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Nos Audietis: Could Nicolás Lodeiro return to the Sounders?
388 Plays12 days ago
We’re back with another episode of “What we learned this week” with Niko Moreno. In addition to discussing Wednesday’s preseason games and taking an early look at the depth chart, Niko shares that there’s at least a possibility that Nico Lodeiro could be available and potentially return to the Sounders.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Fullpool was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounders supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Will Bruin Joins the Podcast
00:00:25
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.
00:00:40
Speaker
about seven dominatmin it
00:01:18
Speaker
This is a tiny f***ing dog.
New Features and Weekly Segments
00:01:25
Speaker
Ever since Southern, I've got a commentary that we didn't take local seriously.
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of NOS Adietes. We are turning this into a Friday feature that we are calling What We Learn This Week. And whenever we do this, the idea is to have Nico Moreno on with us, the incomparable Nico Moreno. Welcome back. You're like a co-host. I'm going to just call you a co-host now ali on these things. Hey, man. I finally made it, man. I'm like excited to be on. happy collaborate and be a part of this sounder at heart family. You know, i've I've always thought I was like a, you know, stepchild, you know, something, you know, so yeah distant cousin yeah, distant cousin, you know, and but now you're living in the, in the main house. It's like, uh, you're like the, you're the fresh Prince. I got a room. That's right. I'm an uncle Phil's house. I dig it. Exactly. I like that. We'd have to call it the fresh Prince of sounder at heart.
00:02:37
Speaker
Hey man, I like it man. it's It's excited. I'm excited to be on. I'm excited to ah continue with this content. ah You know, I feel like I've heard some really good feedback from people and I do read all the messages. I do. I appreciate them all. I don't comment a lot on the sounder hard page, but I do read everything you guys say. It's much appreciated. I'm just excited to bring a different perspective or swag or whatever you think I bring. I'm just excited to to be here. so I'm excited. Well, we didn't record last week because we really didn't have a lot to go
Challenges in Accessing Preseason Content
00:03:13
Speaker
on. ah The Sounders played a preseason game that was only available if you ponied up money to subscribe to a Danish website and navigated all that entails. This week, though, against their best efforts, this game, one of the two games they played was available on YouTube.
00:03:35
Speaker
uh it allowed us to watch the games you you some there was some definitely some enterprising uh readers on sounder at heart who again you could subscribe to a swedish website this time and you could watch the first game against uh norcooping uh but the hammerbie game was available to everyone we're probably going to talk mostly about that that's also when most of the starters played so let's just jump right into this or let's take a Yeah, let's jump into this game.
Preseason Performance Analysis
00:04:03
Speaker
ah Let's start there. ah The Sounders tied Hammerby 2-2 in the second game. They they they tied Norcopping 3-3 in the first game. But again, let's talk about this the second game because I think that was where more interesting stuff happened. This is where most of the starters were playing. ah What were your big takeaways from this game? yeah I am...
00:04:26
Speaker
encouraged and another lot of you I'm kind of excited about how aggressive the sounders have been in terms of concepts on both sides of the ball. The amount of players that they commit forward on both the attacking end to crash the box, to ah go go off of ah certain overloads on one side and then yeah the the the change ah to the entire other side and really catch teams off off guard has been very interesting to me. And then defensively, you know how high they're pressing, the way they're pressing. So that that that's my first thought overall, just in terms of concepts.
Defensive Strategy Concerns
00:05:05
Speaker
I do get a little bit nervous about
00:05:09
Speaker
trigger points and you know discipline and and field awareness because they did get caught a couple of times in this one where they were a little too high, the press didn't get there and all of a sudden you're in a foot race, you're trying to correct and that's how two of the goals came about. so but But I do like that. I like the exciting component. I like the fact that they are shaking things up. Uh, uh, you know, if there was one very big criticism over this team last season, it was the lack of creativity or, uh, you know, not being as predictable. And I feel like this year I've seen a lot of that on both sides of the, of the mall. So I liked that, uh, standout players overall, man. Uh, I really liked Ferreira.
00:05:57
Speaker
uh very free very open um early in the game he puts a a wonderful ball into Jordan Morris where he comes all the way back he's tracking back he gets the ball sees the space puts it for Jordan Morris unfortunately Jordan can't finish but how active and how intelligent he is about where to be and when to be and when to release. I thought that was very, very good. um Obviously, Manungu, once he comes in, I thought, you know, aside from just the assist, he just consistently pushed on the right side. I thought he was he was very good throughout the game. um I really enjoyed the way that
00:06:45
Speaker
um Jordan Morris is getting to certain spots and and again everybody that follows my work knows that I am very honest I'm very objective when he comes to Jordan Morris I'm not just gonna praise him for no reason I thought that he put himself in some really good positions in this one so um there's nothing better from a system where The whole point of it is to be unpredictable, to be aggressive, and to crash the box, then to have a guy like Jordan moving the way he did. So I really like what he did throughout the game. And then on a lower scale, the last one I'll talk about was Obed Vargas and how good he was on the ball when he did get on the ball, how he was able to break through pressure with the ball. ah So those were my standouts for that game.
00:07:37
Speaker
Yeah, Obed also was a little unlucky not to have a goal. he had I think it he think he had two shots. One got blocked, and then he made another one that got saved off the post. So he where he was in the box on on that. ah he He looked pretty good. ah you know you mean You point out the pass that Ferreira made to Morris. And one of the things I liked about that is it's very similar to the pass that De La Vega made to Morris. Yes.
