Latest / Friends on Football / Ep. 6 - Champions League Final, A Parisian Dynasty, USMNT vs. Senegal Match Breakdown, Arne Slot Sacked and the Return of Triple Espresso

Transcript

Ep. 6 - Champions League Final, A Parisian Dynasty, USMNT vs. Senegal Match Breakdown, Arne Slot Sacked and the Return of Triple Espresso · Friends on Football

• 0:22
  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Friends on Football Podcast.
• 0:27
  I am Sean Boyle and I am joined by Mr.
• 0:29
  Brandon Johnson as usual.
• 0:30
  Brandon, how are you?
• 0:32
  Sean, I'm great.
• 0:33
  Feeling feeling good today.
• 0:34
  Sun's out.
• 0:35
  No complaints.
• 0:36
  Hi, how are you feeling?
• 0:37
  I'm feeling great, Brandon.
• 0:39
  As you can see here, I am wearing my Paris Stanger Man scarf.
• 0:44
  Issi C Peri, Ale, Ale, Ale.
• 0:47
  Champions of Europe.
• 0:48
  You'll never sing that.
• 0:49
  Paris Stanger Man beat Arsenal in the Champions League final on Saturday.
• 0:53
  We will dive into that.
• 0:54
  We'll talk about the USA and Senegal friendly.
• 0:57
  We'll talk about some news and notes from around the continent and here in the United States.
• 1:02
  So an action-packed episode, a lot to get to, and not a lot of time to do it, Brandon.
• 1:07
  So let's jump right in.
• 1:08
  I mentioned it.
• 1:09
  It's the it's the biggest story in sports, is Paris St.
• 1:12
  Germain are once again champions of Europe.
• 1:14
  What were your thoughts on the Champions League final?
• 1:17
  Yeah, it was a good game.
• 1:18
  Uh Arsenal obviously came out firing Kai Havertz scoring, I think it was the fifth or sixth minute, and you thought after them scoring that they would just sit back and win 1-0.
• 1:30
  And they tried to do that.
• 1:32
  Obviously, that didn't work with the penalty being given in the second half.
• 1:36
  I thought neither team really impressed me, overly, overly impressed me, but you know, it got to a point where I think Arsenal was like, let's just get to penalty kicks, let's just get to penalty kicks.
• 1:48
  Uh, which obviously they did, but didn't win the penalty shootout.
• 1:52
  So yeah, it was it was kind of a weird game.
• 1:54
  Once it went 1-1, I feel like, like I said, Arsenal was just really kind of on that back foot, hoping and praying maybe for a counterattack or something like that, but you didn't think they were really gonna score too much through the last, I would say, 30-35 minutes of the game, including then you know, 30 minutes of stoppage time as well.
• 2:14
  So once it kind of started in stoppage time, I had a feeling that it was gonna go all the way to penalty kicks.
• 2:18
  Neither team really took too many risks.
• 2:20
  It was a pretty, you know, even game.
• 2:22
  Paris, of course, I think had more chances, but I think for me it was always destined to be penalties.
• 2:28
  Yeah, you said it.
• 2:30
  Once Arsenal scored that early goal, which was a bit fluky, a bit Mickey Mouse off a kind of a weird deflection, a great finish by Havertz to give them the lead, but then they just kind of bunkered in and they didn't have any interest in offering anything in the way of attack, which they were happy to do.
• 2:46
  They're one of the best defensive teams in the world.
• 2:48
  They might be the most sound defensive team in the world.
• 2:52
  That's their claim to fame.
• 2:54
  PSG, however, are one of the most electrifying attacking teams, and Arsenal made it really difficult to play against them.
• 3:00
  So PSG were certainly not at their best, and that's a credit to Arsenal.
• 3:05
  I would say, though, at least PSG were always trying to attack.
• 3:09
  It's just hard when you're sitting back against 11 men a lot of the time.
• 3:12
  Arsenal weren't even offering an outlet for large portions of the game.
• 3:16
  So it makes it difficult.
• 3:17
  Spaces are tight, even the best of attacks will struggle against a block that's as well structured as Arsenal's is.
• 3:23
  But I'm glad the team who won was at least the team who tried to play exciting football and almost always do.
• 3:30
  You mentioned it, once it got to extra time, everybody seemed kind of knackered.
• 3:35
  Like it was there were some heavy breaths, tired legs, not a ton in the way of drama those last 30 minutes.
• 3:42
  So that leads me to the question: should penalties decide a final?
• 3:47
  Because we just mentioned how tired these guys were after 120 minutes, but then there's also the crowd that complains about it coming down to penalty kicks to decide such an important trophy.
• 3:57
  I'm interested to hear what you think about this.
• 4:00
  I think I'm not sure there's a better solution.
• 4:03
  So it might just be a necessity thing.
• 4:06
  Seeing a game of 120 minutes, and like you said, the last 30 minutes, I mean, both teams looked like they were dead.
• 4:14
  Uh I mean, it's been a long season.
• 4:16
  They've both played long campaigns in their regular season, obviously Champions League, and a lot of guys are getting ready for the World Cup.
• 4:24
  You know, they've played so much football in the last, you know, eight, nine months.
• 4:27
  I I don't know how else you end a game.
• 4:29
  Maybe you go straight from 90 to penalty kicks.
• 4:31
  Uh I've heard that idea thrown around.
• 4:34
  No extra time, no 30-minute extra time.
• 4:37
  I'm just not sure if you can do the uh NHL hockey playoffs where you just play next goal wins.
• 4:44
  Yeah, if you play next goal wins until the end of time, we we might not have a next goal.
• 4:49
  There just might be guys dropping.
• 4:50
  It would turn into a shit show pretty quickly.
• 4:52
  I'm with you.
• 4:53
  I think just because of the lack of alternatives, I think penalties are the way to go.
• 4:56
  And I understand they might not be the most fair way because if you're looking at it from an actual footballing perspective, it's not real football, quote unquote.
• 5:06
  But it also is a skill to take penalties.
• 5:10
  It's not like it's a complete crapshoot.
• 5:12
  It's a skill to take penalties, it's a skill to save penalties, and you have to have a certain mentality and mindset, I think is the biggest thing.
