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Pochettino Is Back! What It Means for the USMNT · Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogert and Tab Ramos

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Speaker 1: I want to see them win the Gold Cup. I
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Speaker 1: do the United States and Mexico. Every competition they're in
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Speaker 1: in this region should be going into it assuming expecting
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Speaker 1: to win. What's on everybody, Welcome back to Inside American Soccer.
0:16
Speaker 1: I am us MNC insider Tom Boger. I'm joined as
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Speaker 1: always by my good friend one of the greatest players
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Speaker 1: in US MNC history, tab Ramos tab hashtag potch watch
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Speaker 1: is over. On Monday morning, officially, Mauricio Pochettino re signed
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Speaker 1: with the US national team on a deal through the
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Speaker 1: twenty thirty World Cup. So instead of going into the banter,
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Speaker 1: let's talk about it. Let's get straight into it. We
0:38
Speaker 1: knew that this was coming or thought this was coming,
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Speaker 1: and now it's official and we're moving forward. Pochattino here
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Speaker 1: on a contract through twenty thirty.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, this is one of the least shocking surprises right
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Speaker 2: of the year, because we knew he had already gotten
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Speaker 2: the offer and it was a matter of time before
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Speaker 2: he you know, he decided whether he was gonna stay
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Speaker 2: here or not. Yeah, you know, I think we we
1:03
Speaker 2: have to move forward. Uh, Pochettino. You know, if there's
1:06
Speaker 2: one thing we know about him. He's you know, he's
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Speaker 2: been a great coach in Europe. You know, he took
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Speaker 2: our team into a World Cup in which you know,
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Speaker 2: I thought, you know, the team did fairly well at
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Speaker 2: the World Cup. Didn't get the results that we wanted obviously,
1:20
Speaker 2: so in you know, in general, we didn't get to
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Speaker 2: our goal, but the team played better. The team got
1:25
Speaker 2: that fight back that we hadn't seen in six or
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Speaker 2: seven years, and hopefully we can start to build on that,
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Speaker 2: and that's the beginning of building something new going into
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Speaker 2: you know, twenty thirty.
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Speaker 1: So a couple of notes on this deal. One Pochettino.
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Speaker 1: It is something that we've spoke about, but written into
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Speaker 1: the press release Postino and his staff will have a
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Speaker 1: say in development, in pathway, in long term strategic planning basically,
1:52
Speaker 1: while of course his main focus is clear focus, it's
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Speaker 1: the first team. He will have a say in helping
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Speaker 1: shape the federation decisions. And I think that's interesting. We
2:01
Speaker 1: knew that he was involved and the staff was involved
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Speaker 1: in the process that ended with Steve Torontolo as the
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Speaker 1: Olympic coach. There's some other stuff. I've been told that
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Speaker 1: there is a buyout in his contract should that come
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Speaker 1: up in the future if that four year contract isn't fulfilled.
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Speaker 1: And a couple of quotes from Pochettino that that I
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Speaker 1: enjoyed was that he said, quote, now it's a fresh start.
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Speaker 1: It's a good moment to refresh the mindset, to refresh
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Speaker 1: the culture and philosophy, to start and to create a
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Speaker 1: new era of US Soccer USA men's national team, thinking
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Speaker 1: that every player will have the possibility to join if
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Speaker 1: they perform, basically saying the last cycle ended with the
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Speaker 1: World Cup. Now we start fresh once again, and there
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Speaker 1: is so much to dive into looking forward. But tab
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Speaker 1: we've both laid out the potential pitfalls of continuing with Buchetino,
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Speaker 1: we've also laid out the pitfalls of not continuing with Budgetino.
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Speaker 3: Right.
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Speaker 1: I believe it was the show we did was who
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Speaker 1: is the If it's not Pochettino, who is the next manager?
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Speaker 1: And there is no obvious, obvious candidate. So in some
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Speaker 1: ways it's a marriage of convenience, and I don't mean
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Speaker 1: that dismissively, a marriage of convenience for both sides because
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Speaker 1: while I think we've talked more about Pochettino and his
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Speaker 1: potential future working for a club team in Europe and
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Speaker 1: potential overtures there. It's a little bit of convenience for
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Speaker 1: the United States because, as we said, who's the obvious
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Speaker 1: candidate if it's not Pochetino.
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Speaker 3: I think Pochetino is a very good coach.
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Speaker 1: And now, despite you know, the positives and negatives that
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Speaker 1: could come from this, he is signed on through the
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Speaker 1: World Cup. And I'm curious if if before we talk
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Speaker 1: about what could happen over the next four years, what
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Speaker 1: is like the most optimistic or positive outcome or realistically
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Speaker 1: positive outcome comes with this marriage continuing.
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Speaker 2: Well, if I mean, if you want to start with
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Speaker 2: me answering that question, the most positive would be that
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Speaker 2: we we get to ultimately to a quarter final in
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Speaker 2: the World Cup, right, which obviously we've been there before.
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Speaker 2: But I think that's I think that that's a realistic
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Speaker 2: goal for our country. I think for us, of course,
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Speaker 2: we want to win the World Cup. I think we
4:03
Speaker 2: know that we're not there. But I think if our
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Speaker 2: goal every time for the time being was making it
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Speaker 2: to quarterfinals, I think that's a decent goal to have
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Speaker 2: because you know that you know at any time you
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Speaker 2: can win that extra game or you can get into
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Speaker 2: a more significant role in the World Cup. But I
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Speaker 2: think that's a good place to be. As we've spoken
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Speaker 2: in the past, it's not easy to break in from
4:22
Speaker 2: the top fourteen or fifteen to get into the top
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Speaker 2: eight in the world. So I think that's a natural
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Speaker 2: goal for us in terms of overarching goals. And by
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Speaker 2: the way, I'm just making this up. I didn't hear
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Speaker 2: this from US Soccer. Hopefully at some point we hear
4:36
Speaker 2: from US Soccer. This is the reason we hired this coach.
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Speaker 2: This is where we're going, right because we need to
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Speaker 2: hear what we should be expecting, you know. I think
4:45
Speaker 2: and hopefully we'll be in the next Corp America. I
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Speaker 2: hope that we can once again maybe make it to
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Speaker 2: another semifinal of Cope America. We've been there a few
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Speaker 2: times in the past, a semi final, but I think
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Speaker 2: that's also a good place to be in shows competitiveness.
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Speaker 2: And then I think, to finish answering your question, is
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Speaker 2: that the part of how we shape this team right
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Speaker 2: Because we talked about how fifteen of the twenty six
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Speaker 2: players will be over the age of thirty thirty year
5:14
Speaker 2: older going into the World Cup. Realistically, teams don't have
5:18
Speaker 2: more than five or six thirty year olds at a
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Speaker 2: World Cup, so obviously this team has to change. And
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Speaker 2: how how does Mauricio Pochettino plan on doing that, on
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Speaker 2: starting to bring in younger guys. So that's that's how
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Speaker 2: we would answer that part of the question. And then
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Speaker 2: and then we get into the other side of it,
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Speaker 2: in which you mentioned you know, Okay, Pochettino's going to
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Speaker 2: help us with development. I don't know that he has
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Speaker 2: experience in development whatsoever. I think they're just throwing some words.