00:08:03
Speaker
I guess it was the previous game ah where he just sort of hits a ah sort of blind ball but like they this is a the thing I like about it is that it appears to be a repeatable action that they're working on that this is a It's a call exactly that when, when these players are dropping into that space, they know that Jordan is going to make these runs and they know that he's probably going to be able to outrun a lot of defenders. You know, it wasn't, you know, I probably would have liked to see Jordan finish that a little bit better. He tried to shoot it with the outside of his right boot instead of going with a, maybe a simpler left footed shot, but he was under, I mean, he was getting pressure. It was, it wasn't like a gimme chance.
00:08:42
Speaker
But Jordan also had a really nice pass to par Loyola. That was a little bit more of a gimme finish that yeah I don't know. Maybe it skipped a little on Ariola, but he's he's got it.
00:08:55
Speaker
You like the concept again of the play. You like that that Jordan is making these runs. You like that Jordan is seeing this this run that Ariola is making. The Sounders got themselves into a lot of really good positions and in this game. They scored five goals in two games, but they you know they easily could have scored another two or three goals. And this was really a consistent Uh, something we saw consistently during this Spanish trip is that, you know, they scored 12 goals and essentially four and a half games and four and five minutes that works out to be about 2.7 goals per 90. If you really want to break down the stats, but that's really good. You know, uh, and these are, these aren't necessarily the best teams in Europe, but they are competitive teams. They're good teams. And the centers created a ton of chances.
00:09:44
Speaker
Uh, they, you know, they were maybe a little leaky defensively. They did give up eight goals during that same time, but and we, and we did see it against, uh, especially against a hammer be where it felt like they could have put that game away. They, they could have gone up. I think three, three zero, they probably could have gone up four, one pretty easily. They ended up, uh, or three, one, and then ah obviously tied to two. So there's work to be done. But again, lots of positive stuff, especially going forward.
Excitement for Team Strategy
00:10:14
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, look, people, and look, I did a radio show in in Argentina ah last week because there were a whole bunch of crazy rumors about Yamar leaving to oh his former ah club Santa Fe and shutting that down. ah But I've done a couple of other shows with these specific people. And they were asking me about the outlook of the team. And they were like, wow, you don't sound as pessimistic as last year. Look, I'm not pessimistic. I'm just very honest and frank and yeah go and going into certain parts of the season. I thought that the team wasn't going on the right route. I can generally say that I'm excited about this team. um I'm excited about the approach, the style of play, the game module, the specific individualities on the field.
00:11:08
Speaker
And a lot of that I'm getting off of these games. And look, ah you can criticize the fact that, you know, you're in Europe or you're not playing against the best of Europe. Look, if you have no idea about the landscape of soccer, Atletico Madrid is not going to give you a preseason game when they're mid-season and they're working throughout, ah you know, Copa del Rey or whatever. they currently playing on so let's just put that on the side but what these teams are doing for you is allowing you to work on all of these concepts ideas patterns movements ah everything that you need to see fitness of course that's number one so
00:11:47
Speaker
to me, man, he gives me a little excitement I haven't had in a couple of years for this team. And he comes because of the style of play, and he comes because of a little bit of those gambles that they're currently doing on it. And if you look at that second game, that's likely going to be your starting lineup at Antigua to start off your 2025 campaign. So with that said, man, ah I just think that There is progress. This team is better, in my opinion, in in many ways, that they were at the beginning of 2024, because I don't know about you, but I was trying to see every stream possible. look For this couple of games, I was everyone looking for streams. I was YouTubing and Googling. I was calling people. i mean he was
00:12:36
Speaker
I have a problem i mean at four a m i woke up trying to figure you got you got up at four a m for that one oh yeah i got i afraid i did not ah you know what i was so excited because i found a link that said event coming up and then when it started it was a fifa game with, uh, hammer B
Issues with Streaming Access
00:12:56
Speaker
and sounders. And I was really upset about it. Uh, so I think I'll put something on, on blue sky and I should have probably clarified with some context that I probably sound crazy, but yeah, that's why I mentioned video games because I, I was excited to watch the games and I just couldn't see it. So in this second one, man, I'm truly excited. I think there's some really good stuff coming ah from the sounders team, even defensively where there were some issues and you mentioned that.
00:13:21
Speaker
you should not give up a goal in the 88th minute where Georgie Manon goes too high and your three-man back line is too high and the pressure... It looks like there was also some maybe some miscommunication between Cody Baker and New Who. both goals seemed similar where they looked like there was some confusion about who was supposed to be sliding out and taking, which was essentially an open shot from close range. You don't like to see that, but those are the kinds of things that get worked out. The chances are Cody Baker is probably not going to be on the, you know, that's
00:13:56
Speaker
whatever it's not his fault it's uh it's there's a combination of of faults to go around here i i guess if there's one concerning area and we can maybe we'll talk about this a little bit later too but albert rusnek did go out with some sort of injury uh the sounders told me that it was precautionary and that they didn't seem super worried about it i i wouldn't be at all surprised if he doesn't If he doesn't play against Louisville, I wouldn't be surprised if maybe he's coming off the bench in Antigua and they sort of like just don't rush him back essentially, but they don't have to because this is a team that has real depth. I mean, as it is now.