• 5:19
  Every guy that's on that pitch can take and make a penalty.
• 5:22
  It's just in those big moments that the pressure sometimes gets to people, and that's what we saw with Arsenal.
• 5:28
  It couldn't have been written any better that Ebrechese and Gabrielle were the two to miss.
• 5:33
  They didn't even make the keeper make a save, which that's that makes it all the better for me.
• 5:39
  At least you have to put it on frame.
• 5:41
  Yeah, you you can't miss penalties that badly.
• 5:44
  Of course, you know, neither me nor you have ever played in the Champions League final, so we do not know the pressure attached to that.
• 5:50
  But you you want to make the goalie make a save.
• 5:52
  The goalie makes the save, you shake his hand and say, Hey, great job.
• 5:55
  Yeah.
• 5:56
  But to not even challenge him, it's it's a little bit tough to uh to swallow.
• 6:01
  But I also want to go back, Sean.
• 6:02
  You made a good point.
• 6:03
  Penalty kicks are a skill, you know, just like someone would say, throw-ins.
• 6:08
  Arsenal takes advantage of Declan Rice's long throw-in.
• 6:11
  Is that soccer?
• 6:13
  No.
• 6:13
  Maybe, maybe not.
• 6:14
  Not really.
• 6:16
  I mean, he's not even using his feet theoretically, but it's a skill and they use it to help them win.
• 6:20
  So I think just like anything else, penalty kicks are a skill that you practice and you have to develop.
• 6:26
  And and it's not like penalty kicks deciding a cup final is something random and out of the blue.
• 6:31
  These guys have been playing since they were kids.
• 6:33
  This is how cup finals end when there's you know a tie after extra time.
• 6:37
  So it's not nothing, not anything new.
• 6:40
  So I don't think we really need to change that.
• 6:43
  Yes, it could be a little bit unfair, but I think that's just football.
• 6:47
  And honestly, the game for the most part, it was intense because of what was at stake, but for the most part, it was a pretty boring game.
• 6:55
  We got an early goal and then we got a lot of nothing for a large stretch of that game.
• 7:00
  And the penalties are the thing that people are going to remember.
• 7:02
  For better or worse, they gave us moments.
• 7:05
  So, hey, listen, I'll sign up for that.
• 7:07
  We will always remember who missed those penalties.
• 7:09
  Arsenal fans will remember who missed those penalties for the rest of time.
• 7:12
  So I think penalties, because of what's at stake, I'm all for it.
• 7:16
  I'm I'm signing me up.
• 7:18
  I don't think it's broken, so I don't think we need to fix it.
• 7:21
  Now, I want to spend a little bit of time on PSG.
• 7:24
  Luis Enrique, their manager, an all-time great, he not only wins at a high level, he plays such great football everywhere he goes.
• 7:33
  He did it at Barcelona, he's doing it here at PSG.
• 7:36
  It's fluid, guys can interchange and play in different parts of the pitch.
• 7:39
  It helps when you have all the attacking talent that he does.
• 7:42
  But he has spoken about how much he takes pride in providing a product for his fans that they should be proud to go and see.
• 7:50
  And I love when managers do that.
• 7:52
  Because I, if you have two teams that set up to play, like Arsenal set up to play, that creates boring soccer.
• 7:57
  And that's why the game might not grow in some areas because somebody could watch that for their first ever soccer game and say, hey, this is boring.
• 8:03
  But if you get two teams that want to play like PSG did, which we saw with their semifinal against Bayern, that's when soccer's at its best.
• 8:10
  So I credit Louis Enrique for setting up that culture there.
• 8:13
  And my question to you is I guess, do you think that this PSG side is already one of the best of all time coming off the back-to-back champions leagues, or do you think they still have a little bit to prove?
• 8:24
  I think you can bring them up in conversation.
• 8:28
  I don't think it's a winning conversation at this point.
• 8:31
  You know, two back-to-back champions leagues is a great accomplishment.
• 8:36
  I mean, how many teams have done that?
• 8:37
  I don't know, but I'm sure it's not many.
• 8:40
  No.
• 8:41
  However, you know, they they don't really play much in the league.
• 8:45
  Uh the league is a little bit easier.
• 8:47
  They can really rest and and prepare for this.
• 8:49
  This is basically the only thing they're really truly playing for.
• 8:53
  Of course, you there's domestic cups and things like that and these other small tournaments, but at the end of the day, PSG is assembled to compete in the Champions League.
• 9:02
  So, you know, you take Arsenal on the other side, where they're in a battle to win the Premier League with Manchester City all season long.
• 9:10
  So every game in the Premier League really matters.
• 9:14
  PSG probably won the league with, you know, eight or nine games to go.
• 9:19
  So it's it's a little bit different.
• 9:21
  And I think you can put them in the conversation for one of the best of all time, but I don't think they're quite there yet.
• 9:27
  I think you touched on a lot of the same notes that I would like to echo.
• 9:31
  It is hard to gauge their domestic success just relative to the competition.
• 9:36
  They have so many more resources that it's unfair to even judge the rest of those teams against them.
• 9:43
  So I think that point needs to be made.
• 9:45
  They are backed by a wealth fund that listen, they were not like this 20 years ago.
• 9:52
  So that certainly needs to be brought up when discussing this side.
• 9:56
  But back-to-back champions leagues is special.
• 9:59
  And the scary thing about this group is they are so young.
• 10:03
  Their core players are guys that are not going anywhere.
• 10:06
  Guys like Desiree Dewey, Fatinha, Jao Nev, Ruben Menj, Bradley Barkala, they are all still getting better.
• 10:14
  They're in the process of still getting better, which is just scary to think about because they've been running Europe for two years now.
• 10:19
  So yeah, I think Champions League titles three years in a row would certainly do it.
• 10:25
  So if they could come back and do it again next year, that would cement themselves as one of the best sides of all time.
• 10:29
  But I'm with you.
• 10:30
  I still think we need to see a bit more out of them before it's a winning argument to say they're one of the best teams of all time.
• 10:36
  Yeah, and and don't get me wrong, I think they're on that cusp.
• 10:40
  But unfortunately, you know, trophies matter, and in my opinion, league competition matters.
• 10:48
  So with them only winning twice in a row and playing in a league that they can win probably with their backups, uh, they're not quite there yet.
