Latest / The Guuuzan Show / S1 Ep29 | Landon Donovan: The Greatest Trophy????

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S1 Ep29 | Landon Donovan: The Greatest Trophy???? · The Guuuzan Show

0:00
SPEAKER_02: You mentioned a certain Leonel Messi, and one of the things that he's accomplished was winning the MVP trophy, which happens to be named after you.
0:09
SPEAKER_04: I think what people don't realize is the proudest moment of his career was lifting the trophy named after him.
0:20
SPEAKER_02: All right, guys, welcome back to another episode of the Goose Ant Show.
0:24
SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Brad Gazan.
0:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh missing today, uh Joe, uh feeling a little bit under the weather, but we've got a very special guest with us.
0:34
SPEAKER_02: U.S.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: Soccer Royalty, absolute icon of the game.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: The man who the MLS MVP trophy is named after Mr.
0:43
SPEAKER_02: Landon Donovan himself.
0:45
SPEAKER_02: LD, welcome to the show, man.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: We appreciate you joining us.
0:48
SPEAKER_04: Howdy.
0:48
SPEAKER_04: Uh sorry that Joe's not feeling like generally people get sick when they hear I'm coming on the show.
0:53
SPEAKER_04: So I'm kind of used to it.
0:55
SPEAKER_04: That's what happens.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: How you doing, man?
0:58
SPEAKER_04: I'm good, but how about my Raiders too in the middle?
1:00
SPEAKER_02: I was just gonna say that hat is bang right in our face.
1:04
SPEAKER_04: You know you want to know the real reason I'm wearing a hat today?
1:06
SPEAKER_02: Well, listen, I think that's gonna be a little bit of a topic of discussion in a little bit, but but talk to me.
1:11
SPEAKER_04: What you won't know.
1:13
SPEAKER_04: All right, all right.
1:15
SPEAKER_04: You know, you won't know about having fake hair, but I have fake hair.
1:18
SPEAKER_04: But what happens when you have fake hair is over the course of multiple weeks, it sort of wears down a little bit.
1:25
SPEAKER_04: And I was trying to like, this is getting a little into it.
1:28
SPEAKER_04: I listen to like a knot.
1:30
SPEAKER_04: Okay, I was trying to fix a knot, and I ripped out a piece of the like the actual hair and the thing that the hair's on.
1:37
SPEAKER_04: Okay, and so I had this big hole in my head.
1:40
SPEAKER_02: So you have a bald you have a bald spot on the fake hair, but the bald spot's not actually supposed to be there.
1:47
SPEAKER_04: It was driving me crazy.
1:49
SPEAKER_04: So I just took the whole thing off yesterday and I'm going on Tuesday to get a new one.
1:52
SPEAKER_04: So I'm just like, I look like really, really gnarly right now.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's the reason.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: I've I've well listened this was gonna be a topic we're gonna we're gonna touch on a little bit later, but since you went right into it, I mean, talk talk me through that that whole situation because clearly I've I've I've come to grips with the fact that I I started balding, I was holding on to it.
2:15
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then all you embraced it.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: I I did, I did.
2:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you embraced it, and sadly I didn't.
2:21
SPEAKER_04: And so I got to this point in my life where I was like, look, I'm either gonna have like very little hair the rest of my life, or I can just try something sort of dramatic and go for it.
2:36
SPEAKER_04: And so I was like, you know what?
2:38
SPEAKER_04: I told my wife, I'm like, I'm just gonna try getting like a hair piece and see what how it is, how it looks.
2:43
SPEAKER_04: If it's terrible and I hate it, I'll get rid of it.
2:46
SPEAKER_04: And weirdly, what happened, because I hadn't had hair since I was like 22, or I was balding since I was 22, they put it on and I was almost like emotional.
2:55
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, oh my god, I kind of look a little bit younger and like not as ugly.
3:00
SPEAKER_04: And so I'm like, this is kind of nice, you know what I mean?
3:02
SPEAKER_02: I like it.
3:03
SPEAKER_04: So I kind of just went with it, it was fun.
3:05
SPEAKER_02: And did at any moment did you ever think about just just shaving it?
3:09
SPEAKER_02: Just you know what?
3:10
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm gonna embrace the baldness and I'm gonna go for it.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: I never did because I always thought, and maybe it's just my own insecurities.
3:16
SPEAKER_04: Like, I always thought I just had a really ugly head.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: But I mean, like now, yeah.
3:22
SPEAKER_02: Just just just go for it, you know what I mean?
3:24
SPEAKER_04: Like, and then it then you become such a dramatic change now because now I have like a lot of hair.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: This is true.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: Well, except for the bold spot that you ripped out because of the knot.
3:35
SPEAKER_04: I mean, no one's ever gonna see.
3:38
SPEAKER_04: I took a picture because I was like, I wonder what it looks like, and it's just this massive, like golf ball-sized bolt spot.
3:42
SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: I mean, so bad.
3:44
SPEAKER_02: I I I feel like I'd be missing out if I didn't ask to to to see it, but I I feel like you're not giving us a sneak peek.
3:52
SPEAKER_04: Dude, I look like okay.
3:53
SPEAKER_04: Have you ever watched uh The Office?
3:55
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
3:56
SPEAKER_04: Okay, so there's a guy in the office, his name is Kevin on the show, Brian Baumgartner.
4:02
SPEAKER_04: My hair literally looks like his, like where I have it down here and around the back, and it's completely bald.
4:08
SPEAKER_02: I shave my head at least once, sometimes twice.
4:11
SPEAKER_02: If I if I've got something going on in the evenings, I'll give it a that three o'clock shadow around the sides and the back.
4:17
SPEAKER_02: Twice a day.
4:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean that that shadow is weird.
4:21
SPEAKER_02: Only on the sides and the back, though.
4:22
SPEAKER_02: Only on the sides of the back.
4:23
SPEAKER_02: So that's what I would look like.
4:24
SPEAKER_02: That's what it looks like right now.
4:27
SPEAKER_02: It's all it's all together.
4:28
SPEAKER_02: Um, right.
4:29
SPEAKER_02: Well, now that now that we've broken the ice and now that's out of the way.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: We can we can move on.
4:34
SPEAKER_02: Uh how are you doing, man?
