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Jay Nolly on World Cup, Use of VAR During WC, Previews RSL vs Burnley FC, + More · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Jay Nolly joins us to talk you guessed it a
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: little World Cup and RSL by the way back in
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: action this week as well.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Jay Dolly, welcome to the show.
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: How are you good?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: See how you doing?
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Man?
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  Speaker 1: I have over the past couple of weeks, I have
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: become a long overdue, die hard, deep in my bones
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: and blood soccer fan. I never thought it was gonna happen,
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  Speaker 1: but that's what an American World Cup has done for
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  Speaker 1: me at age forty two.
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  Speaker 3: Oh you knew it. And I think it would have
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  Speaker 3: excelled a little further if it would have gone better
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  Speaker 3: with Belgium.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well that probably would have happened. I would have
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  Speaker 1: gotten us mn T tattooed on my face or something crazy.
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  Speaker 2: But in all.
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  Speaker 1: Seriousness, this has been a really, I think, informative, cathartic,
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  Speaker 1: important World Cup for the average American sports fan who
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: probably previously this was not a hardcore soccer fan. And
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  Speaker 1: you know, it's not just because of what happened with
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  Speaker 1: the US men's national team, but just like seeing it.
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  Speaker 2: They've done such a.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Great job with the broadcast, watching the way that like
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: the American sports culture meets up with all these other
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  Speaker 1: like visiting nations and their fan bases. And I said
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: it at the beginning of the tournament. I said it
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  Speaker 1: while US men's national team was still alive. I still
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  Speaker 1: believe it's true. I think that there is going to
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: be a lingering after effect, a positive one for the
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  Speaker 1: US and its relationship with soccer, after hosting this World
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  Speaker 1: Cup and going the way that it has gone. Do
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  Speaker 1: you feel the same or do you feel like the
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  Speaker 1: the exit and some of the controversy that happened before
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  Speaker 1: the exit may have soured the American soccer fan or
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  Speaker 1: the potential American soccer fan.
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  Speaker 3: I think overall, you know, especially in North America, Canada
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  Speaker 3: and Mexico has gone really well as well too. You know,
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  Speaker 3: the external look, you know, the world's view of now
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  Speaker 3: coming inside America a little bit more has definitely been
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  Speaker 3: such a positive. You know, we saw the different teams,
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  Speaker 3: the culture is what they've experienced driving across the country
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  Speaker 3: has been phenom all for a lot of people, they
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  Speaker 3: just didn't understand what America was really all about. I
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  Speaker 3: think that second piece was, you know, the the Americans
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  Speaker 3: grasping onto soccer or football more than we did prior,
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  Speaker 3: and we saw a huge lift you know in ninety
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  Speaker 3: four when it was here. I don't know if there's
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  Speaker 3: going to be a long term hangover. I do think
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  Speaker 3: we've turned a lot of eyes, but now it's a
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  Speaker 3: lot of it's up to the MLS to live up
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  Speaker 3: to those standards of you know, the other other leagues
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  Speaker 3: in the world. You know, there's still a lot of
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  Speaker 3: viewership of the Premier Premier League, you know La Liga
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  Speaker 3: over in Europe. But getting that lift you know in
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  Speaker 3: MLS for that TV viewership will be huge. You know,
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  Speaker 3: some of these big teams Seattle across across the country
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  Speaker 3: can can get great fands locally, but it's you know,
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  Speaker 3: kind of stretching across and selling out Columbus Crew, you know,
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  Speaker 3: making sure Kansas City is back to where they need
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  Speaker 3: to be those types of pieces. Hopefully we'll see that lift.
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  Speaker 3: I'm just not sure how long termam it is, But
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  Speaker 3: I do think everything just turns so positive of how
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  Speaker 3: many people I've talked to just being like, I've never
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  Speaker 3: really watched soccer and I love it.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: What do you make of the like national television conversation
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  Speaker 1: about youth soccer in our development programs? That's been one
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  Speaker 1: of the interesting after effects of the you know, the
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  Speaker 1: US exit from this tournament is immediately.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: People are like, Okay, well, why aren't we better?
