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Lobbing Scorchers: Could Podcasters Referee an MLS Match? (Feat. Max Bretos)
160 Plays23 days ago
It’s a Draw Pod as the Seattle Sounders closed their 2024 regular season with a 1-1 Decision Day draw against the Portland Timbers. We’ll break that down in our game review, hit our final regular-season agenda check and bring on special guest Max Bretos voice of LAFC and Apple TV announcer for a playoff preview.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome to episode 70 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. Got producer Noah here with me. And Noah, we've got the last regular season pod of the 2024 MLS regular season. War is over. How are you feeling? War is over.
00:00:21
Speaker
Is it? No it's not. Word just started Ari. It's true the regular season is over but the playoffs are just beginning which is very exciting and we're going to talk about all that today on a draw pod as the Seattle Sounders have closed their 2024 regular season with a 1-1 decision day draw against the Portland Timbers at Loom & Field. um We're going to break that down in our game review at the start of the show. We're going to hit our final regular season agenda check And then we have a guest today, guest, yeah guest episode.
Guest Introduction: Max Breitos
00:00:51
Speaker
And it's a good one. We've got Max Breitos, the man himself, voice of LAFC and Apple TV broadcaster. Voice of the Sounders, too. I'm just going to say it. He's called a lot of Sounders games. yeah he called He calls the whole league. He knows the whole league really well. ah So it's going to be good content with Max Breitos. We're going to talk playoff preview, probably talk about the Houston Dynamo a little bit. So it's going to be a jam-packed show.
00:01:13
Speaker
um But before we get into all that, I did want to let you all know that Loving Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. If you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounderatheart.com slash LS. That's sounderatheart.com slash LS. Scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free. Every sign up through our link helps support and grow this show. And folks, on our last episode, we said we were going to stop reading the sub list if we hit 40 subs, and we did not.
00:01:44
Speaker
So we need two more subs still to hit the big four oh. And until then, we're going to keep reading the sub list. Noah. True that. Thank the subs, please. Thank you all for subscribing. I also added all the sub names to sounderheart.com slash LS. So now under the little player, it'll have all of your names scrolling by. So you can see that. So that's just an added. But up listen, I'm just saying there's a lot to there's a lot to to to gain here.
00:02:13
Speaker
But let's get it going. Kenneth Wade, Joey Pascanelli, David McCoy, Owen Mason, Daniel Pavato, Samuel Foudt, Ian Mitchell, Christopher Smith, Norm Baier, Thomas Martin, Greg Hoker, Chris Maley, Andy Hill, Mike Lintini, Nate Bontnier, David Rodriguez, CJ and Miles Maranakis. My nephews. Mark Audinger, Zach Heckman, David Pope, Brian Morton, Claire Berger, Robert Sink, Tyron Akatsu, Steve Hudson, Choska, Patrick Sexton, John Hammacher, Emma Mebok, Justin Walker, Jay Anders, Ryan Shane, Nathan Jones, Benja Dubachar, Isaac Johnson, Matthew Burns, Ryan Boone, and Brian Chow.
00:02:42
Speaker
Whoo, that's a long list. That's 38 names, 38 names. Help us on the drive to 40, please. And also, if you have not done so yet, please subscribe to the Lobbing Scorchers YouTube. We saw a big jump. we it It was a pretty big jump, but we still have not summited the road to 600. That's true. We're eight away. We're at 592. So please just go and just hit that sub button. It takes like one second and it really helps us out.
00:03:08
Speaker
All right, enough of that. Let's get into the draw pod, Noah, because there's a lot to talk about with this draw.
Seattle Sounders vs Portland Timbers: Match Analysis
00:03:15
Speaker
This is a pretty frustrating dub pod, I would say, or a draw pod. It should have been a dub pod. It should have been a dub pod, is what I was trying to say.
00:03:24
Speaker
um
00:03:27
Speaker
I think going into this game there was still ah story a big storyline hanging over Seattle regarding how how much Portland has frankly gotten the better of this rivalry in recent years even though Seattle tempered that earlier this year by winning at Providence Park ah so that's not as much a storyline but I think just generally speaking the last few years this rivalry has absolutely gone the way of Portland and ah This game was frustrating because it felt like it really felt like for most of the night for a lot of the night that this was going to be kind of a statement performance that ended that. That's how I was kind of feeling for a lot of the game. And then it did not did not pan out.
00:04:06
Speaker
as such. So we're going to talk about why, but first let's do our lineup reaction um because I think they these have been relatively simple lately. They've been running pretty much the same thing game in game out. ah The thing I will say about this lineup is this is the playoff lineup, I think, assuming full health. But the question that I think with this lineup that I put in the agenda checks, we're not going to talk about it right now.
00:04:26
Speaker
But I think the only question with this lineup is, do you like Georgie or De La Vega as the starter? And who do you like as the starter? Who do you like as the super sub in that duo? So we're going to talk about that in agenda check. But other than that, did you have any other thoughts on the lineup? Other than that, this is probably what it's going to look like as the squad chases an MLS Cup. You know, I wasn't super shocked at this lineup. I thought maybe throw a little wrench in there. We might see Raoul not start, but just I don't know. Maybe maybe Brian was going to go crazy mode. He's got a bajillion goals against them. And I thought, you know, maybe it was an opportunity to get him a little primed and ready for the playoffs, which just having him completely ineffective is I just don't think is an option.
00:05:14
Speaker
Maybe I'm insane for that. No, no, no. It's definitely, i I mean, I wouldn't say that like, I think a lot of their playoff prospects hinge on Ruby Diaz getting on track a little bit, but it would be a huge boost and tim or danny honestly, like I think, uh,
00:05:30
Speaker
Him getting hot would make me feel a lot more bullish on this team's prospects of actually making a run. I did have one take, ah ah other take on ah for lineup reaction on the Portland Timbers lineup, which is that you know I was looking at the starting 11s before the game. I look at Seattle's, go and look at Portland's just to see how they're lining it up. They had a center back out there named Finn Sermon.
00:05:55
Speaker
Who is Fin Cern? Who is this guy, bro? Where did they find him? Who is Fin Cern? It is really rare and borderline shocking for me when I look at an MLS starting lineup, and I see a name that I literally have never seen before in my life. And you know it does happen sometimes. I don't see every single signing. I don't watch every single game of every single team. I'm still pretty surprised that there that there was a starting CB out there who I had never heard of in my life. And when I saw that, I was like, OK, I mean, you know I look him up. He's a 21-year-old New Zealander.
00:06:25
Speaker
um who had never played an MLS game and getting his first start and you know it was by necessity they had ah suspensions and injuries that necessitated it but still I mean for me that raises my eyebrows right away because I'm like okay well now you know who to target. Like you should, you need to just spam this kid with as many long balls, just as much. as It's sort of almost like a similar to it. If you have Sean Zwotsky in goal, like not in the same way that he's playing a position he doesn't know, but he's inexperienced in a, in a tough spot, right? Try and exploit that. Um, but like to be fair, Finn Sermon, I thought, you know, played pretty well.
00:07:05
Speaker
I didn't think Portland's defense played well at all. I thought they were conceding chances and not controlling the tempo of the game for most of the night. But he did stuff De La Vega in transition with a really nice slide tackle. And they only gave up one goal. So, you know. ah It wasn't his fault. Yeah. Finn Sermon, I guess. Shout out Finn Sermon. Just any MLS player who I've never heard of is always, that's always. Could he be their Paul Rothrock?
00:07:32
Speaker
ah The Paul Rothrock of the Portland Timbers defense possibly I don't know I mean um Either way that was a big subplot going into the game and he turned out to actually have played pretty well um Seattle scored first in this game, which is another reason it's frustrating. They didn't wind up taking all three points ah It was Yymar in the 37th minute, another set piece goal. Sick ass header. and A sick ass header, another perfect delivery from Rusnak. He gets his 16th assist of the season on that. So again, he continues to have a very good, very productive season. um And really it was another set piece goal, not from the run of play, but um I mean, I don't know, man. I thought this game was very one-sided.
00:08:15
Speaker
I think the statistics agree. I think the statistics agree. I think the eye test very much agreed I thought Seattle was beating the Timbers like a drum out there. Yeah, really even into the second half and It was a little bit reminiscent of The Sounders team that was struggling at the beginning of the year or really last year is what it reminded me of the XG merchants when they would actually play really well um And generate the change the chance creation was really good um The play and transition looked pretty good and it seems like the offense was functioning, but they just couldn't finish That's sort of what last night felt like but I would say
00:08:57
Speaker
I would say that ah they were playing even better last night than they then they had ah at on so on Saturday, I guess. They were playing even better than they were at those times when they were GMerchanting a couple years ago. No, I agree. I don't i think that it was the just the pure amount of shots that they were taking, and like the chance creation was it was like shocking that they weren't finishing anything it was like it wasn't it just felt unlucky which is what i feel like that last season where they were in their xg merchant era felt like it was just this like oh my god like can we get any more unlucky like this is a perfect service or this is the perfect you know you you need to score those kind of kind of moment and uh
00:09:41
Speaker
I don't know. That's how I felt. And especially around a couple of those De La Vega plays, which I'm sure we will get into our De La Vega checkup. Yeah. So this game got pretty crazy later on in the second half. The Timbers tied it in the 68th minute. Anthony, who was only starting because Santiago Moreno was out. ah So he's their he's like their back one of their backup wingers.
00:10:06
Speaker
um This goal was conceded on what I would say was a poorly defended counter attack. I do think New Who had his share of the culpability in that, although as most thing as most things ah when it comes to New Who, I feel like The extent to which it was 100 percent his fault, perhaps, was exaggerated. But like he was he was the one who was tracking back trying to stop Antony and he did not do it. But that was really that felt like pretty much the only chance clear cut great chance that the Timbers had throughout the game. And they finished it. um So I mean, fair play to them on the goal. I thought Seattle's defense was up for it for the most part. Other than that. And to me, again, like a game like this,
00:10:52
Speaker
We said this so many times when this team was struggling to function on offense earlier this season and last season. But like I don't know, you're going to concede goals sometimes, especially in a rivalry game. It's not always realistic that you're going to keep a clean sheet. You've got to be able to score multiple goals. And the fact that they couldn't do that in this game is what cost them even more so than the red card, which
Controversy and Referee Decisions
00:11:14
Speaker
we're about to talk about. but they didn't even concede after the red card so I mean it's as simple as if you score multiple goals you win this game and that's what I if we're slicing up the blame pie I do have to blame the offense even though I thought this was a pretty good offensive performance and for that reason um
00:11:34
Speaker
I came out of this game definitely like annoyed at the result and annoyed that this storyline of the timbers running the rivalry continues to persist. But as far as what we saw performance wise from the team like right before the playoffs.