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Speaker 2: He's going to coach us, he's going to help us
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Speaker 2: in coaching education. I don't know that he's been involved
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Speaker 2: in coaching education. I wouldn't know what to do in
5:52
Speaker 2: coaching education. I mean it's it's normal that coach educators
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Speaker 2: do the coaching education. Right. That's that's that part. And
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Speaker 2: then and then as far as the candidate itself, when
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Speaker 2: you said, you know, you talked about this being sort
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Speaker 2: of a good marriage because of where we are. I think,
6:10
Speaker 2: you know, I think US Soccer, you know, also could
6:12
Speaker 2: have done more homework, right, I think from US soccer side,
6:17
Speaker 2: I think this was the easy hire. This was Okay,
6:21
Speaker 2: he's already there he did. Okay, let's just keep going
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Speaker 2: with that. There wasn't you know. And I only say that,
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Speaker 2: and I don't say it in a negative way, And
6:29
Speaker 2: I say it because it took me just only an
6:31
Speaker 2: hour to research Santidoria, for example, last time, and I
6:35
Speaker 2: brought him up. There are other coaches like that, but
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Speaker 2: that always starts with a final goal. With a goal
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Speaker 2: in mind, is our goal during this cycle to win
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Speaker 2: games and to make it to the quarterfinals and to
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Speaker 2: win Cope America. Or is our goal to develop a
6:52
Speaker 2: new way to play that fits our players. So there's
6:55
Speaker 2: a number of ways to look at it, in which
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Speaker 2: I think by this selection, what this is telling is
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Speaker 2: that we're hiring this coach to win games. So that's
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Speaker 2: that's really what this needs to be and so and
7:06
Speaker 2: so he's gonna be judged on winning games. And but
7:08
Speaker 2: at some point we need to hear that also on
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Speaker 2: the Pochettino side, you know, it's it's convenience for him
7:15
Speaker 2: as well, because let's not forget in the EPL this year,
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Speaker 2: going into this summer, there's seven new coaches going into
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Speaker 2: the EPL. None of them hired Pochettino there and and
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Speaker 2: that's not counting Carrick and Deserbi who basically you know,
7:30
Speaker 2: Carrick got moved up and Deserbe got you know, started
7:33
Speaker 2: at the end of last year. Right. Uh. There's ten
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Speaker 2: new coaches in Syria this year. None of them hired Pochettino.
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Speaker 2: So not saying that's a bad thing, not saying he's
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Speaker 2: a bad coach, but I'm saying there's really nothing out there,
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Speaker 2: and what was out there, they didn't necessarily go hard
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Speaker 2: after this coach, right, So so I think this this
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Speaker 2: works for both uh. And by the way, I think
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Speaker 2: it was the at this point, you know, you you
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Speaker 2: and I threw a bunch of names last time, and
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Speaker 2: of course we have to because this is what we do.
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Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, I think for
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Speaker 2: where we are, the question was if not him, then
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Speaker 2: who and and that was a difficult answer, and I
8:13
Speaker 2: think that would have been a big chance to take
8:15
Speaker 2: on someone else.
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Speaker 1: I agree, right, And I think that that last line
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Speaker 1: fits really well because yeah, like there are other routes
8:23
Speaker 1: to go, but in terms of realistic available managers, he
8:26
Speaker 1: is the most proven, not just in his other resume,
8:29
Speaker 1: but like with this team, right, like the loss of
8:32
Speaker 1: Belgian was disasterous and awful performance, but there was more
8:35
Speaker 1: good than bad at the World Cup until then.
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Speaker 3: And yes, like he's getting paid well for that.
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Speaker 1: And all that is to say, like on merit, I
8:43
Speaker 1: think I would have been good either way, but particularly
8:45
Speaker 1: more and more with the okay, because I'm I try
8:49
Speaker 1: to not be somebody who just like either complaints or
8:51
Speaker 1: criticizes and then okay, what's the solution. Well, it's not
8:54
Speaker 1: my job to find a solution, right, we try to
8:56
Speaker 1: do that in the last last show, and not as
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Speaker 1: if we were absolutely trying to pick a new manager.
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Speaker 1: But the point is just saying like, oh, like that's
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Speaker 1: not good enough. I want somebody better than a bunch
9:05
Speaker 1: of tea, or like we want to do okay, then
9:07
Speaker 1: who and if who isn't an answer, all that is
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Speaker 1: to say, like he is a very good coach. He's
9:11
Speaker 1: done fine well at different points with this exact team.
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Speaker 1: This is exact job. It's a good thing that I
9:18
Speaker 1: think he's yourmain coach at this point. But I'm trying
9:22
Speaker 1: not to get bogged down by the what ifs and everything.
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Speaker 1: But I just don't think that there's any way to
9:26
Speaker 1: avoid the Yes, it's a four year deal, but I
9:29
Speaker 1: don't even know if i'd put it over fifty to
9:31
Speaker 1: fifty that he'll be here at the twenty thirty World
9:33
Speaker 1: Cup for the United States. So sources tell me that
9:36
Speaker 1: there's a buy out in his contract, which is fairly
9:39
Speaker 1: standard these days. I don't know the number, but it
9:42
Speaker 1: was described to me as high but not prohibitive. As
9:45
Speaker 1: in club if somebody like Real Madrid or Newcastle or
9:50
Speaker 1: Tottenham insert whatever bigger club that you want, or an
9:53
Speaker 1: English club because they have a lot of money, it
9:54
Speaker 1: won't be a hurdle that they won't climb over. But
9:58
Speaker 1: US Soccer will get compensated and help set them up
10:02
Speaker 1: for the future. And like any other organization, whether it's
10:05
Speaker 1: national team or club teams, you kind of always have
10:08
Speaker 1: a list of managers that you'd consider because that's part
10:11
Speaker 1: of the job. You have to plan out what would
10:13
Speaker 1: happen next. So there's that it's not as if if
10:16
Speaker 1: he leaves before the next World Cup that they'd be
10:18
Speaker 1: left in the lurch. And the reason we're bringing this
10:21
Speaker 1: up and Pochatino has at least been honest about this publicly,
10:25
Speaker 1: maybe sometimes too honest, but I respect the honesty.
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Speaker 3: Even today.