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  Speaker 1: And I understand that I was asking the question myself,
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  Speaker 1: and one of the major points of blame seems to
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  Speaker 1: be that there's a I don't know, a problem with
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  Speaker 1: the way that we develop soccer talent, the accessibility of
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  Speaker 1: elite soccer for you know, families that might have great
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  Speaker 1: athletes but can't afford to develop them the same way.
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  Speaker 1: I have not been in that world. I don't know
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  Speaker 1: how much you've been in around that world. You're obviously
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  Speaker 1: much closer to soccer than I am. So what are
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  Speaker 1: your thoughts on that conversation being like really center stage
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  Speaker 1: on like I mean it's on Sports.
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  Speaker 2: And or Alexi Lawsis is talking about it on Fox.
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  Speaker 2: What do you think?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the big one there that you know
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  Speaker 3: they're probably coming off of too, is you know Alexi
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  Speaker 3: Lawless and you know his his viewpoint of it, of yes,
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  Speaker 3: it is good pay for play, It is good to
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  Speaker 3: you know, get your kids in the right area if
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  Speaker 3: you have the resources to do it. If you talk
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  Speaker 3: about growth of the game and finding the right people.
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  Speaker 3: I think that's the wrong model, you know, when when
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  Speaker 3: you when you look in Europe, when you look in
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  Speaker 3: you know, South America, anywhere, really you need a ball
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  Speaker 3: and and a flat ground, you know. And and that's
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  Speaker 3: how these kids grow and develop. They do it on
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  Speaker 3: their own, and then they find an opportunity to join
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  Speaker 3: a club or join a practice or get into an academy,
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  Speaker 3: you know, and it doesn't matter where they've come from.
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  Speaker 3: It it's based off their skill level. And that's why
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  Speaker 3: you know, they do only focus really on soccer, that
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  Speaker 3: is one of the their main you know sports. But
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  Speaker 3: in the US, you lose out on all those types
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  Speaker 3: of kids, you know, once you get to that type
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  Speaker 3: of level where he got to pay for it, because
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  Speaker 3: there's six or seven different sporting options. And so I
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  Speaker 3: don't think we're we're looking at the grassroots part of
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  Speaker 3: it to like really develop these kids into focusing on
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  Speaker 3: soccer and focusing on growing our youth because there's such
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  Speaker 3: a these youth teams. You know, you get former former players,
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  Speaker 3: former executives you know, become the director over these these programs,
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  Speaker 3: and they need to make money, they want to make money,
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  Speaker 3: and so there's lots of costs involved to it. I
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  Speaker 3: do think we're missing out on that big development piece,
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  Speaker 3: you know, kind of that top to bottom through the academies,
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  Speaker 3: how you support it, how you get the best kids
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  Speaker 3: in there. I think we miss out on a lot
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  Speaker 3: of that, and I think it's going to, you know,
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  Speaker 3: continue to hold us back a little bit. Although I
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  Speaker 3: am optimistic is when you watch these thirteen fourteen, fifteen
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  Speaker 3: sixteen academies, these kids are incredible. So I do think
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  Speaker 3: we're going to have a big lift. I just don't
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  Speaker 3: think it's what it should be and I think it
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  Speaker 3: does strain a lot of families.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: Jaye Nolly is our guest here on the Sean O'Connell
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Show talking about World Cup soccer.
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  Speaker 2: We'll talk all things soccer while we have the time
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  Speaker 2: for it.
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  Speaker 1: What do you make of the use of VAR, and really,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I guess just the conversation around how VAR seems to
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: have changed some outcomes in important ways in this tournament.