00:14:34
Speaker
If you go with how they've been using the lineups, one of ah Morris, Ferreira, Rusnak, or De La Vega is probably going to be coming off the bench. And if it's Rusnak to start with, that that just makes it an easier decision because I don't see any reason that Ferreira and De La Vega can't sit in those kind of dual 10 spots behind Jordan Morris. In fact, it might suit them really well.
00:15:02
Speaker
ah you know And De La Vega played in the with the first group this game. I don't know how much, I don't know if we should really read a whole lot into that. i My so ah sh assumption is the centers just wanted to see Ferreira get a few more minutes with Jordan Morris and and sort of the first team starters. I don't know if like, that's the one spot where I'm not sure that's settled who the starter is. But he looked again, he looked a good in that, at least in the highlights against North coping and That game also had some, you know, if you just look at the highlights again, which is mainly what we were looking at. The centers had some very encouraging play in that one. ah Paul Rothrock only played 30 minutes, which was the plan, and he scored a goal. Trevion Sousa, who is ah much more of an unknown coming into this camp for a lot of people, he is sort of ah a pretty classic left wing back, left-footed player.
00:15:55
Speaker
That was a great, I thought, amazing touch that he had. An even better pass from Josh Atencio to score that one. And he just said it calmly slots it in. And then what was the other goal in that game? ah I can't remember. ah Shoot. look what what here go ahead and say What I would say is this. I have a hard time just going off highlights. Yes, JP, who's looked amazing. and Yes.
00:16:25
Speaker
Going into what I'm kind of going to tell you here is I have a hard time just going to highlights. So because I was so frustrated that I couldn't see that game. I did a little bit of the groundwork to get something inside information and if there were two guys that kept coming up in conversations, were De La Vega and JP. ah Again, I did not see the entirety of the game. I tried so hard. I mean, you know what we tried to do to get, you know, a full 90 minutes of that game, ah but we couldn't do it. But what I heard was that there was a lot of stuff that wasn't in the highlights of Pedro De La Vega beating guys off the dribble, getting to good positions,
00:17:05
Speaker
making passes to a couple of ah chances that didn't come to have chances, but should have gone to have chances where there was a bad dribble, there was a bad decision.
Player Highlights: De La Vega
00:17:18
Speaker
But if that player makes the right cut, if that player makes the right pass, it's either a short on goal or it's near miss. The engagement part of ah the Las Vegas defensive pressure and triggers under this formation has turn some heads, which to me, man is important. Cause when I thought I'm up in the little Vega, I'm thinking creative, dynamic, uh, you know, uh, shifty, but I'm not thinking defensively. And the fact that he has added that to his repertoire and he's out there just working defensively and doing certain things that makes me excited. And the other guy was JP JP apparently. And I quote polish on the ball.
00:18:05
Speaker
ah Accurate with his passing, ah understanding his spacing. ah That to me it is great, right? They're telling me that he looks like he covered twice the twice the space that he would last year. So those are all good things that I'm hearing, right? So I can only base myself with the highlight, sure. But I still won't make an assumption because that's just the highlight. But I will do a lot with what I'm being told. And I do take that very confidently from where I'm getting it. And that to me tells me that this squad with those players can be really, really exciting.
00:18:45
Speaker
Yeah, I've been very encouraged by JP. i i have always I've always been... or are not always, I have been interested in sort of the De La Vega narrative ah going through this off season. And there was sort of this prevailing sense that almost like it was a sunk cost at this point, that he was somehow so bad last year that there's not really any real hope of him coming good this year. And ah I'll push back on and and that in a couple of ways. One is that I thought De La Vega actually showed some promise last year.
00:19:20
Speaker
And I think you have to, but even then you have to understand that he struggled so much with health to get healthy. You know, he was talking about at the end of the year, for the first time all year, that he felt like he was playing himself, that he was finally able to not be worried about injury. And he was in his own head a lot. And it wasn't just the injury. It was that he was, he felt like he was getting pulled off earlier than he was used to. And so that was sort of playing mind games with him.
00:19:48
Speaker
And he just looks like a totally different player right now. Uh, physically he looks different. He looks so much like he's in much, much better shape. He looks confident. He looks sharp. I've been really impressed with him and he's someone who I don't think the sounders necessarily need that. They obviously went to the conference final last year without getting almost anything from him. And.
00:20:11
Speaker
If he's a productive player, that's essentially like a new signing. i mean he and it and there's Right now, there's every reason to think that he can be a productive player right now. Yes. Look, I said this in Dobbins' courtiers. To me, Nico Moreno, the Sounders are going in with five acquisitions to 2025 in terms of just nuances.
00:20:39
Speaker
Of course, Ferreira and ah paulla riola but per of the la vega because you actually get him for an entire season you get him with an entire preseason and paul rothra and georgia ben so there guys yeah you found as rough gems in the middle of the jungle and you've polished it, you cleaned it, you try to make it and you you see the shine. and It's not completely after you still got to go get it pressurized and nice and cut or whatever you do to it. I'm no expert here, but whatever you do to that diamond, you can do it this season. So I'm excited to see what both of those guys do. Paul on the productiveness.
00:21:22
Speaker
uh, intelligence, instinct, part of just being a guy that makes things happen, that scores goals and Georgie in being a headache every single game to any defense and giving you a guy that's going to beat guys of the dribble that you're going to get to that end line. And maybe you achieve a great cross five out of 10 times, but those five times are going to be opportunities for you to score. So those are the guys that I'm looking at and I'm saying, watch out for the Sounders. Cause maybe they were a little quiet in the off season, but if you look in between the lines and you really go deep dive into it, they have a couple of players that you did not have at the beginning of 2024.