4:35
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, a busy summer, right?
4:38
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, we spent some time covering covering the World Cup.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: Um, how exciting was that for you?
4:44
SPEAKER_04: Well, you know, I mean, you're in like different stadium, different city, traveling, meeting people, doing appearances, the whole thing.
4:51
SPEAKER_04: It was crazy.
4:52
SPEAKER_04: I knew it would be crazy.
4:54
SPEAKER_04: I think I underestimated how crazy it would be.
4:57
SPEAKER_04: And it was a little bit like playing in the tournament, where when you get home, you know this.
5:02
SPEAKER_04: Like when you get home from a tournament like that, you're exhausted, and you're just trying to find a way to recover because it's really emotionally draining and physically draining, of course, but you're just on all the time.
5:15
SPEAKER_04: And I actually think you guys were on more than we were, because you guys were on like every day.
5:19
SPEAKER_04: There was something we would travel and then have a game a couple days later, whatever.
5:24
SPEAKER_04: You guys were on constantly, and you know how exhausting this whole summer was, but it was really, really fun.
5:30
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
5:30
SPEAKER_02: That's that's how I described it, right?
5:32
SPEAKER_02: It was you knew it was going to be chaotic, you embraced the chaos, and and and ultimately it was it was fantastic in in every aspect, you know.
5:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, obviously, we got to to see the U.S.
5:43
SPEAKER_02: team, we we got to be a part of those games, see those games, um, you know, the success success, and then then ultimately the the failures, right?
5:51
SPEAKER_02: And you know, for for you, what is it where does this team go from from here in terms of rebounding off of that summer?
6:00
SPEAKER_02: You know, I think we've we've turned the page.
6:03
SPEAKER_02: I I think we've closed that a little bit.
6:05
SPEAKER_02: Uh and officially once once these games have taken place, uh uh upcoming uh international friendlies.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh of course there are no friendlies as as Mauricio Paschatino likes to say.
6:16
SPEAKER_02: But um, you know, once these games kind of get underway, that that chapter will have officially closed.
6:21
SPEAKER_02: Um but where do they go from here?
6:24
SPEAKER_04: So the the rosters just got announced um for these four friendlies that are coming up.
6:31
SPEAKER_04: It's about half new guys and half guys that were part of the World Cup.
6:36
SPEAKER_04: I'm kind of looking at this, and I'm curious your opinion on especially the goalkeeper position.
6:43
SPEAKER_04: There are some spots that you would say, okay, these are solidified, right?
6:47
SPEAKER_04: Like if Jedi Anthony Robinson is still fit and healthy, he's gonna play.
6:52
SPEAKER_04: Chris Richards is gonna play.
6:54
SPEAKER_04: Right back, you would guess Alex Freeman is gonna be there as long as he continues to play and perform at Via Real or wherever he is.
7:00
SPEAKER_04: Um, Tyler Adams, fit and healthy, Weston McKenney fit and healthy, probably Malik Tillman fit and healthy, Flo Balogan fit and healthy.
7:08
SPEAKER_04: All these guys you think are probably gonna play.
7:09
SPEAKER_04: And then there's a couple spots where you go, I'm not so sure, right?
7:12
SPEAKER_04: Christian Polisik, I think at his best, performing well for sure.
7:16
SPEAKER_04: Then there's like two or three spots where you're not sure.
7:19
SPEAKER_04: And for me, the biggest two are who's gonna pair with Chris Richards?
7:23
SPEAKER_04: And we don't like, we don't know what that's gonna look like, and who's gonna be playing goalie?
7:29
SPEAKER_04: And who who's in in goal is gonna be a big question mark.
7:33
SPEAKER_04: And so this this camp has Chris Brady, Matt Freeze, Diego Cochin, and I forget the fourth.
7:38
SPEAKER_04: Um, but I'm curious to see does Pochettino see one of those guys other than Matt Freeze as the guy, right?
7:47
SPEAKER_04: They obviously brought Chris Brady for a reason to the World Cup, is and they thought they think that he has big upside.
7:52
SPEAKER_04: Diego Coaching is someone we've all been waiting to see for a long time.
7:56
SPEAKER_04: So if he believes one of those guys is the guy, does he just run with it now and say, look, I'm gonna give you the next 30 to 40 games ahead of uh the World Cup in 2030 and just go with you?
8:08
SPEAKER_04: Or is do they believe Matt Freeze is the guy?
8:10
SPEAKER_04: And now Matt Freeze with 30 to 40 more internationals and hundreds more or a hundred more club games is a much better goalkeeper.
8:18
SPEAKER_04: I don't know the answer to that.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: And I'm actually curious how you how you view that.
8:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, listen, I I certainly don't know the answer either, right?
8:25
SPEAKER_02: And I can talk from experience in terms of the experiences that I had during the national team and going into camp and understanding that, okay, Tim is the number one, and you know, all of a sudden now what do I bring to the group?
8:38
SPEAKER_02: How can I individually get better?
8:40
SPEAKER_02: How can I help the group?
8:42
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I think when you look at this group, that is a huge decision uh on what they do.
8:49
SPEAKER_02: I don't, based off of the last two years and how Mauricio Pachatino has operated, I don't see him going and saying, right, you're gonna be my guy for the next 30, 40 game, 40 games.
9:01
SPEAKER_02: I I don't.
9:02
SPEAKER_02: I think it's going to be right a constant rotation.
9:05
SPEAKER_02: Uh in whoever takes that position with both hands and and grasps the opportunity, I think then he will look to roll with them as as long as he can, similar to how Matt Friese did when he took the opportunity from the Gold Cup.
9:19
SPEAKER_02: Right.
9:19
SPEAKER_02: And he took that opportunity and he rode that train into the World Cup.
9:23
SPEAKER_04: So I asked Tim this this morning on our pod too, and uh I'll ask you the same.
9:28
SPEAKER_04: If they believe, and I have no idea, I'm just saying, or if if you're a goalkeeper coach in that camp or you're Mauricio Pochettino, and you believe that Chris Brady is the guy for 2030, or Diego Cochen, or somebody else is the guy.
9:46
SPEAKER_04: Are you now saying, look, I'm going to give this guy the next three and a half years of games?
9:54
SPEAKER_04: Or are you saying, look, we need to be careful, he's 20 years old, or these guys are young, we need to sort of interspurse and work our way in.