00:11:49
Speaker
What you want to see is that you're in form, functioning at a high level, and that basically you're good to go to try and make a run. I feel like I saw what I needed to see in that regard. like I would have been very concerned if you know this was a game where Portland played Seattle off the field, had a much better performance than them, beat Seattle by multiple goals, something like that, then you're starting to be like, all right, that was a bad result and a terrible performance, and the playoffs feel a lot dicier. I really don't feel like that personally. like I feel like this team looks looks as ready as they can for the playoffs and that the good form that they've demonstrated over the last couple months um is they're still in that as the playoffs start here.
00:12:34
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i listen, I don't disagree that this wasn't a ah this was a like, this is not going to deter me from being semi confident on the playoffs. I don't know if I'm fully bought into the the narrative that some people have that, you know, the Sounders have a really good chance still. But what I.
00:12:54
Speaker
I was- this game just pissed me off. This game just pissed me the fuck off. Like, I i was- I'm not a yeller. I'm not a yeller at the TV kind of person. Like, I get excited, but I'll be like- I'll like, mutter to myself, you know what I'm saying?
00:13:08
Speaker
me and my girlfriend were literally both standing up yelling at the tv at as we'll get into specifically this obed vargas red card and just other little things jordan morris not finishing some just perfect chances pedro de la vega looking incredibly dangerous but just taking one too many touches not laying the ball off not getting a shot off it was just one of those games where i felt like i was being tortured by Everyone and everything. Yeah, so let's talk about this red card because that was really the biggest play of the game And that's the one that everyone was talking about after the game and really unfortunately We're gonna have to talk about the ref in general You know I know we had someone a while back who was getting on us for talking about the refs too much I mean, I think it was definitely an undeniable storyline in this game and then also just to like ah ah explain how I think of like discussions about a call like this like
00:14:05
Speaker
For me, a lot of the time, it's not even about, oh, the ref like cost the team the game, or like cost the team points, or and like outrage over stuff like that. It's more just, like was it called correctly, and like the theory behind it, and like the rules of the game. I think that's interesting to to talk about, and like how refs handle certain situations. So that's where I'm kind of coming from with it. But I do think in this scenario, um this red card did blow up the game. And there was like there was some unique stuff Call it about the officiating in this game Seattle had already gotten steamed a couple minutes before this happened I mean both I think both teams were steamed at ah How the game was being managed and like the fouls that were getting called or not called all night i mean I think Portland was a beneficiary clearly But they were they were getting mad too is my point. like I don't think yeah anyone was happy about how the game yeah was being officiated um but there was two sequences in particular that really ah Set Seattle off and I think you usually don't see Brian Schmetzer get this animated on the sidelines like at a ref He was literally like laughing at this, um but there was two separate sequences where
00:15:14
Speaker
It looked to me like Seattle who had there was fowlins in the build up in Seattle had clear as day advantage and the second time when it would have been like they would have been off to the races for it would have been on and um yeah, it was like pulled it back both times when the first time you don't you don't pull that back the second time If that sequence happens 100 times, you let that you play advantage all 100. Yeah. And so and I just don't understand like why you wouldn't play it in that scenario. So that was that was weird enough. um But this red card for Obed um was very frustrating because it was not a foul for dangerous play or violent conduct. It was a second yellow for descent. Getting mad. Yeah, and I don't I don't think he even verbally yelled anything at the ref no just yelling at the He was like he did the punch the air thing Yeah yelled and the ref gave him a second yellow card after having just given him a yellow card a few minutes prior um I had a conspiracy theory on this I tweeted I said that like after he gave this card I said I have a theory that the center ref forgot that he had already given Oba to yellow and was too quick with it But I had to commit to the bit so he didn't look like a dumb. Yeah, no, so I'm pretty sure sure that's what happened. yeah pretty sure he didn't that's what brianrizer said yeah like He forgot that Obed ah got a yellow previously and thought he was just giving him a yellow but then it turned out to be his second yellow so he gets sent off. I have a problem with that because
00:16:45
Speaker
um whether a player is on, reps do this all the time, and whether a player or ah is on a yellow or not already shouldn't factor in to whether you give them a yellow for one offense or another. like If it's a yellow card offense, it's a yellow card offense, even if they're on a yellow.
00:17:03
Speaker
and The call just should not be affected by that, in my opinion, first of all. Second of all, I also have a problem with a yellow for descent, getting someone sent off in a rivalry game, yeah where it's obviously going to be heated and emotional out there. um I don't think he he said anything like at the ref it did not look like to me. It looked like he was mad at the call, but you know he reacted demonstratively. but ah Also, I don't think I don't think yeah exactly like I don't even think the yellow no should have been given there I think you let that go and I think the perfect illustration of why that shouldn't be a yellow is towards the end of the game Jonathan Rodriguez did the same thing three times and the ref stared him in the face while he Jonathan Rodriguez physically advanced towards the referee while chirping
00:17:58
Speaker
and the ref would just like let it go. Yes, yes, that is exactly what you should do. Jonathan Rodriguez shouldn't be sent off and Obed shouldn't have been sent off. And even before that, like i'm not I'm not a referee, all right? So like I have respect for these guys, but his positioning on the field was bizarre. He kept getting in the way of plays. I don't know if you saw this, like I was seeing this. He kept like being in the way. The ball hit him at one point and he didn't stop play. He just let it keep going.
00:18:27
Speaker
and it was just he was so far out of his depth it was genuinely bizarre and like i don't like to say that a game was lost because of the referee and i don't think this game was lost because of a referee i think the sounders still had an opportunity to win this and close this out even a man down Thought they were still kind of cooking they that's what i'm saying So I don't think this was the ref's fault, but it's like it changes the game state It changes the mentality of players and it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing as a league to have that go on Yeah, I mean it was it was just unfortunate because it ruined what had been a fun and good game Yeah, and um you know like yeah, like you said like I don't think really Seattle can blame much on it because
00:19:10
Speaker
Portland got their goal before the Red Guard, so I don't really think it's about
Player Performance and Lineup Debates
00:19:14
Speaker
that. It's more just about a like you know taking the wind out of the sails in a game like that for an offense that I think is ultimately pretty trivial.
00:19:24
Speaker
and then also obed the ah the suspension rolls over into the playoffs. He can't play in game one against Houston. And it's just annoying that he's getting suspended for like, you know, uh, if someone's going to get a red card, I want money's worth. Right. You know, I was thinking Paul Rothrock might get like, if I was, if I was going to put money on anyone getting one, I saw Paul Rothrock just absolutely going after Anthony at some points. Like they were chirping at each other. Like, yeah,
00:19:48
Speaker
Like when he pushed him, because Anthony hooked his arm around him, I was like, oh, shit. Paul Rothrock sent off, but at least they're going to fist fight about it. It's like, no, Obed punching the turf. So he doesn't get to play. Punching the air, yeah. So anyway, he's out for game one against Houston. So I guess, I mean, it's good that JP has been back to health. That's going to be the double pivot for that game. But unfortunate, because also Obed had been playing his best ball of the year, which I think is saying a lot. Yeah.
00:20:16
Speaker
going into the playoffs here so wish we could have watched him play in the next game but alas it's not to beat. Let's hit the anti Rusenak brigade update real quick see how they're doing because they actually they they were ah They were popping off a little bit last night because it was a big game and Seattle only scored one goal. And, you know, the brigade was kind of saying like it's another example of him like disappearing in big games. I don't know how much I agree with that. When you consider that the goal that Seattle did score, he had like a filthy assist on it. And he was playing in dimes the whole first half. The offense looked really good all game. I thought he played excellent. I thought Seattle's offense was really good in this game. Oh yeah, but did Portland are bums. But wait, it's a big game, it's a rivalry game, so he doesn't show up. But they're bums. Anyway, the point is, They're still bringing it even in the midst of a season where he's pushing 30 goal contributions across all comps. So more power to him. It gives us content. Keep tweeting. We love the brigade, but we hate the agenda. We have a good relationship with the brigade, especially you on your chat. That's true.
00:21:35
Speaker
Shout out. All right, let's hit the agenda check. I have three written down. Tell me what you think of these. One of them's the only one. So let's do this Georgie De La Vega discussion here. I have it written down as the Georgie Should Start agenda. And really, I think what that agenda comes down to is the notion that, here, I'm just going to make the case for a bike. I'm just going to make it. I'm putting the mic down. I'm going to listen. I'm just going to make the case.
00:22:00
Speaker
like Georgie in the minutes he's gotten this season you know it's not like a huge sample um but he's looked I think objectively more dangerous than De La Vega and he he's like impacted games more in the time that he's gotten on the field like his impact as in his substitute appearances and then also in the Vancouver game where he scored a goal I think that i'm I'm not saying I believe this argument, I'm just presenting it. I think you could make the argument that the best iteration of this offense has Georgie starting and De La Vega as a super sub, but which I think ah you know as as much as it's you don't now you don't want like your young DP that you're trying to build the club around in a lot of ways for the next few years, you don't want him as a super sub. But ah as it stands it's with where the team is at personnel wise right now and where he's at physically,
00:22:54
Speaker
I think that's kind of nice. And I like Georgie as a super sub too, but I think there's a compelling case to be made that Georgie should be in the starting 11 and De La Vega should be coming off the bench. What do you think? I co-sign your agenda here. I actually, I was thinking about this during the game too because first half De La Vega, he was a little bit hit or miss. He was, you know, he was a little bit absent for parts of the game, but he came out of that second half swinging and I thought that was the best half of soccer we've seen him play hands down.
00:23:24
Speaker
coming out of the locker room. Postgame Brian Schmetzer, pep talk, got in his head, got him ready to go. If he knows he's coming in super sub, going running as hard as possible, going as hard as possible for that 45 minutes, I think that's his perfect game state right now.
