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We’re not freaking out about the loss to LAFC and neither should you
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The Sounders are coming off a disappointing 4-0 loss to LAFC, but that doesn’t mean Jeremiah or Niko are particularly worried about the longterm ramifications. They discuss the takeaways from that match as well as look ahead to Saturday’s Cascadia Cup clash with the Portland Timbers on the latest episode of “What we learned this week.”
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Transcript
Will Bruin: From Legend to Voice Artist
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go. Come on.
00:00:11
Speaker
one Hey, O'Shaughnessy. Let's go.
Sounders' MLS Cup Victory Celebration
00:00:15
Speaker
What save by Frye. The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winning.
00:00:23
Speaker
Here comes Ruiz Dias through the middle to crowd it for Seattle. And now they truly can start the celebrations. It's the Sounders MLS Cup.
00:00:35
Speaker
Nico Lodero leaves absolutely no doubt. The Sounders rule the region. Seattle, Sounders, it's got built.
Banter and Rivalry: Tiny Dogs to Portland
00:00:52
Speaker
This feels fucking awesome. This is a tiny dog. Nice work on your little yacht yat thing. And Portland can't say shit. know, what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use who you didn't?
00:01:06
Speaker
Ever since Southert Hart wrote a commentary that we didn't take over coming seriously. Go, not Seattle!
Sponsorship: Full Pull Wines and the Podcast
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, c Pacific Northwest.
Podcast Challenges: Scheduling and Family
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Arietes on the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. It is Friday, so we are here with Nico Moreno for another week of what we learned this week. We're doing it a little different this time.
00:01:56
Speaker
For full disclosure, we are recording this first part of the episode before practice because practice starts late and I have a train to catch later. so we're trying to bang this out as much we can. But Nico, thank you for being here early. Hey, no, appreciate it. and As always, I'm going to modify my schedule to make sure that the audience gets this podcast pretty consistently. And when you have things going on, I got things going on. We're both fathers. We're both. You know, we got other things going on. We're important people.
00:02:28
Speaker
I don't know about important, but you know, somewhat. And the team also, they ended ended up pushing back their training
Sounders' Midweek Strategy and Performance
00:02:37
Speaker
sessions. Right. that also went back and forth with why we decided to go this route on it. And yeah, and we have enough to talk about this week where we don't usually get a midweek game and that is something that we actually have this time. You learn, yeah, you you know you talk about what you learn Although, i don't know, I guess we can debate how much we really learn about it. You learn something. You probably learn more from watching games and from practice either way. So this is a good time to record this.
00:03:02
Speaker
ah And if we have time, we're going to come back in a second segment and we're going to talk about
Sounders' Loss to LAFC: Impact of Rotations
00:03:08
Speaker
the Portland game. But let's start talking about this LAFC game. 4-0 loss, worst loss of the season. One of their worst losses in a long time, really.
00:03:18
Speaker
But I think the scoreline was also a little deceiving. it was 1-0 at halftime. Sounders actually, I thought... The last 20 minutes of the first half were in the game. i They were a little unlucky not to get a goal.
00:03:29
Speaker
Pedro De La Vega hit an open header off the crossbar. Danny Levo, this was before the last 20 minutes, but Danny Levo's free kick, man. I'll tell you, when he stood over that thing, I was excited because that was taken from the exact spot that he practices free kicks every single day. And it came as close. I mean, it was wide by...
00:03:50
Speaker
the smallest margin and i mean it took a deflection but man that would have been a sweet little way to get his feces that was been his first goal i know it's kind of hard to um even fathom that he's been a player this long that is a creative players and attacking player with such a good foot and so i think that's his first professional goal but uh no i agree with everything you said i thought that this game the score line doesn't tell you the entirety of the story of the game And regardless of, yes, it was a bad loss when it comes to the result.
Lineup Rotation Against LAFC: Why?
00:04:23
Speaker
But the amount of just overreaction over this specific result is just mind-boggling. I heard someone in the broadcast say this was a statement win for LAFC.
00:04:36
Speaker
And I'm thinking— What statement? A statement win, a midweek game against a Sounders team that was heavily rotated. Yeah. That's a statement win. I mean, it just seems ludicrous, right? And the same goes for ah the Sounders side, right? Oh, this is awful. This is terrible. The depth is abysmal. This is what Sounder, Harden, everybody was saying. This was the most talented team or the deepest team. So there's there's a lot of context that I hope we get to. But at the end of the day, what I want everybody to know is that this game and...
00:05:09
Speaker
let's Let's put this into consideration. What other game is more compelling for Bryant's Metzer to, one, rest his players and maybe take a look at a group of players that either haven't gotten in a lot of minutes or haven't had any minutes? This was the perfect time. If you were going to put it out there and try to see what certain players were going to provide you, this was the game to do it.
