Latest / Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogert and Tab Ramos / Tim Weah Controversy, Pepi's Spot in Jeopardy, and World Cup Starting XI with Marcelo Balboa

Transcript

Tim Weah Controversy, Pepi's Spot in Jeopardy, and World Cup Starting XI with Marcelo Balboa · Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogert and Tab Ramos

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: When you put on that frickin' jersey, you've got to
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: give everything you have. When you walk off the field,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: you'd better walk off, sayd we did everything possible today
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: that we couldn't have given anymore, because if you leave
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: anything on the table, then you shouldn't be on that team.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Greetings, folks, and welcome to Inside American Soccer. As you
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: can see, i am not Tom Boger. I'm Matt Doyle,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: the armchair analyst for MLS. You may know me from
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: my columns at MLS soccer dot com and of course
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: the old podcast Extra Time, and I'll be filling in
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: for Tom for a few weeks because Tom and his
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: wife had a baby, so Tom's taking some time off
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: to do some dad stuff for the next few weeks.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Congratulations to now all three of the Bogerts, including new
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: arrival three excuse me, THEO Thomas Boger. All three are
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: doing well, and I'm told that the Philadelphia Union have
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: already filed a discovery claim. They're on top of it, guys,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: just absolutely on top of it with developing the youngsters.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: I'm of course joined by tab Ramos, Tom's friend and
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: soon to be mine. I think one of the greatest
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: players in US soccer history, three time US World Cup
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: veteran and the original Metro Star. Had to add that
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: one in there. And we're joined by one of Tab's
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: good friends, a great guest today, Marcelo Balboa, also a
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: three time World Cup veteran for the US, named to
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: the Coca Cat Team of the Century, two time US
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Soccer Player of the Year, four time MLS All Star,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: nearly scored the greatest goal in US Men's World Cup history,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: does I'm told still have the best hair in US
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Men's World Cup history, and also was a Metro Star
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  Speaker 2: for a hot minute right at the end there. Guys,
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: it is my honor to be joined by the two
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: of you today on this show.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: Well, first of all, let me also welcome Marcelo on
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: the show. Obviously, Marcelo is a great friend. We were
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: fortunate enough to play in World Cups together, which which
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: obviously it's it's a lot to say Marcelo, Eric Wuanalla
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: and myself were the only three to play all three
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: of the World Cups in the nineties together. Uh. And
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: also send a big congrats to to Tom obviously THEO
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: now is our new twenty six born New Jersey talent,
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: and I'm sure we're you know, they said I you know,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: I didn't hear that Tom's dad was a really good player,
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: and it says that sometimes it skips a generation, so
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: let's not tell Tom that part. But but I think
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: we have a real good shot with theo U being
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: the next New Jersey great talent to come along. So
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: thank you Matt also for coming on board. And of
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: course we became friends the moment you were named on
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  Speaker 3: this show, so so I think we're all good. But
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: but overall, yeah, thank you Marcelo for for coming on
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: with us.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Listen one my pleasure, you know that, and I always
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: have a great time talking soccer with you. Good friend Tom. Congrats,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: remember that homegrowns can be sold, so let's remember that.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: So someone's gonna have to explain that to you life.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's okay. You know, there's a lot of soccer movement.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: We're good. But I appreciate you guys having me.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: We appreciate you being here, buddy. Today we are going
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: to talk a few things around the US men's national team,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: but also a little bit on l Tree. We're gonna
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: talk World Cup ticket prices. We are going to get
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Marcello's best eleven for the US men's national team. It
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: has become a tradition on this show. Every guest we
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: have on has to give theirs, and it's interesting to
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: see that unfold because there's like subtle differences in how
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: everybody perceives not just the player pool, but the way
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Pochettino is lining things up. And of course, yeah we've
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: already said it, these guys heart and soul of the
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: US team through the nineties. We're gonna get some very
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: good inside the locker room stories, including the story of
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: the bicycle kick that almost was from Marcelo Balboa. The
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: bicycle kick that I believe Pele called the most beautiful
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: moment from the nineteen ninety four World Cup that always
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: stuck with me. I was I was a seventeen year
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: old fan, and of course I was heartbroken over that
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: being just wide, but thrilled by the win over Columbia.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: I was obviously heartbroken and infuriated by what happened to
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: tab in the round of sixteen, but ultimately ended up
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: being so proud of what you guys helped launch in
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: that moment.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah you know, yeah, I'm still pretty pissed about the
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  Speaker 1: bicycle kick too. So just you know, are we friends, Doyle?
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I don't know you friends with tabbed?
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: Now?
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Are we friends?
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  Speaker 2: Because I'm working towards it right?
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  Speaker 1: All right, cool, we'll work. We'll work on that. So listen,
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: we just had a reunion with the ninety four group.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Tab couldn't be there. We missed it, buddy. But it
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: was interesting because I think to this day they really
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: don't give that group that much credit because when you
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: play Columbia and you beat Columbia and you had just
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: think about it. The back four didn't have a club team.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: We trained as a national team. Tony Meola didn't have
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: a club team, Mike Sober didn't have a club team.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: The guys came in, tab came in, Hartsy came in,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: When Alda came in. You know, Ernie Stewart. Five guys
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: that started on that team had club teams. Arrest didn't
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: have a club team. So for Boor to mesh that
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: group together and for us to get out of the
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: group to beat Columbia, I still think when you look
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: at that situation and what we had, it is probably
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: the biggest win in US soccer history because we didn't
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: have a club team. I didn't have anywhere to go
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: play every weekend. I had to play with the national team.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's hard to disagree with that, right, just the
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: times were it's so different. But having said that, you know,
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: there was that there was that commitment from players and
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: from the group, right, And I think I think those years,
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: you know, in between ninety and ninety five is where
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: that determination of what it was like to be an
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: American and play in an American team it was like.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: And I think that's that's what the beginning of what
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: we got our fans used to, you know, And Matt
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: was talking about watching watching that ninety four World Cup.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: I think a lot of fans were created in that
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: World Cup from being able to play it at home
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: because I know that you like me runing to a
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: lot of people who say, hey, you know, the first
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: time I watched you know, the national team play was
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: in nineteen ninety four, and of course we had already
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: played the ninety World Cup. In ninety World Cup, no
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: one even knew we went. But but you know, it
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: was the beginning of us and the American player becoming
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: not only a player that could play and compete against
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: international teams, but an American player that would fight more
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: than everybody else that we played again, so we always
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: had a little bit of an advantage that way.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: And now thirty two years later, the Men's World Cup
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: is back on home soil, and we're seeing this group
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: of players maybe rediscover some of their fight in the
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: past half dozen games. And I think the fan base
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: as a whole, I mean, they would want your perspective
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: on why a home Cup and why a home World
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Cup and how I guess a home World Cup is
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: different than anything these players have felt before.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Listen, times were different. Back when we played. We were desperate.
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  Speaker 1: We were in a situation. If we didn't play well,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: if we didn't give everything we had, we were never
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: going to open doors. Now, I think when you look
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: at that World Cup, we kind of opened the world's
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: eyes of what we can do. The potential of the
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: United States has in that intensive attendance because it's still
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: the highest viewed World Cup, highest attended World Cup, but
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  Speaker 1: I think it opened people's eyes that we were taking
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  Speaker 1: the sports series see and especially when you talk about
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: Columbia and you talk about other games that we've played,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: you know, beating England, I think we opened a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people's eyes now. I think for the first time
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  Speaker 1: in many, many, many years, these guys have more pressure
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: than ever. They have to produce, they have to get results.