00:22:16
Speaker
They have a whole preseason, they have a whole new sense of playtime and in chemistry that then, I mean, it can make this team basically like they're having five new players into the squad.
00:22:32
Speaker
Yeah, ah you know, and one of the things that was so encouraging about, it again, this is just a play, but the assist that Munungu had to rolled on in this game against Hammer Bee was just so encouraging to see because it was, it wasn't the most complicated pass, but it was a smart pass. He sees this run coming like ah um ah from a place you don't necessarily expect to see a wingback because he's cutting way inside on the right side.
00:23:01
Speaker
And he's just making this clever run into the box. Menungu picks them out. and And it's a relatively simple ball, but it's it's the kind of ball that you sort of, it's easy to take for granted. There's not a lot of, you know, he has to see that run. He has to put it in the right place. And it ends up being a pretty easy finish for Alex Roldan. But I love to see that from Menungu because it wasn't like it was some really high energy breaking down a guy off the dribble. He just was calmly seeing, a seeing his teammate make a good run.
00:23:30
Speaker
and that's yeah If he starts to have that stuff as well as the dynamism, as well as the excitement, now we're really cooking. Absolutely, man. Look, ah in the Spanish community, I have something called the Nico stamp of improvement. and and He has the El Rolo stamp of improvement right off the bat. and I think that what that tells you, at least for the people that follow my Spanish work is,
00:23:59
Speaker
This is a guy that has all the tools to be a game breaker and a contributor for this team. And and I've had guys like New Who in my wallet, Alex Roldan, Christian Roldan. I have a pretty good sense of it. I've had my couple of minutes, I'm not gonna lie to you, but I will talk about those. But I think that Georgi Minungo can be a guy that to me, man, he could essentially be a a Tam sort of signing without being a Tam sort of signing, you know? Tam productivity without having a Tam salary. Thank you for listening to the Sound Rit Heart Podcast Network, which now includes No Sunny Ettis, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild.
00:24:46
Speaker
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Podcast Network and Listener Support
00:25:26
Speaker
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00:25:29
Speaker
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00:25:50
Speaker
You'll help support independent media while also getting access to every Sounders game, every other MLS game, MLS 360, and all sorts of other content. Just to make things extra easy, we'll put a link in the show notes too. Thanks.
00:26:06
Speaker
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00:27:07
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, and you look at what the world market is telling us about wingers right now and is that they are the most expensive players and they are also the players that have the most variance in the performance that are so hard to predict. And if the sounders can bring in a potentially, he doesn't have to be an elite winger, but if he can just be, and Paul too, for that matter, if they can basically get two competent wingers for essentially no money, which is what we're really talking about here. ah that's a huge That's such a huge competitive advantage. ah And I agree with you. The Rothrock thing is funny because, ah you know, he got hurt at the end of last year and so there was a little bit of out of sight, out of mind. And he he hadn't played until this game and then he he pops up and he scores a goal and is in his first game. And I guess he was playing as a wingback, which was somewhat unexpected.
00:28:07
Speaker
It's going to be interesting to see how, what have you made of this formation change? I guess that's the next, a good place to to take this conversation is the sounders have been talking a lot about going to three in the back ah from what I can tell they have been doing that. But what's interesting is it's not dramatically different personnel than you would expect to be them playing with if there was a four, two, three, one.
00:28:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's been, um it's worked. I mean, it's been successful. ah When I look at the roster and with maybe the caveat that one of your most talented players might be the odd man out, ah because I think Pedro de la Vega doesn't quite fit if you have everybody available and ready for this team. um I think it fits, man. I think it gives this,
00:28:58
Speaker
Sounder squad a little bit of a nuance where they can be Aggressive with the amount of players they bring forward, but they can also be ready for any sort of counter They have a lot of speed in their in their center back position but with maybe the exception of Jackson Reagan, right? but I knew who you got yam are and then they can correct for any sort of Yes, lack of speed that Jackson might have. And then Jackson is your quarterback. You know, he's back there sitting in the pocket, swinging the, the, you know, passes wherever you need to go. He can get a little forward. Yeah. My is usually the last man back. If you look at this couple of preseason games, gamers, always the last man back. Cause he has that ability, that speed, uh, corrective speedness to just get back, get the ball forward. Uh, so
00:29:50
Speaker
I like it, I really do. And in terms of Paul and even Georgie, where there can be options in that wing back position, I think it fits, man, because if I'm trying to get width out of my wing backs and I have my midfielders being those that can be creative and maybe they can push the ball in certain pockets and they can find those half spaces,
00:30:16
Speaker
I've become a really unpredictable team. And you got Jordan Morris making all kinds of mayhem and runs. And you got Ferreira where he can catch the ball anywhere on the pitch and be dangerous with it. That's all good things. So I enjoy it. I like it. um I still think that the 4-2-3-1 with the same concepts, right because again, the sounders always build out with three in the back. That's not going to change. Personnel changes here and there, but when it comes to the concepts, they're very much the same. so I just feel like it's a fit and I feel like it gives Seattle a true second option that when
00:31:00
Speaker
Portland, Vancouver, or whoever you play most in a season goes out and sits and hits the whiteboard. They could truly not know which way Seattle is going to come at them. yeah What formation they're going to hit you with and what they might not hit you with.