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Speaker 1: On Monday morning, when it was announced, he did a
10:31
Speaker 1: roundtable with a small group of US reporters. My colleague
10:33
Speaker 1: Henry Bushnell was one of them, and he was asked directly,
10:36
Speaker 1: will you be here in twenty thirty and he gave
10:38
Speaker 1: an interesting, thoughtful answer. It was a long answer, and
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Speaker 1: I thought it was it was pretty fair. But he
10:44
Speaker 1: didn't say yes one hundred percent. And I appreciate that
10:48
Speaker 1: he's not just saying that just to say it to
10:51
Speaker 1: try to make us make fans feel better or something
10:53
Speaker 1: like he said, we signed this contract with the intention
10:56
Speaker 1: of being here till the last day. We wouldn't sign
10:57
Speaker 1: a contract. We didn't intend that, And then he kind
11:00
Speaker 1: of said, but there's nothing guaranteed in life and in
11:02
Speaker 1: football even less. So maybe they decide in a year
11:05
Speaker 1: that they don't want me, like for the people who
11:06
Speaker 1: love me, maybe they won't suit. Like it's all very fair,
11:10
Speaker 1: but I think it just reinforces the idea that, like
11:13
Speaker 1: all this might not be for four years, and that
11:15
Speaker 1: is a central theme of this continuation between these two parties.
11:21
Speaker 1: And also he's said it even going into the World
11:24
Speaker 1: Cup is like a few months before the World Cup
11:26
Speaker 1: last year he was like, I will win a Premier
11:28
Speaker 1: League one day. He's not coaching in that competition. That
11:31
Speaker 1: was before the World Cup, So we know that he
11:33
Speaker 1: wants to be back there one day, and maybe that
11:36
Speaker 1: one day will be in the fall of twenty thirty.
11:38
Speaker 1: But I have my doubt's tab and that's going to
11:40
Speaker 1: be a theme of this hire. Off the field stuff,
11:43
Speaker 1: in the future stuff, because that just is what it is.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, and that could happen. I'm not worried about it
11:51
Speaker 2: as much right now, you know. I think you know
11:54
Speaker 2: that this is something that we wanted to contemplate before
11:58
Speaker 2: the hiring was made. At this point, things are done,
12:01
Speaker 2: I think personally from my end, and I agree with
12:04
Speaker 2: everything you said, but I think from my end, I
12:06
Speaker 2: just kind of want to move forward and think about
12:08
Speaker 2: the future. I want to know, you know, I want
12:10
Speaker 2: to know what this is going to be about, what
12:13
Speaker 2: we should expect, what the goals are, how we're going
12:16
Speaker 2: to go about changing the team, you know, those types
12:18
Speaker 2: of things. I think, uh, they are they are they
12:23
Speaker 2: are the subjects of what we I think, are going
12:26
Speaker 2: to be talking about most going forward. Right we have
12:28
Speaker 2: some exciting young players coming up that he's going to
12:31
Speaker 2: start building into the team and uh and yeah, and
12:35
Speaker 2: let's see, you know, going into next summer what the
12:37
Speaker 2: goal is obviously, you know, as well as we did
12:40
Speaker 2: at the World Cup, in particular the first couple of games.
12:43
Speaker 2: I think that there's no reason why in conkakav Our
12:46
Speaker 2: goal shouldn't be obviously to win everything, right and that
12:49
Speaker 2: you know, Nations League and Gold Cup, and even if
12:53
Speaker 2: we don't, you know, we want to go down fighting
12:55
Speaker 2: like we always did. And I think if there was
12:56
Speaker 2: one thing you have to give Pochettino for was that
12:59
Speaker 2: he brought that fight back in the team. And hopefully
13:02
Speaker 2: that unity that was created during the World Cup will
13:05
Speaker 2: move with the team going into the future. And and
13:08
Speaker 2: I'm I'm personally excited to see that how how the
13:11
Speaker 2: young guys who have now seen all of this on TV,
13:14
Speaker 2: how they incorporate to this, you know, to sort of
13:18
Speaker 2: this wave that that I think started with with this
13:21
Speaker 2: new national team. So yeah, this is this is this
13:25
Speaker 2: should be uh, it should be exciting moving forward and
13:28
Speaker 2: hopefully uh Pochattino gets us there quickly.
13:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, so let's let's do that. Let's move on and
13:34
Speaker 1: and and look forward, move forward, there is the Gold
13:39
Speaker 1: Cup next summer, hopefully Coupa America's summer after that. So
13:41
Speaker 1: tab just in in kind of so the medium term
13:43
Speaker 1: future over the next year or two, what is kind
13:46
Speaker 1: of on the top of your wish list or or
13:49
Speaker 1: what your to do list if you were kind of
13:51
Speaker 1: advising here is it style of play? Is it just
13:54
Speaker 1: broadly like win the Gold Cup?
13:56
Speaker 3: Like what comes to mind when when we look at,
13:58
Speaker 3: you know, medium term goals here?
14:01
Speaker 2: Well, I would like to hear that, you know, an
14:04
Speaker 2: actual press conference, you know, from from US Soccer and
14:08
Speaker 2: not you know, not a project project project press conference,
14:12
Speaker 2: but one of those that kind of tells us where
14:14
Speaker 2: we're moving, because it's hard for us to judge a
14:16
Speaker 2: coach if we don't know what the goals are. Right,
14:19
Speaker 2: So they might have they might have for all we know,
14:21
Speaker 2: they might have told Pochettino, hey, just play young players
14:24
Speaker 2: for the next three years, and then we worry about
14:26
Speaker 2: the World Cup in that final year, and we're going
14:28
Speaker 2: to be sitting here maybe or potentially criticizing him for
14:31
Speaker 2: losing to Panama again, and and we realize US Soccer
14:36
Speaker 2: really doesn't care about that. What they care is about longer.
14:39
Speaker 2: So I kind of would like to. Obviously, this just
14:42
Speaker 2: happened this morning, so this is fresh. I'd like to
14:45
Speaker 2: dig into a little bit more in terms of what
14:48
Speaker 2: US Soccer wanted out of this. Preferably for me, it
14:51
Speaker 2: would have been, Look, we have a coach that's going
14:53
Speaker 2: to change the way we play, and this is what
14:55
Speaker 2: we're going to do going forward. Right, hasn't been proven
15:01
Speaker 2: that that's happened, So at this point I just want
15:05
Speaker 2: to I just want to wait and see what I
15:06
Speaker 2: can hear.
15:07
Speaker 3: Well, well, I want what do you want?
15:09
Speaker 1: Absent of anything else, like if you were looking at
15:12
Speaker 1: what would be your to do list or some things
15:14
Speaker 1: that you want.
15:15
Speaker 2: To say, Well, I think you have to. First of all,
15:18
Speaker 2: you have to continue the excitement of the World Cup,
15:20
Speaker 2: because even though the game against Belgium was not great,
15:23
Speaker 2: I think most of us feel a sense of accomplishment
15:28
Speaker 2: during this World Cup. You know, there's just a general
15:30
Speaker 2: feeling or so we made it to where we always
15:32
Speaker 2: make it. But yet there was a different feeling this
15:35
Speaker 2: time because there's no question, and we've said it here,
15:37
Speaker 2: there's no question that the way we played that first
15:39
Speaker 2: game against Paraguay set the stage for the whole World Cup.
15:43
Speaker 2: That team against Paraguay played better than any other US
15:47
Speaker 2: team had ever played. And I think that's a positive, right,
15:50
Speaker 2: So how do we get how do we get that back?