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  Speaker 1: The flow Baligin thing was centered around VAR twice now
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  Speaker 1: Argentina has had somewhat controversial conversations involved with VAR. It
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  Speaker 1: feels like all the surviving teams have had at least
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: one thing go their way when it came to var
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  Speaker 1: What do you make of it?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's been tough. I don't think it's
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  Speaker 3: been a good look for the VAR crews. I do
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  Speaker 3: think they were trying to follow the letter of the
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  Speaker 3: law and a lot of them and it just kind
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  Speaker 3: of bounced the game awkwardly, you know, the plub oaligon one. No,
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  Speaker 3: I don't think it was a red card. I do
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  Speaker 3: think the call should have just been left on the
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  Speaker 3: field where there was no foul. Honestly, it was just
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  Speaker 3: an awkward play and a collision. Well, once you do that,
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  Speaker 3: you bring everything into play. I think the Argentina went
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  Speaker 3: against Egypt as well. Hard done for Egypt. You know,
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  Speaker 3: little tiny contact goes the other way to score a goal,
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  Speaker 3: could have gone to zero against Argentina, you know, when
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  Speaker 3: it comes all the way back and it was just
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  Speaker 3: a long process, unfortunate for them as well, you know,
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  Speaker 3: and then you know France gets gets on the good
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  Speaker 3: end of one. So it's just been tough because I
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  Speaker 3: think the calls have been you know, razor thin, and
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  Speaker 3: they've kind of gone in the direction that the public
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  Speaker 3: and the reviewers have just said, that's not the right
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  Speaker 3: way we should have done this, and it's oh, by
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  Speaker 3: the way, the World's Cup, you know, and so Argentina
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  Speaker 3: has just been They've been electric in kind of the
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  Speaker 3: good and bad ways, you know, extra time, fantastic goals
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  Speaker 3: and then living on the edge with some calls. But
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  Speaker 3: just overall for v R there's just been some big
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  Speaker 3: ones that have just made it look pretty bad. There's
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  Speaker 3: slowed down the process and just kind of gotten the
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  Speaker 3: call wrong overall.
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  Speaker 2: Who's going to win this thing? Now that we're down
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  Speaker 2: to our final four, and.
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  Speaker 3: I'm gonna say, I don't know about you. I love
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  Speaker 3: this final four. You know, Cinderellas are fantastic. Love Cinderella
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  Speaker 3: is kind of going through. But Argentina, France, Spain, England,
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  Speaker 3: you know, some of the top you know, probably sixth
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  Speaker 3: in the world, maybe the top four right now playing
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  Speaker 3: to win a World Cup, and just such storylines as
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  Speaker 3: there as well too, with you know, Messi and Bape
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  Speaker 3: with the goals. Spain is so consistent and strong, only
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  Speaker 3: giving up a one goal, and then England, who just
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  Speaker 3: you know, is just crabbing onto the country and flying through.
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  Speaker 3: So I absolutely love it. I picked Spain before the
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  Speaker 3: World Cup. I think France is the best team right now.
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  Speaker 3: So I think that that France Spain game is going
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  Speaker 3: to be very interesting how it go. But you can
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: never you know, I could easily see England beating Argentina,
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  Speaker 3: but I'm gonna stick to my guns. I'm I'm gonna
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  Speaker 3: think Spain gets this way through just being the more
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  Speaker 3: sound all around team defensively, very strong put through the midfield,
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  Speaker 3: and they've been creating enough opportunities to get goals up top.
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  Speaker 1: You just mentioned the Cinderella aspect of this, and there
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  Speaker 1: were some teams that kind of captured everyone's hearts. Kpe
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  Speaker 1: Verrett is the one that jumps to mind for me,
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  Speaker 1: and not only the team, but obviously their goal their
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: goalkeeper apparently is in advanced talks to maybe come to MLS.
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  Speaker 2: I haven't seen the latest on that. So you love
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  Speaker 2: those stories.
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  Speaker 1: That's great, and immediately FIFA's like, well we might actually
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  Speaker 1: expand this thing even further. A sixty four team World
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  Speaker 1: Cup means everybody gets invited.
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  Speaker 2: What do you make of that?
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  Speaker 1: Because we did this, We've done this twice three four
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  Speaker 1: times now with the NCAA basketball tournament, and while that
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  Speaker 1: is a huge American thing, it's not as an impactful
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  Speaker 1: for the world. I think we've jumped the shark on it.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think we need seventy two teams in college
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  Speaker 1: basketball tournament. Do we need sixty four in the World Cup?
