SoccerWise - Bradley Carnell (Philadelphia Union) + Michele Giannone Tales From The Road & Leagues Cup/USOC Winners

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

Tom is away for the rest of the week so David is joined by two powerhouse guests. First Michele Giannone joins to chat about his last 3 weeks being in the building with some of the biggest names in the region. They cover a lot from best #9 in MLS history, to favorite stadium, and talking to big name coaches. Finally they handicap the brackets for Leagues Cup & US Open Cup titles. Speaking of Open Cup the Union finally got to play their quarterfinal against Red Bulls. Bradley Carnell joins to talk about the teams success in his first year, what has elevated their young superstars, and what he has learned over the years.2:30 Best MLS Stadiums & All-Time #9s With Michele14:30 Talking With Elite Coaches20:30 Power Ranking The Remaining Leagues Cup Teams25:20 The Rodrigo De Paul Affect27:20 Is The Best Orlando City Team Ever?32:40 Odds To Win USOC40:14 Bradley Carnell Interview

Hey, everybody, welcome back to soccer-wise, David Goss, and a special guest for this show. Tom Bogart is off in God's country at the Grand Teton, one of the best national parks in America, as I have stated, and in this place is the best to do it. on the sidelines in the studio anywhere else and of course here on soccer wise mkelly giannoni one of our favorites what's up mckelly how you doing guys hello hello happy to be here it's always a pleasure when you text me and and and said hey what do you want to come in

yeah it's my off day but let's do it nice there are no off days for you there are no off days no off days there's always coming up three straight weeks on the road covering soccer between all-star game which which i love austin it's it was great. I love Austin. I'm so sad that we couldn't connect because our schedule were conflicting. And then Leaks Cup started right away. I was in Ohio for a whole week, just doing games and playing golf by myself, which was awesome. And between Columbus and Cincinnati, I was doing a game, playing golf the next day, doing another game, playing golf, doing another game, is living the Ohio life. We got to get you an Ohio crew, like friends in a lot.

Ohio who are around when you're living in Ohio for a week at a time. I need that. I need that. I love Columbus. It's one of my favorite cities. Yeah, the Columbus fans are some of the most fun, by the way. Amazing. I love Cincinnati. That's my TQL is my favorite stadium is my favorite stadium in major league soccer. And yeah, well, I mean, let me rephrase that. It's my favorite stadium built for soccer because nothing beats Mercedes vans in Atlanta. That's the best stadium in the world. Oh, interesting. In my opinion. It's the best stadium in the world. In my opinion, yeah. set events, oh my God, it's ridiculous. I love the stadium so much. The only thing that obviously is that it's turf, but what can you do? For the World Cup and everything that we've done

in the Club World Cup, they put grass, which is fine, I guess. But soccer specific, TQL, it's incredible. I love that stadium. So it's hard for me to weigh in here. I've never been to TQL. I've never been to Cincinnati. It's one of two MLS markets I've never been to. So imagine, imagine, you MLS markets I've never been to. So imagine Red Bull Arena, because it's called Red Bull Arena forever. I don't, I'm not, just during broadcast, I say. Unless Sports Illustrator wants to sponsor this show, then you can call us. Just during the broadcast. So imagine a slightly bigger and newer and modern Red Bull Arena, that's secure.

It's awesome. It's awesome. And when it's packed, in my opinion, alongside LASC is the best atmosphere in Major League Soccer. yeah it's electric i'll watch any game on tv from there obviously a ton of qualifiers have been there um and other big games so yeah i'm always down to watch there i will say on the mercedes ben side um one proximity to the city for me when i travel in great aka i can walk to the stadium or take a bird scooter also bird if you want to sponsor hit me up because i'd love to have a scooter sponsor subway or marta i will take which i just i don't need to because normally i'm

staying so close. I love that vibe of it of like you can walk in and out and for sure when Mercedes brands is filled, it's electric like 2018 MLS Cup, 2019 Campione's Cup, like arguably some of the best atmospheres I've ever been in. Niceest stadium in the world feels aggressive, but I can't say no. It has all the amenities. It has all the bells and whistles and it has a great atmosphere. So it was a strong take I wasn't prepared for. Well, but I can't deny. I also, when I'm talking about best stadiums in the world, I also take the part of how efficient they are to work at. Yeah, yeah. I don't find Mercedes-Benz that efficient because you can't go in the huge loop. Well, but there's some NFL stadiums that are nightmare to move around. Yeah,

and to get from, I feel Mercedes-Benz is very fluid, very easy to move around, even though it's huge. So-fi, it's incredible in L.A., but to get and move between floors, I find it that it takes a long time. I feel Mercedes-Vent Stadium, once you're there, you can move easy. So, I mean, obviously, I was part of the World Cup in Russia in 2018. Those stadiums were incredible. The St. Petersburg Stadium with Zenith plays. It's unbelievable.