00:31:17
Speaker
And what personnel they might use. I mean, I, I kind of liked the idea that, uh, that this is a, uh, the way that it's lining up is that it almost naturally allows you to bench any one of those four attacking pieces.
Formation Flexibility and Competitive Edge
00:31:29
Speaker
Uh, and that you are probably going to have a Paul Rothrock or a Georgie menungu available off the bench.
00:31:35
Speaker
And that you are going to have, you know, and if you want to switch to, you know, no wing back or you almost can play without wing backs. Sometimes you can play with real wingers and just three center backs. I mean, there's a lot of. Formational flexibility that's built in here with their personnel that, you know, I do think.
00:31:54
Speaker
lends itself to playing in multiple competitions, which I think in the people may or may not realize that CONCACAP Champions Cup started this week. And it was a good reminder that there are no given results in this thing. ah Calvary beat ah or yeah, Calvary beat Pumas yesterday. yep we We saw a realist, I think it was a No, no, no, it was Tigris. Okay.
00:32:26
Speaker
Yeah. but There's been some, some pretty, I mean, these are all road upsets. So our road games. So it's not like, or these were the, the underdogs were sort of getting the, their, their road results, but a lot of interesting results. And it's a good reminder that there's nothing is guaranteed in this tournament. ah And look, to be honest, I mean, real steady was the better team in that game. Like it wasn't just, we got to go, we sat back and parked the bus.
00:32:55
Speaker
If you look at the game and I did, I had to go and rewatch it. Thankfully, I have a reminder on my Comcast. Oops. I don't know if I can say that on my cable. Don't worry about that. No, no, no. no don't mean That's totally fine. ah Okay. They're no sponsors. They're not getting no, you know, we don't got to give too much away, but that's okay. You can mention it here. Yeah. Yeah. yeah So they, uh, I got a reminder basically that I record certain games and he recorded it, went back, looked at it, and I was shocked.
00:33:25
Speaker
ah on how much better ah the non-Mexican team looked like, you know what I mean? And dignity is like a foundation. They're one of the top teams in Liga Amex, so you're right. ah When Seattle's going to play in Antigua, you know, I'm thinking, ah walk in the park, we're going to go in there, dominate, kick back, smoke some cigars. It might not be that. So this is something for Brian to hear. And I know he, he hears under our heart. He reads under our heart. So you probably listen to this, but do not take Antigua lightly because yeah all these teams are is they have the opportunity to beat an MLS team. And that that makes you play better.
00:34:12
Speaker
Yeah. So, uh, the other game that was kind of, uh, that, that was a little crazy was, uh, a team from the Dominican Republic called Sabao FC, uh, scored very early against Chivas and then Chivas scored, uh, equalize in the 10th minute of stoppage time. Uh,
00:34:34
Speaker
just like a series of absolutely wild results. Uh, in, and so basically there was four, there's been four games played and the only one that went really like according to the chalk, I suppose was Monterey beating for Jeff C, which is a Canadian team to zero. But I think both those goals came relatively or it came in the second half. So even that one was pretty competitive. It's, uh, you know, it's, it's a fun tournament. It's, it's a shame that we don't. treat CONCACAF Champions Cup with the same ah the same reverence as we treat the UEFA Champions League because it is a very fun tournament. It's a very exciting tournament. There's a lot more competitive games in this than I think people sometimes ah realize. But um anyway, let's let's move on. Nico, you have ah what what else is going on in the in the any any news bits you want to talk about?
00:35:32
Speaker
I mean, I don't know if news bits, man, but I was, you know, we talked about being concerned about Albert Rusnak's injury. And he doesn't get nervous because it's not just the injury. If you go back on that game, you can hear Brian yelling, go down, Albert, go down.
00:35:53
Speaker
um Although you've heard certain things from the club. I feel like Brian is very good at hiding certain things. That's why yeah I don't realize.
00:36:05
Speaker
I don't I don't know how much to read into what they told me other than they don't feel like yeah I just think they're trying not to panic but I don't know I don't I don't take it for gospel that's for sure but go ahead yeah so you're the Paul Roth right thing where we didn't know he like missed the practice did it miss the practice and also he's out for the year I'm not saying this is the case here but it makes me concerned especially for a guy that admitted to us, to everybody, that he's taking courtesan shots to the hip because he has a chronicle thing going on. So to me, it makes me nervous. And me being me, having a whole bunch of time on my hands before the Sounders got back to the Pacific Northwest, I was looking at something that I want to talk to you about. it and And let's bring everybody in. If you want to comment, if you want to talk about it,
00:36:59
Speaker
Nico's putting a little bit of a point of conversation out here. Eduardo Tuesta was signed by Orlando City, and he's very clearly going to be a guy that's going to be a starter for the Orlando City franchise, Enos Carpareja, down there in Florida.
00:37:21
Speaker
I know for a fact that in January, so not too long ago, there were a couple of ambulance teams that were interested in Nicolastodero services because they understand that he's nothing more than a deputy in Orlando. If for some reason there was a possibility to get some sort of polariola type situation going into Nicolastodero,
00:37:50
Speaker
And maybe Seattle wouldn't have to pay his whole salary, and there could be some sort of conversation. Would you or would you not be willing to bring back Nicolás de Dero in the team's you know anniversary year? Well, not not not really anniversary year, because that was last year, but going into a very important year,
00:38:15
Speaker
yeah and and into a club world cup and a guy that could either fit in deeper down in the midfield, whether it's a holding matter or not, ah you know, once Obed goes or he stays or whatever happens with Obed, if there's any changes down there or if he could be a guy that could help you Uh, you know, play right next to Albert, or if you go back to your four, two, three, one, play some of that cam, would you be interested in something like that to bring Nicolas de Dero from Orlando back to Seattle and having kind of a goodbye tour that he didn't quite get a year ago?