00:05:36
Speaker
Did it work necessarily? No, maybe. it it It went a little bit away. It got away from you a little bit. But the intent was to go out there and be competitive. And, you know, you've got guys like JP that are experienced players. A guy like, you know, the lineup in general seemed like it it had some components there. um Obviously, you've got some guys like Osasadar, sorry, that we're going to the first start. And that's all right. But you want to see what these guys do. have in store for you so you can figure out things moving forward.
Sounders vs LAFC: Lineup Strategy
00:06:07
Speaker
So just to end my rant, this is what I want to say. Nobody's going to remember a loss in May against LAFC on the road. But what they would remember is you forcing a lineup one more time, getting an injury to a key player, or just
00:06:28
Speaker
Just getting a team that has already played lot of minutes more tired into a Portland game that perhaps could be a bigger game because of the rivalry, because of the way that it's set up, because it's clearly a team that's right above you. And he just has a different feel to it. So I just feel like it is...
00:06:50
Speaker
A loser mentality for Brian Smith Nassar and the Seattle Sounders to think, just because it's LAFC, I have to prove something. I have to prove something. I have to risk my my team. that would That would be a loser mentality, not trusting your team and hoping that it's competitive.
00:07:06
Speaker
Yeah, and and I think to the degree if there's a disappointment... Broadly, it's more that the Sounders and LAFC have now played twice. They faced each other both times in the middle of fixture congestion.
00:07:18
Speaker
They both rotated their lineups and they both blown each other out. And we really don't know anything about how these two teams match up when they're both full strength. yeah Like last time, and i and I think one of the other things that has bugged me a little bit in the discourse around this game is I saw a lot of people saying like, well, what do you expect when you put out a lineup like that? And I think two things can be true. One is I think the Sounders had every reasonable expectation to think that this lineup would be competitive. This was almost the exact same lineup that beat LAFC 5-2. Now the difference is that LAFC in the first game was much more heavily rotated than they were in this game. This was pretty close. Like they rotated from the weekend, but it was pretty close to like a first choice group. I agree. So
00:08:00
Speaker
That was not a fair, like obviously LAFC came out with a different mentality, but they were at home. They were, that would I think is a big deal. And. were coming for disappointing 2-2 draw. They were coming out with a disappointing 2-2 draw. The Sounders, frankly, I think were looking at this game as house money.
00:08:17
Speaker
If they could get a result, great. They did not feel like they needed a result in this game. I think they made ah a calculated gamble to rotate the, and also, I'll also note one or other thing. LFC has another day of rest after this one. So that allowed them a little bit more flexibility.
00:08:32
Speaker
And they also aren't traveling anywhere. I don't even know if that game is in LA, which who's the host, but either way, they're not leaving LA. Sure. So it's just like, it's a completely different, a good like the Sounders had to come back and they're going to have to travel to whatever. i we and And I do think that there's something to be, we can talk about all these different lineup decisions and what we learned to individual players.
Team Depth and Lineup Continuity Challenges
00:08:52
Speaker
But the big picture is I just don't think I feel any differently about this team today than I felt about you know, a week ago. As you shouldn't. Because that we didn't, like, all we learned is that LAFC's best team is a lot better than the Sounders' second best team.
00:09:10
Speaker
And I don't know that, and but when these teams, if they meet in the playoffs, will not look like the way that, they they will both have different lineups. Vastly different lineups. And the criticism on depth goes a little bit off to what you said. look Depth, it depends on, and look, this is coming from somebody who's been, and not to toot my own horn, but I've done a lot of radio in my time.
00:09:34
Speaker
spent a lot of time with guys who know a lot more about the game than i than I do across the table. And if there's something that I learned over guys who've done it, who've been real professionals, who are real coaches, is that when you're talking about depth, it's very subjective, especially when you have no idea about the ins and outs of an organization. So when it comes to depth, people...
00:09:56
Speaker
What do they expect? A whole B team to be just as good as the first team? Nobody's saying that. That's not the right. No. Depth is just simply saying, hey, we have players in this team that we feel good about that we feel really good about, that if someone needs to rest, is injured, we've got to make adjustments, there is quality on the bench. And that was absolutely obvious, and that continues to be the case for this team.
00:10:18
Speaker
But nobody's saying that if there's eight changes to a lineup, there's going to be an obvious... um The drop off. A drop off. And especially the continuity, right? The the chemistry, that the things that we saw on the field. And we we'll get into the the individual performances. But all of those were part of just having a team that hasn't really played together. So beyond the talent is that alone.
00:10:43
Speaker
And I would say along that same point, it's one thing if you are playing... two games a week for a long period of time, and you're changing that lineup every... from And so that both teams are getting a lot of
Understanding Player Performances and Rotations
00:10:55
Speaker
reps. This team had not played together effectively since the LAFC game.