Carter also built some masterpieces. But I don't know. Maybe it's because that was actually my first MLS Cup in person when Atlanta faced. Oh, 2018. Portland Timbers, yeah. with Joseph and that that other team. So the atmosphere was incredible. And I assume you brought Arapas and you and Joseph just ate on the field.

Of course. What do you think? And I'm going to say this because I say it every weekend, especially when Joseph starts. And you can debate it if you want. That's fine. By numbers on paper, on the field, Joseph Martinez is the best number nine in Major League Soccer history. period signed by michele okay pure number nine can i give you my can i give you my quick my quick um

uh take about it yeah yeah and then i will start naming other people and then we can get there by the way just for everyone out there we're going to do this for a while but also bradley carnell will be joining us later uh we chatted with him about u.s open cup philadelphia union all that type of stuff we're going to dig into some transfers uh and these trophies that are coming up that we now know who the final four are on open cup and final eight in league's cup but shoot i like this okay real quick real quick goals per game by far the best major league soccer MVP mLS cup MVP u.s open cup champion most hat tricks in major league soccer history is he's already uh six and he's inching closer very close i think he's like five goals or six goals away from from moreno for the fifth

place. He won everything that you can win on Major League Soccer. He has the goals and the goals per games. So I think I think that's why he's he's the best. For pure number nines, I think people would say Jaime Moreno, BWP, Chris Wondelowski, I think those would be the first three people would say. Then you get into like Taylor, my favorite Jeff Cunningham, Kye would get thrown in there somewhere kai's a bit of a combination of like longevity and top end and then there's other people who are shorter term like high volume right i mean i guess technically slaton's a purine yeah david vio was a purine yeah terrian re like those names drawn like nemonia nikolich who just always hangs around in my head i don't think you're wrong for a lot of things which is

Joseph's dominance from that position in his peak is equal to anyone's dominance. I think Jaime Moreno was a better all-around player and also won all of those things. Yeah. I think that would probably end up being the two debate points for me. I would still take those two probably over everyone else I named unless you wanted to like sneak someone in and call like a Landon Donovan a nine or whatever, which I don't think would be fair. Which I don't think would be fair to do. Overfemi Martins, by the way, should be on this list.

Yeah, but short. Short career, short Major League Soccer career. But every time I'm talking about... But Joseph's career is short peak, right? It's like three years at his peak in MLS. And now a few years of like he's a borderline starter still scoring goals. Yeah. So it's funny that you mentioned Obafemi because I work every weekend with Ozzy Alonso, right?

And every time we talk about those Seattle teams with Demp, Ova, Ova, and him as a 3D piece. and all the things they want I'm incredibly blessed to be in the situation that I am with him, with Geo every weekend, with Dax, with Sasha, with BWP, like BWP is just like,

hey BWP, how are you? And he's like, oh, one of the best, oh, BWP in that conversation too, one of the best of all time. But it's like a routine. I had to send photos over for something yesterday, by the way, of me working. So there were pictures of me on sites, whatever.

And the first one that came up was me interviewing BWP at the 2018, I think, All-Star game in Atlanta on the field. And at first time I looked at the picture, I was like, I wonder what Brad was doing there. And I was like, oh, he was playing. Yeah. And there's, he's so nice. He's so down to earth. It's like he's the son of Ian Wright. Mm-hmm.

