Latest / The Calcio Guys / Catching up on Milan - Ep. 215 Ft. Franco from AC Milan NYC

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Catching up on Milan - Ep. 215 Ft. Franco from AC Milan NYC · The Calcio Guys

• 0:27
  Very interesting time for ac Milan in an absolutely perfect time to talk to a
• 0:32
  big time a cymelon SUPPORTERO Franco from Acymelon New York. Here on the couch.
• 0:37
  You guys. So far it's myself, Nicholas and he Johnny will join
• 0:41
  us later, but Franco has a going guys, good too. Uh good
• 0:45
  to be here. Like I said, long overdue, So thanks for having
• 0:48
  me. Everything's good. Yeah, and nah it feels like, uh,
• 0:53
  we're we're completing almost the North American Uh, let's say Royalty of Meal Clubs.
• 1:00
  You know, we started our first show, we had Marcello on in
• 1:03
  this episode two fifteen, and we have you on, so it you know,
• 1:06
  we've come full circle. But before we get started, I want to
• 1:08
  ask you, you know, what's your what's your passion with Melan, what's
• 1:11
  your story, what's your story with Melon Club New York? Just just let
• 1:15
  it all out. Yeah. So I'm forty one years old, it'll be
• 1:19
  forty two at the end of the year. Been a mean fan my entire
• 1:23
  life, you know, thanks to my dad and you know, by the
• 1:27
  time I was five, six, seven years old, it was an easy
• 1:30
  time to be a meal on East you know, it was like saki ata
• 1:34
  stuff and and and uh, you know, through my childhood Capello and then
• 1:38
  like young adulthood Anchelo Tierra. So it was very easy early days of Mealon
• 1:47
  fandom in my life. But you know, stuck through it in the in
• 1:51
  the dark years and joined what was then known as Melon Club in New Jersey
• 1:59
  in twenty ten and that was the original incarnation of Melon Club New York.
• 2:05
  So long story short. In twenty twelve, we broke away from that club
• 2:10
  with some of the other founders and we became officially Melon Club of New York
• 2:16
  City and the rest of his history. Here we are so many years later,
• 2:22
  so many ups and downs later, but proud, very very proud of
• 2:28
  the people that surround our club and make it what it is today. So
• 2:34
  it's just it's been been a really really fun ride and hopefully people at some
• 2:39
  point are able to come through and come visit us. No, absolutely,
• 2:45
  and you know, just as a melon fum here, I mean, Milon
• 2:47
  come. New York City has been kind of that that reference point for for
• 2:51
  melon clubs, you know, in this in North America, especially in the
• 2:53
  East Coast. Obviously, I'm a problem called Montreal member but the way you
• 2:59
  guys, you know, show out and show up, it's it's just it's
• 3:01
  amazing every week. And yeah, it just it's it's been. It's been
• 3:07
  an honor and and a and a pleasure to to have met you, uh,
• 3:09
  you know many years ago now or was it four years ago now or
• 3:13
  twenty eighteen, four or five years ago? Yeah, and you know,
• 3:19
  being able to keep in contact and and you know, just it's obviously a
• 3:22
  pleasure to have you on tonight, Frankle. But I guess, like you
• 3:25
  said, you kind of grew up in that in the great years of mil
• 3:29
  and I'm a bit younger than we are. We're both actually a bit younger
• 3:31
  than yourself, and so I kind of saw maybe the later years of Melon.
• 3:36
  But maybe you can share with us maybe your maybe your favorite meon moment
• 3:40
  as a fan and then you know, on the flip side of that now
• 3:44
  all these years later, being you know, with that committee of of Melon
• 3:47
  Club New York City members, maybe your favorite memory while you know, being
• 3:53
  part of the great club in your backyard. Yes, so man, it's
• 4:01
  like you know, when you when you pick out mealon moments of my lifetime,
• 4:04
  there's like so many to choose from right, like you have so many
• 4:09
  you know, Champions League victories into Continental World Club Cup and all that kind
• 4:13
  of stuff. Yeah, you know, out of respect for Nickoll, you
• 4:17
  know, go easy on the two thousand and three stuff and all that kind
• 4:19
  of stuff. Like actually, for me personally, there's a very personal meon
• 4:27
  memory. And in two thousand and four, I got to see the derby
• 4:31
  with my father, So it was the only time I got to go to
• 4:33
  Sanseito with my dad. It's been ten years since he passed. So in
• 4:40
  two thousand and four we went to the game. At halftime, they were
• 4:45
  losing too nothing, and I'm sitting there in a in a very cold February
• 4:48
  sun Sito at halftime saying, I came all the way here to see see
• 4:56
  this, and all I could think about was, you know, cousins and
• 4:58
  friends who were just waiting for for me back home, just licking their chops.
• 5:01
  And then Meon made one of the best comebacks in derby history and won
• 5:04
  that game three two with a goal from Storf that won the game. And
• 5:10
  uh, just to to share that with my dad is easily my favorite Melon
• 5:15
  memory. And you know, with without him here, it's going to be
• 5:20
  very very hard to beat that memory on a personal level. So for me,
• 5:25
  that's you know, that's like, that's uh, that's definitely you know,
• 5:31
  number one for me. Uh, from a club standpoint, I would
• 5:34
  say there's there's two. Obviously, The day that me and Scudetto was was
• 5:39
  a very memorable day for for everybody involved, just just for the amount of
• 5:45
  work that we've put in over the years and stuff, and just to have
• 5:49
  you know, almost almost six hundred people in our bar that day, it
• 5:53
  was unforgettable. And then having fron Cobs as a guest in our in our
• 6:00
  home bar and being able to do a uh, you know, an event
• 6:04
  and a charity fundraiser for for from them, and those are those are definitely
• 6:09
  two of the top highlights from from a club standpoint. So beautiful Johnny has
• 6:16
  arrived, Guy Johnny has entered the chat. Johnny, how are you not
• 6:20
  bad? Sorry? Late boys having unfortunate loss and Calcetto tonight six five one
• 6:27
  of the games I want to forget, man, one of those games I
• 6:28
  wanted to you. You're used to it as a Roman apoly fan. Wow,
• 6:33
  barring today barring today six one, six one, But yeah, those
• 6:40
  were very nice stories by the way from I was listening to WOW while I
• 6:44
  was waiting to get introduced. Thank you, thanks and good good to see
• 6:47
  you. Obviously I like your shirt too, Thank you. I love it
• 6:50
  too. God dude from our boys Thatzza good guys. Good Yeah for sure.
• 6:59
  Uh, maybe I guess changing gears. Uh, you know, I
• 7:01
  know, you know, we can talk me on all day, Franco.
• 7:04
  I know you and I but you know, I guess we're kind of get
• 7:08
  into it in terms of in terms of me and of today and what's going
• 7:12
  on with the club now. Last game and Atalanta won one. Uh,
• 7:17
  my personal opinion should have been more. Uh. I think the three points
• 7:21
  we're in our hands and we kind of gave it to Atalanta, didn't do
• 7:27
  enough in that second half to to maybe, you know, claim those three
• 7:31
  points and really deserve those three points. But incredible start, obviously Leal Uh
• 7:38
  not the goal scoring season that we've we've we've known of him as of weight.
• 7:43
  Obviously, I think that it's four goals in the season with his goal
• 7:46
  in that game, incredible goal, just one of those goals that you know,
• 7:49
  all the haters of of Leal, you know, kind of you know,
• 7:55
  shut up a bit and and you know, uh kind of just enjoy
• 7:59
  and and and see what he can really bring to this club. Just I
• 8:03
  guess your thoughts overroll in the game and just yeah, just what you thought
• 8:07
  of, you know, the performance, maybe the lack of of fight maybe
• 8:11
  near the end, and you know what this what this says about this meal?
• 8:15
  And right now, I'm gonna tell you, Normally, I'm the type
• 8:18
  of guy to be like, you know, you really should be able to
• 8:22
  put a game away in spite of officiating decisions. You know it's a terrible
• 8:28
  call, but you know you weren't able to put the game away Normally.
• 8:31
  I'm I'm really that type of guy. If you're good enough to win,
• 8:33
  you should be able to win in spite of officiating. But not this time.
• 8:39
  I really, I really think the referee ruined the game. And I
• 8:46
  know that that sounds like a really fan thing to say, and for people
• 8:50
  that know me that they would know that that's probably not something that I would
• 8:52
  normally say. The timing of the call, the lack of review, the
• 9:01
  questionable review, and everything that went on in that call was just atrocious and
• 9:09
  it sent the game in just a different direction, and in the end,
• 9:13
  it's a shame because tactically it was probably one of the best games of the
• 9:16
  season. And I know I'm not the only one who said that. You
• 9:20
  know, aside from some early flurries, they really held Atalanta to almost nothing,
• 9:26
  and you know, for for them to only come out with a point
• 9:30
  is frustrating and kind of deflating. So I'm hoping that they respond in the
• 9:33
  in the right manner on Friday. But yeah, like just going back to
• 9:39
  Laau and stuff. I love goals like that when he just has to remind
• 9:43
  people of who he is. I think he needed it to remind himself of
• 9:48
  who he is. I think he's he's a young player that needs to remind
• 9:52
  himself of his own true abilities. And I think, you know, sometimes
• 9:56
  the criticisms are are just and correct. You know, if you want to
• 10:01
  be at that level and you want to put yourself in that you know,
• 10:05
  almost ballindorsh conversation. I'm not saying that he is at that level yet,
• 10:11
  but if he's somebody who claims to aspire to be amongst that company, then
• 10:18
  he needs to be able to learn how to handle some of that pressure and
• 10:22
  some of that criticism, and I unfortunately, I don't think he's done a
• 10:26
  great job of it this year. But I do think he has done a
• 10:30
  better job of rounding at his game. I think to me, people are
• 10:33
  concentrating on the amount of goals that he has or has not scored, but
• 10:37
  I think he's He's actually rounded out other parts of his game in a positive
• 10:43
  way. So I'm not too concerned about the amount of goals that he has
• 10:46
  or has not scored. And said, yeah, this season, I think
• 10:48
  Leon has much bigger problems than layouts performances. And honestly, if you take
• 10:52
  him out of the lineup for sixty seventy percent of the games this season,
• 10:56
  I think they find themselves much lower in the standings than they are now.
• 11:03
  Not very fair, how about I mean, you know, looking at the
• 11:07
  result recent results, even besides uh, this one, in terms of city,
• 11:13
  they haven't won since February third. That was the game. I'm I'm
• 11:18
  drying a blank now because they was it was it Genua have to have to
• 11:24
  pull up the schedule. Sorry, frozen and they beat on February third,
• 11:28
  they lost, Sorry they lost. They won against Napoli, Sorry guys.
• 11:33
  February eleventh, I got my dates mixed up. They've lost to Monza and
• 11:35
  then tied this game against Atlanta, but even going back, they Typologia back
• 11:39
  at the end of January, so you know, it's not the best stretcher
• 11:43
  games just in terms of city. What do you make of that? Yeah,
• 11:46
  I mean they just squeaked by against luthian As too, remember they made
• 11:50
  that. Yeah, that that late comeback and the Monza game I think is
• 11:54
  the one that's most frustrating. Oh my god, you know, you know,
• 12:00
  not believe it was it was a nice win. Uh you know they
• 12:05
  if we're just talking said yeah, Frosin and they, you know, just
• 12:11
  squeak by Bologna. If you tie too too against Bologna, that's fine as
• 12:16
  long as you take care of business against other opponents. I mean, Bologna's
• 12:20
  having a good season, you know. To two is it is what it
• 12:22
  is. The only thing was that I believe they coughed up that game.
