Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America - #361: Paul Arriola joins the pod

Episode Date: January 28, 2023

Paul Arriola is gonna hit 50 caps tonight, most likely. He sat down with Sanjay Sujanthakumar yesterday to discuss how a cancer doctor helped persuade him to make his return to the national team for the camp he's in now. Plus a detailed discussion of how he learned he wouldn't be going to the World Cup, how he came up in southern California, his signing with Tijuana as a youngster and who brought the best party vibes at his wedding.Big shout to Joey in Hershey for help with the audio. ----Scuffed is an ad-free podcast. Support that and get exclusive episodes (more than 50 last year and already 5 this month in 2023), plus access to the Discord including live call-in shows, by signing up for our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scuffed Skip the ads! Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon and get all episodes ad-free, plus any bonus episodes. Patrons at $5 a month or more also get access to Clip Notes, a video of key moments on the field we discuss on the show, plus all patrons get access to our private Discord server, live call-in shows, and the full catalog of historic recaps we've made: https://www.patreon.com/scuffedAlso, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.comAnd check out our MERCH, baby. We have better stuff than you might think: https://www.scuffedhq.com/store Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the scuff podcast, where we talk about U.S. soccer. Welcome to the scuffed podcast. This is Sanjay, and I'm joined here by U.S.S. men's national team and F.C. Dallas winger, Paul, Ariaola. Paul, thanks for coming out on the show. Yeah, man. Thanks for having me. So I'm going to read some of my questions and mixing some questions from listeners as well. Cool. So we're going to start off with Sabrina in Maine.

Says, congrats on your recent marriage. Which former teammates at the ceremony or reception brought the best party vibes? Ooh, the best party vibes. You know, I would say Sebastian Leggett brought some great party vibes that, you know, I didn't feel too much of it, you know, just like in your wedding. You're just all over the place. But I definitely heard from other people that he was definitely, he was definitely giving it his all at the wedding, which was nice. And then another guy, Lucas Bartlett, he was a draft pick from FC Dallas last year. he's always a life of the party I love that guy and yeah he was he was also amazing

that's awesome okay so quite the juxtaposition of emotions between the way your offseason ended and the way it started Greg didn't pick you to go to the world cup but at the first opportunity to play for the national team you're right back was that a hard decision for you why or why not yeah it was it was it was it was 100% a hard decision right I mean you You just, you know, you've, I spent the last seven years being a part of the national team wanting to go to a World Cup, right? And that's my, that was my end goal. And to come up short, you know, it's a, it's a tough, it's a tough thing to understand and be able to process. And, you know, coming, I came back for a variety of reasons.

You know, one was for myself, you know, to potentially have the ability to play 50 caps for the national team is something that's kind of been on my radar over the past couple of years as I kind of started to climb up on caps. Two, it was a different coach that was going to be coaching in Anthony and BJ who I've been around for a while. And, you know, I have great respect for them. And I know that the situation with them has been, you know, has been tough with kind of everything going on. And, you know, I told them when they had called me and asked me if I would be willing to be a part of the team. And if I didn't, you know, they completely understood. And I just had a lot of respect for them as we were kind of going through that process just for them to leave it up to me whether or not I would want to come back and be a part of the team and kind of help the team. And then thirdly, I had a reminder from my mother-in-law's cancer doctor who was really disappointed that I wasn't a part of the World Cup team and ended up hearing that I,

was thinking about not ever playing for the national team again. And he kind of just gave me a different perspective in the sense of, you know, I don't have to just play for a coach or a team. You know, I play for more than just that. I play for all my family. I play for my friends. I played for all the supporters who, you know, wanted to see me in Qatar and want me, you know, and want me to succeed.

And, you know, combine that with also being able to have a chance to respond and use this as an example to respond to be someone who can go through a really hard time and somehow find light at the end of the tunnel and be willing to get back up on their feet and keep going. All those things kind of led me to the decision to come back for this camp. you know, to be a part of the national team and represent the country again. So tell me about the pre-world cup camp and how that went and then how you were informed you didn't make the call. What sticks out in your memory about what Greg said to you when he told you you won't be on the team?

Yeah, we had a pre-camp in Frisco, which really just consisted of trying out some tactics that the team used in the World Cup and try and kind of see what was going to work, what wasn't going to work. Also along with that was some fitness as well. We went through the week with doing that stuff, and at the end of the camp, he had let us know that he was going to tell us, kind of as the weekend passed on. So kind of told us that he was going to be telling us on Sunday. Saturday after our camp ended right before I left to drive home because I live in Frisco.

he called me into his office and i walked in there and he was sitting down and i just remember him kind of telling me like i have some bad news and and uh you know it's it's not the news that you know i want to tell you and it's not the news that you want to hear um and just told me that at the moment i wasn't in in the plans to be on the team and kind of gave me a little bit of context as to his thinking and I was just kind of in shock really, you know, in the moment. I wasn't really expecting to hear you made it or you didn't make it. And so it kind of took me by shock, but I understood his process as to why he told me he, you know, he, on a human level, you know, he wanted to tell me face to face after kind of all I have been through

and being a part of the national team and being through, through, the entire cycle with him, you know, I think he felt that he owed me the respect to tell me in person rather than just a phone call. And, you know, I really respected that. And obviously, it's not, it wasn't a good thing to hear, right? It was literally the worst news that I could have got. But, you know, in the end, I, I respected his decision and I told him that. And, you know, I said, I think that I've done everything that I could in my own power. I stayed healthy. I had the best year of my career by far.

And, you know, I stayed consistent throughout the year. And I said, you know, I think I can just walk out of here with my head held high. And, you know, I respect your decision. You know, I think you got it wrong. But at the end of the day, your opinion is the only opinion that matters, and you're the one that makes the choice. So we kind of left it at that. and I walked out.

And then I sat in my car for an hour and just kind of called like my, you know, the people that, that obviously I wanted to let know right away before anything kind of came out. Yeah, and how did you process that in the following days, weeks? Obviously, now you're responding to it, but, you know, in between now and then, like, how did you deal with it? Yeah, I left. My wife, I called my, my feet, she was my fiancé at the time, now my wife, but I called her. I told her that I wasn't going and she was in shock.

And I drove home. And when I drove home, I said, let's go back to California for our offseason. You know, I don't really want to kind of linger around in Dallas and Frisco. And just going back home and tried to be around people that, you know, I love and I love to be around. My wife is from Los Angeles and I'm from San Diego. So we typically always spend our awesome. offseason in southern California. So it was kind of in that moment that I wanted to run away as much as I could. So my wife, myself and our two dogs hopped on a plane the next day, the next morning,

and just left as quick as we could to get back here. And, you know, once I saw the roster announcement, obviously that was tough for me. I talked to a few former players and, you know, to talk to a few guys just kind of, um, that had reached out to me just to kind of tell me, you know, that, that they were sorry and, and, you know, that what I'm going through is, is tough. Um, and then from then, you know, I, once, once the tournament started, I, I became a fan, right? It wasn't, it wasn't, you know, these were, these are my brothers, you know, this, this, this is a, a group that I've been with for a long time. And, and especially in this cycle. I was one of those guys that that was in almost every camp. So at the end of the day,

I was so sad, but I knew that, you know, the bigger picture is, is the national team and the way that we want to try and continue to show the growth in the United States and the players that we have, the talent that we have. The thing that's missing for us is winning. And I think the World Cup kind of gave us a great, gave the national team a great platform. to continue to show that there's a lot of growth in the national team, in America, in the United States, where, you know, we have, we have, you know, players that are developing, like, there's no tomorrow, and I think it shows a really, really bright future for our country. Yeah, to tell me how, you know, you yourself got into soccer growing up here in SoCal.

Yeah, I played soccer since I was two or three years old. My mom was out in the, out in the field, holding my hand. I was one of those kids that played soccer and baseball growing up. I played both. I played competitive soccer and travel baseball. And it wasn't until around 10 or 11 years old that I kind of had to choose between one or the other. I mean, my family and I were swamped. Like every day we were going somewhere.

I have a younger brother. So he was constantly getting dragged around as well to baseball tournaments, to soccer tournaments. And then it kind of became this kind of friction where I had to choose, you know, and I chose soccer because that was my first love and the one that I enjoyed the most. And from there, it just kind of took off. I took it, you know, real serious and was really focused on just trying to get a college scholarship at first. You know, my parents paid a lot and made a lot of sacrifices for myself for me when I was young. and in the moment, all I really wanted to do was go get a free college scholarship so I can almost, you know, repay my parents to an extent so that they had to, so they didn't have to pay for me anymore. And that's kind of, that was kind of my thought process and that was my motivation at the time.

And then around 15, 16, when I was part of the under 17 national team, that was when I really kind of turned on to like, I want to be a professional. I've been in somewhat of a professional environment and this is what I would. want to thrive in. What are two things you've improved on as a player from age 18 to now, and how did you do it? MCB and Harlem asked that question. Great question. You know, 18 years old, I signed in Mexico. And the reason I signed in Mexico was because I was a part of the Galaxy Academy for a year,

and Bruce Arena pretty much had told me he was the coach of the first team at the Galaxy at the time, and he pretty much told me that I wasn't going to play. you know he said you know he didn't think that i was developed enough that i was ready for the speed that it was you know that the team was at which to be fair was one of the best teams in mLS at the time robbie king landin had just came back omar was there um it was gasi's artist's first year in the league um so they they had a lot of good good players and for him to tell me that i wasn't really going to be involved at all. It kind of forced me to go down to Mexico and kind of give a shot at Mexico.

And I went down there to also be pretty much to sign for the under 20 team because their schedule was very similar. I was going to get games every weekend, continue to develop and get better. And I ended up making a mark on the first team right away, which was a complete shocker to me compared to I just came from the galaxy where, you know, one of the most famous U.S. had told me, like, you're not going to be on the field for us, you know? And so just being able to do that, I learned, I learned a lot about tactics in Mexico. I, you know, having coaches, I had multiple coaches, guys who played different ways.

I really learned about how to use my physical traits, right? I'm a small guy, but, you know, I'm quick and I'm able to kind of use that to my advantage, being on the front foot constantly. And over time, I just started to really learn, you know, what my strengths were. And I used those, I used those, you know, to help me on the field. You got your first two national team caps under Juergen, and you were heavily involved under Bruce and Greg. Could you compare and contrast what it was like to play for all three of them,

what their leadership styles were like, and how you thought the group responded to those guys? Yeah, obviously I was unfortunate to be able to, one, be a part of the national team for as long as I have, and at the same time being able to be a part of different coaches' plans. With Juergen, you know, it was definitely more of a time that I had just kind of began with the national team. It was really my first experience. I didn't know what to expect. Gürgen was, my very first camp was, it was very lax, it was very nice, very welcoming.

There was a bunch of new guys that had kind of been called up, and the team was getting ready for Cop America. And I was able to kind of play under him, and I enjoyed the intensity that he brought. I enjoyed the togetherness that he tried to form and the way that he kind of, the way that he saw you as a person as well as a player. And then with Bruce, Bruce comes in, obviously, after Eurgan gets fired, calls me in to a World Cup qualifying camp. And I remember then I kind of had already been familiar with a lot of the veterans. You know, we, the national team today has, is so different, the style and obviously the age, right,

average age is completely down, which makes the national team a lot different than what it was before. You know, I was going into camps with, you know, Michael, Josie, Demarcus Beasley, you know, all of Al-Abollah, Jeff Cameron, all these veterans who had been around that had World Cup experience, that guys that have, you know, have, that have been around the national team for years and years and years and have played at, at really, really high levels. So for me, under Juergen and under Bruce, it was a lot of learning. And after not qualifying, after Bruce, when Greg comes in, it's completely different. All of a sudden, I'm a veteran.

You know, I think I was 24, 25 maybe. And I'm one of the veterans, right? I'm one of the guys that has the most caps on the team like like that, right? Like a light switch. And then from there, you know, you try and take a leadership role. You know, you've kind of gone through. I had already went through qualifying. Greg, I remember our very first camp, a January camp, was very, very detail-oriented,

which is something that I had never seen before from Juergen or from Bruce because it's a national team, right? you get to get together to three weeks at a time, four or five times a year. You know, like try and imagine getting everyone on the same page after they're already on a different page at their club. So, you know, for me, it was something new. I think for everyone, it was something different. And I think we really just embraced it. We really, we really embraced him coming in and implementing a style that no one was really

familiar with. And he told us, you know, you know, we know. When we pull, we all pull one way. You know, it doesn't matter which way we're pulling. As long as we're going together, we're going to be fine. And I think that's the thing that I've liked the most about Greg is the style of play and the consistency and the, you know, he makes playing predictable for all the players.

So when everyone comes to the national team that has been a part of the national team under Greg, everyone already knew how we were going to play. And it was just kind of fine-tuning some details. And I think that's something that was really, really special because it also created a bond. Hey, this is Bell's jumping in. Skuffed is an ad-free podcast. Support that and get exclusive episodes more than 50 last year and already 6 this January in 2023, plus access to the Discord, including live call-in shows by signing up for our Patreon.

The link is in the show notes. Now back to Sanjay's interview with Paul Ariola. So you touched on it in that response, but here's a question from the legendary podcast host, Greg Velasquez. So this past cycle, the demographics completely flipped with the squad. Can you describe some of the differences in group dynamics, mentality, locker room vibes? Yeah, for sure. I think it's a thousand percent change, right? Like you talk about the youthfulness that the national team has and the personality.

that these guys have. You know, the cycle that we just went through leading up to this World Cup, it was everyone had experience, right? Like at the beginning of qualifying, there was only a few guys that have ever been played a qualifying game. But after the first round, you know, after the first three, three matches, all of all of the group really had experience now. And they knew what to expect for away games. They knew how important your home games were. And so at that point, it's like everyone is a veteran, right? You look at,

you look at the entire squad, like anyone that was really in that cycle is everyone knows what to expect. And I think it's amazing the way that guys carry themselves. It's like I said, it's very youthful. It's very vibrant. And at the same time, it's a, you know, I, I, I, I, I think everyone always kind of hears us talk about it, but it's a brotherhood. You know, like we come in, and it's not just like you're coming in with the national team. You're coming in with your brothers. You're coming in to play alongside guys that you've been with for the past years. And I think that's really special, and I think, you know, all of the guys that have been a part of the cycle would say the same thing.

This is a big summer for both MLS and Liga and Ekes with the new format of the Leagues Cup. Can you compare the standard of play in League of EMEX East MLS from the beginning of your career with Tijuana until now? Yeah, I think I'll just say the simple answer is the MLS now in today's world is, in my opinion, at a much higher level, one than it's ever been before and two above League IMEX, right? League on Max when I first got there I learned that the pace was slower it was a lot more of individual players kind of

taking on their guys a lot of dribbling I mean there's there's so many talented players in both leagues right but you know in Mexico it's a lot of possession oriented teams and in the United States it's it's a lot more physical it's a league that requires you to be physical right and to use your physical attributes, whatever they may be.

And then over the past couple years, you've obviously seen a lot of youth players coming to MLS and shining, specifically South Americans, which in the past had always gone to Mexico. And now kind of with the economic structure of the United States, the safety of the United States, a lot of these young kids are wanting to come to the MLS to then make a potential step to Europe

or to a bigger club. And I think that's really played in MLS's favor in comparison to League MX. Mr. X in Golden, Colorado wants to know. Do you prefer San Diego, L.A. or Texas Mexican food? Oh, San Diego for sure. San Diego for sure, man. You know, when I first met my wife, she told me that she had some really good Mexican spots in L.A. I let her take me and it just, it didn't compare.

And then I take her to San Diego and now she knows, like, San Diego is just, it's just different. You know, it's just different Mexican food. I don't know, man. Like, you just can't compare it. What about Texas? Texas, to be honest with you, I don't know, but I can only imagine, you know, like, I can only imagine that it's a couple steps behind San Diego unless you're going to like El Paso or. Loretto or something like that. So you played FC Dallas,

which is a great track record of developing young American talent. Mike in Sacramento wants to know what stands out to you about your team who came up at FCD. Is there anything they do that you wish you'd been taught as a young player? Do you see them teaching certain habits that are?

Yeah, I, first off, I'll say it's crazy the amount of FC Dallas product around the world. You know, like even in camp today, like, you know, before this camp, I had no idea that Jonathan Gomez was a part of the FC Dallas Academy, right? And you can just go from guy to guy and almost certain they've been a part of Dallas.

You know, you see so much FC Dallas representation. We saw a bunch on the World Cup team. You see a bunch getting opportunities with the national team. And that's something great, right? And it's amazing, and it's a lot of credit to them. And obviously the talent that's in Dallas. And to answer the question, like, do I wish that I had, you know, a similar type of development, of course, you know, like these guys, these guys are talented players. And I think FC Dallas has done it right in the past in making sure to develop these guys as professional.

So when they get up to the next level, it's an easy transition for them, which doesn't always happen. Not even in MLS teams is it that simple. So, you know, I definitely give a lot of credit to FC Dallas for, you know, bringing up guys like Weston, Chris Richards, even for a little bit. Is there like a specific thing they do that you notice that maybe not every club? No. No, yeah. I don't know what's in the water in Texas, I guess, you know? Like, I don't know what's going on there, but they surely do, they do like to produce some really good, really good talent.

Chris Carr and Virginia wants to know Was this Sonsie deal something You hoped would be a jumping point into Europe And were there any other offers from Europe That you were thinking about Yeah absolutely I would have loved to You know

Got in a real chance To play consistently on my loan Of course it's You know It was a loan that That I was That I wanted to take in order to be able to kind of take my chances in hope to have some playing time to be able to

demonstrate myself in the European market. And in the end, you know, for one reason or the other, it just didn't happen as smoothly and as exactly as we had played it up. And there was another team interested that I was potentially going to go to and that was Darby County at the time. which was Wayne Rooney, was the manager, and he was my teammate in D.C. a couple years, a couple years later, he ends up being the manager at Derby. And at the time, it was funny because they were in the championship as well, and they're at the bottom of the table. And they're trying to climb themselves out of relegation. Meanwhile, the option for me to go to Swansea was they were in first place at the time, right, fighting to go to the Premier League. And at the end of

day it wasn't necessarily my decision. There was a couple of things financially that that that kind of held me back from going to Darby. But I knew with with Darby what I would have got with Underwain, you know, he was very clear on kind of my role that I was going to have and the importance that I was going to play and trying to, you know, help him save, save relegation. So, you know, everything kind of happens for a reason. And yeah, I mean, it was obviously a good experience, you know, regardless of my playing time. I learned a lot.

I was able to see what it was like to be in a championship club that was pushing for for promotion at the time. Obviously, it came extremely close. But, you know, it was a very good experience. And I think if the opportunity ever arose again, I think. And it made sense for me, part of my family, for the club. I think, you know, I would jump out of a heartbeat. What's your favorite youth national team memory?

Oh, man. Had a lot of them. Yeah, under 17 World Cup for sure. I think that one was amazing, specifically, because I was in the residency program for a year. I really wasn't ever part of the first team. and at the end of the road, a couple months before the World Cup, kind of all the guys in my position started to fall for one reason or the other, and I ended up starting in the World Cup.

I went from being a player that was on the C team at the time to then being on the field for the first game of the World Cup as a starter. So that was special. That was my first time into what it was like to play in a stadium filled with fans, to be on TV, to feel like the whole world was watching you and seeing how important that was. And then the under 20 World Cup as well was super special for me. Scoring in that was one of my favorite moments.

And kind of had that camaraderie that a lot of the guys on the men's team talk about. Like in that World Cup, we were so united and so together. And we wanted it so bad. I remember crying my eyes out when we lost to Serbia in penalty kicks. That was just a dramatic, like, up and down, you know, a motion-filled game. And for us, I think that was just, it was so heartbreaking, and it was one of those ones that you just wanted it so bad for yourself,

for your team. You know, we really felt like we had a lot more to give and to make a special run. So those are kind of my two moments. Were you closest to you on the national team and at FC Dallas? Ooh, on the national team, man, I don't know, like Course Walker, Aaron Long, Christian Raldon, Jordan, a lot of the MLS guys that we've spent January camps with for the past, you know,

four or five years. Like, you know, it's, you spend, you spend months at a time with these guys. Like, you're going to, you know, you naturally build these, these connections off the field when you're, you know, when you're having dinner on your own or, you know, you're sitting next to the same person at a table for, for dinner for a month. You know, you're always going to find guys that you really bond. with and I think those are kind of kind of the guys that I've always been closest to. And then obviously with the national team as well, Jesus, right?

Like, that's my dog. That's my guy in Dallas, you know, like he was a big influence as to why I went to Dallas. I wanted to be with another player that had dreams and ambitions to be one of the best. And, you know, that's kind of my dog in Dallas to ride with, especially on the other player. the field. We have very, very good chemistry, always aligned and really work well together. Last few questions here. I appreciate you taking this much time, Paul. Mario Palencia in Southeast L.A. asked, being Mexican-American, how welcome do you think the USSF is, the Latino players that are strong roots to both countries, especially with some fans and some on the fence,

some fans on the fence between both countries, noticing some lack of Mexican-American representation in the team. Yeah, I think, you know, I'll be honest with you. I think, I think the federation has done a lot to try and influence double nationality players, right, dual national players or dual citizenship, I guess, I should say. And, you know, I think Greg had a big influence on, you know, guys, specifically Europeans, to be able to come over to play for the U.S. I think as far as Mexican-American goes, I think there's so much talent. Obviously, growing up in Southern California, like almost every soccer player is Hispanic, right?

And, you know, they often have these times and these choices to make, to play for either country. And myself as, you know, a Mexican-American, obviously an American that was made Mexican when I went down to Mexico, I think it's extremely important for these guys to be a part of our national team, the U.S. national team. And, you know, specifically in this camp, we've had quite a few, Jonathan Gomez, Brandon Vasquez, Alejandro Zendejas. And I think my role is just to be a good guy, you know, and regardless of where they come from, but also just being able to speak Spanish with them to let them feel comfortable.

Obviously, I know Brandon from before, but. you know, being a veteran guy now at, you know, at the prime age of 27, it's nice to make people feel welcomed. And they should feel comfortable when they come with a national team. And just talking about Brandon and Alex, like these guys, you know, I can't speak on Jonathan, but I know Brennan and Alex, like having conversation with the Mexican Federation before or playing in Alex's case, like, you know, all I want to do is, is treat them as normal as possible and show them that what we have here is a brotherhood

and everyone is willing to fight for you and do that. So I think also a big part is how these players are treated when they come into camp. And hopefully, you know, they choose to be a part of, you know, the U.S. Soccer Federation and play for the national team because it is a huge honor. And I know it, you know, it can definitely be a tough, tough decision for them. but from a player's perspective, I think, you know, our job is to make them feel as welcomed and as warm as possible as quickly. In terms of this camp, Brady and Iowa wants to know, is there anyone who's really stood out to you on or off the pitch? I know off the pitch, Anthony Hudson was talking about John Tolkien being quite a character.

Yeah, he stood out to you on or off. Yeah, you know, on the field, Alexander Huss, I think is an amazing player. I think he's shifty. I think he's skillfully bringing something a little bit different, left-footed, player that plays on the right, which is something we, you know, we haven't seen in a little while on national teams. So, you know, he's, he was one that I was really, really happy with. I really liked Jalen Neal, young, composed, calm, never looks like he's struggling at all. And I really like, I really like, I really like his composure. And off the field, you know, I've talked to quite a few guys.

I really like a lot of the young guys, you know, just guys like, again, like going to back to this trying to get guys comfortable and trying to get them to be able to feel like they could talk to anyone. So definitely John Tolkien, a character. I've known Julian Gressel for a while. You know, that's one of my buddies. You know, Brandon Vasquez, I've known for a while, you know, as a young guy. I just think there's so many, Kate Cowell. You know, we were in camp briefly for a little bit before and coming into this. But really just trying to talk to everybody and make everyone feel like they can open up and you can joke with them.

And, you know, we're all the same, right? We're all in the same boat. We're all, you know, trying to have the best careers possible that we can and represent our country the best we can. So, yeah, there's just, there's a lot of guys that are interesting, to say the least. last two here Kenny in SoCal wants to know you're in your prime playing years

and plenty of years ahead of you have you made any adjustments to your fitness regimen to maximize your prime in your career yeah I think obviously diet is important and I'm not saying that I'm on a diet by any means but just having the awareness

on what to eat what not to eat you know what's good for you when you need to really start to load up on carbs you find routines that you're you find routines in lifting and, you know, I've gone through a lot of muscular injuries after my ACL. So just kind of priming those up and making sure that, you know,

I'm being as preventive as possible to avoid injury. And honestly, I think I have a great engine and something that really helps me be who I am on the field, being able to press, being able to consistently running behind. So all those things for me has really been important. And, you know, I hope to continue to get better. Last one. Tell us about what you like to do away from soccer and what you think you'll end up doing when your career is over. I know you mentioned coaching real estate kind of stuff. Yeah, I, you know, when my career is over, I'm not quite sure I would love, you know, I'd love to be a youth coach.

I'd love to influence the youth and help develop because I think we have such an amazing opportunity ahead of us in the United States with soccer that, you know, why wouldn't I want to try and create the next Polisic or West of McKen, kinney you know i think that makes the most sense and off the field golf i love to golf that's like my thing golf my dogs my wife and and you know that's it how competitive are you guys with golf within the team uh we are very competitive yeah yeah yeah we usually do like a two v two scramble so we're usually all up in there are you like near the best no no no i'm i'm we're all kind of even like mid mid tier you know like we're we don't want to be in a pro am or anything but just you know like we're working our way up to it okay paul thanks so much for taking this much time. Yeah. Thank you.