• 10:58
  I think that's a good place to leave it.
• 11:00
  Uh, the the European season is over.
• 11:02
  Our attention can finally shift to full focus on the World Cup, and we have a lot to talk about in that regard.
• 11:11
  Brandon, on Sunday, the USA hosted Senegal and Charlotte for their first of two friendlies in the run-up to the World Cup.
• 11:20
  It was a great game, a 3-2 victory for the United States.
• 11:23
  We'll dive into that.
• 11:24
  I first want to get your reaction to the lineup, the chosen 11 from Mauricio Pachatino.
• 11:30
  What were your thoughts on it when you saw the lineup graphic come out?
• 11:35
  I try not to read too much into these.
• 11:38
  Seeing it, I I would say you probably have five to six nailed-on starters that will probably start in a couple weeks for the World Cup, but in a in a friendly like this, I don't I don't read too much into it.
• 11:53
  I I know guys are trying to get minutes and certain guys are on restrictions, and granted, it was kind of like one group played a half and this the other group played a half with some you know varying people in there, but I don't to me, I don't read a lot into it.
• 12:07
  I know I've seen online people are like, this might be the team for the first game, and I'm like, it better not be the team for the first game.
• 12:15
  It won't be.
• 12:16
  But yeah, I didn't read too much into it.
• 12:18
  What about you?
• 12:19
  I'm in the same boat.
• 12:21
  We just talked about a game in the Champions League final that meant so much to both teams.
• 12:25
  This was a game that meant basically nothing.
• 12:27
  This is a friendly, so the stakes are completely off.
• 12:30
  This is a tune-up game of sorts.
• 12:32
  It's a chance for you to get fitness into your guys, it's a chance for you to build some chemistry, some camaraderie, try out different things ahead of the World Cup.
• 12:39
  Now, you can argue what stage of that process the US should be at with the World Cup starting in a week.
• 12:45
  That's fair.
• 12:46
  And to that point, I would have maybe have liked to have seen something different than this split squad approach that Poch keeps going back to, where at some point I would have loved to have seen our core 11 have a run-up of five, six games together.
• 13:00
  But like you said, that clearly wasn't the case when we saw this lineup come out.
• 13:04
  So Weston McKenny will start at the World Cup.
• 13:07
  Like there are guys that are that did not start this match that will start come when the games matter.
• 13:12
  So that was my only real takeaway.
• 13:13
  I'm with you.
• 13:14
  It wasn't a big overreaction for me saying, oh my God, look at all these sweeping changes.
• 13:18
  It was kind of just okay, we're getting fitness in the guys and we'll see what happens in the first half.
• 13:25
  Do you think, Sean, that the US will come out against Germany with more of that real team, maybe give them 30 or 40.
• 13:33
  I mean, I'm sorry, uh, 45 or 60 minutes maybe uh so they can try to have that camaraderie before the the World Cup starts?
• 13:42
  It's a good question, and I think yes would be my answer.
• 13:45
  I think we see 60 minutes of our best 11 with the caveat that Chris Richards probably won't still play because he's still recovering.
• 13:53
  But aside from that injury, I would expect the rest of the group to play 60 minutes together.
• 13:59
  I think honestly, I would be upset if they didn't.
• 14:03
  And that's just because, like I just mentioned, we just haven't seen it.
• 14:06
  And I would like to see it once against proper competition a week before.
• 14:11
  They have plenty of time to recover ahead of that first match.
• 14:13
  So, what about you?
• 14:14
  I think that would be my approach.
• 14:16
  I I agree with you.
• 14:17
  I think that's the way to go.
• 14:19
  I don't see any downsides to that.
• 14:23
  Like you said, there's enough time before the first game where you don't have to worry about fitness.
• 14:27
  If there is a guy or two that you're worried about the fitness, then play him for 45 and get him out.
• 14:32
  That's fine.
• 14:32
  But I would I would really like to see that core group play 60 against, like you said, Germany, who you know could win this whole thing.
• 14:40
  So uh definitely looking forward to that game.
• 14:43
  And I think I'll read more from that game than I did from Sunday's game.
• 14:48
  I I couldn't agree more with that statement.
• 14:50
  And also, I think the other thing with this first one, the guys hadn't been in camp for very long.
• 14:55
  Some of them have only gotten there midweek through the week last week, so it wasn't like they've had a three-week run-up to this friendly.
• 15:01
  Guys are flying from different parts of the world, they're all kind of getting into a home base in Charlotte for a few days before going to the other side of the country.
• 15:09
  So I think it would have been crazy to see our best 11 play all 90 minutes in the first friendly, too.
• 15:14
  So I don't think there's anything to overreact to with the lineup from what Potch did in this first one.
• 15:18
  Let's talk about the performance.
• 15:20
  Senegal, where our opponent and Senegal are a good side.
• 15:23
  They're a very strong, I wouldn't say they're an elite World Cup team, but they're in that bucket below where they're certainly a heavy hitter in this competition, and they're expected to make a pretty significant run.
• 15:34
  So it was encouraging to see how we started the game.
• 15:37
  We came out guns blazing.
• 15:40
  Now, some of that could have been due to Senegal just getting into the country like two or three days ago.
• 15:46
  So that might have been due to some jet lag, but boy, did we really capitalize on it to start the match.
• 15:51
  Yeah, it looked good.
• 15:52
  They were firing.
• 15:53
  I mean, it got to a point in the I think it was like the 25th minute when we were up 2-0, and I was like, whoa, like we might we might be able to do something special here.
• 16:04
  The boys, I mean, they were buzzing.
• 16:07
  It was great to see that.
• 16:10
  Of course, two goals.
• 16:11
  You know, we'll talk about two goals, and two goals are fantastic, but for me, it's the it's the high pressing on defense, it's the hey, we made a turnover, but we're gonna get it back immediately.
• 16:21
  And those those moments, seeing all, you know, all 10 guys on the field playing at that level for those first 20-25 minutes was was great.
• 16:32
  Um, of course, there was a drop-off, we gave up two goals, and you know, the second half was a little bit different with a little bit of a rotated team, but that first 25, like you said, was was definitely promising.
• 16:43
  Yeah, they came out flying, and you mentioned the intensity of the press.