10:00
SPEAKER_04: Because if it's a field player, like Neil Pierre, who's a center back for Philly, who's in, I hope he gets to pair with Chris Richards.
10:07
SPEAKER_04: And if you believe he is the guy, I say give him all the games right now, and let's see what Kevin Sullivan, whoever, give him all the games and let's see if he if he flares out after four or five games, fine, we can move on.
10:19
SPEAKER_04: But we believe he's the guy.
10:20
SPEAKER_04: I'm gonna give him every chance to get experience because you know how valuable these experiences are.
10:25
SPEAKER_04: For sure.
10:25
SPEAKER_04: So do you do that or would would you just start giving him all the games, or do you slowly enter?
10:30
SPEAKER_02: I don't know from a goalkeeper perspective how as a as a goalkeeper, you want as many games as possible to feel comfortable, to be in game-like situations, of course, and and you want that experience because as much as you train, as much as you watch a video, you talk about different things, experiencing it on the pitch is a whole nother uh opportunity.
10:49
SPEAKER_02: And so to be at that international level and to be a part of big games on the field having that experience, it's it's second to none.
10:56
SPEAKER_02: And so um, I just again, I don't think he will do that.
10:59
SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, unless whoever is playing is standing on their head.
11:04
SPEAKER_02: And if they stand on their head, and now of a sudden it's like, okay, well, you've earned that opportunity to go again and and continue to do so um as the games continue to come.
11:13
SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, it'll be interesting to see how that all unfolds because I I think these four games will certainly tell us a lot um about the group, about the the the the program of where Mauricio Pasciatino wants to take it.
11:26
SPEAKER_02: Um going back to this summer, right?
11:28
SPEAKER_02: And you know, you've you've gone since since hanging up the boots, you've done a little bit of everything, right?
11:35
SPEAKER_02: You've done coaching, you've done the broadcast thing.
11:38
SPEAKER_02: You know, what what brings you the most joy, uh LD in terms of off the field?
11:44
SPEAKER_04: Actually, the most joy was in coaching, uh, because you get to have a positive, hopefully, positive impact on humans' lives every day.
11:55
SPEAKER_04: And you know this.
11:56
SPEAKER_04: When you're in a when you're in a an environment with a team, you're around each other for like six hours every day.
12:03
SPEAKER_04: I mean, there is a lot of interaction and a lot going on.
12:07
SPEAKER_04: And at the USL level, especially where we were, these guys need a lot of help.
12:12
SPEAKER_04: Like they are not these polished pros who are stable and like confident and good at what they do.
12:19
SPEAKER_04: These are guys who are, you know, in missing something to not be at the top level.
12:23
SPEAKER_04: And so they need a lot of help.
12:24
SPEAKER_04: So having the ability to impact them and in particular, impact young kids that would come in.
12:30
SPEAKER_04: We had a group of like four or five, 15, 16-year-olds that would come in for training every day.
12:35
SPEAKER_04: And these were not the top San Diego kids.
12:38
SPEAKER_04: These were kids who got picked over because we were late to this game, picked over by RSL, by the Galaxy, by LAFC.
12:46
SPEAKER_04: Everybody else was already taken.
12:48
SPEAKER_04: So these were the next best 16, 15, 16-year-olds.
12:52
SPEAKER_04: So this was the 40th best 15-year-old, not the best, best kid that you would get from San Diego coming out.
12:58
SPEAKER_04: So they needed a lot of help and a lot of work, but we took a lot of pride in that.
13:01
SPEAKER_04: And I really enjoyed watching one of our kids get drafted, drafted by Austin FC and play games in MLS, one of our kids play in USL Championship, one of our kids at San Diego FC now.
13:12
SPEAKER_04: Like helping them develop and get to that level was really brought me a lot of joy.
13:17
SPEAKER_04: Um, the irony, of course, is that it also brings you the most stress, right?
13:22
SPEAKER_04: Because it is so stressful to be in that environment every day.
13:25
SPEAKER_04: And you have so many different shareholders that are wanting something from you or expecting things, the players for sure, all your staff around you, the fans, the front office, the ownership.
13:35
SPEAKER_04: So, like there's a lot of stress involved.
13:38
SPEAKER_04: So that part brought me the most joy, but also the most stress.
13:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, it has brought me in in my post-playing career.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: Love that, man.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: Love that.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: I mean, think about how lucky those kids are to be able to work with someone like Landon Donovan, right?
13:51
SPEAKER_02: To to work with yourself and the career that you had, the the the face of the sport for forever, really, in terms of helping the sport um to create what it is today.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, you played such a huge part.
14:07
SPEAKER_02: And for those kids to take on that information, what was that like to be able to pass that on to 14, 15, 16 year olds?
14:13
SPEAKER_02: Were they accepting of it?
14:15
SPEAKER_02: Were they like, oh, Landon Donovan, oh, this this guy played 20 years ago?
14:19
SPEAKER_02: Or were they like, yeah, this is amazing?
14:22
SPEAKER_04: No, it's how, no, no, no, it's how you approached it.
14:24
SPEAKER_04: What you get right away is you get the immediate respect.
14:27
SPEAKER_04: So a lot of coaches, like my my assistant coach who then was our head coach, Nate Miller, he didn't play at a high level.
14:34
SPEAKER_04: So at 26, he started coaching.
14:36
SPEAKER_04: So he knew a lot more about coaching than I knew.
14:39
SPEAKER_04: Lot, lot, lot more.
14:41
SPEAKER_04: But he didn't have the instant respect because he didn't play.
14:43
SPEAKER_04: So when when these kids would start with me, there's instant respect.
14:47
SPEAKER_04: But I'll tell you what happens fast, Brad, is like the minute you sub a guy out in the 60th minute, they don't look at you as like that player anymore.
14:55
SPEAKER_04: They're like, damn, why'd he sub me out?
14:57
SPEAKER_04: You know, like I don't care who he is.
14:58
SPEAKER_04: He just took me out of the game, right?
15:00
SPEAKER_04: So you have to you get the respect, but you have to work hard to keep the respect, right?
15:05
SPEAKER_04: Whereas Nate Miller, who was he had to earn it every day over a course of a few years before he got the trust and respect from the players.