• 12:26
  If if I'm not mistaken it, I think yeah, they they they tied
• 12:31
  that game in a ninety second minute. I think it's just there's there's an
• 12:37
  incon there's a consistent inconsistency with this team, and a lot of it has
• 12:41
  to do with giving up goals. We've seen We've seen a lot of goals
• 12:46
  given up to inferior opponents in the in this in this last stretch here that
• 12:52
  you're that you're mentioning, I don't. I think I think, you know,
• 12:56
  people concentrating on layout, people concentrating on PLI and stuff like that.
• 13:00
  I think the defense is really the the killer this season. You know,
• 13:05
  the defense has has blown games here and there. Manan deserves at least a
• 13:11
  little bit of of criticism. Of course they're missing there. Their their normal
• 13:20
  defense for a good chunk of these games, and of course so you have
• 13:24
  to look at that. But at the beginning of the season we thought that
• 13:26
  the depth was actually kind of good, whereas it hasn't been able to sustain
• 13:35
  that type of effectiveness, and I think we've seen it in the second half
• 13:39
  of the season. Has been extremely frustrating. As a fan, I feel
• 13:43
  like everybody always looks for a scapegoat, but I think there's just so much
• 13:50
  to to pinpoint, Like you can't you can't just pinpoint one thing. I
• 13:52
  think there's so much that you can you can nitpick at where it's like a
• 13:56
  little bit of everything. So I think criticis of just one player or one
• 14:01
  person or a coach or whatever. It's kind of unjust you know, this
• 14:05
  this stretch like really shows that. I mean, even the second game against
• 14:07
  Ren, it was just like uninspired game. That game two was a bit
• 14:15
  these the penalties call me left and right. I mean, it was just
• 14:18
  like it was a just a pat It was like a wild game. I
• 14:20
  shunan against type of game in my first opinion. But which which is strange
• 14:24
  because in Europe you usually see better uh penalty calls. You don't see those
• 14:28
  those chintzy calls that we see in Setia and they want to whistle everything and
• 14:31
  go to var and everything. I feel like in Champions League they do a
• 14:35
  better job of that. So maybe maybe in Europa League they they don't.
• 14:39
  I don't, I don't know. I guess we need to see more Europa
• 14:43
  League and hopefully we do, you know, but hopefully Melon take advantage of
• 14:48
  of a struggling, really super struggling lot side and they don't play down to
• 14:54
  an opponent that they think is struggling. This Friday, yeah now, but
• 15:00
  you know, just even to bounce off with that, Frank, I mean
• 15:01
  you know the twenty twenty four I mean, albeit like these last couple of
• 15:05
  results, you know, Dray lost whatever, Manza. I mean, we've
• 15:09
  had a pretty good twenty twenty four, uh to to say the least.
• 15:13
  I mean obviously, like you said, the Manza lost was a killer,
• 15:18
  because again right there, we could have we foggy they had lost that that
• 15:22
  match day two. If I'm not mistaken that they won't drop points. Could
• 15:26
  have we probbed them, didn't. And and again it's these, it's these,
• 15:33
  it's these individual moments in the season that I think, you know,
• 15:37
  ultimately we'll we'll we'll bite this in the ass in terms of what we could
• 15:39
  have done more, you know, come the end of the come the end
• 15:43
  of the season. Obviously first place currently after seeing today's performance, uh,
• 15:48
  with the entre I mean, twelve points above. This was the makeup game
• 15:56
  they've just I mean we said it on the show. I mean, it's
• 15:58
  it's no real secret. It hurts us as fans of opposition teams to say
• 16:03
  it, but obviously they've been the best team in the league and they're there
• 16:06
  for for I guess the reason. So but yeah, I mean, I
• 16:10
  think these individual moments for me one could have Well, we'll definitely be something
• 16:15
  to look back on and be like, you know, ship, you know,
• 16:18
  there was this moment, there was that moment, There was these points
• 16:19
  that we should have picked up. But I think as long as we we
• 16:23
  stick on where we're at in terms of two three, this top four seems
• 16:27
  to obviously be the only real priority and then obviously maybe going further in Europa
• 16:33
  League. Uh, it's kind of the only saving graces of this season.
• 16:37
  Yeah, Johnny, I don't know if sorry, no, no, go
• 16:41
  ahead, No, I don't know if Johnny I had had a question.
• 16:45
  Well mine was really I had a question, but it wasn't really related to
• 16:49
  champions but or you know, any of the international competitions for that matter.
• 16:55
  But I guess since we're on the topic, okay, Like once I have
• 17:00
  discussion with the guys from SETIA sit down when I had the co host with
• 17:04
  Richard, we talked about like how Ren would have been probably that like reset
• 17:10
  game, you know for me Lan, you know, just to kind of
• 17:11
  like get them back into the rhythm of things, maybe find their ground a
• 17:15
  bit, which you know, the second game you know, left more to
• 17:19
  be desired. But do you think that this is just maybe just a slip
• 17:23
  restep. Do you think this is just you know, like old old nightmares
• 17:29
  coming back. I think because I think that was probably like, in my
• 17:33
  personal opinion, a good confident win for them, like even though it wasn't
• 17:37
  a good result, but like kind of rebuilt that motivation or like that a
• 17:41
  little bit of fire in them. Yeah, recent results have been a bit
• 17:44
  off, but I don't think in your opinion, because I don't think it's
• 17:47
  going to continue. But what do you what do you believe? I do
• 17:51
  I believe that Meon plays down two opponents because in every big game that they've
• 17:56
  had this year, with the exception of the derby, they've at least played
• 17:59
  well. Well, they're not they came out with the result. In every
• 18:02
  big game that they played in this year, they came out with a good
• 18:07
  performance. And then in games that they should not have taken lightly, they
• 18:11
  they you know, they they played down to their opponent and they had a
• 18:18
  subpar performance, whether it's the second leg against Ren, whether it's the home
• 18:21
  game against Borersa Dortmund. You know, stuff like that that just comes back,
• 18:26
  and then you know, all the Setia Ones game, the Lecha game,
• 18:32
  the first game Ownza. So I would like to think that this team
• 18:40
  is good enough and deep enough to you know, fix some of those issues
• 18:48
  and at least get up for for some of the upcoming games. Like we
• 18:51
  were actually joking around in our in our Melan club uh group chat that that
• 18:56
  Labor Cuzen or Liverpool might have been better because now they got the quote unquote
• 19:00
  easier opponent in Europa League. And and maybe that's not the best thing for
• 19:04
  us because we always we always play better against a bigger opponent. But I
• 19:11
  think that there's enough time left in the season. I think accepting the fact
• 19:15
  that there was more than gone at this point might actually help them, especially
• 19:21
  with their position in the league, as long as they can continue to gather
• 19:25
  points here and there. If they went on Friday and all that kind of
• 19:26
  stuff, I think that's going to be helpful, because you know, you're
• 19:30
  you're a professional team. Ether had a great season. Honestly, from a
• 19:33
  fans standpoint, If if it wasn't Ether's twentieth scudetto, I think that it
• 19:37
  wouldn't it wouldn't be as big of a deal. With all due respect to
• 19:42
  Ether and all that kind of stuff. You know, they're a machine and
• 19:48
  you know, whether people want to admit it or not, like you said,
• 19:51
  and all the people on the screen who are you know, do not
• 19:53
  support that team. They did everything right this year. They did everything right
• 19:57
  this year, and we have to just kind of sit here and take it.
• 20:00
  And like I said, you know, if you finished second or third,
• 20:04
  I mean, you still reached a point where you got yourself in the
• 20:11
  Champions League the following season. You know, as a mean fan, it
• 20:14
  just it burns more that it's the second star for them and they got it
• 20:17
  before us, and that's that's gonna it's gonna burn, and they're gonna they're
• 20:19
  gonna remind us of it all summer and just like we did to them a
• 20:22
  couple of years ago. And we have it coming and it sucks. But
• 20:27
  as far as the rest of the season goes, you're a professional, uh,
• 20:30
  you're a professional soccer player. You you are on a very good team.
• 20:36
  You yourself, especially if you're want of me on starters, you're a
• 20:38
  very good player, and you need to, you know, point to the
• 20:45
  best results possible for the rest of the season, and that is finish as
• 20:49
  high as you can in the league table and get as far as you can
• 20:52
  in Europa League if if if not win it. So you know, I
• 20:56
  forget who it was. One of you a couple of weeks ago was saying,
• 21:00
  how you know it's it's tiring. It's tiring. You know, you
• 21:03
  play Thursday, you play Sunday, you play Thursday, you play Sunday,
• 21:07
  you play Thursday, you play Sunday. You know, it's Uh, it's
• 21:11
  a gauntlet, you know, it's it's a really hard tournament to win because
• 21:15
  then the other teams come down with you from Champions League. You had the
• 21:17
  other teams that were in there this year, uh to start that are also
• 21:22
  extremely good teams. And then and then it's a hard schedule to navigate.
• 21:25
  Like I'm I'm actually shocked that Milon didn't get more Monday games from this point,
• 21:32
  you know, I was. I was convinced the second that they finished
• 21:34
  third in that group. I'm like, oh, it stinks because you know,
• 21:37
  from a club standpoint, from a you know, a fan club standpoint,
• 21:41
  like on Monday suck. Nobody's gonna come to those games and all that
• 21:42
  kind of stuff, and so far we haven't had any, so obviously it
• 21:47
  remains to be seen and then they they scheduled three more games. You know,
• 21:49
  they came out with the times and it's uh two Sunday games in a
• 21:53
  Saturday game, So no Monday games just yet. So playing Thursday Sunday is
• 21:59
  hard. So my follow up question to this now, because that's a great
• 22:03
  it's a great segue. So you know last year you guys sold Tonality for
• 22:08
  seventy million euros and it's a fantastic sale in my personal opinion for the club
• 22:11
  because you reinvested well this summer. You know, Leao has got that very
• 22:15
  high release clause and not saying it in a bad way or putting the evil
• 22:18
  eye on it. You know, if Melon sells Leao, I think it's
• 22:22
  a you can't say no that kind of money. No, but I don't
• 22:25
  and I'm not doing it as like a like as a bad thing, do
• 22:29
  you think, because I don't know, because like it may be you know,
• 22:33
  just to get back in because because the way inter has been progressing,
• 22:37
  right, uh, you know they're they're in top form. We saw it
• 22:40
  last year in the contunity. This year obviously there's a city rival and you
• 22:42
  know it does it does hurt a bit inside. It's like me seeing you
• 22:45
  may have success even though they're not a city rival. I just can't stand
• 22:48
  I'm just kidding it. Love you buddy, No, you're not kidding,
• 22:56
  but he loves it. He loves it. Do you think a cell of
• 23:02
  Leo would be the key piece to help you guys get back into that compete
• 23:07
  competing spot for number one? You guys wanted the Scudetto two years ago,
• 23:12
  you know, and it was on the last match day. The team is
• 23:15
  capable of winning that championship obviously, you know, some some holes need to
• 23:18
  be filled, but they're not far off again from winning another one. And
• 23:22
  I don't want to be one of those guys who said, oh, change
• 23:25
  the coach. It's like, like, let's let's be honest. You're like,
• 23:27
  Poly does have a bad bad habits, but every manager has their bad
• 23:30
  habits, right, So do you think the cell the sale of Leao?