00:11:00
Speaker
Like, there was a lot of the same pieces that were in the... ah and Now, they had all played at various times, but, like, as ah as a unit, they just had not really played together, ah with the exception of Osaze de Rosario. But... it' So it's just... i think it's... We just have to give some...
00:11:14
Speaker
some grace, I think, in terms of what was realistically expected. And I don't know that the Sounders thought that LAFC would rotate more heavily than they did, but honestly, they have to take they have to make the decision that's right for them. They can't get worried about, like, well, if LAFC rolls out their first-choice lineup, we're going to get smashed.
00:11:32
Speaker
that can't be no That can't be part of the equation. Absolutely not. If they think guys need rest, if Christian Roldan didn't travel, Stefan Frey didn't travel, I mean, that should tell you a lot about what the mentality of what this team was. I will say the one change that I would have liked to have seen, in part because, and I think I said this after the ah RSL game, I think I saw this when I saw the lineup in this game,
00:11:54
Speaker
Look, if you're going to put out a group that is already playing from a deficit, I think maybe I would like to see Stu Hawkins start in the middle and put John Bell on the left of that three. c Because i I do think that would be a real learning.
00:12:06
Speaker
Now, is that an unknown? That might be a no-win situation for Stu Hawkins. Maybe it's unfair to him. But it would have been an interesting little wrinkle, I think, If we've learned one thing, I think maybe John Bell is not best suited to be playing in the middle of a back three.
00:12:19
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. i absolutely agree. I said that Thursday. That is incredible. Those were the words out of my mouth. It is clear. that especially if you're going to play with three-man back line, J-Bell cannot be that guy. Look, to me, J-Bell is He's a good player. He's a good player, good defender. But he's really a Nuhu replacement. Exactly. and And I don't think people realize that. That to me—and not even necessarily to the point of Nuhu because—well, I guess so, yes. Because he's what I would call a stay-home fullback. right on the left yeah that that's where he's best suited and that's what when he's playing in the treatment back line he's looked what he plays outside of that middle when you got Jackson Reagan being the guy that's managing the ball that's holding possession that he's the one that's trying to break lines with the ball that works but when you're the guy that has to do all of it he was pretty bad in this one and we'll get into it I'll say one last thing about the overall general sense into this game is a three
00:13:17
Speaker
game road trip, we said this, right?
Managing a 3-Game Road Trip
00:13:19
Speaker
I think Shavis handled it perfectly. You go to Houston, you guarantee yourself three points. Right, you do you can to guarantee exactly. put your best foot forward. You put your best foot forward. It's like your most winnable, the the eat of all the three games, that was the game where you had the best chance to win.
00:13:35
Speaker
Make sure you secure those points. And you did. And you did. So you did. So so it's going perfectly to to plan. The second game, you're going to rotate. You're going to hope that you're competitive. You're going you get a result. It didn't quite go that route. i agree that the game scoreline at the end specifically, before zero, whatever, I get people, if you want to lose your mind about it, go ahead. I've always said it is your prerogative to lose your mind and say this is the worst team in the planet. because they decided to rotate on Wednesday at LAFC. But the reality of it is what you just said a couple of minutes ago. You should feel no different about this team than you did a week ago. And the same thing goes for LAFC.
00:14:12
Speaker
i don't think I don't think Steve Terundolo is going like, oh we got e a we got the Sounders number. Exactly. Come on I mean, let's be realistic. right So that's all I want to provide is it is a different perspective for you at home or at your call or wherever you listening to this.
00:14:28
Speaker
just have a different different contrast and decide where you lie.
Commitment to Neutral and Reality-Based Soccer Analysis
00:14:31
Speaker
That's okay. right you still want to lose your mind, go ahead. But I just feel like I've done my job by ranting about it. I feel really good now that I've got it off my chest. And you know, if there's people out there that are decided their way of informing people is by losing their mind and getting the clickbait and all this craziness, then go ahead and watch. About here, we're always going to be neutral.
00:14:51
Speaker
We're always going to, and neutral in the sense of just having an understanding of what's really happening, right? We're going to have a real take on what we see and what really believe onto what's going on. We like to think of this as your favorite reality-based podcast. There you go, I like it. That's beautiful, beautifully played, yes. That said, there were some individual performances that I think are worth digging into. We talked a little bit about John Bell, but on the positive side, I really did, I was encouraged by Kalani Kosarienzi's performance. He ended up getting left on an island a few times with Benny Buonga, and he basically held his own. I'm not gonna sit here and say he shut Buonga down, but he never looked like he was overwhelmed.
00:15:32
Speaker
I think he was okay in possession for the most part. He was good going forward. ah you know And I think there is still a but sort of working assumption within the Saunders that he's more suited as a wingback than as a fullback.