15:52
Speaker 2: So so now comes the challenge of of course, I
15:55
Speaker 2: want to see, you know, some new players get chances,
15:58
Speaker 2: like Sullivan and like or like Julian Hall or like like.
16:02
Speaker 2: I want to see these guys now, because there's gonna
16:05
Speaker 2: be fifteen, you know, roughly eight or nine guys on
16:07
Speaker 2: this team that you're gonna have to push out, right,
16:10
Speaker 2: regardless they're not part of the next picture. So how
16:12
Speaker 2: do we start bringing those guys? But at the same time,
16:15
Speaker 2: let's not forget about winning games because that part is
16:17
Speaker 2: important too, right, So let's keep that going before this
16:20
Speaker 2: turns negative, and start bringing some younger guys at the
16:24
Speaker 2: same time.
16:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, So I think I'm with you there and to
16:29
Speaker 1: your earlier points of so, this is about winning and
16:33
Speaker 1: under Pochattino, and I'm not blaming him. He came in
16:35
Speaker 1: after the Copa America. They had a Gold Cup with
16:38
Speaker 1: a bit of a water down Ross and they lost
16:40
Speaker 1: in the final to Mexico. They were very unconvincing in
16:42
Speaker 1: that summer, but that's kind of where they started to
16:44
Speaker 1: take some steps of like togetherness and foundations, and that
16:47
Speaker 1: was good. So this cycle you continue on those foundations.
16:51
Speaker 1: First of all, the style I like the three four
16:54
Speaker 1: two one or whatever variation they're in. I think that
16:57
Speaker 1: suits the players, that suits the group, and those are
16:59
Speaker 1: the best performances we've seen from this team, and I
17:01
Speaker 1: hope to see more. I would like to see more
17:05
Speaker 1: from individuals like Christian Polisk and I think that there
17:08
Speaker 1: is more for him to give, and I think the
17:10
Speaker 1: system does set them up in a good way to
17:12
Speaker 1: do so. So those are a couple general ones. But
17:15
Speaker 1: I want to see them win the Gold Cup. I do,
17:17
Speaker 1: and it's not a make or break, but this is
17:20
Speaker 1: a federation that in the region the United States, just
17:23
Speaker 1: like Mexico. The United States and Mexico, every competition they're
17:27
Speaker 1: in in this region should be going into it assuming
17:30
Speaker 1: expecting to win. Obviously, there can only be one winner,
17:34
Speaker 1: but that is the standard for the United States, and
17:38
Speaker 1: I wouldn't love it if there's no trophies lifted in
17:41
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven Nations League or the Gold Cup. Be
17:45
Speaker 1: super competitive at the Copa America semi final. That's not
17:48
Speaker 1: unreasonable tap. So it's a mix of like the styles,
17:52
Speaker 1: nice development, but also at the end of the day,
17:55
Speaker 1: like if they draw nil nil in the final to Mexico,
17:58
Speaker 1: but winning penalties that that's a win. Man Like, at
18:00
Speaker 1: the end of the day, we are here for results.
18:01
Speaker 1: We are here for lifting trophies, and the United States
18:04
Speaker 1: in this region should have the swagger of going into
18:08
Speaker 1: a Gold Cup and being like, I don't care who's
18:10
Speaker 1: playing for Mexico to Canada, we should be winning like that.
18:13
Speaker 1: That is how Mexico views it too. They don't care
18:15
Speaker 1: who's on the roster. It's a Gold Cup. They expect
18:17
Speaker 1: to win.
18:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know I would look. I would look, and
18:22
Speaker 2: only because you asked me before, I would look a
18:24
Speaker 2: little bit deeper into how so how do you move forward?
18:27
Speaker 2: And I think you know, the moving forward becomes of course,
18:31
Speaker 2: results are important. Like we said before you got to
18:33
Speaker 2: you got to try to balance both because in particular
18:36
Speaker 2: I say results, and by results I'm meaning really you know,
18:40
Speaker 2: Nations League and in Gold Cup because Copa America will
18:44
Speaker 2: likely be ones and we don't get to play European teams,
18:47
Speaker 2: which this is where we measure ourselves. Right So now,
18:51
Speaker 2: because of the way schedules are done. You don't get
18:53
Speaker 2: to play the Belgiums and Germany's in Frances and Spain.
18:56
Speaker 2: So so how do you know where you are? If
18:58
Speaker 2: you know you've got to beat every win in concor calf.
19:01
Speaker 2: If you don't beat them, that's negative. But if you
19:03
Speaker 2: beat everyone, that's still negative because people are going to
19:06
Speaker 2: be saying, well, you're just playing in concor caf, Right,
19:08
Speaker 2: So how do you get that competition? So I think
19:11
Speaker 2: you got to look at both. You got to win
19:13
Speaker 2: whatever is available to you. You can't you know, you
19:15
Speaker 2: can't help. You know you can't. You can't worry about
19:19
Speaker 2: things you can't control. That's one thing. And the next
19:22
Speaker 2: one is how do you now how do you sit
19:25
Speaker 2: back and determine who the untouchables are on the team? Right?
19:28
Speaker 2: And I look at like guys like you know, so
19:30
Speaker 2: you look from the back and you say, okay, Freeman
19:33
Speaker 2: right after what we've seen his age, untouchable, Richard's not
19:38
Speaker 2: a great World Cup still young enough as a as
19:40
Speaker 2: a as a center back and where he plays untouchable, right,
19:44
Speaker 2: Adams untouchable, McKenny and Tillman untouchable. After the World Cup,
19:49
Speaker 2: they had Balligan untouchable. Now you have a core, and
19:54
Speaker 2: around that core, now you can start to incorporate. Now
19:58
Speaker 2: you have Policic on the left side, but can you
20:00
Speaker 2: bring Kevin Sullivan to play there maybe a little bit?
20:02
Speaker 2: Can you bring some more other creative guys. You have
20:05
Speaker 2: to start giving opportunities right on the right wing, on
20:07
Speaker 2: the right side the same. Can Julian Hall come in
20:10
Speaker 2: as a secondary striker coming into the side. And I'm
20:13
Speaker 2: just throwing names, by the way, so let you know,
20:15
Speaker 2: but that's what I'm saying. I think we have a
20:18
Speaker 2: small group of untouchables and those guys are our national team,
20:22
Speaker 2: and then the rest will be seventy five guys over
20:26
Speaker 2: the next three or four years. That's that's sort of
20:28
Speaker 2: how I see it, including the goalkeeping position by.
20:31
Speaker 1: The way, right, yeah, back to kind of where that
20:34
Speaker 1: was a few years ago. I would agree coas line
20:37
Speaker 1: everything you say, but I would firmly put Poolsick within
20:40
Speaker 1: that untouchables group.
20:41
Speaker 3: But the group, the core that's moving forward.
20:43
Speaker 1: And that's not to say some of the other players
20:45
Speaker 1: like Anthony Robinson won't be like particularly right now, it's
20:48
Speaker 1: part of the core, but over four years, like you said,
20:50
Speaker 1: who knows who kind of rises, who kind of falls.
