Sports
USMNT Abroad: Pulisic skies penalty vs McKennie, Dest returns while Jedi Robinson sits
In this episode of the State of the Union podcast, hosts Alexey Lollis and David Mossy discuss the latest performances of USMNT players abroad, including Christian Pulisic's missed penalty in a m...
USMNT Abroad: Pulisic skies penalty vs McKennie, Dest returns while Jedi Robinson sits
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But a lot of this group has kind of grown up and we have seen them since they were teenagers.
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Since they were young men.
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But now they are men.
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And they are being treated like men by Mauricio Pochettino.
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And I think that this group needs that.
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I'm not worried about him missing a penalty.
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And if the World Cup started tomorrow, I still think for Pochettino that he is the penalty
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kick-taker, are they good soccer players or not?
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I don't care where they play.
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When that whistle blows to be played honest, people forget very, very quickly where you play.
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Hello, it's Sunshine.
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I'm Alexey Lollis and welcome to the State of the Union podcast.
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When we look at the beautiful game all in and off the field through the lens of red,
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white and blue-colored glasses.
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Now, this show will be talking, oh,
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Policic Glitch, LaLiga, come into America,
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Haji with the right stuff, Kamala, Philly Love,
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that you 20s, old school Pochettino and so much more.
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But first you want me to be as always my friend, my colleague, my guiding lights.
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David Mossy, a soccer savant,
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and a Fox soccer researcher and writer,
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extraordinary.
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Mossy, how you doing on this?
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What are we looking at here?
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Monday, October 6th in the year 2025.
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I'm doing well.
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Another Blackbuster show today.
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We got a lot of stuff to talk about.
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When you walked into the studio, I asked you about what you wanted to talk about and you said,
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I got a bunch of stuff that I want to mention that you either read or saw or want the folks to know,
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including Titanic stuff, is that right?
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Yes, I'm going to separate all my things out over the next couple of shows.
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But I'll mention this here.
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As you know, I'm a history buff, a big Titanic buff.
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And I went to the Beverly Center recently.
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They have this virtual reality Titanic exhibit.
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You put these goggles on it.
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It transports you back to the Titanic, the way it looked back then.
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You walk around the ship, see all the different rooms.
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And then when you're out on the deck, it hits the iceberg.
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And you have to get on a raft.
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And then from the raft, you see what the ship looked like when it sank.
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And you learn all about it, the history of the building of it.
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And then obviously the aftermath of the tragedy.
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So worth it.
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Definitely worth it.
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I enjoy it.
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The technology enhances obviously the experience and puts you there as a way.
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Absolutely.
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And you know there's a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio.
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I don't know if you've heard of it.
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I have heard of it.
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I'll have to check that out on Blu-ray.
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OK, what do I have?
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Oh, I read the Kamala book.
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Kamala Harris, 107 days.
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You know me, I'm a big political guy and junkie.
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And this is right up my alley here.
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I thought it was interesting, not necessarily revelatory
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or anything like that in terms of new things,
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but a wonderful kind of look behind the curtain evidently.
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It's everyone's fault.
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So whether it's Trump or Biden or the media or the Democrats
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or the Republicans or the courts or the corporations,
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the strategists or the staff or Fox or the Musk or social media
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or podcasters and me by evidently.
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It's a lot of blame to go around here.
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I will say, I recognize that like no political campaign
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is perfect and it's a work in progress like anything else.
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But you start reading this.
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And some of her and her staffs, I guess,
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consistent like political naivete, it was astonishing to me.
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And especially considering all of the political experience
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that she and they have, and she tries to make that case
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that she was kind of given lemons and didn't have enough time
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to kind of make lemonade.
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But I'm telling you right now, she, I think,
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was given made lemonade and couldn't figure out a way
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to kind of put ice into it.
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So that's what I come off with.
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But I do think, Maussey, that it is a real kind of,
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you know, what we call it, like a wonderful anti-play book
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or like a cautionary tale for the Dems to kind of look at as they go for.
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But it was worth it and ultimately she got my money.
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As long as you brought a book,
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so I'm going to mention it right now,
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I've been on this weird Edward Dohenny kick.
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He is the oil tycoon and Los Angeles in the early 1900s.
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So I read a book about him and I also visited the Greystone Mansion,
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which is this incredible mansion he built for his son, Ned Dohenny,
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who was then murdered at the mansion under suspicious circumstances.
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You could make a great true crime,
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crime back in 1929.
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So I took a tour of the mansion,
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which is also a cool thing to do in LA.
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Wonderful. You live such a fascinating life, my friend.
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All right, should we like this candle?
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Let's do it. Where should we start?
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Busy weekend across Europe.
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We're going to begin in Italy, Sadiah,
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Big showdown, Juventus and AC Milan.
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They played to a no-no draw at Western McKinney and Christian Pulisic
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starter for their respective sides.
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Pulisic had the best chance to score,
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but he skyed a penalty early in the second half.
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I think, you know, I know we talk about Christian Pulisic whole lot,
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but I think he is certainly going to be given the benefit of the doubt.
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Nobody is blaming him other than,
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hey, you know, you should make this penalty,
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but he's been very good at penalties.
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He still is their penalty taker even after the game.
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Alegra said, he's still our penalty taker.
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This doesn't change anything.
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They had other opportunities to win the game.
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You know, from a US perspective,
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the fact that both of our guys were starting,
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that is a good thing.
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I'm not worried about him missing a penalty.
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And if the World Cup started tomorrow,
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I still think for Pocciatino that he is the penalty kick taker
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as he should be.
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And every once in a while, it's not going to go well.
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And, you know, this one, he just got the calibration wrong
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and skydied over the, you know, over the, over the crossbar.
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And we've seen this happen in the past and he's able to rebound.
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So I'm not, I'm not too worried,
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but from an AC Milan perspective,
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this was a great opportunity to get three points,
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obviously, against a good event.
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Pulisic let me down because last week,
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I erroneously said he has seven goals and eight games this season.
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It was six and seven,
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but how do you score it against you?
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I was going to play it off like I knew he was going to score.
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So I was already counting that goal.
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But alas, it was not to be.
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Oh, well, both of them are going to be just fine,
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but it was a little disappointing
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because when that happens,
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all the American soccer communities,
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oh, here we go.
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Here's another one.
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And obviously, you know, the ease in which you're supposed
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to be able to put it up penalty.
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So it happens to the best.
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And he is right now one of the best,
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not just one of the best in AC Milan,
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but, you know, arguably the best when it comes to the city.
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Yeah.
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We go to the Bundesliga next,
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Aluxberg claimed the three one home win over Wolfsburg,
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18-year-old American center back Noah Kai Banks,
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started for Aluxberg and scored.
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A reminder, put you a Tino named the five center backs
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for this October window, Richard's Ream,
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Carter Vickers, McKenzie, and Miles Robinson.
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So no banks, but US fans that are hoping
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that somebody new emerges have placed their hopes on this kid.
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So they were excited to see him score.
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Well, for those that listen and watch the pod,
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you've seen over the last month or so.
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Our friend, what's his name again?
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It's two-holding.
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That's two-holding.
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He's a, he stands, I think, I don't know if the kids say that
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anymore for Aluxberg Banks.
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I'm happy, you know, for any American player
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who is consistently playing well.
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And as we know, nothing is more sexy
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or alluring to the American soccer fan base out there
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than a young player who is playing consistently.
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And with this caveat, doing it in Europe
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and immediately, okay, well, he should be starting
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for the national team.