• 16:47
  And that was something that maintained throughout the whole match, too.
• 16:49
  Large part of that was probably because of the mass changes we made, that guys had come in and they knew they were only getting 45, 30 minutes, and they got to go full board in those minutes.
• 16:59
  So that was great.
• 17:00
  It was great to see that we treated it with the proper mentality because, you know, there's been a lot of criticism of some of these guys, there's a lot of expectations, and while this match might not have meant a ton, it is much better that it went this way compared to the alternative, where if we came out laxadaisical and Senekal beat us 3-1, then those voices just get a bit louder and the pressure starts to build a little bit, even if it is just a friendly.
• 17:26
  So I'm very happy that the match went the way it did.
• 17:29
  Yeah, you make a great point.
• 17:31
  And at the end of the day, you always want a result, you want three points, whether you're playing Germany, Korea, whoever.
• 17:38
  It doesn't matter who you're playing.
• 17:39
  Uh, you always want to win win the game.
• 17:42
  So to see that was was good.
• 17:44
  Yeah.
• 17:45
  Let's talk about some individuals, and then we that we could kind of tie those into the moments of brilliance throughout the game, the goals that we had, some of the not so brilliant moments as well.
• 17:54
  We'll do a little stock up, stock down based on this performance.
• 17:58
  Brandon, I think we have to start with Hershey's finest, Christian Pulisic.
• 18:02
  We talked about those first 20 minutes just coming out buzzing, and I mean Pulisic goal assist in the first 20.
• 18:09
  It was it was great to see, and he really gave a fuck too.
• 18:13
  He when he scored, it seemed like a lot of emotion poured out of him.
• 18:18
  That was very encouraging for all US fans.
• 18:20
  Yeah, I feel like he might be a subscriber because on this podcast, I feel like we brought it up.
• 18:26
  We we said, hey, we go as he goes.
• 18:28
  And he said, All right, bet.
• 18:29
  Like, I'll show you what I got.
• 18:31
  And like you said, those first 20 minutes, a goal and an assist that quickly, it's great to see.
• 18:37
  And that's what you want to see from your leader, somebody who we're gonna absolutely depend on at the World Cup.
• 18:42
  So to have him come out and and sort of set the standard for the for the guys that were coming on after him and the guys around him, that that's great to see.
• 18:51
  Yeah, and the guy he linked up with for the first goal, Sergio Deste, I thought it was really positive from him as well.
• 18:58
  I would say stock up for sure.
• 19:00
  Just because we know what Serginho Desk can do, it's just making sure he's healthy enough to do it.
• 19:05
  And he seemed to have a real spark about him.
• 19:07
  He was one of those guys that was pressing and running around a lot with a lot of energy in that first half, got on the end of a cross and buried home a goal that we might have been able to finish if we were in that exact spot.
• 19:18
  But Serginho Desk was the one who got into that exact spot.
• 19:21
  So really, really encouraging stuff from Serginho as well.
• 19:25
  Yeah, you gotta get you gotta get to the spots, Sean, to to make the goals.
• 19:28
  So kudos to him.
• 19:29
  But I think tying in with Serginho, I also would go stock up for Alex Freeman because Alex Freeman allowed Serginho to run around and and not really have too many defensive responsibilities.
• 19:43
  Alex Freeman really held down that right side of the uh defense.
• 19:47
  So Serginho could get high up.
• 19:49
  And I mean, there even besides Serginho's goal, there were a couple of plays where he was the highest player on the field.
• 19:55
  Pepe was kind of dropping dropping in, and Destin and Anthony Robinson on the other side are two of the highest players on the field.
• 20:03
  So you need you need defenders who can cover for you if you're gonna if you're gonna run out of your spot like that.
• 20:08
  So uh I also would go stock up to Alex Freeman.
• 20:13
  I'll co-sign that.
• 20:14
  I loved seeing his performance.
• 20:16
  It's one of those where if your name's not mentioned, it's a good thing.
• 20:20
  And we had a guy who we'll talk about in the second half, whose name should be flashing in big letters, who he's he's a center back whose name was mentioned and he's a real sore spot.
• 20:30
  But Freeman just did his business, he helped Dest get into those positions.
• 20:36
  I I couldn't agree more.
• 20:38
  Another guy you mentioned there, Pepe, I thought both goals he dropped in deep in his link up play.
• 20:44
  It's not his best quality, but he really, really impressed me with just how fluid we looked in attack.
• 20:51
  And I think in a large part of it, it was down to him, it was down to those wingers, and our interchange in our build-up play was really, really fun to watch.
• 20:59
  Yeah, it's great to see Peppe doing it at this level.
• 21:02
  I feel like we always knew he had that quality, but for him to be able to take that secondary role, and he's maybe not the poaching number nine, and he's sitting in front of the goal, he's coming back, he's working back, he's connecting in the midfield, I think can really help us late on in games, depending on who we play.
• 21:19
  Because Senegal, I don't I wouldn't call it a low block, but they were a little bit of a mid-block where they were sitting back, they weren't pressing too much.
• 21:27
  And to be a number nine target forward in a situation like that, you're not going to get many opportunities because the the defense is literally right on top of you.
• 21:36
  So so to be able to, you know, check back in, work back in, get connected with the the the attacking midfielders is is big, and I think that will help us, uh, depending on you know certain opponents.
• 21:47
  And we'll go we'll go over that in the World Cup episode, group D episode.
• 21:51
  But I think having someone like Pepe who can connect like that is gonna really help us.
• 21:55
  And then, you know, Sean, in the same, in the same breath, I mean, Balion comes on in the second half.
• 22:00
  And basically scored three times.
• 22:02
  Only one of them counted.
• 22:03
  But you know, he's another guy whose stock was already high.
• 22:06
  But I think even maybe further, it's like, hey, he his stock may have grown a bit more even with that game, that game on Sunday.
• 22:14
  So, you know, those two guys, I was really impressed with the forward play.
• 22:18
  I know it was kind of an area that maybe we weren't sold on, but that performance uh really was impressive, in my opinion.
• 22:28
  So let's continue with the stock ups before we get to maybe a stock down or two.
• 22:32
  I thought mentioning that second half, I thought the player of the half for me was probably Malik Tillman.