20:52
Speaker 1: But as you're building out a team, and I think
20:56
Speaker 1: it's no coincidence that the US look the best that
20:59
Speaker 1: they at in any time under Pochattino, they look the
21:02
Speaker 1: best while having there's an uninterrupted six week camp, particularly
21:06
Speaker 1: the friendlies, and then going to the group stage because
21:09
Speaker 1: he's good at building those things. So I hope that
21:11
Speaker 1: we'll see more of that from window to window. No,
21:13
Speaker 1: you can't replicate the time of just being together the
21:15
Speaker 1: whole time, but to your point of the you know,
21:19
Speaker 1: seventy five guys over the next four years, like that's possible,
21:22
Speaker 1: I hope that's not what actually happens. I feel like
21:25
Speaker 1: the eighteen months and players change. Of course, there's going
21:28
Speaker 1: to be different valuations. There are different runs of form, availabilities,
21:32
Speaker 1: connections with other players, but man, the first eighteen months
21:35
Speaker 1: of the Pochatino era was seven hundred players over like
21:39
Speaker 1: those At some point you have to have a good
21:42
Speaker 1: idea of who you got and then he's shown that right,
21:44
Speaker 1: you just moose it has been gone. I don't know
21:47
Speaker 1: some of the players that missed the World Cup Ross,
21:50
Speaker 1: I'm sure that they'll be involved, but what I really
21:52
Speaker 1: want to see is a continuation of building off a
21:55
Speaker 1: foundation rather than every window, it seems like there's someone new,
22:00
Speaker 1: like Alex Freeman and Matt Freeze I think were the
22:02
Speaker 1: and Diego Luna. Weirdly, we're basically the only constance in
22:06
Speaker 1: the calendar. You're twenty twenty five, and one of those
22:08
Speaker 1: three didn't make the World Cup rosters. So it's just
22:12
Speaker 1: I hope to not see so much change window to window.
22:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, and maybe I should rephrase, you know, not having
22:20
Speaker 2: Polisic being one of the core guys. And I think
22:24
Speaker 2: let me explain that. You know, I think we just
22:26
Speaker 2: had two World Cups in which Polisic was in his prime.
22:30
Speaker 2: He will be I think he will be too. Yeah,
22:33
Speaker 2: he will be. He will be twenty eight next month,
22:36
Speaker 2: so you're looking at you know, he'll be thirty one,
22:39
Speaker 2: almost thirty two in the next World Cup. And we
22:41
Speaker 2: just had the two in his absolute prime and they
22:44
Speaker 2: didn't really work. And so because of that, I kind
22:47
Speaker 2: of say, Okay, well, you know, don't forget the position
22:50
Speaker 2: he plays. Position he plays is as you get older,
22:53
Speaker 2: you don't get better. This is not a center back position.
22:56
Speaker 2: You get you get a little bit slower you start
22:58
Speaker 2: to get hacked a little bit more, it becomes a
22:59
Speaker 2: lot more difficult. So that's the reason why not because
23:04
Speaker 2: today he couldn't be But yeah, right, you know, I
23:08
Speaker 2: agree with all you said, Tom. You know, I think
23:10
Speaker 2: I think it's it's a time, you know, it's a
23:13
Speaker 2: time to get all these uh, you know, all these
23:16
Speaker 2: guys together, the guys that did well in the World Cup,
23:18
Speaker 2: move them forward together and and and get going.
23:21
Speaker 1: All right, well, we're gonna have so much more of
23:23
Speaker 1: the fall out for the Pochatino and what's next and
23:26
Speaker 1: then looking at that monster window in the fall. Remember
23:29
Speaker 1: they are combining September and October windows. There will be
23:32
Speaker 1: four games plenty to talk about, but for right now,
23:34
Speaker 1: we're gonna take a quick break up. Next the latest
23:37
Speaker 1: transfer news around the US national team and some interesting
23:41
Speaker 1: week from FIFA to say the very least.
23:43
Speaker 3: So please stick around and please rate, review.
23:45
Speaker 1: And subscribe Inside American Soccer Talbot and toaber anmost rever
23:48
Speaker 1: you get your boders. Welcome back to in South American
23:59
Speaker 1: Soccer tab. It is the summer transfer window season and
24:03
Speaker 1: some Americans are moving and a couple aren't going either.
24:06
Speaker 1: Within Europe or to Europe. Let's start with America's new
24:10
Speaker 1: favorite English English Championship club. That's Middlesbrough. Sebastian bur Alter
24:15
Speaker 1: is already there. He debuted in a preseason game, and
24:17
Speaker 1: soon Max Arston will join him from the Columbus Crew
24:19
Speaker 1: and a deal worth up to seven point five million,
24:21
Speaker 1: that is what sources tell me. So we've got Max Arbson,
24:25
Speaker 1: Sabatian Barlton, Een Morris at Middlesbrough, one of the better
24:28
Speaker 1: teams in the Championship with hopes of getting promoted.
24:30
Speaker 3: Tab.
24:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is a this is a good move
24:33
Speaker 2: for those guys. You know, Middlesbrough was literally minutes from
24:39
Speaker 2: from going to the to the EPL this year, and
24:41
Speaker 2: they deserve to go. They were a better team by far.
24:43
Speaker 2: And they played Hall I think in that game yep
24:46
Speaker 2: and uh and they lost right at the end, but
24:48
Speaker 2: really unfortunate. Morris had a great season, played a great
24:52
Speaker 2: game in that series. And I think this is why,
24:55
Speaker 2: you know, this is what happens when players go overseas
24:56
Speaker 2: and do well, they open doors for other players. And
24:59
Speaker 2: I think that's exactly what Morris did. He opened the
25:01
Speaker 2: door to Burholter there and now to Arfsen and hopefully
25:05
Speaker 2: this will make them better. Although after being that close
25:08
Speaker 2: to being an EPL, this season is gonna be really
25:10
Speaker 2: tough for them. But I think they have the talent
25:12
Speaker 2: to be able.
25:13
Speaker 3: To do it. I think so for sure too.
25:16
Speaker 1: I like the fit for Burholter better than I do Arfsten,
25:18
Speaker 1: But I don't think that you invest the money that
25:21
Speaker 1: they did in Arson and don't play him as a
25:24
Speaker 1: wing back or play him in an attacking situation. So
25:27
Speaker 1: and this is a team that I think is going
25:29
Speaker 1: to be one of the very better ones in this division. Obviously,
25:32
Speaker 1: anytime a championship season starts, the three teams that come
25:35
Speaker 1: down in the Premier League, because of all the money
25:37
Speaker 1: they have, they are gonna be viewed as the favorites
25:38
Speaker 1: to get promoted. But genuinely, Burrow, even though they were
25:43
Speaker 1: the last team to not go up right like they
25:45
Speaker 1: were the best finished team that didn't get promoted last year,
25:48
Speaker 1: they will be I think of the teams that are
25:50
Speaker 1: remaining in the championship the best of them and it's
25:53
Speaker 1: you know, if they don't make the playoffs at least,
25:55
Speaker 1: that's gonna be a big disappointment. So there's gonna be
25:58
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure on these players. And again I
26:01
Speaker 1: really like it for Barrels. I think I think Arsen
26:03
Speaker 1: has a chance to be very interesting in this team.