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Now, I think it's, I think it is fair to talk about him
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and others maybe relative to the position
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because there are question marks when it comes to
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that center back pairing or that center back trio going forward.
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So yeah, the background here on these stew situation was
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he wrote an article for the website as part of his student
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of the game series in which he was projecting ahead
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to the October window before the squad was announced.
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And he mentioned Noah Kai Banks as someone he would like
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to see start one of the October games.
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You lit him up on the pod.
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You said that was the stupidest thing you've ever heard.
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And so stew fired back this past weekend.
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He posted on X highlights from Noah Kai Banks
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and he tagged you on them.
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So it was clearly him sending your message.
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I saw that.
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I mean, look, I appreciate and at least can respect the fact
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that he is standing by his assessment error.
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Who knows, maybe when all is said and done,
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this is somebody that kind of comes late to the game,
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not through anybody's fault, just the reality.
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He's a very young player and finds his way into the team.
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My point is that we had the opportunity to see him
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and put Chetino didn't play him.
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And that was back when even though I screamed and yelled,
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then I gave grace because Puchetino made it very clear
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that this was an experimental time.
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So if in the experimental time we don't even see him
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and now we're not in the experimental time
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and he doesn't get called in,
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then it might be timing as everything as we know
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in life, Masi.
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And this might just have come,
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but the World Cup might be coming too quickly
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for him to make up that ground.
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You know, he had his family at the game,
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including his grandmother, Sean Sullivan,
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who's a sentimental guy.
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I thought that was very cool.
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Well, I think all of us, I would think it's cool.
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So again, take away the World Cup,
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which I know looms large in all of our minds
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when we see anybody with an American passport doing well.
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This is a moment.
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And who knows?
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You never know and knock on wood, injury and stuff
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that happens.
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So if this is as good as it gets,
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it's a wonderful moment for him and obviously for his family,
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his grandmothers and this stands and all that.
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That's fun.
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And you have to celebrate and sing while you're a winning.
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And you certainly is in this moment.
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I'm just saying I don't necessarily see this
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a parlay into the national team now,
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just because he scored a goal
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and just because he's playing over in Europe.
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We go to the Netherlands next PSV,
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where they four nil away went over Zola.
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Peppy missed this match due to injury,
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but Sergino Dess started and played well,
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which is curious because he was left out
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of the US's October roster due to injury.
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Yeah, it's a little strange.
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I do think that there is a sentiment out there
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that you know what Sergino Dess is.
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And we certainly do.
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We have seen him and he is one of the best.
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But again,
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then that's more experimentation.
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There's the, like I want him in.
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Now, maybe it's the travel and it's just a bridge too far
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for a guy that is still coming back from an injury.
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But at some point you gotta let the horses run, my man.
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And you know, so it's just a little strange.
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Having said that, the fact that he is playing,
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playing, what was it, 70, some minutes there,
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playing in a winning type of situation?
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That's a good thing.
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But again, every player that is not here
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that could be here is kind of a little dirt to my heart.
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We go to the Premier League next,
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Bournemouth with a 3-1 home win over Fulham.
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Semenio got two, Clivevirt got the other Cessinyan scored
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for Fulham.
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The good news from an American perspective,
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Tyler Adams started and played well for a Bournemouth side
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who were up to fourth in the table.
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The bad news, Anthony Robinson, an unused sub,
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I don't want to be an alarmist,
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but this situation has gotten a little weird.
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And I'm not the only one that's noticing.
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A lot of US fans over the weekend on social media
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were pointing this out as well.
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He has yet to start a Premier League match this season,
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despite being on the match day squad for several of them.
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I know he's coming back from an injury,
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but it's starting to become a bit curious
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how they're treating him.
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And he is called into this national team camp
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to us, Men's National Team.
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And that was kind of framed
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as we haven't seen him in a long time.
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Okay, fine, I can understand that,
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but the reason you haven't seen him
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is because he has been hurt.
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And now he's not hurt, but he's so,
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so Genio Dess is playing, but is not being called in
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and is coming off of an injury.
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Jedi is not playing and is being called in
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after coming off of an injury.
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You know, over the years, I think you could certainly make
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the case that four, at four full,
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and Jedi has been not just a good player,
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but a great player and has drawn interest
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from other teams right now.
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So this is a little concerning.
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Do you see any rhyme or reason behind this
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other than he might not be as healthy as it's being made out?
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I think for now, I'm going to assume
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it's still fitness related, but it's a situation
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that bears watching the next few weeks.
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Cess and Jan has played well in his place.
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It must be said, including scoring in this last game.
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So we'll see where the situation goes.
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Now, Lex, I want to ask you,
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did you ever play against Patrick Cliver
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at the great Dutch striker in the 90s?
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I'd have to look it up.
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We played against the Dutch a couple of times
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and did he, what do you play in the city?
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At any point.
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He did for AC Mambe.
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I don't think your year is Chris Cross.
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The reason I, I look it up,
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the reason I bring it up, you did play a friendly
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in early 98, a World Cup tuna
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against the Netherlands in Miami.
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I looked it up, you lost 2-0.
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You started that game.
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Cliver did not play.
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So that internationally that would have been
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the one possibility.
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He has several offspring who are players.
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And the Clivered family had quite the week last week.
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On Wednesday, Shane Clivered scored for Barcelona
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against Piagina Yuefe Youth Match.
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And then Thursday, Ruben Clivered scored for Leong
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and Salzburg and Europa League.
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And then on Friday, Justin Clivered scored
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for Bournemouth against Fulham in a Premier League match.
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I saw Clivered posted proud dad on social media.
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There's actually a fourth brother, Quincy Clivered,
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although he appears to be the fraydo of the family.
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He plays for some lower league Dutch team
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and isn't doing much, but still.
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Wow.
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There's like the mannings of Dutch football.
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Right.
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That's hard for that fourth kid, boy.
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He would be the Cooper Manning, I guess,
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carrying that analogy.
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Cooper's just fine for himself.
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So you carve out a little niche there,
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whether it's on or off the soccer field.
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All right, so Clivered's everywhere and doing very well.
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Archie Manning, though, what a disaster.
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We don't have to veer off into this.
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That's the young block, right?
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The Texas guy, right?
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What a flop.
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All right, staying in the Premier League,
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I'm going to lump these two together.
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Okay.
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Chris Richards started for Palace
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and their two-one defeat away to Everton.
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Jack Grelish got a four-two to stop.
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It's time winner, Amunio's clearance
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that he blocked into the back of the net.
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And then Brendan Errinson started for leads
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and their two-one home defeat to Tottenham.
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Errinson actually played a part in the lead's goal.
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So the Everton win, you called it for two of his.
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Sean came in here all aghast,
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that this goal had scored.
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And to be fair, to Grelish, when they interviewed him,
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he recognized that it was, well,
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that he didn't do a whole lot.
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But I would argue that what this game represents
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is the thing we all will talk about
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when it comes to momentum.
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Because when Everton scored the first goal,
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it was almost inevitable that something was going to happen,
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that they were going to get opportunities.
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And you create your own luck
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and all the different cliches that we have there.
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So I don't think that this was a smash and grab for Evanton.
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And I think they're underselling
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whatever it did in terms of creating that momentum
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and building off of that to get this win.
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And Grelish has been very good for them,
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very good pick up from Manchester City.
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And yeah, looking at that goal again,
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I mean, right place, right time,
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but he did stick his leg out.
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I thought he didn't, some credit.