15:12
SPEAKER_04: So you get it immediately, but you've seen it all over the world.
15:16
SPEAKER_04: Coaches who are great players, they can lose that respect really fast because they're not good at what they do.
15:21
SPEAKER_04: And the players eventually are like, look, that's great that you played 300 games in the Premier League and played in three World Cups, but you're not helping me.
15:28
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right.
15:29
SPEAKER_04: And so they they very quickly become player coach and not someone who just admired you as a player.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: For sure, for sure.
15:35
SPEAKER_02: And obviously, you when you look at your career, right?
15:37
SPEAKER_02: You you you went to Germany at a young age, you started your professional journey at a young age at was it 16, right?
15:45
SPEAKER_02: Seven, sixteen, yep.
15:46
SPEAKER_02: Um you know, you look at someone like Kevin Sullivan, right?
15:50
SPEAKER_02: These these young academy products that are now getting this opportunity, whether it's the national team or first team with with MLS or in the USL, what was it, if it was one thing or a multiple of things, um, that allowed you to be successful, to to allow you to have the career that you did?
16:09
SPEAKER_02: Because we see tons of kids that, yes, they've come out of MLS academies, they've they've come out of USL, they've played X amount of games, but then after a year or two, that's it.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: And they don't go on to succeed and reach their potential.
16:24
SPEAKER_04: Well, this is probably the multi-you, whatever, billion dollar question clubs are trying to figure out.
16:31
SPEAKER_04: So I see it in youth soccer, right?
16:33
SPEAKER_04: Kids get picked based on their physical or technical abilities at seven, eight, nine, ten years old, because coaches and evaluators don't know what they're supposed to be looking for, right?
16:48
SPEAKER_04: So at a young age, if you are physically more dominant or athletically more dominant, or technically can do things different, you're gonna stand, you're gonna stand out.
16:57
SPEAKER_04: And those are the kids that that people invest in.
17:00
SPEAKER_04: The reality is when you get to the highest levels, everybody has all those things, right?
17:06
SPEAKER_04: Or or has very close to those things.
17:09
SPEAKER_04: Like Ses Fabrigast doesn't have the pace and power that Didier Dragba had, but he had some other things that made him better and different.
17:17
SPEAKER_04: And and so most players have all of the same things.
17:20
SPEAKER_04: And you know this from years of playing, obviously.
17:22
SPEAKER_04: What I believe separates like the the really great and elite ones is this desire to be the best and a mentality that allows you to deal with the really hard moments, the bad moments, when you're tired, when you're injured, to just have a a drive that keeps you going.
17:46
SPEAKER_04: And so when you talk about Kevin Sullivan, I see something different.
17:50
SPEAKER_04: I don't talk about any of these kids highly until they show it, right?
17:54
SPEAKER_04: And he is clearly showing it in MLS, but there's something about him that's a bit like nasty and a bit brash.
18:02
SPEAKER_04: And you know, when I see him like manning up against Luis Suarez or Lionel Messi, I'm like, okay, he doesn't really care.
18:10
SPEAKER_04: And looking at myself and my career, when we were with the under 17 national team as 15, 16-year-olds, we would play MLS teams.
18:18
SPEAKER_04: And I was a punk, dude.
18:20
SPEAKER_04: Like I was, I was such a jerk to them, and I would talk shit.
18:24
SPEAKER_04: And like, I was just being a punk.
18:26
SPEAKER_04: And I look back though, and I'm like, but you have to be that because if you're just sort of the nice kid who's like trying, you're not gonna make it.
18:32
SPEAKER_04: You'll make it to some extent, but you're not gonna break in and make it against real pros.
18:36
SPEAKER_04: They're trying to keep their job, right?
18:38
SPEAKER_04: They don't want you to succeed.
18:40
SPEAKER_04: So when I watch him, I'm like, oh, there's something different about this.
18:43
SPEAKER_04: Forget about the talent and the goals.
18:44
SPEAKER_04: He has all that in spades.
18:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, there's something a little bit nasty about him that I think separates him from anybody I've seen in a long time.
18:52
SPEAKER_04: And so I'm really excited to watch him continue to develop and grow.
18:57
SPEAKER_02: I agree.
18:57
SPEAKER_02: I think there's a fine balance between arrogance and and confidence and believing in yourself, right?
19:02
SPEAKER_02: And then applying that, yeah, whether it's in training, whether it's in games, and then understanding where it is you want to get to, right?
19:09
SPEAKER_02: And and understanding the environment that you're in.
19:11
SPEAKER_02: I remember the first time, it was about three days into my first year with with Chievous USA after I was drafted.
19:17
SPEAKER_02: And I remember thinking, okay, this is now a business.
19:21
SPEAKER_02: This is no longer, you know, that's right.
19:23
SPEAKER_02: This is just for fun.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: This this guy that's now just been traded, I see him crying on the other side of the locker room because he's enrolled his kids, his wife, they bought a house and now they've been traded across the country.
19:33
SPEAKER_02: And you're like, oh wow, this is this is real, you know, this he's trying to provide for his family.
19:37
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, as a kid, you're like, oh, it's it's fine, you know, it's no, you're you're you're taking food away from from somebody, you know.
19:44
SPEAKER_02: Speaking of the league, right?
19:46
SPEAKER_02: We've we've seen major league soccer grow over the years, you know, and to see where it is now, I I think it excites us because especially someone like yourself that you've seen it from the from from from the early days of you know the the struggles and what was um probably MLS 1.0, you know, to see where it is now, how do we continue to to push the to bought push the bar, raise the raise the bar and say, you know what, we want to become one of these top three American sports.
20:17
SPEAKER_02: How do how do we do that?
20:18
SPEAKER_04: Well, it's funny to hear you say that because you basically saw, well, I did two, but you, I think more than I, saw the two extreme ends of the spectrum.
20:28
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you were achieving USA, where sometimes there are hundreds of people, right?
20:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, there were like hundreds of people on the stands, and then you got to play in Atlanta, where there's I don't know, 65,000, 70,000 fans, right?
20:39
SPEAKER_04: Like you saw, I saw a few thousand fans in San Jose at the time, and then I saw like 27,000, you know, but you saw very extreme ends of the spectrum.
20:48
SPEAKER_04: So you've seen that grow too.