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  Speaker 1: It's no longer you know when you watch games now
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: and people are pissed because, oh, they're not given one
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: hundred percent effort. They're not this, they're not that. So
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: this is where we wanted soccer to grow to, where
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: we're expectations were high. Listen, getting out of the group
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: is not okay anymore. It really isn't for me. And
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: if it is for us as a country, then we're
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: still further back behind than I thought we were. For me,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: it's a quarterfinal. If it's not a quarter final this
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: trip or this World Cup, then it's not a successful
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  Speaker 1: World Cup. We've grown way too much in thirty years
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  Speaker 1: to say that it's okay to get out of the
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: group anymore. So, and I think that goes for Mexico.
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  Speaker 1: I think that goes for Canada. So this is finally
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  Speaker 1: where we should be. We're sure these players have pressure
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: representing this badge, they have pressure.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Now, you know, this is really interesting what you're saying, Marcelo,
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  Speaker 3: because there's no doubt that over the years it has
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: and it is for really teams in old sports, it's
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: a lot easier to be the underdog, right, It's a
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: lot easier, you know, when you make plays that really matter,
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: for people to reward you for making place when you
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: were not expected to make them.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 3: And now we have a team with good players who
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: play on strong clubs all over the world, and they're
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: expected to make plays and they're expected to take us
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: to the next level. We also, let's not forget hired
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: a coach that we're paying a lot of money to
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: to take us somewhere where we haven't been before. Right,
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  Speaker 3: And so you know, just in a World Cup you
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: always depend sometimes on the matchups you have, on the
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: groups you get, on who you get in the second round,
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: who you get after that. Right, But having said all
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: those things, it's hard to disagree with you thinking that
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: anything less than a quarter final will be a success.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: And just because of the investment that we've made and
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: where the players are, I think we need to be
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: asking for that.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: So that would mean two knockout round victors. Remember this
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: World Cup goes to knockout rounds. Is round of thirty two,
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: then round of sixteen. Of course, in World Cups past
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: the past thirty years it always went from the group
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: stage straight into the round of sixteen. It does seem
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: doable if you look at the shape of the roster,
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: the way these guys have been playing, Specifically Weston McKenny,
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: I'm thinking of for Juventus right now, who's playing, in
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: my opinion, the best ball of his life. He seems
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: like an emotional leader. But I also think back to
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: what you guys were talking about with ninety four and
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: the sort of galvanizing effect, and it seemed like there
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: were multiple emotional leaders in that team. Do you see
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: the same sort of thing in this group? Where is
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: it still a work in progress?
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: Yead? I think it's a work in progress because when
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: you go back to historically throughout the teams of Michael BRADLESA,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Tim Howards and the group, and you look at our group,
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: the personalities you had, and there were leaders who led
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: by example. Tab was a quiet but he was a
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: leader on the field when he played, he performed, He
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: gave everything you had. You know, you had other guys
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: who were more vocal. Tony was very vocal. I was
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: a little bit more vocal so I think when you
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: look at this group, who's the vocal leader? Exactly exactly,
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: that's my point. That's my point, exactly, that's my point.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: And you've got to have a vocal leader. And I
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: understand Christian is the main guy, but he's a quiet leader.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: He's like tab He's a quiet leader. He wants to play,
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: he wants to show you what he can do. So
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: who's going to be beside Tyler Adams? Who's going to
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: be that guy that's going to screen, that's going to
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: push and it's going to demand these guys to push
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: themselves on the field. And I think that's where my
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: concern is a little bit, because of the fact that
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: you've got to have a leader on every line, from
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: the goalkeeper to the defense, to the midfield to the forward.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Tell me who these leaders are, And I think if
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: you don't have that bite, that leader, and you have
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: leaders by example, but I don't think you have a
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: vocal leader that's going to really grab this team by
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: the kahanas and say let's go.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: You know, one of the things that's happened with this
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: team too that I think I think we have to
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: give the players a little credit for this is it's
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: been hard to find the vocal leader when we've had
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: over seventy players you know, called up over the last
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: you know whatever, twelve fourteen months. That's a lot of players.
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: At the same time, we've changed the way we played.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: At the same time we've changed it seems like we've
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: changed the rules because it seems to be like the
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: national team you come in and out and you have
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: some fun and you go away, and it seems like
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: now it's a little bit more strict, you know, you
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: come in, you know, starting this summer sort of you know,
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: Pochettino finally put his foot down and said this is
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: the way things are going to work on the national team.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: So I think we will see that vocal leader come
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: along over the next couple of months as we go
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: into the World Cup. There's certainly guys that could take
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: that role. I think, you know, Matt, I think you
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: mentioning McKinney in the situation he's in now. I mean,
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: you know, McKinney's a leader. He's a leader. He takes
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: the game by sort of by the scruff of the
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: neck and no, no game is too big for him.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: And I think that's a great sign to have a
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: player like that, and then of course you have the
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: let's say the normal suspects. You have your Tyler Adams
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: and your Chris Richards, who, let's not forget, starting in
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: the summer, Chris Richards started to be that vocal leader,
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: the one that gets in the middle of the fight,
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: and you know, and he's going to be starting, you know,
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: for us. So there's a couple of players who are
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: potential candidates to become that. But I think it remains
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: to be seen over the next couple of months.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: Well, we're going to start to see it next month
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: with the March friendlies, and Marcia Patchettino was pretty explicit
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: about the fact that he wants those to feel like
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: the World Cup. And I'm going to give you a quote.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: The idea is that the World Cup will start in March.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: It's time to show like we were showing in our
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: last camp, all right, entity our way to play in
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: the way we want to perform at the World Cup.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: Do you guys agree with that? Is a like time
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: for experimentation is done, and like you want to see
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: the guys go out and treat this like okay, first whistle.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: It's the group's age. We're at the World Cup.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: You can't simulate a World Cup. You can't simulate a
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: World Cup game. So I understand what he's trying to say.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: But experimentation should have been done a while ago. I
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: think I think there's been too much rotation. But I
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: think that's Butchatino having to do his thing. Also, when
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: you look at this team, when was the last time
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: the full team, the full team was together. It's been
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: a long time. This group right now that he's had
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: for the month or so, they've understood the system, they've
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: played it. But now you're bringing Weston McKinney, and if
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: Adams is healthy, you bring in Adams, you bring in Robinson,
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: you bring in Death, you bring in Bulligans. So now
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, there's six players that have to
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: get used to this system again of what he wants
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: to play, this fluid three, fluid four, it kind of
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: rotates back and forth. So I think it'll be interesting
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: to see March to see how when he has his
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: full team together, how they perform, what attitude they come
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: out with, and do they understand really this three four
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: two one slash four in the back five one, You
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: know what I mean? For me, it'll be a very
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: telling plus it'll also give us an indication of who
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: we'll probably see in the twenty six man roster.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, for me, and I agree with all
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: the things you've said, but for me, I have a
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: different view all together of what the national team should be.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: You know, I think the national team is about you
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: get the best eleven players that you have at any
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: point in time, and you go play against another country
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: to win the Game's the That's the way I see
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: the national team. You know, players players aren't full time
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: employees of US Soccer. They go and play for their clubs,
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: so I think, you know, and of course everybody's different,
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: but this is just my opinion is that your job
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: is just to pick the best players that we have
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: today and have them go beat someone else.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: And the fact that in Jen, let's not forget that
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: in September, this is only five six months ago. You know,
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: there were some quotes coming out of the camp saying
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: that results don't matter until the World Cup next summer.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: We were still saying that five months ago. Now things
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: seems like they changed a little bit since we got
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: a couple of results at the end of the fall,
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: who you know, And by the way, great results at
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: the end of the fall. And by the way, the
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: team has turned around one hundred and eighty degrees and
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: we like where we are at this point. Having said that,
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: I think this should have happened a year and a
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: half ago. This was the reason that we hired Pochettino
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: in the first place. We had gone through a period
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: of five or six years where we just didn't get
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: a response from the team and we need it for
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: that to happen. Earlier, it hadn't happened. Yet now it's happened.