00:38:57
Speaker
Yeah, so i kind of I have to admit, I would have some trepidation about it only because Nico is a very competitive guy. And I think the Sounders have built a roster where they don't need a Nico Ledero type. They don't necessarily need a veteran. They don't need another veteran to you know stabilize things.
00:39:22
Speaker
But I will also say that Niko had a really good last good season last year. He had sort of a a real bounce back season. like he He was not great his last year in Seattle.
00:39:36
Speaker
He was, he was very good ah for Orlando last year. He had a goal in seven ah assist and in only 1700 minutes. You look at his rate stats, you know, meaning like goals per or his assist per 90 progressive passes per 90. All that stuff is among the best in the league. He, he was, he was very, very good last year and that, tell and that was with playing a role. You know, he only played 1700 minutes last year. He, he only started about half of his appearances.
00:40:05
Speaker
And that tells me that Nico probably has had a little bit of a mind shift change. you know One of the things that made his last season in Seattle tough, I think, was that he wasn't quite ready to be a backup. I think he he did a good job of not being disruptive, of being a good soldier, of being you know a leader in the locker room, even when he wasn't happy. But I don't think he was happy right ah during a lot of that last year.
00:40:35
Speaker
But, you know, last year he showed that he could be, he could be a very useful player off the bench. And I think if, if the sounders are able to have a conversation with him, where it's made clear that everyone's on the same page about what they want from him. And if he can be a spot starter for you, if he's someone that you can bring in off the bench and you know, he's, he's not going to be playing over De La Vega. He's probably not going to be playing over a Ferrari. He's probably not going to be playing over Rusnak, but if he's somewhere after them,
00:41:03
Speaker
um I don't see why not. I mean, you're you're going to be playing at least 42 games. ah There is a very reasonable path to getting to 50 games. There's going to be plenty of minutes to go around. ah And I think Nico Ledero is a player who you'd be crazy not to bring in if it's for the right price. And if he's, if you're convinced he's got the right mindset. yeah Absolutely. And that's where I think.
00:41:35
Speaker
under the right price, ah you can get a guy that is is proven, he's experienced. If I'm looking at international tournaments, and I can tell you right now that in last year's CONCACAF Cup games, um there are a couple of coaches that played Orlando last season, ah who I have a pretty good relationship with. And they were both a little bit shocked that they spent so much time um
00:42:06
Speaker
Prepping for Nico when Nico maybe I don't know if they didn't realize that he was you know kind of a backup, but They prepare for him. So having a guy like Nico going into a yeah conga calf cup. He has a Trajectory a resume a specific sort of put some respect to my name situation where man I for the, for, for the bright price. I would love to have him. I'm hoping Albert is okay. and And I really do. Yeah. And I think he's a guy that I'm i'm willing to count on, but if you need someone else and yeah you know, Pedro de la Vega is very young still, uh, and maybe they want him to do other things. Why not having a guy like that and experienced guys never be too deep.
00:42:57
Speaker
You could never be too deep, right? It's kind of like the Kim Ki-hee thing, but... right on exactly Yeah, exactly. Kim Ki... They didn't need to go out and sign Kim Ki-hee, but if Kim Ki-hee falls in your lap, you pick up the phone.
00:43:10
Speaker
a hundred percent. So I'm just going to be the same thing with Nico. I'm just people on here, but you know, considering that there are other clubs interested in, nonetheless, there is no doubt in my mind knowing Nico as a person and knowing how much he loves the city and how hard it was for him to leave this fan base. He'd say yes in a second. So, uh, we know his son is probably the, the biggest cheerleader there is for that move, right?
00:43:37
Speaker
No, exactly. Exactly. i mean I mean, it's one of those things where, man, I could see it happen. And honestly, I would selfishly be very excited about it. But I want to hear what you know the audience got to say. So if you listen to this podcast,
00:43:54
Speaker
Hit up the comment, hit me up, hit Jeremiah, write a letter. you know yeah mean the The reality is the Sounders don't have a ton of salary cap flexibility. A story came out this week. I wrote about it how,
00:44:09
Speaker
ah MLS announced that they that teams that get to the Club World Cup have an extra $750,000 of GAM and then the ability to to basically take a loan out against 26 and 27 for another 1.25. I don't really imagine the Sounders are going to do the loan thing because that's how you get yourself in in trouble. And the 750 was already baked into the the numbers that were we were out there.
00:44:38
Speaker
But the centers do have, based on the math that I've done, the centers seem to have enough room in their salary budget to go sign a U22 player, which I think is their top priority right now. But then I think they still do have room beyond that to sign another you know veteran minimum type. And geez, hard to imagine a better Like, you're just not going to get more bang for your buck. if if that's If that's the deal, you can get them on. You know, again, that's a big if. I don't know that that's really what you can do. But man, i six months ago, if you had asked me if the Sounders could get Kim Ki-hee for almost nothing, I would have said, no, of course not. But, ah you know, weird things happen in the soccer world. And when players want to be someplace, they tend to be able to make it happen. Yeah. And
00:45:30
Speaker
When I look at that roster by Orlando City, and I know that I know who's going to be the main guy, that at twice is going to be the main guy, that once Weber Cartagena gets over the injury, he could be another guy. Man, maybe it's it's a way for them to just open up a spot. They go get another guy. And man, ah you know, it's an opportunity that once again, Sieta could be doing smart business the exact same way they did with Ferreira, with a Riola.