20:50
SPEAKER_04: And my opinion now is the league, the league has done a phenomenal job of making sure the league is still around.
21:02
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
21:02
SPEAKER_04: And and people who are new to this sport have no idea how close this league was to folding.
21:09
SPEAKER_04: In 2001, Brad, we won MLS Cup.
21:14
SPEAKER_04: And going into the 2002 season, the players associate, I wasn't a part of it, but I remember Jeff Aegis in our locker room coming in and talking to us and saying, look, the league is gonna make a decision in the next few weeks whether it's gonna fold or not.
21:29
SPEAKER_04: The league, right?
21:30
SPEAKER_04: And you think about that now, and you're like, that's the craziest thing ever.
21:34
SPEAKER_04: But there were 10 teams, none of them were profitable, they were bleeding money.
21:38
SPEAKER_04: Probably like three owners.
21:39
SPEAKER_04: There were three owners, Lamar Hunt, uh, rest in peace, Robert Kraft, and Phil Anschutz.
21:46
SPEAKER_04: Basically, there might have been one other with a small team or something.
21:49
SPEAKER_04: But if Phil Anschutz or Robert Kraft were like, nah, I'm good, I'm out, the league was over.
21:54
SPEAKER_04: That was it, it was over.
21:56
SPEAKER_04: And so those two in particular, and Lamar Hunt, sorry.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: Decided to float the league and keep it going.
22:02
SPEAKER_04: Now, these are not dumb people.
22:04
SPEAKER_04: Of course, there's who are business decisions, whatever, but they could have, they could have put their money elsewhere.
22:08
SPEAKER_04: They have a million places they can invest and things they can do.
22:11
SPEAKER_04: They decided to keep the league going.
22:13
SPEAKER_04: So the league has done a great job of making sure the league survives.
22:18
SPEAKER_04: We are now at a point where you have multi, multi, multi-billionaire owners.
22:23
SPEAKER_04: Arthur Blank is a perfect example.
22:26
SPEAKER_04: I'm sure, not I'm not sure, he's shown it.
22:28
SPEAKER_04: He is willing and desiring of spending money to grow the sport, right?
22:34
SPEAKER_04: Many, many of the owners, many more than half of the owners are willing and desiring to spend more money to grow the sport in responsible ways.
22:42
SPEAKER_04: And the only way the league becomes one of the top, top leagues in the world is you have to have the players here.
22:48
SPEAKER_04: You have to have the players.
22:49
SPEAKER_04: The players have to be here that excite people and make people want to watch.
22:54
SPEAKER_04: It cannot just be Leonel Messi or David Beckham, right?
22:59
SPEAKER_04: You need to find a way, either fiscally or through competition, to entice players to play here.
23:06
SPEAKER_04: Everybody, you know this, Brad.
23:08
SPEAKER_04: The guys in England, they'd probably tell you all the time, like, God, I'd love to live in America, play in America, right?
23:13
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's like it's a dream.
23:15
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
23:15
SPEAKER_04: And so the league now, I believe, is ready to take off the guardrails.
23:21
SPEAKER_04: You don't have to go crazy, crazy, crazy, but teams could easily double their spending and still financially be fine.
23:31
SPEAKER_04: You know, the franchise valuations have gone through the roof.
23:34
SPEAKER_04: So they could easily double their spending on players and be fine.
23:38
SPEAKER_04: And the quality would continue to get better and better.
23:41
SPEAKER_04: And I don't know this, I don't have any inside info.
23:43
SPEAKER_04: I think the league is ready to do that.
23:45
SPEAKER_04: And I think they're ready to take the the guardrails down a little bit and start going for it.
23:52
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
23:53
SPEAKER_02: And and I hope so, man, because it's you know, the the fan is well, the fan is is ready for that in terms of how knowledgeable they are.
24:03
SPEAKER_02: Um they're they're wanting that.
24:05
SPEAKER_02: And I think when you create that, right?
24:08
SPEAKER_02: You talk about fan bases earlier and a hundred you know, fans at Chiefest USA Games, and and now it's, you know, I I don't know what the average attendance is in Major League Soccer, right?
24:17
SPEAKER_02: But the average fan is much more knowledgeable today than they were 15, 20 years ago.
24:21
SPEAKER_02: And they're saying, yes, give give us more.
24:24
SPEAKER_02: And we will spend money, we will come to games if the product on the field is good.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: And and what we're cheering for is is worth cheering for.
24:33
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so and Brad, it's not just it's not just an MLS.
24:37
SPEAKER_04: Last week, I was in Boise, Idaho last week.
24:39
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
24:40
SPEAKER_04: So I have family.
24:41
SPEAKER_04: I grew up with family, family lives there, and my old assistant coach Nate Miller, I was just talking about, is the coach there.
24:46
SPEAKER_04: They're USL League One, so they're third tier here.
24:49
SPEAKER_04: They sell out 7,000 fans every game.
24:51
SPEAKER_04: It's amazing.
24:52
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
24:52
SPEAKER_04: There was a play.
24:54
SPEAKER_04: I almost got goosebumps.
24:55
SPEAKER_04: There was a play.
24:56
SPEAKER_04: This is Boise, Idaho.
24:58
SPEAKER_04: They've had a team for one year, 7,000 people in the stadium.
25:00
SPEAKER_04: A center back for Boise got like in a like it was a long ball from the goal.
25:05
SPEAKER_04: It's like in a one-on-one moment.
25:06
SPEAKER_04: And he like makes a tackle and comes out with the ball, like pulls it out of the air and makes the tackle, and the whole crowd cheered.
25:12
SPEAKER_04: And I was like, oh, they actually know what they're watching.
25:14
SPEAKER_04: Right.
25:15
SPEAKER_04: Right?
25:15
SPEAKER_04: Like, it's not just in big, like the whole country now understands the sport at a high level.
25:20
SPEAKER_04: And so you're right.
25:21
SPEAKER_04: I think the fan, I didn't think about it that way, but like the fan is ready for more.
25:25
SPEAKER_04: Give me more.
25:26
SPEAKER_04: I want more.
25:26
SPEAKER_04: I want to learn more, know more, see better players for sure.
25:29
SPEAKER_02: No, absolutely.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: You mentioned a certain Lean El Messi.
25:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and obviously to see what he's done for the league uh since since arriving in Major League Soccer is has been phenomenal, right?
25:40
SPEAKER_02: And one of the things that he's accomplished was winning the MVP trophy, which happens to be named after you.
25:48
SPEAKER_02: What is that feeling like in terms of one, having the MVP trophy of an entire league named after you?
25:55
SPEAKER_02: But then someone that, you know, a lot of people around the world obviously, you know, hold him in high regard and say he's the greatest of all time.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: Um, but what is that like then watching him lift the Landon Donovan MVP trophy for you?
26:11
SPEAKER_04: Well, I think what people don't realize is the proudest moment of his career was lifting the trophy named after me.
26:17
SPEAKER_04: I'm just kidding.
26:18
SPEAKER_04: Um, I am very, very grateful to Don Garber um for doing that.
26:28
SPEAKER_04: I think what again, I talked about the the early days of MLS.
26:32
SPEAKER_04: I think what people don't understand is people are very hard on Don Garber, and a lot of people have feelings about him or the league or your owners or your coaches or you everybody at that time, Brad, was trying really players included, really hard to promote the game and be an ambassador for the game.
26:53
SPEAKER_04: And I really care about soccer and soccer in this country and this league.
26:58
SPEAKER_04: There were times, it's gonna be, I don't, well, maybe you do know this from your Chivos TSA days, but no one, I would do appearances in a random park with 12 AYSO kids so that the club could sell 12 tickets.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: I swear to God, right?
27:14
SPEAKER_04: To get 12 people in the stadium, right?
27:17
SPEAKER_04: And so we've worked really hard.
27:19
SPEAKER_04: Forget about what happened on the field, but like we've all worked really, really hard to try to make this league what it is today.
27:27
SPEAKER_04: So I'm really proud of that, and I'm really grateful to the commissioner um for acknowledging that.
27:34
SPEAKER_04: We've we've gone through a lot of it together, and it's been really hard at times.
27:37
SPEAKER_04: So I am very proud of that.
27:39
SPEAKER_04: But the when you just say that, it just tells you how far this league has come because the, in my opinion, the greatest players ever played the world's most popular sport is playing every week in our league.
27:53
SPEAKER_04: I mean, just think about that for a minute.
27:56
SPEAKER_04: That's a crazy statement, yeah.
27:58
SPEAKER_04: Right.
27:58
SPEAKER_04: And so it it's pretty impressive what obviously Jorge Moss and David Beckham and Inner Miami have done to get him here.
28:06
SPEAKER_04: And of course, a massive credit to Major League Soccer for having him here too, because those are hard deals to put together.
28:11
SPEAKER_04: And it's I think we just need to take a minute and really appreciate what we have.
28:16
SPEAKER_02: I completely agree.
28:17
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I think when you look back on history, right, and and you know, when we look back on these last few years and and him being in Major League Soccer and um, you know, what it means for this league, what it means for the sport in this country, I don't think we'll really appreciate it for another 10, 15, 20 years in terms of, you know, his ability and and what he's done, hopefully, uh, and will continue to do uh long afterwards.
28:44
SPEAKER_02: But, you know, LD, obviously you are an icon, a legend of this sport, especially here in this country.
28:51
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, but now you've turned the page and you know, you're a husband, you're a father, you've been outspoken about the the pay-to-play model when it comes to youth sports.
29:01
SPEAKER_02: What kind of what kind of sideline dad are you when it when it comes to going to your kid's sports?
29:06
SPEAKER_02: Because I'm in the same boat.
29:08
SPEAKER_02: I'm in the same boat.
29:09
SPEAKER_02: I gotta know what kind of dad I'm the quiet guy, sit in my lawn chair, yeah, my little you know, sunshakes, it's always 95 degrees out here and and roasting.
29:18
SPEAKER_04: But um so the what I do is I bring a chair, I always wear a hat and glasses.
29:25
SPEAKER_04: Um, I put in ear pods when I get out of the car and I walk to the field.
29:30
SPEAKER_04: I find the most uh quiet, obscure place that I can still see the game, oftentimes behind the goal, a little bit to the side, um, because all the parents are lined up on the sideline, and then on the other sideline is generally the coaches and the team.
29:43
SPEAKER_04: And I put on usually meditation music, and I just watch my kid play, and it brings me so much joy.
29:52
SPEAKER_04: And once in a while, like if one of my other kids is with me, they'll come over.
29:56
SPEAKER_04: So I take out my AirPods and I'll listen to the coaches or the players or sorry, the coaches or the parents, and it just it like really angers me to listen to them and the way they speak to the kids.
30:08
SPEAKER_04: One, because they have no idea what they're talking about, but two, just the way they speak really drives me crazy.
30:13
SPEAKER_04: So, like, put my AirPods back in and I just enjoy the game.
30:18
SPEAKER_04: And uh I I'm you know, in the short term, my kids probably aren't not probably, they're not as good as they could be right now, as if I like was drilling them every day and working hard.
30:34
SPEAKER_04: But in the long term, they would end up falling out of love with the game, probably.
30:39
SPEAKER_04: They would resent me for it.
30:41
SPEAKER_04: They come to me every day, Brad.
30:43
SPEAKER_04: Every day.
30:43
SPEAKER_04: You know, a lot of kids probably were like, God, I don't want to go to practice or I don't want to go in the backyard and work on stuff.
30:50
SPEAKER_04: My kids, every time I walk in the door or they get home from school, daddy, can we go play soccer?
30:54
SPEAKER_04: Daddy, can we go play soccer every day?
30:56
SPEAKER_04: That's amazing.
30:57
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, God, I've played enough soccer.
30:59
SPEAKER_04: I'll play anything.
31:00
SPEAKER_04: I'll throw a football, a baseball, I'll play cards, anything but soccer, please.
31:04
SPEAKER_04: Oh, I want to play soccer.
31:05
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, okay, let's go play soccer.
31:07
SPEAKER_04: So they love the game and they love playing.
31:10
SPEAKER_04: And that to me is the most important.
31:12
SPEAKER_04: I know all the data, I know all the statistics.
31:15
SPEAKER_04: The chances of any of them ever making it past like college are virtually impossible.
31:21
SPEAKER_04: I just want them to love the sport.