00:15:46
Speaker
And I think that's probably fair, but I think this was a good test for him that he can be trusted even when he is sometimes a little exposed. And so that was one positive development. He also, man, he had a goal line clearance that was as good of a clearance as, know, you'll see.
00:16:03
Speaker
Just kind of, so he, I mean, it ended up not really mattering, I suppose, but, you know, Bwonga had a pretty nice move. And he was able to come and slide in off the weak side and and clear it off the line. I was very impressed by that. yeah At times he looked like the player who was most out there trying to prove something. And then the other player who I was actually, and like i don't know, um maybe the the the opinions will be a little different on this, but I was i thought Osaze de Rosario did pretty good, especially considering he was really on an island, did not have a lot of help, and he was still able to get himself into some dangerous positions.
00:16:40
Speaker
He wasn't perfect. no he was okay. He was okay. But he had a couple good hold-up plays. ah He got one really good look at a header that maybe he could have done a little better with, but he you know he put it on frame, and he had one shot from distance that was well hit.
00:16:55
Speaker
um But I think... Again, if he's your third option at striker, i feel okay about that. Sure. And that's what you brought him on for. So just I'll touch on both of those and I'll give you two different guys to look into. I thought Cosa, especially going forward, was very selective, was very good.
00:17:15
Speaker
um And when it comes to being a fullback, think that that's the best thing that he's going to grow into. And there is something that perhaps I didn't necessarily agree, but I understood later, and that's why I asked the question was, why did the Sounders set up in a 3-4-3 after the 4-2-3-1 had working? And it fair tactic to want to set
00:17:40
Speaker
to want to sit up when it comes to your formation to even out that three attacking guys from LAFC's 4-3-3 with three defenders. It's a numerical thing that happens very normally before a game when you're going against a team that runs the 4-3-3. So for me, it's understandable. But when it comes to Costa Rienzi, in the second half, and Brian mentioned this, they went back to the foreman back line. And I thought as a fullback, he did well. So...
00:18:09
Speaker
Cosar Renzi has a lot of promise. Obviously, I still feel like Alex is the guy. but Especially in a 4-2-3-1. But this is your guy for the future, and i think you can mold him into that. And and I just i really like that.
00:18:23
Speaker
I wasn't so high when it came to Cosar Renzi. I mean, I'm sorry about that. De Rosario. De Rosario. Osas de Rosario, just simply because of... Some the pressing triggers, obviously. The goal, can he get out there a lot sooner to press that guy that is at the top of the box? Absolutely.
00:18:43
Speaker
i mean, there were things that, you know, he's a young player, so I'm not going kill him for it. I just thought he was okay. I thought, and we might defer on this one, because I've heard different... thought process on it, but thought Pedro was engaging, thought Pedro was trying, I thought Pedro de la Vega was influential, he was the guy that seemed more committed to be a difference maker. And that's important to me, right? It wasn't perfect, there was a couple, if not more than that, of bad passes. There is the goal, and the second goal. Where he gets the turnover. Where he gets the turnover, and it's just a beautiful pass by yeah i don't know how much i was was going back and forth on how much of that i put on him because he does sort of make us he makes a long run and he ends up getting dispossessed and on one hand making runs like that can have the effect of unbalancing a defense but on the other hand it also unbalances you to ah to defend the counter and the sounders got killed on that counter i don't know again i think you gotta just you have to
00:19:47
Speaker
you have to if you're going to put Pedro on the field, you have to ah you have to be aware that he's going to do that. That's part of what he does. And you have to be, so like I don't really put that too much on him. i with you, though. I did like that he was willing to try, to i mean, to push the game and to do things.
00:20:01
Speaker
I was a little surprised how long he was on the field because I sort of assumed he would start against Portland, which I don't. think will be the case now we'll see yeah uh maybe that's a george maybe georgie gets the start and that wouldn't be the worst that would be an interesting georgie has looked pretty good against portland so uh that would make some sense there uh yeah but go ahead i would like see pedro but but i yeah but i just don't know if you'll play again on he played 45 minutes on against dynamo I don't know. We'll see. It'll be interesting to see what they do with him there. And then when it comes to the bad, because you mentioned one bad, one good with J. Bell, I would say that other than J. Bell, who to me was probably the one that had the most unimpressive showing, Jesus Ferreira. had a really tough time finding in the ball. had a really tough time finding. And I hate to put it on on on Andrew Thomas, but I feel like he was also very lethargic. He, I mean, okay. And it's not just the goals. is It was just certain moments where he just wasn't commanding that box. And he was just unable to get on the ball quicker. You know, those little things that you want to see from your... Yeah.