If people don't know who Ian Wright is or who he was a player, just Google him. it's incredible and he's just chilling he has like i don't know it's it's it's crazy it's sometimes i like pinch myself like what am i doing here it doesn't make sense that's how i feel every time you come on the show thank you to be around mckelly so uh to to to dig into this a little bit more you've been on the road you have some takes we've got we've had joseph convo atl and tql um but you were on site for a ton of leeks cup and then i think you did the orlando inter miami game yes something nice soccer yeah did you were you part of the convo where everyone decided to shoot from half field or were you not there and

then you came back and talked to say hey guys we did this game to be even more exciting that already is even more frenetic and frantic that was already was it was a great game um i mean orlando scored in the first first minute and it's in my opinion i haven't been part of all of them you got to ask uh wibi because he's been part of all like i've been part of if i'm not taking like seven or eight sunday night games during the during the season Atmosphere, Inter and Coast Stadium, and the Orlando fans showed up. That was a USM&T level-type atmosphere on that stadium. I always go back when you talk with Greg Berhalter, especially, and the players.

We remember that I think they qualified for Qatar in that stadium. When they didn't qualify, but they... Oh, yeah, yeah. When they take out the banner that... that it was a wrong banner. I don't know if you know that story. But anyways, basically on that stadium, they got the qualification for Qatar.

And that was one of the best USMNT atmospheres that I can remember. And I was in tons of games on the field with them. Sunday night was special. Orlando, the atmosphere, I did a piece with the purple wall, with the Orlando supporters, the lion then, I'm sorry.

They were in the stadium three hours before kickoff. Just getting primed. Incredible, the atmosphere, two hours before the game. That was the first Inter-Miamic game that I've seen on the road where they were the vast minority. Like you could barely see Argentinian jerseys or Miami jerseys. And it's not because Messi got injured. I mean, these tickets, people bought these tickets months ago.

So the Orlando fans show up. I think it was the best game that we had Sunday Night Soccer at level of quality. It was 90 minutes of craziness. There was basically no, I mean, it was back and forth the whole game. And the atmosphere was great again. The fans were great. The weather held up. It was raining at the beginning.

Thankfully, it looked like we were going to. to have like thunderstorms that would have sucked because the game was already had like an p.m. kickoff time. Yeah. And but it was great. I mean, those, those three weeks on the road between All-Star Game in Austin, then Leaks Cup in Ohio, then here in New York, a Yankee Stadium and both Sports Illustrated Stadium. And then the Sunday night soccer in, in Orlando. I'm going next week to L.A. to Carson for a double header. Toluca Orlando and Galaxy Pachuka, I can't wait that double header on Wednesday. It's been great, man. And, and And you, I mean, being on the field, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, I love. Um, I love being on the studio. I'm blessed to be on the studio. Like, I, I cannot believe that every weekend I get to do like 360 and, and be working with the guys that, that we were mentioning. But I, I'll take the field a hundred times out of a hundred percent, uh, over, over the studio, right? And it took me back to my days of, of, of being, of broadcasting the league with Univision. And, and, and we took me, of being, of broadcasting the league with Univision. And it. And I'm, and I'm a lot. And I

with USM&T, being on the field, talking with players to coaches. You don't get that on the studio, right? You don't get that until you are literally on the field, hours before the game, just catching up, talking with Wilfred Nancy, talking with all the players, with the coaches. And you know how it is, Cass. You know, you learn things that you don't learn if you're not there in person. A lot of things on the record, but a lot of things of the record that give you a more sense of what's going to happen. of what's happening right now and it gives you context for the broadcast and we've talked about

this and I don't know if people that that never watch a Spanish broadcast, the silent reporter it's used very differently in Spanish that in English you know when for me I'm very involved on the broadcast and you know me I have no ego I'm very chill but especially during the game on the Spanish side I think that's my strongest suit and I think I'm the best at it I go aside. So I really enjoy it. I missed it dearly. I didn't even know how much I missed it until I was the whole week in Cincinnati just doing that.

And yeah, being back on the studio this weekend was weird. I mean, it was great, but weird. I cannot wait for L.A. next week and being on the field again. So you mentioned being in Ohio for the week. You got to be with Nancey. Pat Nune, of course, there as well. What, Domey Tarent in the building? A lot of big name managers.

Turko Mohamed, my guy. Yeah. Do you know people that don't know, just, he's probably the best, or he's in discussion of the best League MX coach of all time. He has won League MX with four different teams. Tijuana, Monterrey, America, and Toluca. He won to Argentina and won a champions in Argentina.

