is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild.
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:39:12
Speaker
That's
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Speaker
And right now, if you use the code sounder at heart, that's all one word, at checkout, you will get a free hot sauce with your order. Again, go to hacksandferments.com, use the code sounderatheart at checkout for a free hot sauce with your order.
00:39:36
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments is a proud sponsor of the Sounder at Heart podcast network.
00:39:42
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Adiates on the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. All right, so the Sounders have been training. We have not had a lot of access to the
Sounders Resume Training and Transfer Exploration
00:39:51
Speaker
Sounders. I think they've only opened it up to media for a grand total of one day since they ah broke, but they all last week, I believe, were back in training. i i think the plan is next week, we're going to start getting more regular access to the Sounders.
00:40:08
Speaker
ah The reality is that they're still... quite a ways away from returning to play. They they don't go back to play until July 16th. So there's not a lot of pressing stuff almost three weeks away from, actually I think it's almost exactly three weeks away um from when they go back to play. ah but you've been able to get some news, Nico, what have you been hearing from what's going on over at long acres?
00:40:33
Speaker
Uh, yeah, look, the, The word on the street ah is that although we have not not been out on the training ground, it sounds like... um All of the Sounders have been um back in training at some capacity, including Pedro De La Vega.
00:40:52
Speaker
It sounds like Guillermo Gomez-Andrade has been full on. He was full on before, but it looks like he is ready to go for the very first game of the of the season. They've been doing a lot of fitness components, just trying to get everybody back after a long break, of course. and but But I think the biggest news is just Pedro De La Vega being part, not not completely full on, but partial in in most of the of the training sessions. I would still, and it sounds like he's still maybe a coach
00:41:28
Speaker
will not be able, will not be available for the very first two games necessarily. But after that, it sounds like the the the plan is to bring him on. So that those are good news there from, from the Sounders in terms of um potential moves. um I know that they are out there looking. There, there is a lot of movement on, on their end. um There are at least three or four targets that they're,
00:41:59
Speaker
very interested in and that it sounds like it fits what the team wants to do. So I will provide names when I feel like I need to, because, you know, ah definitely i'm I'm in the,
00:42:12
Speaker
In the world of scoops, in it's very easy to get scooped. So whenever I feel like I have something that is solid enough for me to provide, or maybe, you know, this time around, I might just um provide ah information in terms of information.
00:42:30
Speaker
a desire to get the player or not, but that's still to be determined. but But definitely your shadow sounders are out there looking at what they can do already. And so it'll be interesting to see what we get out of that here in the next couple of weeks.
00:42:46
Speaker
Yeah. So, and as a reminder, the summer transfer window is not technically open yet. Although a lot you're, you're hearing a lot of moves about, or a lot of news about what teams are planning to do once the the window officially opens. But the window does not actually open until July 13th. So the Sounders,
00:43:06
Speaker
you know, i we all want rumors. We all want names. We all want to know what's going on, but rest assured that no matter what the sounders were doing, they can't actually sign anyone yet.
00:43:18
Speaker
So, ah you know, there's, there's time and the centers do have some flexibility. Let's just sort of like rewind the tape a little bit and talk about what they can do if they want.
00:43:31
Speaker
Now they do not have any open designated player spots. They don't have an obvious path, to opening up a designated player spot ah beyond signing an extension or you know, like there's a possibility that Albert Rusnak, for instance, that, you know, he has an option coming up.
00:43:47
Speaker
Theoretically, they could decline the option and try to bring him back as a non DP. I don't foresee that as being a particularly likely scenario. ah But even if they did,
00:43:58
Speaker
there's ah There's a world where Jesus Ferreira just slides into that spot anyway. I suppose they could restructure Jordan Morris' contract if they want to. We have not, I don't think, heard any rumors that that's something that they're planning to do.
00:44:12
Speaker
Point being designated player spot is not something that we should be looking at. But what the Sounders do have is they have a whole bunch of allocation money that they can use to either ah buy down the cap hit of a foreign transfer, as long as it's you know not in the DP range, or they could make a move from within MLS. And it seems like making a move from within MLS might be the more likely outcome. Does that sound right?
00:44:39
Speaker
Yeah, that that's accurate. that There's definitely a lot of. There is a lot of room for wiggle and a lot of better use of resources in terms of.
