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Pedro de la Vega finally showed us something!
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Look, it may have only been a preseason game — the first one of the year at that — but Pedro de la Vega was every bit as good as you could have hoped in the Sounders’ 2-0 win over Puskás Akadémia on Thursday. Niko Moreno joins Jeremiah Oshan to discuss the game as well as the other news of the week.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Fullpool was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Will Bruin's New Role
00:00:25
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounder's legend. now i get to do voice reads for the sounder at heart podcast network
00:00:40
Speaker
about sound <unk> it
00:01:21
Speaker
we all got of sudden go
00:01:30
Speaker
We're seeing some of the hardwood commentary that we didn't take seriously.
Weekly News Feature Introduction
00:01:42
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of NOS Adietes. This is, I guess, kind of the second episode of this feature that we're trying to start up with on Fridays, where I get together with Nico Moreno and potentially other ah Sounder at Heart contributors. And we sort of just talk about the news of the week.
00:02:01
Speaker
Uh, what we observed at training, we didn't have any training that we observed this week, but Nico is with me and we're going to talk about the game, the preseason game that the centers played on Wednesday on Thursday, Thursday. And, uh, and go from there. Nico, welcome. Welcome back.
00:02:18
Speaker
hey what's going on Jeremiah audience excited to be on i kind of feel like i had a week of training i obsessed and watched way too many times the exact same 90 minutes broken down in 45 minutes two groups for the sounders so uh i guess that's what happens when i don't go to practice like I do every day, I just obsess and try to figure out what I can add or bring out of, you know, a stream way over there in Marbella, Spain. Although, you know, I suppose we got more out of this, of watching this game on a stream, at least in terms of
00:03:00
Speaker
the performances than we would get from a week of training where we're having to kind of look from a distance. We didn't get to talk to anyone, as obviously, but we did get to ah learn a few things about players.
Match Against Ushka's Academia
00:03:11
Speaker
So let's just start by talking about that game. ah The Sounders played Ushka's academia, which is a team. If you're like me, you probably hadn't heard of before this, but turns out they're like the best team in Hungary right now. ah Maybe not.
00:03:28
Speaker
You know, they're they're a team that's competing for a Champions League spot. I'll say that. ah And I don't know exactly a whole lot about this team, but my understanding is they played a mixed group. The Sounders played a mixed group. There was a bunch of their starters that came in the second half. The Sounders had mostly of most of their starters in the first half, but they were also missing a few guys.
00:03:51
Speaker
So Niko, the centers won the game 2-0. They got goals from Pedro de la Vega and Jordan Morris. ah Danny Wasofsky had a goal as well, but it was waved off for offside. ah What were your overall impressions from this game, Niko?
Performance Highlights and Analysis
00:04:08
Speaker
I was encouraged by it, of course, ah regardless of how known this team really is in Hungary, and it is, I did some research trying to look at some of the players individually, obviously via Google, because I don't know many of the players, but it seems like it's a competitive team. So even if they were, let's say the worst team, the things I want to look for is,
00:04:35
Speaker
concepts of the game, game module, um series of passes, concepts on ah decision making from certain players, ah the way the team builds out of the bag, the way they ah at times were direct and specifically to certain players, right? Sharpness, fitness,
00:04:56
Speaker
uh uh clinicalness in front of goal decision making that's kind of what i'm looking for so with that said i thought that this group looked better than when and i watched the streams of of most games of last season so if i was to compare the execution of what I thought the game plan was, I saw this team a lot sharper. Everyone in that first team
00:05:27
Speaker
looked comfortable in the ball. There was a couple standouts. I thought Pedro de la Vega was excellent. I thought he was not excellent. I thought he was very good. And I thought that he stood out. I have gotten certain people telling me that I am marketing this player and that I am marketing all.
00:05:48
Speaker
um What I said is that he looked good because he did. I mean, he was a player that was good was is there to say, well, I don't even understand the counter argument to that. I don't, man. it And you guys heard me be critical and understand that the player was injured last season and yada, yada, yada. So I don't got to explain myself to anyone, but I thought in 45 minutes of the very first game of 2020, he looked good. I mean, that's what I'm going off of.
00:06:18
Speaker
I'm not saying that we this proves that he's going to be a superstar or anything, but if you're looking at 45 minutes of his first preseason game against literally, they could have been playing the sounders Academy, but they were playing an actual professional team.
00:06:35
Speaker
who isn't, you know, they they are in mid-season, they've been off for ah about a month, so it's not exactly, ah you know, it's not exactly their mid-season form, I wouldn't say, but I don't know what else you can ask for. The guy had a goal, a nice goal. He had an assist, a really nice assist.
00:06:54
Speaker
And he hit a ball off the crossbar. I mean, he was, I think you, he did everything you could have possibly asked for. That doesn't mean anything in terms of what he's going to do this year, but he looks fitter. You know, he looks sharper. He looks like he knows where his teammates are going to go. And he, and he had the final product as well. So I, I, again, this doesn't mean that Pedro de la Vega is going to be, you know, a 10 10 guy, but it, it certainly suggests that he's off to a good start.
Discussion on Effective Formations
00:07:25
Speaker
Yeah. and And I don't know. I don't know. Like you said, how you argue that, but you know what? yeah It's all right. I give everybody the benefit in of the doubt. That's exactly what I wanted to say is that he looked good. I thought that the way he was bringing the ball down at midfield was excellent. Uh, the way this three five two or three four one, one, the the word would like three four two one is what I've been calling it.
00:07:53
Speaker
Yeah, there you go. Three, four, two, one. Sounds good as well. a the The formation, I felt like it's it's fitting to certain players. And I think Pedro was one of them. He got a lot of freedom. He was checking in. He was bringing the ball down. ah Whenever the team played direct, I thought that go into pressure. He's like, there's a very well designed way of players laying that ball down, whether it was Pedro, whether it was Jordan. So I like the.