00:23:39
Speaker
You start Georgie if he's cooking you could hold or pull or do whatever you need with de la Vega gives you that flexibility and and Georgie's just gonna add that pace and that service that has been Kind of missing with de la Vega. Like I feel like he's a little bit of a floater He kind of you know at one point him and Paul Rothrock switch sides and I just you know, I don't know I'm agreeing with this this Georgie should start agenda. I think I think it's more than strengthened I think Brian Schmetzer has you know He takes our advice very seriously. He should listen to us on this one. Yeah. I mean, it's at the it's at the very least an interesting debate, like yeah which is kind of crazy to think about because, uh, like there's just no way before the season that if you told me you'd ever be debating Georgie verse, right you'd be like theyga and Georgie had like a credible case for it. yeah It's definitely like, uh, there's, there's a discussion to be had there. Yeah, I think we should start Leo Chiu actually. That's okay Next agenda Christian rolled on should be a D mid for the rest of his career agenda. This is a new one. um I didn't mean He's looked really good since she's move back into the double pivot and it's kind of been a reminder to me um Of like just how good he was at that position to start his career and And as much as I had been ah a convert of the playing him as the right mid,
00:25:08
Speaker
I think long term, especially with where he's at in his career pushing towards 30, I would rather see those spots on the roster go to ah either more proven players or like new signings or you know Paul Rothrock, like drop Christian back to where he was so effective earlier in his career and has been playing really well in this double pivot and just have that kind of be where he That's like his baseline, yeah you know going forward master class this game Like I was really the last few weeks man Like I mean, yeah, not not to not to take away from the last few weeks, but I thought this game specifically like it was so Visibly clear even the dumbest soccer fan could see it like he was dominating on all fronts He was getting the ball around
00:26:00
Speaker
I mean he's such a talented player like I think he can be really good anywhere but I think I've in the last few weeks specifically we've seen him become this just monster that I didn't really even know he could be yeah and I mean we we we we pushed the agenda that he should be a right back so we Reserve the right to change this agenda, too. Yeah, no, it's true. I mean, so I think like we were pushing the the right back thing because I just didn't really see like where he long term fit in the midfield there. yeah um But now that I've seen how it's worked with him in the double pivot the last few weeks, I'm I'm starting to get sold.
00:26:35
Speaker
that that's the move for the future. um Next agenda is Paul Rothrock related, but it's not really about his stock. It's more about where he fits in going forward. So this is kind of an extreme agenda, but you know everyone everyone knows that Seattle is going to be in the market for at least one DP over the off season.
00:26:54
Speaker
ah and So my agenda is that you know Paul Rothrock is the DP winger Meaning that you don't need to sign one. Yeah, because you've already got a homegrown player ah For who you're gonna have to give a raise at some point But you're gonna get cheap relative to it like a tan player or a DP you have he wants to stay as we were talking about ah with max I He's producing like a player like that right now. And I think the question becomes, do you think that it's sustainable going forward? And will he will he have hit a plateau or trail off at some point? He's just been this steady upward trajectory the whole time and he hasn't stopped yet.
00:27:36
Speaker
um So I think before I fully commit to that agenda, I want to know more about the sustainability of it, which I think you can find out next year.
Paul Rothrock's Emergence and Impact
00:27:46
Speaker
But if it like turns into a thing where he is even close to like a 10 and 10 player, which is a pace that he's been on this year. If you look at his all comps production, uh, I say allocate your resources elsewhere and let Paul Rothrock continue starting and being a big part of this attack.
00:28:06
Speaker
and oh Yeah, no, I agree. I thought last night specifically also kind of illustrated the sounders have identified that they really do want to sign a nine and I Listen, Jordan Morris, you know I pushed your agenda, you know I love you. You really can't miss that many balls and like, I think we could upgrade at the nine. So if you can take all of your money and instead of signing a winger, you now have, you sign a really talented nine, Denny Bawonga-esque, whoever-esque, and you just, you're able to like,
00:28:40
Speaker
move pieces around, Jordan Morris can be your backup nine, you've missed on every backup nine for the last god god knows, you know, A-Bear, Musavski, now Jordan Morris can play on the wing, he can slot in, he can be an attacking, like there's so much dynamism there, and Paul Rothrock sure is that up, but then you also have Georgie, you also have De La Vega, I just think that's a loaded front if you can sign a nine now, and so I know we've gone back and forth on on what to do here, but Yeah, i i I like this agenda is keep Paul Rothrock happy, man, because he's that depth piece. He's the franchise. Yeah, he is the franchise at this point. Yeah. um All right. It looks like you wrote down a couple of other agendas. So why don't you why don't you unveil these and I'll tell you what I think of them. Here is my two agendas that I ah i ah i unleashed here. I thought RBW played pretty well in this this game. I thought he had a nice little run towards the end here. And so my agenda is.
00:29:37
Speaker
Start RBW over JP agenda JP. He's been a little you know, hmm Christian rolled on he can still cover that ground He's you know, he's no Obed but I think you could get some nice attacking movement here with ah with a little r you're You're saying put RBW in the midfield. Yeah cook. This is a take. Yeah take I I like ah the principle of the agenda um my My concern with that would be a player that young and already pretty inexperienced playing a position that I don't think he's ever played that position in an MLS game. That's true. For a playoff game, I would be. Listen, I'm going galaxy brain to your arm. I would be nervous about about that. um But I do think that um you're you're potentially cooking with the ah with the notion of him like playing in that area of the field. I mean, I think we're still at a point where
00:30:36
Speaker
They're figuring out what his best possession position is. Like, I think it's been pretty well established that they see him as a fullback and that's where he's been playing. But ah he's got a pretty unique, well-rounded skill set. So I think the premise of the agenda potentially has some legs, even if ah I personally would not start him in this in a playoff game at a position he hasn't played in. m os I mean, he did he play more advanced in this Portland? It felt to me like he was playing more yeah advance role Because he subbed out for Dale if he subbed de la Vega out for him you could be right about that I like I wasn't i I'm mainly going off what I've seen like this year Yeah as opposed to the last game because I don't really remember But I mean this year they have played him predominantly at fullback and correct there's been a couple times I believe where he's played higher up on the wing I don't know if I've ever seen him play sentiment, but I It could cook. I guess because he's got the defensive mindedness to, you know, to make that those attacking movements. He's just got to be more centered. He's got to be more centered. You know, it's not that hard. Are you? Yeah, it's not that hard. Are you just could you get you get a little more center? Maybe we'll see that somewhere down the line if they don't if they don't sell them. um All right. You have one more agenda. last Last agenda here is can the Sounders win the cup agenda? I want to track this as we go through, you know, pre playoffs now.
00:31:58
Speaker
how are we feeling is it from this last game is it strengthened diminished maybe we can do like a tier list like is it hot is it is it cold or is it it sat out on the on the stove for a little bit you know I think for me it's pretty cold just because ah the way I size up this ah this pool of playoff teams is there are tears to it and I think there's a very clear tier of the elite teams that I expect um one of them to win and that would be inner Miami the Columbus crew and LAFC even though you know I know I was saying that uh
00:32:37
Speaker
If you look at LAFC's season, it's not too dissimilar to a Real Assault Lake or a Seattle, um but I do think that they have shown a gear that I acknowledge deserves to be put in the discussion with the other elite teams in the league right now. And I could see a scenario where they make a run to win an MLS Cup. Anything's possible. And Seattle could do that too. Like if 2016 taught me anything, it's that it is possible in a year where you think it might not be playoffs are a lot about who gets hot at the right time and not necessarily about who is the best team or who has the best team, who's got the best roster, who's got the best player. That does not necessarily
00:33:16
Speaker
Equate to an MLS cup victory so that like anything could happen, but I think ultimately The trouble I have getting to a scenario where the Sounders actually win the cup is just I think I'm I'm very very certain that whoever Comes out of the West is gonna have to go to Miami and I don't think there's I don't think there's anyone the in the West who wins that game and Not la fc definitely not the galaxy like can you imagine the galaxy defense trying to slow down messy in the bar so boys be funny be fun to watch So I just think that is
00:33:55
Speaker
That's a mountain that I don't expect any team in the West to be able to climb. Like I don't, uh, I don't mean to make it sound like a predetermined outcome, but I'm just telling you guys, like if you haven't watched, uh, a lot of inner Miami this year, like their top gear is just different than anyone else in the league. And I think not just Seattle, every team, any team who comes out of the West, it's probably going to have to deal with that and go in there and winning, winning that game. It's hard to see, man. yeah i'm not feeling it right now i don't think that it's dead in the water i think i think the most likely outcome is the most likely like high outcome in my like they could make the the they could make the final they could make mls cup i think that's a possibility yeah
00:34:43
Speaker
do i think they will win it i have zero faith if we're playing inner miami if we're playing anyone else i think there's a chance but generally speaking i am i'm lukewarm on this right now i'm not cold but i'm lukewarm on this especially after this portland game where you face a little bit of adversity but you're still outperforming this team, weren't able to get it done. For me, that's a, that's, that's an indicator that, well, I don't know if we're going to be able to get it done on the biggest stage. If it's, uh, if it's Columbus, that Seattle has to play, maybe they'll, uh, backup goalkeepers, you know, I mean, then we'll see. Um,
00:35:22
Speaker
All right, let's dive into questions. We've got a few lined up here. Thank you, as always, to everyone who who got the discourse flowing in my mentions. There is a lot going on after that game, as you can imagine. but ah Always. we've ah We've picked a few of them right here. Noah, what do we got? Thank you all for your questions. This first one comes from Nat Lang. Only caught the end, but Georgie looked very dangerous. How does this performance change the outlook of the Sounders off season?
00:35:51
Speaker
That's a good question. I think it's kind of related to what we were just talking about with yeah Paul Rothrock. But I mean, I think you need you need more of a sample, I think, on both players to really make a credible evaluation. um They just haven't played enough to really know where they stand or what their value truly is. um However,
00:36:15
Speaker
The Paul Rothrock stock is looking great and honestly still, even as we record episode 70 after starting this literally on episode one, it is still increasing basically by the week with how he's been producing. It's been over a year. It's been two seasons. Yeah, and it's been especially like this part of the season where Seattle has been really hot.