• 22:38
  He was excellent.
• 22:40
  He he was able to do everything you're looking for in that midfield role.
• 22:44
  He even dropped a bit deeper at times and did some defensive work.
• 22:48
  He was great in attack.
• 22:50
  He set up Balogun in some of those goal scoring opportunities.
• 22:55
  I thought he looked great and it seemed a completely different player than what we saw for most of his season at Bayer Leverkusen, which was just very choppy.
• 23:03
  He just couldn't get into a rhythm.
• 23:05
  Maybe the level was an adjustment for him, whatever the case may be, he looked ready to go for this World Cup.
• 23:10
  And now where do you where do you slot him in, Sean?
• 23:13
  Because now you're talking, you know, Tyler and Weston in the middle.
• 23:18
  Do you play him maybe a little bit higher?
• 23:20
  And instead of Geo or Tim Wea, you know, where where does he fit?
• 23:24
  Or is he not a starter?
• 23:26
  Which is, you know, obviously possible as well.
• 23:29
  Yeah, I don't know the answer as to what Potch will do, but I know I would start him ahead of Geo in that same role that Geo played in the first half.
• 23:36
  And I don't think Geo was bad by any means, but Tillman played a similar role, just better in my opinion.
• 23:41
  And also, I can trust Tillman to give us 70 good minutes, whereas Geo's body, I don't know that I can trust that at that level of a World Cup game.
• 23:51
  So I that's where I would put him.
• 23:52
  And I do think as part of that split squat approach, I think the three guys that were starters that played the second half would be Balogun, McKenney, and Tillman as well.
• 24:03
  So I think that's what what I would say.
• 24:05
  But it's again, we don't really know what Poch is thinking because he's hard to read in terms of how he evaluates this group.
• 24:11
  Yeah, and then you know, we haven't really mentioned him, but like I Tim Waya, like is he a starter?
• 24:17
  I I don't know.
• 24:19
  Positionally, he's kind of stuck because he's probably not gonna play over Dest in that in that wing back role.
• 24:24
  He's not gonna play over Anthony on the left in that wing back role.
• 24:27
  So he's probably, you know, 60th minute.
• 24:31
  Hey, come and make something happen, which is fine.
• 24:33
  I mean, that guy off the bench is that's a great option as a depth piece.
• 24:37
  Uh, but there's I feel like that might be the one position, Sean, that I'm not.
• 24:43
  I don't know if I have a nailed-on starter yet.
• 24:45
  Everywhere else, I'm pretty I'm pretty solid, but that that spot I think can go two to possibly three different ways.
• 24:53
  For sure.
• 24:54
  And I I do agree Tim Wea in my head going into this World Cup was a nailed-on starter.
• 24:58
  But then when you sit down and look at it and see that we're going to play with this back five, it changes things.
• 25:05
  And I think Dest, uh nothing would lead me to believe that he's gonna lose a starting spot based on that performance.
• 25:10
  I thought we saw both first choice wing backs in Robinson and Dest.
• 25:14
  And it seems like Weia is going to be a wing back when he comes on.
• 25:18
  So I don't know for sure, but I would say Wea just was another one of the guys out there who didn't hurt his stock, didn't really improve his stock by any means, just had a solid game.
• 25:28
  One guy who he's my favorite player, and this is why I love him Weson McKenney.
• 25:33
  He he'll take a touch and it's like, what the fuck was that, Wes?
• 25:37
  Like it's like lead feet, and then the next, very next time he receives the ball, he plays like an inch perfect pass, and that only probably he can make in the whole squad.
• 25:47
  And it's like, well, there he is.
• 25:48
  There, there's my boy.
• 25:49
  So that's the special stuff Wes could give you.
• 25:51
  And he was he gave a few brilliant moments in that second half.
• 25:55
  I agree.
• 25:56
  Uh, I I will say I was not as locked into the second half as I was the first half, but he definitely was one of those kind of shining, shining parts of the team.
• 26:06
  I thought he played really well.
• 26:08
  Uh, but you're you know what you're gonna get from him, and I think that that missed touch or that misplayed pass is is gonna happen, and you just have to hope it doesn't happen in a critical situation.
• 26:21
  Yeah.
• 26:22
  Speaking of uh maybe a misplayed pass or misplayed touch, we had a calamity at the back in the second half.
• 26:29
  Your guy, Miles Robinson.
• 26:32
  Your guy, I have to say.
• 26:34
  Walker Zimmerman would never, but no, that was the bad moment of the second half.
• 26:38
  Really just a breakdown between Miles Robinson and Chris Brady.
• 26:41
  I would say stock down pretty big for both of them.
• 26:43
  The only good part that is hey, your stock can go down, you're still on the roster, so we just don't trust you, is uh is I guess what this nets out to.
• 26:52
  I as soon as it happened, I I could I knew that was gonna come up, that you were gonna bring it up and call me out for it.
• 26:58
  But look, I put it in my show notes immediately.
• 27:01
  Everybody, everybody makes mistakes.
• 27:06
  No, everybody, everybody makes mistakes and it's gonna happen.
• 27:09
  But yeah, it was a bad moment.
• 27:10
  And I think for Brady as well, that's tough.
• 27:14
  He just came into the game, and that's probably his first real action, and and that happens, but that's I mean, that's the World Cup.
• 27:21
  That's things like that can happen, and there's no it's great we have these two games as these warm-up games, but uh, you know, once next next weekend comes, we're going for real.
• 27:31
  So if you do get entered entered into the game, it's it's game one, so you need to be ready.
• 27:36
  And I think, like you said, unfortunately, both of their stocks dropped with that moment.
• 27:43
  Granted, you know, like you said, Chris Brady was already you know the third string goalkeeper.
• 27:48
  He was probably not gonna play, and we can go back to your theories and your and your ideas, but now you probably really don't want him to play in your mind.
• 27:56
  I'm I've seen him play in MLS.
• 27:58
  He's a good goalie.
• 28:00
  You know, we're not gonna use him unless we need him, but that was definitely not a great, great highlight for him.
• 28:06
  Yeah, I think all it did for Brady was, like you said, he was up against it as the third choice keeper to begin with.
