0:01

Good ball!

0:11

America's driving on its way here

0:13

on ESPN. Alongside Hercules Gomez, I'm

0:15

Sebastian Salazar for episode 405. And

0:22

we're well dressed. I would say just a couple of

0:24

well-dressed guys here on ESPN. What are you wearing over

0:26

there in Bristol, Connecticut? Can I

0:28

give a shout out to my good friend, Jose

0:30

Del Valle, our colleague here at ESPN. Great

0:33

friend of the show. I don't know, guys. Well, yeah, he's

0:35

been on the show. He'll be on the show, I should

0:37

say. Our

0:39

friends at Guatte Forever, Punta

0:41

Com, have blessed me,

0:43

anointed me with the Guatemala

0:46

national team, Black Kit.

0:49

It's one of the sickest kits. You got

0:51

to see it in person. I was very

0:53

surprised with how slick it is. I appreciate

0:55

my friends at Guatte Forever, Punta

0:57

Com. What are you wearing? You're giving me

0:59

like, AYA's so vibes, like your first team,

1:01

and it's called the Tigers or like Tony's

1:03

Tigers or something like that. What is this?

1:07

Shout out to the Maryland Bobcats here. I know

1:09

you said you're a sucker for Hummel gear, so

1:11

I figured I'd wear some Hummel for you. Maryland

1:14

Bobcats are my local 11 here in Montgomery County, Maryland.

1:16

They play in Nisa. They were

1:19

first place in Nisa all year. The

1:21

playoffs started and they got kicked out of the playoffs. So I

1:23

don't really know what's going on, but I stand with the Bobcats.

1:25

I stand with my Maryland Bobcats local

1:27

11. We'll have to get to the bottom of

1:29

that someday here on Fútbola Americana. It

1:32

won't be today because we got a jam-packed show. We've

1:34

got some roster ins and outs for the US men's

1:36

national team, some injuries costing guys this window,

1:38

but some replacements coming in. We have a

1:40

full look now at Mauricio Pochettino's staff. He's

1:43

named the rest of the guys that will

1:45

fill in that kind of backroom staff for

1:47

the United States. Herc, we're going to talk

1:49

about Luis Suarez. He had some very interesting

1:51

comments about his now former manager with Uruguay,

1:54

Marcelo Bialza. One of Suarez teammates.

1:56

Maybe you've heard of him, Lionel Messi. Yeah. Inner

1:59

Miami. very close to the MLS

2:01

regular season points record. We'll talk about

2:03

that. And I don't know if it's

2:05

because producer Beto isn't here. We are

2:07

gonna talk about Chivas and the disaster

2:10

that is happening down in Ligamec. For

2:12

one of the most popular teams in

2:14

all of North America. But let's start,

2:16

Herc, with the LeBron James of

2:18

soccer, or Christian Polisic as we call him here.

2:20

Scored a goal for AC Milan in their 2-1

2:22

loss against Fiorentina on Sunday.

2:25

Four straight league games with a goal

2:27

now for Polisic. But that's not the

2:29

story. What everybody talking about are two

2:32

penalties that Polisic, who is Milan's designated

2:34

penalty taker, did not take. The first,

2:36

which was set up by Polisic, was

2:38

taken and missed by Te Hernández. The

2:41

second, which you're seeing here, was taken

2:43

and missed by Tammy Abraham. AC

2:46

Milan loses the game 2-1. They

2:48

stand sixth right now in Serie A. The

2:51

manager, Paulo Fonseca, this is what he had

2:53

to say about it. Quote, of course I

2:55

am upset that players changed the penalty kick

2:57

taker. Christian should take penalties.

2:59

It must never happen again. And

3:02

I told the players. All

3:05

right, for more on this controversy, let's welcome into the

3:07

show. Man, it was never controversial. Our good friend in

3:09

Cali. Woo! I'm

3:11

saying on a day of fire jerseys here on

3:14

Football America, Shaka brought it. What kid is that,

3:16

Shaka? This is my high school

3:18

team. St. Mary's College. You

3:20

cannot beat the all white and

3:22

blue of CIC. Here we are.

3:25

I think I'm taking only prize today. Yeah,

3:28

you may be taking that. Was that a long sleeve

3:30

at one point? Well,

3:32

they're just coming long sleeve, but I've

3:34

got the short sleeve. Okay.

3:36

Well, saying that, whether I take on first prize

3:38

or not, it's debatable. I

3:41

know who's taking home last prize. Let

3:43

me just leave it there. This

3:46

was a purpose for a cause, okay?

3:48

I'm standing up for a team. Oh,

3:50

he didn't say it was you, Seb.

3:52

It's something so insecure. He'll be conscious.

3:55

He'll be conscious. So

3:59

Shaka, let's get to this. man on on let's

4:01

go big picture first with this Christian Polisic story

4:04

on the Richter scale of things that can

4:06

destabilize a dressing room can destabilize a team.

4:08

How big is this penalty kick drama that we're seeing

4:10

right now with AC Milan. Huge

4:14

in all honesty. Listen, first of all, I am

4:16

never one to criticize anybody for

4:19

for missing a penalty. It's a

4:21

given that

4:23

you're going to score and I don't think it's that straightforward.

4:26

I think it takes a certain amount

4:29

of gotchas to just step up there.

4:31

So I'm never critical. But if you

4:33

as a club, you have a designated

4:35

penalty taker and he is

4:38

ignored not once but twice. And

4:40

I think the more alarming thing

4:42

or just as alarming in all

4:44

of this, it's kind of how

4:46

it all came about penalties

4:49

given ball pops up in the

4:51

air to Murray actually jumps to

4:53

catch it LeBron James style

4:56

to your intro to hand it

4:58

off to Tammy Abraham. So I'll

5:01

be fair took a very good

5:03

penalty. But it was just David

5:05

here was equal to it. You

5:10

if that happens, if

5:12

you go around the

5:14

coaches instructions, if

5:17

you go to that effort to

5:19

avoid the designated policy taker, you

5:21

better score. And even if you

5:24

do, you still have questions to

5:26

answer. So again, good penalty, fantastic

5:28

save aside, I think this is

5:31

pretty disruptive or can be pretty disruptive. I

5:33

like what fun sake I had to say

5:36

how strong his wedding was afterwards

5:38

and saying this is our penalty taker,

5:40

I'm not going to stand for it.

5:42

I hope he echoed that within the

5:44

dressing room and let

5:47

Tammy Abraham and others know exactly where

5:49

he stood in the entire issue. That

5:52

maybe throws a little bit of a

5:54

blanket on it. But otherwise,

5:56

I think as

5:59

as just simple things go

6:01

during games, this is

6:03

just ridiculous and potentially very

6:05

damaging. Herc,

6:07

we've talked a lot in the past about

6:10

Christian Polisic's personality, right? Maybe he's not assertive

6:12

enough. How much of this situation

6:14

is on Christian Polisic? Like, should he have grabbed the

6:16

ball and said, this is me on those occasions? You

6:21

know what's funny? All day today, in

6:23

the two-hour window we have an auto-nuncca, um,

6:27

for a large portion, this was a discussion.

6:29

They were trying to dissect Christian Polisic and

6:31

his character. He's got the chops to

6:33

be a leader based on him not just

6:36

giving up one penalty kick, but a second penalty

6:39

kick when he is backed by the manager. And

6:41

I've been trying to read into the psyche of

6:43

others, trying to read into the psyche of Christian

6:45

Polisic, and the more and more I try, I

6:48

don't understand it. What is

6:50

Christian Polisic going to do? Sit there and

6:53

argue with not one, but two players on

6:56

the field about him taking

6:58

a penalty kick. I think Christian Polisic

7:01

did what he was supposed to in this moment.

7:03

All right, team captain wants to take it. Theo

7:05

Hernandez, who by the way, Theo Hernandez, uh,

7:07

was called for a penalty kick against AC

7:09

Milan. That day ended up

7:11

missing. Mike Mangan and they're making a great save

7:13

on it. So maybe he felt the need to

7:15

try to be the guy, because he's the captain,

7:18

put the ball in the back of the net.

7:20

And then Tommy Abraham, who's not

7:22

having a great season, actually, nobody in Milan besides

7:24

Christian Polisic is having a great season. So I

7:26

could understand the need for a nine to see,

7:28

to say, excuse me, I need to get myself

7:31

going. This is a penalty kick. It's a good

7:33

opportunity to get a ball in the back of

7:35

the net and get myself going. I could understand

7:37

that, but you've already seen what

7:40

happened to team captain, a World Cup winner,

7:42

and he misses it. You've got to be

7:44

thinking, I'm Tommy Abraham. I don't

7:46

know how Paul Fonseca is going to react

7:48

right now. Certainly it's not going to be

7:50

good to, you know, Shaq's point. If you

7:52

shoot, you better make it. And he doesn't.