00:36:36
Speaker
like ah The examples gotten bigger and he's kept doing it So I think at the very least you can feel like pretty good about his stock going forward and then Georgie the Georgie stock, you know, remember I was a little I was Luke warmer on it we were both lecitan i think Yeah, like I was comparing him to Leo chew a lot just just in terms of like ah He hadn't really he hadn't shown a lot of end product Yeah, yeah, which for young players to be expected But you do need to see that before you tab any sort of like crazy value on them But I think we are I like seeing him get the goal in the Vancouver game and just really how effective his skill set has been at like, you know beating defenders and ah Making runs and just but just being dangerous on the ball ah I think that ah
00:37:25
Speaker
I think there's, like we were saying, I think there's a good chance that like this position group in particular, ah you with your roster build, you might be able to sort of, I don't even think it's money ball in it. It's just player development. yeah And then once, and when you succeed at player development like that and you hit on those and they contribute, that's when you can allocate your your money to other parts of the roster and really build like a strong, contending team. So, I mean, that's why these like, ah these,
00:37:56
Speaker
Players that come like internally, like whether it's homegrown or like Georgie who signed with Defiance and like worked his way up, it's so important. And ah I do think, I think we were talking about this on the last show, but I think it's a big reason why Seattle was able to win 16 games and rack 57 points this year, basically without two DBs. And credits to Brian. Yeah, and Schmetz made a coach of the year case. So yeah, I know it's a good point from Nat.
00:38:23
Speaker
Yeah, no, i and I agree. I think if we're going to go just broad, like where, ah what position groups I would prefer to see addressed. 1A1B, a one b ah nine, a striker, but someone so lethal, someone like that, Ruby Diaz profile, when he was in his prime, someone that can finish off those balls that Jordan Morris may not be able to, but they can also compliment Jordan Morris on the wing and, you know, where maybe they can do some kind of interplay type moment. You know what I'm saying?
00:38:51
Speaker
And then secondly something that you brought up and that I just can't stop thinking about is like a really really good attacking fullback like a wingback Jovan Jones core like Really talented player and I think Alex Rodin has really cemented himself this season but I still think you could upgrade on on that position um and then Number two, a six, a bruiser, something crazy. Especially if you sell open. That is my number one. Yeah. Like what I would want to see. And what would that be? What would the reason be for that? Like over like a nine? I just think, uh, well, okay. I mean, yeah, I guess, uh, the next question is actually. I'm jumping ahead here. Max asks, should the sounders sign a nine this off season?
Seattle Sounders' Season Reflection
00:39:39
Speaker
As much as I love Jordan, it feels he struggles to deliver when we need him. Yeah, so I think you just laid out a good case for why a number nine should be on their radar, and I think it is on their radar. I'd be shocked if they don't go after that. I think just in principle, you have your DP9 this year who didn't play a lot and didn't produce that much, and you need that spot in the roster to be producing for you.
00:40:05
Speaker
But the reason I want to see like and a nasty bruiser number six like you were talking about is because I feel like something this roster could really use is just like more attitude and bite and swagger and like meanness and competitive like Ozzy Alonzo. yeah You know what I mean? Like ah I think this team has lacked that in the last few years. It's a lot of of nice guys.
00:40:32
Speaker
which is great like I you know there's nothing wrong with being a nice guy but I think Paul Roth can't be the meanest guy on your team yeah most ah most great teams have a couple of bad dudes like on the field yeah I mean and ah I really think a player of that profile that is not afraid to mix it up, that does the dirty work, that goes into tackles, gets physical. Basically, I'm i'm saying that they should sign Ozzy Alonzo because I miss watching him play. but also like i think I think that infusion of like attitude and nastiness is something that would really benefit this team.
00:41:10
Speaker
Yeah, and I can see that as well. I think that's the the great part about it is like you can do that and also get a nine. You know, I think there's a possibility for that. And I think that it's you an even easier possibility if you really are looking to sell on Obed to move him on, which like.
00:41:28
Speaker
it will be a sad day in the lobbing scorcher's household when we have to see him go but like for his career trajectory I'd be I'd be super happy I just think those are the two positions a nine and a six like that where There's a little bit of a weak spot and there's a little bit of an opportunity to sell someone on, move a player around, get a little, get those fresh, that fresh bite that the team needs. You know, I think one of your criticisms this season that I really liked was sometimes things just get too comfortable in training in the locker room and everything. And like,
00:42:05
Speaker
Benching Raul for Paul Rothrock. That was part of their success was everyone was like, Oh shit. Dex man up mentality. Like it could be me. It could be me. And then Georgie comes in and it was literally the same thing. It was like, it could be me. If Paul gets this chance, I can have this chance. I'm going to make the most of this. So regardless of who they signed, they got to sign someone this off season. Do you agree with that? Well, I mean, I,
00:42:28
Speaker
I do agree with it. And I think it's like a foregone conclusion. Correct. Yeah. Well, Michael asks here, what's left to consider this season? What is left to consider the sixth season this season? Dude, I'm tongue twister today. What left? What's left to I just, you know, anyway, is this season a success? What would make this season a success? Would it be beating LAFC in the playoffs or just MLS cup?
00:42:51
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for the question, Michael. And I thought this would be a good opportunity to sort of like take stock of what we think of the team's performance this season and what we would want to see in the playoffs for it to be considered a success. So I mean, I'll just give my take on the season as a whole, which is that ah my evaluation of it and opinion of it has changed.
00:43:11
Speaker
ah Quite a lot in the last like month or two. I would say with With how much better the team has played than they were earlier in the season and I mean the way I look at it is like going into every season I want the T. I want the team that I root for to push 60 points ideally and like be as close to two points per game as possible and contend like compete for trophies compete for and MLS Cup and ah I try not to like base, whether it's a success or not, or if I take enjoyment or fulfillment from a season on whether they win MLS Cup or not. like You're just, statistically speaking, you're not gonna like do that every year. So I think fans who like use that as the be all end all parameter every year get themselves in like mental health struggles. but like So my my criteria, the way I try to think of it is like I just want relevance, I want contention, and I want entertainment.
00:44:09
Speaker
um And I think that ah Seattle did a good job to kind of check those boxes this year in a season where we were very frustrated early this season. I think rightfully so because ah the entertainment aspect of what I was talking about was not really there and the team wasn't scoring and it felt kind of like boring and stale for for a pretty lengthy stretch of last season and earlier this season, I would say. But I mean, I look at it. I judge it on the whole body of work. And when you look at the table at the end of the year, they got a top four spot. ah They won 16 games. The goal differential was plus 16, which is solid. So
00:44:49
Speaker
Would I like to see them up with Columbus and Miami and all them in terms of ah points per game and like being a truly dominant elite team in the league? Yes, that is the goal. That's where they're trying to get to over this offseason. But when I look at this season as a whole, I'm decently.
00:45:05
Speaker
I'm decently happy with how it went, and ah I think the rest of my opinion on it will be formulated by how the playoffs go, so getting to whether i think or what I would consider a success this season. For me, it's like getting if you if you have the regular season that they just had, and then you immediately get bounced out of the playoffs, that is not a success at all, like just making the playoffs and crashing out. um So that would be we would skewer them for that. But for me, I think a successful season would be going deep into the playoffs.
00:45:39
Speaker
conference championship. And then at that point, like, you know, everything else for me personally is like icing on the cake. But if they make it to the conference championship and then they lose, I'll be like, that sucks. And, you know, at that point we'll start talking about what they need to do to get over that hurdle. But I think I would be, uh, pretty, pretty happy with, with the season overall and consider it like a good solid year.
00:46:04
Speaker
Yeah, I think for many fans, the this is what I'm dubbing this season because I don't really think there are like super objectively good and bad seasons. I think it's just such a range of like where you, I like to look at it. Did I have fun?
00:46:21
Speaker
You know, beginning of the season, I was not having fun. I was actively not having fun. The only thing that was fun was getting here on the mic with you Ari yeah and like being able to find some kind of solace and like, well, that just happened. But this is the season of almosts. And I think that that is why it is felt so much worse.
00:46:41
Speaker
almost getting an automatic qualification for CONCAP Champions League, almost beating the Portland Timbers at home, almost getting to an Open Cup final, almost, almost, almost, almost, you know, all of these things, like almost advancing maybe, almost beating LAFC, all of this stuff. It's like, it makes,
00:47:03
Speaker
a fine season, a good season even, feel like a total failure because you're almost there and you can taste it. But if you are the New York Red Bulls or you are Minnesota United or the Colorado Rapids even, you're like,
00:47:22
Speaker
I want to be Seattle right now, you know, and I think we talk about Seattle fans being spoiled, but I don't even think it's that. I just think it's when you're that close to getting there, it hurts so much more when you're not able to close it out. And I just think that that's where this team is.
00:47:37
Speaker
They're good, they're not great, and it's the season of almost. I have a couple more things to say on this, which is that, first of all, part of my perspective on like why I look at it the way I do is colored by the fact that ah I think I give more equity to the so the winning that the team has.
00:47:55
Speaker
done in this past era than than most people do you know if you have a year that maybe doesn't go as well but you've bagged a couple and MLS cups and CCL in the last five years before that I will give more equity for that because you've been you've been about it you've been making runs you've been winning big games ah You've been making playoff runs when it going to four MLS cups winning a couple first team to win CCO like I I i think you earn that equity through winning and that's why I'm not really with a lot of the self-loathing that comes from the fan base a lot because ah like you said like
00:48:34
Speaker
Pretty much every fan base in the league save for a precious few would easily trade their trophy haul for Seattle's without a second thought. So I don't know. I try to acknowledge that. Be grateful for that and also take that into account when when I'm evaluating how I feel about it because ah I just think there's different things at stake when you're a team that's like never been there and never won it compared to a team that is ah has been a dynasty. um So there's that, first of all. But I did want to acknowledge like hearing you go through how you thought of the season as the almost season. third's i mean there's definitely um There's definitely negatives that it's totally fair to point out. And I think the ah how the LAFC games went this year,
00:49:18
Speaker
Not acceptable like you don't have to beat them every game You don't really even have to beat them at all in my opinion, but you have to like they don't think you have to look like the boogeyman You have to compete. Yeah, you have to like have dignity out there You have to give them a run for their money give them a good game and if if you lose I will I will again give some equity to the fact that they're a great team but like to get Absolutely demolished and eliminated from multiple tournaments and be non-competitive against them that deserves to be criticized We got champagne without a doubt. I think ah Unforgivable. Yeah, I think similar Similarly the form against Portland like with how decision day went like ah you have to get that
00:50:00
Speaker
that storyline of them dominating the rivalry dead. And they did not do that this year. they did win they We were saying they killed it after they won Portland earlier this season, but ah then they lost to Portland at home and then ah tied got tied them in really dumb fashion on yeah decision day. So ah there's those two things. And I think ah just ah how they played in tournaments would be another like league's cup. They did not acquit themselves very well. no Open Cup, they made it pretty far and were playing well. But played bots most of the time. Played bots and then lost to LAFC. So ah those would be the negatives that I have. But I do have ah relatively like positive feelings about the season on the whole, ah even though like there are things, like those things that I mentioned, like that's just gotta get fixed next year. And I think for those people who are feeling some type of way about this season,
00:50:57
Speaker
You have to check yourself a little bit because sure, you can be you can feel however you want to feel. I mean, Adam doesn't keep me up at night, but also there are fun storylines to follow and soccer is fun. Soccer is meant to be this fun activity that we all enjoy. If if you're not having fun, man, do not just like log off. You know what I'm saying?