• 28:11
  He needed to be perfect and then have an injury really to get on the field.
• 28:15
  And this was just a reminder of, hey, you are third choice, which it's not the end of the world, it's not gonna ruin his career or anything.
• 28:22
  It's fine.
• 28:22
  Robinson's the one I have more of an issue with, and I'll say the reason why is because I'm just worried about that left center back position.
• 28:28
  And I think our center back depth in general, with us committing to playing this side, I thought Austin Trusty, I will say stock up for him.
• 28:36
  Pretty good game, tidy on the ball.
• 28:38
  And he's put he's strung together some pretty good performances for the US MNT.
• 28:41
  So he would be my honestly, he's pushing Reem, in my opinion, to start on that left side of a back three.
• 28:48
  The question I have is we we have now made Tim Reim club captain for this World Cup.
• 28:54
  So I guess give me your thoughts on Tim Reim club captain and also the fact that he wasn't exactly guilt-free in the first Senegal goal either, where he kind of commits forward and then he doesn't have any pace to catch up.
• 29:08
  I have no problem with him being club captain.
• 29:10
  I think that's one of those things that the guys sit together and they they vote or they talk to the coaches, however it works, and you know, you kind of agree with it.
• 29:20
  It doesn't, I mean, it's a title.
• 29:21
  You know, Alejandro Badoya is the club captain of the Philadelphia Union and rarely starts games now, um, just because of his age.
• 29:28
  So it's a little bit uh figurehead like um, you know, you you rely on Tim Ream, he played at the last World Cup, he's played very valuable minutes for this team.
• 29:37
  As far as him starting all three games, yeah, we might not start him all three games, I think depending on the opponent, and we'll get into that in the other episode, but there may be a situation where like, hey, the other team has faster forwards.
• 29:52
  We probably can't play you because you're just you don't have the foot speed anymore.
• 29:56
  And I think Tim Reim is a good enough guy that he'll understand that, he'll accept that role, uh, and be ready if called upon.
• 30:02
  But yeah, I think I think Austin played a good enough game where he could be thrust into that role.
• 30:08
  I mean, depending on, and of course, we we're talking about all these guys, but not mentioning Chris Richards.
• 30:13
  Chris Richards, you know, his health is gonna determine a lot too, because he him playing or not playing could shift some other people around.
• 30:20
  I think there's a lot that has to be decided in the next you know week and a half, but the the majority of what I saw from the defense was was good.
• 30:31
  I do agree with that.
• 30:33
  I will just reiterate and hammer home the point, Chris.
• 30:36
  We we need you at all costs to be healthy because we we certainly can patch it together in a friendly against Senegal without you, but when it comes time for these real games, I'm not so sure that we'll be able to patch it together and make any sort of real run because the depth at that position is by far our weakest.
• 30:54
  So really, really just want to reiterate that.
• 30:58
  Any final thoughts from the Senegal match?
• 31:00
  I guess my final takeaway would just be the quote, the old quote, I believe it was Dennis Green, the Bears are who we thought they were, the NFL coach.
• 31:08
  Our good players are who we thought they were.
• 31:11
  They showed up, and for the most part, they showed out.
• 31:14
  They were they were good, they were switched on from minute one.
• 31:17
  It was a professional performance from them, took care of all that they needed to.
• 31:20
  The ones with questions around them, I guess they just didn't really answer any of the questions.
• 31:25
  Some did some to hurt their stock, most kind of just had okay performances where a couple moments they would like to improve and a couple moments of good play.
• 31:34
  So that's my final takeaway.
• 31:36
  A step in the right direction.
• 31:38
  Agreed.
• 31:40
  We didn't see anything shocking, kind of either way.
• 31:43
  And I think it was, you know, a friendly that you play and you realize, okay, this is where this is where we are.
• 31:50
  This is like you said, we are who we are.
• 31:52
  And you know, to to win, I think there's definitely needs to be put some some value put on that, but uh nothing massive takeaway-wise.
• 32:03
  I think you know, solid performance, and hopefully you can do the same thing against Germany.
• 32:09
  Perfect.
• 32:09
  So I we'll we'll set the stage for that game as we wrap up the episode.
• 32:13
  But that's a good place to lead the US MNT.
• 32:16
  You're going to hear us talk about them more in our group D preview.
• 32:19
  You're going to hear us talk about them throughout the whole summer.
• 32:21
  So we we won't we won't go much further today.
• 32:24
  Let's just get into some news from the soccer world.
• 32:27
  Brandon, you have some news from Philadelphia, I believe, which you broke to me.
• 32:32
  I was not aware of this.
• 32:33
  So please inform the listeners.
• 32:35
  Yeah, so late last week, uh the Philadelphia Union fired their head coach Bradley Carnell.
• 32:39
  As we mentioned on this pod, the union are off to one of their worst starts of the season.
• 32:44
  I'm sorry, of their existence uh this season, only with only having one win.
• 32:50
  So the team has been struggling, and the organization decided to go in a different direction.
• 32:56
  The other part of the Philadelphia Union news is Ernst Tanner, who is their sporting director, he's been on suspension since the end of last season, got into some trouble for some comments he made, and there were questions about is he gonna come back, what's the deal?
• 33:12
  June 1st actually is the day that the union have to decide what they're doing with him.
• 33:17
  But in the meantime, he was replaced as sporting director by a man by the name of John Shear.
• 33:24
  Uh so John Shear was the academy director and did a lot of their scouting, and so he was kind of the number two for a while and was sort of the acting sporting director during the last offseason.
• 33:35
  So it's not in not an outside hire, pretty much an internal promotion for him.
• 33:40
  And now we'll see in the coming days or weeks what the union decide to do with Ernst Tanner.
• 33:45
  I believe his contract ends at the end of 2026, but that's still six months where I don't know if they're just gonna put him in and you know, put him in a desk and say, hey, just sit here and you know, count pencils, or if he's gonna have a meaningful impact on the team.
• 34:00
  In addition to the Bradley Carnell firing, they promoted Ryan Richter, who is the Union two head coach, uh, to be the interim first team coach in the while they while they search for the permanent replacement.
• 34:13
  Um Ryan Ryan is someone who I know personally.
• 34:17
  Uh worked with him when I worked at the Philadelphia Union.