00:08:21
Speaker
the game module, if you will, that I saw to Danny Leyva was very good as well. I thought he benefits from this sort of formation. I thought he was positive on the ball. And again, were there bad passes from both of these players? Yes. Pedro had a couple of moments where he could have done something differently, where he held the ball a little too long. Danny as well. But what I'm saying is that those are the players that stood out for me. Yeah. First piece of the game, I thought those guys stood out. JP, not just the assist,
00:08:50
Speaker
But the movement, the distribution, there's one point where he makes this clinical, exact switch on the ball right where he wants it. You can tell that he's synced in. And that's what you can ask for in the very first game of 2025. But those were some of the standards for me. Jaymar physically just dominating people. He had a couple of booboos, of course. He had one where he holds the ball a little too long. But he's so strong and fast that He gets taken from the ball, but then he just bullies whoever takes him from the ball. And then he tries to boot it out. So basically game are looks good. So all in all, I was encouraged by the first 45 minutes, that very first group, I thought it was good. what That's Jeremiah.
00:09:38
Speaker
I would agree with you. I don't think there was any real big red flags for me in the first half. Like we can, we can nitpick a little Sebastian Gomez, you know, here's a player who hasn't really had any first team minutes on any, you know, with the defiance or anyone or I'm sorry, with that you open cup or anything else. He looked like it maybe a little out of place, but it was mainly because he just didn't touch the ball a lot. ah Similarly, Paul areola didn't get on the ball a lot.
00:10:04
Speaker
But other than that, like no, no one was making mistakes. No one looked out of their depth. No one looked like they were in trouble. Uh, I thought Stuart Hawkins was another player who, you know, this is a pretty good opportunity for him to get some minutes with first team. He looked perfectly like he belonged. Uh, the same thing with Kalani Kosa Rienzi, who is not on a first team contract right now, probably facing an uphill battle to get one. But I think he showed once again, that if you put him with,
00:10:34
Speaker
first team players, he can he can do stuff. He can get up and down the line. You know, he is a player whose athleticism is sort of built for this formation where you are sending wingbacks high. And, you know, I think if there's a question that I came away from this and I will agree with you that I thought Pedro de la Vega was the probably the center's best player. But what's what I think is notable about the performance is that it was really two tens playing in this game. And there are two tens who, you know, probably aren't going to play together a lot. It was, you know, Gomez was playing on one side and De La Vega was playing on the other. They were both sort of playing in those half spaces. And I don't know where, I think if there's a if there's a ah caveat to De La Vega's performance, it's that I don't know how often he'll actually get to play there. Even if they play this formation,
00:11:29
Speaker
Presumably those are positions where Jesus Ferreira and Albert Rusnak are going to mostly be playing and neither one of them were in neither one of them were fit enough to plan this game
Player Analysis: Rising Stars
00:11:40
Speaker
for what it's worth. My understanding is they're probably going to play in the next game. But so yeah, the it wasn't a perfect illustration, but there was a lot more to like than not like I think is my big takeaway.
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah. And I thought Kalani stood out and this was another player that wo people were like, Oh, I heard the the the coaching staff screaming at him to get back. Yes. I realized that I, I understand that he wasn't perfect in his trigger points and when to come back. Look, I get it.
00:12:10
Speaker
But i I highlighted his name because I feel like he deserves to be highlighted. I thought that he yeah was very active offensively. He was very active offensively was his best attribute in this particular game. He gets a shot on goal that barely misses. He had an assist to a shot that gets blocked by the keeper Petterdale Vega.
00:12:34
Speaker
shoots the ball ah the referee ends up calling it a a goal kick but i thought it was a corner so he was very good i thought he was in all the right spaces specifically on offense i thought he understood his role and yes there were moments that he Maybe came back a little late but gamers there for that. That's what Yammer does. He is your white out He is your correction guy. He has the speed the knowledge to When he comes to that sort of thing, but I like the fact that To what I believe Brian and this coaches I want to do they want to be aggressive with this and
00:13:17
Speaker
three, four, two, one, right? I mean, did they really want to get numbers forward. They want to get the center backs involved. You could tell that the center backs want to get forward with the ball. And man, that's just all good things to me.
00:13:32
Speaker
All good things. I agree. The other really nice thing to see was Pedro de la Vega setting up Jordan Morris. It was sort of a blind ball that de la Vega played Morris into space with. it was It was the second time he actually tried that play in the game. This was really a perfect pass. Morris' time has run perfectly. he And then he made a nice cutback. And it's possible that the shot deflected off of the fender.
00:13:59
Speaker
i I wasn't sure the replays were that clear. The sound of it made it sound like it deflected off a defender, but you know, the sounders had a replay of it from like the field level. And I, you know, I just couldn't tell where the ball either way. It was a nice move. It was a confident left footed shot. I thought it was a really nice sequence all around and.
00:14:21
Speaker
It was just, again, a good to see De La Vega trusting the run of Morris. Good to see Morris trusting that De La Vega was going to play that ball. It was, again, it was just a nice sequence. And I was really, I was really happy with what I saw in the game. It was fun to, you know, the second half. We can talk about the second half very different.
00:14:45
Speaker
You know, it was sloppier. You have a lot more players who aren't used to playing together. Uh, I guess more of the first team players from, uh, push gush were, were in the game, but you know, all that said, it was zero zero. It wasn't like the sounders got played off the field and, and the centers did have a goal that got called off. It was a very tight.
00:15:07
Speaker
Uh, offside call. I, you know, we had someone in our discord who looked at it and do all the line drawing and all that kind of stuff. And they said it looked like it was just barely, barely off, but it, you know, it was one of those plays where if there's VAR and it's called onside.