• 23:36
  The sale of Leo it's it's it just rolls off the tongue, uh,
• 23:44
  Like, like will help me Alan get back into that competing position for the
• 23:47
  Scudetto, especially with the gap right now that there's there between, like you
• 23:52
  think it closed? It that juicy, it's a juicy question. It is
• 23:56
  first, you know, I was mentally preparing myself just to talk about like
• 24:00
  summer in general, and like summer mercato is already like a hard enough question,
• 24:06
  right, Yes, I don't have the answer to this question. What
• 24:14
  what I will say is, if somebody comes to you have to take that
• 24:17
  money. There is no there's no you can't. You can't. You have
• 24:21
  to take the money you have, you know, as long as three players
• 24:26
  don't depart, you know, as long as it's like not Mannon, dere
• 24:33
  Nandez and layout, because then that's detrimental. I I I don't like overhauls,
• 24:37
  like full overhauls, and like you gotta go do with some mercato and
• 24:41
  pick up seven players, eight players that it throughout me on history that has
• 24:45
  proven to not work. You know, even with the best melons and the
• 24:51
  best defenders and Maldini Mealons and you know Capello Era and whoever else era like
• 24:59
  there there have been me on summers where we were all hyped up for the
• 25:02
  amount of players that they bought in one year. Yeah, that absolutely have
• 25:07
  not worked out. So my my fear is with this me on regardless of
• 25:11
  a lail, Sarah, My my fear this summer is that there's there's too
• 25:18
  many things to patch up and it and it ends up being a patchwork and
• 25:25
  it's not a solid, you know, structure. It's not a you know,
• 25:30
  a nice foundation and a nice structure built on top of a nice foundation.
• 25:34
  Like, regardless of what you do this summer, it's it's gonna be
• 25:37
  some type of patchwork and either it's gonna go well or it's not. And
• 25:41
  that that's that's my biggest fear. So like, even if you go out
• 25:45
  and get that money, like you know, they did well with the Tonali
• 25:47
  money. They they did as well as they could in my opinion. Other
• 25:52
  people would probably argue with me and say, you know, a striker here
• 25:55
  and a defender there and this and that or whatever. I think they addressed
• 25:59
  the things that they needed to address. They also got kind of lucky with
• 26:02
  Yovic because you know, like Yovic was like an emergency Taemi, you know,
• 26:08
  fall back when that didn't work out. But he's he's actually done his
• 26:14
  job, so like I can't really hate on the guy. But that's the
• 26:18
  other thing you got to think of too, because is Juru gonna stay this
• 26:22
  summer? And even if he does it's still a year older, Juru.
• 26:26
  So now you gotta think about a striker two. You know, even if
• 26:30
  you are ambitious enough and have enough money to go out and get a guy
• 26:33
  like like Xerxe, is he the answer is he gonna be able to make
• 26:37
  that next step and that next jump and carry the team. There's so many
• 26:41
  question marks and that's the real fear for this summer, regardless of whether you
• 26:45
  get Layau money or not. And that's that's that's a real problem that this
• 26:49
  team is facing, like you said, with the with the the core strength
• 26:52
  that that inter has built, regardless of what they have to do, giving
• 26:59
  their finance situation, and honestly, I'm not expecting anything to happen. They
• 27:03
  could go another one hundred million dollars in debt and it doesn't seem like anything
• 27:07
  really happens. So, you know, especially if they you know, they're
• 27:12
  gonna win the league, they're gonna get money from that. If they make
• 27:15
  a deep Champions League run, which I think they're they're fully capable of doing,
• 27:18
  they're gonna get money from that. You know. Now they're they're getting
• 27:23
  injections from outside investors to help with with this. This deal it's gonna be
• 27:29
  very hard to match what Ether has even in the off season. And it's
• 27:33
  a very long answer. I apologize. No, No, it's a bring.
• 27:37
  It's a good it's no, it's a good answer. And because for
• 27:41
  me personally, like obviously the money, like it's gonna help financially, like
• 27:47
  like that's that's a no brainer. We we've spoken about it, even you
• 27:51
  know, with with with alls you man right with not being and we've all
• 27:55
  been pretty much on the same page. And I know Johnny have said it
• 27:56
  as well. You know, there's certain there's certain positions, and there's certain
• 28:02
  dollar value that you just unfortunately in this day and age, you can't you
• 28:06
  can't deny, you can't you can't say no to the to that dollar value.
• 28:08
  Well, does it hurt as a fan? Yes, because me,
• 28:11
  I I like layout layout. For me, I don't know if I'm I
• 28:15
  don't want to say I'm the only one, because I know there's a lot
• 28:18
  of way out lovers, but there's also a lot of way out haters.
• 28:22
  And for me, I try to stick with him on a positive because in
• 28:25
  my eyes, he's one of, if not our best player. Do we
• 28:29
  depend on him a lot? Yeah, do we see when he's in the
• 28:33
  lineup and when he's not in the lineup? Is there a difference? Yeah,
• 28:37
  I can say so. When we change that front three, uh to
• 28:42
  not our normal front three, do we see a difference. Absolutely so.
• 28:47
  I mean it's tough, man like, it really is. But again,
• 28:51
  emotions aside, it's a business. Frankly, we know this. We've said
• 28:55
  it. Everybody knows it. It's no it's no secret anymore, you know.
• 29:00
  I would like to talk about talking about that front three. I would
• 29:03
  like to see a mixture, a different mixture of that front three, because
• 29:07
  I feel like we always see the same guys go on together, and it's
• 29:11
  almost like not fair to them. It's almost like sending on the B team,
• 29:14
  you know, Like I feel like, ok, like let me see
• 29:17
  Oka four and Layout, let me see you know, Jovich with those two
• 29:22
  guys maybe instead of your I don't know, like I feel like those like
• 29:26
  three guys chouays like I feel like still has something to give, you know,
• 29:33
  like, but it's it's it's almost unfair because like those guys always go
• 29:36
  on together. It's like you're sending in the B team like of the middle
• 29:37
  school team, you know. To say, to say to try to save
• 29:41
  the day or to try to you know, save a point, to try
• 29:44
  to you know, get the win. And yeah, no, I agree,
• 29:47
  I agree there, but you know, in terms of in terms of
• 29:49
  layout, I mean again, I'm I'm I know a lot of I know,
• 29:53
  a lot of fans really rip into them because they expect so much more.
• 29:56
  And I and I and I totally understand that because me to I definitely
• 30:00
  expect a lot more. And it's also a body language. It's also there's
• 30:06
  certain things that he does off the ball where it's just like, come on,
• 30:08
  yeah, he's walking, he's not he's not into it. He seems
• 30:11
  off him. He's a he's a very uh you know, emotions are a
• 30:15
  big thing with him, right. Everybody says, oh, he's always smiling,
• 30:18
  but yes, that's true. He just came out with a book.
• 30:22
  Obviously smile if you if you guys didn't see that. But you know,
• 30:27
  when he's not smiling, and when he's not on and that switch isn't turned
• 30:30
  on, that fire isn't under his eyes, you know you it's fans pick
• 30:34
  up on that very very quickly, and they're easy to to to jump on
• 30:38
  it and Judge and guys. I'm not saying I'm not trying to defend them
• 30:41
  and say oh I just love No because I do get on him too when
• 30:44
  when he's when he's not performing, because like I said, he is our
• 30:47
  best player, if not one of right, so you have to hold those
• 30:49
  guys accountable. Those guys are on a different level. He's our best player.
• 30:55
  There you go. So I mean when you said I wouldn't want to
• 30:57
  see an overhaul, you know inter and I agree with that absolutely because out
• 31:03
  of way, out tail and manya you you can't leg go of all three
• 31:08
  of those those are those are our three backbones or pillars of this team.
• 31:11
  And and you know if anything like out of those three, Franco, in
• 31:18
  my eyes, I will as much as again, it would hurt me to
• 31:22
  say I would lego Mania before I would go up either tailor or layout in
• 31:26
  my personal opinion, because le I mean as much as he saved us in
• 31:32
  many opportunities, many games, many times, and he comes out with these
• 31:36
  brilliant saves. If I would have to choose just based on impact and just
• 31:41
  player, and like how maybe to replace these types of players, it can
• 31:45
  be easier for placeability exactly right. I would. I would go with that,
• 31:49
  but again, I wouldn't want to get rid of it like either of
• 31:52
  them or any of them. But if I had to choose, it would
• 31:56
  probably go maybe the Manya round. I don't know if you have anything to
• 32:00
  add to that, but or agree or disagree with No, I agree,
• 32:01
  I agree one hundred percent. I love the guy. I think he's,
• 32:06
  you know, also just like his character and what he stands for. I
• 32:09
  think I just think he's, like, you know, a good person I
• 32:15
  have on the team. But I think I don't like using the word easy,
• 32:21
  but I think replacing a goalkeeper would be an easier task than replacing either
• 32:30
  of those two other guys. You know, they're they're Those would be much
• 32:34
  bigger shoes to fill on on a left back, I think, even more
• 32:37
  so than Layo. I think replacing Dale, even if you get somebody good
• 32:43
  enough, just the pressure of being the guy after Dale would be the hardest
• 32:47
  job of the three. Even though we say that Leo is the best player
• 32:52
  on the team, which is which is definitely true, I think replacing Dale
• 32:54
  would be the hardest one. I mean, look at look at what inter
• 33:00
  did this summer. You know, get rid of onam bringing summer this summer.
• 33:05
  They brought in summer. But and he's done a fantastic job. And
• 33:09
  you know what, like I, we all know how important a goalie is
• 33:14
  a soccer team. But if you have a good team in front of him,
• 33:17
  you could get an average goalie who's not going to lose you games,
• 33:22
  and you could do a good job, and you get away with a striker
• 33:24
  and get away with it, and replacing a striker that's so much harder,
• 33:30
  like it, it's so much harder to get those goals, get that finishing.
• 33:35
  So for sure, for sure, you know it'll be interesting. But
• 33:38
  it is interesting to hear what I think and you guys talking about layout.
• 33:45
  I know how how value, how valuable he is at the end of the
• 33:47
  day to Melan. What do you guys think Maybe his best days with Melan
• 33:55
  are kind of behind him. Maybe his best days with Melan we're kind of
• 34:00
  the scood that year, and you know, maybe he's not up to that
• 34:04
  same level a firstco No, No, I think it's just I think it's
• 34:13
  just a product of everything that happened this season. I don't I don't like
• 34:16
  to I don't I don't like to think that it's something bigger than it is.
• 34:21
  I think, you know, just like like we say in the time,
• 34:24
  that those are something that they started this year and that's it, you
• 34:27
  know, that that's that's It's just it was one of those years that that
• 34:30
  things just didn't go the right way and that just the other things end up
• 34:37
  getting amplified with it. And I think that's just one of those things.
• 34:38
  So no, I don't think so. So yeah, I'm going to also
• 34:42
  say no, I don't think so. He's been he's been contributing in different
• 34:51
  ways and I don't know, Franko brought it up just earlier. He's kind
• 34:52
  of rounded out his game and by running out of his game, there's still
• 34:57
  things to improve. Don't get me wrong. The assists have been there.
• 35:02
  You know. Can he get double digit goals again? I personally think so
• 35:08
  yes, because he has the tools to do it for him. And again
• 35:13
  we've said it even on the show in the past. You know, maybe
• 35:15
  with a vowel bach or or sometimes even though some man, depending when the
• 35:21
  mentality is there and they're on, these guys are unplayable. You you can't
• 35:25
  there's nothing to say when they're off a bit and they have those a little
• 35:30
  bit of those mental moments, trying to do too much, not in the
• 35:31
  game mentally, you know, whatever, the situation is not not the ideal,
• 35:39
  the court divide is on you too much or whatever. You know,
• 35:44
  Sometimes things don't go, you know, according to Plant in terms of productivity
• 35:47
  for those types of players. But for me, layout I mean still young,
• 35:52
  still, I think a quality player, and he has a lot more
• 35:57
  still to prove. I think. So are the best days behind him?