He won a South American Cup in Argentina. I think he has another title somewhere else. He's and his presence, the way he talks, it's incredible to be around those coaches. You mentioned Nancy, Noonan, Torent, and Mohamed. I was like, this is like a gondelet of four of the best coaches in the continent. And it was great, just talking with them, just learning soccer, you know. because those are coaches, especially Mohamed and especially, no, all four, all four. Honestly, you can ask them questions and they will always be honest and frank.

And I'm a person that I prefer to ask a dumb question and maybe get like a, I can't believe you didn't know this, but I prefer to know that than stay silent and don't know it, right? So I prefer to ask the questions. So I'm always like asking questions to these coaches because we don't get a lot of chances. And yeah, just to pick their brains, especially to broadcast prep, it's been unbelievable. I've always loved League's Cup. I think this year was even better. The format, it has gotten better.

Obviously, nothing is perfect because, for example. Some of the coaches I think you just named, well, actually none of them specifically complained. The domain complaint? Yeah, I mean, yes and no. for example Fouinvarez complained very long as Nancy had a valid

complaint I don't know if it was a complaint but it was more almost like a question like a question thrown in the air it's like we are the

league's cup champion right and our first game is against the Mexican champion the reigning champion right it's like

and we already know that the format if you lose the first game you're out done if you don't get if you get zero points on the first game

you're done which basically which basically that's what happened with Monterey against Cincinnati, right? Whoever won that game between Toluca and Columbus or Cincinnati and Monterrey, whoever lost that game, basically was going to be out, right? Yeah. So, yeah, Torrent can play a little bit about the same thing. Like, you know, that putting that the game, the first game was so important.

I'm pretty sure they're going to take those complaints and criticism towards maybe modifying the form a little bit. For example, I was talking with Kiki Fonseca yesterday that you mentioned him, but we were talking off-camera, a great guy, and he's been working with us at MLS season past during Leaks Cup. And one of the proposals that he has is that the only thing that he will change is maybe instead of just doing four teams that qualify, just make it eight.

So that first game doesn't mean that much. Yeah, and you don't get to a third game with teams that already that have. had no chance at all right so that was one of the torrent complaints yeah yeah the other thing i think you could add and we had i think jeremiah o'shan from sounder at heart put this in somewhere where we're having this conversation i think this is a competition where you could have more buys where like that first phase more teams get out but the top teams like don't play for a couple rounds because normally the complaint on buys like playoffs is like well then you have a layoff

and then you're not competitive but that's not an issue because these are midweek games during season so i think the advantage could be coming out of that opening thing it's like all right you're off from this for a month now but you're into the quarterfinals or the semi-finals and other teams now have to like spend the energy if they want to to duke it out which i think could be a way that you solve some of this yeah i the best proposal and and i'll close the point real quick, talking with Gio, with Gio Savaresi, and it's very similar to what you're saying. Something like March Madness, right? You have like a first round that is not in the bracket, like playing games, and then you get a bracket. 32 teams, 16 and 16 direct matches

from that get-go. And you do literally a March Madness bracket. I think that's the best way to do it and things will, I mean, if you lose by and if you win, you keep advancing, and I think that that also will eliminate Mexican teams flying back and forth or moving between cities, et cetera. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I think it could make sense. I think the format's probably a little closer, but still need some work to do. Let's talk about this before we get into our transfers then, because we're already. on it. So we've got the last eight teams set up for the Leaks Cup, and we have the last four teams for the U.S. Open Cup. So two trophies that we can sort of talk about with some knowledge now. We have discussed the supporter shields quite often on this show because it's this fascinating race. And San Diego took a little bit of a positive bump this weekend, but

Philadelphia is still in the driver's seat and a lot of teams still in the conversation on these two cup competition set up. So we have the quarterfinals coming up from the Leagues Cup. As you mentioned, you will be at a double header next week in LA so the LA Galaxy as MLS Cup holders are will host every game that they play in all the way through and then Toluca as reigning league MX champions have rights to host depending on who they're matched up against which ended up working out and I guess they chose LA yeah they chose LA take Orlando as far as possible from their okay so it's a double header that you will be at the winner of that Orlando game would face off against the Inter-Miamy Tegress winner and then the Seattle Sounders sit on the other