00:51:21
Speaker
I have had the most fun this season out of any season following one player following a coaching decision that should have in 99 out of 100 universes doesn't happen. There's so many fun things to watch about this team and enjoy about this team. that's not like saying you shouldn't criticize them it's just saying like if you are crashing out every single week because we don't have we didn't win every trophy you're being a little dumb and like you probably just are not fun to be around so that's my final take on that
00:51:54
Speaker
All right, we got one more question. What do we have? Wes says, was this the correct application of the whippersnapper rule where descent towards the ref is perfectly acceptable unless you're under 20 years old, in which case have some respect, you scamp. Yeah. So ah he's I mean, he's talking about the Obed red card. And I think that's actually a good point of what might have happened there as well, which is ah Yeah, he got he got a yeah got targeted for being like the young kid who disrespected the ref. Disrespected authority. And I think you know we can all relate to Obed with that in some degree. We sure can. Being suppressed by the man. But yeah, good point. Don't let the man let you down, Obed. Fight back. Thank you for your questions. We appreciate you. And now, Ari, I think we have something quite special.
00:52:44
Speaker
That's right. We're going to welcome on our our latest guest on Lobbing Scorchers. It's an exciting one today.
End-of-Season Awards Discussion
00:52:51
Speaker
Like I said, we've got Max Breitos, the voice of LAFC, joining us for our interview. We're very excited to welcome in our next guest to talk about some end of season awards stuff, to talk about some and MLS Cup playoff previews, and maybe some other topics. We have got the one and only Max Brato's voice of LAFC and Apple TV announcer joining the show right now. Max, thanks so much for taking the time to join us tonight. How are you doing?
00:53:21
Speaker
Doing great. it's ah It's tremendous to be with you, Ari and Noah. Been looking forward to this. I don't know Noah's mentioned it to me a couple of times in Ari as well, so the the fact that it's happening now is pretty exciting. I know, it's surreal. Yeah, it all it all started out, actually, ah like many things on this show with Paul Rothrock. Correct. um Yeah, we ah we took notice of the use of Rothrock and Roll on on a Seattle broadcast that you were doing.
00:53:47
Speaker
And that's a term that we had used before. And ah you know people were saying that you ah Max lifted it from us. But that's not true. like it' It's a very easy meeting. We're very unoriginal here. I wanted to clarify that first and foremost for the people. And i and i I didn't lift you, but I just want to make it abundantly clear. I am not above and beyond lifting, plagiarizing from folks in the soccer spectrum. It is lightweight. Plagiarism is too strong a word. But if I see something, maybe I'll ah pop it in there from time to time if I like it.
00:54:16
Speaker
Rothrock and Roll is public domain, any publicity that he can get. And honestly, ah we really appreciate him getting some national attention because we've been talking about him here in Seattle all season. um We'll get to Paul Rothrock, but to start off here, um I wanted to ask you about the discourse of the moment. It's end of season awards season.
00:54:38
Speaker
We did our ballot. we did our We did an episode where we went through our ballot. I cast my votes today, earlier today, actually. um But I wanted to ask you who you have for MVP this year. There's been a lot of debate about this. And um I will tell you that I've gone through a lot of consternation over it and like who I should vote for. And I came to the conclusion that it really it has to be Lionel Messi. And when we we were talking through it, I kind of got to a point where I think it's honestly a little crazy that we're even debating it, considering the types of numbers he's put up this year and how efficiently he's done it. I actually think the amount of minutes he's played, which is the knock that people are using against him, actually strengthens his case when you consider that his numbers are as good or better than all the other candidates in about half the minutes. How did you size up this year's MVP race? And ah you can tell us who you voted for if you want, but you don't have to.
00:55:35
Speaker
sure No, I voted for Kucho Hernandez, but I lost a lot of sleep over this one. And I think it's first of all, Lionel Messi is going to win it. And he's going to win it convincingly. So maybe I just was trying to even up the ballots a little bit. But I think it's a it's a fair point. I mean, for him to ramp up to 20 goals by this and It's I vote I did my votes prior to decision day, but I think I think this year it was probably wise to wait until decision day because.
00:56:08
Speaker
it was It was a MVP race that I felt was going to the tape. I mean, it was it was very fluid until October. You know, you this Evander was getting some hype. And I was gonna say, maybe a month, three weeks, um I was gonna say, I probably vote for Evander. Granted, we're all in the West, so my votes were slightly tilted to the Western Conference. But I do that comfortably because I think the folks in the East do the same thing. So it all comes out in the wash. But it's... ah the final ah that bounced around Chichorango's award back in the summer and then it was the Vanders possibly and then it was Messi and then it was like Miami splitting the votes and then Cuccio and Lucho picked up the steam so it really was like a dead heat almost but you know Messi is the right choice I mean I almost regret the Cuccio just because everything that you said and not to mention how he's changed this league and the exposure we're getting
00:57:06
Speaker
and That's good for all of us in in the big picture. just you know Sometimes I like to peek at these social media numbers, and I know it's social media, it's not real life. But when you see you know an Instagram post about Mess Your Miami um getting a million likes, or their YouTube video, which I watch so often of games, and you click on it, and normally an MLS YouTube game recap has like twenty thousand likes and then this last Miami game has two and a half million after a day. This is this this is raw numbers and people are focusing on messy in Miami but that's. ah
00:57:44
Speaker
That's and a doorway for the rest of the league. And look, every league has these teams and everyone kind of filters down. You know, Real Madrid and Barcelona, people don't watch La Liga to see Cadiz or they don't watch the Premier League to see Nottingham Forest. they They see the top and the rest benefit from that. So hopefully we can get a couple more messies if they're out there and maybe some out here on the West Coast.
00:58:07
Speaker
I mean, we do have Denny Bawonga, so that's basically like messy too, if if I had to, you know. It's true. And ah that's a good segue into the next question that we had for you, actually. Thanks for that, Noah. And, you know, for the record, Kucha Hernandez is a good vote. That's who I was going to vote for pretty much. I was the devil on his shoulder. Up until our episode where we went through the ballot, I was saying that I knew that Messi deserved it on the merits, but that I was going to give it to Cuccio based on the minutes argument. By the end of the segment, I was like, you know what? um ah I know who I'm going to vote for it and I feel can i can feel convicted in it. um But ah yeah, Noah, you mentioned LAFC there at the end, which, Max, obviously that's the club you know best. So we wanted to talk to you a little bit about LAFC and just sort of sizing up the season as a whole from them. um For us, you know, LAFC and the Seattle Sounders played
00:59:00
Speaker
several times this year. It did not go. Did they did they play? It did not go what what I would describe as especially well for the Seattle Sounders. Very one-sided head-to-heads in this Western Conference rivalry that's really developed since l LAFC has been in the league.
00:59:15
Speaker
ah Obviously, another excellent season for LAFC in Supporter Shield contention. A kind of classic, I think, very good buzzsaw-like season in some ways. But from the outside, it feels like maybe a little more adversity at points than previous LAFC seasons. Would you agree with that? And just how are you feeling about this season and the this team's MLS Cup prospects going into the playoffs?
00:59:43
Speaker
I think a good launching point is, as we talked about MVP, my coach of the year was Stata Martino. But if I waited, I would have probably had to give Steve Truandillo more consideration. And it's something the Sounders haven't had to do. But a lot of teams in MLS, Real Salt Lake, Houston, LAFC, Austin,
01:00:04
Speaker
the several other teams since they incorporated new players over the last few weeks. And they all kind of struggled Colorado did that a little bit too with a couple new players. And that's something that is very difficult to do to incorporate these players and LAFC did it with I think about five players. Lewis O'Brien who's an everyday starter now Olivier Giroux.
01:00:28
Speaker
um I know I'm forgetting a couple of the guys, but the guys, Kai Kamara was earlier in the season, but there's a couple of guys that you have to incorporate and your team's going to sputter a little bit, maybe clip a hurdle. And they did, but they, Steve Trillo got it all right. And now he has this team with these new players, Marlin, the Brazilian just came in. He scores this huge goal on decision day.
01:00:53
Speaker
So he's gotten these guys in and they've gelled as a team, which I just want to really let people know how difficult that is because you've got to manage everything. There's players that are losing playing time. You've got to manage them. There's players that have to get adjusted. You've got to get them into the bloodstream.
01:01:12
Speaker
And Steve Toronto did that in 2022. There was a little bit of a process where they struggled and then things clicked. And this team is kind of getting towards that place where they could be the best LAFC team of the the three years during this great era that they've had.
LAFC Season Review and Playoff Insights
01:01:29
Speaker
And Steve Jordan was a big part of it. ah And they have a deep team. and I mean, their bench is delivering. You know, depth is always ah such a luxury in MLS. LFC has it. But it was, you know, this was a work in progress. He'd be the first to tell you that, too. It's like, it's going to be this. and It's going to be that. They had that bad patch in August. And then it's it all fit. The jigsaw came together. So this is a very strong team, the worthy number one in the West. And they're going to be very difficult.
01:01:57
Speaker
uh to beat but and talking to uh LFC president Larry Friedman on Saturday night and a couple of the people everyone's worried about the Sounders because they're they're not a schlep team and they're gonna be hot and the law of averages say it's hard to beat a team what five times it's it's not a matchup I think LFC maybe the Sounders don't want it either But you know LAC has to be going, we gave so much to beat this team he made in League's Cup. and And that Open Cup game was you know a grind. It could have gone either way. It's hard to imagine that it could continue to be on one direction. I know it could, but it it's it's it's interesting it'll be interesting if that's the matchup we get in the conference semis.