31:23
SPEAKER_04: I do.
31:23
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
31:24
SPEAKER_02: Do they do they realize who who daddy is in terms of you know who you are and and and what you've done for the game?
31:31
SPEAKER_02: Or are they just like, dad, listen, uh, you don't know what you're talking about?
31:35
SPEAKER_04: Well, I've got a 10 and a half year old, a nine-year-old, and a seven and a half.
31:40
SPEAKER_04: My seven and a half is my girl, and I have two boys.
31:42
SPEAKER_04: My girl doesn't really get it.
31:44
SPEAKER_04: My older two do, my boys get it.
31:46
SPEAKER_04: And they'll see it too when someone comes up and be like, Can I take a picture?
31:50
SPEAKER_04: Can I take and they'll be like, Do you know who your dad is?
31:52
SPEAKER_04: Right.
31:53
SPEAKER_04: So they kind of get it.
31:54
SPEAKER_04: But the beauty of kids is like when I'm at home, they're like, he's all time quarterback.
31:59
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, like yeah, they don't.
32:00
SPEAKER_04: I'm just like the the dad who's too strict, you know.
32:02
SPEAKER_04: Like they don't give, they could care less about that, which is cool about kids because they're not their brains aren't clogged with any of the like stardom or BS that that that adults get into.
32:13
SPEAKER_02: No, I love that, man.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm the same.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, it's if you want to practice, great.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: I will go outside and practice and and be a part.
32:21
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not gonna go and scream at your games.
32:23
SPEAKER_02: I'm not going to, you know, and some of these coaches, you know, I'm so our our my my oldest, his coach is is great, helps him, you know, understand the game and and talks to him in a way that 11-year-olds should be spoken to.
32:36
SPEAKER_02: Um, but some of these opposition coaches, I'm like, oh my gosh.
32:39
SPEAKER_02: And I'll say to my son, listen, if that was your coach, we'd be done.
32:44
SPEAKER_02: We'd we're we're walking we're walking away, we're going somewhere else.
32:46
SPEAKER_02: But that's good.
32:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah.
32:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, listen, man.
32:49
SPEAKER_02: One last final thing.
32:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we appreciate you joining the the show.
32:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh, a little bit of rapid fire for you, a little bit of fun.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: All right.
32:59
SPEAKER_02: Stay quiet until you hear a better striker than Landon Donovan.
33:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh, God.
33:04
SPEAKER_02: I always get in trouble for that.
33:07
SPEAKER_04: Oh, better than me?
33:08
SPEAKER_02: Better than you.
33:09
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
33:10
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
33:11
unknown: Okay.
33:11
SPEAKER_04: Better striker or better like attacking?
33:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like because you weren't even a striker.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: You were a winger, you were a 10.
33:17
SPEAKER_02: You had this ability to do it.
33:18
SPEAKER_04: A lot of things to a lot of people.
33:20
SPEAKER_02: Correct.
33:20
SPEAKER_02: You just roam all over the place.
33:22
SPEAKER_02: Um first.
33:24
SPEAKER_02: Taylor Twellman.
33:27
SPEAKER_02: Mike Mickey.
33:30
SPEAKER_02: Edson Bottle.
33:32
SPEAKER_02: Bradley Wright Phillips.
33:35
SPEAKER_02: Hi Kamara.
33:38
SPEAKER_02: Tim Gale.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: Joseph Martinez.
33:47
SPEAKER_02: Low Balligan.
33:50
SPEAKER_02: Peter Crouch.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: Chris Wondolowski.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: Zlatan Ibrahimovich.
33:59
SPEAKER_02: Let's go, LD.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: That's on my list.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: No, it's Latan.
34:03
SPEAKER_02: No, I don't go back.
34:04
SPEAKER_04: I should have stopped at Peter Crouch, too.
34:06
SPEAKER_04: No, imagine that you can't go back.
34:08
SPEAKER_04: The English people right now.
34:10
SPEAKER_04: They're like, this dumb yank.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
34:13
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
34:13
SPEAKER_04: He thinks he's so good.
34:14
SPEAKER_02: What do you mean?
34:15
SPEAKER_02: You had loads of success, successful loan spells over at Everton.
34:18
SPEAKER_02: You crushed it.
34:19
SPEAKER_04: I know, but Peter Crouch scored like 100 goals for England.
34:22
SPEAKER_04: This is also true.
34:23
SPEAKER_04: Did he score 100 goals?
34:24
SPEAKER_04: Maybe in the Premier League.
34:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
34:26
SPEAKER_04: No, he didn't score 100 goals for England.
34:27
SPEAKER_04: He scored 100 goals in the Premier League.
34:29
SPEAKER_04: He's a nice guy, and I saw him this summer, so he's gonna think I'm a total, total loser.
34:35
SPEAKER_02: He was great.
34:36
SPEAKER_02: Spent a lot of time with him this summer.
34:37
SPEAKER_02: He was fantastic.
34:38
SPEAKER_02: What a fun guy, huh?
34:39
SPEAKER_02: Oh, it was such a good time.
34:41
SPEAKER_02: He was great.
34:41
SPEAKER_02: The summer was great.
34:43
SPEAKER_02: Uh, where the sport's going is is hopefully going to be great.
34:46
SPEAKER_02: Um, chatting you was great, man.
34:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh appreciate you taking the time, LD.
34:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh, always an honor, man.
34:53
SPEAKER_02: Absolute legend.
34:54
SPEAKER_02: The game.
34:54
SPEAKER_02: Can't thank you enough, dude.
34:56
SPEAKER_04: My pleasure, bud.
34:57
SPEAKER_04: Go Raiders, and sorry about your Falcons.
35:00
SPEAKER_02: Well, that's a wrap.
35:02
SPEAKER_02: Talking to Landon Donovan on the Goo Angel.
35:07
SPEAKER_02: We are in the holidays.
35:09
SPEAKER_02: Hey, I appreciate you guys in the control room, obviously coming, coming back to us.
35:13
SPEAKER_02: You for a half second there, you know.
35:15
SPEAKER_02: I was getting a little worried with my uh, you know, my calorie intake.
35:21
SPEAKER_02: I I was gonna need a little bit more, you know.
35:23
SPEAKER_02: But uh no, courtesy of our friends over at the Home Depot.