00:15:24
Speaker
in the game, it probably doesn't get overturned and it's not going to get overturned the other the other way either. But, ah you know, it was, it was good to see Musowski hit the back of the net. You know, Musowski was, I guess he he was offside a couple of times in this game, but you know, it was good to see him. It's just good to see him put, you know Anytime that Danny Masovsky can hit the back of the net, I think that's good for his confidence. And you know the Sounders are probably going to need some minutes from him. So it's it's good to see good to see that. I don't know if I had any other big takeaways from the second half other than you know Christian looked OK, Obed looked you know maybe not quite as sharp as you would like. But you know Josh was active. He wasn't necessarily clean as ah as a right center back.
00:16:11
Speaker
What were your, anything that you thought ah about the second half? Uh, yeah, I want to touch very quickly on the Pedro Lavega pass to Jordan. That's the thing. I mean, not only did he try it this year, uh, he tried it last year. He that no look.
00:16:31
Speaker
first touch pass is part of his repertoire, part of his tool shed. And he has put players in very good positions even last year with that first look pass. It's always very encouraged by that. I think that him and Jordan are working on fixing the kinks and and adjusting their movements. But when that is right,
00:16:56
Speaker
Man, look, and this is coming from a guy that was not loving Jordan at the nine last season. And obviously he did very well. And, you know, I grew into it, but I really do believe that if him and da yeah can get in the same spot in the same page, he can put Jordan in a very good position. So I liked it. I thought that that the pass was great. And I think that it's.
00:17:22
Speaker
definitely something that they're working on and they're going to continue to work through the season in the second half. ah Yeah, you're right. I mean, it was, it wasn't just sloppy. It was slow. um yeah I thought that neither one of the full backs, including Alex rolled in, which worries me a little bit. Did not give the team enough width from the wing back positions. Trey, you could tell he's just a little raw, but when it comes to Alex,
00:17:47
Speaker
maybe was the players on the field or, I'm not sure what it was, but he just did not look sharp from his position. If there was anyone that was doing their thing, if you will, was Georgi Minungu. And even Georgi wasn't sharp, right? He wasn't effective, wasn't productive, but he's always fun to watch, right? I mean, sister here, pull back there. I'm gonna get in front of you. i'm you know being dangerous. He got a couple of shots that were blocked. um I thought Obed in that sequence where he does a great move and on top of the 18, he opens up space. He then shoots that or he passes it and it's a way better
00:18:37
Speaker
a situation, he doesn't do that. He holds the ball too long. He lays that off to Georgie. Georgie shoots, it gets blocked. But I like Georgie in general. I mean, the guy, he he's hard to not like, cause even know when he's not productive, he's just fun to watch, right? I mean, he just looks fast, confident. I mean, he's just there. So he, he's one of the guys that stood out for me. Jackson Reagan, very poised, very good on the ball.
00:19:06
Speaker
I don't put a lot of stock into the defensive part of it when a team that didn't seem as informed as ah this Puskas team looked, but I thought that he did well in several locations. I thought Stadi Brunel had moments where I can see what the coaching staff see.
00:19:26
Speaker
um where he understands the game, he gets into his half-bases. Exactly. He's a very smart player. And you could tell, but whenever he gets on the ball, he might not be all the time, especially in this game, but when he does, I like what he does with the ball. So those are a couple of the very few, ah I don't know if you want to call them like long shots, but but but I thought those are the guys that maybe on a loophole and again watching this game way more than I should have those are the guys that really come up to me I think that's all fair I think if anything it gives us some insight into where the Sounders see their
00:20:07
Speaker
their sort of depth chart right now. And it it tells me that Stuart Hawkins might be closer to first team minutes than I originally thought, which, you know, good for him. If he can if he can be the primary backup to Jackson Reagan at center back, that's great. ah Similarly, if,
00:20:25
Speaker
know it I think one of the things that makes this game tough is there's obviously missing pieces. ah Reed Baker Whiting wasn't available. Paul Rothrock wasn't available. Jesus Ferrera wasn't available. Albert Rusnak was not available. Kim Kihei, who by the way today announced on his Instagram that he's coming to Seattle. We'd already confirmed it from the sounder side, but it's always nice until they announce it. It's always good to have more confirmation But, you know, those are five players who are all going to be not necessarily starters, but are going to be, would have been in the mix for this group. So I don't want to get too out over our skis and in terms of ah projecting the depth chart, but I thought that, you know, it, it, to me, it says that maybe Kalani Kosa-Rienzi is a little closer to a first team contract than I might've assumed, especially with Brugelio Rodriguez leaving the team.
00:21:20
Speaker
and that opening up a spot on the supplemental roster. I think there's a little bit more of an opening there. And so, you know, these are all, these are all data points, right? And that's all we can really do with preseason is collect data points and try to project out from that. And, you know, again, most of what we saw in this game were positives. I think it's, it's trending correctly. No one got hurt. You know, that's another, it's always positive. ah I think everyone, ah the players that played in the first half all got 45 minutes. The players that played in the second half all got 45 minutes. There are no subs.
00:21:58
Speaker
And then we'll get we'll get more data points when the Sounders get back on the field on what, Friday? Is that right? A week from today? Yep. I believe that's the case. Yeah. So, you know, it's it's it's all it's all moving in that direction. ah any Anything else from this game that that stood out to you? No, no from the game.
00:22:23
Speaker
ah To be honest, I think we touched on all the main components that, you know, were worth talking about. um I do wish that that image so ski was a little bit more.