26:07
Speaker 1: And if this can help, like if he meets the physicality,
26:11
Speaker 1: the defensive responsibil he's gonna need to have in the
26:13
Speaker 1: transition nature not too dissimilar from MLS, but it's a lot.
26:18
Speaker 1: I think that'll be good for his own personal development.
26:20
Speaker 1: But yeah, we've got Americans at Burrow.
26:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I'll just I'll just add to what you
26:27
Speaker 2: said there about Arfsten because the other two I think
26:30
Speaker 2: they're so adaptable to pretty much anywhere they can go, right,
26:33
Speaker 2: But I think Arfsten will really benefit if he can
26:36
Speaker 2: have a good year. If he can let's just say,
26:38
Speaker 2: if he can stay on the field most of the year,
26:41
Speaker 2: I think it will be great for his development into
26:44
Speaker 2: let's say the next level, right, because of the speed
26:47
Speaker 2: of the game and the championship, and I think the
26:50
Speaker 2: defending that he's gonna have to do in the Championship,
26:52
Speaker 2: not just outside the box on the one v one,
26:54
Speaker 2: but how aggressive he's gonna have to be in the
26:56
Speaker 2: box in the Championship. And then and then you know,
27:00
Speaker 2: the final thing really is the pressure. There's pressure there
27:03
Speaker 2: every single week that you know in MLS we just
27:06
Speaker 2: don't have. It's just there's no there's no pressure like
27:08
Speaker 2: that built in. And he's gonna feel that pressure every
27:11
Speaker 2: week and in particular after every loss, and I think
27:13
Speaker 2: that's gonna make him a stronger man.
27:17
Speaker 1: Elsewhere in Europe, Geo Arena is about to join Strousburg
27:21
Speaker 1: and a deal with it reported three million euros. Rayna
27:24
Speaker 1: spent one year at Bruce and Wilson Gladbach and is
27:27
Speaker 1: already on the move again. This will be his fourth
27:29
Speaker 1: club in four seasons. Tab I like France as a
27:34
Speaker 1: league for him. I don't know how much I love
27:37
Speaker 1: Strasburg as the destination because they are a good club
27:40
Speaker 1: and they've got money, and they spend money in the attack,
27:43
Speaker 1: and I just I'm just worried about his minutes.
27:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, obviously with Gio Rena, we're just waiting
27:51
Speaker 2: for him to go anywhere and play, right, that's really
27:53
Speaker 2: what we want. I'm sure that's what he wants too,
27:55
Speaker 2: by the way, So I don't think this is the
27:58
Speaker 2: right league for him. I would I'd like to have
28:00
Speaker 2: seen him go either to the Dutch League or to Syria.
28:04
Speaker 2: I think the game is a little bit a little
28:06
Speaker 2: bit slower. They value possession a little bit more of France.
28:10
Speaker 2: You know, the French league is very athletic. You know,
28:13
Speaker 2: they have guys flying over there, and I'm not sure
28:15
Speaker 2: it's a great fit. Hopefully it works for him. Let's
28:19
Speaker 2: see what happens.
28:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think he's played. He hasn't played a
28:23
Speaker 1: thousand minutes in the league season since twenty twenty one.
28:26
Speaker 1: I hope that as always that the fitness is able
28:29
Speaker 1: to be the physical side of things is able to
28:31
Speaker 1: be there, because we know what he can do. It's
28:32
Speaker 1: just been a long time since we've seen an extended run.
28:35
Speaker 1: I liked the move to Glaudbach. I thought he was
28:37
Speaker 1: going to play more. It didn't quite work out, and
28:39
Speaker 1: now he's going again elsewhere in France. For Americans, plow
28:43
Speaker 1: Balgan still at Monaco. He's been linked with PSG. We'll
28:48
Speaker 1: see if that one comes to be. I still think
28:51
Speaker 1: it's more likely he ends up in the Premier League,
28:53
Speaker 1: but this is one that I'm still expecting him to
28:57
Speaker 1: move this summer. I am a little bit surprised at
29:01
Speaker 1: at kind of the pace of negotiations.
29:03
Speaker 2: So well, you know, if you're talking, you're saying you're
29:07
Speaker 2: surprised because of how slow has been.
29:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, I understand that he's not like you know, the
29:12
Speaker 1: one hundred million dollar players that they move and it's like,
29:14
Speaker 1: you know, you signed somebody and he might be the
29:17
Speaker 1: second rung.
29:17
Speaker 3: But I think he's really good.
29:19
Speaker 1: And like Fulham who they signed Gonsalo, they signed a
29:23
Speaker 1: forward from Real Madrid whose names escaping me for fifty
29:27
Speaker 1: or sixty million. I thought that was a potential landing
29:30
Speaker 1: spot for flow Balgan and I thought that he would
29:32
Speaker 1: have been a player that would have moved in the
29:34
Speaker 1: last week is to lie the first week of August.
29:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right, you know. And you have to wonder
29:39
Speaker 2: too whether the whole red card thing in the World
29:42
Speaker 2: Cup whether that hurt him at all, you know, because
29:45
Speaker 2: certainly on the field he did everything he needs to do.
29:48
Speaker 2: He was one of the you know, I don't want
29:49
Speaker 2: to exaggerate, but he was one of the better forwards
29:51
Speaker 2: at the World Cup. I mean he did, he did
29:53
Speaker 2: a great job. And so after all the big names,
29:57
Speaker 2: I think he was right. After after after all the
29:59
Speaker 2: big names, I think you could name him in there
30:00
Speaker 2: and and by the way, if you're saying PSG, you
30:04
Speaker 2: know it's a tough one because playing time becomes difficult.
30:07
Speaker 2: But also PSG doesn't have a solid number nine either,
30:10
Speaker 2: So I mean, if he went to PSG and he was,
30:13
Speaker 2: they're actual number nine surrounded with Dembele and dou It
30:17
Speaker 2: now Barcola leaves, but still you you have. I mean,
30:21
Speaker 2: that's a that's a solid team there obviously, and uh,
30:25
Speaker 2: but we'll see because I know that I think PSG
30:27
Speaker 2: is also looking at front so that you know, that's
30:29
Speaker 2: not eure yet. But I'm hoping that he finds he
30:31
Speaker 2: finds the right fit for himself and if not, he
30:34
Speaker 2: can stay. You know, we've said in the past, you
30:36
Speaker 2: can stay at Monocol. This is still a great club.
30:39
Speaker 3: Yeah.
30:39
Speaker 1: Uh. Monicco's end is if he's not gonna sign a
30:41
Speaker 1: new contract at time to catch in, so they'll navigate
30:45
Speaker 1: those waters. But I think it's all good stuff for
30:47
Speaker 1: him and we'll see where this ends. FIFA, I don't
31:01
Speaker 1: even know where to start on this one.