• 36:01
  I don't think so. I think obviously the school that two year will obviously
• 36:06
  glorify what he did, you know, produced that year, and obviously getting
• 36:10
  the League MVP obviously increased that value of him and and those expectations. But
• 36:16
  listen, he's taken on. He's taking on a heavy number for a heavy
• 36:21
  shirt. Uh in that number ten, right, you know, for Alessandro
• 36:27
  del Piero, Alexandro del Piano. Make it that as you wis f don't
• 36:34
  get ahead of yourself. Well, didn't he say something on Twitter? Didn't
• 36:37
  see something? There? You go, right point Franco's pointing. But I
• 36:45
  would also say too is a personal favorite. Just just yea Honda if anybody
• 36:52
  remember him, haven't heard it a long last time legend, but no,
• 36:59
  but joking is I know to answer the next question, and it is a
• 37:01
  good question because you know, there's with these players that you know, these
• 37:06
  these moments come and go pretty quickly. Obviously. The big talking point currently
• 37:12
  on on on cultural Twitter Italian football Twitter Kiz right now is kis now the
• 37:17
  old is old? He is ever going to come back? You know,
• 37:22
  sometimes it's a bit of like crazy talk to me, but you know,
• 37:25
  you kind of have to even put in the situations at hand with these types
• 37:30
  of players that in the cards that they're dealt with, right Like I mean,
• 37:32
  I'm not trying to not trying to you know, make excuses for for
• 37:36
  these types of players, but you know, I still think, you know,
• 37:40
  like for Leal, I still think there are there is things to prove,
• 37:44
  and there's still things to work on, and there's still things to to
• 37:47
  to take them to that next level. You know, this team has been
• 37:53
  on an up and down roller coaster ever since winning the Scuto, you know,
• 38:00
  and they've had great moments together. So I think if if you know,
• 38:05
  situations are are are a bit better. Obviously, we can ever predict
• 38:08
  injuries and and just the amount of mass injuries that no one has had to
• 38:12
  face with this season. It hasn't been ideal. But being able to continue
• 38:16
  on with this group and and kind of go on with with with an identity
• 38:22
  and and Leal being that focal point, I think, you know, he's
• 38:24
  able to He's I think he will be able to crack you know, ten
• 38:29
  goals again in in the city as season. For me, honestly, he's
• 38:35
  almost he's halfway there, and he's had a bad and he's had a bad
• 38:37
  quote unquote bad year statistically for for for scoring goals right underscore what twelve thirteen
• 38:42
  games left? So I mean yeah, I mean he's not far off.
• 38:45
  In my opinion, I think if if you put another formidable striker there,
• 38:49
  I'm not going to say a formidable striker because we have a formidable striker.
• 38:52
  I think Ju doesn't get the credit he deserves sometimes. I think he uh
• 38:58
  does what he can for his age and more. I think he works very
• 39:00
  hard and obviously he scored some important goals still at his age. But I
• 39:05
  think if you put layout with one of the names you mentioned before, right
• 39:09
  La shows him man like another guy who's who's that goal? Hungry like younger
• 39:16
  striker. Then a guy like Layout doesn't even have to worry about whether he
• 39:21
  got the ten goals or not in Seraya. That's that's my opinion. I
• 39:24
  think once he's not the only guy, because that's the problem at Meon right
• 39:32
  now, Like at Neon, it's like, oh, he's the guy,
• 39:36
  he's the guy. Like when Neon builds a team strong enough where it's not
• 39:39
  just the guy, right in La and Tuam and a Natovic where it's not
• 39:49
  just the guy, then then I think he's going to be in a better
• 39:53
  environment because he's in a winning environment, that is that is now stronger.
• 39:59
  I think that's that's the type of environment that he needs. I think that
• 40:01
  And it sucks to say because everybody always goes back to it and you know,
• 40:07
  there's nothing you could do about it now, But like, that's why
• 40:08
  a guy like Brahimovich was so good for him. Do you have to wonder
• 40:15
  also, maybe that's why Zeru has twelve goals. You know, there's so
• 40:19
  much pressure even that other teams they've just focused so much on lineout that it
• 40:22
  opens up space for Aru one hundred percent and then you have service from the
• 40:28
  other side. Finally after three years. Yeah, not Polisitch has been has
• 40:31
  been incredible, and I kind of wanted to even I forgotten to kind of
• 40:36
  mention that when you where, you said, oh should I prepare for any
• 40:37
  topics? And I kind of forgot to mention about policice. But since we're
• 40:40
  kind of on this attacking you know, tangent here, I think, you
• 40:45
  know, like you said, finally some PRODUCTIVI be on that right hand side.
• 40:49
  I mean, we've been desperately crying and and and our boys DVP from
• 40:52
  me part has been breaking all kinds of tables to to finally get somebody on
• 40:57
  that right hand side. And and and the additionally I mean has been has
• 41:01
  been incredible. I believe he's had a brown six goals if I'm not mistaken
• 41:07
  on the year obviously in your seat, you know, North American or an
• 41:15
  American excuse me, melon fan uh an American comes to to to Milan,
• 41:22
  uh and it is doing very very well. Kind of maybe you're the US
• 41:28
  kind of golden boy in terms of of of Poolish Hitch. I guess you
• 41:30
  can say, what have you thought of him? And just you know,
• 41:36
  what is he brought even just to you know, just to the visibility of
• 41:38
  of you know, Milon Sadi a culture in in not only in New York,
• 41:44
  but just in terms of the US as a whole. I always say,
• 41:49
  you saw, I'm a teacher, right, so I always use yeah,
• 41:52
  thirteen to sixteen year old boys as a gauge of whether or not something
• 41:57
  is visible. Right. So when when you when you hear kids in the
• 42:00
  hallway talking about the goal that police has scored over the weekend, right,
• 42:05
  and and they're paying attention to Melon, they know who Ralph la Il is.
• 42:10
  Just as a complete aside, I heard a kid talking about Bologna the
• 42:14
  other day, which in my school is not is not a is not a
• 42:17
  common thing. We're not like in a big, like huge Italian community like
• 42:22
  with recent immigration or anything. You know, it's an American community. But
• 42:24
  for a kid to be talking about Bologna in the hallway, have to do
• 42:27
  like a double take. But you know we made it, we made it,
• 42:29
  yeah, right, or celebrating that everywhere else. So you know,
• 42:42
  I think as far as post it goes, it's it's phenomenal for both sides.
• 42:46
  Right. It's great for Melon because they're always trying trying to tap into
• 42:51
  this market meon has always been, you know, always testing the waters on
• 42:55
  this side of the ocean, always coming back here, always you know,
• 43:00
  trying to do things on the American side of things, you know, even
• 43:04
  with marketing, and especially in the last couple of years. So so Pulsk
• 43:07
  was like the perfect thing. You know, Puma guy, he wears Puma
• 43:08
  kleeds, so many good things that made so much sense. And then like
• 43:15
  you hold your breath with a guy like that, especially after his last couple
• 43:17
  of years of Chelsea, You're like, oh my god, like, please
• 43:21
  don't be a bust because then nobody is harder. People don't realize this.
• 43:24
  Nobody's harder on Christian Polsic than the American soccer media. So I don't I
• 43:30
  don't know how much you guys see on your time on Twitter, but like
• 43:35
  they're they're mean, they're like they're so like, yeah, they're so not
• 43:40
  nice to the guy. Like he's done so much this year, He's he's
• 43:44
  been literally the best player on the team, like the best performing players statistics
• 43:50
  wise, he's been the best player on the team, and there's people still
• 43:53
  going after him. And the other people that go after him to I find
• 43:57
  are non Italian meon fans from like other parts of the world, Like I've
• 44:07
  noticed that on English speaking Twitter, for for example, people so hard on
• 44:10
  this guy, like he's like his goal production has gone down in this second
• 44:15
  half of the season. And I saw a tweet the other day like where
• 44:17
  people went after him. He's he's been so good, He's been very consistent.
• 44:22
  He gives it is all, you know. Yeah, is he perfect?
• 44:27
  No, Like he never has ninety minutes in his legs. He always
• 44:30
  has to be subbed off. But like, I don't know, what more
• 44:32
  do you want the guy to do? Like this year didn't score goals in
• 44:37
  three years at the Chelsea that's all. No, that's all. And the
• 44:42
  assists and the amount of work that he does. You know, he's not
• 44:45
  a defensive liability. He's he gives it is all here, you know,
• 44:52
  and he's and he's a step above his predecessors. What more do you want
• 44:58
  from this guy? And I think that's it. Like, sorry for interjecting,
• 45:00
  because there's a lot of great points that I wanted to jump in on,
• 45:04
  but I wanted to give you a platform, Franco. But like,
• 45:07
  so, first of all, as a fellow teacher, trust me. I
• 45:09
  understand. Sometimes you hear the strangest conversations because of a certain player or relevancy
• 45:14
  or whatnot. That happens all of a sudden, because I teach in the
• 45:16
  French schools year there's a lot of Arabic children, and all of a sudden
• 45:21
  they know SETI players when was there, and they started they start paying attention
• 45:25
  to it a bit more and like the hell and then like I wear an
• 45:28
  apple jers in they're all excited because they're like, oh, serie Monopoly,
• 45:36
  It's it's awesome. So trust me understand, Like I I get that sentiment.
• 45:40
  But you said a lot of great points, and I was like,
• 45:43
  oh, I want to jump in, I want to jump in show.
• 45:47
  Yeah, but obviously, you know, we want to give you a chance
• 45:50
  to take the floor and stuff the policitch point. I think you do?
• 45:55
  You think maybe because this guy has been built up so much, you know,
• 46:00
  and has had so much like voice and emphasis behind him, you know,
• 46:04
  and like he has had success, like you know what I mean.
• 46:07
  Like it's not like as if he's just some random newcomer, you know,
• 46:09
  he's he's what Freddy ad Do should have been. Let's that for some of
• 46:15
  you old heads there. Uh, shout out Freddy, I do to Superstar,
• 46:22
  always one of my favorite players to use as a kid. Yeah.
• 46:24
  But like so because you know, we're getting a lot more North American eyes
• 46:29
  onto City at that are not Italian heritage based, you know, like uh
• 46:34
  like Italian, Canadian and Americans always watched the out because Australian Italians too,
• 46:37
  you know, because so because it's city out right, it's our it's our
• 46:39
  heritage. But you know, like Weston mckennie went to ve you got some
• 46:44
  Americans watching them too. Now you've got Tejon Buchanan at Inter, the first
• 46:47
  Canadian player in Citi A. Uh just talks of Jonathan Johnathon David's been linked
• 46:52
  to either Inter or now he's been linked Monopoly. If Ossuman gets sold,
• 46:57
  now you know that's gonna be another player. Polistic went to Milan. That's
• 47:00
  that's that's what like I like now you brought that up because we're getting more
• 47:05
  of the North American eye to CITYA, which I think is important to compete
• 47:08
  with the with the English Premier League. A lot of Americans that are not
• 47:12
  Italian watched the Premier League because they think it's the standard of soccer. You
• 47:15
  know, it's like it's for them. It's like we're not like they feel
• 47:17
  like it's maybe Thela Liga or you know, the you know, Bundesliga or
• 47:22
  Citia might be a bit too too niche for them, you know, Whereas
• 47:25
  you know, if you get some of the North American talent, now you
• 47:29
  can now you attract the North American market and if you and that's a good
• 47:32
  way to make money. That's a good way because you get more viewership and
• 47:36
  you get more people wanting to watch your product, and in turn, obviously
• 47:38
  with more eyes, you have more income opportunities. So I know it's a
• 47:43
  big of a tangent, but I think I think that's good for Citia to
• 47:45
  get players like POOLI Sick and whatnot to to the league. But speaking of
• 47:50
  him specifically, if you think like they're much harder on the guy for who
• 47:54
  he is as a player. You know what he's what he's meant for United
• 47:59
  States in terms of their soccer development and their soccer program, Like he's their
• 48:04
  first BONDI Fight star that's come out of it type of thing. You know.