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: I'm happy that Mauricio Bogettino is saying what he's saying now,
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: and let's get moving. Let's start winning big games.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: And if you're a fan, maybe get tickets to those
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: March games, because they're gonna end up being a lot
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: more affordable than anything that comes to the US, Canada
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: and Mexico this summer. Tim Waya commented on it, saying
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: that the World Cup tickets are too expensive and that
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: lots of real fans will miss matches. His quote, football
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: should still be enjoyed by everyone. I'll translate that he
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: means soccer should be still be enjoyed by every way.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: It's the most popular sport. This World Cup will be good,
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: but it will be more of a show. I'm just
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: a bit disappointed by the ticket prices, and Marischio Pochaccino
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: had thoughts on that too. He said, first of all,
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: I think players need to talk on the pitch playing football,
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: not outside of it. It is not his duty to
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: evaluate the price of the ticket. And then also my
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: job is My duty is to prepare the team, the
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: US men's national team, in the best way to form.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: We're not politicians. It's it's it's tough to see from
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: my perspective to see a coach shoot down a player
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: like that when the coach is an address or when
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: the player is addressing something that is deeply felt by
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: a lot of the fan base.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, listen, we all have opinions. We're allowed to
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: have an opinion, so we're allowed to express express our
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: opinion to whatever we want. So if he wants to
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: talk about ticket prices, he's not the only one in
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: this world and all over the world that's talking about
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: ticket prices. Two hundred and fifty dollars for parking. So
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: you know, the one thing I'll say about our sport.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: It's always been freaking affordable. You've always been able to
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: go to a game whatever you want, take your family
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: and enjoy it. When you take.
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: That that monetary value of putting it and you can't
• 18:51
  Speaker 4: a family of four can't go see their country play
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: because it's going to cost them ten thousand dollars, then
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: to me, that's an issue.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: This is an affordable sport. And I get it. It's
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: ten times bigger than the Super Bowl, like they said,
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: somebody said it the other day, And prices are so
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: high for the super Bowl that's a one off event.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: When you talk about the World Cup, it's supposed to
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: be the world's game, it's supposed to be an affordable game,
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: so everybody can enjoy it. And you know what, and
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: I listen, I have to agree with with with Tim there.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: I think that it's gotten ridiculously too expensive to be
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: able to go to a World Cup and enjoy a
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: ninety minute game.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's on the price thing itself. It's
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: hard to disagree with the fact that it's just way
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: too expensive. Right now. I from a Poschatino standpoint, I
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: you know, I can understand what he's trying to do.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: I see where he's coming from. He's trying to get
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: control of his team. He's trying to get his team
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: to focus, which is you know, those are all good things.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: I'm wondering though, as we mentioned before, you know, Tim
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: Way is not an employee of US Soccer. Tim Way
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: is playing for Marseille. He has his own duties. That's
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: his team. Sometimes he gets for the national team. This
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: was not during a national team camp. This is Tim
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: Weaya speaking at another time where he's not with his team.
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: So I you know, I think, and again I'm gonna
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: give Marisa Bochettino the benefit of the doubt that he's
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: already had a conversation with Tim waya about Tim Weaya
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: going after potentially you know, Tim Howard and Landon Donovan
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: and Alexi lalla Is about criticizing the team in the past.
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: Let's say that happen, and this is the reason why
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: now he's making it public. But if that didn't happen before,
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: I would have liked for this to have happened privately.
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: You know, call Tim Way, I say, Tim, listen, We're
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: just focused on the national team. Please don't say anything
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: that has anything else to do with anything outside of
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: our team. And then when he gets asked in the
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: press conference, hey, what did Tim way I say, Well,
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: you know what, Tim and I have had that discussion
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: already and it's not something that I want to discuss
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: at this point. That's what I would have liked to
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: have seen. Obviously, it's easier for us to see it
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: from from this side, right, it's a lot easier. But
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: I don't think it was handled well at all. And
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: like Marcello said, Tim Wayy has the right to have
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: his opinion about prices. And by the way, Tim Waya
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: is trying to connect with fans, which is always a
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: good thing, right, He's trying to be a little bit
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: more relatable and for all the people who can say,
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: well he can afford the tickets, he doesn't need to
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: say that. Well, he does need to say that because
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: he's speaking for the fans, and I think that is
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: a good thing.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: But that's different, isn't it. Now. Let's be honest, we
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: didn't have social media, so our stuff didn't come out
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: right away. If you got in Soccer America, you had
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: to wait a month for soccer Amera to come out,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: and then your quote came out so, you know what,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: social media. Maybe it was better for us not to
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: have social media, but it's whatever it is. Whatever it
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: is it is. But I like the fact that, you
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: know what, he speaks his mind. There's nothing wrong with that.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: We spoke our mind, but no one really heard it
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: because there wasn't social media. We couldn't put it out
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: there on Twitter, on Instagram or whatever is out there,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So listen. I don't think
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: it's going to take away from his playing ability. He
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: knows his fricking job. He knows what he's there to do.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: So I think it's good that he's connecting, like you said,
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: connecting with the fans. But he's saying things that other
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: people don't have avenue to say. And if they do
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: say it's not on a major platform. This is a
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: major platform. He made it very clear he's not happy,
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: and I tell you what, he's not the only one.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: There's other players out there that are saying the same thing.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: So good for him.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the fans have noticed. Hopefully this
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: ends up not being an issue between the player and
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: the coach. I don't think it will be, especially Tim
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: White has been playing pretty well He's going to play
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: his way into Pachettino's consideration for a starting position. I
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: would reckon another guy in consideration for a starting position,
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: Alex Freeman, who officially made his move to via Real.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: The European transfer window has mostly closed at the time
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: we're recording this. I think Turkey is still open, so
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: there might be one or two moves headed to Turkey.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: But Alex Freeman to Via Real this big move. It's
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: not something that I think. It's not something I expected
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: to get done in in January, because it was clear
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: from his play with Orlando City that he was already
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: in the mix. And now he goes into a new
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: situation with a team that does a good job of
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: developing players, good job of putting players in a position
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: to succeed, clearly appreciates We'll call it an MLS archetype
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: of player. Because they went out and they bought Taniela
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: Ashey and they've brought in Tejon Buchanan. I think they
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: actually have a need at right back. Via Real does
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: so potentially Alex Freeman walks into this lineup.