side. I did this a little on Blue Sky last night with U.S. Open Cup of sort of like power ranking who I think have the best odds to win this. I don't know how to set odds, actual numbers, so I'm not going to do that part. I'm just going to have us power ranking in order. So who do you think should have the highest odds or lowest odds, whatever it is, be biggest favorites to win the league's Cup. Biggest odds to get to a final, to get to a final will be Seattle, because I think they're on the friendly side of the bracket. Okay. And they would host depending, will host quarterfinals and they could host the semi. Exactly. They will host the final except if it's Miami on the other side. Right. And they would host the semi if the Galaxy lose. Correct. They also just went and won

in the in at the LA Galaxy 4-0 this weekend is easy work um my favorite to win it to win it all it's and I we did I did this with our brackets on this SMLS yesterday well um the Spanish version of this is MLS. Estos MLS I have to look at it win in it man I'm doing son and eras by the way in Spanish and learning the difference between them estoi and son and all of that oh the It's been a tough week. The verves in Spanish, they're very tough. Yeah, yeah. If you're blonde, it's different than if you have dark hair and are a dark haired person.

That part of learning. But yeah. Okay. So long story short, I have Toluca over Seattle. That's my final in Leaks Cup. Toluca over Seattle. Seattle will be hosting that. We got, for people that don't know, the only Mexican team that had hosting rights until

semifinal would have been in America. So after these quarterfinals, there's no more. more League MX team hosting, except their two Mexican teams facing each other. Like, for example, Tolucai Tigris in semifinal, then you will go to a highest run, which is Toluca being the Mexican champion, and then I'm guessing they will stay in L.A., right? Right. That's what I'm guessing, but who knows. So, yeah, I have Toluca beating Orlando, which hurt because I just, I love Orlando.

I love what Papi Pireja is doing. I love Martino Hedda. He's probably my second or third MVP. pick for Major League Soccer regular season award, Landon Norman Award right now. I have Tigris speed in Miami with ease. I think Miami, Messi is going to come back. The information that I have is he might see some minutes

against the Galaxy on Saturday, but he's going to definitely start and be back against Tigris. He's already like came back to training yesterday. But Miami's a disaster in the back line, a complete disaster. I love No-Alan. I love Ian Frey, but that back line, the issues are too much to compensate. I think this is a team that, and we sort against Orlando,

if Messi is not on the field, they cannot come back. If they're down on the scoreline and Messrs not on the field, they can not come back in games, which sounds contradictory because I'm saying that the Messi is going to come back against Tigris. But Tigris is a team that, that likes to have the ball and they they are

high possession team that likes to slowly kill you. Like the other team gets desperate because Tigris just move the ball around. They move the ball around. And a team against Miami, that's how you break them, right? Because they get desperate. They try to

take the ball and that's where the spaces open up. And with that back line, Giniagisor is back playing. So we're going to have Dignac against the Miami backline. Tigres is playing incredible. They just beat Puebla 7-0 last weekend all League MX. I think at this point, Annel Correa would be like the player of the tournament

if Tigris won the whole thing. Angel Correa just came from Europe. It's like, oh, so this is the level? Yeah, boom, easy. So, yeah, they have Angel Correa and they have Gorriaran and Linus. and they have so much. They have so much staff. I think this Tigris team, not only,

I mean, it's why they've been lethal for such a long time, is when they don't have possession, they are lethal in transition. Right. And very few teams are good at both and comfortable in both at times. Yeah. And that's where Tigris are really killer. I'm curious, though, up close.

What did you make of Rodrigo to Paul real quick? He's been great. I mean, he's been incredible. Like, no training. He flew like two days in Miami, and then he started. and play 90 minutes, back-to-back games. And I was told by multiple people and by Mascherano on camera,

something that I had already here, that immediately he's a leader on the locker. Immediately. Like, he's the guy. And everybody just, it's in awe of him. Just physically, because he's like David Beckham 2.0. Like, he's so handsome that is not even fair. And when you have a player that just gets off the flight,

gets off the plane and the next day he's playing 90 minutes without knowing anyone on the team except Messi, like he hasn't played with anyone on this team except Messi. And he does that for multiple games in a row. He's been incredible and he's been amazing in the locker room. trying to help but because we got to remember that I think it's lost on the in translation and the narrative with with miamiis they have a lot of young players um with ian fray with no allan well redondo it's he's he's living but he was there segovia even agenda is very young he's like

23 24 or something um so there's a lot of young talent and he immediately has become like a guy all the youngsters immediately are looking up to. So he's been great. He's been great. Other question for you coming out of this weekend in general, but also to this point, is this the best Orlando team you've ever seen? Yes. Because this is what Orlando fans were saying in our, even better than the Open Cup team, even better than some of the Faku Torres teams. This is the best Orlando city team of all time. And even Miguel Gallardo or Miguel Gallardo from MLS season past who played over 200 games for Orlando and still works on the team.