7:54

So now it's the consequences. And I don't

7:56

think anybody besides

7:58

Paulo Fonseca. and the guys

8:01

who missed this penalty kick come out

8:03

looking worse here. Christian Polisic is a

8:05

a bystander of a lot of

8:07

ego at play here. But Paulo Fonseca, a guy

8:09

who was on the hot seat leading up into

8:11

that Inter Milan game, he could have been

8:13

fired if they lost that game. So he's

8:15

really right now playing for or coaching for

8:17

his spot. Last season, they lost

8:20

to said he had by 19 points. Right

8:22

now they're in sixth position. They

8:24

seem to be dropping points at a

8:26

dramatic pace. Paulo Fonseca can ill afford

8:29

to have this type of, you

8:31

know, in discipline going on in his locker room.

8:33

If I'm Christian Polisic, I'm sitting back and going,

8:35

well, what do you want me to do here? Sure.

8:39

I have to let if

8:41

I can jump in, I'm in total

8:43

agreement with her there. I think Christian

8:45

Polisic did exactly what's needed of him.

8:48

We've seen time and time again when

8:50

players from the same team get in

8:52

a tussle over, over,

8:55

over penalties and who should take it

8:57

and who doesn't. And I feel that

8:59

that always has a really

9:01

poor knock on effect as well.

9:05

And so I think Christian Polisic did

9:08

what he should. He kind of

9:10

steps back. And again, the more

9:13

I see the incident, the more I

9:15

think that a lot of it was

9:17

premeditated between Tamoori and Abraham in the

9:19

way Tamoori jumps to get the ball,

9:21

which again, I

9:23

just hand it off straight away. That for me

9:25

said that there was something

9:27

brewing about this, about their decision that

9:30

they're going to take matters into their

9:32

own hands. And that for me says

9:34

that there is little respect for the

9:36

manager in Fonseca and

9:38

had Fonseca not said something, not said

9:41

something strong. I

9:43

think that kind of is the final

9:46

thread in his unraveling. At least

9:48

he came out and made a

9:50

strong statement about it and

9:53

how it's supposed to be handled

9:55

going forward. But I will close

9:57

by echoing her. Christian

10:00

Poulsyk did. What was

10:02

the best interest, best long-term

10:05

interest of the team? And

10:07

that is a step away, not

10:10

getting an on-field tussle over

10:12

this. Herc, to

10:14

Shaka's point there, who do you think is

10:16

more disrespected here? Poulsyk or

10:19

Fonseca? And what does Fonseca have to do

10:21

here? Does he have to bench these guys

10:23

for the next game? Because if this is

10:25

something that serious and you drop points in

10:27

Serie A because guys intentionally disobeyed the orders,

10:29

not once but twice in a game, I

10:32

would think as a manager you have

10:34

to punish that or else you risk it happening again

10:36

and Christian Poulsyk's going to be standing on that spot

10:38

next week or two weeks. Well, we got the international

10:40

break, two weeks from now and somebody else is just

10:42

going to rip the ball off him because there's no

10:45

consequences. I'm so glad

10:47

you said this, Seth, because there's a large

10:49

portion of people that see the situation and

10:51

think like Christian Poulsyk is the

10:53

guy getting disrespected here. No, the head

10:55

coach is getting disrespected here. That's the

10:57

man whose job's on the line. That's

10:59

the guy who says, this is a

11:01

designated penalty kick taker. And by the way,

11:04

this isn't the first time we hear that

11:06

Christian Poulsyk is the man to take the

11:08

penalty kicks at AC Milan. So now you

11:10

have not one but two and one of

11:12

them is the team captain that disobeys you.

11:14

If I'm Paulo Fonseca, I'm going wait,

11:16

wait, wait, what's going on here?

11:18

I'm on edge because I have

11:21

not one but two players directly

11:23

disrespecting and disobeying orders. Christian

11:25

Poulsyk is a bystander here. There's

11:28

no need for Christian Poulsyk to puff out his chest

11:30

and say, no, the coach told me so. Listen, he's

11:32

not supposed to do the coach's job. The coach

11:34

doesn't command the respect. I don't know what to

11:37

tell Paulo Fonseca, but it wasn't just one, it

11:39

was two. So the one who should be more

11:41

disrespected here and more up in arms is

11:44

Paulo Fonseca. I don't

11:46

want to. It was Te Hernanda's birthday, guys.

11:48

It was Te Hernanda's birthday. Shaka, don't worry.

11:51

Listen, if

11:53

I'm Fonseca, I'm benching through.

11:55

Again, I'm through to Murray in this.

11:57

I think he is part of.

12:00

some kind of preconceived plan

12:02

about Tammy Graham taking

12:04

a penalty at some

12:06

point. And I am,

12:08

if I'm the head coach, and again, I

12:10

guess it. I'm under

12:12

pressure, I need points. I've

12:14

got two weeks now to kind of calm

12:17

down. But I think if

12:20

you don't put the long term interest

12:22

of the team, of the club at

12:25

the front of all your thinking.

12:28

If all you can see is

12:30

the next result, and

12:33

you are willing to kind of accept

12:36

this disrespect from your best players,

12:40

from your captain, then you might as well

12:43

just leave right now. Because you are not

12:45

getting that dressing room back. Nobody's ever gonna

12:47

respect you again. I'd leave

12:49

all three of them out. And anybody

12:52

who feels, who I feel were kind

12:54

of a party to this, they're being

12:56

left out. I'm not even putting them on the

12:58

bench. I'm leaving them out for a game. And

13:01

if it means we lose, so be it.

13:04

If I lose my job, so be it.

13:06

But I'm not gonna be disrespected.

13:10

AC Milan, two one losers against Fiorentina

13:12

on Sunday in Syria. Christian

13:14

Polisic did score a goal in that

13:16

game. He's now got six goals and

13:19

two assists in his last eight games

13:21

across all competitions. Burke, there's

13:23

been kind of this discussion around Christian

13:25

Polisic. Is he a world class player of

13:27

late? Is he a lead of late? I don't

13:29

know the answer to that, but this goal felt world

13:32

class. This goal felt the lead. That's

13:34

one of the best goals you're gonna see. I

13:36

mean, to take that with such a death touch

13:38

and put it exactly where he wants. David

13:40

De Gere, who was an animal this

13:43

game, absolute madman, but only watching disbelief

13:45

as it was perfectly placed and went

13:47

by him. I've

13:49

been one in the past to maintain that Christian

13:51

Polisic is not world class yet, but the way he

13:53

is playing, and you look at the statistics, you look

13:56

at the leaderboard in Syria, ah,

13:58

there are two players. Both strikers, by

14:00

the way, with better numbers in Christian Polisic.

14:03

There's nobody on Milan with better numbers. He's

14:05

got six goals right now, five in Serie

14:07

A, one in the Champions League. And

14:09

the second highest total in all competitions is two.

14:12

A few guys with two on AC Milan. He's

14:14

absolutely the only bright spot. And one of the

14:16

best players right now in Serie A. Not one

14:18

of the best CONCACAF players. No, one of the

14:21

best players in Serie A. He's

14:23

as close to world class as I've ever

14:25

seen a Christian Polisic be. So he's

14:27

in unbelievable form. And this goal, I

14:30

repeat, as ridiculous of a goal

14:32

as you will see anywhere is a

14:34

testament to that. All

14:36

right, well, Christian Polisic will obviously be on

14:38

the US team when they gather for their

14:41

upcoming friendlies against Panama and then Mexico in

14:43

the coming week. But there will be

14:45

some guys and some important names that

14:47

we thought were gonna be there that

14:49

now won't be because of injury. We

14:51

got three players in, three guys out

14:54

due to injury. Al Palerin-Balligan, Johnny Cardozo,

14:56

and Tim Wea. In our Liga

14:58

Amecis, we got Brandon Vasquez and Alex

15:00

Senderas, and then Tanner Tezman, who

15:03

right now is with Lyon in France. Herc

15:06

of the absences there, Baligon Wea-Cardozo. Which

15:08

one is the most worrisome? Which do

15:10

you think will have the biggest impact?