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: Uh yeah, if I could go first on that, yeah,
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: via Real and I've watched him play a lot. They've
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: been rotating a lot between Navarro and Mourinho on that
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: right side, and what happened with them last week in
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: a game, and we mentioned in the show last week
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: because it had just happened one fot the Argentinian defender
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: had just gotten injured. So I think, although I'm not
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: a big supporter of, you know, of that middle of
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: the year transfer in particular for young players because inevitably
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: every coach is under pressure and the young players are
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: going to get pushed aside, I think in this case
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: it's a very good move for him because he gets
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: a he likely will have an opportunity to compete directly
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: with someone on the right side, which will likely be Mourinho,
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: and I think he will beat Mourinho out for that
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: spot and be able to play behind bu Kennan. And
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: I think those two together could create a lot of
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: havoc in this Spanish league. I really do. And I
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: hope that, if anything, this makes Alex Freeman a lot
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: better between now in June.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: I'll leave it up to tap Tab watches Spain. He
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: played in Spain. He watched it a little bit more.
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: But here's my take. If you're going to make a move,
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: You've got to be making a move where you're going
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: to start. If you're making a move right now at
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: this point of the season, where you're going to be
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: getting a game here, a game there, and you're not
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: playing consistently, you're taking yourself and you're putting yourself in
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: a position where a Pochetino could take you off his radar. Okay,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: so that's my big I love the move. I think
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: it's a great move, and I'm a big fan of
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: players always getting transferred to Europe South America League on
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: mekis as long as you're going to play and you
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: play consistently, because this time of year there's no room
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: for error. You play one game, you don't play the
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: next five. You play one game. Look at Musa and
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: what's happened to Musa on this national team. He's made
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: some wrong decisions on teams and where does he say?
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: We don't even talk about him, but five years ago
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: he was like the man on the midfield. So for Freeman,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: I think he will make the World Cup team. I
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: think he is a good player that can play that
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: third center back or that wing back. I just hope
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: that the move is solidified by him. Getting to play
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: consistently mint consistent minutes. So it's an easier decision for Bugetino.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: You don't want to make it. You don't want to
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: make it very difficult right now for Bugetino if you're
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: not playing.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a move that didn't happen. Ricardo Peppy. Fulham bid
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: a reported thirty seven million euros for Ricardo Peppy and PSV,
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: who've done really good business in the past couple of
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: transfer windows and who are swimming in a little bit
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: more cash than usual because of that and because they've
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: done well in the Champions League. They said no, and
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: that shocked me because Ricardo Peppy, he's a really good
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: goal scorer. In the past three years for PSV, he's
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: gone ninety thirteen times, so he's not a regular ninety
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: minute player for them by any stretch. He's also never
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: scored against Dax, never scored against yan Art, never scored
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: against Azed, so he he is a guy who beats
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: up on the smaller teams in the Netherlands, which is
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: not saying that's all he can do, but that is
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: all he has done so far. So I was surprised
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: that Fulham bid the amount that they did and that
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: PSV rejected it and oh yeah, he's going to be
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: out for another six weeks. He hasn't broken arm. So
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: this one was kind of baffling to me that it
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: didn't happen for Ricardo pept.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: I think it's Ernie Steward right at PSV YEP, So
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: Ernie Ernie must have.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: Wouldn't I wouldn't want to play poker against that man.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: No, No, I would not. Like I said, Ernie knows
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: what he's doing if he thinks there's more value out there.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Obviously he feels there's more on the table for Peppy
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: than thirty seven million. But I guess I'm a firm
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: believer when being an ex player, when you have a player,
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: when a team comes in from England and they're offering
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: you that kind of money, let him go, let him,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: let him challenge himself, let him play with thirty seven million.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: I'm sure you can go find yourself another forward. He's
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: not a starter, consistent starter. Yeah, I don't know. I,
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: like I said, I always look at the player side
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: of you, and I love to see players get to play.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Everybody Listen, we all talk about everybody wants to play
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: in the EPL everybody wants to go playing the EPL.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: And when you have an opportunity to sell a player
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: for more than you bought him, a lot more than
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: you bought him, I think that that opportunity that windows
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: should be given to that player. But I also understand
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: that you have to protect your team. You have to
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: do what's best for your team. And knowing Ernie Steward
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: a long time, just like Tab. You know Tab and
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: Ernie connection. We all know that about Columbia. So yeah,
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: who thank god we needed that second goal God. But now, listen,
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: Ernie's a smart guy. Ernie knows what he's doing. And
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: if Ernie's not letting him go, he's letting him not
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: letting him go for a certain reason.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah. For I'll start by giving a lot of credit
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: to the Peppi camp, right, because you know, normally when
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: these things come in and a big club comes in
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: for you and you have an opportunity to go play
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: in the in the world's best league, the first thing
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: that's gonna happen is you're gonna come out and you're
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: gonna say, yeah, I want this to happen, and you're
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: gonna go to the club office and knock on the
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: door and say get me out of here because it's
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: a great chance for me. And then either your agent
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: or your dad or somebody's going to be on the
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: press saying we're leaving, We're out of here. And that didn't.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: None of that happen, and I think I want to
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: give a lot of credit for that. There was very
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: little noise, a little bit, but very little noise coming
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: out of the Peppy camp. And I think that's just
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: such a good sign of the relationship that Peppy has
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: with his club. And I think that's great. And the
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: next thing is, you know, at this point, I have
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: to trust one hundred percent that Ernie Stewart knows a
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: lot more than I do. And you know, Ernie Stewart
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: was able to hold off for Tillman and got over
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: what forty million for Tillman, which I never would have
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: thought that could have happened either. Not that he doesn't
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: deserve it, by the way, but that's a lot of
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: money for a player that's not going to come in
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: and just turn you know, that team over right away.
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: I thought personally that the thirty two million offer from
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: before was an offer to take already. But you know,
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: but Ernie decided that thirty seven even is not good enough.
• 29:58
  Speaker 3: So so you know what, at this point, I think
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: if you're if you're on the board of PSV, you
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: have to trust Earnie one hundred percent, and I think
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: something will likely get done after It's a big risk,
• 30:09
  Speaker 3: but likely something will happen after the World Cup.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah. My hope for Ricardo Peppi is that he actually
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: gets healthy, he stays healthy, he wins that job with
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: PSV full time, and can play his way into Pochettino's
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: roster because right now I think he's on the outside
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: looking in if you look at it, he just he
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: hasn't played that much for POJET. When he came into
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: the last camp, he only played fifteen minutes versus Paraguay,
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: kind of got manhandled physically, and then didn't play at
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: all against Uruguay in that five to one win. That
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: told me something about the way maybe he's perceived, and
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: he's gonna have to score a bunch of goals and
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: he's gonna have to put in some real performances once
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: he gets healthy, I think to change Pochettino's mind. Fingers
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: cross it happens, because I do think he's the most
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: natural goalscorer among the US. Number nine one of the.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: Transfer how easy is it for a coach? And Tabnos
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: was of Vieergen. You find a s goal scorer in
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: the last two months of the season, this scores five
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: or six goals. He's on a run. He's on your team.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: We saw Hercules Gomez pull that off with with his group,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: and he's got hot. At the end of the season,
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: he scored some goals. He's on the World Cup team.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: So all Peppy's got to do is come back, score
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: a few goals and all of a sudden you open
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: people's eyes.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's one stat. Nobody will ignore. One other bit
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: of transfer news that I wanted to get your guys
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: takes on obed Vargas from the Sounders to Atletico Madrid.