01:02:41
Speaker
I'm interested to know because I like this shout of Steve, Steve Trundleau for coach of the year. We've been, uh, we hadn't really, we hadn't even put them on our, on our radar, but I like, wasn't on my radar two, three weeks ago. And then I'm like, put them on there. Yeah. I like this. I, you know, we've, we're very like, uh,
01:02:58
Speaker
ah we're We're pundit. we We like to say we're not pundit brained. We're super pundit brained We like to over so outsmart everyone and I like the the thought of like I didn't even think about how many players LAFC really did integrate and that's been such a good quality I feel like with LAFC, you know, a lot of people want Albert Rusnak on the Sounders to be bought out or so, you know, find some way to find a better DP. And we always hit on the fact that getting a new player, no matter what their salary ranges, pedigree is always going to be a challenge to get them integrated. And so I think that's a pretty good shout that I mean, I didn't think about, I mean, what about you Ari? No, I hadn't thought of that either, but I think, I think Steve C did do a great job this year. Steve C, as we call him. Yeah. um
01:03:48
Speaker
like a I think his coach of the year shout is actually a good one. and But I think really like the point you were just making, Noah, like a lot of it is about John Thorrington from where I sit. the The work that he's done with l LAFC's roster, like really since they came into the league has been fantastic.
01:04:05
Speaker
um Wanted to ask you more broadly, Max, about ah the playoffs and just, ah um I was just going to tell you how I kind of see this playoff field this year, and then you can ah see if if you see it similarly. But, um I mean, um my question, I guess, is can anyone beat inner Miami? Because the way I look at it is I really don't see much of a scenario where anyone is able to slow them down. I think Columbus and LAFC are probably the two clubs that are most equipped to do it. But I just think, I don't know about you, but when I watch this inner Miami team play with Messi and the Barca boys, and when everyone's healthy, and they're at the top of their game, I've never seen an MLS team that has
01:04:50
Speaker
a gear like this. Maybe 2019 LAFC got close. And maybe, you know, some of these recent Columbus and LAFC teams, like, like they're, they're buzzsaw like, but this team, this inner Miami team, they just have a different gear. And when they're in tournament mode and they're rolling, I have a hard time seeing how they don't win MLS cup. Do you see that any different? Unless you're New York city FC. Cause apparently, you know, you can't, they can't beat New York city. True.
01:05:19
Speaker
Well, I mean, I guess that's the concern is that maybe they have a bad day in the conference semis or the conference final and that could see them out. um But I it's you know that but what happened this weekend and even the weeks prior where they they they they all season they fall behind in games and then they just put their foot on the pedal. But the fall down to and have six unanswered and that's you know, that's Man City. That's around Madrid but behavior. Yeah. And I think if you put all these uh, resumes next to each other, you know, inner Miami's far and away the best Columbus is probably the second best, but then they go to Columbus a couple of weeks ago and and beat them pretty firmly.
01:06:00
Speaker
So, uh, I mean, there was a Columbus win there in the league's cup and stuff. It, uh, this inner Miami team is is healthy. They're well coached. yeah There's a weird thing about, and we saw it from the beginning, just being on the field with Messi, which is something I never really considered about Leonel Messi in his prior spots, but just being on the field with him just lifts these guys to where, you know, I think we've seen it with the art, the national team. I don't know if the um Argentine national team is.
01:06:28
Speaker
this breathtaking, star-studded group that has now won two Copa Americas in the World Cup. And I don't think Messi is that influential, but there's something about his presence, he is influential, but there's something about his presence that now lifts these teams, that guys will do anything to... um let him be successful and their games go through the roof it's like this superpower thing so it's not just messy and he wasn't like this in the past lifting his game but lifting others because of the type of guy he is because of the type of teammate he deserves all that credit whether it's Suarez or Alba or Bruce gets or whether it's you know Diego Gomez or Benjamin Karamaski or
01:07:10
Speaker
anybody at Drake calendar that kind of are a better player playing with Messi than they might be somewhere else. So there's so many things at play here. And it's it's really important to also look at how they were so good when he wasn't playing. But I still think that that's some sort of messy effect. This force field he builds builds around it. It's this is Leo Messi's team and Because he's there, he has built a standard. And wearing that inner Miami shirt, which has only been around for three, four years, carries a lot of weight now. um Same way the Argentine national team, or Barcelona, does. It's ah something you can't really put your finger on, but it has made them you know just this this but maybe the best team we've ever seen in MLS. But we've never really seen anything like this. And again, it's not just Messi, but it is. it His presence,
01:08:01
Speaker
lift this thing and ah they've been very fortunate not to get too bad of ah bad health down the stretch with the exception of Messi who missed a big stretch a few weeks there after the Copa America. But it's it's really impressive. ah Yeah they should be the favorite and I'm curious to see what the sports book thinks because I imagine they're going to be the big money favorite to lift MLS Cup.
01:08:25
Speaker
Yeah. That's a great point about just the extent to which he elevates the whole team and all the players around him. I mean, I think he's the only player in the world that could turn Robert Taylor, our guy, Bob, on hell. DeMaria. Yeah. You know, that was praise bob to the beginning. You'd see this players who go, who is this guy? I've seen this guy play for two years and bang average. And now he's yeah. like As you said, it's all DeMaria.
01:08:50
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's ah it's phenomenal to watch. um I did want to ask you if we could get back to L.A. of C for one second. I wanted to ask your thoughts on how the Olivier J. Ruth thing has gone so far. Obviously, he came in with I mean, one of the the best strikers of this generation and ah came in with a lot of hype. And ah it feels like he has not maybe made the impact or played the amount that We might have hoped or thought he would yet. um But when I look at it, I also think it is a very undeniable potential X factor for LAFC in the playoffs in much the same way Gareth Bale proved to be a couple of years ago. And I kind of.
01:09:36
Speaker
As I size up a potential matchup with Seattle and LAFC in the playoffs, I really can't get that out of my head. We saw a little bit of what he could do in the open cup, but where where's his just fitness and integration with the team? And do you think that he could potentially take kind of a leap in the playoffs here? I moved him waiting and i was i was I was anticipating that that game against San Jose on decision day could be that breakthrough.
01:10:02
Speaker
The game prior against Vancouver to me was his best game of the season, even though he hasn't scored a goal and he's frustrated and he's not getting the service he needs. And sometimes it's just, um you know, a square peg in a round hole with LAFC because playing with Denny Bawonga has its challenges, right? I mean, Olivier Giroud is not ah full of pace and Denny Bwarnga stretches the field and you could see Giroud trailing. So ah it's not a perfect teammate in that sense. um Sometimes if they could slow it down a bit, maybe that brings Olivier Giroud, but his holdup play, as you said, Ari, is that you can see that this is a step above, a class above type player and everything's in there except the goals. The difference between him and Gareth Bales is obviously he's played every game almost.
01:10:49
Speaker
down the stretch here. And he is just you see him at training. He loves being here. This is not I'm retiring. He loves it. You can see it at the end of decision day embracing his teammates watching the Houston Galaxy game going getting all giddy like a kid. but So and he's got Hugo Louris there who is you know a familiar face and who has completely um settled in and been ah had a remarkable season. But I don't think we give him enough credit because it's who Louris.
01:11:16
Speaker
ah I think that that possibility of exploding, he's gonna keep playing. And I think steve Steve C does like what he brings the to the plate where he can have guys running off of him and it creates an advantage. And he holds up center backs, unlike any forward we have in this league. And that's something, you want the goals. LAFC are getting goals from different people. So and you you don't have to complain too much about the amount of goals, but you would like your number nine to score.
01:11:45
Speaker
if the playoffs begin and let's say two games in, he's not scoring, you know, I wouldn't, there there might be less minutes for him. I still think he starts.
01:11:57
Speaker
I also get the feeling if you get that first goal, maybe the second one comes in pretty quickly. it's It's him and his teammates still working on the best places to find him. You can see it's frustrating, but instead of putting his head down, he finds other ways to contribute to what LAFC does. So it's it's not an empty space by any means. It's not a guy going, hey, get him off the field. He does enough, even though he didn't play great against San Jose, he does enough to maintain his position in the starting 11.
01:12:24
Speaker
I wanted to go back quickly to, you know, you said the, the LAFC is not super excited to potentially play the sounders here in the playoffs, which, you know, we have to go play Houston. So there's no, you know, you never know what's going to happen. Um, but by the way, ah why I want to hear this, but I would just start interrupting all, but no I was watching the Houston game and when Daniel stairs scored, and everyone went crazy except for Ben Olson. And I get the, he would kind of put his head down because with all the positions changing, I think he said,
01:12:55
Speaker
in his head, and I'm just saying this is what I think. I don't know if you thought this. He's thinking, I wanted Salt Lake, I don't want Seattle. I don't want, I mean, Seattle's, I mean, if you did a power rankings right now, and I must have put Inter Miami, Columbus, LAFC, Galaxy, Sounders, that Cincinnati, that'd be the fifth best team in the league right now. You don't want them. If you get Salt Lake, who's sputtered, a team that integrated a lot of players and struggled that's that the back into the season.
01:13:26
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree with that. And just, you know, knowing, knowing all of that, and I guess with Houston being scared, what, what makes LAFC so fearful of another matchup, which I think sounders fans, and I mean, are you can correct me if I'm wrong here, but that's like, I was praying we would get the third seed so we could just go face the galaxy and, you know, hopefully beat them again.
01:13:49
Speaker
Yeah. I think you're right. Right. Yeah. Maybe you're right. And I'm right. And I'm just saying that maybe the players of LFC are like, bring them on. We know how to. That's just me thinking about it. but You know, I think there are some people that go, I think anyone you're like.
01:14:02
Speaker
it Well, if there's one source of kind of optimism or hope that we've been holding on to, I mean, it's both the fact that Seattle has been in good form for the last couple of months, but also um Seattle does have a track record of kind of turning up, come playoff time, and going on these runs, they've been a very good tournament team and they've won a few of these.
01:14:21
Speaker
um so ah You know, if I was an opposing team, I wouldn't necessarily be chomping at the bit with Seattle to face Seattle either, even though it hasn't been maybe as ah good a season for Seattle as we've gotten used to like in the past few years. um I think ah Really, I only have one more. Have you seen Pedro de la Vega? Have you seen him as... Can he be... I've seen... You've seen some good steps. Have you seen him so many... We can depend on him. He could be a difference maker of the playoffs. Have we seen that de la Vega yet? No, no. I don't think we will. That's kind of a that's kind of the big question if the if that will finally happen. And I think any shot that that this team has of making a sustained run in the playoffs hinges on that in a lot of ways. um But...