• 48:07
  So it's it's so weird, Like I don't know, I can't figure
• 48:09
  it out. Maybe because maybe because I have like the like the Adzuri side
• 48:16
  of things, where like, you know, I I don't have to like
• 48:22
  clench onto this one jewel and like you you know, our our whole existence
• 48:28
  depends on you type of thing, you know, because really after him,
• 48:31
  there's really not much on the US national team. Unfortunately it's you know,
• 48:37
  there's some very talented players out there, but yes, this is like a
• 48:39
  generational player. He's you know, he's right up there in the conversation with
• 48:45
  all the you know, the generations Landing Donovan, Clint Dempsey and and all
• 48:49
  the guys that came before, right, So I just I don't understand why,
• 48:54
  like you could put pressure on a guy, but don't put unwarranted criticism
• 48:59
  on your jewel. You know. That's that's like that's like the father of
• 49:05
  the student who gets ninety nine and is getting on them for not getting one
• 49:09
  hundred. You know, that's you know, if we're going back to teacher
• 49:12
  talk, you know, it's like, I don't we all know that parents,
• 49:15
  We all know that parents like yeah, And as a parent, I
• 49:22
  try not to be that guy. So try, you know, I I
• 49:29
  have a hard time comprehending it. But I guess it's because I have two
• 49:35
  national teams. I guess you could say so, like it's not as as
• 49:39
  dire for me. You know, you know what way Nick Star for interrupted
• 49:45
  quickly. I just want to apologize to all the American listeners. I can't
• 49:47
  believe I forgot about Latin Donna, any club that see. I apologize.
• 49:51
  You guys have had superstars before Pelicic. I'm sorry. Yeah, but it's
• 49:55
  only like I said, it's only one. It's only like one per generation.
• 50:00
  Yeah. And then and then just going back to what you said about,
• 50:02
  like you know, marketing and visibility and stuff, I think that the
• 50:05
  other thing that's helped SETIAU here and they bet they better. They really need
• 50:09
  to take care of this in the next three months is here in the United
• 50:15
  States. Uh. Setia is on Paramount Plus, which is also the carrier
• 50:20
  for Champions League. Because if you take Setia and you put it on another
• 50:23
  carrier, people aren't gonna watch it. So people people turn on Milan Ether
• 50:30
  on on Sunday or or Melannopoly or like a big game that they thought They're
• 50:35
  like, oh, I could sit here and watch this on a Sunday or
• 50:37
  a Saturday or whatever because they have it. But they're not gonna go out
• 50:42
  and spend another eleven ninety nine a month on another streaming service just for Setia.
• 50:47
  They just watch it because they have it al ready for for Champions League,
• 50:51
  you know. So, uh, there's there's a lot of negative talk
• 50:54
  out there for the current negotiations to renew the contract, and that would is
• 51:00
  that deal? Is that deal expiring? Yes? And and the that would
• 51:04
  be detrimental because I feel like Paramount has done an incredible job. I think
• 51:09
  CBS has done an incredible job with Setia. The coverage here is is very
• 51:15
  very good. And like I said, if as long as it's tied to
• 51:19
  something else that people have access to already, then then that should be good
• 51:22
  enough for the league. But of course we're dealing with sea here. Is
• 51:25
  that sorry, is that expiring at the end of this season, next season
• 51:29
  or is that in a couple of years? As far as I understand,
• 51:34
  it's this season? Interesting, well, did not know that if if if
• 51:40
  I'm not mistaken, I think the Canadian deal also expires with food. But
• 51:44
  I think the deals are expiring. They it was three years because if I'm
• 51:47
  not mistaken. Paramount Plus started in the twenty two season with Sidia. Is
• 51:55
  it that year, I don't know, No, I think it was the
• 52:00
  year before twenty one. Okay, this footboat was that that year anyways.
• 52:09
  One thing I wanted to say, you bring up the points of uh,
• 52:13
  you know, you know, people treating poolsich unfairly. I kind of see
• 52:19
  the same thing with mcknny at Juve and he's having a fantastic season. I
• 52:23
  honestly really like mkenny, Like when he the first season, when he came
• 52:27
  he was good, and then he he went down for a bit. I
• 52:30
  know he was loaned out it was last year to the Leeds, and then
• 52:35
  he came back this year playing a different position, playing more right mid.
• 52:38
  He's fantastic and he gets a lot of criticism still, and there's a lot
• 52:42
  of talk about on Twitter. It's like, is he getting criticized just because
• 52:45
  he's American? You know? Yeah, no, No, it's a big
• 52:49
  reality. It's a big it's probably probably a big reality aside as it is
• 52:52
  to say I think it's it's it might be an easy scapegoat of a of
• 52:57
  a reason why to say, oh, yeah, he's the American. You
• 53:00
  know, yeah, if you talk about some of these game, he's the
• 53:02
  best player on the field in that game, unless unless you want to say,
• 53:07
  because Vovig had a very good game as well. Yeah, yeah,
• 53:10
  but you know, if you're gonna choose one of two players, it's gonna
• 53:15
  be one of them too. Like, and even if he wasn't the best
• 53:17
  player on the field on something, he had an extremely good game and his
• 53:22
  last three four games have been really really good. Yeah, he's a solid
• 53:25
  player. He's a good player. I think best season with you Yeah,
• 53:30
  I think he has his limitations technically, I think I think physically and fitness
• 53:36
  wise he could probably like agility wise, he could probably maybe improve. But
• 53:43
  any any American player who's cutting it in any top four, top three,
• 53:49
  or top five European league should receive zero zero criticism from US men if it's
• 53:58
  like especially if it's like consistently or record a handful of years, because like
• 54:01
  like Nick said, like McKenny like broke in a couple of seasons ago.
• 54:06
  Obviously pool Sich made that jump to to to Europe, you know, pretty
• 54:08
  fairly young. Uh, you know, the Dorman days, the obviously the
• 54:13
  Chelsea days and now obviously this new and arrow, uh for him. So
• 54:17
  you know I think I think, yeah, no, it's that's that's a
• 54:22
  fair statement. I mean, you know, Alfonso Davies for us is on
• 54:25
  is that that's obviously our poster boy in terms of you know, he's he's
• 54:30
  he's you know, on that level right when he broke out on the scene
• 54:34
  in Europe. I mean, I don't know you would be you would be
• 54:37
  in my eyes. And again I don't I don't follow him everywhere he's been
• 54:40
  like like every performance, every game or anything like that, because I don't
• 54:44
  follow those leaves. But I mean I would be silly to say, like
• 54:46
  I would start criticizing Alfonso Davies because he had a bad game for for for
• 54:51
  Byron you know once or you know he he picked up you know, a
• 54:55
  red card or or had a bad performance here or bad form there. I
• 55:00
  mean, this guy is like unbelievably talented and you know he's he put our
• 55:04
  country, especially for the men's national team, on the map, right so
• 55:08
  or even not a Jonathan David right like in in in the French League.
• 55:13
  You know. So yeah, no, I feel that, and you know,
• 55:17
  I think the consistency is It's not like it's like a one time thing.
• 55:20
  Okay. I McKenny made you know, twelve appearances for you of a
• 55:23
  over one season and then never made another appearance, or you know, Poostas
• 55:28
  made one appearance. It's not like that, right. So these guys are
• 55:30
  these guys are professional. They are playing out of the highest of levels,
• 55:32
  and obviously you're gonna have to be critical, like at one point in time.
• 55:37
  That that's only it's the nature of the game. It's you know,
• 55:40
  you It would be impossible that you would have to have blinders not to start
• 55:45
  criticizing, you know, players in one sense or another. But I think
• 55:50
  within reason is the biggest point for me personally, at least. I just
• 55:55
  want to I just want to move on. But I do want to say
• 55:58
  one more thing. I instagram posts this morning from City I that Stefon Diggs
• 56:02
  was at the Melon game this weekend, which is absolutely hilarious to see,
• 56:07
  and he had a picture with Pools Hitch and I was like, wait,
• 56:09
  I looked at it, I was like, wait, is that Stefan?
• 56:13
  Is that Stefan Diggs? Like would have not expected him to be at the
• 56:16
  Sanseato, but hey, good exposure. For the city. I even more
• 56:21
  if Stefon Diggs is at a game. But I do want to ask you
• 56:23
  Franco. Moving on Europa League Slavia Prague, they're playing the round to sixteen,
• 56:31
  so Prague did get a buye with the first round. They finished first
• 56:37
  in their group and group in which Roma was in. They beat Roman to
• 56:40
  nothing at home, but lost to Roma to nothing and in Rome. So
• 56:45
  Jenny is probably the most qualified to talk about Slavia Prague, because I'll be
• 56:49
  honest, I know nothing about them, But I mean, what do you
• 56:52
  expect out of this matchup, Franco? And and do you think Melon could
• 56:57
  move on? Well, Melon should move on, So yes, I do
• 57:01
  think Neon could move on. And obviously, given what the alternative was at
• 57:06
  the end of that draw, I think it went extremely well. Favorable favorable,
• 57:12
  to say the least, more more than favorable. Because I'm sitting so
• 57:15
  just just to tell you how it went, I'm I. I was driving
• 57:20
  home from Toronto and when we when we leave, you know, either to
• 57:23
  to go to Canada or come back home. I usually leave early in the
• 57:29
  morning to beat any morning traffic, and then this way I'm on on the
• 57:31
  road during the day So I was in the car for the draw, and
• 57:36
  so I'm listening to it and all the you know, all the teams are
• 57:39
  getting like crossed off, you know, one by one, and it's like
• 57:43
  all the favorable draws are like slowly going away, and Layracusin is still sitting
• 57:49
  out there, still sitting out there, still sitting out there. It's just
• 57:51
  like, oh my god, we're gonna play a team that has not lost
• 57:52
  the game this season. We got to play yer Larra Cousin. So yeah,
• 57:58
  obviously drawing Slava progue is Is is a favorable draw in in relative terms.
• 58:07
  But like you said, they they came out of a pretty good group.
• 58:08
  I think what was the other team in that group was it? Was
• 58:13
  it supporting? Uh there was Roma, Cervett and Sheriff. Okay, yeah,
• 58:21
  I mean Savetta isn't isn't like a terrible team either. I mean that's
• 58:23
  a that's a pretty formidable Swiss Europa League team, and it's a team that
• 58:29
  has now gotten some confidence in Europe. And and now what do they have
• 58:36
  to lose? You know, everybody sees, you know, a big bad
• 58:37
  mealon coming to Prague. You know, what do they have to lose?
• 58:43
  You know, they they're playing with house money right now. Nobody's expecting them
• 58:46
  to win, and they they, like you said, they came out of
• 58:51
  a group and you know that you can't you can't take those teams lightly,
• 58:55
  which I think is one of Milon's biggest problems. I hate. I can't
• 59:00
  stand the fact that Milon has to play at home to start again. First,
• 59:05
  okay, I didn't see that. Yeah, I hate that. I
• 59:08
  hate that so much. It almost blew up in their face this time around,
• 59:14
  in this, in this last round, I really wish they were playing
• 59:17
  at home the second time. The only good part is that there's no there's
• 59:21
  no awaygo rules, which I actually don't like. I'm I'm old school.