00:46:00
Speaker
So, hey, man, you know, sign me off for it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that would be a fun one. That would definitely be a fun one. It would be, I would be very curious to see what the the reaction is. I think most fans would be excited about it. It seems like people were understanding of the thinking behind getting a Kim Ki-hee. And I would think the, again, it's a similar mindset. ah And it talk about a team that gets real, like that's a deep team.
00:46:28
Speaker
It is a very deep team, if if they're able to. I was looking at your depth chart story, right? And I mean, at DM, right? I mean, Nico could fill that DM spot, that whole damn spot. He's been doing it for Orlando City. ah When he was here, he was one of the guys that covered the most space in the team, right? He ran the most miles. He did that for Orlando City. And when I look at the depth chart right now, I mean, you at DM, you got Obed and Leyva on one side and you got Alex and JP in the other. Why not have a guy that could play either side? And or if you needed him to play a little bit higher, he could probably do that for you too. So, man, I feel like it it feels more of a need than even Kim Ki-hee situation, ah unless you end up letting go of a guy like Stuart Hawkins somewhere else and things like that.
00:47:17
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, well, that's that's fun. um So I guess on the other end of the roster or on the, you know, the Sounders probably have the other thing that came out in this roster release, ah or this, this roster rule release is that it clarified some of the changes that are coming to the the roster rules.
Opportunities for Fringe Players
00:47:36
Speaker
There's essentially now a 31st spot on the roster.
00:47:39
Speaker
and It allows maybe an opening for someone like a Snyder Brunel or a Kalani Kosa Rienzi. but Anyone that is sort of like on the fringes of the roster or that aren't signed to first-team rosters that have been impressing you that you think might have a chance to to make this team? Kalina is the guy that comes to mind. Kalina Kosa and I kill his name at a time, but ah he's the guy to me that he's number pups up that I've heard good things from.
00:48:10
Speaker
sources in Spain that he's been a standout. Um, I've watched two full games. Uh, the first one, uh, Pukas academia, and then obviously this last one against hammer B hammer by, um, hammer B and, and, in and, and, and, and in both of those, i I thought that he could have been a guy that would have made things a little bit different.
00:48:33
Speaker
on that side. Cause I kind of went back and I thought, Hey, what did I see from him in the first game that maybe could have played out in this one? And now this is no knock on Alex. I'm not saying that. I think Alex will continue to be that guy on that right wing side, but there were times where I was like, man, I think Kalani could have got to that ball or the comedy. Kalani could have pressed a little bit harder cause he's a different built.
00:48:58
Speaker
that than Alex, right? He's a little bit more physical. He gets to certain balls. He's a real athlete too. I mean, he is like he is an athlete. he ah he's He's just like a little spark plug of a player. He can get up and down the line really easily. He plays bigger than his height.
00:49:15
Speaker
you know, he, he had that great goal against Phoenix in the, in the open cup last year. ah He's so he's capable of, of doing those kind of little things. I like him a lot. He's also got a great personality. ah He's, he's, ah you know, not,
00:49:30
Speaker
He's, I think the Sounders mostly see him as a wingback. He's played a little bit on the left, but he did, he was a defensive midfielder all through college. So he's got a little bit of a little bit of positional flexibility, which I know the Sounders love. I would be thrilled if the Sounders signed him. um But I've really liked Snyder Brunel too. And I don't know, they might be able to sign them both. But Brunel has, is someone who I think has a really high ceiling.
00:49:57
Speaker
And I, I liked him a lot at Defiance and you know, I don't think he's necessarily ready to contribute to the first team, but I would, I would be okay with signing him to like one of these, uh, these off roster spots. Yeah. And the thing about Bernal is that he gives you another guide that could play in the interior of that.
00:50:22
Speaker
three, five, two, or three, four, three, or, or, or, you know, whatever treatment information that you can think of, because I think Paul played as a wingback because I don't see, and I don't know if the coaching staff sees them as a guy that could play and be as productive on those inside insight channels.
00:50:44
Speaker
as he is out wide and, you know, crashing the box for certain positions. I feel like under this formation, you need a little bit more creativity, patience, pace. Uh, uh, you know, you gotta be able to take your, your time with the ball. And I think that Bernal is a guy that could do more of those things than a Paul Roth. Paul Roth has a lot of great qualities to his game, but I feel like those are exploited more out on the flanks and out on that 4, 2, 3, 1 formation than he does under these three men formations, whatever one you want to pick.