01:15:07
Speaker
you know he's been injured all year hasn't looked fully fit hasn't looked fully sharp hasn't looked fully integrated when uh have that chemistry developed with the rest of the team so he looked all right in against portland i'll say like he had some magic moments so that, you know, I think Ari perfectly put this a couple of episodes ago where we he said he has these tools that no other player on the roster has. If he can just get that finish down, get that final piece, get that pass off, he could be electric, but I think we've yet to see the end product. And at the very least, game one, Houston, he's going to start. I mean, we died there we're talking that Brian Semester could be Georgia Minongo. It has to be the La Vega at this point.
01:15:49
Speaker
correct We were actually planning on ah debating that when we record later. But um yeah, i think I think so. But ah Georgie has made that more interesting discussion than you would probably think. Sure. He's been playing very well. And either way to have a guy like that, one of those guys come off the bench. I mean, because Seattle's depth is good. It's not LAFC's level. But any any way they can close that gap, then that that's Well, that'll benefit the Sounders pop hopes of advancing here. Exactly, exactly. um Well, unless you had anything else, no, I think we can get Max out of here. I got one more. get Let's do one more. Let's do one more. We'll let you go, man. Hit your Rothrock question. Oh, OK. I had Rothrock. Well, I thought I thought that we did the Rothrock content. But ah yeah, so I mean, it's obviously it's been the year of Paul Rothrock on our show. We actually it started off as a bit. Little better.
Paul Rothrock: Rising Star and Local Talent
01:16:48
Speaker
Yeah. Well, like half and half, there was a period of time last year and earlier this season where Seattle was struggling a lot mightily, uh, some might say on offense and, uh, Paul Rothrock, every time he got a chance to play in the open cup, he was banging in goals. And we were like, you know what? Like, why not give him some run? You're not scoring goals anyway. Like he scored goals in the open cup. May as well try it. And then Brian Schmetzer took our advice because he listened to the show. does and big fan
01:17:14
Speaker
And then he started starting Paul Rothrock ah in all comps and he hasn't stopped scoring goals since. ah My question I wrote down was just your thoughts on where Paul Rothrock ranks in the hierarchy of all time great ah and MLS players. But ah I mean, and on ah in a serious on a serious note, I mean,
01:17:33
Speaker
ah You know we know, we took notice on the broad broadcast that you had clearly ah done your research and read up on the Paul Rothrock storyline. And, ah you know, we appreciated seeing a someone with the national perspective actually look into what's happening with the team and be like, Paul Rothrock is apparently one of the best players. um So I'm just wondering, like, from the outside perspective, how you ah kind of found out about the Paul Rothrock storyline and what you thought of it once you learn more about it, because it's really ah it's one of our favorite stories, I think, since we've covered that. Yeah, I think. Yeah, it really is dependent. And, you know, I try to talk to Brian Schmetzer because I don't have the trained mind that he has when he does these players. But when you see Paul Rothrock, you go, this is a this is a star player. He's performing ah at first. Brian Spencer put him in and said,
01:18:24
Speaker
I need a player that I can say do this and they do it to a T. So that's, that just shows you, okay, it's, this is, it's hardworking guy and, you know, limited technical skills. She disguises with the work, the intelligence.
01:18:42
Speaker
Uh, and this, I want to throw him bravery because he just not intimidated and something like that. I think messes with these defenders. Cause you know, Seattle has gotten pretty fortunate and they owe Paul Rothrock. ah They're indebted to Paul Rothrock. Cause look, they didn't add players. They haven't spent money other than De La Vega at the beginning of the season. No big moves there. And based on that, I would have imagined that Seattle would have been left behind and they maybe finished in the, you know, where they were earlier in the season, seven, eight, nine.
01:19:12
Speaker
ah Paul Rothrock to me gave that it will gave that little edge which lifted everyone else and it it allowed all the pieces to work functionally.
01:19:22
Speaker
and allowed Jordan Morris to play where he does. I mean, jordan if Jordan Morris could finish a little bit more frequently, he would have an MVP season as well. He's been great, but i mean he still needs to tuck away a few more chances. And then Albert Rusnak was set pieces, winning set pieces. He wins free kicks. He gets corners. He wins penalties. And you know everyone in MLS is spending $10 million dollars on a star winger, whether it's Joseph Paintsil or Gabriel Peck or um a book Kari and Austin guys like that. They're all dropping 9 10 million transfer fees. Say I'll pay Zitch fruit so for transfer fee. Paul Rothra and I'm not putting him in his their class. He's not the player those guys are but that he's getting he's giving Sal the same type of production that those guys are and and but he may hit a wall but I'm just I still sit here and go he's getting better and he's getting more and more confident. He feels he's at that level. I think it makes him pretty dangerous player and
01:20:19
Speaker
his arrival where it was kind of cute at first oh that's nice paul rothler he's just like a really important player not just for sounders but within this league so i hope we keep going i think it really is remarkable we don't get that it's another testament about how well the sounders develop players locally i know that there's probably more talent in la uh there should be more talent in Portland but we don't see that it's Seattle constantly finding developing and bringing them up to the senior team and it's it's awesome when you have a team with such a local influence Seattle is
01:20:58
Speaker
Yeah, we we love talking about that and I'll leave it it here with the Paul Rothrock. I thought it was fun. i I did a little photo shoot with him last week and he told me when we were just chatting, he was like, initially I was going to pitch myself as ah like a right back, like a right wing back. He was like, I just didn't care. I was like, I was going to do whatever it took to get on that field. And I just feel like that is the type of determination and and stuff that I love to see in the league one, because I think MLS gives such a great opportunity to players like that and into total Seattle story. and And just to go along with your, your anecdotes there. And it's so true that he totally bailed the sounders out. he They haven't been played. Rudy Diaz has been hurt and nonproductive when he has played all year. So that's one DP de la Vega. Another one has been hurt pretty much all year, hasn't produced and is just now getting fit. yeah They got zeros. from both of those spots on the on the roster and on the books, and Paul Rothrock comes in and ah saved their asses. I think it's fair to say. So matt's ah that's a great point. And Georgi Minungu, to a lesser degree, kind of yeah on his heels, kind of saying, I'll give you a little bit more, completely unexpected. a Otherwise, Seattle would have had to go into the market and drop some serious coin, which I don't know if they wanted to do, to find someone that can give you the contributions that Paul Rothrock has given them.
01:22:16
Speaker
It's crazy. It's a really remarkable story. And the the cherry on top is that amazing hair he has. He is. yeah His hair is great. I'm just envious. All right. Well, I think we are going to let you go on that. Max Breitos, voice of LAFC and Apple TV announcer. You can catch him on MLS season pass on Apple TV. Max, thank you so much for the time. That was a great conversation. We'll have to do it again soon. Let's do it. Yeah. We're looking forward to the, uh, what's your next match or call in? Yeah. I'm going to do the Western wild card. Nice. I'm flying to Portland tomorrow night and
01:22:51
Speaker
We were going to do, I was actually going to do Seattle Houston second game, but now we're going to do RSL and Minnesota Game 1. They robbed us. They robbed us. Robbed of the burritos call in a Sounders-Dynamo game. If it was a Sunday night game, I would have done it, but it was Sunday afternoon. Yeah. Well, hey, we appreciate you. Is there anything you want to plug? Anything like that? Oh, sure. Check out the Soccer OG. It's my podcast. It's also on YouTube under my name, Max Pretos, just trying to get Um, some, uh, whatever, whatever hot American soccer stories out there so I can get my two cents in.
01:23:29
Speaker
um love yeah We'll make sure to link it below so everyone who's listening and watching. Go check it out. We love Max. Thank you so much for doing it. Noah, you guys are first class. Thank you. Take care, Max. Have a good one, Max. Thanks again to Max Breitos, voice of LAFC. We really appreciate the time he gave us. That was some good stuff. i thought he ah like I always like to talk to the national pundits you know because ah they They look at things through a different lens and that was ah it was great to hear a national pundit ah be as jazzed on the Paul Rothrock storyline as we were. So thanks again to Max. Hopefully we can get him back on the pod soon.
Seattle Sounders vs Houston Dynamo: Match Preview
01:24:08
Speaker
All right, I wanted to talk about this Houston Dynamo series real quick. I don't really think like opponent previews are something we need to spend like
01:24:16
Speaker
All that much time. We've got another week before we got a... Yeah, it's true, but I guess preliminary thoughts on the Dynamo, which is that i was kind of I was looking at this matchup today, and the way I feel about it is it's two teams that I think are actually quite similar, and not just in how close together they are on the table, um but in how their kind of rosters are set up, the things that they're good at, how they play. ah This Dynamo team, they played a few weeks ago, and we ah we talked about them, but... ah Their strength is in midfield with Hector Herrera and Artur and Coco Karskiya. They have a very good, very technically skilled midfield, which has been a hallmark of ah of these Sounders teams that we've followed over the years. um they are They're more of like a slice and dice you type of team, but that can be very effective in transition, which I think is also very similar to Seattle. And they're a strong defensive team.
01:25:13
Speaker
that um has a good foundation, but maybe not the firepower of the elite ah teams going into the playoffs, which is also how I would describe yeah Seattle. So basically the way I see it is Seattle is playing a mirror image of themselves in in a lot of ways.