• 34:20
  He was actually a player on the second team when I worked there and got to know him really well.
• 34:24
  He retired shortly after that and started in the academy and has really been building his coaching career.
• 34:30
  He's he's young, he's only about 30.
• 34:32
  I think he's 37 or 38 years old.
• 34:35
  So he can probably relate to the players pretty well.
• 34:38
  He's he's been in their shoes before, he's played for the Philadelphia Union.
• 34:42
  So a nice homegrown guy uh went to LaSalle, and you know, I'll be cheering for him for sure.
• 34:48
  I don't know if he'll get the permanent job.
• 34:50
  I don't have you know any insight on that or any thoughts until we see them play, but uh it's a great spot for him to be in at such a young age to be you know potentially becoming a first team head coach.
• 35:03
  Good update from you, all very well informed, and I was unaware of most of it, so I appreciate that.
• 35:10
  I will reiterate, first congrats to Ryan.
• 35:13
  Hope he succeeds in his role, but I will reiterate this is this is a great time to once again announce I am open for a new MLS team.
• 35:20
  I I can't do any part of this shit show going on.
• 35:23
  It's a no thank you from me.
• 35:25
  I I I will be seeking a new team to root for.
• 35:30
  Maybe maybe somebody in the uh World Cup will do well for their national team and get an MLS contract, and you'll start following them.
• 35:38
  There we go.
• 35:39
  My leader in the clubhouse was Real Salt Lake, and then Diego Luna got left off our squad, and so to go.
• 35:45
  So it won't be it might not be those guys, but that's that's something we'll monitor throughout the rest of the summer.
• 35:52
  I will be making a commitment before the fall, before playoffs of MLS, I'll have a I'll have a commitment.
• 35:57
  So that's big.
• 35:58
  You heard it here first, listeners.
• 35:59
  You heard it here.
• 36:00
  That's right.
• 36:01
  And I'm not too proud to bandwagon, so I I need to root for a winner in my life.
• 36:05
  Uh I have some news from the continent.
• 36:08
  We talked about a manager being sacked in Philadelphia.
• 36:11
  There's been another one sacked in Liverpool.
• 36:14
  Arneslot gets the sack, and Doni Ireola is going to replace him.
• 36:19
  This just shows you how high the standard is at some of these elite level football clubs because we are one year on from Arneslot winning the Premier League with Liverpool.
• 36:29
  Now he is unemployed, and they are bringing in Bournemouth's manager from last season and Doni Ireola.
• 36:36
  Brandon, what are your thoughts on this one?
• 36:39
  Yeah, I am not too sure.
• 36:43
  I was texting with one of my buddies who's a big Liverpool fan, and it seems like they just were not happy with the results this year.
• 36:52
  Finishing fifth in the Premier League is, you know, nothing to scoff at, but I guess when you're at Liverpool and you have the resources you have, you're expected to be in that top, you know, two or three spots.
• 37:02
  So it's kind of crazy.
• 37:04
  I also wonder that knowing that they could get born this manager made it a little bit easier.
• 37:10
  They didn't have to worry about who's gonna come coach us and who's gonna be the next guy.
• 37:13
  Uh so sort of having that plan in the back of their heads might have helped.
• 37:18
  But yeah, like you said, the leash is so short.
• 37:21
  And gone, we've talked about it in previous episodes, gone are the days where you see an Arson Wenger or a Sir Alex Ferguson or these guys that are coaching at their clubs for 10-15 years because the leash is just too short.
• 37:35
  And you know, you feel for a guy like Rna Slot, but with his quality, what he's what he was able to do at Liverpool for in his first season, I'm sure he'll be coaching somewhere at a very high level next season, whether it be in the Premier League or one of the other big leagues.
• 37:50
  So, you know, unfortunate for him, but I think he'll land on his feet.
• 37:54
  Yeah, he won't be out of work for long, that's for sure.
• 37:57
  The point you made about just the standard at Liverpool specifically, they spent probably close to$500 million in the transfer window last summer after winning the Premier League.
• 38:09
  And it was really a statement of intent from the club, saying, like, hey, we're here to start something.
• 38:14
  And I guess they just believe that Arneslaw wasn't the guy to carry that forward, which, based on their performances this season, I can certainly see.
• 38:21
  It did not seem like a team with much clear direction about them, which was a complete contrast to what we saw in his first season.
• 38:29
  It's a bold move.
• 38:30
  It's certainly one that takes some balls to do.
• 38:33
  So I guess credit to them for being swift in making that decision.
• 38:36
  I will say the timing of it is a bit weird.
• 38:39
  They were swift in hiring his replacement quickly, but they waited a few weeks and they missed out on Jabbi Alonso, who is a club legend at Liverpool.
• 38:47
  And I'm not sure, maybe they prefer Areola, but I just do have some questions about how Ariola's football is going to scale up.
• 38:55
  First of all, I think Ariola is a brilliant, brilliant manager, one of the best young managers in the world.
• 39:00
  I want that on record.
• 39:01
  He seems like a lovely guy and a good man manager, too.
• 39:04
  It's just that his style of play is very transitional.
• 39:07
  It's a bit early days cloppy, I would say.
• 39:10
  It maybe reminds me of that era just a little bit.
• 39:13
  I think he creates some brilliant traps to set up quick transitions for his team and it provides them great opportunities.
• 39:19
  The question I will have is when you're at Liverpool, it's not the same as being at Bournemouth where you're going to be able to set up those traps all across the pitch.
• 39:28
  They're going to have probably 7-8% more possession in games than Bournemouth had, just naturally, because of the caliber of player they have and the size of club that they are.
• 39:37
  So you're going to have less of those opportunities for traps.
• 39:40
  Teams will not try to play through those.
• 39:42
  Teams will play long against that more often.
• 39:45
  And I don't know that he's proven that his tactics can consistently break down a low block at this level.
• 39:51
  Now that's one of the hardest things to do in football.
• 39:53
  We saw PSG struggle breaking down a low block on Saturday.
• 39:57
  So listen, I think it's a really good hire.
• 39:59
  He was out of contract at Bournemouth too, so they didn't have to pay them an exorbitant fee.
• 40:03
  It all makes sense from that perspective.