15:13

Most worrisome is Timothy Wea, because

15:16

that's one of your biggest starters. That's one of the

15:19

guys that you've had be

15:21

a reliable player for you in big

15:23

tournaments. And one of the guys who

15:26

probably needs this to redeem himself with

15:28

the US Men's National Team, but probably

15:30

biggest impact for him is Follering-Balligan. I

15:32

mean, people have been waiting for

15:34

him Follering-Balligan to break out with the US

15:37

Men's National Team for quite some time. And

15:39

here he is with Monaco that he didn't

15:41

have a good season with last season. And

15:43

look at him scoring goals, third straight goal,

15:46

and this type of goal where he's confident

15:48

again. He takes a touch, he pushes it

15:50

by a defender. That's at least a 10-yard

15:52

touch right there. Most people, it'll get away

15:54

from them. He knows exactly

15:57

what he's doing. It's a dead finish. He's the

15:59

player he wants to... right now and that's a

16:01

confidence you want heading into a US men's national

16:03

team camp with a new

16:05

coach and it comes this shoulder injury and

16:08

a guy who's all of a sudden

16:10

turning heads and saying I've been getting opportunities

16:13

with US men's national team and maybe not

16:15

cashing in on said opportunities. I now can't

16:17

cash in on said opportunities with the new

16:19

coach. Well he's leaving the

16:21

door open, leaving the door open for some

16:23

other nines who aren't doing so bad themselves

16:25

and have not done so bad in the

16:27

past. Guys like Josh Sargent, Ricardo Pepe, guys

16:29

like Haji Wright who's been playing out of

16:31

position and when he gets in on a

16:33

pick, he has scored goals for both club

16:35

and country. So this is a

16:38

massive loss for faller and balligan because I

16:40

repeat that door is being left open. You

16:42

leave that door open, you might not get

16:44

a chance to be that guy, the guy,

16:47

if somebody else steps into it. And Josh

16:49

Sargent right now, I mean he's played very

16:51

little since the World Cup in 2022 in

16:55

Qatar. He's pretty

16:57

much had the Copa America run which

16:59

was pretty bad for everybody involved. We

17:01

know for the obvious reasons why. So

17:04

for the guy who was a starting number nine

17:06

at the World Cup to get back into that

17:08

door and he has not won that two but

17:11

now going on three firm consistent

17:13

years at the club level of being a

17:15

goal scorer with a new coach here at

17:17

hand, that could put him firmly in

17:19

the driver's seat or anybody else. So massive loss

17:21

for faller and balligan, massive loss for the US

17:23

men's national team who was just getting the nine

17:25

they wanted into good form and

17:27

now picks up an injury. I'll

17:30

look at the three guys, Herc, that are out here. I

17:33

think Waya, to your point, obviously like nobody wants

17:35

to miss the first call up for a new

17:37

manager. It's a massive opportunity. But Waya is,

17:39

if not a sure fire starter, he's the closest

17:42

of the three. It's

17:44

a big miss for Johnny Cardozo. I'm telling you,

17:46

those midfield spots could be up for grabs. But

17:48

I'm with you, man. Balligan with all that competition,

17:50

the hot streak he's on, mini hot streak but

17:52

still a hot streak. This

17:54

is what you want. You want that opportunity. Maybe he was

17:56

one in the list, maybe he was two in the list.

17:59

He was definitely going to get some run

18:01

in this and a chance to make that

18:03

first impression from Mauricio Pochettino. Shaka, how big

18:06

a deal is it? Are we overstating the

18:08

impact of missing that first window under a

18:10

new manager in the international game, especially for

18:12

a team like the United States? It

18:15

doesn't have a ton of windows to a World Cup doesn't

18:17

have a bunch of big games. And

18:19

I think that's the thing. Normally when you're

18:21

talking about the first game for manager for

18:24

a national team, maybe you're talking at the start of

18:26

a cycle and you've got four years to go before

18:28

the World Cup and you've got an

18:31

international tournament or two in between in between

18:33

that appointment and the World Cup. That's not

18:35

the case for Mauricio Pochettino. That's not the

18:38

case for many of these players who

18:41

were trying to feature for Mauricio Pochettino

18:43

going forward. And I'll echo everything that

18:45

was I was just said there. Well,

18:47

listen, I get it.

18:49

Timothy Ware is a huge loss. Sydney

18:52

in terms of his talent. You talk

18:54

about balligan and the missed opportunity given

18:56

the competition for those number nine number

18:58

nine places. The

19:00

thing is, most of the point, never

19:02

mind the amount of players who are

19:04

taking a claim to it. Nobody

19:07

is really kind of taking

19:09

hold of that position.

19:11

Nobody certainly in

19:13

the US men's national team should has

19:16

done enough to say, yeah, they're going

19:18

to be the alternate number nine for

19:20

Pochettino going forward. Everybody

19:22

is having good seasons,

19:26

good to great seasons for

19:29

their clubs. But

19:31

nobody really in a

19:33

national team should has

19:35

done anywhere near enough to

19:38

say that, yeah, our number nine is

19:41

a kind of foregone conclusion at this point.

19:44

Balligan has probably arguably has the

19:46

best CV of the lot. But

19:48

every time I've seen him again

19:50

for the US to

20:00

me he's pretty pretty far down the depth chart

20:02

of forwards tenor testament kind of the same in

20:05

midfield the Zendekas call-up is interesting to me just

20:07

because of the comments I know

20:09

he didn't actually open the door back up to Mexico

20:11

because it seems like he can't unless he knows something

20:14

that is different from the FIFA rules you think

20:16

that'll that'll be a problem when he gets to US

20:18

camp that those comments just came out about a week

20:20

ago I don't

20:22

because it's so new in terms of the

20:24

coach and the coaching staff in terms of

20:27

players who already know him there he was

20:29

part of the u-17 team with

20:31

Christian Polisic Weston McKinney Tyler Adams Brandon

20:33

that like he seems to already

20:35

be in that set up and

20:38

feel good there so I don't think

20:40

those players will make him feel out of place and

20:43

he's a player who I think can potentially

20:46

not make a difference but plug

20:48

in a hole and will be

20:51

somebody who can be serviceable

20:53

respectable in many different places

20:55

in Liga Mecquis in his time and he's been a

20:57

very good player and serviceable player in Liga Mecquis played

20:59

as a six a double six and is an eight

21:02

out wide right wing

21:04

left wing as a ten he's a

21:06

very good player very good footballing brain

21:09

I don't know what's going on with these comments it

21:12

seems like a kid who wants to play who

21:14

thinks he can do more at the national team

21:16

level and certainly if you think about the options

21:18

he would have had if he picked Mexico he'd

21:20

probably be one of the starters there he would

21:22

probably be a prime player for Mexico and I

21:25

don't know who his agent is I don't know

21:27

who's there

21:29

for him and guiding them through this

21:31

process but certainly speaking out

21:33

loud at times can get you in trouble and

21:35

it's gotten all of us in trouble he's

21:38

there at the US men's national team

21:40

because they've given an opportunity and he's accepted this call-up

21:42

so you know it's only

21:44

he that can get himself out of this if

21:47

you will outside looking in situation but

21:49

it's an opportunity here and even for

21:51

Brandon Vasquez he may be down the

21:53

depth chart but you don't have a

21:55

lot of forward-sticking claim to you know

21:57

to test which talk is talk

22:00

talking about and here you are in

22:02

your own country of Mexico

22:04

where you play, where you currently play

22:06

league domestic football and there's a big

22:09

game against players that you play against

22:11

week in week out and if you

22:13

can come on with that frame and

22:15

it's certainly different to the rest of

22:18

the pool and be somebody that stands

22:20

out to Mauricio Pochettino and do something,

22:23

I don't care if he's you know the

22:25

last in the depth chart. And Chaka mentioned

22:27

it, nobody's to say claim here and if

22:29

you could be somebody that can prove to

22:31

this coach or who else other in on

22:33

the coaching staff that you can be serviceable

22:36

off the bench or as a starter at some point in the game,

22:39

you're going to play and you're going to have a place. Chaka,

22:41

I love the telling laugh as Herc was

22:43

saying that we've all gotten ourselves in trouble

22:46

for talking to you. Let's keep the chatter

22:48

going here, we'll talk about Mauricio Pochettino's newly

22:51

named backroom staff, it'll be a lot of familiar

22:53

faces, it's a lot of the guys that he's

22:55

worked with for a long time. Jesus Perez is

22:57

going to be the first assistant, Miguel

23:00

D'Agostino is going to be an

23:02

assistant, Antonio Jimenez will be in

23:04

charge of the goalkeepers, Pochettino's son,

23:06

Sebastiano, will be the sports scientist

23:08

for the team, Silvia Duavina, who's

23:10

joining us as strength and conditioning

23:13

specialist and Gianni Vio,

23:15

the set peace

23:17

coach under Greg Berhalter is apparently going to

23:19

be sticking around. Herc,

23:21

it's the same crew as always for Mauricio Pochettino,

23:24

not a lot of US influence

23:26

or necessarily knowledge around the pool.

23:29

Is that not a problem with the World Cup looming?