00:21:15
Speaker
Go keeper of the future. Yeah, and yeah know talk about the first goal, which is the one I think it's easiest to put on him. ah guess it does take a deflection off Nuhu. It's still... gets a lot of Andrew Thomas. you know And I'm not going to beat him up too much for that because it's it is a tough... But like if you if you can get your body almost behind the ball and that's kind of what happened, you've got to figure out how to keep it out of the goal. He's not the only person... The bigger maybe problem is that Ungerd got the open shot yeah fo time but with ah too much time and space.
00:21:52
Speaker
So I don't know. I... I agree with you, though. And I will say also, I thought JP got a lot of criticism in this game.
00:22:03
Speaker
And I don't want to sit here and say he was great, but I also think there was a lot of mitigating circumstances around here. And I'm not at all convinced that he, like, people were like, oh, well, clearly he can't be your number six. And it's like, well, he's not the number six, but he's played plenty of other games where he's looked Better than he did in this game. Another overreaction. I just think you've got to sometimes take a step back. Was he good in this game? Not really.
00:22:30
Speaker
Am I worried about him going forward? Not that much. Like, he's still... No. Like, there is some maybe fair concerns about, okay, if they do sell Obed in the summer, what's the plan going forward from there? That's a fair concern.
00:22:44
Speaker
But that's also one of those things where it's like, we I don't know I'm not that... but I'm not worried about it that much right now. I will also note that it had been a month, I think, since JP had played. Yep. It's tough to – I think, if anything, i would like to see him get just some more spot minutes. Not necessarily starts, but just getting him on the field, getting him in the pace of the game a little bit more.
00:23:09
Speaker
And – He has 314 minutes, including this 90. So he was below 200 before that. It's difficult. and to your point— And most of those were early in the season when they were in Champions Cup.
00:23:21
Speaker
Earlier in the season. Right. once again, i thought when he looked more maybe out of his range was in the first half of the 3-4-3 where there was so much issues because, look, another thing that what went really wrong for the Sounders was that their pressing was non-efficient. No, it was easily their worst— Non-efficient. Yeah, it was— Almost to the point where it didn't even seem like they were really pressing. And that is not this has been a team who has kind of developed into a pressing team this year. And there was a very ineffective press. I will also say that LAFC's press was that was the most effective. Anyone has pressed this Saunders this year.
00:24:02
Speaker
again, facing a b ah very much a B team. But that like that was the mo that was a very effective press that LAFC, kudos to that. They deserve credit for that. They came in with a game plan. They executed it well. They mission accomplished for LAFC.
00:24:18
Speaker
I just don't think we can make too many grand. I don't think we can take almost any big picture ideas out of this game. And I'm willing, I think it's kind of like a, okay, on to the next one.
00:24:33
Speaker
And that's kind of the thing. So another and just to kind of conclude the point that we're talking about is JP. I think that anybody who, and I heard it, I saw it, and I did everything in my power to not engage was, JP's done. He should never be brought back. He's too old. Just, I can cuss here, right? Sure. Shut a fuck up shut the fuck up When it comes to saying things like that off of one game when a player is obviously needed some more minutes, you he's getting them now. Yeah.
00:25:06
Speaker
Yeah. I definitely cannot agree more with that sentiment. It's probably a good place to call a break. Hopefully we'll come back with a second segment. If we have time, we will come back and do a second segment. If not, I'm Jeremiah Chan.
00:25:21
Speaker
This is Nico Moreno. This is Nos Adietes. And... Hopefully we'll be right back. All right.
00:25:31
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sound at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Anietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023, but need your support to make sure it continues.
00:25:44
Speaker
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00:25:57
Speaker
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00:26:12
Speaker
To find out more, just visit center at heart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening.
00:26:23
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Ariete. So we are going to record a second segment. The Sounders still are not out of training. Not that people need to know that. But we're gonna talk about, let's talk about Portland a little bit.
00:26:35
Speaker
This is a Portland is also in the midst of, this is a strange week for MLS to do so-called rivalry week where there are, midwe almost everyone played midweek games, including the the Timbers played at RSL, right?
00:26:50
Speaker
Yes. They tied 0-0. I don't know much about what happened in that game other than it was a 0-0 tie. I would imagine that they did not use their first choice lineup in that game. ah They did not. They rotated. the the The funny part about that one when I was watching it is that i there was a lot of components of that ah U.S. Open Cup team that was here against the Tacoma Defiance. But, yeah, they rotated. Okay, so yeah, so this is probably going to be ah reasonably well-rested and first-choice group for Portland, just like it should be a reasonably well-rested and first-choice group for the Sounders.
00:27:27
Speaker
I suppose that sets up how you want this game from a ah neutral perspective. What can we say about Portland this year? They seem to have taken a step forward from last year.
00:27:40
Speaker
They have somewhat figured out the defense. They are still pretty dangerous going forward. Not maybe quite as explosive. DaCosta is definitely a step down from Evander from ah pure danger man type of perspective. But this is still a team that looks...