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Now he did not get called into England, Grelish.
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So right, that's a...
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Thomas Tuckle making big decisions there.
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Well, you know, it's a wealth of talent that they have
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over there when it comes to our English friends.
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So, you know, not great from a result, from Chris Richards,
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but he continues to play and to play well.
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And again, knock on one, we just talked about the center back
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type of situation.
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Aaronson is still, who knows, who knows with him,
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but Lisey starting in playing.
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Now we drop down to the championship
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I apologize to Sean Sullivan if he's not going to be happy
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with this, but I'm going to lump all of these games together
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because I think they're all related.
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Haji Wright got one for a Coventry
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and their five-nil away win over Sheffield Wednesday.
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Patrick Aujimon started in scored for Darby County
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and their one-one draw with Southampton.
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Damian Downs was a sub for Southampton.
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And then Josh Sargent was blanked again for Norwich
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who suffered a three-one defeat away to Ipswich Town.
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We've talked about how there are all these Americans,
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American strikers in the championship this season
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in this battle to see who was going to outshine who.
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Early on, it looked like Sargent was going to be
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the biggest story here, but Haji Wright
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has blown past him.
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Sargent, it's five-stake games without a goal.
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Norwich are languishing in 19th.
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Well, Haji Wright is the top score in the championship
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with eight and Coventure in the first place.
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So even if you put aside their international form,
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if Puchatino was calling players purely based on their club form,
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Haji would actually take it over Sargent
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in the championship right now.
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Well, and yet we have seen these players
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when they come with the national team.
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And I've said for years and years,
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form is fallacy and it often is not always,
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but for the most part, it is.
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And it's a very different circumstance
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when you come into the national team,
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oftentimes for players.
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Now sometimes it's better.
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Oftentimes it's worse or at the very least different.
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And certainly it is in this case.
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We've talked about the championship.
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I know you've pupued the championship over the years
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in terms of its quality,
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but it's still soccer that is being played in Europe.
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And therefore that glaze can form over people's eyes
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and distort the actual quality of the player.
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But you know what,
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beggars can't be choosers here.
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And we have players that are scoring
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in professional leagues.
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Obviously that's a good thing.
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But I think Puchatino is very, very clear
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that he takes it with a grain of salt.
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Although he is called in all of these players
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and if they were able to consistently translate
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what they are doing at the championship level
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for the US men's national team
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and to be fair not many have of them,
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regardless of their playing, that would be one thing.
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But we've saw what happened with Josh Sargent.
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Now Josh Sargent's on the outs
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when it comes to the national team,
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Andy Strugling when it comes to the championship
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with Norwiches.
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So that's not a good thing for club or country
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when it comes to Josh Sargent.
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Patrick Ojuman, we've talked about,
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I think he peaked the interest of American fans
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and of Maricio Puchatino.
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And I think he will continue to at least get a look.
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And he's been called in two here.
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And Hadgewright, we've kind of seen for years.
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But this is a wonderful vein of form that he's in.
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But again, form could definitely be foul.
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I would say if come the World Cup Peppy or Bologna's out,
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you could make a case for Sargent
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because then you want just another really talented number nine.
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And I think you could argue that he has more upside
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than either Hadgew or Hadgewmon as a number nine.
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But if Peppy and Bologna are both there,
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then as that third center forward,
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you're looking for somebody that can provide something different.
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And in Hadgewmon's case, it would be that physical presence,
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a post-up player.
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And in Hadgewright, it's that versatility,
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the fact that he can also play as a winger.
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So I think it would make them more valuable
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than Sargent in that situation.
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I'm going to talk a little bit more about Puchatino's thinking.
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If you had to add a player at the very end,
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and we've talked about the dynamic that you have to create,
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and it's not always easy within a national team
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and how fragile it can be, but how important it is.
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If you had to add a player at the end,
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would you, and let's stick to the US team
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with everything that we know, would you rather add a player
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who has been part of the group over the years
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or would you rather add a player as a kind of wild card
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that just comes in at the very last minute?
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I kind of like the wild card in the scenario.
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Yeah.
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And stick around because when we talk about Puchatino here later,
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maybe his mentality lends itself more to kind of dropping
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a, not a bomb, but a, like I said,
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a wild card into the mix going forward.
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We'll see if, whether it's the guys that we have seen here
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before, a lot like the Hadgewrights and Josh Sargent's
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or more of an Ajimant type of thing going forward.
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Staying in England, but popping back up into the Premier League,
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the big game this past weekend, Chelsea claimed
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that two on home win over Liverpool, Moises,
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Kai said, who is not in the Ecuador squad,
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by the way to face the US.
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He got the first goal, Gakpo equalized
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and then 18 year old Brazilian Esteval
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and got the stoppage time winner.
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Third straight loss for Liverpool.
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They've lost to Palace Galatasaray and now Chelsea.
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And even before that, they had some game for it.
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They didn't play that well and were fortunate to get results.
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So alarm bells are ringing.
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Crisis.
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Leap frog by Arslan the table.
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Arslan now leading the Premier League.
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Maybe a crisis and it has gone so well for them
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that's any type of dip.
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And this is certainly a bigger dip than we have seen
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is going to bring criticism here.
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Can we go to your Brazilian friend, Esteval?
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I know you've talked to him over the years.
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You have mentioned his name and not only did he get the goal,
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but his attitude, his behavior, his smile, his obvious,
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I guess to a certain extent, his relief.
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But just his joy ultimately was wonderful to see.
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Now, is this a special type of player
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and we've talked about your feelings
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when it comes to Brazil here
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and it's not the greatest Brazil team?
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Yes, I'm a big, big fan of his.
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Now he does play one of the few positions
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where Brazil is well served right now
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out on the wings with Vinícius Raffinha, Rodrigo and company.
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Nevertheless, he might be a guy
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that's been trying to decide depending on how well he develops
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in the next few months that Carlangelo will try to find a place
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for in the starting lineup, come the World Cup
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because he could be that sort of new dimension,
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provide a spark that Brazil hasn't had.
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He is a very, very talented player.
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I'm a huge fan in the September window.
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He scored his first goal for Brazil.
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A nice, bicycle kick goal against Chile at the Amaticana.
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He's in the squad for the October Games,
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Brazil plays South Korea, Japan and Raffinha's out.
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So there's actually a good chance.
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He starts on that right wing.
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So yeah, no, he's a guy.
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You know how depressed I've been about Brazil,
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but this kid gets me excited for sure.
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But your country has also has a history
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sometimes of taking very young players,
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even if they don't play or even play at all
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or at least play consistently to just kind of blood them
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and get them those opportunities.
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I think he's beyond that.
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Like he could have an actual role in 26 for sure.
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But that's because you don't believe in this Brazil team
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in terms of how far he's everything, right?
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So sometimes coming along when Brazil isn't great can work.
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Partly that, but also I do think he's the real deal.
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Very excited about him.
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And by the way, I'm going to talk more about him again
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when we talk about the U20 World Cup,
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which we're going to do in the Ask Alexi segment.
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In La Liga this past week and Sevilla
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pummeled Barcelona for one, Alexis Sanchez,
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Romero, Carmona and Adams with their goals,
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Rashford scored for Barcelona, both Raffinha
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and La Miniamal missed this match.
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And La Miniamal, this is the biggest story
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in Spanish football right now.
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He is embroiled in this incredible club versus country,
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this but he was playing through an injury
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early in the season with Barcelona.