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  Speaker 3: I don't believe. So I really enjoyed this one. It
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: did allow for those KP bird as you know, to
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  Speaker 3: kind of come to there were a few of them.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: Haiti played really well in the first initial stage as well,
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  Speaker 3: you know, and so we were still able to get
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  Speaker 3: some of that. But how important qualifying is, we'll start
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  Speaker 3: to get diluted, you know, the more teams that you
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  Speaker 3: allow in which qualifying is electric as well too, you
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  Speaker 3: know when you look at the playing games over in
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  Speaker 3: Europe or you know the playoffs as well, where's Italy,
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  Speaker 3: you know, and if you expand then you're bringing it
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: back in. But also we're losing that aspect of how
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: important qualifying is, and and just such a crazy year
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: it is when you're in that qualifying you know, every
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  Speaker 3: game matters to get three points, and you know when
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: you get over into like Africa and Europe, the importance
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: of it. If you're a big team that gets left out,
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  Speaker 3: there's more impact when you go to sixty four, some
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  Speaker 3: those big teams. It's just going to be hard to
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  Speaker 3: get left out just because of the talent pool they have.
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  Speaker 3: But then is that what they're creating, just to make
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  Speaker 3: sure we have all the best countries in the World
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: Cup all the time. I think it loses a little lower.
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  Speaker 3: I don't think we should move it past this. But
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: money talks. You know, we've seen it with NCAA Football
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: and NFL, NBA. You know when money talks. You know
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: in viewership. We saw the commercials during the water breaks.
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  Speaker 3: That's going to be the part that's going to be
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: really hard to hold up. But I don't think they
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: should move past it. I've really liked actually this format
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: and how they've gone to, but expanding it more is
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: just gonna it's just going to dilute the process getting in.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Give me a sense of what you know RSL is
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  Speaker 1: feeling right now. These guys hopefully refreshed with a little
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: time off. I know they were watching the World Cup
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: and probably being energized by some of what they see
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: during this break as well. You got Burnley coming in
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: to America First Field on Wednesday night. Give me a
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: sense of where you think these these RSL players are
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  Speaker 1: at mentally, yeah, and it's.
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  Speaker 3: One of those you know, I was playing as well
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: when we had a you know, a World Cup year
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: and had a little bit of a break too, and
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  Speaker 3: it was great from an aspect of just being able
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: to enjoy, you know, the tournament and then train. But
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: you know, when you just train and train and train
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: and train, that grind of just training you get antsy
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: and you want to start playing. And when you're just
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: kicking against you know, your own team or the younger guys,
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: it gets old. So you know, being able to see
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: you know, one of Massa Sono Briet play in the
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: World Cup two for Uruguay will be exciting, you know
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: when he joined the team again, and I think that
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: it's great. They're going to get to play a high
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: level match against Burnley, who's coming in you know obviously
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: in their preseason for the summer, and they're gonna get
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: a lot of guys some minutes and that's going to
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: help build into the first game coming up on the
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: twenty second. But you know, this team also just picked
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: up Legendice from Atlanta, who is a electric kind of
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: left forward, kind of in that position, so it's going
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: to be interesting where they kind of piece him. He
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: can kind of play all across the front. But you know,
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: you have Diego Luna, you have Gozo who's doing really well,
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: you know, Salons and Golovogia as well. So they just
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: picked up a very very solid piece from Atlanta, which
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: will be interesting to see him against Burnley. But also
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: that second part of the season. You know, this team's
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: really got something that they can push forward. They've positioned
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: themselves well and I think they can get to those
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: next levels if it really starts clicking on the front.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Jay, appreciate your time and your perspective, sir, Thanks so much.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: We'll chat again soon.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, always good hearing from you. OC. Have a good one, Bud.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: J Knolly, great stuff from the former MLS goaltender. Obviously
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: spend some time here with RSL Big thanks to him
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: and every one of our soccer guests that has really
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: helped me along in this World Cup process and it
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: has been an incredibly fascinating tournament.