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: Obed Vargas is in my you know, a triumph of
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: the American developmental program. He came through the ranks. The
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: Sounders got him on the field at sixteen in Cockacat
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: Champions League final, which they won, which no other MLS
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: team has done in the modern version of it. He
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: was excellent in the league's cup final against Lionel Messi.
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: In that inter Miami t and he filed a one
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: time switch to play for Mexico. He played really well
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: in these latest friendlies for Mexico. He's probably going to
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: the World Cup, even though the same concerns about that
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: mid season switch. Is he going to get enough playing time?
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: It looks like he's going to be in the World
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: Cup roster for l Tree. Anyway. There are two sides
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: of this. There's like, Okay, the US is developing really
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: good players like Brian Gutierres as well and Richie Ledesma,
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: a player that Tad had with the U twenties. Who
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: are they have the choice, and more and more of them,
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: it seems, are choosing Mexico. Is that a sign that
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: the US developmental program has sort of turned a corner
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: or is it a sign that this is like a
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: looming catastrophe because we're starting to lose players like this
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: on the regular.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: Oh, Beed Vargas came to Colorado who was fourteen. He
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: almost played for US. It was either US or Seattle,
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: and they chose Seattle with his parents because Seattle is
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: much closer to Alaska and they can go see their
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: son play all the time. So we had an interest
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: in this kid. And you could see it at fourteen
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: that he was different than the kids we had when
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: he came and trained with us, and Seattle said the
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: same thing. So this is a good player. This is
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: a very good player. My concern again, now you knew
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: this move was coming, that we heard about it last year,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: that there were five or six European teams that were
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: after him. Great move. I don't think it matters as
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: much at Mexico right now because they're they're still experimenting,
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: it looks like, with players and stuff. But yeah, he is.
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: He is a very talented player. He is a player
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: who will be with the Mexican national team for a
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: very long time. Are we developing players? Yes, When you
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: look at the US now and you look at Mexico,
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: you look at where am I going to have longevity?
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: Where can I make an impact? And a guy like
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: Vargas I think made the right move because I just
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: don't see him being brought in right now, you know
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: what I mean. And he probably looked at that roster
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: and saying, Okay, I can go help be a part
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: of something that's going to be a change, and I
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: think he took it that way. Plus his mom and
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: dad the heritage of being Mexican and how much he
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: wanted to play for Mexico and what it meant to
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: mom and dad also too. So I get the switch,
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: but I feel like we're letting a lot of players
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: slip through our fingers right now, and I think that
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: could be a problem in the long run, because this
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: group is very close in age in the United States,
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: and when they start getting at a certain age, are
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: we going to hit that wall again like we did
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen, where we take this veteran team too
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: far and then there's too big of a gap behind it.
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: It takes us a full four years to recoup that.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: That's starting to worry me a little bit because we're
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: letting a lot of good players slide through our fingers.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: Younger players that are in their low twenties twenty one,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: twenty two kind of slip through our fingers right now
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: that should be part of the US national team.
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, from a national team standpoint, it's it's it's actually
• 35:11
  Speaker 3: a good problem to have, right because you know, you're
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: Obed Vargas, You're you're a good player, and yet you're
• 35:17
  Speaker 3: looking at the depth chart of our the center of
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: midfield and you're really not necessarily seeing a way in,
• 35:26
  Speaker 3: so from a national team standpoint, that is a good sign.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Nice story too, because Atletico Madrid were his favorite
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: team growing up, and you don't see that a lot.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: Usually if it's a La Lega team, it's either Real
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: Madrid or Barcelona. So as a dream move for obed Vargas,
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: it has been fun to talk through that transfer window
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: and look at how the Sounders have operated. And for us,
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: it's time for a break. We're gonna be right back.
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: We'll get into Marcellos starting eleven for the US men's
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: national team. We'll talk some tactics as well. Please rate, review,
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: and subscribe to Inside American Soccer with Tom Boger and
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: tab Ramos wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: back to Inside American Soccer. I'm here with tab Ramos
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: and Marcello Balboa and Cello, you know, the drill man.
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: You come on this show, you gotta be ready with
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: your starting eleven for the US men's bag team for
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: the World Cup. This guy did his homework. That's a
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: San Diego State education right now.
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: You know. Yeah, that's it. We'll leave it at that.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: I went to school with Winoald can I can I
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: leave it at that? So we were roommates. I'll leave
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: it at that. And I just saw him the other
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: day this weekend and he's still Eric Winalda. I love it.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: I love it, so all right, I'm gonna I. I
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: wanted to put Turnering gold, but I just watching Freeze
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: over the last year. I got to put Freeze in
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: the back back three. It will be a fluid three. Four.
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: We all know that goes Tim Ree and Richards and
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: I'm still in between between Miles, Robinson and McKenzie. I'm
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: kind of you know, I mean, I would love to
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: play Freeman in that spot, but I haven't seen him play,
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: so for now I have McKenzie. Four In the mid
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: is Robinson, Adams, don't laugh, Tessaman and desk Beck. I
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: want a big, strong presence in there to attacking midfielders
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: because you know, Weston's been playing a little higher and
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: he's been scoring goals. I want to see him alongside
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Christian and Bullegan up top. So that's what I want.
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: A solid mid and I think with Tessaman and Adams
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: and that back three, it's kind of nice and solid,
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: you know, big, strong, presence along with Adams who leads
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: that group. And then I just want to see Weston,
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Weston McKinney just higher up the pitch, just closer to
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: goal after the way he's playing right now, playing almost
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: as that nine faults nine, whatever you want to go with.
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: And that's that's my eleven. Go tear it out.
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: No, Well, I mean I just have some questions. You
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: know I've given my eleven plenty of times on this show.
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: I was just wondering how you would set up the
• 38:10
  Speaker 3: back three. So those back three, because this is why
• 38:13
  Speaker 3: I want to ask the question, because normally, for me,
• 38:17
  Speaker 3: no team can can really be good unless your your
• 38:21
  Speaker 3: your your center backs, and your goalkeeper. They have to
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: be set right. So we've had the difficulty over the
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: last let's say a couple of years with the goalkeeping situation,
• 38:30
  Speaker 3: and you know, one coming in, one coming out. But
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: now it seems like Freeze is there. He's done a
• 38:35
  Speaker 3: good job. There's nothing he has done that would tell
• 38:38
  Speaker 3: any of us that Putchatino would take him out. Why
• 38:41
  Speaker 3: would you do that? He's played well, he's delivered for you,
• 38:44
  Speaker 3: and now he has played i think the last twelve
• 38:47
  Speaker 3: games in a row. He has the experience with the team.
• 38:51
  Speaker 3: He's on his way. So now when you look at
• 38:53
  Speaker 3: what's in front of him, which is the backbone of
• 38:55
  Speaker 3: the team. And obviously I agree with you on the
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: on the Adams and testament, so you have that part.
• 39:00
  Speaker 3: But the center backs, how would you know, how do
• 39:04
  Speaker 3: you position those three guys? Who is where? If we're
• 39:07
  Speaker 3: thinking this three guys there.