00:44:55
Speaker
allocation money and things of that nature that that you can very easily utilize within MLS market. So quite a few of these targets are definitely within the league. um You're obviously not having to go out there and spending transfer money. However, there are those possibilities. I don't want to get anyone down already and, and you know,
00:45:21
Speaker
kind of throwing in the towel already that this team going to go out there and try to find someone outside of the league. I'm just saying that there is definitely a lot of money there and, and, and, you know, the word chest that we're talking about and things like that, that can be used. Some of that money will go into keeping some players and extending some contracts, but there's definitely a lot that could be done within MLS for the Sounders.
00:45:47
Speaker
Yeah. ah What do we think? What positions do you think the Sounders are most likely to target at at this point? Absolutely a nine. That is the one that is undeniable.
00:45:58
Speaker
um There have been looks at the... Left back position. um um More as like ah ah another depth piece. There have been more to having a more attacking option, I would guess. Yes, correct. Exactly. And that player would also have the capability of playing winger. right More like a wingback type, which makes a lot of sense for you know the current system for this team. um And um they're not shooting away from even center mid, which is interesting. I just think that there is...
00:46:37
Speaker
this belief that we got to try to use the resources in best player available. And so if there is, you know, some sort of player that can potentially come and play there, that's also a possibility. So, uh, yeah, that's kind of the the the frame of work that I've seen so far, uh, out of what I'm hearing, of course.
00:46:57
Speaker
Absolutely. ah well that is, that all makes sense. Anything as far as Pedro de la Vega, you're hearing in terms of his availability. Yeah. Yeah, i mean, like i said, he is looking to be on ah schedule. ah He will more than likely still take a couple of games before he starts to ah get partial minutes on the field. But it'll be interesting how that plays out because we don't know um how that's going to
00:47:30
Speaker
work out moving forward. Cause look, I'm not saying that I want Pedro Delvega, you know, anywhere gone or anything like that, but look, if there is a team that comes to you with a, an offer and, uh, you know, you have perhaps another player that you're targeting in the same position, then that can certainly be a situation. But, um, I, I would, I want to see him back healthy. I want to see him, um,
00:47:59
Speaker
See where he left where he's at now. Does does he ah start playing where he left off last season, where he was absolutely a game breaker and and and having phenomenal goals and and being a huge part of this offense? Or, you know, if he has a difficult time, readapting into the game. So I think that's the biggest thing when it comes to Pedro de la Vega.
00:48:22
Speaker
Yeah. I think we all want to see him back on the field and being back healthy first and foremost. And and I think there's also an element that he, he does provide the sounders a lot of potential upside.
00:48:36
Speaker
And if he can come back and be, you know, 90%, 95% of the player that he was at the peak of his time in the summer, that would be a huge boost. And honestly, the sounders don't need him to be that player right away, but if they can get him back into that form by fall,
00:48:55
Speaker
that really is a, I mean that, you know, it's cliche, but it is sort of like a new signing, right? If they can do that kind of, if they can get that level of player in, you know, he's probably, he probably offers the highest, the sounders, the highest upside of anything they could do barring going out and getting a, I suppose if they can replace them with the DP, another DP, that's a, another potential thing, but,
00:49:20
Speaker
we're not hearing a lot of indication that that's going to be in
Christian Roldan's Injury Impact
00:49:25
Speaker
the budget. Like, frankly, no, no, no, absolutely not. And that's kind of the thing, right? The Sounders have in recent history, well, I see overall not being the type of team that gets rid of a DP to go bring another DP of something of that nature. ah So, so yeah, that, that, that'd be kind of interesting. I'm also curious and we forgot to talk about this ah Jeremiah, but you know, it's the Christian Roldan. How does he, yeah. come back after ah this World Cup where he hasn't been able to really play. He had a muscle injury that kept him from being part of that Turquia game that he was certainly needed and and that it would have been fun to see him get some real minutes. But that's just the luck that sometimes you're dealt with.
00:50:09
Speaker
Yeah, that that was a real bummer. You know, it's a I think it does go down a little bit as a missed opportunity that Pochettino did not use him in the Seattle game. It seemed like it made sense to get him into that game.