23:34

Is what not a problem that he's

23:37

got no US coaches there? Is

23:39

that what you're asking? Yeah. Why

23:42

would there be a problem? How many

23:44

US coaches are world renowned or well

23:46

respected around the world? What are we

23:48

missing here that this US coach can

23:50

provide Mauricio Pochettino that Mauricio

23:52

Pochettino himself or his

23:55

staff, coaching staff? Knowledge of the pool. It's a

23:57

fair question, but I think knowledge of the pool,

23:59

right? You're less than two years from a

24:01

World Cup, wouldn't you? I think at this point, you'd

24:03

rather, I think at this point, I think at this

24:06

point, you'd rather just, the eye

24:08

test by itself. I mean, who you have is who you

24:10

have. For Mauricio Pochettino, it's more about who

24:12

can come about in the next year and a

24:14

half, and what you can do with the players

24:16

like a Christian Polisic or a Timothy Wea, Christian

24:19

Polisic's in a different category. Let me put

24:21

in a Timothy Wea to that point, you

24:23

know, or a Weston McKinney or Giovanni Reina.

24:25

What can Mauricio Pochettino do to those players

24:28

to take them to the next level? How

24:30

can he explode that talent

24:32

that they have? Because I don't

24:35

think we're gonna discover anything out of anybody

24:37

in this pool by having

24:39

an American coach that Mauricio Pochettino couldn't come

24:41

to terms by himself and couldn't have already

24:43

been informed of what you have at your

24:46

disposal. It's pretty much what you have. So

24:48

now what you can do to mold this

24:50

into whatever is that next level

24:52

for some of these players. I'm more interested in

24:54

that, but I think this is a benefit, Seb. I

24:57

mean, how often do we talk about the good

24:59

old boys network? I mean, I remember

25:01

you, was it? Four years ago, you brought

25:03

this to my attention. The majority of the coaches for

25:05

the US men's national team have come out of like

25:07

of the ACC Conference. They've all come out of like-

25:09

Out of New Jersey. Out of New Jersey.

25:11

Out of New Jersey, it's New Jersey. One

25:14

state and another. And with all due

25:16

respect to those coaches, where have they taken the US?

25:19

That's like this promised land that you need to

25:22

have somebody from the US there. You need to

25:24

have somebody that's familiar with Major League Soccer.

25:27

It's very simple. I'm a coach. Does he

25:29

have a US passport? He does? Okay, he's

25:31

eligible. Let me see if he's good enough. That's

25:33

it. That's it. I could care a

25:36

lot. If anything, it's a benefit to me that he's

25:38

not tied out. He's not anchored down by these

25:40

premeditated opinions of

25:43

the past. Chaka, I

25:45

don't know if you remember when we were at

25:47

the World Cup in Qatar, we worked with Juan

25:49

Carlos Osorio a bit here on ESPN. And

25:52

one of the things he told me during that

25:54

time is whenever he would go like interview for

25:56

an international job, he would always tell the Federation

25:58

he was interviewing with, I'll take some. your assistance.

26:00

Like I'll take some of your guys so

26:02

that I can, one, earn the trust to think a

26:05

little bit of the Federation, but to also have some

26:07

of that knowledge that maybe he wouldn't

26:09

have. But Jatino was actually asked about this

26:11

in his opening press conference. Would he be

26:13

open to having an American or somebody with

26:15

like an American perspective on the

26:17

staff? He kind of kicked it down the road. He

26:20

gave a political answer. Shaka, what's the

26:22

harm in doing it? Like, why wouldn't you do that?

26:24

Is it not the right move to have somebody from

26:26

the country that you're that you're managing

26:28

on your staff? Well, it

26:30

depends on the country, first of all, and

26:32

I'll get to that. But

26:35

mostly point, it also it also

26:37

depends on the coach. And if

26:39

Pochettino is comfortable with this backroom

26:41

staff, he's going to bring

26:43

his backroom staff. There may be others

26:45

around the kit man, stuff

26:48

like that, you know, staff who are

26:50

more on the periphery that maybe he

26:52

can or he feels he could rely

26:54

on for some of that insider knowledge,

26:56

any cultural nuance

26:58

or whatever he he may

27:01

need. So it doesn't come as a huge surprise to

27:03

me to see Pochettino

27:05

bring his entire backroom stuff. I

27:08

think that's kind of half of

27:10

the course. What you find

27:12

with some of these smaller member

27:14

associations, and you mentioned Juan Carlos

27:16

Osorio, trying to

27:18

make or don't have a coach right now, we

27:21

have an interim. But Steve McLaren, which has hired

27:23

as the head coach for Jamaica, he

27:25

would have Jamaican assistant coaches.

27:30

Part in kind of understanding that cultural

27:32

nuance and understanding and

27:35

getting to understand the players pool, but

27:37

also in some of these smaller countries

27:40

where, for instance, the domestic

27:42

leagues aren't as advanced

27:45

as say Major League Soccer

27:47

here is in the US. You

27:49

want your local coaches to be

27:51

exposed to that level of

27:53

coaching, that level of management, because

27:56

you are trying to grow the

27:58

game in your home. country

28:00

and coaches are a big part

28:02

of that. So I

28:04

know in the past for instance when

28:07

we had Leo Benaka and Wim Reisenberger

28:09

who followed him from him. They

28:11

always had they always had local

28:14

assistance. Now they have one

28:16

or two of their own choosing. Wim

28:18

was was Leo Benacke as number two.

28:20

But then the third and fourth assistant

28:22

coach were from Toronto. And that's how

28:24

the game is kind of grown. Say

28:26

from a coaching perspective because our

28:28

domestic league sitting at the time I

28:31

say at the time because right now

28:33

we don't have a domestic league by

28:35

the time was nowhere near as advanced.

28:37

It didn't have the kind of opportunities

28:39

that local coaches desperately need

28:41

to continue to advance to continue to

28:44

to move the game forward. So it's

28:46

a double edged sword and either

28:50

option I think is

28:52

right here. I'm not going

28:54

to cast aspersions on on either. Can

28:57

I can I briefly just really quick. I know for

29:00

a fact that I've seen other coaches at the club

29:02

level they come and go.

29:04

And there's always at the club level

29:06

and the majority of these clubs an institutional

29:08

coach and oftentimes coaches from the

29:11

outside see this institutional coach as

29:13

the eyes and ears of management

29:15

a mole if you will. And

29:17

it is about trust when it comes to your coaching

29:19

staff. It's not always about the

29:22

best possible coaches about the coaches that you can

29:24

trust the coaches that understand you and that you

29:26

know that not only understand you and

29:28

your system but can transmit said system to

29:30

these players can get the best out of

29:32

these players. So I don't mind it. It's

29:34

a trust issue for me. And I think

29:36

Pochettino sees it the same way. If not

29:39

there would be a U.S. coach there

29:41

because there's that's the case. There

29:43

would be one there. But it's a trust issue. All

29:46

right. Enough on the coaches. Let's talk about

29:48

some goals shall we because there were some

29:50

good plays over the weekend. We'll start in

29:52

the championship. The aforementioned Josh Sargent with the

29:55

goal is Norwich beat Hall City forward to

29:57

nothing her good timing here for the American.

30:00

Good timing for the America. He keeps scoring

30:02

goals. He had a penalty kick in this

30:04

game that he missed. It went off the

30:07

post, but Josh Sargent again proving how dynamic,

30:09

experienced, and productive he is in the championship.

30:12

Four goals, three assists on the

30:14

season for Josh Sargent. In the

30:16

Premier League, Ollie Jimenez with

30:18

a beautiful assist as Fulham lost three to

30:21

two against Man City. Shaka, how about that?

30:24

I thought that was absolutely fantastic

30:26

from Raoul Jimenez. And the more

30:28

I see it, the more

30:31

I am convinced I was intentional. First look,

30:33

I thought, oh, he got a little bit

30:35

lucky there. But then from the second time

30:37

I saw it, for this slow motion

30:39

repair, I watched his game. I watched his game

30:41

live. He

30:43

intends that. He knows exactly where Pereira

30:45

is. Wonderful assist. From

30:48

England to Spain, Kyle Laren with an

30:51

assist. Maybe a goal should have been

30:53

as Mallorca fell 2-1 against Espanyol. Hercule

30:55

of Canadian forwards. I

30:57

do. And Raoul Jimenez definitely tried to

30:59

do his pass. Kyle Laren had

31:01

no idea that he had an assist here. Laren's

31:06

a second assist of the season. Of

31:08

course La Liga returns after the international

31:10

break because everybody wants to know. Real

31:12

Madrid's next game Saturday, October 19th against

31:15

Celta de Vigo, Barcelona, Sunday

31:17

the 20th against Sevilla.