• 59:24
  I like the awago rule and just judging from the history of from Slavia Pragutt
• 59:30
  this year in the group stage, it's on a team that you want to
• 59:32
  take lightly. The vot traded to zero wins. Mind you, I was
• 59:36
  under Mourinho, a different team and mentally, but it's still it's still Josie
• 59:39
  Mourinho, you know what I mean. It's still a legendary manager. So
• 59:44
  it's it's a team that if you have your foot on the throat, don't
• 59:50
  lift it type of thing. Don't give them like they should just make sure
• 59:52
  that they they don't give them any wiggle room or any leeway or get comfortable
• 59:58
  because especially, I mean there are ess and I think they know that.
• 1:00:00
  You know, at this point in this stage and the competition, you know,
• 1:00:04
  every team you're going to face is getting to be hungry for a win.
• 1:00:07
  You just make sure that it is a very beatable team. Especially for
• 1:00:12
  a team like Milan. They just really need to make sure that they don't
• 1:00:15
  go lightly on them because they're they're they're they're surprising. I think that's the
• 1:00:22
  best way I can describe that. Yeah, and like you said, like
• 1:00:23
  that to nothing loss for Roma, Like now that I'm looking at the score
• 1:00:27
  sheet, that there's two goals in the second half that Slobbya scored. You
• 1:00:30
  know, like going to Rome on a European night is hard, like the
• 1:00:35
  Olympico for for a ROMA home game and in any European competition, Champions League,
• 1:00:40
  Europa League, Conference League, doesn't matter. They packed that statement.
• 1:00:43
  It's a hard place to go and do anything. So but you know on
• 1:00:47
  that home game, that's that's two second half goals to win, to nothing
• 1:00:52
  against the Mourino on a good Roma side. So yeah, this kind of
• 1:00:57
  team to be taken likely, I hope. Know what it's worth, sorry
• 1:01:00
  everyone, what it's worth. They're in second in the Czech League, behind
• 1:01:07
  the Sparta Prague. I mean I don't know too much about the Czech League,
• 1:01:09
  but I feel like that's probably what happens every year. Uh uh probably
• 1:01:13
  They've only lost one game this year and they've they've drawn four. But again,
• 1:01:16
  I mean Czech league is not but still only only one loss? Is
• 1:01:22
  only one loss? Yeah, no, it's not. It's notable for sure.
• 1:01:24
  I mean, like like Johnny said, and you know Franco was alluding
• 1:01:28
  to, I mean, we can't take him lightly at all. I mean
• 1:01:31
  it's still it's still it's still a European night. You know, bash Europa
• 1:01:37
  League all you will, you want, it's you can whatever, it doesn't
• 1:01:42
  really matter to me. But there there's still quality there, right, So
• 1:01:45
  I mean, yeah, on payper it's favorable. And I know those guys
• 1:01:51
  in our Meal and Come group they were like fuck, I hope we get.
• 1:01:53
  They were like hoping for like a buyer leverage using or a Liverpool or
• 1:01:58
  like one of those top teams because you know, you kind of instead of
• 1:02:01
  playing down like you were saying, Franco, will kind of play up and
• 1:02:05
  and and and hold our own right as we know as me and fans.
• 1:02:07
  So but again I think because it bothers the hell out of me. Like
• 1:02:15
  in all sports, we're on the meal on top of now. But when
• 1:02:19
  you play down to opponents and like you don't take them serious, and like
• 1:02:22
  you, you you lose games or you you get scored on, or you
• 1:02:27
  drop points or you know whatever, they knock you out the playoffs or whatever
• 1:02:32
  whatever sport you want to you want to say, right, And obviously the
• 1:02:36
  four of us follow North American, all North American sports. So does the
• 1:02:39
  Boston Bruins fan want to comment on that? Yeah, that's what we'll save
• 1:02:46
  that for after hours we'll do We'll do a hockey pod after hours we get
• 1:02:54
  the the knuckles cracked up. You hear that dropping, it's like Rocky,
• 1:03:00
  It's like Rocky too or something. I don't know, but no, that
• 1:03:06
  just bothers the hell out of me. Right, So I really hope because
• 1:03:09
  listen, like with the Ren the Ren matchup, you know, the three
• 1:03:14
  nil and I was only able to really catch thoroughly that first half. I
• 1:03:16
  saw that the second the second half of that first match after through the highlights,
• 1:03:23
  but you know, three goals was huge and kind of given them stuff
• 1:03:28
  that that you know, quote unquote cushion and and and and you know we're
• 1:03:32
  able to breathe really in that in that second game, even though that same
• 1:03:36
  game, like I said earlier, it was just a game fall shenanigans.
• 1:03:37
  But as long as they really step on the gas, I think they should
• 1:03:43
  be good good enough to go. I mean, this was a this is
• 1:03:46
  a this is a competition that I said, since we've gotten dropped down to
• 1:03:51
  the europe League that I don't see why they can't go and you know,
• 1:03:52
  really try to win it, right. I don't know if you kind of
• 1:03:55
  follow in that same mindset, Franco, And that's kind of where I wanted
• 1:04:00
  to segue with, Like, besides this matchup and if and when they do
• 1:04:03
  pass Slavia Prague, is this a competition that they realistically can win in your
• 1:04:10
  opinion, yes, yes, And I don't know if it's just hopeful me
• 1:04:15
  talking like Johnny wearn't here at the beginning, but I you know, talked
• 1:04:17
  about my age and being a forty one year old Mealon fan and seeing them
• 1:04:26
  win uh plenty of trophy. You know, this is the one that's missing.
• 1:04:32
  This is the one that's missing. As much as you don't want to
• 1:04:34
  be in this competition on a regular day, when you're in it, you
• 1:04:39
  got to be in it to win it. And I've seen that many times,
• 1:04:42
  thank you. Yeah, in the competition for a trophy, you play
• 1:04:45
  for that trophy. Who gives a ship if it's a copy Dally, who
• 1:04:46
  gives a ship? If it's a super who gives a ship? If it's
• 1:04:49
  a preseason freaking Bonzai tree sticking to the photo. Funny, you're in that
• 1:05:00
  competition. You're in that competition. You want to win it no matter what.
• 1:05:04
  Yeah, I got a cope. Is a conversation for another day.
• 1:05:08
  That's a that's a whole show, is worth a conversation. But you know,
• 1:05:14
  Europa League for for many reasons, you know, for for straight access
• 1:05:18
  to the next year's Champions League, for prize money, for getting that that
• 1:05:24
  trophy that's missing from your own case, Like this mean team has enough motivation
• 1:05:29
  to go out and win that trophy. And when you look at the past
• 1:05:32
  winners of the last I would say ten years. You know, there's there's
• 1:05:35
  no pushover teams that have lifted that trophy. Those those are all extremely extremely
• 1:05:41
  good teams that could have just as easily made a deep enough run in the
• 1:05:46
  Champions League. So like I'm not saying any of those teams could have been
• 1:05:50
  Champions League winners. Maybe maybe maybe Sare's you know Chelsea team that was that
• 1:05:59
  was pretty good. But like you know, you're you're you're still at the
• 1:06:04
  top of Europe, like you're still one of one of the upper echelon teams.
• 1:06:11
  I don't I'll see if the word elite for for Europe's elite and those
• 1:06:15
  and that is like you know, the final four, the final eight of
• 1:06:17
  Champions League. But no, you got you gotta win. And I think
• 1:06:23
  this Mealon team with with a little bit of luck and and some some hard
• 1:06:28
  work, can win this this trophy. I mean, Roma got to the
• 1:06:32
  final last year. It's not impossible. They're able to make the climb.
• 1:06:38
  I feel like as if city teams in general international competition, as we saw
• 1:06:42
  last year, every one of them had an Italian team in the final.
• 1:06:45
  They have the capacity to the capability to capacity, the capability to do so,
• 1:06:48
  So you know, I I think I think Milon's a very team.
• 1:06:54
  It's team that's strucktured well enough to actually make that push. Like yes,
• 1:06:58
  you know right now they've been struggling and we've mentioned you know, overall,
• 1:07:00
  you know, in terms of SETI competition they have in the greatest. But
• 1:07:03
  look who you're competing against, like intern is probably that arguably one of the
• 1:07:09
  top three teams in Europe right now. It's it's it doesn't mean that you're
• 1:07:14
  you're you're so inferior. It means that, well, you're no wonder this
• 1:07:17
  team's winning the league right now. They're they're above and beyond one of the
• 1:07:21
  strongest team in your league. So I think I think Milan has that capacity
• 1:07:26
  to actually I said it again, the capability to win the Europa League trophy.
• 1:07:30
  I think they're They're success in Europa League will be dictated by three things.
• 1:07:33
  As Number one, as long as you forget about Intero, it's gone.
• 1:07:38
  It's gone. Forget about inter except for the weekend of April twenty First,
• 1:07:42
  that's different, but forget about into Okay. Second is the results in
• 1:07:48
  the league. You know, if they if they lose Friday at altso or
• 1:07:51
  even tie. They're gonna get in their own heads and they're gonna say,
• 1:07:56
  oh, but we need to keep up now and now we need to make
• 1:07:58
  up points that we lost again, and we need to staying second and third,
• 1:08:00
  and we need to really, you know, stay because now these guys
• 1:08:02
  are on our tails, are almost winning again and I fell onto this and
• 1:08:06
  then go on Bologneah yeah, So like they gotta be careful. So that's
• 1:08:13
  the second thing. The third, third thing is their health. The third
• 1:08:16
  thing is their health. You got one or two injuries again, you know.
• 1:08:19
  Now these guys are coming back at center back and they got to stay
• 1:08:21
  there. If if those three things fall into place exactly, then anything goes
• 1:08:29
  Yeah no, yeah, you said you said it. Well, I mean,
• 1:08:35
  I said a couple of weeks ago, me and my final europea week.
• 1:08:40
  I don't. I don't obviously why not If it's possible, I don't
• 1:08:43
  even remember now, but my heart, my heart cannot take that, know
• 1:08:49
  what? They would just be fun for us For content, We're a bit
• 1:08:51
  self we're a bit biased, selfish and this I've been me saying this.
• 1:08:55
  But for for content purposes on our end, it would be a it would
• 1:08:58
  be a great It would be a great thing for for for myself and john
• 1:09:01
  Ny. So but I know, joking aside, uh, a couple more
• 1:09:06
  things I just wanted to to kind of bring up frankly before we got out
• 1:09:10
  of here, you know, And I know it wasn't really the greatest segue,
• 1:09:16
  but I still want to bring it up. Has been a big talking
• 1:09:21
  point, not only lately, but just I remember when we hired the guy
• 1:09:27
  and I said it on the show. I don't know if it was last
• 1:09:29
  week, a couple of weeks ago. When we hired the guy, there
• 1:09:31
  was already the p O out hashtag, already the out you know, chance
• 1:09:36
  and and this and that that turned into is on Fire Now. I think,
• 1:09:43
  you know, Pi's uh is on Fire is kind of dimmed out a
• 1:09:47
  bit. Maybe we got to reignite that fire somehow. But I just want
• 1:09:51
  to get your thoughts, Frankle on just your overall opinion on because I personally
• 1:09:59
  h you know, the Scudetto, you know, will always be something to
• 1:10:04
  to remember him by. I think he's he's brought this milon to to a
• 1:10:09
  to a different height. He brought us out of the gutter. In my
• 1:10:13
  opinion, he took this team to two levels that we hadn't seen in quite
• 1:10:17
  some time. Scudetto uh, you know, incremental baby steps in the Champions
• 1:10:25
  League to get to a different levels, obviously going terribly the first first time
• 1:10:30
  back in Champions League, making it to you know, the semi finals,
• 1:10:33
  getting out of the group, you know, get you know, playing big
• 1:10:36
  opponents, big results, and then in the league right still being you know,
• 1:10:43
  competent enough to to compete you know for top four and and in and
• 1:10:46
  around, you know, another Schueto push. So I know it seems to
• 1:10:53
  be that I want to talk saying that you know, he will probably no
• 1:10:57
  longer be the coach of Melon come the end of the season in summertime.