He says it, he, he, he, he says it every week. This is the best Orlando City team of all time. Now they have to win something, but on the field, right now, especially when Pareja, like Sunday night soccer, he had his preferred 11, because that, that's his preferred 11 when everybody's healthy, is the best Orlando City team of all time right now. Okay. I, I still think back on Antonio Carlos at his peak and like, were they better defensively at other times.

Attacking-wise, I don't disagree at all. The way O'Heda's playing is better than Faku ever played, the way they're getting production at a... I think Pasolich is better than whatever Facundo Torres played. Well, yeah, which is fair. Passolich has been ridiculous. Which is alongside O'Heda, which is like, yeah, you had Nani at his peak, but they haven't really...

I mean, I'm not going to go back into Kakaa because none of those teams were good. Yeah. But, yeah, I think the combination of all of it in the attack for sure is elite. it's defensive midfield, which has been great for them and maybe isn't the same. And centerback, which would be the question mark. And Gaiese is kind of always on his own experience, doing his own thing, great and not all at the same time. So you have Seattle and Toluca. Yeah, and now, and sorry, sorry to Cortiof.

And now you have more options on the bench. Like, they rave about this Marine, the left back that they brought from the Portuguese league. But they have been raving about left backs for six years. And Breka-Lu-Sill playing there. So, um, and Kyle Smith, I cannot tell you how good a Tuesta looks in person. Yeah. It's been ridiculous. Like, we're seeing like L-AFC peak at Tuesta again.

Yeah. That, that double pivot with Araujo, when he's on the field, this team, it's another level. So, uh, so on to our, back to our power ranks on this. So, Tolucah, Seattle. Um, you've got Tigris. beating Miami. Yes. So the big one is L.A. Galaxy

Pachukka. The question is if you believe in the L.A. Galaxy are actually a L.A. next team, and therefore, this is the competition for them. Okay. Or if L.A. Galaxy getting smoked by Seattle is the Galaxy aren't very good. I think the Galaxy should play their reserve team next Saturday against Miami because they have nothing to look for a major league soccer anymore. getting a Concaf Champions Cup slot through League's Cup after this disaster of a season

will be a miracle and they just need to win two more games having said that I'm struggling this is the only this is the only game that I'm struggling because Pachuca is so good Pachuka is the leader of League of X right now

and they're playing out of their minds but I want to give Galaxy the benefit of the doubt being at home and the way they've been playing lately taking out the Seattle game and I believe Van is going to save most of the starters on Saturday they're going to they have to put older eggs into the basket of next Wednesday they have to that's the only way to salvage the season

I'm going to go with Galaxy but it's I don't like it no I wouldn't feel very good picking the LA Galaxy in anything right now I thought Saturday, Sunday, whatever it was against Seattle, was like one of the most, listen, this is someone as a Mets fan right now who has watched my team blow with six run lead three times in a row. Like, it is, someone sent me the meme today from The Simpsons, which is like, and it was cut in of like, this is the worst game of my life. And it's like the worst game of your life so far, which is what the LA Galaxy season feels

like to like every week, have tried to refine themselves in League's Cup, right? You put up all of these insane goals against Tijuana and Santo. you qualify you've got the road to hosting can you put like a marker down on sunday and be like actually seattle like where someone to be like reckoned with and then they get smoked yeah in that game against a non even fully healthy seattle and now the question if you trust them against patuka i think is really really tough um obviously the galaxy would have hosting rights all the way through if the galaxy lose in seattle win then seattle would have hosting rights all the way through, which is a huge opportunity for them. And then on the bottom of this, you've got Orlando,

Miami, because those were the two that you didn't really have a ton of belief in for this weekend. Seattle goes to Minnesota. You mentioned it. The Galaxy face off against Miami, so two of these teams playing each other. And Orlando hosts SKC before flying cross-country to go face off against Toluca. So a huge test for all of these teams in Leagues Cup play. But there we have our power rankings of who we think are most capable of winning based off McKelley Giannone. On the Open Cup side, Philadelphia Union beat the New York Red Bulls. We'll talk to Bradley Carnell in a moment about this. And oddly enough, they play the Red Bulls again on Saturday.