31:19

All those games from La Liga

31:22

on ESPN+. You

31:28

bet on your favorite player to score the

31:30

first touchdown and he throws an awesome block

31:32

so his teammate can score instead. If

31:35

this happens, BetMGM wants to give you

31:37

another chance at the end zone. With

31:39

BetMGM's second chance promotion, you'll get your

31:41

stake back if your first touchdown scorer

31:44

scores second instead. That's right. Bet

31:46

on any pro football player to score the

31:49

first touchdown of the game. If you're right,

31:51

you win. If your player scores second, you

31:53

get your stake back in cash. Everyone

31:56

knows the most exciting part of

31:58

football is the score. With BetMGM,

32:00

second-chance promotion, you have a chance to

32:02

keep the fun going after the

32:04

first player crosses the goal line. Place

32:06

a first touchdown scorer wager today. BetMGM

32:09

and Game Sense remind you to play

32:11

responsibly. See betmgm.com for terms. 21 plus

32:13

only, Virginia only, existing customer offer.

32:15

Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards vary. Gambling

32:18

problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Ryan

32:20

Reynolds here for, I guess, my hundredth mint

32:22

commercial. No, no, no, no, no, no, no,

32:25

no, no, no. Honestly, when

32:27

I started this, I thought I'd only have

32:29

to do like four of these. It is

32:31

unlimited to premium wireless for $15 a month.

32:33

How are there still people paying two or

32:36

three times that much? I'm sorry, I shouldn't

32:38

be victim blaming here. Give it a try

32:40

at midmobile.com/Switch whenever you're ready. $45

32:43

up from payment equivalent to $15 per month. New

32:45

customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees

32:47

extra. Speed slower above 40 gigabytes see details. This

32:50

is a mini meditation guided by

32:53

Bombas. Repeat after me.

32:55

I'm comfy. Comfy. I'm cozy.

32:58

I have zero blisters on my

33:00

toes. Blisters. And that's because I

33:02

wear Bombas. The softest socks, underwear,

33:05

and t-shirts that give back. One

33:07

purchased equals one donated. Now go

33:09

to bombas.com/ESPN Pod and use code

33:11

ESPN Pod for 20% off

33:14

your first purchase. That's

33:16

bombas.com/ESPN Pod and use

33:19

code ESPN Pod. Now

33:23

let's turn our attention to South

33:26

America, Luis Suarez, with these comments on

33:28

Marcelo Biesa. The pair of course worked

33:30

together at the Copa America where I

33:33

made the semi-finals. There were

33:35

situations that occurred at the Copa America that hurt to

33:37

see. It's going to

33:39

continue to happen. The players are going to reach a

33:41

limit and explode. At the Copa America, there were players

33:43

who told me, Luis, I'll play the

33:45

Copa America and then I won't play again. That

33:48

tells you that we're nearing a difficult

33:50

situation. Suarez would continue. Then you get over

33:52

it and you return because you love your

33:54

country. There were a lot of players

33:56

who set up a meeting with B-Elsa to ask the coach

33:59

to hit the very least greet us with a

34:01

good morning. He wouldn't even

34:04

say hello. A

34:07

man who always says hello in the morning.

34:10

Shaka his lap. How worrisome are these comments

34:12

from Luis Suarez? Of course, he's no longer

34:14

with the national team, but this seems pretty

34:16

damning about Marcelo Bielsa. Yeah,

34:18

it's very worried. And unless

34:20

maybe you could take that kind of

34:23

behavior from from Bielsa, you know, the

34:25

not saying good morning, the kind of

34:27

hands up approach that and that's putting

34:29

as nice as I possibly can that

34:32

he employed with Uruguay. Maybe

34:34

you could take that at a club level. I

34:36

think the dynamic at the national

34:38

team level is very different because while

34:40

you know, we always jolly

34:43

the kind of contrast between

34:45

club football and international football on

34:47

your only together for a short

34:50

period of time, four or five

34:52

days on the coaches have to

34:54

work magic in that four or five days,

34:57

you are together 24

34:59

seven for those four

35:01

or five days. So it really there

35:04

is no escape for the players. So

35:07

to that point, when you're with your club team,

35:09

you go back home, you can dismiss what happened,

35:11

you know, on the training ground. If you had

35:13

enough for an exchange or whatever it may be,

35:15

and you go back home to your family and

35:17

you know, you put that behind you

35:20

when you were the national team, that

35:22

is all you know, that is all

35:24

you do have. So when there's this

35:26

awkward interaction from the man who's in

35:29

charge of everything, um, it makes

35:32

life very difficult. And if

35:34

somebody like Luis Suarez, who

35:37

given his experience, given the amount

35:40

of football that he's amount of

35:42

top level football that he's played,

35:44

and I've been there, I'm sure

35:46

her her cooler test. When you

35:48

get into your fifties and you

35:50

know, retirement is around the corner,

35:53

you, you willing

35:55

to accept a little bit more, you know, a little

35:57

bit more of the weirdness that

35:59

maybe comes with it than that. Maybe

36:02

you did when you were 25 and

36:05

at the peak of your powers. So for

36:07

Luis Suarez to be saying this about

36:10

his experience at the end

36:12

of his career makes it

36:14

doubly damning in my

36:16

opinion. And that is a huge,

36:18

huge concern for let's face it,

36:20

still one of the most talented

36:22

teams in South American and world

36:25

football. Herc, Fede

36:27

Valverde was asked about it. He said, a lot

36:29

of what Luis Suarez says is right. We should

36:31

have kept it in house, but it seems like

36:33

there are other guys within the

36:35

Uruguay pool that agree with this. How big an

36:37

issue is this? I mean, for my money, I

36:40

picked them to win the Copa America this past

36:42

summer. They finished third. I thought they played well.

36:44

They're a team that I would have said going

36:46

into 2026. Okay,

36:48

this is a team that could make a run. Now

36:50

I'm not so sure. You think this could kind

36:53

of change what we think of Uruguay come the

36:55

World Cup? Absolutely.

36:57

I think it's already changed Uruguay.

36:59

Forget what we think about it.

37:01

Forget what I Hercules Gomez, Chaka

37:04

Hayslop, Sebastian Salazar think about Uruguay.

37:06

The dynamic has changed. That's

37:09

forever gonna be different. If

37:12

Marcelo Villalza ends up sticking around.

37:15

Now, Jack, you

37:18

know about the codes of football. You

37:21

know about these famous codes, things

37:24

that are adequate that you can say that you don't

37:26

talk about. Luis

37:28

Suarez is smart enough, experienced

37:32

enough to not go

37:34

out of bounds with these codes, to

37:36

not put his teammates in a compromising

37:38

situation or position. He

37:41

pretty much unclipped the grenade with his mouth,

37:44

chucked it behind him and walked away.

37:48

Leads me to believe by

37:50

the way Fede Valverde came out

37:52

and said what he said and

37:54

other footballers in or around that

37:56

program, that this was

37:58

premeditated. That there was. an okay

38:00

about Luis Suarez throwing that grenade and

38:03

walking away. There's a reason they

38:05

say it's a loco vieleza. Okay,

38:07

there's a reason he's a loco and there's a

38:09

reason why he was at Leeds and he was

38:11

at other clubs the day-to-day would be physically

38:14

and emotionally grating. He

38:17

is a coach, a fantastic coach

38:20

and he's done some amazing things.

38:23

Especially with this Uruguay team, I

38:25

will remind people of

38:27

where Uruguay was before

38:29

vieleza. Their last major

38:31

trophy was 2011 Copa

38:33

America. The last time

38:36

they did anything of worth was them coming

38:38

back in the second round of World Cup

38:40

qualifying and qualifying for the World Cup

38:42

which they were humiliating in. This last

38:45

World Cup with Diego Alonso in Qatar.

38:48

This team finally has done something of worth

38:51

and they go about it in a way

38:53

that's exciting for fans. They beat Argentina

38:55

in Argentina. They were flying in

38:57

World Cup qualifying and placed in

38:59

Copa America. If

39:02

that is not worth having a coach like Luis

39:04

Suarez or excuse me a coach like Marcelo Vieleza

39:06

to these players, there has to

39:09

be a damn good reason for it. So I think

39:11

the damage is done. I think Luis

39:13

Suarez and these players knew what

39:15

would happen once Luis threw that

39:18

grenade, unleashed that bomb and now

39:20

let the dust settle and let's see how we

39:22

can get Marcelo Vieleza out of here. But he

39:25

gone. At

39:27

the moment Uruguay third in

39:30

the conneval table behind both

39:32

Colombia and Argentina. Brazil interestingly

39:34

enough fifth one spot

39:36

behind Ecuador who of course started the campaign

39:38

with negative points would have run they've had

39:40

to get themselves up to fourth. Ales

39:43

Venezuela in six remember it's the top six

39:45

that go to the World Cup seventh into

39:47

the playoff right now. Paraguay would be

39:49

your 17 but we're focused on Brazil there

39:51

at fifth and

39:54

boy the injuries just keep piling up here. No

39:56

mini junior, no adermilita,

39:59

no glace over. Bremmer and no

40:01

Allison. So they're missing a goalie as

40:03

well there. All those guys are going

40:05

to miss the upcoming October window.