00:22:40
Speaker
influential and that he gave me a little bit more confidence at that position. I heard you on Robin's quarters and ah maybe the U-22 spot should be used on a nine. you know I was thinking more of a full back or a wing back, but I look at those strikers and it does make me nervous. It does make me getters on where God, hope not. But if something does happen to either Jordan or Ferreira, you just don't really have any short answers there. Yeah. I mean, I think that's a fair concern. You know, what we're seeing, I think, in Mosofsky is that he's not someone who's going to get a lot of touches. Like his value is really going to be extracted from what he does in the penalty box. And if he's getting onto the end of stuff,
00:23:38
Speaker
he'll look good. And if he's not, he won't look good. And that's sort of, you know, hopefully he's able to get on the end of more stuff than he, than he did in this game. This wasn't maybe the best showcase for him, but that's why I say it's good for him to just see the ball hit the back of the net, even if it doesn't count. It was a well-taken shot. You know, I thought he did an okay job trying to time his run. It was a similar situation like where, uh,
00:24:05
Speaker
You know, you you talked about Obed waiting a little too long to set up Georgie. It was kind of a similar situation that where he looked like he waited a beat too long before playing it into Musofsky. If you'd played it a beat earlier, Musofsky's probably on side and he probably still finishes it.
00:24:21
Speaker
but Yeah, anyway, the Sounders next game is going to be on Friday. It's going to be against, uh, Alberg, I believe. Right there. The team from, uh, yeah, the, the Danish team, uh, which, you know, that will be probably a little bit better of a test.
Upcoming Matches Overview
00:24:38
Speaker
Uh, Denmark is one of the better leagues in, or like once you get outside the top five, it's, it's one of the better leagues in Europe. So they will be a little bit more of a test. I would imagine we'll get a little bit more of a run out from the first team players. And then they'll play, uh, two games on February 5th, one against I F K, uh, nor coping, which is a, so I think a Swedish team and then hammer B, which is definitely which is definitely a a Swedish team. And then, of course, they'll come back to Seattle and play Louisville City at Long Acres on February 12th before CONCACAF Champions Cup. ah And then, otherwise, it was not the most active week. I mentioned Rodilio Rodriguez. that I don't think that news had been, yeah, that hadn't come out yet when we recorded because you would we recorded on Friday. We found out on, I think you found out on what, Sunday that he didn't travel?
00:25:34
Speaker
And then I was able to confirm that, that essentially the centers had waived him. The centers formally announced that I believe on Tuesday. So I don't know. Do you make much of the, of the broad dealio Rodriguez situation, whether ah for him or for what it means for the roster? I do just cause it tells me that there is a certain level of.
00:26:00
Speaker
I don't want to call it complacency, but maybe confidence in their attacking players. because But Julie was a guy that was interesting and he never got out there. Me and you got to see a lot more of him than maybe most people did.
00:26:16
Speaker
and Between training and obviously Tacoma Defiance. I wanted to see him out there. I really did um Yeah, but but but I understand that with the formation change and with the players that you brought in He was probably not gonna get a lot of play time. So it made sense to just wave them allow him the opportunity to get somewhere else. And then you also gave yourself an international spot, I believe. Yeah, the international roster spot, I think is what really is, is this is about is the sounders essentially made a decision that they, whatever Brodilio's upside was, they couldn't really gamble what is now their only international roster spot on
00:27:02
Speaker
a player who I can only, I don't know, I don't know this for certain, but I can only imagine that, you know, this is a player who only made six appearances with the defiance last year. He struggled to stay healthy. He had a couple of different injuries, which is really awful luck for him. I feel bad for him.
00:27:19
Speaker
And I can only assume that what happened is they figured they would bring him into camp this year, see how he looks. And if he didn't blow him away, they knew they they could sort of cut him loose. And I just sort of have to assume that he didn't blow him away. i don't He looked fine to me, but I didn't get a really good look at him.
00:27:37
Speaker
And I think it's probably better for everyone if they just give them a chance to go sign somewhere else. I mean, the reality is that he's 20, he's 25 and doesn't have any first team minutes at any level like, yeah he hasn't played first division football in his career at all. And that's a tough player to hold an international roster spot for. No. And I talked to a couple of sources and, um,
00:28:06
Speaker
I thought that he was someone that could maybe fill in that striker. Yeah, I think that's fair. But apparently, and this was news to me, because again, I thought that, I don't know, 15 goals that were Tacoma Defiance record. and And I probably don't watch enough Tacoma Defiance as I should. I know you do. ah Maybe I thought that that was a lot more um I thought he had a little bit more weight and ah they did not seem to think, according to a couple of sources, that he could fill in that position at the nine, ah whether it was through their new formation or concepts, but they just did not think that he could
00:28:53
Speaker
do enough to to just be a striker and not just a player that could do other things. So, hey, look, ah the best to him, hoping that he gets somewhere else and that what he did for Tacoma Defiance and, you know, everything he did throughout his time here with the organization gets him somewhere else, but it definitely, I get why he was waved out now.
00:29:20
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I would say that he played some striker at defiance, but that was not his primary position. i I mean, he was really a midfielder. Now I think he could have started probably anywhere across the midfield band, but he, he, and so I, you know, maybe in a pinch he could play striker, but he he's not a guy who's stretching the lines. He was more of a ah player who was good with the ball at his feet. He does have really good.
00:29:47
Speaker
technical skills, he he can shoot for sure. But, you know, I, not really a prototypical striker. Uh, and he was worth, I think that what the sounder, my understanding is that the sounders sort of took a flyer on him when he, when they brought him in to Defiance and he played so well that they sort of had to sign him.
00:30:11
Speaker
I don't think that he was necessarily ever a player who the talent evaluators, talent evaluators were smitten over and sort of last, I think the reality was last year was sort of his chance to see what he could do and.