00:27:59
Speaker
dangerous They have a lot, you know, Jonathan Rodriguez has been limited but to injury, but still causing a lot of problems for opposing defenses. You know, Anthony is a effective attacking piece.
00:28:11
Speaker
Moreno is a, they've got Felipe Mora is sort of like a, kind of a knockoff Danny Masofsky. That's good. I like that. Yeah. there you go But they kind of do their jobs very similarly where they kind of are just very good at getting into dangerous spots.
00:28:27
Speaker
what no What do you think of Portland? I mean, they they're they're second and third in the table. Yeah. So I've said this maybe way too much because of the U.S. Open Cup and things like that, but they're a team that understand their weaknesses and do what they do best.
00:28:44
Speaker
very consistently. So they know what their strengths are and they focus on that. And when it comes to their weaknesses, they try to minimize those. In the last two games, I've seen them play more of a mid-block because they understand how much they're exposed a lot of the times when they're a little too high. And that's credit to Phil Neville.
00:29:03
Speaker
I think that they have realized that as a collective, they can without a doubt replace or mimic what Evander provided to this team. And they've actually been better.
00:29:15
Speaker
When he came more balance more balance right because before they depended a whole lot on Evander and and if there are two guys that have stepped up and Played even better than they ever had with the Timbers is Anthony who is my number one player to watch I think that he is their most dangerous player at four goals seven assists But beyond the the statistics, he's a guy that's going to wear you down because he could do so many things on the ball.
00:29:43
Speaker
And he cannot just beat you one way. He could beat you six ways. I've seen this guy do a sombrerito, like a little flick over the top of a defender at the end line without any space. I mean, the guy's creativity is of the charts. And this year is at its biggest display. So as a unit, they've been able to really replace what Evander did, the magical component. So that he's my number one guy to watch. Second guy is the Costa. The Costa is more of the brains of the operation. The guy that's putting balls through.
00:30:11
Speaker
The guy that's going to be at the end of most set pieces. Kind of an Albert Rusnak type of game. Kind of an Albert Rusnak type of player. Perhaps a little bit more athletic. yeah But definitely a guy that has those same... He's not a flashy player. Not a flashy player. Correct. But he does the job well. He is...
00:30:31
Speaker
He is efficient. he is He can put a shot away if it's if you if he gets it. he's not a shot He doesn't make his own shot necessarily, but he's you know good at making the right pass.
00:30:43
Speaker
Yep. And then Felipe Moore. And it should be no surprise that they're all attacking players because that's their main components. Although I think Kropot coming back, and he is a guy that because of the way that they play direct, having a guy that has his type of distribution,
00:30:59
Speaker
He really helps his team out. So I think Mexico Pope is another important guy. But Felipe Mora is a guy that Seattle's going to have issues with. He's a guy that likes to play against the Sounders. I've heard him from his own voice that he plays at a different level when he plays against the Sounders. He's had some good performances. Some very good performances. So he's a guy that Yehmer knows well.
00:31:19
Speaker
He's a guy that I feel like there is a little a competition there, but he's going to play at a different level when he comes to the Sounders. So a couple of other notes from their last game. Diego Chara played some minutes. He came in in the 61 minute, 61 minute.
00:31:34
Speaker
um He'd been injured, leg injury for quite a long time. He looked pretty good. And he's a guy that is another one. He's like 52 years old. I know, but but he plays like he's 25. I mean, it's ridiculous. yeah I'm pretty sure this is his goodbye tour, but a guy that is a problem nonetheless. Don't think he'll start, but if things get complicated for yeah the Timbers, you best believe that he's going to be on the field.
00:31:56
Speaker
And then Jonathan Rodriguez also came in in the 61st minute, and he's a guy that has been injured, that has came on. He's kind of been a super sub for them. He's been a super sub for them. But this is a team that, once again, a lot of it goes offensively. But going back to their weaknesses, in the last couple of games, they've been able to hold clean sheets because of the way they've been a lot more conservative, pushing forward guys like Bravo.
00:32:22
Speaker
They only have one goal in those two games. And they have one goal, one beautiful goal by Santiago Moreno. Yeah, absolutely. ah You know, goal of the year candidate, if not for Kevin Dankey's unbelievable bike, I would say that would be a very good contender for ah goal of the year, that that goal that he had.
00:32:39
Speaker
I would say the other reason for skepticism, and not this is this is not necessarily a commentary on how well they've played, but I do think there's some... If there's some doubt about how for real the Timbers are, it's that a lot of games against bottom-of-the-table teams, they have, by most metrics, the weakest opponent schedule this faced up to this point so far.
00:33:04
Speaker
Fully a third of their games have come against... the LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City, who are two of the worst teams in the league. They just again came off a game against ah RSL, who's in a very bad place right now.