• 1:11:00
  Then there's all obviously that other foot of the coin where you see, oh,
• 1:11:02
  if this that and this happens, maybe he does stay What is just
• 1:11:08
  your overall thoughts on do you think party waves will be the way to go?
• 1:11:15
  Do you think stayin is is the right path? Like? What is
• 1:11:17
  your overall opinion on this whole meal and saga? Yeah you said so much,
• 1:11:23
  Like I don't know how much I can add. Pioli is the classic
• 1:11:28
  example of social media era hysteria. Right, okay, you know again,
• 1:11:36
  I'm gonna show my age here. Like I always wonder how Arigosaki would have
• 1:11:43
  done in the social media era, both as as the Abzudi coach and even
• 1:11:49
  in his tenure on Melon, because like he didn't have you didn't have the
• 1:11:54
  greatest like city off seasons. Like the only thing that saved him was that
• 1:11:57
  he was on top of the world, you know, with with two two
• 1:12:00
  Champions Leagues in a row then and then the Intercontinental, Like obviously that's not
• 1:12:03
  the only thing, Like it's not you know, it's pretty good, but
• 1:12:08
  you know, he he dropped some leagues, like there there was some dismal
• 1:12:12
  results in the league when Saki was cold, Like how would how would Fabio
• 1:12:18
  Capello fair in the social media era? Dropping two of three Champions League finals
• 1:12:26
  all played in succession, right, ninety three and ninety five, losing in
• 1:12:30
  ninety four winning How in a in a more social media world in two thousand
• 1:12:36
  and five, where would cadilal Ancelotti be as a coach? Right? So
• 1:12:42
  my question, my question is this, and it's not even a question.
• 1:12:45
  He only has has proven last season, end this season and prior in his
• 1:12:53
  career that he has limitations, right, However, I feel like the treatment
• 1:12:58
  he has received over the last couple of months has been more than unfair.
• 1:13:03
  And and sure he has, sure he has his faults in all of this,
• 1:13:08
  but so do the players, so does the management, and so does
• 1:13:13
  you know a wide array of other people, you know, physical trainers and
• 1:13:16
  you know, and all that kind of stuff. There's there's so many issues
• 1:13:21
  in both last season's me on and this seasons me on even more so where
• 1:13:28
  going completely after Poli is a little unfair. There there are games where Poli
• 1:13:32
  definitely lost this season, but there are games that Poly won this season.
• 1:13:39
  I just feel like in the you know, in this age of social media,
• 1:13:42
  you know, some people found it the trendy thing to do, and
• 1:13:45
  the media hopped all over it, because now the media is not is no
• 1:13:49
  longer journalism. It's about clicks and and comments, and you know, we're
• 1:13:55
  gonna you know, engagement, So like the more clicks and comments and likes
• 1:13:59
  and that we get on this outlandish headline, we're gonna get clicks on it.
• 1:14:02
  And you know, so the rumors mid season about Conte and about Diago,
• 1:14:08
  Mota and whoever else can arrive here and Club is leaving his posts.
• 1:14:13
  You know, is there any chance he could arrive and all that kind of
• 1:14:15
  stuff. I think it's very unfair to somebody who has done an incredible job,
• 1:14:19
  like you said, of bringing a team out of the sewer the sewer,
• 1:14:28
  and I think he deserves I here's my thing. You can hate the
• 1:14:33
  guy like you could really not like his tactics and his style of coaching.
• 1:14:38
  And I'm gonna flip this question to Nick after right, you know where ongoing,
• 1:14:44
  so we don't like you can you can hate a guy, you can
• 1:14:50
  dislike his tactics, you can love the guy or whether you're somewhere in between.
• 1:14:57
  He at least deserves a little bit of more respect. Okay. You
• 1:15:03
  can say you want him out at the end of the season. You could
• 1:15:06
  say you love him, you want him to stay, no matter what you
• 1:15:09
  could say. It depends on how it goes. But he still deserves a
• 1:15:14
  little respect. And I think when he finally goes, whether it's this season
• 1:15:17
  or not, and you know, thank you for everything in Bocal, we
• 1:15:20
  move on. But you know, to bury the guy alive was a little
• 1:15:26
  too much for me in in November and December. That's that's messed up in
• 1:15:30
  my in my opinion, is he still there at the end of the season.
• 1:15:32
  I think like seventy thirty seventy thirties out, you know, seventies out,
• 1:15:39
  Yeah, like seventy percent out, Yeah, thirty percent. I think
• 1:15:43
  if he wins Europa League, I think I think he's coaching me on next
• 1:15:45
  season. So yeah, it's a double edge short for because if you if
• 1:15:50
  you win, like you win Europa League and you finished second or third.
• 1:15:55
  Yeah, with this management that doesn't understand anything this Sea right season, right
• 1:16:00
  like they're gonna say, oh, we don't have to fire him, he's
• 1:16:04
  still on contract, he want us stuff, he actually want us some prize
• 1:16:10
  money too. How are we going to fire the guy you know that's like
• 1:16:13
  that, you know, Jerry and the North American sports mind. He's going
• 1:16:18
  to think that way unfortunately. So yeah, no, I don't know.
• 1:16:24
  I there's part of me that that that would like for him to stay personally.
• 1:16:31
  But again, you know, not good things no, like eventually don't
• 1:16:35
  last, right, Like they all come to an end, right, So
• 1:16:38
  yeah, you know, does he have his fight? And this is not
• 1:16:41
  me again, like I said earlier, with layout, not me giving excuses.
• 1:16:45
  Same thing with it's not me giving excuses or or trying to put him
• 1:16:47
  on a pedestal because he's done some wrong. Tool He's very he's not perfect
• 1:16:51
  whatsoever, but he never has been. No, So like, if you
• 1:16:58
  were willing and if you're willing to ignore that, you know, if you
• 1:17:04
  get h if you here's my question, like if you win two more Derbys
• 1:17:11
  somewhere, or you miraculously make it to Istanbul last year and you're the one
• 1:17:15
  who lost one, nothing like, are we still having this conversation or people
• 1:17:18
  still piling on the guy this year? I don't know. I don't know.
• 1:17:25
  And my question to Nick is does a legacy deserve the bashings that he
• 1:17:31
  gets this season? Points over a thousand points. I don't think this season.
• 1:17:39
  No. I think in the past seasons, yes, especially the season
• 1:17:44
  his first season was very frustrating because it was a season after you know,
• 1:17:49
  you've a finished in the top four. Sure they finished the top four that
• 1:17:51
  season too, but there was there was downgrading points that they got and it
• 1:17:59
  was an improvement that was very frustrating. Last season, I think it was
• 1:18:03
  an upgrade in points, you know, and then you take away the point,
• 1:18:09
  the penalty points, you know, finish outside top four, you know
• 1:18:12
  whatever, that literally not a Leger's fault whatever. Really and this season you
• 1:18:17
  come in and they were battling for the Scudetto right until this month. This
• 1:18:21
  month was very frustrating for sure, But you don't fire a coach just because
• 1:18:26
  of one month. We'll see at the end of the season. I think,
• 1:18:30
  you know, obviously you can't fire him now or anything. It has
• 1:18:32
  to be a situation that management talks at the end of the season, see
• 1:18:36
  the direction they want to go in, talk to the players, see if
• 1:18:39
  they feel comfortable with them as coach. We'll see at the end of the
• 1:18:45
  year if you know, they get more points than they did last year.
• 1:18:48
  If they did, it's good, it's an improvement. But I think what
• 1:18:53
  he's done well, and I don't think any other coach would have managed this
• 1:18:56
  as well, was taking the players through the situation last year, you know,
• 1:19:00
  not even not even just the penalty but even just finishing third in Champions
• 1:19:05
  League going down to Europa League, which they hadn't done I think in almost
• 1:19:10
  ten years. I think the last time they did that was twenty thirteen to
• 1:19:13
  twenty fourteen, if I'm not mistaken, going down to Europa League, going
• 1:19:17
  all the way to the semifinals, going through that whole period where there was
• 1:19:23
  all that you know, point all that Turmo that was off the pitch,
• 1:19:28
  and as I mentioned, not his fault, not any of the player's faults,
• 1:19:30
  all management, and then bringing them back this year and you know what,
• 1:19:36
  they should finish top four and bringing them right back into the Champions League,
• 1:19:41
  which I think he's done a fantastic job. Is he that coose to
• 1:19:45
  bring them to that next level, to bring them back to the Scuto?
• 1:19:50
  I don't know who is I don't know. People say this, I don't
• 1:19:57
  think so. Because this guy had super start team in Real Madrid. He
• 1:20:02
  this is not a super star team, right, That's the thing. I
• 1:20:05
  think even with the right personnel, I think even even a legacy could could
• 1:20:10
  win another school. So yeah, yeah, I honestly just is just so
• 1:20:15
  good this year. Like their hair machine, they they allowed twelve goals against
• 1:20:21
  what, like what can team? What can any other team do? But
• 1:20:27
  even even goals against you not okay, So that's definitely one thing that like
• 1:20:30
  wins you the school. But the like performances like today and performances like last
• 1:20:35
  Sunday, like where it's just we're gonna go out and do what we're supposed
• 1:20:40
  to and we're gonna beat the crap on the team for nothing. Yeah,
• 1:20:43
  like they just got everything right this year. And you could talk about all
• 1:20:47
  the weird calls and this and that, but either way, like they just
• 1:20:51
  get everything right and it's just just gotta take it. It sucks, No,
• 1:20:57
  it is. It really is what it is. I mean, but
• 1:21:00
  I know, listen, Uh, that's a good that's a good point that
• 1:21:02
  you bring up with with even aegly I mean, obviously many of these coaches
• 1:21:05
  that are kind of like on the fence of not only like literally or even
• 1:21:11
  in the media with fan bases. So curious man, because again you have
• 1:21:15
  to give them the respect that they've brought you to, you know, X,
• 1:21:18
  Y and Z level. But at the same time, I mean you
• 1:21:21
  maybe sometimes I have to be a realist, like we want to get to
• 1:21:24
  the next level. Is this our guy? Sometimes you got to look in
• 1:21:27
  that mirror and say yes or no, and you got to make those decisions,
• 1:21:30
  and you hope and pray, you put your faith in management to say
• 1:21:33
  to make these decisions. And not only make these decisions, but make these
• 1:21:36
  decisions correctly and and uh you know, in a fashion, in a matter
• 1:21:42
  where it will eventually take you into that right to that next level with that
• 1:21:46
  right direction. So yeah, no, listen, frank uh, just before
• 1:21:53
  we let you go, because I see you have all kinds of kids behind
• 1:21:55
  you, and anybody that doesn't know Franko has one hell of a of a
• 1:22:00
  cultural kid collection. Frank wife, I'm not mistaken right that I remember hearing
• 1:22:05
  about this scene a bit of it through pictures favorite kid in your collection before
• 1:22:12
  we let you go here. Uh, It's it's a tie. So it's
• 1:22:15
  either this one right here nineteen ninety four Jersey Uh, signed and personalized,
• 1:22:25
  so it says like that says so that, yeah, a friend of mine
• 1:22:32
  is is actually pretty good friends with him, so that you know, it's
• 1:22:35
  like, you know, hand delivered to Bojo's house and you know, like
• 1:22:41
  sign like there's pictures of him signing it. It's like pretty cool. So
• 1:22:45
  that's definitely one. And the other one is addresses if you have for future.