31:02
Speaker 3: Tab.
31:04
Speaker 1: On Wednesday of last week or Tuesday night of last week,
31:07
Speaker 1: news broke that Johnny and Fantino basically in a solo job,
31:12
Speaker 1: was planning made a proposal to sell off twenty one
31:17
Speaker 1: percent of their assets to private equity because you know
31:20
Speaker 1: there the nonprofit who isn't making enough money. Clearly, despite
31:23
Speaker 1: everything that happened the summer and it led to a
31:26
Speaker 1: pretty instant revolution. First, UEFA came out with the strongest
31:30
Speaker 1: statement and said we will boycott FIFA events if this
31:33
Speaker 1: goes through.
31:34
Speaker 3: Part of the subterfuge.
31:36
Speaker 1: Here was Johnny and Fantino saying, this needs to be
31:40
Speaker 1: voted on in fifty days and if you don't say
31:42
Speaker 1: if you say yes, here's forty million dollars over the
31:44
Speaker 1: next four years, and if you say no, you get
31:46
Speaker 1: ten million dollars over the next four years, which is
31:48
Speaker 1: pretty bald faced in terms of cordion or at least
31:52
Speaker 1: pressure if I don't want to go too far into
31:53
Speaker 1: criminal terms. And World Football stood against this and UEFA
31:59
Speaker 1: was the first them out. Then Conka KAFF released a
32:02
Speaker 1: statement that they voted against this proposal. They didn't go
32:04
Speaker 1: as far as saying a boycott, but they made it
32:06
Speaker 1: clear that they stood with UEFA in their opposition. US
32:08
Speaker 1: Soccer released an additional statement saying that you know they
32:11
Speaker 1: were aligned with CONCACAFF.
32:13
Speaker 3: They co signed everything that they said.
32:15
Speaker 1: The Asian Federation was the next They also, like YUEFA
32:18
Speaker 1: and COCKAGEFF came out and said we reject this idea.
32:21
Speaker 1: There was a lot stronger wording, you know, the British
32:25
Speaker 1: Prime Minister came out and said Football's not for sale.
32:28
Speaker 1: A lot of people within European federations started to kick
32:33
Speaker 1: the tires on will somebody else run for FIFA? Will
32:37
Speaker 1: Johnny and Fantino remain the FIFA president moving forward? Because
32:40
Speaker 1: tap two weeks ago there were like two hundred and
32:44
Speaker 1: five federations that put their support behind Infantino for the
32:47
Speaker 1: next election. He was going to run unopposed and right now,
32:51
Speaker 1: if I had a guess, I don't think he'll he'll
32:53
Speaker 1: remain the FIFA president after the next election, which is
32:57
Speaker 1: just an insane turn of events over the last few weeks.
33:01
Speaker 2: Man, There's so much to dissect there, but I have
33:05
Speaker 2: to say, I mean, didn't FIFA make like eleven or
33:07
Speaker 2: fifteen billion in this World Cup?
33:09
Speaker 1: And it was it was almost as if that was
33:11
Speaker 1: the test run for Johnny and Fantino. All the private
33:14
Speaker 1: equity people who's speaking to just say, hey, look at
33:15
Speaker 1: what this and then with your money and your business acumen,
33:18
Speaker 1: we can do even more, which again, when is enough enough?
33:24
Speaker 2: Yeah? Look, I mean, you know, I I the part
33:26
Speaker 2: I do agree with is the fact that, you know,
33:30
Speaker 2: if we can obviously pass down money to federations that
33:33
Speaker 2: don't have it with accountability for that money, then I'm
33:40
Speaker 2: all for it, you know, but there needs to be accountability,
33:43
Speaker 2: you know. And also I you know, you have to
33:46
Speaker 2: start thinking about you know, the game's been around for whatever,
33:49
Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty years and it hasn't been for sale,
33:54
Speaker 2: and it shouldn't be for sale ever, and that's regardless
33:57
Speaker 2: of what the you know, what the amount is. I
34:00
Speaker 2: you know, this always makes me think about the way
34:03
Speaker 2: I grew up kicking a soccer ball that wasn't even
34:05
Speaker 2: a soccer ball, you know, is you know, his newspaper
34:08
Speaker 2: wrapped up with stocking that my grandma used to make
34:11
Speaker 2: me right, and that was my soccer ball. It's you know,
34:14
Speaker 2: these cases are in Africa. Kids kick anything that's not
34:18
Speaker 2: a soccer ball and make it into a soccer ball, right,
34:20
Speaker 2: and that's really the that's really the foundation of the game.
34:24
Speaker 2: And kids get excited to one day maybe represent their
34:27
Speaker 2: country because they come from nothing and they think that
34:29
Speaker 2: soccer is the is the way, you know, but the
34:32
Speaker 2: moment we sell it at the top, at that moment,
34:36
Speaker 2: it's just going to be about profits and and the
34:38
Speaker 2: game shouldn't be just about profits, you know. And you know,
34:41
Speaker 2: it's almost like Fiorantino, how could he not see this coming, right,
34:46
Speaker 2: because look at what happened overseas in England. When some
34:50
Speaker 2: investor comes from out of the country and tries to
34:52
Speaker 2: change a club, you know, like it doesn't take them
34:55
Speaker 2: long to realize that, hey, I owned this club because
34:58
Speaker 2: I paid for it, but really the fans own this
35:01
Speaker 2: club because I'm gonna have to do what the fans say.
35:04
Speaker 2: This is about the fans, and I think FIFA should
35:06
Speaker 2: be about the fans too, and I I, you know,
35:08
Speaker 2: I want to commend you know, UEFA and Cephron the
35:11
Speaker 2: president for standing tall for the rest of the world
35:15
Speaker 2: because even though you say, yeah, you know, conkakaf was
35:19
Speaker 2: on board, and and and and Komba Bowl was on board,
35:22
Speaker 2: but they were all on board with let us see
35:24
Speaker 2: more information first, which yeh was to tell you you
35:28
Speaker 2: were you were on board, but kind of on board.
35:29
Speaker 2: But if you can get a little bit more money,
35:31
Speaker 2: you're gonna be okay. So it's not really about the
35:33
Speaker 2: And UEFA was the first one that said, hey, you
35:35
Speaker 2: know what doesn't matter what the money is. It doesn't
35:37
Speaker 2: matter what the deal is. The game is the game.
35:39
Speaker 2: It's not for sale. If this happens, we're boardcotting. We're not.
35:42
Speaker 2: We're not playing on the boy side, on the men's side,
35:45
Speaker 2: on the girls side, on the women's side, we're not.
35:47
Speaker 2: We're just not doing it. And uh, and I think
35:50
Speaker 2: you know, we have to thank UEFA because they're the
35:52
Speaker 2: ones that took a stand for this.