00:30:28
Speaker
You know, it's a tough break, but you know, the guy got hurt and, and he didn't get on the field very much and he, he got hurt multiple times. I think that was the other thing that that made it tough. You know, he had one game with the appliance last year where he had a couple of goals and an assist.
00:30:46
Speaker
And he looked really good in that game. He played like 20 odd minutes. He almost had a hat trick. And then he he didn't do anything else the rest of the year. he know he played I think he played four or six more games after that. And he just struggled to even make an impact.
00:31:02
Speaker
So, you know, it's tough. I don't think, again, I think it was mostly a fitness issue, a health issue, but you know, it's, and it's too bad. It's, I would have liked him to work out. Uh, I, I think he, he was a great story as well, but, uh, moving on from him, I do, it does open up some room on the roster. My assumption is that the international spot will be used on a U 22. Are you hearing anything as far as what, where, what direction they might go with that U 22 spot?
00:31:33
Speaker
I have not, not directly, right? I mean, yeah, what I've been able to find out is that they're looking either at a complete striker,
00:31:45
Speaker
ah third type of ah and the field sort of player and, or they fall back. I mean, it's one of the two. So what you and I have touched on both. You want to strike. They might be looking at the defensive midfielder too. I think they're looking everywhere. No, I mean, I mean, I mean, it is. I mean, Craig said that they were open for all three positions, right? But I do believe that because Josh, yes, he's playful. He's playing center back. You play him back there and that's fine. you cover
00:32:21
Speaker
But you do have cover, exactly. yeah and You do have cover. I think that Bernal is a guy that they're looking at pretty seriously. I think the 17 Gomez, just the fact that he started in this first 45 today.
00:32:35
Speaker
set some precedent of what they believe the player could provide. So to me, striker, fullback, that's where the money's at right now. I have heard that there are teams interested in Cody Baker, ah potentially for a loan. So we'll see where that goes. But if you do loose out on Cody, you gotta replace that somehow. So again, I think Striker we're very light at meaning the sounders by we, and then at full back, you could always use the next ones.
00:33:17
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's, that's, that's fair. I mean, it's, it'll be interesting. I think the most exciting idea is that they would go out and try to sign a Striker.
00:33:28
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Soundwork Heart podcast network, which now includes No Sonietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gives you access to everything we produce.
00:33:54
Speaker
If you're able to support us at higher levels, starting at $75 a year, you gain access to a host of other perks, most notably entry into our members only discord where the smartest, funniest and most engaged commenters share their thoughts and ideas. To find out more, just visit center at heart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening. You know, you're seeing it's what I think thing is interesting and is sort of a good level setting is there's been a bunch of U 22 signings around the league in the last week or two. Look at the resume of these players. Almost none of them have great resumes. Uh, you know, they're usually like some of them were interesting, but not a lot of players with a lot of first team minutes and certainly not a lot with a lot of first team goals. Uh,
00:34:49
Speaker
You have to I think what I'm saying is most of the time you're going out and you're signing a project you're not signing a finished you're not finding you know signing someone who's finished and ready to jump into the lineup right away you're you're looking for upside and you know As disappointing as Leo Chiu was at times, the reality is that he was still one of the more successful U-22s on a you know production basis to come into the league. I mean, that's just sort of the that's just sort of the expectations you have to set. And i you know we all look I think the problem is that you look at Dejan Jovalic, who is like maybe a designated player with his next contract.
00:35:32
Speaker
And you go like, well, that's what you should be looking for in a U 22. It's like, yeah, you should, but that's hard to find. No, it is. it It really is. And look, people, people ask me like, Oh, you know what? Hey, uh, you know, Austin is doing all these things and, uh, they're bringing in Nicholas Dubursky. And you know, he, he's a guy that seems to be like, I get it. But he had, he's had one season with over 1800 minutes and that's it. i mean yeah And not a lot of production and not a lot lot of production.
00:36:05
Speaker
They play $200 million dollars from this guy and he doesn't have almost any, he doesn't, I mean, you look at his stats, it doesn't jump off the page. you get Like you said, he's got one game where he even played 1800 minutes.
00:36:17
Speaker
No, it and look I know him because I I followed a league I talked to you know scouts I talked to agents so but I heard the name I knew who he was but Did he did he like pop off the page or I'm like, oh my god, they're getting this guy. No, no, that that's not that guy so that's where I feel like people Man, at times they feel like um you know X Team is doing so much. they're They're being so active, they're getting all these players. It it doesn't usually just reflect in the in the numbers and in the wins. So let's just give the Sounders the benefit of the doubt. I thought that they've been smart with their money, smart with their business,
00:37:10
Speaker
I think this is a better team that people give maybe ah you know the benefit of the doubt to. I feel like this is a decent team. And and and again, the the fact that I feel better about this squad when I see them play than I did in 2024, I mean, if you take my word for anything, it should encourage you the way it encourages me.
00:37:36
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, and to that, to that end, I published the, uh, a survey that we ran on center heart that we, we published it this week. And I was a little, I was kind of surprised people were, you know, we hear a lot of negative commentary, both in, you know, the comment section on social media, wherever, but you you know, we, we had something like 1400, almost 1500 people respond to this survey and Generally speaking, people are kind of positive about the outlook. You know, they, they expect the Sounders to win a trophy. They expect them to at least equal last year's point total, maybe even compete for the top spot in the West. You know, people are not as, I would say they're, they're mid on, on Craig Weible's performance, but they're pretty positive. Generally speaking about the off season.
00:38:30
Speaker
Uh, like there's not as it's not nearly as gloom and doom as it might seem, I guess is my point. Uh, and I think that it's easy just to forget that there are a lot of people out there who are actually reasonable about their expectations. And I think the key word is that they are sounder, hard.