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They did not want him to go
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with Spain in the September window,
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but Spain brought him anyway.
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They said if you're helping
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up to play for Barcelona,
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you're helping up to play for us.
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But then they injected him with painkillers
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so he could play in the September window.
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He re aggravated whatever problem he's had.
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He's missed a bunch of time since then.
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He's out right now.
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He's out for this window.
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He might not be back for the classic against Ram Madrid
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later this month.
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So Barcelona are furious,
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Hansi, Flick and Luis Delaflente
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have been trading barbs.
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It's turning into quite the story
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less than a year until the World Cup.
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The dynamic between a club and country
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and the respective managers, coaches
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and the staff for that matter
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and then the actual players
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is always fascinating to see.
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I mean, I think it's probably could be taught
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in some universities in the give and take
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and the bartering and the back and forth
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and the short-term benefit or the long-term benefit
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or the relationship building that then results
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in whether a player is released
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or whether a player is not released.
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When it comes to the shooting players up,
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it's always interesting.
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And I know at times players,
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and this is as great as Liminio Mala is,
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he's still a very young player.
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You have to agree to take a shot.
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And I know sometimes players just think,
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hey, this is what they're telling me
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and I'm just gonna go with what's good.
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But you're responsible for your body
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and you are responsible for the decisions
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that you make.
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I think both sides and everybody just hopes
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that it's not serious.
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And yes, one side or the other is going to be hurt
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by the fact that one of the great players in the world
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is not going to be involved
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because they are hurt.
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But this comes with the territory
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when you're Liminio Mala and whether it's messier
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or anybody else, they've figured out a way
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to manage their body, to manage the travel
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and to manage the responsibility
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and the onus on their shoulder
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as the stars that they are.
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PSG are budding heads with the French Federation
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over some of their players.
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Now that it's less than a year until the World Cup,
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these national team managers aren't screwing around anymore.
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They want their players there.
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The clubs feel like, especially coming off
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a summer where you had the club broke up
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by all the Barcelona were in it
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so that doesn't apply to Liminio Mala.
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But they think the players need to be protected even more.
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It's a long season.
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A lot of games we pay their salary.
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We need to be the priority right now.
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So it's leading to a lot of these two.
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All right, what else?
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Barcelona also in the news for a different reason.
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UEFA have reluctantly given their approval
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for that proposed La Liga game in the United States
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in December in which Barcelona would take on VRL
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in Miami.
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UEFA said they didn't really have grounds
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to block this from happening.
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But nevertheless, they expressed
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the fact that they don't want to see it happen.
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They think it's wrong.
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There's a European commissioner,
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a fisherman who said this would be a betrayal
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of the loyal fans.
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So it's gotten very ugly.
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But La Liga, it sounds like still want to plow ahead
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with this and hold a game in the United States.
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This also paves the way for a Serie A match
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to be played in Perth, Australia, AC Milan against Comos.
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So I think the wind is blowing towards some
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of these European domestic leagues holding matches
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in other countries.
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I also think when you look at La Liga and AC Milan,
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there's an element of, we've talked about,
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the top heavy aspect of these leagues.
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And maybe, you know, an existential type of crisis
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and the recognition that they're not the EPL
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and they're not going to change that
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unless they do something drastic but big and and brash.
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When I think about these games and we've talked about it
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before, from a US perspective, I think that there is some concern
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and I think it's valid concern that there's story
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in the gates, if you will.
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And that compare and contrast that still goes on
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is now going to be in your backyard,
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if you're Major League Soccer or any other league
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for that matter.
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And if you're a US Soccer and your responsibility
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is to make American Soccer better,
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is this a challenge and is this going to be a problem
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with the recognition that we're also, you know,
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a capitalist society and a capitalist country
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and competition is good.
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There's a strange part of me that says,
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this is going to force MLS to do more
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which is important because that compare and contrast
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is now like I said in everybody's backyard
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as opposed to just on the TV.
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Once this train is left to station,
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it is not going back for whether it starts
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with a league on A-Suman, others are going to do with it.
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I think of that things a lot of times
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MLS in a musical sense in that, you know,
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spreading of this brand, right?
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If you're a band that's just starting out,
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I mean, you got a tour and you got to get out there.
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And if you're U-2 or something like that,
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then you can do a residency in Las Vegas
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and people are going to come to you.
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But there's nothing like seeing something from afar
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and then actually seeing it in your backyard.
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And I think it endeers you to whatever product that is.
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In this case, it's soccer, but I was talking about it
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in terms of music.
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And the EPL, maybe more so than anybody,
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while they recognize and I think want that global market,
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they are in a much better position to kind of fight this off.
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So a lot of this angst and consternation out there
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when it comes to some of these people,
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that's all fine and well.
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Maybe they just have to do it from a political perspective,
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but this train looks to be leaving the station
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and if that happens, everybody's going to fall.
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Vegas could use a U-2 residency right now.
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This is a topic for another day,
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but if you read all these articles about Las Vegas,
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be in crisis and tourism way down.
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But you know, this cuts both ways
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because we know the NFL has started staging games
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in different countries and Roderick Adele
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is out there saying he wants more and more.
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And it's funny, I listened to a Mike Francesa podcast
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about a month ago in which he was railing about this.
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Things that's a joke, the NFL's being greedy.
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Why would they take these?
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There was a Chargers Chiefs game in Brazil
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and Francesa wasn't happy about that.
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So this debate is going in both ways.
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The Nick's just played a couple of preseason games
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in Abu Dhabi, so yeah, it's the way of the world now.
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Well, there have been competitive games played
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in the Saudis and the guitars
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and that kind of stuff over the years.
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So this is not necessarily completely new,
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but this is uncharted territory
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for what is happening right now.
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And it's, I don't know,
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well, the football thing, American football thing,
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it's a little different
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because when the NFL goes to other places,
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they're not competing with anybody.
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That compare and contrast that we talk about
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isn't happening in your,
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well, it's happening in your backyard,
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but there's no compare and contrast.
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Of course, yeah.
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So it is, it is, that's not a reason not to do it
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and turn about is absolutely fair play.
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And I just thought that this was a fate of complete anyway
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over the years, unless the federation
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or somebody who was gonna say,
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no, we're not gonna allow that to happen
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because it infringes upon whatever,
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and the competition,
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and we have a responsibility to the professional leagues
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in the United States.
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But you know what, if this lights a fire
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under MLS and the MLS ownership
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that they gotta step it up,
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and again, I'm just spending their money,
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then maybe there is a silver lining
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to something like this happening.
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We'll see.
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Speaking of MLS, we go there next.
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We had a busy weekend of games.
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First up, let's take a look at the Eastern Conference
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standings.
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You'll notice that all nine playoff spots
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have already been claimed,
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and that does not include the New York Red Bulls.
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They missed out for the first time since 2009.
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Wow.
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A streak of 15 years comes to an end.
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Yeah, I mean, it's a hell of a run.
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I think more so in MLS than any other league,
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you can be forgiven.
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But when your fan base just expects you,
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well, to get to the playoffs,
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not to win MLS Cup,
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but to get to the playoffs,
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then it's gotta hurt.
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And so I think you can at least look back on history
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and say congratulations on that run,
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and hope that this is just a small dip,
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as opposed to a fall off the cliff,
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and a lengthy time at the bottom of that pit.
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And you saw Philadelphia at the very top there
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at this pass,
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we can make clinch not only the top seed in the East,
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but their second supporter shield,
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they did so courtesy of a 1-0 home win over NYCFC,
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Ura with the only goal.