00:33:16
Speaker
Although, i don't know, they got a result at RSL, which is something that the Sounders don't do very often. So hey, who am I to say? but This is a team where I think we still don't, they haven't been tested the way that I think the Sounders even have been tested, where they've played some top teams and they have, you know, had to hold their own.
00:33:36
Speaker
ah So it will be, I do think, it as always, it's always an interesting matchup. I still think this is you know, it's it's funny. they Our friends at SoccerWise did a ranking of the top rivalries in MLS.
00:33:50
Speaker
And sort of the general consensus is that Cascadia is still near the top, but maybe not the top rivalry right now. And I think that's mainly because this rivalry has just not had a lot of juice in the last few years.
00:34:02
Speaker
They're just, you know, the teams have been good, but the games haven't necessarily been super entertaining. I don't know this one feels like maybe it could be could could be fun. This feels like ah ah two teams who maybe match up in a more interesting way than they have in the past.
00:34:18
Speaker
Yeah, and and I understand, not necessarily, because it really bothers me when people don't think that the Cascadia Timbers... Sounders rivalry is the best in MLS. i mean i It bothers me, and I understand- by such an in a large portion, the most historic rivalry in American soccer. There is not really a good, I mean, maybe Sounders whitecaps might be a close second, but there's obviously no, there's not nearly the fire in that one.
00:34:46
Speaker
In terms of real, right this is the most organic, longstanding, this is the closest thing we have to a proper derby in American soccer. and and And I'm okay with that. and I'm not just okay with that. I love that.
00:34:58
Speaker
What bothers me is when still when we have an LA Galaxy team that's yet to win and has the worst start in MLS history, people are saying that that's the best derby going into this weekend. It would just seems ludicrous. No, that's a silly thing.
00:35:11
Speaker
That's a silly, silly thing. I agree. I saw the same thing. Now, the Hell is Real derby, I think, is definitely the one. like that one. That has been a lot of fun. That's, of course, the Columbus-Cincinnati rivalry. I'm not going to throw any shade on that other than it just doesn't have a lot of history. But it has real animosity. it has you know In the recent years, they've been two of the best teams in the league.
00:35:31
Speaker
It has a lot of juice right now. I don't have anything. this is the Both stadiums get really exciting, really fun. I have nothing but nice. that's a great That's a great rivalry. And then, um honestly, after that, it falls off a lot. like The Hudson River Derby is not anything right now. the i don't know the Maybe the Canadian Classic is is a nice derby, but what do we what do what are we doing here? We're talking about Canada. Yeah, exactly. no The Orlando-Miami one interesting. It has some potential potential. You know, I like that one going into this week because Messi has looked frustrated because Orlando's been a juggernaut over the last couple of yeah of weeks. Four games, they've been undefeated. ah
00:36:12
Speaker
ah think Ojeda has played himself into MVP conversations. I mean, that's a good team against an Inter-Miami team that's always going to be interesting because the Messi factor. What did you make Messi actually playing in Paypal Park against San Jose? I thought that was actually kind of cool. Yeah. I am not like a Messi, don't really track Messi that much, but I do find something really neat about him playing. Like I respect, there's guys that made a lot of really questionable decisions forever, really, but...
00:36:44
Speaker
Committing to play that game at PayPal Park, I thought, was actually really clever midweek game. So maybe that helped the decision. I'm sure they didn't know if Messi was going to be there or not. But that Messi played ended up being cool. like As a Bay Area guy, I thought it was kind of a neat thing. he I guess he hadn't played in the Bay Area like 10 years since he played some random tournament there a while back. but So that was kind of a cool little thing.
00:37:11
Speaker
ah Speaking of Galaxy, though, I feel like we should just mention this since we have Nico Moreno. You're a commentary guy. Greg Vanni officially signed his extension today.
00:37:23
Speaker
Going to be there until 2028. The more notable thing maybe about that is friend of the pod, friend of the Sounders, former Sounders assistant GM, Robbie Remanini, is now the head of...
00:37:36
Speaker
the director of qualitative analytics, I believe is what they call course he is. Yeah, so that was kind of a neat little feather in his cap. What did you make, though, of Greg Vanney? I was surprised a little surprised that the timing of it feels...
00:37:51
Speaker
a little yeah A little weird, a little weird. They're coming 13 games into the season without a win. Just blew a 2-0 lead. Seems like maybe one of those ones that you hold onto your hat a little bit. i don't know, maybe their hand was forced. It got it did get reported by a couple of different outlets before it was official, but and don't know. what do you What do you make of that?
00:38:09
Speaker
It's what I like to call the cushion of an MLS Cup. I mean, that's really it. And a team that, in my opinion, would only be compounding their problems by letting go of Greg Vanney, regardless of the results.
00:38:23
Speaker
and And they've been bad, as bad as they could possibly be. Greg Vanney has not lost one sense of the respect of the locker room. And I know this... with inside information.