40:07

Shaka this is a team that didn't impress

40:10

in Copa America. They didn't really impress in

40:13

the September window. What kind of odds we

40:15

give them to impress here with all of

40:17

this talent out. Well

40:19

they have some replacement certainly for

40:21

Allison. I listen can can

40:24

come in. Phoenicia's

40:26

junior who has been so crucial

40:28

for Brazil for quite some time.

40:30

I mean not just Copa America

40:32

but recently in the work of

40:34

Colin Fiers. I can't

40:37

remember seeing our Brazil team

40:39

look as underwhelming as as

40:41

the one we've seen in 2024. I

40:45

know what do you do.

40:47

I mean it followed me for

40:49

the first time saying that this

40:51

Brazil desperately needs Neymar back. They

40:53

need somebody with that personality with

40:55

that persona. Somebody who is

40:57

going to be trying to be a senior.

40:59

What about somebody like Rafina. It's a guy

41:02

that we haven't really talked a lot about

41:04

in terms of the national team of Brazil. But

41:06

if we look at what he's doing right now with Barcelona

41:08

he seems like one of the best players at

41:10

his position in the world. Can he be the guy because

41:12

you're waiting on Neymar man. They're going to be waiting a

41:14

while down there in Brazil. Yeah. You

41:17

know right now in these two games. Don't

41:19

get me wrong. I have been far more

41:21

critical of Neymar than than most. I

41:25

while I say your tracks are attention. I

41:27

think at times he's too much of a destruction.

41:30

But give no poor Brazil have been. They

41:33

need something. And then to your point Rafina

41:36

has been arguably the

41:38

best player in Spanish football right now. You

41:41

looked at at his performance on on

41:44

on the weekend. And

41:47

he simply unplayable

41:51

and and to the

41:53

point playing on the left

41:55

hand side of Brazil's three prongs

41:57

attack. Let me your mouth. on

42:00

the right. I mentioned him playing

42:04

on the left because of course that's

42:06

the niches juniors preferred

42:08

side and Venetius Junior is out

42:11

for this one. Now I also know that Raffinere

42:13

can play either side just

42:15

as comfortably but just give

42:17

his performances on the left hand side

42:19

of Barcelona three

42:21

pronged attack and I double

42:24

down and say he has been

42:26

La Liga's best player so he's

42:28

needed. Brazil need him no

42:31

more than ever. You know what

42:33

they got going for them said a shack you know what Brazil

42:36

have going for them that they're playing

42:38

in Chile. Yeah they're going against Chile which is

42:40

awful. They've got one win four goals Ricardo Garica's

42:43

team is one of the oldest teams the

42:45

World Cup qualifying in South America and they

42:47

are not doing well. And then

42:49

after Chile if and when you get by

42:51

Chile you've got Peru who's the absolute worst

42:53

team in all the World Cup

42:55

qualifying two goals to their name no win. It's

42:59

an embarrassment of the team right now. So you

43:01

have that going for you because you've got a

43:04

lot of that spine not there and you've got

43:06

some players and listen. Vinicius

43:09

Vinny Junior even if he

43:12

was here it's not a guarantee that he was going to do

43:14

it in Brazil because he's not done much with Brazil you know

43:16

in his history with Brazil Raffinere for

43:18

as good as he is in La Liga and

43:21

I actually think he's been the best player in

43:23

La Liga all season. It's not a guarantee that

43:25

he will do something with Brazil. That's why you've

43:27

got the center backs Markingos.

43:29

That's why you've got players like Lucas

43:31

Pacqueta who've got more goals than

43:33

all these wingers all these forwards you know.

43:35

And Rick is still not of age still

43:37

hasn't blossomed to that player and maybe will

43:39

mature with time but he's not there yet.

43:42

So I'm more worried about anything here

43:44

you know of these players here. Militao

43:47

being out you know one of your one

43:49

of your center backs who's picking up good

43:51

form and with Rahm Madrid who's proven to

43:53

be a leader. Allison even though Ederson behind

43:56

him isn't like it's a massive drop but he's

43:58

been a player for Brazil. That

44:01

worries me more than a Vinnie Jr. or

44:03

or raffina in what is

44:06

a very difficult World Cup qualifying. Well

44:08

right now they're fifth. They're fifth right

44:10

now. World Cup qualifying. Brazil is fifth.

44:12

That blows my mind. Yeah.

44:14

Turn to that point about the that

44:16

point about the schedule here. Brazil playing

44:18

the bottom two teams and in common

44:20

with a common ball qualifying right now.

44:23

Venezuela a point behind Brazil.

44:25

They play Argentina who are top

44:28

and Paraguay who are seven point

44:30

behind Venezuela. So you

44:32

know there's a lot at stake for

44:34

Venezuela right behind Brazil. Brazil

44:37

have to come out of this international

44:39

window in such good stead. They have

44:42

to get six points. Hope that the

44:44

team right behind them in Venezuela chasing

44:46

jobs points. At least that

44:49

gives them that takes some

44:51

of the some of the hoodoo off and

44:54

they can focus on who's

44:56

above. Now that you've established

44:58

some distance between yourselves and

45:01

whoever is trailing in sixth and

45:03

seventh in those spots just

45:05

behind you. Who

45:07

would have thought shock his law bringing

45:09

the anti-Venezuela agenda the football. Yes. Chile

45:12

and Peru have

45:20

played 16 World Cup qualifiers so far. They've

45:22

got to combine one win. So Brazil better

45:24

get all six points. So they're going to

45:26

be in some serious trouble. Thank you very

45:29

much. Chaka you want more Chaka check out

45:31

ESPN FC seven days a week here

45:33

on ESPN Plus. I'll be hosting on Friday. So I hope

45:35

to see you then. Are

45:39

you ready to build your company's

45:41

dream team? Just like in sports

45:44

finding skilled players is essential for

45:46

success with Robert half's winning combination

45:48

of specialized recruiting professionals and award-winning

45:51

AI will help you find the

45:53

MVP's and key role players who

45:55

will have you hanging banners in

45:58

the rafters because in business, it's

46:00

all about. having the experienced team

46:02

on your side. At Robert Half

46:05

we know talent. Visit roberthalf.com today.

46:08

In college football a solid defensive

46:10

line protects the end zone and

46:12

when it comes to fire safety

46:14

quality smoke alarms can help you

46:16

protect your home. That's where Kida

46:19

comes in. Their alarms detect smoke

46:21

over 25% faster

46:23

so you can react when seconds count.

46:25

Plus they're quick and easy to install

46:27

so you can help protect your home

46:29

turf and get back to watching your

46:32

team. Defend your game time with Kida

46:34

and the Home Depot. How doers get

46:36

more done. 29%

46:38

faster average smoke detection based on internal

46:40

testing of smoldering wood fires for Kida

46:43

9th edition versus leading competitor 8th edition

46:45

products. I

46:47

don't to down. Welcome to Auto Zone!

46:49

What are you working on today? My

46:51

check engine light on. That could

46:54

hurt your gas mileage. The Auto

46:56

Zone free fix binder service can

46:58

help find a fix for free.

47:00

Came into this whole report for

47:02

free Hats right printed and on

47:04

your phone for free. Candid. About

47:06

what if that fixes to tough. Will

47:09

recommend a local shop. Picks binder

47:11

only it auto zone. Yeah No. Restrictions

47:15

apply. All

47:19

right let's talk some major league soccer.

47:22

Inter-Miami beating Toronto FC 1-0 on Saturday.

47:24

That puts them within one win of setting

47:26

the new single season points record for

47:29

major league soccer. All they got to do

47:31

is beat New England on October 19th and

47:33

the record is theirs.

47:36

First off is there any chance that they don't

47:38

get it? New England are freaking terrible. New

47:42

England, no they're gonna get it. I'm just curious at

47:44

what point do we just say does it really matter

47:46

that they keep breaking these records? They keep adding more

47:48

teams so that's more games to be played. There's gonna

47:50

be more points. I'm looking at it right now. Was

47:53

St. Louis around when New England broke that record? So

47:56

you know I don't know what any of this

47:58

means but if we're going off will they break the record? the record

48:00

against New England. Yeah, they're gonna break the record against New

48:02

England because New England is terrible. They are

48:04

awful. And it's poetic. They're gonna

48:06

break the record against the team that owns

48:08

the record. And they'll do it in

48:11

what I would think will be spectacular fashion

48:13

in front of fans and

48:15

the rest of the world at the time. Yeah.