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Their previous supporter shield came during that COVID season.
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So people are saying this is their first real supporter shield,
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and they celebrated quite a bit.
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We have this conversation every year on the pod
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over the merits of the supporter shield versus MLS Cup.
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There are people like Matt Doyle,
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who say the supporter shield is the best trophy to win.
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You reject that, you think it's MLS Cup.
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Nevertheless, you acknowledge this
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is a nice accomplishment for this franchise.
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Yeah, I am happy for the field
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of Philadelphia Union and their fans.
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I am happy that this kind of validates the manufactured parody
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in that the Philadelphia Union certainly
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aren't one of the big spenders out there.
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And yet they can not only compete,
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but they can win,
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and they can be the best in terms of what happens
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in the regular season.
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And a lot of credit has to go to Bradley Carnell,
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by the way, coming over and taking over
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from a kind of Philadelphia legend in Jim Curtin.
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So well done, well done to them.
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But as I've said time and time again,
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show me somebody that celebrates the supporter shield.
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I'll show you somebody that hasn't won MLS Cup.
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And so you have to be able to parlay it.
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And still, I'd tell Mr. Doyle or anybody else out there,
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as nice as it is, it's only a first step.
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And without that second part of winning MLS Cup,
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then it's not that I don't care about it,
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but MLS is about winning MLS Cup.
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MLS is not about winning the supporter shield.
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And the thing I've always said is the mere fact
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that this debate occurs is odd to me.
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I can't think of any other sports league in the world
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in which the championship of the league
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isn't clearly the objective you most want.
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Like I'm trying to imagine in the NFL or NBA
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or Major League Baseball,
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a team finishing with the best regular season record.
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Somebody else wins the championship,
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but then that team tries to argue
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they had a better season
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because they had the best regular season record.
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It's an odd dynamic, but MLS and Oneing Tabits kick
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and he did two, I sort of created it.
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We have this debate every single season.
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Yeah, I mean, I don't...
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I'm not miffed by the Philadelphia Union celebrating this.
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I mean, even way back in the day when I was running around,
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I vividly remember the late great Ziggy Schmidt
spk_0
writing down before the season.
spk_0
This is what we want to do in terms of wins and losses
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and goals against and goals for.
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And we want to have this amount of points
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when the regular season is over,
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which translates into the supporters shield.
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And there is absolutely value to be able to say,
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you know what, we gave quality better than anybody else
spk_0
for the duration of the regular season.
spk_0
But it was always in the context of,
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that work is what is going to enable us to get to the point
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where we can win the ultimate prize.
spk_0
And again, Bradley Carnell and the Philadelphia Union
spk_0
and Alibaba, Badoia and all those players,
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I think they recognize that and, you know,
spk_0
that they're celebrating and that there's champagne
spk_0
in that moment.
spk_0
That's great.
spk_0
And now you get back to work.
spk_0
But if ultimately the only time you're drinking champagne
spk_0
in a year is by winning supporters shield,
spk_0
that is going to be drowned out by more champagne
spk_0
and more flowers and rightfully so as far as I'm concerned
spk_0
by ultimately who is standing there
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at the end of the full year with MLS Cup.
spk_0
And by the way, we mentioned Liverpool earlier,
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what Philadelphia did this season reminds me
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of Liverpool last season when you have this storied coach
spk_0
walk away, Jürgen Klopp and then slot comes in,
spk_0
they don't miss a beat, they win the league
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and what Philadelphia achieved with Jim Curtin
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stepping away in Bradley Carnell taking his place,
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it's kind of there are some parallels.
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It's great.
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It's great for them.
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And now it's back to work and preparing for again,
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what I feel is the most important part of the year.
spk_0
But if you don't do the work before,
spk_0
you never even get to have that opportunity
spk_0
at the most important part.
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Last year's supporters shield winners Inter Miami
spk_0
claim the 4-1 home win over New England,
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Alba and Ayende each with two goals,
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Messi with three assists, he now has 24 goals
spk_0
and 17 assists this season.
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He is only the second player in MLS history
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to have 40 goal contributions in a campaign
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joining Carlos Vela who did it back in 2019.
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I mean, remember when the, just the thought
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of Messi coming to MLS was being contemplated
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and then it became a reality.
spk_0
And then there were the questions, okay,
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well, he's coming to a league where there is
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this manufactured parody and he's coming to a place
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where it's a new culture, it's a new language,
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it's a big change and will Messi be able to still be Messi?
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I think he has been and maybe even more
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and in a lifetime or a career of incredibly impressive feats.
spk_0
It won't be looked at it like this,
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but I certainly think you can make a case
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as to what he is doing and what he is doing consistently
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on the field, let alone off the field in terms of the business,
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is pretty phenomenal and pretty incredible in and of itself.
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And the goals that he scores,
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the moments that he provides on a consistent basis,
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I think just goes to show why many people feel
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he's the best player ever to play the game.
spk_0
Last year there was some question about him winning the MVP
spk_0
because he hadn't played in that many games.
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This year there is no question he is definitely the MVP.
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Maybe you took that personally.
spk_0
To other inter Miami news items,
spk_0
Sergio Busquets announced recently that he's retiring
spk_0
at the end of the season so they had a nice ceremony for him
spk_0
and former inter Miami manager, Tata Martinez,
spk_0
being linked to the L.A.F.C. job.
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Woo, interesting.
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Tata back in MLS, I think Tata Martinez
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really enjoys MLS.
spk_0
And I think this would be a really interesting move
spk_0
as we know Steve Toronto is moving on or back to Germany.
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He's still got plenty of work to do right now
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in terms of the playoffs coming up,
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but who knows if he goes out on a high, but who comes in?
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That's a plum job.
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So it wouldn't surprise me in the least ultimately
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if it's Tata he's obviously has experience
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when it comes to Major League Soccer.
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And now with Atlanta, Miami and L.A.F.C.
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L.A.F.C. is a little bit of a different animal,
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but I think, and not like a project,
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it's still a very, very good club,
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but I think it'll just be a very different type of challenge
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for him, but one that I think he probably would relish.
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The theme of today's pot is me lumping things
spk_0
that Sean Sullivan did not want lump.
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I think he wanted us to touch on Busquets first
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then Tata, I threw them both at you.
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So yeah.
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I mean, Busquets, great player.
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You want to say, he's finishing up so great.
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I think my reaction is the same reaction that Messi has.
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One of at least outwardly a little in difference.
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Okay, great, you're wonderful and next up.
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Former Brazil legend Paul Hubert de Falcone
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said that a professional athlete dies two deaths.
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The first one when you retire in the second one
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at the end of your life.
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Was it really that traumatic for you
spk_0
when you called the quits and you were playing career?
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Yeah, I mean, yeah.
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Yeah.
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I mean, something that you have done.
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So I were twice.
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So the first time was a little bit more jarring for me
spk_0
than the second time.
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But yeah, I mean, something that you do as a kid
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and you do every single day for what ends up
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if you're lucky multiple decades kind of just comes to an end
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and you wake up that next day and it's no longer there.
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Yeah, that can be like I said, a little jarring.
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So we transitioned to the Western conference.
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Let's take a look at those standings.
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You'll notice that seven playoff spots have been claimed.
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There are two still up for grabs.
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And at the top of the table right now is expansion San Diego.
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We'll go there next.
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They had a four to a way win over Houston this past week
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and Dreyer got to the Elector and Peligrino got the other goals.