35:54
Speaker 1: I totally agreed, and it was brave. And they're able
35:57
Speaker 1: to do that because they you know, they had what
35:59
Speaker 1: six of the eight quarter finalists, but the entire voting
36:04
Speaker 1: block within of those federations, it's not all Germany, Spain, England, France, right,
36:09
Speaker 1: There is Luxembourg's, there is lot VIA's, there is the
36:12
Speaker 1: smaller nations that you know, the forty million dollars go, like,
36:15
Speaker 1: is a whole lot more of a percentage for them
36:17
Speaker 1: than say for France or Spain or England. Right, So
36:20
Speaker 1: some people will say yeah, like of course not, or
36:23
Speaker 1: they just wanted a bigger part of the pie.
36:25
Speaker 2: I don't.
36:25
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe there's some cynicism everywhere, of course there is,
36:28
Speaker 1: but there was a stark difference in the statements because
36:32
Speaker 1: they came out and condemned the idea. The Asian Federation
36:36
Speaker 1: Conker Calf Calf like their statements were more about why
36:40
Speaker 1: did we find out about this publicly?
36:42
Speaker 3: Like why weren't we involved in the process.
36:43
Speaker 1: It was more process than what the idea was, and
36:46
Speaker 1: that led some people to believe that it's well, if
36:49
Speaker 1: you were cut in for larger piece of the pie,
36:51
Speaker 1: then you'd be okay with it.
36:53
Speaker 3: I don't know. I like, I commend what YUEFA did.
36:57
Speaker 3: It was brave. I believe that they would have stood
37:00
Speaker 3: by it.
37:00
Speaker 1: I would have felt bad at believe the first FIFA
37:03
Speaker 1: event to boycott would have been the U twenty Women's
37:06
Speaker 1: World Cup. I believe it was some youth event for
37:09
Speaker 1: women's and I would felt really bad for those girls
37:12
Speaker 1: and young women. If like this, like push and pull
37:16
Speaker 1: over finances, the future of the game, the soul of
37:18
Speaker 1: the game, all these things that are largely built around
37:21
Speaker 1: the men's World Cup, or or even if it's a
37:23
Speaker 1: women's World Cup next summer, like a U twenty World
37:26
Speaker 1: Cup for women for growth like that's would be really
37:29
Speaker 1: unfortunate that they would have to be the first ones
37:30
Speaker 1: up on the boycott line.
37:33
Speaker 3: But I don't think we're gonna have to get there.
37:35
Speaker 1: And Johnny and Fantino pulled these plans because I think
37:37
Speaker 1: he's just trying to plug whatever holes he can, because
37:40
Speaker 1: this ship is sinking.
37:41
Speaker 2: Tab Yeah, because now if you're the if you're all
37:45
Speaker 2: the federations now not the confederation, but every federation, you're thinking, okay,
37:49
Speaker 2: well if we vote him back in now, something else
37:53
Speaker 2: like this is going to happen. Once he's president, he
37:55
Speaker 2: has more time. So you know, I can't I can't
37:58
Speaker 2: imagine that he's going to stay on. I can't imagine
38:00
Speaker 2: that he's going to get voted back in. But I
38:03
Speaker 2: also don't know who who else could be running?
38:05
Speaker 1: Right, So mon mont Agliani, the conking up president, is
38:09
Speaker 1: somebody who's being speculated for a potential run.
38:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, son, he's from Canada, right yeah, so yeah, so
38:15
Speaker 2: he went from Canada to Conka cav and it's sort
38:17
Speaker 2: of like a gradual, you know, increase their improvement. He
38:22
Speaker 2: certainly knows a lot about the game. He's been around
38:24
Speaker 2: for a lot of years. So if that was the case,
38:27
Speaker 2: that you know, that's the case. But but yeah, I'm
38:30
Speaker 2: you know, I'm happy that things happen the way they did.
38:33
Speaker 2: And uh and and by the way, it doesn't mean
38:35
Speaker 2: that down the road there couldn't be some sort of
38:37
Speaker 2: agreement on something that's good for the game and for everyone.
38:41
Speaker 2: But this just for some reason, this one smelled. You know,
38:45
Speaker 2: it just happened too fast. And I think when it
38:48
Speaker 2: happens too fast, chances are is not a good thing.
38:51
Speaker 1: And the obvious point is if you're selling private equity,
38:55
Speaker 1: then nothing else matters but the bottom line and the
38:59
Speaker 1: shareholders value. And then we can criticize FEEF for now
39:04
Speaker 1: for what we believe to be maximizing profits and stuff
39:07
Speaker 1: again as a nonprofit, but if you sell a twenty
39:11
Speaker 1: one percent stake to private equity, there is no questions
39:15
Speaker 1: about what is the motivation behind every decision. It's maximizing
39:18
Speaker 1: the bottom line, which those two things cannot coexist. If
39:21
Speaker 1: you're the governing body that is meant to promote grow
39:25
Speaker 1: and grow the game from the grass roots all the
39:27
Speaker 1: way to the World Cup, that cannot coexist with maximizing profits.
39:33
Speaker 1: For our private equity shareholders, And I've got a crazy
39:36
Speaker 1: idea tab maybe private equity doesn't need to own literally everything.
39:41
Speaker 1: Maybe it's possible for the game to survive, for Federation
39:44
Speaker 1: to survive without that. It's it's just all disheartening from me.
39:49
Speaker 1: It's in some ways, if we want to be positive
39:53
Speaker 1: or optimistic about well done, the protests, the statements, the
39:58
Speaker 1: fighting back worked, we want on this. But on the
40:02
Speaker 1: other hand, it's just like, dude, like, why do we
40:04
Speaker 1: have to fight against something so obviously wrong?
40:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, you make a great Maybe this is the best
40:10
Speaker 2: point of all time when you say that, you know,
40:12
Speaker 2: not everything is about profits, because it would change the game.
40:16
Speaker 2: I mean, we already saw with the hydration breaks in
40:19
Speaker 2: this World Cup, you know that that were clearly more
40:22
Speaker 2: about commercials than anything else where. Would we go you know,
40:26
Speaker 2: if if you know, if profits now are part of
40:30
Speaker 2: the game, would we have two hydration breaks per half?
40:34
Speaker 2: You know, will the halves be longer now? Where you know? Yeah,
40:38
Speaker 2: I you know, I think we would be going down certainly,
40:43
Speaker 2: you know, a road that we don't want to be
40:45
Speaker 2: going down in this game. And I think maybe that's
40:48
Speaker 2: that's the clearest reason not to do it well.
40:51
Speaker 3: TAB.
40:52
Speaker 1: It's a busy show, too much going on in FIFA
40:54
Speaker 1: to keep up, but Vergina Bodatino officially continuing on as
40:58
Speaker 1: USMNT manager. In future episodes, we're gonna preview what we
41:02
Speaker 1: want to see in the fall window that's a little
41:04
Speaker 1: bit over six weeks away. Now with the future sorted,
41:07
Speaker 1: we know what's going to happen and what we want
41:09
Speaker 1: to see.
41:10
Speaker 3: But for now, thank you for listening to Inside American Soccer.
41:12
Speaker 3: Please writ view in subscriber ever gets a podcast.
41:15
Speaker 2: We'll be back next week.