00:51:20
Speaker
So because of that, I would not mind. And I think that it would be an asset to have a guy like Bernal similar to why I think they're so high on Sevastan Gomez, who unfortunately I have not seen enough of. I went back and I looked at that Pukas academia game and I just didn't get enough. I didn't watch the first game in this one, but he sounded like he got maybe 15 minutes or something like that. so yeah he isnn't He hasn't stood out to me as much in this preseason. I've seen him a fair amount at Defiance. I like him at Defiance. I think he's a good player, but I just think he's a little farther away from being like he's got, he's, he's got real potential, but I think he's very much, uh, more on the potential side than on the finished product side. Whereas for now, I think in a pinch can give you something now a little bit more easily. And on that end, I did want to ask you something and I'll ask it here in front of everybody because maybe we'll have the same
00:52:18
Speaker
question. Osa said that Rosario, how confident would you be in him being a guy that can contribute? Because if there's something that I have not gotten out of this Marbeja camp, is any sort of indication that Danny Musalski is a safe,
00:52:44
Speaker
Uh, bet when it comes to being the other forward or the guy coming off the bench, I just, I haven't heard it.
Debating De Rosario's Potential Contribution
00:52:51
Speaker
I haven't seen it. And that concerns me. So can he be a guy that helps out? I mean, man, I don't know. Rosario has a good body. He's, he's obviously got a good pedigree.
00:53:06
Speaker
There are things about his game that I like, like he is, he's composed in a box. He's, he's got, seems like he's got pretty good feet, but he just doesn't strike me as physical enough. He doesn't strike me as, you know, explosive enough. I, I'm a little worried about, I just don't feel like I've seen him stand out.
00:53:27
Speaker
as much as I would like to have seen him stand out like he's, he's going to score some goals. He's a useful player, but he, I don't know if he's, he's necessarily going to unseat the softs. If he's at an upgrade over Masofsky, uh, and this, I mean, give him credit. He did have an assistant in the first game.
00:53:44
Speaker
He did. He did. I don't want to say he's been any, any he should have had it yeah a goal that was called back against Pushkas. So it's not like he's been completely invisible or but in this preseason. But yeah, i mean I think that's an area for potential upgrade. I don't know if De Rosario is really the player you upgrade him with. if Now, if the Sounders could trade Mosofsky and actually get something, i mean I don't think it would be crazy to to sign a De Rosario as sort of a, as an emergency player, and it allows you to trade Musofsky if you can get something for him. I'm not saying I'm like sold on Musofsky as the backup, but I'm not, I guess I'm just not that worried. When you have Ferreira and Morris, I just don't know how much you really need Musofsky. You need a player that's much better than Musofsky, I guess is what I'm saying. Like you, you're going to be going with a somewhat unknown player in that position, I think.
00:54:43
Speaker
um Rapid question right here, right now, A or B? A, you go out there and bring yourself a Ledero to give you depth at center midfield and you go get a U-22 striker in the summer or you flip that around and you go get yourself a U-22 center midfielder and then go find an experienced veteran up top. What would you rather do? A or B?
00:55:09
Speaker
I think I'd probably rather, honestly, I think I'd probably rather to have Ledero and ah a U22 forward. I agree. I agree. I feel like you're a little bit more set at, I feel like you have a path to, you have plenty of options in center midfield ah that are of a variety of ages. And so I think Ledero sort of compliments you there and gives you a little bit more of a bridge to the future, but you have a path to the future. Whereas the forward situation is a little,
00:55:38
Speaker
less clear i don't you know i i think you want you know jordan's going to be the starter i think for the foreseeable future and then you have ferrara too but there's just not a lot in the pipeline for at forward and i think you want to stock if you can bring in a a u-22 forward to sort of like boost that pipeline i think that's that's probably the better move close side that 100 well uh nico It's been good. I think this is i think we we went through everything. I think we we we we ah emptied the Rolodex here. I think we did, man. And, ah you know, that's not to say that some of the guys that we didn't talk about have not been outstanding. I did have a couple of more notes here.
00:56:21
Speaker
Danny Leyva, he's on my notes. He's a guy that's looked really good. I've heard a lot of good things. ah Seems to be a guy that has grown on the physical component that he's kind of lacked in the past. ah Jonathan Bell is a guy that also seems to be a guy that's had a really good camp. mean ah Stuart Hawkins is on my guys to watch but you know, kind of same of what we've been already been looking at in general census. ah And then last one, Yamer Gomez Andrade, obviously physical is really good, had a couple of um plays in in that game against Hammerbuy where
00:57:02
Speaker
They get behind them or they get behind the defensive back line and he stick his big leg out, brings the ball back, cuts him in. So he looks like he's poised and ready for another big season. So that to me is worth highlighting. And I think that's all I had.
00:57:19
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, at some point we'll probably have to talk about Josh Atencio's move as well, but that's something I'd like to get a little bit more data on that. I think what's more interesting about Atencio's move is sort of more what it says about the move to three in the back and and sort of the way that the Sounders are rethinking their roster a little bit. But ah Nico, thank you for doing this. ah my co mine I'm just going to start calling you the co-host, but you can follow, you can be we can follow you at El Rolo NW, right?
00:57:48
Speaker
yep ah rolo in avenue and on socials, uh, pools of sports, of course, as well. You can follow up some of my video content there. And man, I'm just excited to do this every week. Uh, get as much regular occurring guests on lobbying scoreters as well, I should say. Oh, yup. Yup. I'll be working with loving its coaches as well with, uh, Ari, uh, whether it's the mornings or the afternoons on Monday. So, man, I'm all, I'm all in on. You're all over the place. and Yeah. yeah under heart is my That's my That's my home. So I'm excited to do a lot more for you guys.
00:58:19
Speaker
All right, man. Well, Nico, thanks for, for doing this. Uh, I am Jeremiah Shan signing off for no study at this from the sound root heart podcast network. We will catch you next time.
00:59:06
Speaker
one