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And with that result, San Diego,
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San Diego have set an expansion record for points
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and wins.
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What a debut campaign for them.
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I mean, it's not easy to come in
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and we've seen teams that have come in
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and just been horrible off the bat.
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Now we have seen teams that have come in and figured it out.
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And the knowledge and the history and the experience
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that exists, hopefully you tap into that
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while still being true to yourself and doing what you want.
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But they've gotten it right both on and off the field,
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incredible kudos to everybody there
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for what they have done.
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And I don't think you necessarily could have seen this coming.
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Sometimes you can kind of predict just because people are doing
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big bold types of things,
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but they've just gone about their business.
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They got a good coach.
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The coaching staff obviously identified good players.
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And when I say good players, good MLS players
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with the understanding of this is what we are going to need
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to be consistent and it's translated.
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But again, well done, but now come to playoffs.
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We'll see what you got in the playoffs.
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Now I don't think they're going to claim the top spot
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in the West Vancouver level on points
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and they've played one fewer game Vancouver.
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This past week and four won home victory over San Jose.
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Thomas Muller got one Sebastian Berholtz
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or got two.
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Keep in mind Minnesota still mathematically alive
spk_0
for the top seed and L.A.F.C. as well
spk_0
who still have three games left.
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So it's quite the battle there.
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I don't think it's going to be San Diego.
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Vancouver have got a good chance at it.
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Do you and Berholtz had a hell of a game in a hell of a season?
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And I think what was last pot or a couple of pods ago,
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we looked at the fact that he wasn't called into this camp
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as just not quite there yet gave it a good run.
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Do you think that that changes in any way
spk_0
as he continues to kind of perform?
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I'm going to talk a little bit about, again,
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Pocce Tino and the things that he says,
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but one thing that he's made very, very clear
spk_0
is that the coaches of his players know the players better
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than he, Pocce Tino and his staff.
spk_0
And they lean on the coaches of these players
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to let them know how good or bad things are going.
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My sense is that Christian Roldon has jumped ahead of Sebastian Berholtz
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or they're essentially battling for one spot
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and Roldon is ahead right now.
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But it could flip again.
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Roldon has a bad October window.
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Berholtz gets another chance.
spk_0
So I don't think it's settled at all.
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Yeah.
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And I think if you're comparing contrasting the two,
spk_0
the set piece prowess and consistency of a Berholtz might,
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might be what separates him.
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All right.
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Now we've mentioned all sorts of players in this segment
spk_0
who are in the US's October squad,
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a reminder the two games are on Friday,
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they face Ecuador in Austin.
spk_0
And then following Tuesday, they face Australia
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and Commerce City, Colorado,
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we will do post game pods after each of those games.
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Yes, we will do live pods.
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So you can either tune into the moment
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or it will appear in your feed.
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But it's this reaction again, not just to games,
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but to games that in this camp evidently mean more
spk_0
because this is for real.
spk_0
This is less, if not no experimentation.
spk_0
And all of my screaming and yelling
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that happened in the last window, I've gotten over that.
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I've moved on, I reassessed the situation.
spk_0
And I'm looking forward to seeing this group of players.
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We did the 11 and we'll do some more 11s as we go for.
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I'm looking forward to seeing this 11 under Puchotino
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with this new kind of circumstance
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that Puchotino has framed.
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And seeing what they do.
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And that last window, some of the anger, I guess,
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whether it was me or others out there,
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let that be a reminder that times of ticket
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and we need to see something.
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We want to see something that we can grab hold
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and say, yes, we're heading in the right direction.
spk_0
And again, here's another opportunity
spk_0
for Puchotino and company to do that.
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Do you think this was an overly beefy segment?
spk_0
For us or for the listener and viewer?
spk_0
The reason I bring it up is I had lunch today
spk_0
with Gabe, Josh and Aaron and I asked him about the pod.
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And they said they love Ask Alexi in one for the road
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and they feel like it takes too long
spk_0
sometimes to get there.
spk_0
They think Sean rammed too much stuff
spk_0
into this first segment.
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I think that's a valid, I don't know, it's criticism.
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I think it's much more.
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Oh, I would say it's a criticism for sure.
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No, the way that this has been structured,
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at least over the last couple of years,
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is there is a much beefier segment
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and then the other two are very, very small.
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And so maybe we should, it's a kind of asymmetrical type
spk_0
of way of running a show.
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I am but a talking head, Mossy.
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The monkey mucks in the back there that make us look good.
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They have all the data.
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They have all the knowledge and the understanding
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of what people out there that are watching
spk_0
and listening do and all of their patterns
spk_0
and all of their routines.
spk_0
And hey, when you guys, you know,
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don't start off and introduce the people that are with you
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or when you guys don't,
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or you take too long to get to the soccer,
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people don't like that and they're having,
spk_0
and they're fast forwarding or doing that kind of stuff.
spk_0
So again, we are but, you know, but tools
spk_0
in the best possible sense for all the artists that use us.
spk_0
And they have to have known that something
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from that lunch was gonna end up on the show today.
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They said, way juicier things that I'm leaving out,
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but I was gonna bring up something from that.
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I would look at it the other way in that I would use you.
spk_0
I would go to lunch or go to or sit down with you
spk_0
with the express intent of trying to plant that seed,
spk_0
knowing that at some point in the show,
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you're gonna find a way to weave it in.
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So if I wanted to get a piece of information out there,
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if I wanted to, you know, let the people out there
spk_0
know how great I was, I would use you for that.
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All right, what else?
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That is it, that's it.
spk_0
So we actually go to a break now.
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Yeah, all right, our first break,
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if you've lasted this long, quick break,
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and then we will come back with Ask a Lexi and our one.
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Okay, welcome back, it's time for Ask a Lexi,
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that part of the show where you send in your comments,
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questions and concerns, keep in mind that our handle out
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there on all the old social media platforms is a SOTU
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with a Lexi, you can use that hashtag Ask a Lexi
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or in calling to our state of the Union podcast hotline,
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which is 6575492297, that's 657,
spk_0
5492297.
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Mossy, what are the folks from one on one today?
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First up, we have a voice mail, let's take a listen.
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Hey gentlemen, this is Chris Farrington from Nicaragua.
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Batman of the famous shared account down here,
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but you nailed me, it's always me writing,
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decided to give a call.
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I gotta call my man to task what is with
spk_0
this unbearable love for, there I say,
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NID and L.S. players, overguys like Brandon Erickson,
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Brandon Erickson, living the American dream,
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starting in the Premier League.
spk_0
He finally gets a call up, as I was calling for,
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they left Scally out, we'll be better alone.
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And Wallace, you just brushed past it,
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and then you bring up Burmeltter,
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give the guys some love, and really,
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at the end of the day, at the end of this buildup,
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please tell me, I'm one of those guys
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that we're gonna see Mesa and Reyna
spk_0
over the likes of Luna Burholt, or Henryl Don.
spk_0
Really appreciate y'all, thanks for the show,
spk_0
love listening down here, Nicaragua, God bless.
spk_0
All right, thank you, Chris,
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from actually down in Nicaragua, as he said.
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So, we are global, my friend.
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I mean, whenever I hear Nicaragua,
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I've watched so many documentaries
spk_0
about the Iran contra affair.
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I immediately think the sadanistas,
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the contraas, that holds such a lot.
spk_0
All in North, and all that stuff.