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: Listen, Tim's obviously left footage. You got to put him
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: on the left, you know, I mean, you put him
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: next to Robinson. So that kind of matchup, that full
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: of matchup is kind of already there. For me, Richard
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: has to play the middle and then McKenzie. And that's
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: what I'm saying, the McKenzie one. For me, it's either
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: McKenzie or Miles Robinson, one of those two, whatever pairing,
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: and we'll see this March. I just feel like Richard
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: has to be the leader. He's got to be the vocal,
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: he's got to be the guy that organizes. He can
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: be the guy that can cover either let's just say
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: it's McKenzie, or he can cover Tim with his speed
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: getting it behind. He reads the game well for me,
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: and so that's why I have him in the middle,
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: so he can make up a lot of if Tim
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: Bream gets beat because of speed, he can get there
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: and cover. So listen, I like a back five just
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: because when we defend, you've got you're blocking all the
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: zones possible between Robinson and Desk and three center backs
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: too strong. And you know, in a World Cup it's
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: the same thing. A team gets the ball, the other
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: team drops into their mid block or low block, they defend,
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: they win it, the other team drops at the counter.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I just feel like, for me, the key
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: to this whole thing, it's always the same. It's the
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: guy in the middle. How well does Richard's lead, how
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: well does he organize? How well can he cover behind
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: McKenzie or behind Tim Reim? Can Tim Reim cover where
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Desk go? So it just kind of little blocks that
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: fit quite nicely right now, except for the McKenzie mouse Robinson,
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: that's the only one I got, to be honest, I
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: even thought about putting Testament back there, you know what
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: I mean. But because he's played a little bit of
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: center back, but I like him and Adams in the midfield.
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: I think that when you talk about a World Cup
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: and you want to be successful, you got to have
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: two guys in the midfield who are very strong, they
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: can win balls and break game up. And then you
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: give the ball. And I'll tell you this, just like
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: Ganza told me a ninety cello. Your job is to
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: win the ball, break the play up, win it, do
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: not dribble, do not pass. Give the freaking ball to
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: Tab and the Hearts and stand there. Let them do
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: the rest. You stand there. So I kind of look
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: at those two guys as let everybody else do their job.
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: You do your job.
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: What Richards did last year in the Gold Cup. And
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: I know the Gold Cup wasn't the best performance from
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: the US overall, but I thought he put in a
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: man's performance, right, like he graduated to Okay, I'm not
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: just the talented young player. I'm actually the leader of
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: this team. But you're right, we're still looking for the
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: right partner. It's interesting to me to think back though
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: to that South Korea game, because the first half of
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: that South Korea game in the friendly after the Gold Cup,
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: the US with close to a first choice eleven got
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: played off the pitch. And then it felt to me,
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: and I think we all kind of said it afterwards
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: that Pochettino changed the formation. It was the first time
• 42:03
  Speaker 2: we were really out of the four four two and
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: really into the three four two one. And if asked
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: Mauricio Pochettino, he will say that's not true. We've played
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: a four to four to two the whole time, and
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: I think he's lying. I think he is fibbing because
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: we all see it. Okay, you drop into a mid
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: and then a deep block. Yes, it's banks of four
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: and you have a four to four to two. But
• 42:23
  Speaker 2: it's very clear that the US changed from wide overloads
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: with an overlapping left back to a sort of solo
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: wing back on each side. And that is why I
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: struggle with any eleven that doesn't include Max Arsten and
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: it's not alike for like with Anthony Robinson. And one
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: of the things that I want to see with Jedi
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: when he comes in in March is can you play
• 42:48
  Speaker 2: him as sort of the left center back in the
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: back three back five because he's big and strong enough
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: to defend center forwards, but also he gets on the
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: ball on that back line, he can actually break lines
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: with the ball on his foot. He could actually scramble
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: opposing midfields by carrying the ball forward and that would
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: allow Urstin to push forward on the left. And we've
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: seen how damaging he can be to opposing back lines,
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: especially when the pack.
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: Let me ask you this storily or tab both of you.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: Where is Tim Reen or does Robinson play Jedi play
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: for Fulham?
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he plays as an overlapping left back.
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: Okay, so now we don't take but hold on. You're
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: going to take a guy who is naturally going down
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: the left side attacking, and you're going to take that
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: out of him and you're going to put him as
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: a center back. He's not going to attack like he
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: does at Fulham or head does with asking. So you're
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: taking the best attribute that he has that he is
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: dangerous going down the wing. He can run at players,
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: his work grate is fantastic, and you're going to put
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: him as a center back. Arstin doesn't give me what
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: Robinson does. I like him if something was to go wrong,
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: I think as a wing back you can put Arstin
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: and he's a good player. I enjoy watching him play,
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: but he doesn't bring to me what Robinson does. So
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: now you're taking away part of your offense to make
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: sure your back line. Maybe maybe he's comfortable and now
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: you're going to have to convince him in four months
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: that this is your new position. I wouldn't take that
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: chance of fon Butchertino changing a guy's position like that
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: to something he's not natural to play in. To make sure,
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: because Tim Reim does a nice job. He's a little older,
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: but he reads the game well. He puts himself in
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: good position. He never gets himself. If you watch him,
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: Tim ream never gets himself in a foot race. He
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: always knows if it's going to go deep, he reads it,
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: he pulls back and he covers the space. So I'm
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: not sure I would agree with with Arsten coming in
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: and putting Robinson as a center back. I don't know
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: about you guys. That's just my opinion.
• 44:47
  Speaker 3: You know, I'll say just like I did when Tony
• 44:50
  Speaker 3: Miola was here and we were talking about goalkeeping, which
• 44:53
  Speaker 3: is a position that I don't even care to discuss.
• 45:01
  Speaker 3: I'll just say that. I'll say that, you know, I'll
• 45:04
  Speaker 3: trust your judgment on the center back situation, you know.
• 45:07
  Speaker 3: I My concern was always about Tim Reim and his
• 45:12
  Speaker 3: inability to get, you know, to stay with a forward
• 45:15
  Speaker 3: because he really, truly hasn't done it in MLS either
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: hasn't done it that well, at least for the last
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: twelve months. That's a big concern for me. So I
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: think inevitably, if Tim Reem is going to be on
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: the field, we need to have three center backs. In
• 45:29
  Speaker 3: terms of changing Robinson and putting him back, I do
• 45:34
  Speaker 3: agree with that Marcelo that that potentially changing his petition
• 45:38
  Speaker 3: position when he's doing really well on the left side
• 45:42
  Speaker 3: would likely hurt his game a little bit. At the
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: same time, I have to say, you know, Matt's suggestion
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: is not necessarily a bad one, and the reason I'll
• 45:49
  Speaker 3: say this only only for this reason. I think Anthony Robinson,
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: and I think a lot of people will agree with
• 45:56
  Speaker 3: me that he has been the best player that we
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: had on the US national team for about four or
• 46:01
  Speaker 3: five years in a row. And because of that, you know,
• 46:06
  Speaker 3: you know, when he was hurt, Max Arstin stepped in,
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: and to be fair, he made us forget about Anthony
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: Anthony Robinson. That was huge for me because I thought
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: that would be such a huge hole to fill, you know,
• 46:21
  Speaker 3: with the one player who has been carrying the national
• 46:24
  Speaker 3: team from that left side, and Arsten came in and
• 46:27
  Speaker 3: we didn't miss a beat. Yeah, the first couple of
• 46:29
  Speaker 3: games are a little difficult, but once he settled in,
• 46:32
  Speaker 3: man Arsten can do the job. And so I think
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: to Matt's point, there could be something there in terms
• 46:39
  Speaker 3: of you know, look at her, look at her first
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: round opponents, right, you have, you have Paraguay, they will
• 46:45
  Speaker 3: likely sit and wait for us. You know, you have
• 46:48
  Speaker 3: potentially you know, Turkey could be the most difficult team.