48:18

It's coming after the international break. So we don't know

48:20

what to have as far as Messi is concerned. But

48:22

even without Messi against New England and at home, I

48:25

think the game is at home. It

48:27

would be hard to imagine inner Miami, not

48:30

winning this one. As far as the team's legacy

48:32

though, Herc, you say you don't

48:34

know what it means and I appreciate the points you

48:36

bring up, right? It's hard to measure points now versus

48:38

points then. The league has changed a

48:40

lot. But they've already got a

48:42

league's cup. I know it's last year. They've already

48:44

got a supporter shield. If they

48:46

have the points record and an

48:48

MLS cup, and then you just look

48:51

at that roster, it's gonna be pretty

48:53

hard to argue that for a single season, this has

48:55

not been the best team ever, right? If

48:58

they can get MLS cup, it'd be very difficult

49:00

to argue against it. Because that's

49:02

how we measure things here. If you ask

49:04

me right now, who are they up against in terms

49:06

of best MLS? Say it, DC

49:08

United, 98, 99, say it. Yeah,

49:12

DC that did well against nine other teams. I

49:14

would go with Toronto AFC 2017 and

49:18

what they accomplished and how they did it.

49:21

Messi is Messi. And I'm not gonna take anything away

49:23

from the best player that's ever played the

49:25

game, who's now destroying defenses in Major League

49:27

Soccer. But I remember what

49:30

Sebastian Giovenco was like for

49:33

Toronto FC that 18 months span. I

49:38

remember Josie Altidore. I remember

49:40

a young Jonathan Osorio. I

49:42

remember Michael Bradley. I remember

49:44

Greg Vanni's team that

49:46

won everything. And then the one thing they

49:48

didn't win, because they won MLS cup, was

49:50

the CONCAPT Champions Cup in penalty kicks

49:52

to Mathias Almeida's Chiva. So that's the

49:54

best team I've seen. That's

49:57

the one team right now. And

49:59

trust me, the Seattle Samuels. They'll have something to say DC

50:01

United will have something to say the LA Galaxy back

50:03

in the day We'll have something to say but for

50:05

my money That's the best team right now but

50:08

certainly when you look at the eye test when

50:10

you look at what they've done the trophy Hall

50:12

if they can pick up MLS Cup if The

50:16

my if inner Miami can win MLS

50:18

Cup It'd be very

50:20

difficult for me to say there's another team That's

50:22

been better than them because the players that they

50:24

have because of the style because of how they

50:26

did it and be how They continue to do

50:29

it when nobody thought they could not raise my

50:31

hand Well, I sat here and I told you

50:33

there's gonna be a day where Messi is going

50:35

to get injured He will not play all these

50:37

games the summer schedule this the summer schedule that

50:39

and guess what? I was right where I was

50:41

wrong was how the rest of inter Miami and

50:43

that the Martino picked up the slack They didn't

50:46

miss a beat and because of that when he

50:48

was healthy He came right back into it and

50:50

they were inter Miami again with Messi doing messy

50:52

things So MLS Cup robust for him to become

50:54

the best team ever because that's what he was

50:56

brought here to do Do not forget you

50:59

don't hand the keys to the kingdom You

51:01

don't say here are your Apple shares to

51:03

MLS season pass. Here are your shares to

51:05

enter Miami Here is the merchandise and here's

51:07

all these different things that we're going to

51:10

give you future ownership, etc etc for you

51:12

to be ordinary for you to just be

51:15

Record-breaking in regular season. No

51:18

legacy you came here to change into Miami

51:20

and major league soccer Certainly

51:22

changed in her Miami. They are first right now

51:25

and not just in the Eastern Conference Of course

51:27

the supporter shield winners the other side of the

51:29

table in that one Nothing defeats over

51:31

the weekend was Toronto FC who are currently

51:34

tenth Eliminated from

51:36

the playoffs they're gonna miss the postseason

51:38

her for a fourth straight year after

51:40

their defeat against inner Miami John Herdman

51:43

not very pleased with his designated player Renzo

51:46

Insigny So

51:49

coming up for the last 10 minutes was that about as far

51:51

as Yeah, I mean yeah, you

51:53

could see he didn't have much

51:55

in him. I think you managed to

51:57

get messy shirt though but

52:00

Yeah. All

52:02

right, Herka. Sounds

52:05

like some shots fired there from John Herdman.

52:07

And it also sounds like very different

52:10

from what he told us in

52:13

our preseason interviews when he was

52:15

oh-so-optimistic about Lorenzo Insini and

52:17

working with the Italian star. Yeah,

52:19

it does, right? Listen, I've been wrong

52:21

lots of Boy, was I right about

52:23

Toronto FC this season, a preseason. If

52:26

you recall, I said that it would

52:28

be the biggest bust and I can't think of a

52:31

bigger bust if you think about it. Sure,

52:33

San Jose is the wooden spoon. San

52:35

Jose is going to San Jose. You know how that goes.

52:37

But Toronto FC with

52:39

John Herdman and that riveting

52:41

pregame speech he gave you and

52:43

I when we interviewed him in Miami about oh, he's

52:47

bought in and Insini this and that and

52:49

Insini himself that we

52:51

had him there as well. To

52:54

see this, to see at one point

52:57

the highest paid individual in Major League

52:59

Soccer. Now the second highest paid only

53:01

behind the world's greatest player

53:04

ever in Messi to see what he's been

53:06

able to do this ridiculous

53:08

statistical haul. All

53:11

that money down the drain and it's

53:13

not just the on field performances. The

53:16

off the field interactions with

53:19

fans, flipping fans off, the

53:21

incidents, unfortunate incidents, the not

53:23

being able to play or

53:26

stay on the field due to health or personal reasons or where the case

53:28

may be and now a player like his

53:31

caliber when you've played at the

53:35

highest of levels and you are more

53:38

worried about running

53:40

after Lionel Messi to grab his

53:42

jersey after the game and going to apologize

53:45

to the fans that you've defrauded

53:47

to the fans that you've let down to

53:50

these people that spend their hard earned money

53:52

and see you actually making

53:54

an effort to get a jersey after

53:56

the game than to defend

53:59

on the field. than to actually

54:01

move on the field. I've

54:05

seen some big bust in Major League's

54:08

obvious history, but Lorenzo Insinie and

54:10

Bill Manning, by the way, who brought

54:13

him here, maybe via Transfer

54:15

Market, off a website that he

54:17

found, that's one of the biggest busts

54:19

that I've ever seen. 14

54:22

million dollar a year salary. For that, this

54:24

season, Toronto has got four goals, five

54:26

assists, and 23 league appearances.

54:29

14 goals and 11 assists total over

54:32

the two and a half years that he's

54:34

been here. He had a pretty good start to his

54:36

time in MLS at the end of 2022 when he

54:38

came for the back half of that

54:40

season. But, Herc, in the last two years, it's

54:43

basically one goal every

54:45

five games for a dude they're paying $14

54:47

million a year to. And

54:51

here's the bad news. He's got a contract through

54:53

2026. I

54:55

don't know what they do there in Toronto. I don't

54:57

know how they move off them. Bill

55:00

Manning special. You got offload them to the Middle East.

55:02

I think that's your only bet. I don't know who in MLS would

55:04

want them, and I don't know who else would want to pay 14

55:08

million dollars for Lorenzo Insinie.

55:10

15 touches, one shot in 10 minutes. No

55:13

thanks, not getting it done. Not a

55:15

very good investment there from Toronto FC.

55:18

Insinie not on the very long list

55:20

of MLS MVP nominees, Herc.

55:22

It includes the Onan Messi. It

55:24

includes Luis Suarez. And it

55:26

includes 32 other names. Do

55:31

you think they have enough, and who is your non-messy

55:33

MLS MVP? Because you know we're giving it

55:35

to him. By

55:38

the way, they asked for our vote. How about

55:40

that? They did ask for our

55:42

vote, which is interesting. I'm

55:46

actually upset if I'm a realistic candidate

55:49

for this prize.

55:51

Are you telling me you're putting me on par

55:54

with, with all the

55:56

respect Messi's on par with Samuel Piette? Yeah,

55:58

like, you know, like, some players. here just

56:00

like how are they even in this conversation and makes

56:02

me wonder how they're even

56:05

calibrated to get here and if it's all just...

56:07

You think this is bad? You think this is

56:09

bad? You think 34 players is too

56:11

much? For the coach of the year I think they had

56:13

22 of the 29 teams

56:15

got a coach nominated for coach of

56:17

the year. Please tell me please tell

56:20

me... Participation trophies, huh? Please

56:22

tell me there's a San Jose coach in there somewhere. I

56:26

gotta look at the list. I think I

56:28

think there is. There is. Ian Russell, the

56:30

interim coach of San Jose, the worst team

56:32

in the league is in there. So this

56:35

is what I'm saying. Like help yourself.