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Well, Chris is down there in Nicaragua, by the way,
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if I had a joint social media handle with my wife,
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it would be a absolute disaster,
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am I significant other or whatever,
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like I don't want to be responsible
spk_0
for saying something that they might not agree with.
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And I don't want them saying something
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that I might not agree with.
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So, I don't know if he checks it,
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I had a time or what goes on.
spk_0
But Chris has been on this page for a while
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because I mentioned him on the pot of a couple of weeks ago,
spk_0
and it was exactly on this topic.
spk_0
He reached out to me on X and he said,
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why do you spend so much time on these MLS players?
spk_0
And you don't mention guys like Aaron Senn
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and Scally that are starting for European clubs and top leagues.
spk_0
So yeah, he's got an issue obviously
spk_0
with how much we talk about MLS players.
spk_0
Well, first off, thank you for listening,
spk_0
wherever you are, but from Chris in Nicaragua.
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Thank you for setting in the questions,
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and just giving you a hard time here.
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Chris, you heard me earlier in the pod talk about this,
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this shade of what amounts to, I guess,
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snobbery that can come down and descend over the eyes,
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it can color everything.
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Ultimately, I think that you believe
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that if a player is playing soccer in Europe,
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simply by playing in Europe,
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they are a better player and therefore should warrant
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more consideration.
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Now, there are plenty of players that are playing in Europe
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playing in Europe right now that absolutely
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warrant our attention and at least,
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you know, it's all a personal opinion that I can argue
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absolutely should be with the national team.
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But I, as you know, Chris, you've listened long enough,
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I bristle at just this kind of blanket approach
spk_0
that so many have.
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And what, like I said, what amounts to snobbery
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in that, you know, we talk about Christian role dawn
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because I try to put a Christian role dawn
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if he was playing in a, you know, a mid-level team
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in the Bundesliga and was the exact same player
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doing the exact same thing.
spk_0
He would be looked at completely differently
spk_0
by Chris and others.
spk_0
And I'm not naive.
spk_0
I recognize that perception oftentimes is what the reality is
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for a lot of people.
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And I've just tried to guard over the years against that.
spk_0
And we have plenty of examples of players who are playing
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either a lesser level or playing in Major League Soccer
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that have starred, that have done well
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at the World Cup.
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And I mean, it can go, it can go all the way.
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I mean, me and Kobe Jones weren't even on the books
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ever of a club.
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And we were able to go and figure out how to play well
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in a World Cup.
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And then you go on with the Landons and Frankie Hadix
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and Eddie Popes and you know, the list goes on and on.
spk_0
And I know we've moved away from that.
spk_0
But I just don't think that we should throw the baby
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out with the bath water when it comes to players,
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simply because they play in MLS.
spk_0
And this gets into our insecurity.
spk_0
And this gets into our inferiority complex that we have.
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I think it's dissipating.
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I think that we are heading in a much more positive direction.
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And there is a willingness to consider players
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simply for their ability as opposed to where they play.
spk_0
And I'm not naive.
spk_0
I understand that if a player is playing at Chelsea
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or he's seen Milan because of the cachet
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and because of the attention,
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yeah, people are going to care and care more so.
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But just because that's happening doesn't necessarily mean
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that they are better.
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I don't want you to go the opposite way
spk_0
in that you're going to try to make a point
spk_0
and bring in somebody from a quote unquote lower league
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or a lesser league or a different league
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that doesn't have the cachet simply to try to prove people wrong.
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No, that's not the way to go.
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Well, similarly, any coach,
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whether it's put your team or anybody else,
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are they good soccer players or not?
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I don't care where they play.
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And when that whistle blows to be quite honest,
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people forget very, very quickly where you play.
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You either do it or you don't.
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Next up, we have a question from YouTube.
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RV Jeffrey 6859 says,
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here is a wild question.
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The U20 men are doing great.
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Can one or two make the World Cup roster?
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That is not a wild question at all.
spk_0
It's something that's been discussed
spk_0
quite a bit the last few days.
spk_0
I'll tell you a little story.
spk_0
Alex on last Thursday when we taped our roster show,
spk_0
we had on one of the TVs here,
spk_0
the US 120 playing against France.
spk_0
They scored a flurry of goals late, one, three, no.
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I turned to Stu and said,
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pretty soon people are going to say
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that they should send that team to the World Cup instead.
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And like two minutes later, Stu showed me a text
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he got from Ben Grossman saying,
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why don't we send that team to the World Cup?
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Ben was joking, but nevertheless.
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But yeah, I mean, for those of us who think
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the US talent pool has gotten a bit stale
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and it would be nice to have one or two youngsters emerge here
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and make the squad just to add something different.
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Some people are looking at this U20 team
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and saying is there something there,
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a Kramaski, a Col Campbell.
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I don't know how much you've gotten a chance to watch them,
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but it is a topic that's in there.
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I just, I understand why this happens.
spk_0
And I'm not immune to it.
spk_0
We get excited and nothing excites the American soccer public
spk_0
more than Young Talent, as I said before.
spk_0
And when that young talent is part of a group
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that is doing well and beating the likes of France,
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we start to, you know, the wheel start to turn.
spk_0
And oh, maybe this is the team that we should send.
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But you have to be realistic.
spk_0
And again, the reality of what a under 20 World Cup is,
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a lot of these teams, while still very good,
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are missing some of their best players
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and while a lot of these teams having success
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at a youth level does not always translate.
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I'd rather have that and there are certain players,
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but we're looking for a couple of players to matriculate.
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Not right now, I know, to your point,
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I don't think that any of these players
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in the next nine months, eight, nine months
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have the ability to find their way onto the national team.
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But I'm okay with that.
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This is for that next cycle.
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And we should be bullish, given what they've done,
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but we also should be realistic
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because it doesn't always translate.
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It's not, well, this is a fail to complete.
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These guys were great at the youth level.
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And therefore, they're going to be good individually
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and collectively at the national team level.
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That's just not how it works.
spk_0
And it's unfair sometimes to them.
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I've told you, and I've said this plenty of times
spk_0
on the pod, I really don't care about development
spk_0
and youth development.
spk_0
It doesn't excite me.
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I don't find it interesting.
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I don't find it sexy, specifically because
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this is about winning the World Cup.
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And the World Cup is the best players in the world,
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regardless of age.
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That's all I care about.
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Now, the means to an end, how are we going to do that?
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If it involves youth teams doing well, that's great.
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Not going to spend a lot of time on it.
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Again, if they work up, I will give kudos to those
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that raise them, if you will, and that they matriculated
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up the full team.
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I like that vertical integration.
spk_0
If that happens, they deserve praise.
spk_0
But I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time
spk_0
worrying about it because I've seen so many times
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where the players or the teams, they don't fully develop
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and they don't fully blossom.
spk_0
When Benjamin Kramaski scored a hat trick
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against New Caledonia in the US's first game,
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he was the first US player to score a hat trick
spk_0
at the U20 World Cup since Freddie Adu many years ago.
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So that got us all thinking about Freddie Adu again.
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The US, by the way, they lost their last group game
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to South Africa, two, one, they will face Italy
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in the round of 16 on Thursday.
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If they win that, then it would be either Morocco
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or South Korea in the quarterfinals.
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So we'll see how far this team goes.
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Some of the buzz subsided after that South Africa loss.
spk_0
But yeah, we're covering this tournament.
spk_0
And the U20 World Cup, it's become an interesting tournament.
spk_0
You do feel like it's struggling for relevance a little bit.
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Once upon a time, countries did send their best youngsters,
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guys that they thought would star for the senior team
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as a way to get them international experience.