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: But I think with what we saw from Turkey last summer,
• 46:55
  Speaker 3: I think against Turkey we beat ourselves, so there's a
• 46:57
  Speaker 3: good chance that we're still gonna have the ball a lot.
• 47:00
  Speaker 3: And now you give a chance to have two guys
• 47:02
  Speaker 3: who could potentially overlap each other to get forward. So
• 47:04
  Speaker 3: I think there's certainly something there as well.
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: Listen, here's I've become a I guess I stopped evaluating
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: players at the Gold Cup? How's that is? That? Is
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: that unfair? The only time?
• 47:17
  Speaker 3: I know?
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: But listen, we play it. I mean it's a great tournament.
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: It gets an opportunity for all these young guys to
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: get some caps. My judgment came on the final. How's
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: that I judge players? When you play a big game.
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: I judge a player now, and when we do Gold
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: Cup is when they get a final, they're playing against Mexico,
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: they're playing who who stands out? Who can handle that pressure,
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: who can handle now playing a bigger team, Because listen
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: to this day, Mexico's our biggest rival and we all
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: hate each other. We're friends now from that ninety group,
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: but we kicked the shit out of each other. Ask
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: Lexi and Roman Ramirez, ask all those guys. So when
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: I look at the Gold Cup, I looked at that final.
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: Who's going to stand out, Who's going to grab this
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: game by the balls? Who's going to show that they
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: belong here? And tell me who did that this last
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: Gold Cup? Tell me who's who really grabbed you in
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: that final? To damn, that kid could play at a
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: higher level because he played against Mexico exactly. So that's
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: that's what I really go by. So when I saw that,
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: I was just like, Okay, well you know, so I listen.
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: Like I said, I think Arson's a good player, and
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: you're right to have I think if you have two you,
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: if you do it right, you could have two overlapping players.
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: My concern in a World Cup is you got to
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: freaking defend, and you got to know how to defend
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: first and not when you're playing as a center back,
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: you've got to look to your right, you've got to
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: look to your left, and especially if you're going to
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: play that position, there's a lot of room to cover
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: when you're playing down the left hand side, like Robinson,
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: Jedi does, where does he have to defend. He's got
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: one angle in that side.
• 48:50
  Speaker 3: And by the way, you could do it on the
• 48:51
  Speaker 3: opposite side with Freeman. You could do Freeman exactly that
• 48:56
  Speaker 3: I really like, to be honest, So there's options to
• 48:59
  Speaker 3: do that either side.
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: It is something for Pochettino to solve because yeah, I mean,
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: Jedi has been fantastic for the US for a long
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: time and fantastic for Fulham as that overlapping left back,
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: which Pochettino hasn't really been using for the past six months.
• 49:14
  Speaker 2: So it is something whether it means Arstin at wing
• 49:17
  Speaker 2: back or maybe Tim Laya playing in Verniat wing back.
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: I'm really interested to see what the coach does.
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: I thought I thought you guys were gonna beat me
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: up for Tessaman, not not not Robinson and.
• 49:30
  Speaker 3: Tim No, no, I tell you. I'll tell you what
• 49:32
  Speaker 3: happens with Tesaman now, because Tessaman is a great call.
• 49:35
  Speaker 3: I think he's a good compliment to He's a good
• 49:38
  Speaker 3: compliment to to Tyler Adams, probably the best compliment he
• 49:41
  Speaker 3: can have, I think. I think the issue the coach
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: is gonna have, which is a great one to have,
• 49:46
  Speaker 3: is you have both McKinny and Tillman in great form. Yeah,
• 49:50
  Speaker 3: how do you fit both and still have Tillman in
• 49:54
  Speaker 3: and and and Adams? You really can't. And that's even
• 49:57
  Speaker 3: if you push way out wide because right now, as
• 50:01
  Speaker 3: well as way as doing, you don't necessarily have a
• 50:04
  Speaker 3: position for him. You have to find it. You're gonna
• 50:06
  Speaker 3: have to send him wide.
• 50:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's in a fight with dest and Freeman on
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: one side, and Arstin and I guess Jedi Robinson on
• 50:16
  Speaker 2: the other side. The other argument for Testament, the reason
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: I didn't fight you on it his range of passing,
• 50:21
  Speaker 2: his ability to get on the ball and set tempo
• 50:24
  Speaker 2: and then use those wingbacks which have become so important
• 50:27
  Speaker 2: for the US over this past six game stretch starting
• 50:31
  Speaker 2: in September with that draw against.
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: So does so does bird Halter or does Rodan make
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: the team.
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: Rodn makes the team, really And what told me I
• 50:41
  Speaker 2: think I think Pachettino loves him. And what told me
• 50:43
  Speaker 2: that was, first of all, he's the only one who's
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: I think, played all six games during the six game stretch,
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: and he didn't start against Uruguay, and he was in
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: the midst of like he had played a ton for
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: the Sounders and he was kind of out of gas,
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: and Pochettino put him on for the final ten minutes
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: of that game. Anyway, And to me, that tells me
• 51:04
  Speaker 2: the coach wants to reward a player for what the
• 51:06
  Speaker 2: player's done. And maybe I'm reading too much because I
• 51:09
  Speaker 2: love Christian Roldan, and I don't think I'm the only one.
• 51:12
  Speaker 2: Certainly the guys in that locker room love him too.
• 51:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And you know you still have other guys. You
• 51:16
  Speaker 3: have Cardozo, you have Aiden Morris, who's having a great season.
• 51:20
  Speaker 3: You just heard his coach this weekend say how much
• 51:22
  Speaker 3: he loves coaching Aidan Morris, because he's so much about
• 51:26
  Speaker 3: the team. The perfect guy to have. Burholtzer obviously has
• 51:29
  Speaker 3: done well. There are so many I think there's gonna
• 51:32
  Speaker 3: be a couple of guys who deserve to go to
• 51:34
  Speaker 3: a World Cup who just unfortunately won't be able to
• 51:36
  Speaker 3: make it.
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, happens every time. Time for us to take one
• 51:41
  Speaker 2: more break. We'll be right back with Marcella's nineteen ninety
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: four World Cup story about a certain pass from someone
• 51:48
  Speaker 2: else who's on this podcast right now. Thanks for listening
• 51:51
  Speaker 2: to Inside American Soccer.
• 51:53
  Speaker 5: Please rate review had subscribe.
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: Okay, welcome back to Inside American Soccer. We have talked
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: all things US men's national team, all things transfer market
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: over the previous forty five minutes. But now it's time
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: for a little bit of storytime. Let's go back thirty years,
• 52:19
  Speaker 2: thirty two years. Let's go inside the locker room before
• 52:23
  Speaker 2: that big game for the US against Columbia in the
• 52:27
  Speaker 2: World Cup in nineteen ninety four, and that bicycle kick
• 52:30
  Speaker 2: we've already referenced five times, Well, let's talk about it
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: again because it was such a beautiful, spectacular moment. Marcello.