35:26
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
35:27
SPEAKER_02: Decorating our studio for us, putting us in the Halloween spirit.
35:31
SPEAKER_02: Hope everyone out there is is doing the same.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: Spooky spirit.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: And Brad, that was something I wanted to ask you.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: What are some of the the goose and traditions when it comes to Halloween?
35:38
SPEAKER_01: Have you guys picked out your your costumes already?
35:40
SPEAKER_02: That's always uh it's always a hot topic in our house when it comes to uh deciding what we're gonna be.
35:45
SPEAKER_02: We tend to go with some sort of family theme, but the kids are getting older now, Joe.
35:49
SPEAKER_02: And so as they get older, they they kind of want to go off and do their own thing and they've got their own ideas.
35:55
SPEAKER_02: So I know that the younger ones are still debating.
35:58
SPEAKER_02: Normally that's a that's a hot topic leading up until probably the day before Halloween.
36:03
SPEAKER_02: They're they're switching costume.
36:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're switching costume ideas.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: Are you doing the crunch thing where they're like, okay, dad, I know now.
36:10
SPEAKER_02: We end up we end up we end up having two, three costumes by the time Halloween rolls around.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: And then it's like, well, what are we going with here?
36:17
SPEAKER_01: Um that's good because you can go to school is one thing, you go trick-or-treating as a next at a party the next day, rotation.
36:22
SPEAKER_02: You've got to be able, and listen, it's it's extremely tactical when it comes to trick-or-treating in in a certain costume.
36:29
SPEAKER_02: You've got to make sure you're you're quick from street to to front door of house.
36:33
SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, the big inflatables with the little fan in the costume and you're the wobbly dinosaur, those those aren't ideal from going house to house.
36:41
SPEAKER_01: Is that where you're gonna be this year, bro?
36:43
SPEAKER_02: Uh I mean, listen, I'm not going house to house.
36:44
SPEAKER_02: I get to stay in the road.
36:46
SPEAKER_02: The kids are old enough where it's like, okay, I can watch them walk up to the door.
36:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, sometimes our our youngest uh she'll she'll say, Dad, come on, come with me.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: And so then I gotta venture up the driveway into the front door.
36:58
SPEAKER_02: But uh yeah, they love it, and and because of that, we love it as well.
37:02
SPEAKER_01: Well, we hope you 17s are getting ready for yours.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: We want to say thank you so much as always for tuning into the Goozan show.
37:06
SPEAKER_01: We've got a special edition of the Home Depot mailbag, always delivered on a uh on time, like a Home Depot delivery.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: We're actually gonna kick it to the world's biggest Troy Parrot fan.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: We got Kev Egan of MLS360 calling into the show for you here, Goose.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
37:22
SPEAKER_01: Kevin and the MLS team, what do we got?
37:24
SPEAKER_00: How's my favorite podcast doing?
37:26
SPEAKER_00: Question for you, Goose.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, this felt like uh the dawn of a new era, really, for the US men's national team and the teenagers that broke through four games, four wins, over half the goals scored by teenagers.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: But from an MLS standpoint, look, we saw Messi and an emotional and magical farewell in Buenos Aires, but I felt this window was more about MLS and the dawn of a new era for Major League Soccer.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: And the question I have for you is is this just a brilliant group of players coming through?
37:55
SPEAKER_00: Justin Ellis, Kavin Sullivan, Neil Pierre, Julian Hall, the list goes on.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: Or is this the beginning of a regular stream of these talented players coming through?
38:04
SPEAKER_00: Given the good coaches that Pochettino praised, given the academies and MLS Next Pro and everything that's now set up, that infrastructure is now in play, and that wasn't the case when you were coming through back in the day.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: So is this something that we can expect on a regular basis now rather than a new golden generation?
38:21
SPEAKER_02: Oh, what a quick hey, I love that Kev's calling in.
38:25
SPEAKER_02: I love the fact I love that we've had to put the subtitles to under understand what he's asking.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: Let it be known Adobe Premier could not understand Kevin Egan when he's talking in English, which is crazy.
38:34
SPEAKER_02: We love you, Kev.
38:35
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for calling in.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
38:36
SPEAKER_02: And and such a great question.
38:38
SPEAKER_02: You know, I don't think it's a a golden generation.
38:41
SPEAKER_02: I listen, I I don't like labeling any generation a golden generation.
38:46
SPEAKER_02: I think where we're at in terms of our player pool, it's exciting.
38:51
SPEAKER_02: It's certainly um younger in terms of the uh the players that were in this past camp and the debutance, the amount of goals that they scored, their contribution within the team.
39:02
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so when I look at it, I think the word that stands out most to me is infrastructure that Kev mentioned and the setup that allows these kids to develop at an early age, to understand what being a professional is.
39:15
SPEAKER_02: With all that being said, there's so much to continue to learn and to know that this isn't a one-stop shop, if you will.
39:24
SPEAKER_02: It's you've got to continue to progress and understand what it means to play for the senior national team, which I think these guys got a taste of it during this window.
39:33
SPEAKER_02: And they're gonna have to continue to work hard and continue to grow as individuals and as players.
39:38
SPEAKER_02: So that hopefully when they get called back in again, they can continue to contribute to the national team.
39:43
SPEAKER_02: And there's obviously a group of players from from this past camp that will be a huge part of the Olympic team going forward as the U.S.
39:52
SPEAKER_02: gets ready for the Olympics in 28 in LA.
39:54
SPEAKER_02: And and so there's so there's so many great uh times ahead of us that this group I think will be able to experience to the fullest.
40:02
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
40:02
SPEAKER_01: Fascinating.
40:02
SPEAKER_01: Having a name that everybody should remember too, Cooper Sanchez.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: We're just doing an interview the other day.
40:07
SPEAKER_01: He literally told me, I was like, what's a long-term career goal for you?
40:10
SPEAKER_01: He was like, make a senior World Cup with the U.S.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: men's national team, too.
40:13
SPEAKER_01: So remember the name, Super Canches is coming up in the world, top in the coupe.
40:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, really exciting.
40:18
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much to Kevin for calling in.
40:20
SPEAKER_01: As always, this has been another Home Depot mailbag, always delivered on time, just like a Home Depot delivered.