56:37

You're just diminishing these... Somebody

56:41

outside of Major League Soccer is gonna see this and the first

56:43

thing they're gonna say is all these Americans. And

56:46

it sucks because not not everybody's this

56:48

idiotic. Hey you're not

56:50

giving you're not giving the non messy MLS MVP

56:52

to Christian Benteke. Who you giving it to? You

56:54

know in my DC ways I'm giving it to

56:56

Benteke. Oh Benteke could try to

56:59

fight for the golden boot because that's the love for grabs

57:01

by the way. Try to fight. He's got it bro. What

57:03

do you mean? What do you mean? It's got

57:05

a four goal gap. Oh

57:07

yeah you're right Messi couldn't do four goals in the game. I'll

57:10

take that bet. I'll take that bet. I'll

57:12

let Messi know. No Benteke is

57:14

now wearing the top three. What place are DC

57:16

United in by the way? If

57:19

it wasn't for him they might have four

57:21

wins this year. They're gonna make the playoffs.

57:23

They're gonna make the playoffs. Knock on wood.

57:25

Okay it's Messi, Lucho and

57:27

the other one I think is between Evander,

57:31

Cuccio. No I'm not giving

57:33

it to Cuccio. It's

57:35

Messi, Lucho, Cuccio. If not

57:37

I'd go Ricky and Evander.

57:40

Okay all right there you have it. The

57:43

MLS the non messy MLS

57:45

MVPs. Yeah you're

57:47

not convinced about Evander man. He's got

57:49

more goal contributions than anybody else. Nice

57:51

place man. Austin FC lost through one

57:54

against the LA Galaxy over the weekend.

57:56

Crazy ending Guillermo Biro taking out Ricky

57:58

Puig. That is a very. obvious her

58:00

red card. Yeah,

58:02

but I don't think it's as crazy as people

58:04

making it out to be. Ricky was fine after

58:06

that. It's a hard challenge. Certainly there was a

58:09

little bit there between the two. We got sent

58:11

off. Okay, that's good. Austin

58:13

eliminated from the playoffs. Josh Wolf out as

58:15

manager after four seasons in charge of Austin

58:18

FC. We should check in on our friends

58:20

at we are Austin TV. See

58:22

how they're doing. Herx, LA galaxy.

58:24

They're doing well, by the way, running away

58:26

with the Western conference. Six points clear of

58:29

their in city rivals. LA FC though. LA FC do

58:31

have, as you can see there on the table, a

58:33

game in hand. To

58:37

the National Women's Soccer League. Orlando against

58:39

Washington. Number one versus number two in

58:41

the table. Orlando with a win. They

58:43

get the shield. The new and improved. Yield

58:46

zero zero into the second half. 54th minute

58:48

where we pick it up. Barbara

58:51

Banda going into the box. Henley

58:53

called here on Tarma count. Oh,

58:57

tries to cut off the angle. Pulled

58:59

Banda down. That's a don't go

59:01

penalty kick. We're going to the spot. You

59:04

got Banda to earn the penalties. You got

59:06

Martha to take them. That's a pretty good

59:08

one, two punch. And Martha

59:11

in Orlando beating the Washington spirit one

59:13

nothing. Washington spirit, by the way, in

59:15

this game, missing a ton. I mean,

59:17

a ton of player. 73rd minute Adriana

59:20

with the shot deflection in two

59:22

nothing. Orlando as the

59:24

pride claimed the first ever

59:27

shield in franchise history. A

59:29

just reward for a historic

59:32

season. Martha and

59:34

company still still

59:36

unbeaten as the NWSL regular season

59:38

continues to draw to a close.

59:41

All right. Football W tomorrow.

59:43

We'll be talking much more about

59:45

Orlando's win over Washington. 8

59:48

30 p.m. Eastern time alongside the very

59:50

talented Ali Krieger. Let

59:54

me take it up. Bundesliga two. I know you're

59:56

asking why we're checking in on U.S. World.

1:00:00

a couple legend, Julian Green's, Greuther

1:00:02

Firth, they're taking on FC

1:00:05

Magdeburg, who did what here?

1:00:08

They did what? It

1:00:10

leads to a penalty which leads to a Julian Green

1:00:12

goal. I mean, help him

1:00:14

out. Help the goalkeeper out.

1:00:22

Here's the penalty. Here's

1:00:25

the penalty where we pick up the ball.

1:00:27

Here's the penalty for Julian. There it is.

1:00:31

Oh, as cool as you'd like. Nice little

1:00:33

finish. Julian Green broke up goal score, by

1:00:36

the way. I know. I

1:00:38

know. Greuther Firth settling

1:00:40

for a 2-2 draw there against FC

1:00:42

Magdeburg for all those interested

1:00:44

in the second tier of German football. If you're interested in the

1:00:46

top tier of German football, we got that right here on ESPN+.

1:00:49

The Bundesliga, of course, returning after the

1:00:51

international break. Action kicks

1:00:54

off October 18th with Giorana's

1:00:56

Borussia Dortmund against the recently

1:00:58

promoted St. Paul FC. All

1:01:03

right, Herr, quickly before we get out of here,

1:01:05

we got some Liga and Meccis to talk about.

1:01:08

Chivas losing in the Classico Tapatio against

1:01:10

their city rivals Atlas over the weekend

1:01:12

3-2. They are ninth in the table.

1:01:14

But that's not the story. Fernando Gago,

1:01:17

their manager, reportedly set to leave the

1:01:19

club for Volca Juniors down in Argentina

1:01:21

with six games left in

1:01:23

the season. Herr, on

1:01:25

the long list of Chivas disasters we have

1:01:27

covered on this show, where does

1:01:29

this reign? It's

1:01:32

a growing list, and it's pretty

1:01:34

high up there. Amari

1:01:37

Vergara, the owner of Chivas, his father passed

1:01:39

away, the longtime owner of Chivas. And all

1:01:41

he wants to do is win that one

1:01:43

trophy. The show is that. We

1:01:45

did it, Dad. Here it is. We did it. Here's

1:01:48

Fernando Gago, who's pretty much

1:01:51

not willing to answer a straight question if he

1:01:53

will stay or end up going

1:01:55

to Volca Juniors, who has been widely reported

1:01:57

that he's going to go to. And when

1:01:59

asked, He just says, well, I

1:02:01

don't know what the future holds. I have a

1:02:03

contract. Instead of just saying, no, this is where

1:02:05

I'm going to stay. I want to be here

1:02:07

at Chivas in the ownership group.

1:02:09

I'm already very gotta, instead of doing what his

1:02:12

father would have done that taken the chance away,

1:02:14

the opportunity away. Hey, don't worry about it. You

1:02:16

don't have to answer. You don't want to answer.

1:02:18

Get out. You're out of here. Either you stay

1:02:21

or you go. And he doesn't do that. So

1:02:23

Chivas right now, they're comparing Chivas to Boca juniors

1:02:25

who by the way is 10th place in the

1:02:27

Argentine first division to Chivas right now, who was

1:02:30

ninth place in the Mexican first division. It's a

1:02:32

big mess. It's the only

1:02:34

thing that Chiva

1:02:36

fans can hang on to is the

1:02:38

prestige of that club, how massive a

1:02:41

club it is. And Fernando Gago and

1:02:44

the situation is single-handedly rowing

1:02:46

through it or running through the mud with it.

1:02:48

So it's an unfortunate situation. And I don't

1:02:50

understand why they just don't take the choice

1:02:53

away from him. Stop leaving

1:02:55

them hanging by a third

1:02:57

and just say, if you want to go, you can go, you

1:02:59

are out. How much prestige

1:03:01

can you have, right? Gago might leave them halfway

1:03:04

through the season. We saw what happened with Fernando

1:03:06

Yero. He went to the Middle East for more

1:03:08

money, abandoned the club, kind of in the middle

1:03:10

of a project. Remember what happened with Velko Paunovic.

1:03:12

He was of course linked to Reading over in

1:03:15

England and he was ready to go.

1:03:17

So, I mean, it's just kind of nonstop with

1:03:20

the situations at Chivas where guys aren't finishing their

1:03:22

contracts, not cause Chivas want to run them off,

1:03:24

which has been, as you say, the case in

1:03:26

the past, but because Chivas can't hold on to

1:03:28

talent and that's concerning. It's

1:03:31

humiliating for Chivas, but I think it's

1:03:33

also worrisome for Mexican football. Not exactly

1:03:35

a great sign of where the game

1:03:37

is at down in Mexico. All right,

1:03:39

that'll do it for this edition of

1:03:41

Football America's For Herc Amseb. Thanks for

1:03:43

watching. We're back Thursday previewing US against

1:03:45

Panama. First game under Mauricio Pochettino. Also

1:03:47

previewing Mexico against Valencia. That's right. Have

1:03:49

they sold any tickets to that game

1:03:51

down in Puebla, Herc? You know how

1:03:53

you sell tickets in Puebla? But

1:03:56

Henry Martin got sent home, he's injured.

1:03:59

That's how you do it. You