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: Listen, one, I wouldn't have had to do it if
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: Tad would have put the ball where it was supposed
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: to go and I was in front of me, not
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: behind me. But I'm gonna let that slide for this one. Listen,
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: it's something that came natural. My dad told me a
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: long time ago, as a center back, you've got to
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: learn to do things a stand out a little bit.
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: And the one thing you have is you're able to
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: jump decently well. So we practice in practice. I used
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: to practice bicycle kicks. I saw Pele do it. I
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: thought it was the coolest thing in the world. And
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: I've broken lamps, asked moms. She's still upset about the
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: lamps I've broke in and but it was just something
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: as a kid that I wanted to do. Did I
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: ever think that I would pull one off in a
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: World Cup? Now, listen, I got lucky. I scored with
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: a concussion against Columbus and got the goal of the
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: year off that bicycle kick. Didn't even remember it. I
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: scored them with the under twenties, and I think it
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: just shocked surprises people to see want a defender do that.
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: And two is you know what, I like to be
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: a little different. So I started practicing that, and it
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: you don't try to do in a game. But when
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: Tad put that ball, it was instinctual that I just
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: saw it. I turned and I hit it and just
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: put it wide.
• 53:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, you know you may think it was a mistake,
• 53:54
  Speaker 3: but I put it exactly.
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 53:58
  Speaker 3: Of course, you know, always with the other kicks, you know,
• 54:01
  Speaker 3: our idea was always a look Alexi would come first
• 54:04
  Speaker 3: across the six and then Marcello would come behind. My
• 54:07
  Speaker 3: job was to put the bulley in there for one
• 54:08
  Speaker 3: of those two big guys and not miss them. You know,
• 54:11
  Speaker 3: you know I missed both at that in that case,
• 54:14
  Speaker 3: but Marcello was able to react. Yeah. I was going
• 54:17
  Speaker 3: to say exactly that, Marcelo that you know, people will
• 54:20
  Speaker 3: remember you a lot for that bicycle kick that went
• 54:24
  Speaker 3: barely wide, but yet a lot of people haven't seen
• 54:27
  Speaker 3: the great bicycle kicks that you've scored throughout your career.
• 54:31
  Speaker 3: And by the way, I think the reason that we
• 54:33
  Speaker 3: talk about this so much is because, you know, and
• 54:36
  Speaker 3: obviously I've had the experience to coaching MLS and and
• 54:39
  Speaker 3: to coach in other leagues, and there's just not many
• 54:42
  Speaker 3: defenders that bring so much to the table on the
• 54:44
  Speaker 3: attacking part of the field. And you know, I can't
• 54:47
  Speaker 3: imagine the value you would have today on a team,
• 54:50
  Speaker 3: you know, considering that you couldn't only be a shutdown defender,
• 54:53
  Speaker 3: but that you're a constant danger on the other side
• 54:56
  Speaker 3: of the on the other side of the field. So yeah,
• 54:59
  Speaker 3: I mean, and it's definitely nice to have in your
• 55:02
  Speaker 3: toolbox be able to do that. But yeah, some exciting moments.
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: Sure listen it. I think every kid sees Pelee do it,
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: they see Ronaldo do it now, and it's just one
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: of those things that it's just I don't know. For me,
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: it was just one of the coolest things. It was
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: like a challenge. Can I kick a ball over my head?
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: Can I reach it? How do I time it? How
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: do I you know, I mean, there's a process to it.
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: But now you look back and it was just one
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: of those cool moments that people still to this day
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: thirty two years later and people are still talking about
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: that one moment that we had a corner cack against Columbia.
• 55:40
  Speaker 2: You know, you guys both had amazing moments in that
• 55:43
  Speaker 2: World Cups have. Of course, the pass to Ernie for like,
• 55:48
  Speaker 2: just one of the greatest passes in US men's national
• 55:51
  Speaker 2: team history and it's still burned into my memory. And
• 55:55
  Speaker 2: now we have this group coming into the World Cup
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: this summer. It's advice time you guys have lived it.
• 56:02
  Speaker 2: What advice did the two of you have for this
• 56:06
  Speaker 2: national team. Just one piece of advice for these guys
• 56:08
  Speaker 2: heading into the World Cup at home this summer.
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: Wow, enjoy it. Enjoy it. You know what, we didn't
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: get to enjoy it as much because we worked every day.
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: We worked as a club team. We fought, we scratched,
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: We had to promote the game. Listen. I remember seeing
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: a video before the ninety four World Cup and they asked,
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: you know who tab Ramos is and they said, I
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: think he's a hockey player. Okay, So we had to
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: work so hard to promote this game. We had to
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: work so hard to come back from injuries, to integrate
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: all the European guys back to us that I don't
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: think we fully fully got to enjoy the moment. These
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: guys are all playing in Europe, they know what pressure
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: is like, they're making great money. I have to say,
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: tab John and those guys who went to Europe into
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: Spain opened those doors for all of these guys to
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: have an opportunity to go there. So when you get
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: there and you make it, you know what, enjoy it.
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: Enjoy because representing our country, not a lot of people
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: get to do. Playing in a World Cup. Not a
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: lot of people get to do. But we've got to
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: represent our country and our own World Cup. And that
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: was the most special World Cup to open people's eyes
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: to what we were capable of doing, to gaining that
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: respect in the football world. That we came out and
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: we get out of the group. We beat the best
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: team in South America that year, and we did it
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: with class, we did it with pride, and we did
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: it with hard work. And so for these guys, when
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: you put on that frickin' jersey, you've got to give
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: everything you have. There's nothing left on the fucking table.
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: And excuse the language, because that's where I'm at. And
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: for me, when you walk off that field, you better
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: walk off say we did everything possible today that we
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: couldn't have given anymore, because if you leave anything on
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: the table, then you shouldn't be on that team.
• 57:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I'll just add to that that I
• 58:00
  Speaker 3: think players still don't realize what it's going to be
• 58:04
  Speaker 3: like this summer. I think they don't realize how much
• 58:07
  Speaker 3: this country is going to be sort of turned over
• 58:09
  Speaker 3: to them and how excited our fans are going to
• 58:13
  Speaker 3: be to follow them. And like you said, they're used
• 58:16
  Speaker 3: to pressure, they're used to having to win games. But
• 58:19
  Speaker 3: I certainly think that this World Cup will be the
• 58:22
  Speaker 3: World Cup that really puts soccer on the real map
• 58:25
  Speaker 3: in this country, because because a way that the media
• 58:30
  Speaker 3: will follow, this team will be like never before.
• 58:33
  Speaker 2: Guys, great advice, a great way to spend a morning
• 58:37
  Speaker 2: chatting with the two of you, and I'm sure our
• 58:39
  Speaker 2: listeners enjoyed every bit of it as well. Thank you
• 58:41
  Speaker 2: all for listening to Inside American Soccer. Please do rate,
• 58:47
  Speaker 2: review and subscribe, and please continue to leave your comments
• 58:50
  Speaker 2: and questions on all our platforms Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
• 58:55
  Speaker 2: Tom needs something to read while he's on baby duty
• 58:59
  Speaker 2: for the next few weeks. Uh, And we will be back,
• 59:02
  Speaker 2: of course a week from now, so we will see
• 59:04
  Speaker 2: you all next week.
• 59:08
  Speaker 5: M m hmm.