• 40:07
  It is a risk, but there was also a risk in keeping slot around and having another disappointing season.
• 40:12
  So something to monitor for next year in the Premier League, another interesting storyline.
• 40:16
  Another Premier League story is that Anthony Gordon, the Newcastle winger, has left the club for 80 million pounds to join Barcelona.
• 40:24
  I did not have this one on my bingo card.
• 40:27
  This is a this is a stunner for me.
• 40:30
  Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you.
• 40:32
  Uh when I saw it, I thought it was one of those fake news things because don't get me wrong, he's he has quality.
• 40:39
  He's not a bad player by any means.
• 40:40
  But is he worth 80 million?
• 40:42
  And to go to a club like Barcelona, I don't know.
• 40:45
  I guess, you know, we're not in the scouting department, so they might see something we don't see, but uh that one was a little shocking to me, Sean.
• 40:54
  Yeah, shocking to me as well.
• 40:56
  Partially because Barcelona, there's a difference between having quality and having Barcelona's level of tactical quality.
• 41:02
  And I don't know that Anthony Gordon has that.
• 41:06
  Also, it's weird because Marcus Rashford, his England World Cup teammate, was at Barcelona on loan this past season, performed really well, and it was assumed that he would be back next year to play in that same position.
• 41:20
  And now Barcelona, I doubt, dip back into the English pool again for Marcus Rashford, who would be much cheaper as well.
• 41:27
  He's several years older than Anthony Gordon, but his asking price is probably 25 to 30 million as opposed to 80.
• 41:34
  And it just brings me back to this.
• 41:36
  I love watching Barcelona.
• 41:37
  I think their style of play is incredible.
• 41:39
  I love how they bring kids through Lacia, which is their academy.
• 41:43
  Everything about that I love.
• 41:45
  What I hate about them is the people who run their club consistently put themselves in situations to be broke.
• 41:51
  And these are some of the decisions that lead us down that road.
• 41:54
  It's like, why?
• 41:56
  Why are we doing Anthony Gordon for 80 million?
• 41:59
  I just don't get it.
• 42:00
  It seems like a rash decision.
• 42:02
  They couldn't spend much each of the last couple years because of some financial difficulties.
• 42:06
  And now it's like, hey, we we won the league, we got some money to spend, let's go buy anything.
• 42:11
  And they bought a player who's a good player, but I don't know that he's a Barcelona level difference maker, is how I would frame it.
• 42:18
  So I guess that'll be another fun one to watch.
• 42:20
  I can't even picture Anthony Gordon wearing Barcelona colors.
• 42:24
  It's it's weird to me.
• 42:25
  But I guess that's where we're at now.
• 42:28
  Yeah, it's one of those things where it's it's it feels like the kid who you know ran the lemonade stand down the street and finally made three dollars and then spent it on the first possible thing he could spend it on, and it was like something he'll play with for two minutes and then throw away.
• 42:42
  That's that's what that seemed like to me.
• 42:44
  I'm like, this is just a lemonade stand on a professional soccer level.
• 42:48
  Barcelona's gonna have to um, they're gonna have to do a deal with Taylor Swift and uh those Spotify jerseys to get one of her jerseys or something because they're gonna need to sell, they're gonna need to sell a lot of those, they're gonna have to make a lot of money to pay for these moves they're making if they want to be a true competitor.
• 43:06
  They are such a crazy club and and they were so poorly run for years financially that first of all, they like stopped paying guys during COVID.
• 43:15
  They also sold 25 to 30 percent of their future TV revenue.
• 43:21
  So they were selling assets they didn't even have in hand yet because they were so cash trapped.
• 43:26
  And for one of the best clubs in the world, that just shouldn't be the case.
• 43:29
  So uh well, I don't know what's going on with the books over there, but boy, oh boy, Anthony Gordon for 80 million is not gonna make them look any prettier.
• 43:36
  So Brandon I think I think that does it for this episode.
• 43:40
  The only thing I want to say before we go, Saturday, we mentioned the United States take on Germany in their final match before the World Cup.
• 43:48
  Also, something to watch.
• 43:50
  The U.S.
• 43:50
  women's national team back in action.
• 43:52
  They take on Brazil with the triple espresso attack back for the first time in over a year, I believe.
• 44:00
  Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson.
• 44:03
  Love those girls, love to see them back in action.
• 44:05
  A couple of them have had children.
• 44:08
  There's been some injuries mixed in, they haven't played together in a long time.
• 44:11
  They take on Brazil.
• 44:12
  So a double header for the U.S.
• 44:14
  teams on Saturday.
• 44:15
  Looking forward to it.
• 44:16
  Yeah, that should be a good that should be a good day for for American soccer.
• 44:21
  Seeing the women's team and and how dominant they can be, it's it's incredible.
• 44:25
  And and I didn't know Triple Espresso was fully back, but now that they're all back in, uh, I'm I mean, I'm a personally a little bit of a Trinity fan more than the other two, but that's gonna be great to see, just to see them connecting and do what they did at the last World Cup.
• 44:40
  I mean we the men's team needs to take some take some notes from them because what they can do on the field, it's it's been incredible, and I'm excited to see them continue, hopefully, to dominate.
• 44:52
  Yeah, they're a triple espresso, and the men have something along the lines of a decaf.
• 44:58
  So we don't pack quite the same punch.
• 45:00
  Pulisic might be a single shot, but aside from that, we're looking for a couple other shots of espresso.
• 45:06
  Brandon, I think that'll do it for this one.
• 45:08
  Anything before we go.
• 45:11
  No, it's it's this was another good one, Sean.
• 45:14
  A lot to come.
• 45:15
  Obviously, we were gonna focus mostly on World Cup for probably the next you know 10 weeks or so.
• 45:21
  But all soccer, we'll cover all soccer, pros.
• 45:24
  Maybe we'll even throw some college in there, some other stuff.
• 45:27
  But we're excited to get to keep going with you guys.
• 45:30
  So thanks for listening.
• 45:32
  That's right.
• 45:33
  And you mentioned it, we've got World Cup previews coming up basically every day this week.
• 45:37
  So they will be in the podcast feed.
• 45:40
  Stay tuned for those.
• 45:41
  Thank you all for tuning in, and until next time, take care.