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Myadona played in this tournament,
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Messi won Aldinho, Kaká, Teryan,
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re-lots of others.
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But lately, yeah, it does feel like the top-top guy skipped this.
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We were talking about Stefan earlier.
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He's not there.
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Mastan Tono's not there for Argentina.
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Obviously, La Mena, Mau, Desiree, Duet for France.
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He's the guy that already starring for big European clubs
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and starring for the senior teams.
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So they kind of skip over this step.
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Brazil, by the way, have lost the plot completely
spk_0
at the U20 level.
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We have great pedigree.
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We've been to nine finals one at five times.
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But since last winning it in 2011,
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if you can believe this,
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there have been six U20 World Cup since then.
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Brazil hasn't even qualified for three of them
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and went out on the group stage of this one right now.
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And yet, nobody thinks that Brazil isn't producing
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good players during this period.
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It's just they're not sending them to this tournament
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between transfer market dynamics
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and players going to Europe at an early age
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and the crowd of domestic calendar.
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Pretty much any decent prospect is either in Europe already
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or contributing for Brazilian club.
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It's really tough to get them released.
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So you end up cobbling together
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the second and third tier prospects.
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And you wonder like, what's even the point
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if these guys you're sending
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aren't going to graduate to the senior team?
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So it's a discussion people.
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And I know we had John Strong here last week
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and he quite a poo poo that it shouldn't be viewed
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as a launching pad to the senior team.
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Just look at it for what it is.
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It's a great experience for the players that are there.
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And I get that Stu mention how European scouts
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are still flocking to these tournaments.
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So they're still value for the players that do
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take part in them.
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But yeah, it's an interesting conversation
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that's going on right now regarding the U20 World Cup.
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Yeah, but you shouldn't ask me to care relative
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to winning the World Cup.
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All right, if it happens great,
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and then like I said, I will give applause and praise
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and kudos to those that made it happen.
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But at this point, there's just so many different ways
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that it can go.
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And if you're into that, that's great.
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But I've told you before,
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the youth development thing,
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I have incredible respect for the people
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day in and day out that do that.
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Oftentimes, thankless job.
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But I just don't have a lot of, what's the jar, bandwidth.
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I don't have a lot of bandwidth for it.
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And to be fair, for the US in recent years,
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a lot of players have graduated from the U20's
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Tyler Adams and Sarger and played in 2017,
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Timmy Wands, Sergino Desi in 19, Diego Luna,
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Jack McGlin played in the last one in 23.
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So we'll see.
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Yeah, that happens.
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That happens for decades when it comes to it.
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But this is about winning a World Cup, a men's World Cup.
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So graduating or doing well or having big games
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or having big, you know, we, that's great.
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But just have it translate into the ultimate,
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which is being an elite team at the highest level.
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All right, anything else?
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That is it.
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All right, so you can have a quick break.
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We come back like I said, one for the road.
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Okay, welcome back by the US, sight and sound of the van.
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You know what's the end of our show?
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And at the end of each and every show,
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I give you my one for the road.
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Interesting article came out on the athletic from Henry Bushnell
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and Paul Tenerio.
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We know him, we love him.
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With an interview with Mauricio Pocciotino
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and his staff in particular, Jesus Perez,
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one of his top assistants.
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But basically the premise was that Mauricio Pocciotino,
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unlike, let's say, a Greg Berhol,
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throw a number of coaches out there,
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does not communicate with his players.
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And it's by design.
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Now, this is something that we brought up
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over the past couple of weeks,
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Masi, when it comes to Mauricio Pocciotino.
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There is an old school element to him.
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And, you know, as I said in the previous segment,
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even though I got fired up this, the previous window here,
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this speaks to me.
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This is something that I actually agree with.
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And I love in that he has made it very, very clear
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that Mauricio Pocciotino and his staff,
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they're not going to tell you why you weren't called in.
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I'm not going to tell you why you were called in.
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They're not going to be in constant contact.
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And this is by choice.
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This is a strategic type of approach.
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And I guess it's risky, especially given this generation.
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And this is a judgment on the generation
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or meet grumpy old manning it.
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The reality is that this generation has been raised,
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not just soccer players, but this generation has been raised
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to have not just communication, but consistent communication.
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And so if and when in this case that is taken away,
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I'm sure for some, especially the younger players,
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it can be jarring.
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In general, players want to know why
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and at times in the past, maybe they have been given reasons why.
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But now they have to figure it out themselves.
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So they have to maybe do some more soul searching.
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Or they have to recognize and accept the fact that it's up to them.
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And the only is on them to perform when they come in camp.
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And they're not necessarily going to get a pat on the back.
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Not even necessarily going to get a kick in the ass.
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For doing what they are expected to do.
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And in essence, what that is is treating them like men.
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And this group, even though it's different,
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but a lot of this group has kind of grown up
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and we have seen them since they were teenagers.
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Since they were young men, boys to a certain extent.
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But now they are men.
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And they are being treated like men by Mauricio Pochettino.
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And I think that this group needs that.
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Now it is a risk and you do risk alienating players
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or having them constantly question themselves.
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But in and of itself, it is a test.
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And so I like that Henry and Paul kind of got Pochettino
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and his staff to admit this and not just admit it, but own it.
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And I hope that they come out the other side with a much more mature
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and a much more, I guess, strong group
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because they've had to deal with things themselves
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as opposed to the constant interaction.
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And I'm not saying that communication is a bad thing
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by any stretch of the imagination,
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but over communication can lead, I think, at times,
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maybe two weakness.
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And we'll see ultimately that if this plays out
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and there is a much more austere,
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and like I said, a much more mature type of player
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that emerges next summer for this team.
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Anything else, my friend?
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I'll just say I neglected to mention this at the top of the pod.
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Another incredible episode of TASC, maybe the best one yet.
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We're through five, just two left.
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So getting down to the nitty gritty here,
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that's that HBO Mark Ruffalo show I keep talking about.
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And then slow horses, that season is percolating,
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Sean Sullivan excited.
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So good time in TV right now with those two shows.
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All right.
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Thank you for indulging us this show.
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I know we went a little bit long
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and we had a more than beefy.
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It was like a triple decker type of first segment there.
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And we, you know, listen, we can Bob and we even,
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we can change some things up.
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So who knows?
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Maybe we'll add another break somewhere along the line
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to give people a little respite.
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Or maybe not.
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There was a whole embarrassing part of that lunch
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where Gabe and Josh started defending the fact
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that they have multiple favorite teams in the same sport.
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I'm going to save that for the next pod.
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We do have to get into that at some point.
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Got it.
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You guys sometimes laugh at me when it comes to the football, right?
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You see all of you, you see all a Bruins.
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They got a win over Penn State.
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Big win.
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And then the Patriots are back, baby, right?
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It's happening.
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Oh, everything's happening here.
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OK.
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Keep downloading and reviewing and rating and subscribing
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and doing all the different things that you do out there.
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We love the fact that you do keep pounding those buttons left
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and right up and down double fist and smash it over there
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on the old YouTube machine or on Spotify or Apple,
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all the different things.
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We will talk to you again when Wednesday.
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Is that correct?
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Correct.
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We'll talk to you on Wednesday.
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And then like Macy Mossy said, also coming up,
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we have the live shows for the US games.
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So we got all sorts of stuff on tap here in the next week.
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Don't go anywhere.
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We'll talk to you again in a couple of days.
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And until then, and as always, my friends, size the day.