00:50:24
Speaker
He didn't get into the game, though. And he would have it looked like he would have probably been in line to start, almost certainly would have started against Turkey. And I can't help but feel like he would have given the U.S. some you know help some real help if he had been in that game, but he has been dealing with a muscle injury.
00:50:43
Speaker
We, it doesn't seem like it's that serious, but at this point, we just don't know when he's going to be back. ah He basically missed all of training last week.
00:50:55
Speaker
And ah otherwise, and they were even holding out hope that he might be able to play without extensive training. So I don't, I don't know why Pochettino would be obfuscating that if it wasn't true, it it feels like it's probably true that he is reasonably close to to coming back just hasn't quite made it. So hopefully he does get back more positively.
00:51:15
Speaker
Obed Vargas did make his world cup day. You view, in fact, played the last two games for Mexico. And, you know, do you think there's much of a chance for him getting an even bigger role in the knockout stage?
00:51:27
Speaker
Unfortunately not. ah He has, in my opinion, been underutilized. I look at that last game against Chesnia where,
00:51:39
Speaker
I don't know what Javier Aguirre sees in Romo that Obe cannot provide. And he's coming late. I know that he's behind the pecking order of Gilmoura for certain ah instances and formations ba behind Brian Gutierrez for the starting roles in his positioning. But even when he plays him a little bit deeper, that Lyra and all these other guys that can have that. yeah.
00:52:07
Speaker
I don't know ah what it is necessarily. One thing is for sure. Javier Aguirre is an old school coach with old school mentality. And that's why this Mexico team is, is a hard watch because they've been winning, but they're not exciting. And you look, that's as advertised. I've been saying this from the very beginning. i thought that Mexico was going to have a really good tournament because of that as well. Because sometimes having that conversation,
00:52:33
Speaker
non-fun, but we're going to defend and we're going to just get points tends to be a avenue for you to have a good tournament as a Cinderella story, as a dark horse or whatever it may be. But the lack of creativeness and and offensive momentum is is pretty clear. And I feel like OB could provide that. I sometimes hear Mexican analysts, and I don't know if...
00:52:59
Speaker
That's what I very hear is hearing. But I keep hearing that, you know, Obed is this player that's more of a defensive player and more of a player that's going to provide you just, you know, defensive coverage and all of this stuff. And can he do that? Absolutely. But I've always thought that he's a box to box. He yeah does that with Atletico as well, where he turns the ball over pretty easily. i mean, obviously. Passes the ball well. That is a bad... I didn't even turn it over. i mean, passes it over, right? He's a good link-up play player. he He has a good shot. He can get into offensive areas pretty easily. So I don't know if maybe that is the disconnect there. But to your question, moving forward, Javier Aguirre is going to go with his guys and...
00:53:42
Speaker
Obit's not there. Maybe he'll get in late in the game or something like that. But I just feel like he's been grossly underused in this tournament. I mean, it did seem like at the very least the third group stage game where they had already clinched the top spot in their group would have been a perfect opportunity to give them a start.
00:54:03
Speaker
ah That's, you know, Mora got his first playing time, I believe, of the of the tournament. And i don't really understand why Obed didn't get more of a look there, but you know, he he has, especially because he got really good reviews for his appearance off the bench in the second game.
00:54:22
Speaker
And in some ways, You know, he looked in, he he looked one of one of their more dynamic players. So I don't entirely understand why he's not had a bigger role. I mean, shit, he's at a, he's at the, let it go Madrid. It's not like he's just some kid on the team. You know, he's, he's a real player. And, you know, I, I don't know. I can't pretend to understand the way that Javier Aguirre sees things, but um you know, hopefully bigger things are ahead for him.
00:54:50
Speaker
Yeah, hopefully that's the case ah for Obed. And I think it is. I think that there's like a Atletico Madrid admin that's been like following all his games, putting stuff up on the the page. So he is a player that has a lot of interest from that club.
Obed Vargas' Future at Atletico Madrid
00:55:07
Speaker
And that's why i think he's going to remain in Atletico Madrid. You know, i keep hearing people that thought that he was going to be gone. or He was going to get loaned.
00:55:14
Speaker
Everything I hear is the the opposite, that that they're pretty happy with him and they see him as a guy that can be an extensive contributor to Atletico de Madrid. So that's good for him.