01:25:30
Speaker
um Except I think I think Seattle is like a slightly better version and like slightly ahead of where the dynamo are in terms of Just where they are, which is why they finished slightly ahead of them and the table And you know, they won they won their head-to-head a couple weeks ago um But I guess my overall point is like this dynamo team. They're actually pretty good like don't like no one think that this is like a ah Pushover series just because this one the last game like they it's not 2018 Dynamo. No, like Hector Herrera is very legit I hadn't I'd only really watched him on L tree before he came to MLS and ah He's one of the best players in the league. It got talked about a lot last year um And this year he's missed a lot of time with injury but like he's gonna be back for this game and they did not have him in the last game and he really um
01:26:23
Speaker
He's so important to their whole offense and also he's One of the best tempo setters just like that. I've like see ya so um It's gonna be a tough game and ah this DP Ezekiel Ponce that they just brought in it seems like he has been finding his form for them lately scoring some goals for them, so dangerous team and ah Defensively solid team which always presents challenges in the playoffs, but I think with Seattle being the higher seed having the home field They're the favorite but not by like a crazy amount. I don't see it as a one-sided mismatch. Yeah, I'm co-signed on this I'm not stoked. I'm never stoked to play the dynamo no matter what year it is it I know that historically in the most recent years. We've been
01:27:13
Speaker
you know, banning, but it's a, it'll be a fun one to watch. And I really think, you know, some people are going to call this a mid off. I disagree. It's like a pretty good off. It's like a pretty good off. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's perfect. Yeah. Boom. Check it off the list. Um,
01:27:29
Speaker
Let's preview some of these other playoff matchups yeah real quick and just talk about which games we think are going to be the best because it all starts tomorrow and we've got a pretty good one.
MLS Playoffs Overview and Key Matchups
01:27:39
Speaker
ah Montreal Atlanta now that's a bit off. That is a bad. That's a bad although the Montreal is low. Keep in pretty hot the last like month. Yeah, they did. together they they they really earned their playoff spot it wasn't Martinez Atlanta United yeah Joseph is hot and he's gonna get his he could get his revenge did ah Atlanta United are a funny case study to me because I don't know how much you saw of this but I fall I follow them very closely for schadenfreude right their fans did not want to they actively did not want to make the playoffs yeah like they Yeah, they were like when Atlanta was fighting for it on decision day. They were like I we want the seasons to be over That's how bad the season was and you know a lot of people have to take that a team this bad Like shouldn't be in the playoffs. It's a joke like it's too easy to qualify I think it's tight having yeah the the bad teams in the playoffs like this like sporting
01:28:32
Speaker
Yeah, it's like good for it's good for the content and then also um Like first of all if you're a team that makes it in as the eight or nine wild card seed You're not like no one is using that as ah we had a great Year, and this was an acceptable standard that we played to I guarantee you Atlanta United is not thinking of this playoff berth as that so any notion that it like Squashes ambition or lets teams off the hook easily I don't really agree with and also like when they do beat the bigger the better team teams, it's funny. yeah Like if Atlanta, uh, goes on a run and like takes down inner Miami, that would be hilarious. And that wouldn't be possible if they, uh, if they didn't qualify. So I'm happy that they qualified, but I also think it's funny that their season was, it was bad this year. It was really bad and they still made the playoffs and their fans don't want to watch it. And they, uh, they have another game, which that's also that is hilarious.
01:29:26
Speaker
and It's even funnier if they win yeah exactly and then on Wednesday we've got Vancouver Portland which I wanted to talk about because The whitecaps are down horrendously bad I don't know if you saw this but ah we talked about them as one of the best teams in the league earlier in the season Which like please do not go back and click and this this this does not necessarily have to do with like their quality on the field, but They were playing against Portland Cascadia rivalry for the eight or nine seed, and that was going to be an exciting game because it was supposed to determine who hosted the wild card game. If Vancouver won, they hosted Portland won, they hosted, as I understand it. yep And then before the game, it came out that the Whitecaps couldn't host regardless of what happens in the game because there's a motocross event at BC Place on the same day that they're supposed to host the game.
01:30:16
Speaker
And so the solution to that was to just have Portland host, regardless of what happens with the seating, which is, I mean, they tried to find another venue apparently, and they couldn't. Right. There was none that like passed the criteria for acceptable. Which would have been funny to have like a playoff game at like an open cup venue. That would have been so fun. Like ah a shitter game with those two teams in a shitty ass venue would have just fucking rocked. Yeah, no it would have but uh either way like it just it it sapped the excitement out of that game because Portland's hosting became guaranteed and also it's just like ah that's such like a vibe killer Yeah to for that to happen before you go in the playoffs, but I mean I think um
01:30:59
Speaker
You know Seattle Seattle people we can just kick back and watch the two Cascadia wildcard teams just duke it out for ah superiority of the mids and ah Not really care too much about who wins or loses. So I'm really looking forward to that. Yep um and Then and we've got the galaxy and the rapids I think the Galaxy are going to win that. who Got Orlando City versus Charlotte. And I think that's going to be a good game. You got an Orlando team that's been really hot but took a really bad L on decision day versus Charlotte team that ah no one talks about at all, including us. but
01:31:36
Speaker
um have a really solid defense, the guy who's going to win goalkeeper of the year and, uh, have really had a better season than I think a lot of people realize. Uh, and then, uh, from there, you know, we got, we got, we get the other matchup set. Uh, I mean, there's Cincinnati, uh, Cincinnati and NYC, Seattle, Houston.
01:31:57
Speaker
ah Columbus has the Red Bulls. They're gonna destroy the Red Bulls RSL Minnesota think RSL is the favorite there, but I kind of like I kind of like Minnesota Dark Horse though I kind of like what they've been doing ever since they got you boa. Mm-hmm. So yeah, it matches mashing recently Wow um Just excited for the playoffs man. I love this time of year. It's go time um This is hopefully Seattle like stays in it for a while But I'm looking forward to to it regardless of how the chips fall I will watch every game, unfortunately, because I am a sicko. We are psychotic like that. Yeah, I will be doing the same thing. Man, my favorite among them will be whoever enter Miami plays between Montreal and Atlanta. That is going to be like that is appointment television for me, people. Because if think about it, if you get Montreal or Atlanta to be in my that's just like that's set up um cinema. That's cinema.
Inter Miami's Club World Cup Participation Debate
01:32:49
Speaker
Okay. We had one last topic here about, uh, inner Miami in the club world cup. No, what las it It was announced and awarded that inner Miami received the host spot in the club world cup. Uh, and so they will be playing alongside the Seattle sounders and they will also be playing the opening match of the whole tournament.
01:33:13
Speaker
And they got this for for winning the shield. yeah and But there's a lot of conspiracies out there that it was like preordained that FIFA was going to try and get them in this tournament, um which may or may not be true. I don't know. But ah what how what did Columbus Crew fans think of this? Well, I mean, there were some there were some Crew fans who were saying,
01:33:33
Speaker
Um, actually this, they didn't deserve it. And you know, all of this stuff and saying, well, it should be the winner of MLS cup that, you know, gets that we won. Yeah. No, they were like, it should be the the and MLS cup this season. Even this season's MLS cup winner, whoever won the cup, the COVID year should go. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, Covid Cup. But I just thought it was so funny because why are crew fans bad at this? One, I'm going to argue in favor of FIFA and inner Miami and MLS. Why would you not want the best MLS team to ever touch grass, let yeah play and be, you know, with the greatest player of all time? Yeah. Like, yeah. So that's the point I was going to make about this whole I've seen this discourse. Yeah. too I really like.
01:34:19
Speaker
i Don't care and have no problem that inner Miami made it in and for me like the way I think of it is um For an event like this like how you qualify is not of material concerns It's to qualified for winning something like you want ah what I would want in this situation is the clubs that I think are the best representatives for the league and the clubs that have the best chance to actually do well. So I think ah Seattle actually does meet one of those criteria in that they won ah they won a Champions League, which no other MLS team has done, and they've been among the standard-bearing clubs over this last era going to a bunch of MLS cups.
01:35:03
Speaker
and winning, winning CCL and earning their spot in the last club World Cup. I don't think there's any argument to be made that if you're putting a couple MLS teams ah in this iteration of the tournament, Seattle has got to be one. Some people might not like that, but we'll go win CCL then. yep um And then in Miami, ah like you said, they're the best team of all time with the greatest player of all time. That just broke the points record. They meet the criteria of Actually have a chance to go and mess around and maybe win a couple games like I'll be curious like I I don't like you know if it's inner Miami verse Some of the really big dogs that are in the club World Cup like real Madrid won it the year seat Seattle was in it they They win it a lot. They do but um
01:35:51
Speaker
Like, I would be more curious to watch that game than like if Seattle played Real Madrid. Like, you know, if Seattle played a team like that, it doesn't matter how much time they spend over the offseason. They're not winning that game. Yeah. Inter Miami, I don't think they are. But I mean, they have four of like the top 15 players that have like ever played the game all on the same team and a lot of really good, really high upside South American prospects that have Uh, world-class talent. So yeah, let's see what they can do with the club world cup. There is literally no, not only no better MLS team in MLS right now, but ever assembled that, uh, should be an attorney yeah like that. And even even so, like this is a exhibition of America, of American soccer before the World Cup. it's like this it's ah It's a great recruiting tactic for MLS clubs in general to say, listen, look, you could be playing in this with this expanded format. If you have fucking Columbus in there and they you know they literally get sick and shit the bed, it's like, OK, you get two seconds of visibility. And that's bad for all clubs across the board.
01:37:02
Speaker
Inter Miami goes on a run who knows you know who they're gonna play, but like that's good for everyone in the league It's like ah crew flies tides rise all boats or whatever, but and then I will say about this about crew fans who are salty as hell Go win it then yeah, you're you're just go go go win. You're not quite on that level go with not quite on that level you got some trophies Yeah, you got one of the MVP front runners, best coach in the league, great team. You're just, you're not like quite club. don come qualityity You don't even have a backup goalkeeper. You don't, you had, you squandered your opportunity to win the shield, which you would have automatically qualified for. I mean, they know they would have said, Oh no, it's the MLS come down. But you also
01:37:44
Speaker
Completely bungled your actual legitimate chance of qualifying by winning CCL which was an automatic spot and I'm sorry ah I don't give a shit what you say you fucked that one up no team No team that has played Sean Zawadski in goal in the year 2024. Yeah be at the club World Cup Sorry, that is ah that's just the rules law.
Closing and Listener Appreciation
01:38:07
Speaker
That's written in the FIFA law. Sorry That's a great place to end it Good episode. Thank you, everyone, as always, for tuning in. We really appreciate all our subscribers and listeners and our YouTube subs. And Max Brettos. Max Brettos. Shout out Max Brettos for coming on the show. Appreciate him. um Like, comment, subscribe. Sounder at heart.com slash LS. Give us five stars. Five star right reviews. yeah All that stuff. um Share with Sean Zawatsky. We will see you guys pretty soon. We'll we'll probably lay down another episode this week.
01:38:41
Speaker
Yeah, for like playoff reaction and stuff. Okay. Yeah. We'll be at you with another episode after we got some playoff results to talk about until then we out. Peace.