• 1:22:53
  Yeah, you gotta get a line. Wait yeah, so uh,
• 1:22:57
  and I would say the other one is is hanging on a wall upstairs,
• 1:23:00
  it's Pablo Maldini. Unfortunately it's a two thousand and five away jersey, but
• 1:23:05
  it's uh, you know, signed in person. Fortunate enough to meet the
• 1:23:12
  guy multiple times in my lifetime, so just one of the times signed that
• 1:23:15
  jersey for me and it's just hanging up there. And so those those two
• 1:23:19
  for sure, but there's there's a lot. So one hundred and nine is
• 1:23:24
  the current is the current count? That was my next question. How many
• 1:23:29
  one or nine? Yeah, so one hundred and nine. I would say
• 1:23:32
  about seventy percent or meal on jerseys, I would say twenty percent are Azuda
• 1:23:39
  jerseys and then just like some random stuff that you pick up along the way
• 1:23:42
  here and there is the other ten percent, but nothing in comparison to one
• 1:23:47
  of our other committee members at the club. That yeah, Giuseppe Rousito's is
• 1:23:55
  one of the other committee members. He's got close to five hundred jerseys and
• 1:24:01
  every every day post something new. Man I love him like I would.
• 1:24:05
  I would say close to one hundred percent of them are either match worn or
• 1:24:10
  match issued, like match prepared jerseys, like most of these back here are
• 1:24:14
  uh you know, just like store board, you know whatever, like his
• 1:24:17
  his collection is the real deal, Like this is this is mickey my stuff
• 1:24:23
  compared to those guys. So yeah, the thirty jerseys that I have maybe
• 1:24:28
  are a joke to I thought I had a lot about thirty jerseys too.
• 1:24:32
  Wow, thirty is nice though, Hey, you guys are young still,
• 1:24:36
  you guys are young, just saying that, but I don't even think it's
• 1:24:41
  thirty. But so the way, okay, so one hundred and nine.
• 1:24:45
  Yeah, how how you've been you've been how long you've been since you've been
• 1:24:47
  a fan or like how long you've been really collecting? And maybe what what
• 1:24:51
  got you into really collecting? Because not everybody's a kick guy. I don't
• 1:24:55
  know, Like I don't know, it's just like an I guess it was
• 1:24:58
  like an obsession of like gotta have it type of thing, especially like you
• 1:25:01
  know, when I was a kid, you know, there was no buying
• 1:25:04
  anything online obviously, and so to get a jersey, especially where I live,
• 1:25:10
  like you know, I live on Long Island. You know, I
• 1:25:13
  didn't live in a big like Italian enclave. I didn't live in like Brooklyn
• 1:25:15
  or anything like where there was like a big Italian population, Like it's a
• 1:25:17
  big Italian American population here, but not like you know, not like recent
• 1:25:21
  immigration like our parents and stuff like that. So when I was a kid,
• 1:25:28
  when somebody came back from Italy, you prayed that they opened that suitcase
• 1:25:31
  and there was one in there. You know, you hoped that that was
• 1:25:34
  your gift, right, So I think it started from there. And when
• 1:25:40
  I was in eighth grade, that was the year that Milon came out with
• 1:25:45
  that that famous slash infamous blue fourth jersey, that Opel lotto jersey, and
• 1:25:53
  I would see it in like Forts of Milon magazines and I would see it
• 1:25:56
  in pictures and they never wore it, and so it was like such an
• 1:25:59
  obsession. And that year my mom went to Italy and like, we're not
• 1:26:02
  from Milano, we have no ties from from Milano. My mom did not
• 1:26:06
  go to Milano, and I showed her the picture. I'm like, if
• 1:26:10
  you, for whatever reason, anywhere in Colabria or in the airport in Rome
• 1:26:15
  or something, see this jersey, you must buy it. So you know,
• 1:26:20
  twelve thirteen year old me whatever it was, was never expecting to see
• 1:26:24
  this shirt ever. And she came home with it in the lotto bag,
• 1:26:30
  and like that was I think to answer your question. I think that was
• 1:26:32
  the moment. I think that was just like you know, what's the next?
• 1:26:36
  What's the next? Because I had the I had the middle school Grail
• 1:26:42
  jersey for my lifetime, so like what was the next one? And what
• 1:26:45
  was the next one? And what was the next? Like this one right
• 1:26:47
  here is this was a Grail jersey. Like to get this centenary jersey,
• 1:26:53
  like you know, a real one, because there's so many fakes out there,
• 1:26:56
  so to get this one was this was this was a big one.
• 1:27:00
  Both these ninety four jerseys were we're big gets and stuff and have a very
• 1:27:03
  supportive wife so and and an amazing mom to kick it off, right,
• 1:27:09
  So shout out to Mama Zagari for a mom's no best, right Franco.
• 1:27:15
  So it's amazing. I didn't I didn't know that. And and the Buddo
• 1:27:19
  thing that that's amazing too, I did not know that. Again, you
• 1:27:23
  see two pictures, so it's hard to really know if they're signed or this
• 1:27:27
  or that. But yeah, man, keep it up. I don't know
• 1:27:30
  what's uh one ten. I guess it's coming soon. I would assume.
• 1:27:33
  I don't know if you jumped onto the fourth kits So I'm going to Italy
• 1:27:39
  in April. So I'm hoping that the white one is on a shelf somewhere
• 1:27:43
  because you can't get it online anywhere. So yeah that if that white fourth
• 1:27:46
  kit is on a shelf and to be on story, yes that will be
• 1:27:49
  number one ten for sure. One ten. There you go, so you
• 1:27:53
  got to hear first one ten to the collection to Franco White Pleasures fourth kit
• 1:27:58
  for Milan Frank. We honestly, this has been a blast and I think
• 1:28:02
  we can continue and talk to you for hours on end. We probably will
• 1:28:06
  after we cut this, but just big thanks to you. Honestly, we
• 1:28:12
  hope to thank you guys some sort of content. I know when when Italy
• 1:28:16
  plays Ecuador in New Jersey, I know we'll probably be seeing some some content
• 1:28:21
  there. A lot of the North American Italians are going, so we'll definitely
• 1:28:26
  keep an eye for that great organization. You guys got that quote for going
• 1:28:30
  on and we hope to see you guys at numbers there. Just before we
• 1:28:34
  again we actually go here, like I said saying for the third time now
• 1:28:38
  but really now before we let you go, everything you want to plug anything
• 1:28:43
  coming up for the for the club, uh meal in Co, New York
• 1:28:46
  City. Social media is yourself, social media. Whatever you want to plug
• 1:28:49
  the for is yours my friend. Uh yeah, thanks, yes, so
• 1:28:54
  you can find this, Uh, the official name is AC Melon Club,
• 1:28:58
  New York City. Just a simple Google search will find you our website Acmelan
• 1:29:02
  NYC dot com at ac Milan NYC on basically any social media platform, so
• 1:29:09
  Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter threads, TikTok all those. So yeah,
• 1:29:20
  our TikTok I actually got some nice hits recently, so that was pretty
• 1:29:24
  random. But yeah, just you know, give us a follow if you
• 1:29:28
  haven't already, and if you're ever in the city, it's it's a very
• 1:29:31
  easy place to find. That's right across the street from the Empire State Building,
• 1:29:35
  six West thirty third Street, and it's called the Football Factory. It's
• 1:29:39
  our home, and everybody is more than welcome to shoot us a line and
• 1:29:45
  say that you're coming and we'll give you a nice big it also to welcome
• 1:29:48
  not to dream, to go there to dream. Some of the guys here
• 1:29:50
  have more, Ben Steve Denny, I know that you're a guy. You
• 1:29:55
  know you you guys do it well right, And I know it's not only
• 1:29:58
  you guys that have that bar. I'm not mistaking Franko in terms of other
• 1:30:02
  fan clubs and and you know, other hosts and stuff like that, but
• 1:30:05
  I don't know, man, that that place is always rocking. It's it's,
• 1:30:09
  it's, it's it's amazing. And again being a part of a fan
• 1:30:14
  club here in Montreal for Milan, I mean, you guys are you guys
• 1:30:17
  are up there in terms of where you know, fan clubs we'll want to
• 1:30:23
  get to and should get to, and just a camarderie that comes along with
• 1:30:27
  it is just really really amazing. We've been big fans of you guys for
• 1:30:30
  for a long long time and that means a lot. You know, that
• 1:30:34
  means a lot because you know, our goal is always to do something right.
• 1:30:39
  Yeah, and you know for us, you know, for for me
• 1:30:43
  personally helping run a fan club, the goal is always to have people feel
• 1:30:48
  welcome and to find an outlet and to share a love of just cultural in
• 1:30:56
  general, not even not even melon because you know, obviously Melon is the
• 1:31:00
  priority, but you know, we've had other cultural fans come through and just
• 1:31:01
  be like this, this is incredible what you guys do. And and for
• 1:31:05
  me, as as one of the main faces of the club. For me,
• 1:31:10
  it's just if you, uh, if you come through our club and
• 1:31:15
  you didn't have a good time, then then I I have a really hard
• 1:31:19
  time getting past that. And and I can count, you know, on
• 1:31:26
  maybe one or two hands like instances where I know somebody left, uh disappointed,
• 1:31:30
  and I will never get over those those few moments. But for all
• 1:31:34
  the other times that that people have come through and had an incredible time,
• 1:31:39
  that's literally all we try to do. That's, you know, just to
• 1:31:42
  provide an atmosphere and an experience for people to share the love of culture and
• 1:31:46
  the love of melan on the other side of the ocean. That's that's the
• 1:31:49
  whole point. Oh well, we're we're appreciate that. It's fins right.
• 1:31:53
  So maybe cultural guys road trip we gotta we gotta make it that one day
• 1:32:00
  and keep up the good work. And because it is important to I mean
• 1:32:03
  not only keep traditions alive, but just passion. You know, we're all
• 1:32:08
  Italian, We're all come from the same roads. Even people who are in
• 1:32:11
  Italian, everyone shares the same passion that is so mainstream in North America.
• 1:32:15
  So it is fun to to have these groups to represent that passion. But
• 1:32:20
  thank you so much again, Franko. We really do appreciate it. This
• 1:32:24
  was a great conversation. I have great to listen to you for the past
• 1:32:27
  hour and a half. Adriana work and people find us on social media.
• 1:32:30
  Yeah and yeah likewise, like Mix said, it's been a pleasure. Frank
• 1:32:35
  Coo and guys, definitely don't give Frank Cole other committee members the club in
• 1:32:41
  general follow uh. They do great, great work. They've been supporters of
• 1:32:45
  us since since we've kind of been in contact, and we appreciate it.
• 1:32:48
  So definitely give them a follow for us guys. It's at the cultural guys
• 1:32:53
  that we say every week on all social media platforms. For the audio version
• 1:32:57
  of the podcast on your favorite podcasting platforms, and subscribe on YouTube for any
• 1:33:01
  video content, Subscribe, post, like, comment, whatever it is you
• 1:33:06
  guys gotta do, keep on doing it. We appreciate all the love,
• 1:33:09
  support, and uh yeah, we'll be back next time to stack a lot
• 1:33:12
  more culture. Thanks for listening. Sure, Mine