00:38:34
Speaker
ah Greg Vanney's also a guy that to me radiates a lot of confidence where I would feel like he knows and understands this league vastly. So I think it's a good choice with what you have. Because what's the other thing you can do? Go and try to find another Guillermo Escaloto from like South America because he's a big name and then come and shake out? Yeah, they've tried a few different things. I mean, I...
00:39:00
Speaker
I don't, know that's I think that's a very relevant question is, if you fire Greg Vanney, what did what do you do? And you can, because you can make the case in a vacuum, sure, he should be fired. There are 13 games winless.
00:39:11
Speaker
That's the way it goes. But then what are you going to do next? And, i don't know, hire Peter Vermees? You're going to hire Jim Curtin? Jim Curtin, yeah. Jim Curtin? I mean, what is the, what's the, or are you going to go, ah like you said, are you going to find another garro Guillermo Barrascolotto,
00:39:27
Speaker
where you really don't know what you're going to get. They've already tried that path. It's a complicated thing. So, you know, theyre and don't know. I think the timing is a little weird, but whatever. I mean, wouldn't I suppose it would have been good to get this done in the offseason and then no one would have questioned it. Yeah. But but a lot of good rivalries, and I think this this all goes and ties in perfectly into it.
00:39:49
Speaker
Once again, I feel like this could be a trap game for LAFC, and I think that people who... kind of doing a full circle of what we started, had a lot of huge conclusions from this win. I feel like if it goes sideways on LAFC this weekend, I'm going to be the happiest man alive. I would not be at all surprised if LA Galaxy win this game. That's what I'm saying. yeah people you know We do this on Thursdays where we like put money, certain we talk about odds and things. and then Of course, all the odds are with LAFC, but they're not as high as you think. no that i was And the reason of it is because you feel like this could be a trap game. So man, do with it as you will, but to me, that's gonna be an interesting game to follow. And I have a feeling, um and not enough for me to you know be financially tied to it, but I do have a feeling that LA Galaxy could trap LA Galaxy.
00:40:40
Speaker
Well, let's close out with a note about Sounders here. yeah How do you feel going into this game? Do you feel reasonably confident? Thank you for the question, because I've been dying to get it out.
00:40:51
Speaker
I'm confident in the Sounders, man. And any if you know me, you should know that that's a big deal. Yeah, you're a hater. Because I'm the hater. I'm the one that, you know, why would you say that, Nico? You're just not a Sounders guy.
00:41:04
Speaker
I'm not a hater, I really see it as I feel it. And I think that this team, like we have been discussing the entirety of this podcast today, it was a calculated risk to put all your eggs in the basket of Timbers.
00:41:19
Speaker
And to me, watching both teams closely this season, i watched 90 minutes of both Timbers and the Sounders just about every week. Maybe I missed once of the Timbers.
00:41:31
Speaker
Seattle is the better balanced team. yeah And I think that Seattle defensively can really limit what Timber does well. They're gonna wanna go wide, they're gonna wanna go direct, they wanna have a lot of speed.
00:41:42
Speaker
And they're a team that, like you said, and i was it was a fantastic point, they have not been tested to the way that the Sounders have been tested. The Sounders have been down on the grind, they've had to pull in games.
00:41:55
Speaker
The Timbers haven't. And quite the opposite. They showed us against LAFC, against Vancouver, that they have a hard time holding on to leads. San Jose. Against San Jose. I mean, this is a team that has some difficulties really following through the 90 minutes.
00:42:09
Speaker
And Seattle is quite the opposite. They've been good on the road. They won in Houston. I think they can go to Portland and do some damage. I feel good about it. I feel like the Sounders are going to get a statement win.
00:42:22
Speaker
And... and we're gonna forget about LAFC immediately. And I'm gonna get to laugh at people for the LAFC, and that would be best case scenario. But regardless of, I think Seattle has a very good... um percentage up to win this game regardless of.
00:42:36
Speaker
And I feel like it's going to a good performance no matter what. if I see a team here that's confident, that understand what it takes to win. And I feel like you're going to see that at Providence Park yeah on the weekend. Well, that's a great note to end this on.
00:42:50
Speaker
I'm Jeremiah Oshan, signing off for Nico Moreno, who you can find on Soccer Down Here, you can find on Pouso Sports, who you can, of course, hear on Lobbing Scorchers and Nosarietes. Thanks for joining me again on another episode of What We Learned This Week with Nico.
00:43:07
Speaker
Thanks for listening, and we will catch you next time.
00:43:34
Speaker
I expect an LAFC who is motivated ah to prove themselves at home, to prove to their fans that that they're capable of winning in this league. And it's up to us to really brew in the party.
00:43:47
Speaker
You guys like that? and a what Awkward joke, dad joke right there, huh?