00:38:54
Speaker
audience and readers and write followers because there's a lot of shit and garbage content creators right now that are way off the board when it comes to the sounders moves and look and and I hope we talk about Kim Ki-hee here soon yeah but I feel like the sounders are putting together a pretty solid squad that will not let you down, that might not you know be in all the highlights, and it might not be in all the talk shows or whatever you wanna call it, but I feel like this squad can win some games. And the the the experience and the,
00:39:48
Speaker
togetherness and the cohesiveness of the roster build of the Sounders team, I feel like can really surprise some people in 2025.
00:40:00
Speaker
Yeah, I would agree with that. i And you you mentioned Kim Ki-hee today went on Instagram and said, ah you know, basically the idea was it was a farewell to Ulsan bands basically saying thank you for your time there. ah i i Well, I don't need to read it. It's a pretty long statement, but we translated it on Blue Sky. If you are really interested in in seeing it, it's on ah the Sounder Heart Blue Sky account.
Kim Ki-hee's Return
00:40:30
Speaker
ah But among the things he says is that he's going to, you know, I've decided to take a new challenge, recently received an offer from the Sounders and MLS and decided to return to America for a second life. Thank you very much to everyone at Ulsan, including the director and ah and all the fans.
00:40:50
Speaker
So there you have it. Kim Ki-hee has essentially announced that he's returning to the Sounders. Again, we, you and I have both reported that this was a done deal. But again, always good to get confirmation from ah the the person himself. No, of course. And I'm glad that that maybe whoever is skeptical about you or I's sources, now they can figure out that he is coming back. Right. Exactly. look We kind of know what we're talking about. Yeah, exactly. We might know. We might have some insight on things. So you know what? Cool. I like it. ah But in terms of what it does for the team, I heard a couple of people call this a shit move and you guys are ah complete.
00:41:40
Speaker
ah paid by the team if you think this is a good move. And you know what? I get it. Europe said this is not someone who is playing in the Premier League or South America. That's all right. Look, I've been there. I have doubted some moves with the Sounders because of where they were playing. But now that I have been, I don't know, 14, 15 years in,
00:42:06
Speaker
watching and following this team consistently, I understand where they're going. And I do believe that a guy that has been having consistent minutes for the top K1 team, Korean league team that has poise, experience, ah the physical attributes, the IQ, can provide a really good depth piece. I mean, you you just heard us talk about Stu and Attentio and Yaymar and all these players that are going to be playing a center back. I thought Jay Bell looked pretty decently.
00:42:46
Speaker
yeah pretty good in today's, well, this week's preseason game. So when you add a player like Kim Ki-hee, you're just adding depth, you're adding experience, you're adding a player that if you need to rotate, you know what he's going to bring you.
00:43:02
Speaker
Jeremiah and I are not sitting here telling you that we are bringing in the next big thing but we are saying that is a debt piece that is going to give you some options in 2025 where there's going to be a lot of tournaments, ah at a lot of moments. I think it's a good move.
00:43:19
Speaker
I did too. And I think one of the things to keep in mind is that the sounder, essentially he's taking Nathan spot on the roster, but he costs about a fifth as much as Nathan would have. Nathan was making about $500,000 last year. My understanding is Kim Key. He is going to be something closer to a hundred thousand dollars. Uh, so he's not taking up a big chunk of roster the way that Nathan was relatively speaking. And so you're when you're talking about a player at that.
00:43:51
Speaker
salary level, you usually don't get a player with the experience and the, and still frankly, the ability of a Kim Kiki, you know, ideally he's only going to play a limited number of games. Like if he ends up playing 20 or 30 games, you've got big pro you've got bigger problems than you were going to solve with that roster spot anyway. So although he got, I don't know, he could probably could play 20, 20 games without too much trouble, but point being,
00:44:20
Speaker
This is not a player who is coming in and you're not signing him instead of signing a DP. You know, you're not signing him instead of even a tan player. You're talking about a player who ah is making, you know, much closer to ah the homegrown players on the roster than anyone else. So.
00:44:39
Speaker
Uh, when you're talking about that level, I think this is a coup. I think this is a really clever signing. And I think one of the consistent things we've seen this off season is that the Sounders were able to get a whole bunch of players to come here on lower than their market value. And I think it's because they want a chance to win. They want a chance to be able to compete for, you know, the planet tournament and like the club world cup, they want to.
00:45:05
Speaker
you know be in a winning environment and they want to be around a group of guys who seem to enjoy each other's company none of which can you just sort of take for granted as a given virtually anywhere in this league or anywhere in soccer frankly no absolutely and that's something that I don't know, as a fan, and you should understand is that the resources they're using to create a roster that can sustain a heavy and challenging 25 season to be applauded. And if there are 15% of you that are wondering why this team is not getting ready to win the club world cup,
00:45:53
Speaker
unless Holland and Enzo Fernandez were willing to take pay cuts to come to the Sounders, there was never going to be a a universe where the Sounders were going to be protagonists in the club world cup. So if you are given Ryan Smetzer or this organization shit and I'll say it because it's a podcast, because they decided to tell you that they're building a roster to win MLS Cup and not Club Rock Cup is because they're being honest. They're not feeding you lies because that's what you need to do. Because if you wanted to win a Club Rock Cup, you would have to do the unthinkable. So you you prepare your team to win the tournaments that you should win and you give yourself a
00:46:44
Speaker
cans to be good at a club cup by creating a design of play, a soccer module, and getting your players right for that tournament. But you need to do that within your own parameters, and that's where you get this sort of player. so All of that and all of my rant for all of you to just know that yes, maybe this team is not gonna be what a lot of you thought because maybe you thought there were gonna be bigger players coming in this season. But I think that for what was available, man, I'm encouraged by this squad.