00:55:26
Speaker
Awesome. Well, I think we have exhausted what we had to talk about today. it was good catching up with you again, Nico. You are, I also want to give you a little bit of a plug. You have been a regular feature on Fox 13's World Cup coverage, which isn't just local. This is, I believe the entire West Coast is ah seeing your mug on on the TV and and that's going to continue to be the case, I assume.
00:55:49
Speaker
ah Yes. Moving forward all the way to the end of the tournament, I will still be a regular on Fox 13. Thank you for the shout, by the way. Yeah, it has been ah amazing to work with Fox 13 Seattle. They are doing by far the best coverage that that I've been able to see because they've they've just hit everything. They've hit They've hit the the watch parties. They've hit, you know, like ah community stories. They have been at the games. They have provided pregame, postgame. I mean, it's been absolutely unreal. that The FOX 13 team is is phenomenal. Aaron Levine, Aaron Majoski, Lauren, Ethan Reynolds. I mean, everybody, the the camera crew, they've all been just phenomenal. So he's been it's been easy to work with them, and they've allowed me to continue to do more and more things with them. And yes, I'll be with them until till the end of the the tournament.
00:56:46
Speaker
Awesome. Yeah. And I just got to just a general shout out. I think the local press in general has really done an amazing job covering this tournament. We don't talk a lot about we about the Seattle Times coverage in part because we kind of see them as competition for us. And on if it's if you're asking my opinion, I think on a day-to-day basis, we cover the Sounders better than anybody else.
00:57:10
Speaker
But as far as the World Cup goes, the Seattle Times has thrown an impressive amount of resources at covering this tournament out from a variety of angles. i and And by the way, their coverage is all free to read during the World Cup.
00:57:23
Speaker
So if you are... not feeling as if you're getting enough world cup coverage. I really want to urge you to go read the Seattle times and Jada Evans in particular, they have been doing some amazing work covering this tournament, covering it in ways that frankly, sounder at heart is not set up to do. They are covering all sorts of different angles, ah doing some really good on the ground reporting.
00:57:47
Speaker
ah just really wanted to say, that they have done good work. Like you said, Fox 13 has been doing really good work. I just think the entire Seattle, market from fans to organization to coverage has just been about as good as we could have hoped. This has been a really positive experience. I think for me, I hope our, our listeners and the sound of our readers feel that way. I hope people in the community feel that way. Uh, so Nico, I want to say congratulations to you too, because think you've been doing an amazing job on this.
00:58:21
Speaker
And, uh, Yeah. We, again, we still are only halfway through this thing, which is just wild to think that we are only halfway through, but it's been a lot of fun. ah Yeah. I'll, I'll leave it You have anything else you want to, any other parting words you want to give Nico?
00:58:38
Speaker
yeah Don't forget to get your copy of Ivy. ah edit Make sure that we get that in because it's amazing. i have right here my background every single time I do anything virtual. I've been asked about in a couple of other shows, which i need to get them to to send me information.
00:58:57
Speaker
the video because i I did a show in Panama that, you know, had the IV in the back. And when I do my Thursday show with Sandra Hart, I with a sucker down here with John Nelson. I also, I brought it up and showed the, the, the, the graphic, of course, up front the cover. So yeah, yeah everybody and make sure that you get that. It's, it's not just now. It's to keep.
00:59:21
Speaker
Yeah. It's a copy. It's to keep. I'm keeping it. it's It's a Jeremiah will sign it for you. If you show up to the training sessions, absolutely. that I will have if you want to buy an issue of four, I would absolutely sign it.
00:59:37
Speaker
There are still plenty of copies available. You can just go on to center at heart.com. ah There is a link at the top of the page there. And we can get it in your hands. We even have pickup options now, which I can probably make a little bit more obvious. But ah yeah, we we have it available at both Project Nine and Fast Fashion. They have copies in hand there.
00:59:58
Speaker
And if you want to pick it up in person, don't want to pay the the shipping, we can we can make sure that happens. But with all that said, I'm Jeremiah Shan signing off for Nico Moreno. This is Nos Adientes, part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network, and we'll catch you next time.
01:00:43
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders.