Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America - #636: Tanner Tessmann joins the pod!

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

Tanner Tessmann, the midfield anchor for Olympique Lyonnais who started for the USA against Ecuador on Friday, joined Sanjay Sujanthakumar for a half-hour long chat in Colorado on Monday. The Alabama native talked about, among other things, Nemanja Matic's impact on him, how long of a field goal he can kick with his left foot, his love for Venice and what he thinks he needs to do to start at the World Cup next summer. 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 when we talk about U.S. soccer. Welcome to the scuffed podcast. This is Sanjay, and I'm joined by U.S. men's national team and Lyon. Midfielder, Tanner, Tessman. Tanner, thanks so much for coming on the pod. Yeah, no, thanks for having me. What is the longest field goal you've ever made? I've heard Dabba talk a little bit about your kicking, but what's your record? I want to say like 65

that sounds right to be honest I don't really know but I would say like 65 is like when I tried with the yardage this was back in like high school you done it recently you tested it out no definitely haven't done it recently maybe if I get back to Clemson in the summer something I'll try yeah but uh I think it was a summer

camp that I was at and I was with the kickers and yeah and your weak foot you hit over 50 no problem is that right yeah yeah Yeah. Really no, I mean, I get like the American football people don't understand that, but really as a, as a soccer player, it's like no different really. I mean, maybe a little less power, but to be honest, I probably could have done 60 in the time, maybe not now, but maybe it was a windy day. I don't know. And any aspirations when the soccer career is done to try out for the NFL, potentially? Never say never. Keep the door open. Tony Mule, obviously, an example, and Harry Cairns also talked about it, so it would be cool, right? It would be really cool. It would be really cool.

So let's get into football a bit here. What would you say has been the biggest factor and what seems like the exponential growth in your game last couple of years? I mean, first off, do you agree with that? Last couple of years have been a massive step for you? Yeah, I think that's, you know, part of the question is like it looks like a big growth, And it is when you look on paper. I was playing Siri B two years ago, and now I'm in Europa League and a top team in France. So it is a big jump.

But when I came to Europe, I was playing Syria, which is a very high level. And when we got relegated, I started to play more and more. And I think that moment kind of built me up, gave me a lot of confidence to know that I'm walking into a team in Europe as an American and can be an important player in that team. And I think I think the same with Leona. I came in, you know, as not a starter. came in as a player that was coming off the bench and starting a few games here and there, but learning from a lot of experienced players.

And this year now I'm stepping in as a more important player, which I think is important for me in my career and my development. So I think it's been kind of a journey to get here. But, yeah, when you look at, you know, two years ago I was playing Siri B and now in Europa League and the top team of France, it is pretty cool. Yeah, because a lot of fans look at how these elite prospects like yourself can really take that step. And it seems like it doesn't happen for a lot of American players.

So you're saying it's that career trajectory in terms of the clubs you were at. Yeah, I think it's contributed to. Yeah, I think it's also just like staying steady in the course. Like don't get too frustrated or, you know, I took a, you know, came to Syria and expected to try to stay up and stay in Syria and not to get relegated. And then when we got relegated, it was a decision of, you know, should I stay in Venice or should I go to another Sierra Club? because am I a CRI player or do I have to go earn that respect?

And I had to go earn that respect as an American. Maybe if I was Italian, they would have taken me somewhere else. But I stayed in Venice and fought a hard Seri B a year. And then the next year, also Seri B and got promoted. And I think when you achieve something big like that in a league like that, it takes a lot of effort from the team, but also from individual standpoint of a year after getting relegated, we got promoted. And I think it's just sticking with the belief in the program and understanding that, you know,

not all good things happen overnight, and it might take a couple years for me to get my feet settled in Europe. And from there, now I'm in Leon, and similar thing. You know, last year had ups and downs, but this year started off pretty strong and hope to continue. How would you compare the level in Saria B, TMLS, or even middle of the pack or those yo-yo clubs in Sierra? Like, how would level-wise, how would you compare to Tama Lass? Sierra was a high level. Difficult atmosphere to play in. The players have really good quality defensively, really.

really, really good, hard to break down. So I would say, you know, there's definitely MLS teams that can compete at a high level in Syria and different leagues around the world. But I'd say, you know, on average, it's a difficult league to put an MLS team in, just because, for one, MLS teams don't have a relegation, which is a big pressure, big pressure from the fans and puts a lot of pressure on the players. But I think MLS has a lot of quality, especially, you know, if you put a couple teams in Syria B, I think they would do really well.

certainly some of the top teams and MLS would do really well in Saribe. So you talked about how you prioritize learning, defending, when you got Syria, right? And that's a league. A lot of our fans are following a lot more closely because the American presence there. And you're obviously not there anymore, but looking back at your time in Syria, can you give us some insight and examples as to what you did there? Because obviously with Venicia, you spent a lot of time in tough games trying to stay up, defending.

But maybe what the fans don't see when you're, with your club, whether it's individually or collectively, like, give us a sense of how you built yourself up, built yourself up as a defender. Yeah, so, you know, in Italy, they do a lot of tactical training, so a lot of times you're on the field and you're not necessarily being so intense, but you're staying in a, you know, 11 v.0 kind of formation focusing on defending and focusing on where you're on the field. So it's, in that aspect, it's a big difference than maybe how you train in MLS, where you know, MLS is really competitive, short, hard sessions, focusing on different things with the ball.

So when I went to Italy, it was a lot of without the ball, where I'm supposed to be, and how I'm supposed to move, and it's really precise. And I think when you do that in training, you obviously learn and you get critiqued by the coach and everything, but then to do that in the game is a different thing. And I think then being able to do it in the games I play Syria, learning in Syria B continue to develop, I think that's the steps. is they just really focus on a lot more in the trainings and in the games than maybe other leagues. Was there an adjustment period with those kind of sessions? Like what mentally was like, all right, frustrating at all? Like, give me the ball.

Let's get on the ball. Let's do some possession stuff. Like, what was that like initially? Yeah, I mean, you certainly want to, I mean, you want to get on the ball and you want to play and you want to do attacking drills and play small side and all the fun stuff. And I think, you know, I didn't really know what to expect when I went to Italy, but certainly there's a lot of tactics. And luckily for me, I'm.

I really enjoy that stuff. I really enjoy the tactics and breaking down the game and understanding how to break down an opponent in a different way. So I quite enjoyed it, but it does get to a point where you stand on the field and you feel like we could just be doing this in the video room or something, and it gets a lot. And then same thing in terms of your adjustment to France. You've talked about the speed of play, the athleticism there.

Again, beyond just getting minutes and getting adjusted through games, what else were you doing that fans don't see to get yourself, physically up to the level in France. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a lot of time in the gym, working on strength and speed and different things, but also, I mean, strategically understanding the angles and moments of when I should go into a tackle or stay back or how to win duels and to be assertive in the pitch, those types of thing. And I think at the end, it comes to watching a lot of the games back and watching other

games learning from players and people at the highest level. Yeah, in terms of learning from players, Namanya Matich, legendary midfielder. How much did he help you grow? What would you learn from him? A lot, a lot. He's a great friend of mine now, which is a pleasure to say. But no, he's really experienced. And I think the most important thing is he's so competitive.

And it's with everything. It's, you know, when we're playing ping pong or if we're in the gym or if it's anything, he's just competitive. And he brought that atmosphere into Leone at a difficult time for the club. They were in, you know, the bottom of the table, the first six months. And he came in in January. And I think his competitiveness brought the team to, being out of that and qualifying for Yopal League, which has never been done before.

So that's the biggest thing I think I learned from him is just being competitive always and that drive and mentality. But I think one thing on the field is the way he uses his body. And I think he's a similar player to me. He's not the fastest player. He's not the strongest player, but he uses his body so well to win duels and to keep the ball and to not cause fouls. He's really smart with how he uses the body. So was he like pulling you aside a lot? Was it like the veteran quarterback with the new draft pick getting you ready for your time? Or was it like, was he like, you know, still very competitive with you and about minutes? What was that relationship like?

Yeah, to be honest, when I came, I was asking him a lot of things and kind of pulling him to his side and saying, you know, one, just like, you know, what does this drill about? It's not necessarily like always asking for tips or different things, but just somebody like to understand how, you know, where do you live in the city or what's a nice restaurants or different things? talking about that but um i think quite quickly the the coaching at the time uh pierce sage realized that uh we were very competitive with each other in a positive way always wanted to play against each other and whatever it was so i think a lot of times the coach always put us on opposite teams and whatever drill it was and uh you know we used to pick on each other and and at the end of the day whoever won was very loud in the locker room and uh so i think that was very important that the coach coaching staff realized that and and kept us uh being competitive and against each other

other but really together with each other. So switching gears a bit to football. You know the passion around college football obviously. Maricio marveled at it when he went to visit Ohio State as you saw. Could you compare the atmosphere to European club football and contrast it? What do you see it's similar? Yeah I mean I think it's interesting actually. I think you know European soccer, you

European football is very intense. And the fans are, I mean, any top five league you go to in Europe, the fans are separated. You can't have home fans with away fans. Pretty standard. And you can see why that is in South America as well. You can't have fans together. I mean, there'll be fights. There'll be a lot of bad things will happen if the fans are together.

And you find that out very quickly. I think in American sports, there's a different type of respect for that. I don't think maybe there's some fights or something, but it's nothing too serious, I think, at the end of the day. I think American fans understand that. But college football atmosphere is amazing. The students bring the energy. Certainly have more routine chance, more routine things. But I think the number one thing that is the biggest difference is tailgating.

I think tailgating is the most beautiful thing. They don't really have anything like it in Europe. You might be at the bar, down the street, or somewhere that always the fans go to a certain restaurant. But to be tailgating outside the stadium and to have that atmosphere for the whole way. weekend is something you never find in Europe. Yeah, it's funny. I was, I just went to, uh, talk to Flo in Monago and I went, I went to the Champions League game as well against Man City. And as I was getting closer to the stadium, I was expecting to like feel it, you know what I mean, like see people out and about, obviously Monaco is a unique case as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're unique. But

point being like, the game was just suddenly there, you know what I mean? There were, there wasn't like layers of, yeah, a fan's having a good time and all that. So, yeah, it was funny. That's the difference, though I think with college football as you, like especially Clemson, it's such a, it's a university of town. There's nothing there but the university. So it's like if you're going to go play in Monaco, I mean, Monaco is this big city with, maybe not in Monaco, but say Leon or say Paris is this massive city with all these people doing their own thing. So you really wouldn't have like tailgators at the game or something like that. Whereas in Clemson, obviously everyone's going to the game. 80,000 people there just to see the game, you're going to feel it. So how do you feel about

the hypothetical if all our best athletes played soccer? I mean, it's obviously an ancient concept. You have a lot of top athletes in America, the best athletes, and a lot of different things. But at the end of the day, you look at the best soccer players of all time, and I don't think you necessarily say that they're the most athletic players. I mean, certainly not midfielder. I mean, Buscats is a big player of mine.

I mean, he's not the most athletic guy. Messi obviously is the best player of all time, and he's obviously super quick, super fast. But I don't think you would say he's, I mean, if you put him on an NFL field, I don't know if he would do amazingly. I don't know. But I think, yeah, obviously athleticism helps, and I think it could unlock a lot of different things

if we could get there, and it would be interesting to see. But I think that's why they call it the beautiful game. Right. So I took a lot of the first. I talked to Chris Richards and Alex Freeman about the consequences of college athletes being paid because college sports has obviously changed a lot. So Chris had admitted like it would have made it tougher for him to stop playing basketball if the world was the way it is today. And he even mentioned he said I would have went crazy in basketball or even being a kicker for the football

team in terms of like what he what he could have made in that sense and I thought of you when he said that so like as a fellow Bama native seeing the passion around football and obviously basketball is big there as well do you have any thoughts on that the consequences from your unique perspective into college sports the consequences of that potentially for for the quote-unquote top athletes here I mean for soccer I guess yes you might not as get many athletes trying to play soccer I mean but That's something we're already competing with the NFL and with the NBA is obviously the pay gap with MLS. If you're talking about American sports, I mean, it's massive. So I think it's something parents know and kids know when they're growing up.

If that's the motive to make money, then soccer's probably not the best way to go if you're staying in America. But I think at the end of the day, it's the ones who truly love the game that are going to succeed anyways. And so maybe for college sports, that first step of being able to make money is helpful for four years. years, but, I mean, at the end of the day, the statistics of people going to the league is the same. So maybe in college sports, you'd have a little more people trying to play basketball or different things. But I still think, I mean, I still think the numbers are pretty low if you're on the basketball team at a normal school.

I mean, I don't think you're making a ton of money unless you're one of the big guys. The spectrum, right? Yeah. So, I don't think, I mean, I don't think it affects it too much, to be fair. I mean, maybe there's a few cases like a Chris or a me where multi-sport athlete trying to do both or something maybe people make different decisions but i don't know i don't think there's enough money yet to be honest and you mentioned that that you're a possibility there and your answer when did you first think about making that step like at what point in your life were you like all right that

that's going to be the path and and you were all in on it because obviously you grew around you grew up immersed in in americans yeah i mean to be fair when i was in middle school i was really big into soccer and basketball that was you know i love basketball and i love playing soccer um And then, you know, I played football as well, but wasn't necessarily my favorite. But, you know, I enjoyed it. But ever since I was little, middle school, elementary school, Dabo, pretty much already said that I was going to play at Clemson. And obviously, when the opportunity arrived, first I had a scholarship to play soccer. So I was going there just to play soccer and I had a few different offers from different schools.

But I think that year before I went, Clemson won the ASEA championship and, national championship in soccer and football. So it kind of just made sense to go there. My family was close, and it would have made sense. And then once I committed my decision on soccer, because I could have gone to other schools, but once I called Noonan and said, like, I'm coming to, I'm coming to comes to play soccer, then it kind of opened up the door like, oh, you could play football as well. And so spoke with Davo and went to the camp, and he liked what he saw.

So then the opportunity to play both was on the table. And how it works is if whatever team has more scholarships, you have to take that scholarship. So football at the time had, I don't even know, a million scholarship. So I took the football scholarship, even though my main motive was to go play soccer. Okay. So you were still thinking about Europe all along, like being in the possibility. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely wasn't at no means giving up soccer or not going to focus on soccer. Soccer was going to be the number one. And if games somehow, you know, Friday and a Saturday for football and soccer, if it was, you know, too far, it couldn't work, it was soccer all along.

Dabo knew that, and Nudan knew that. So the goal was definitely to play, I don't even know, one or two years in Clemson soccer and then try to get drafted or sign homegrown with Dallas. I just mean like the possibility of, like, jumping to Europe, but it sounds like you took that as part and parcel of soccer all along, right? Like being in Europe eventually? Back then I didn't even, I mean, obviously the goal was to be in Europe, but it was just so many steps away that it wasn't like I'm going to Europe tomorrow or something.

So it was, you know, I was going to Clemson, and then from there I was going to try to do my best to get into MLS and then go to Europe after. But yeah. So in terms of the national team right now, Potch had really high praise for you about a year ago last November. Then in March, the whole team struggles. And Potch seems to shift his strategy in terms of call-ups and you're not involved in the last few camps in the summer and the September.

So, yeah, March was described as a wake-up call by Potch for a lot of different reasons. And then when you're not getting called up, are you looking back on that performance more against Panama and what happened in that game? Are you reflecting on that more? Like how much of it do you think that was like the circumstances then? Obviously going all the way to L.A., tough trip. But yeah, what's going through your mind in that period when it's like, all right, I'm not with the team? Potch has his reasons for doing what he's doing.

But like, are you ruminating on that? You know what I mean? Back to March? I think certainly after March I was. And, you know, that's the beautiful thing about soccer. You have the next game coming up and you've got to move on. But, yeah, when the next national team camp happened, I mean, obviously in March, everybody struggled. I struggled.

We lost those games, and it was a really difficult moment. But we learned from that. I learned from that. I watched the games back and understood the mood and the vibe and how to try to get yourself out of that and get in the right mindset to play. And I think it's a learning curve. And then not to be called up in Gold Cup and then also in September, I think, you know, I'm not sitting there thinking it's because of March. And if it was, it's his decision, that's fair.

And we respect that. And the goal of the national team is calling the best team and the best players. And sometimes you've got to try things and do different things. And that's how it works. So I don't think I was too focused on that performance. Obviously, after that I had played, I don't know, 10 matches after that with Leon and had a good preseason and then started the season well with Leon and had a couple good games. So I was just focusing on my moment with the club and trying to help the club.

in a difficult summer for the club. And so, yeah, I think, you know, you think back to March and where we were as a national team and then to now and where we're going to be in the World Cup, it's obviously, I think, an important thing that we had matches where we lost and we learned and we understood that, you know, in a competition like Nations League, things can happen very quick and then you're out. And that's the same thing with the World Cup. So I hope the team and myself and the staff learn from that is that, you know, things happen

quick. And every game that you go to, you have to perform your best. Right. And fair to call it a blessing in disguise with the birth of your son and the time you had back home? That's definitely a silver lining. I mean, to me it was a win-win. Obviously, I want to be with the national team. I want to play for my country 100%.

But yes, I did get to spend a lot of time with my son. He was just born three weeks before, and I'd been away for those three weeks. It was difficult to be away. And so then you had to have a nice time with him throughout the summer. It was massive. And then even the last international break to just get some time to just get some time. spent with him and, you know, with a lot of matches and away games and everything to just be able to chill with them is, you know, it's the best thing.

What do you think you need to do to establish yourself as a starter for the World Cup? Like, what are you looking at in terms of your game and things you can do here and things you can work on as well between now and June? Yeah, I mean, I think in camp and the national team is to, you know, for one, just try to be a good teammate with all the guys. And we've got a lot of new guys coming in, and I've made some really great friends already with guys that I've never been to camp with with Alex Freeman and James Sands and speaking with them and learn about their situation, learn about their story and just connecting with them.

But also, you know, on the field trying to perform the way the coach wants is very important while you're in camp and trying to do the things that they want and learning quickly all those things. But most important is with my club, you know, playing with my club and playing well with my club, I think is what's going to make any player get called to the national team, especially for the World Cup. So it's a long way it's away. It's a long season as well. So just trying to take every game as it comes and do the best in those moments. You talked about how your faith is very important to you.

How much of a component is that when you come to camp? Because a lot of guys, that's very significant for them, right? I know there's Bible study, things like that. Yeah, 100% is the biggest thing wherever I am. Yeah, we have a Bible study. Often sometimes we have a chaplain come in and do different things with them. Usually the day of the game, we always meet and have a good prayer and read some scripture together and spend a good time talking about that just to understand what the focus is, really.

And for us, it's to focus on Jesus and in our faith. And obviously, we play this game and we have a lot of fans. And, you know, we live lives in different places and a lot of different cultures. But I think the main focus has to remain the same. And that's what keeps us who we are, really. That's who I am is a Christian man. And that'll never change whether I'm playing soccer. or if I'm playing football or if I'm, you know, an accountant, it will never change.

I don't think you have to be an accountant anytime seen it. Shout out to my dad. He's an accountant. Thank goodness. My dad, too. Okay. Avoid the numbers. Speaking of living in different places, so tell me about living in Lyon, and could you compare it to Venice?

Well, tough comparison. Venice, to be honest, is the best city in the world. If you live in Venice, it's unbelievable. I know people go and visit for maybe two, three days, and it's like they say, it's pretty small or whatever, but to be honest, Venice is amazing. Every time me and my wife went into Venice, every time it's breathtaking every single time. I can't believe we live here. The food, the restaurants, everything's amazing, the atmosphere. I mean, I love Venice.

Leone is a much more modern city. You know, in Venice, we don't have Uber. We don't really have a lot of good Uber eats or food or ordering anything. It's a different city, but I think my wife likes Leon a little better with the Amazon packaging and different things like that. So Leon's definitely upbeat city. A lot of young students there working in a big city, 2 million people. So really nice area as well, close to Geneva, close to Paris, close to the south of France. So you're in a really good location to do a lot of different things in the Alps as well.

I can't ski, but to be there in the Alps having a good vacation in the winter is really nice. So Leon's a really great city. Have you ever skied or just no time? I skied one time before I turn a professional and then I haven't skied since I've been pro. Can you rank the food, Venice or Italy in general, Leon and then back home? Put you on the spot here. I mean, I'm going to have to go with America number one. I mean, I just think whatever food you want to get, we have the options to get the best of whatever it is.

I think, if you, I mean, America's massive as well. So then I would probably have to go, I just spend more time in Venice. I'll go Venice. Venice has really good restaurants. And then Leon, Leon, I just haven't, you know, I have my son there, so we don't go out as much. But Leon is a massive, you know, food capital of Europe. Has, I think, the most Michelin stars in any city in Europe. So it definitely has the options that I've just never been, so I can't rank it there.

Okay. Yeah, plenty of time, right? Yes, plenty of time, hopefully. Yeah, yeah. this year yeah um how good was your italian by the time you left venice and how are you finding the process of learning another romance language yeah my italian was really good um actually kept it going um in leon with namani machich and then we had one player jordan vertu who played uh marseilles roma um but he didn't speak english so we had that was our that was our that was our ping pong championship

was me namani matich and jordan vatu so every time we played ping or we're speaking in italian because Jordan didn't speak English. So always speaking. We kept up my Italian there and improved that actually a little bit. So I think I learned the first year I learned more Italian in France and I learned French. But my French is coming along. It's a difficult language to learn, to be honest. And our whole team speaks English, especially the new guys we brought in, is all English speakers.

But it's coming along. I think when we talk about football stuff or soccer stuff that I can speak decently. You understand? Okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I like to, like, I tell people I can speak French, but when you actually try to speak it, the accent's crazy. Yeah, the accent is, and then if you don't speak the accent, they just don't understand you. Yeah. I mean, they might understand you, but they tell you they don't. And it's like, they'll ask you, what did you say?

Or I'm like, I said bonjour, but I didn't say the, so, I mean, it's the same word, but, yeah. Did you have a foundation with Spanish before you got over there? Like, did you pick up Spanish okay in Texas? Spanish was one of the ones where I understood almost everything, but I didn't, I mean, I spoke a little bit, I guess, but, but. yeah certainly being in Dallas that helped a lot with Italian for sure being able to understand Spanish Anything you want the fans to know about you in terms of who you are as a person

I feel like at this point during your come-up we've learned a lot about you in terms of being a family man a father now faith being super important to you and obviously very focused on ball anything else that maybe you do in your spare time I don't know if you have

any spare time beyond those things now. But yeah, anything else the fans should know about you? Maybe kind of music you listen to what you're watching on TV if you have time. I watch, yeah, I don't know. I listen to a lot of Force, Frank. He's a good Christian artist. He's been coming up on this thing a lot.

I love his new album. I watch, I don't know. I mean, I guess I watch, me and my wife been watching a little bit of outdoor boys, if you know, outdoor boys. It's just this guy that goes camping, basically. and brings his family along, his family guy, Christian man, but he goes on all these crazy adventures and sleeps in like negative 40 degrees and snow and everything. And he's like real quirky guy, funny and stuff. But we've been watching a lot of him.

He's pretty cool. But to be honest, I'm just a normal guy. Yeah, like you said, faith is most important. And then family. So, yeah, with my son being six months, he's definitely keeping me occupied and my wife as well. So, yeah, that's about it for me, really. That's awesome, man. Thank you so much for coming on the pod.

And we're pulling for you. I appreciate that. Thanks for having me.