00:47:26
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, and speaking of the club world cup, uh, it's been interesting to see, I guess the, I thought the, the hospitality tickets for the club world cup went on sale, but I guess it was the, the world cup tickets went for sale and they're looking for $8,000.
00:47:43
Speaker
holy yeah The, it is funny how quickly all these international games came in. be We are. I was excited as anyone about all these, both the club world cup and the, and the world cup ah coming to Seattle. And I, I mean, I'm still reasonably excited about it, but man, the cost of these tournaments for fans is outrageous. It's, it is.
00:48:07
Speaker
going to be so expensive ah we didn't really we haven't really talked about it much on this podcast but you know the tickets for the club this did you see the sounders group stage games You're, you're talking at a hundred dollars minimum just to get in the door, but oftentimes even more than that and to get deep, like there's not even a lot of the good seats aren't even for sale yet. And, you know, they're charging 200, $300 for seats that are oftentimes not particularly good seats. I don't know. Are you hearing anything from people about reactions to costs of, of going to these games? I haven't, uh,
00:48:47
Speaker
a lot of the people that in my circle are investing in the club rock cup specifically um they understand what the prize is so have a lot of river fans that are gonna be going to the ah think is river inter milan yeah here and yeah game they played ah They paid a pretty penny. And, you know, they're going to the river against the Japanese team that's also going to play here. So they they don't mind. But when I so when I hear the numbers, I mean, it is a thousand plus. It is 800 plus. I mean, it's it's it's outrageous. Yeah. ah I thought that the World Cup tickets didn't go. Out in until June. So I haven't heard anything about the World Cup tickets.
00:49:35
Speaker
Yeah, I guess the the it was just the ah the hospitality tickets ah started going for sale. And it's, I don't know. I think FIFA came in here with the idea that this was going to be a, not just here, Seattle, but like into the United States with the idea that this was just going to be a chance to clean up in terms of ah prices. But it's been kind of depressing, frankly, to see how expensive it is to go to these games.
00:50:04
Speaker
ah But hopefully, you know, I don't know. they They say these are dynamic prices. So maybe they start to come down when we get closer to the games. But I have a hard time telling anyone at this point. Oh, yeah, just go. You'll be fine. You'll love it. ah But yeah, it's it's.
00:50:22
Speaker
It's dicey out there. ah All right. Well, I don't know. Do do we have much else? There's, ah you know, there's all kinds of stuff going on in, in around the league and stuff, but I, with the sounders it's, this was other than the game, it was a relatively quiet week. I would say, um, anything you're looking forward to, anything you're expecting to, to you're, you're looking forward to learning about in the next game. Uh, I mean,
00:50:49
Speaker
Yes, I do. Obviously, like everyone who is here in this podcast is looking forward to seeing how Ferreira fits into yeah everything that we just discussed today and can he coexist with Pedro de la Vega, whether it is in this formation or in the very safe, very default 3-2-3-1. I like to see it. I want to see Herrera and ah Jordan Morris and De La Vega and Albert, um you know, all together. So I am looking forward to at some point seeing what that looks like under what the coaching staff sees going forward.
00:51:38
Speaker
Is Pedro La Vega going to be a wingback instead of Alex or instead of ah you know whoever you want to put on the left side? Obviously, Reed is her right now, but whoever you want to put on the red side on the left side. ah So all of those things are what I'm looking forward and why I'm excited about the preseason.
00:52:01
Speaker
because I do see the talent. I just don't know how it all fits and comes about together. ah I would like to see Georgie get more minutes, but ah you I'm always, especially when it comes to MLS, I'm always gonna lean to the side of put your most expensive with the highest potential players on the field. So can you fit him in there somehow as well?
00:52:29
Speaker
um All of that, it's interesting to me. So I am looking forward to a thousand things going on to the next game. Yeah, I am with you. I think the Jesus Ferretta bit is probably going to be the most intriguing because we haven't. We really don't know how he fits with this attack because is he, you know, is he going to play as a nine? I suspect that's not what he'll play in this game.
00:52:57
Speaker
Uh, is he going to play underneath Jordan? I think that's a little bit more likely, but then how does that affect Albert Rusnak? And then how does that affect? daily they i I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see a different formation in this game. I, I, I think we might see something more.
00:53:13
Speaker
closer to what they did last year, where maybe Ferreira and De La Vega are ostensibly playing on the wing. But I think if there is a challenge, it's that I think all four of those players want to not necessarily occupy the same space, but the same parts of the field.
00:53:32
Speaker
ah relatively speaking like they want to be in the in the central third of the field ah meaning they they aren't none of them are chalk on their boots wingers ah they're all players who want to be somewhere near the middle of the park I guess is what I'm saying and you know it'll be interesting to see how that that plays out I i think it could be fluid and then I think it's also important to keep in mind that the number of times where the Sounders actually put their best 11 on the field together might not be that high because that's just sort of the nature of how things work in a normal year, especially in a year where there are a bunch of games. I guess I will add one more piece of news that came in today. It looks like Phoenix rising may have jumped the gun a little bit and announced that there's only going to be 16 MLS teams in the US Open Cup.
Open Cup Participation Decision
00:54:27
Speaker
Uh, I asked around and I confirmed that the sounders are not going to be one of those 16 teams in the open cup. They are going to instead send the Tacoma defiance to the open cup. That is not a, true that is not, as far as I understand it, that's not a decision that the sounders get to make. It's a decision that gets made, uh, between MLS and us soccer. Uh, do you have any reaction to the sounders not being in the open cup this year?
00:54:54
Speaker
Those are big news, Jeremiah. And I'm glad you shared that. um We talked about it prior to getting it on this call. And man, look, it's a little hard for me because I am not the guy that's gonna tell you that I would rather be in the open cup than in league's cup. Because my idea of the game is always gonna be more global.
00:55:20
Speaker
and League Cup gives you that international component. However, talking to as many fans as I've been able to talk to and privileged to understand and hear the importance of a tournament that gives US soccer the
00:55:41
Speaker
I don't know, credibility and ah understanding that we have in South America to where it's enrooted, embedded in within you to say, hey, we grew up with this, cup we grew up with this tournament.
00:55:57
Speaker
This is what makes you a soccer. I've heard that from people. And that, that talks to me. That talks to me hearing you say that. And going back to the tournaments that I grew up in, whether it was Copa Libertadores, Subercura Americana, Intercontinental, whatever you want to call it,
00:56:16
Speaker
I hear you, Sounderfan, and it does make me a little bit saddened that those people that have been with the team, with this club, as long as they have, now they have to, in one way or another, sacrifice this tournament because of a new era or of a new design to MLS in general. So, I do have mixed feelings. I'm saddened for those fans. I do wish there was a way that you could play all those tournaments, especially when both you and I know that it's okay to bring up players from Tacoma Defiance and college's calendar team. So,
00:56:58
Speaker
I didn't feel like that was a necessity to just say, hey, you know what? No Sounders is going to be Tacoma Defiance. So I feel for both sides. um And I feel for the players because obviously they want to be part of this tournament. I've talked to quite a few of them that enjoy Open Cup, that enjoy those Starfire nights. So man, it just makes feelings all around. I wish that there was a way that you could play all those tournaments in 2025.
00:57:26
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I suppose they they could theoretically, ah it's just that the powers that be don't seem to want to let them. But yeah, I mean, there's there is technically room on the schedule. There's nothing inherently conflicting about it. The open cup begins.
00:57:45
Speaker
after the the the important parts of the open cup happen sort of between the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and not the important parts but the ah the first few rounds of the open cup happened between the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals and the final so you the and I don't think there's any dates that actually conflict But it does it's it's a lot of games and you know even without that the Sounders are probably going to be playing at least 42 games without advancing in any games and without getting to the playoffs so I understand the I understand the trade off there.
00:58:22
Speaker
I'm bummed. I like the open cup. That said, I'm glad that the defiance are going to be in the open cup. I think that, you know, at least for those first two rounds, I would imagine the Sounders will probably loan down a few players and frankly, those lineups.
00:58:38
Speaker
those lineups in the first couple of rounds will probably look very similar to how they would have looked anyway, which I suppose makes it a little silly that they aren't going to play. But, you know, it's I am. I do think it's a good opportunity for younger guys to get minutes. You know, it sounds like players who are on the supplemental roster will still be allowed to the play in the open cup if the so if the teams decide to loan them down.
00:59:07
Speaker
And, you know, hopefully people will still go out and watch a Defiance play. This will be the first time since 2015 that a Sounders developmental team or a Sounders affiliate will be playing in this tournament, the Sounders 2. Wow. Yeah, as people may remember in 2015, Sounders 2 played ah the Portland Timbers 2, I think?
00:59:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I remember a couple of, uh, uh, I think, uh, Andy, Andy was in there in that one. Yeah. Andy Craven and, uh,
00:59:44
Speaker
Rossy was in there. Pablo Rossi. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then I think they lost to RSL if I remember correctly. i And that was a game. I don't know. People remember this. This is getting into the weeds, so but Pablo Rossi scored from like almost midfield in that game against ah RSL. If you remember that.
01:00:04
Speaker
And my guy still has a foot, man. he He's out there coaching in Argentina. He just hit me up not too long ago that he wanted to come by and see what was going on here in Seattle. But he's still doing his thing, man. He's still got a privileged foot. I'm telling you. Oh, my God. The guy had one of the best foot feet. I mean, he he could hit a ball. I tell you, man, that guy was fun to watch.
01:00:27
Speaker
Yeah, he he he was amazing, man. he he He's honestly astonished at the growth of Tacoma Defiance, Sounders, MLS in general, man. you know So that that just tells you how far we've come. Jeremiah, us following this game, ah so as long as we have, and now those Pablo Rossi's, they're astonished by the growth of games.
01:00:52
Speaker
I bet, I bet. Well, ah Nico, thanks again for joining me. Like I said, we're going to try to make this a staple of our coverage. ah we'll We'll come up with a clever name to to call this this Friday show. But Nico, thank you. Again, where can people follow you other than, of course, Sounder at Heart? Where else can they follow you?
01:01:12
Speaker
ah Yep, right now just at L, Rolo and W, at Puzo Sports on YouTube. We are hoping to gather a couple of new shows in English all around so you can find my coverage there. Obviously, anytime that I am able to provide content through Sonder Hard, you'll find me here.
01:01:35
Speaker
ah But just thankful, man, thank you for giving me this platform. ah Happy to give the fans hopefully some insight and some fun things to hear about when it comes to the sound, especially when, you know, we're losing a lot of big names in the podcast industry. and and And, you know, I feel like this is something that the Pacific Northwest deserves and needs. So, man, I appreciate it very much.
01:02:02
Speaker
All right. Thank you for doing this, Nico. Uh, this is no study at this part of the sounder heart podcast network. And I will give you one more pitch. If you like this type of coverage, if you are a fan of independent soccer media, I want to urge you to not just listen, but to actually become a member of sounder heart. Uh, you can go onto our site membership, start as low as $25 for the year. Uh,
01:02:27
Speaker
I'm sure we'll we'll play ads for the show, but for the memberships. But I do want to just remind everyone, the only way that this kind of coverage continues is if you support it. And supporting it does require a monetary element of that. So again, thank you for doing this, Nico. Thank you for listening. And this is Nocera Yetes. We'll catch you next time.
01:03:28
Speaker
one