And then they will travel to Nashville. So I put this out right after the game ended. I think to me, very clearly, when it comes to Open Cup, Minnesota are hosting the semi. They're hosting the final. They've been one of the best teams fairly consistently across the league. to me, they are favorites to win the whole thing. I think Nashville hosting Philadelphia,

I have them as second, Philadelphia third, Austin, who would host the final if they got there because of how much they've struggled in league play, still sit forth to me. How does that feel to you? I agree. 100%. I will pick Nashville over Minnesota on the final,

but I think the final is going to be Minnesota against Nashville, we'll like completely agree yeah the philly nashville game is going to be awesome like a semi-final we've seen geotis bounce for big games i hope that they're able to like fill the building one of the issues for nashville was they didn't know if they'd host or not yeah would have traveled to red bull so they've been waiting these extra weeks and all of that but like this is a huge opportunity for nashville they've had a great season yeah getting to a final would be a good way to sort of like show that um for the philadelphia union i still ask questions like they played their best lineup yesterday the red bulls didn't i don't understand what that was about for the

red bulls like they're outside the playoff spot right now and they did it through lex cup too like i i don't i don't get what sandro schwartz has been doing lately yeah and i don't they got they got the win against chivas on the first game one because chivas sucks and and not sucks like chivas is a great team but they've been playing terrible um they are sucking on the field right now uh but they got lucky like with the free kick from I'm blanking right now their cap number 10 blonde guy

famous great player what are we talking about Red Bulls Red Bulls Oh Emil Forsburg I don't know what team you were talking about No I was talking about the choices that Sandra Schwartz has made lately Yeah yeah yeah yeah

In terms of who you can remember I completely Yeah I mean they would They started They started the sub against Chivas and it was a Mills Forsberg free kick after coming from the bench on the 97th minute

they on the last game against Juarez they had a slight chance to qualify and he set up I'll fuck sorry I'll blip it I'm just going to play the kids and it almost worked because the Red Bulls have I'm not going to bleep that by the way so just okay fuck it fuck it

he's at Sandros and it's like do you want to like try and get Leaks Cup and then on the US Open Cup you did the same thing you're like kind of out right now in major league soccer so i'm guessing you are choosing major league soccer yeah so i honestly i didn't get the choices lately from swartz yeah so the red bulls are 10th right now yeah in the east on 36 points equal to chicago uh two points behind n ycccc but they have more games played correct than all of those teams so games in hand

they're in a really bad spot they also kind of have a brutal schedule to finish they have Philadelphia this weekend. They travel to Charlotte. They host Columbus. They travel to Portland and Montreal. And then they finish with a Hudson River Derby at home hosting Cincinnati and at Columbus. It is like a fairly brutal schedule to close out for them. I think on strength of schedule, it's like the second hardest left. And I thought this weekend, Emil Forsberg and all of what happened against RSL and all of that I was like yeah okay fine when these guys are on if they're both healthy him and Shupa Motang they're really good the Timo Werner stuff clearly isn't going to get figured out but like you could have won the

US Open Cup realistically yeah and this is one of those moments for the club where I wonder if the whole convo inside the house is well we have this playoff streak we have to keep this playoff streak that's the number one thing and if it's to get eighth or ninth in the east over making a real run at winning a cup that is a flaw of the club that is something fans have complained about a ton and i think this may have been like one of the worst examples of it in a long time do you think they also want to give like they're thinking also like player development because for example against what is um andy rojas looked good um he's he's on he's the this costa rican kid that he already plays for the costerican national team he's 17 years old

They had Marcucci on goal. He looked good. Yeah, Marcucci's been good. They've spent a while developing him. That was like giving him a chance. He obviously got hurt yesterday, which sucks. Yeah, obviously you have Coronel, right. Yeah, but I mean, you feel good with Marcucci on goal.

But that's different, which is the guy's been in the team for three years. You've sent him on low. Like, he's ready to play. That's like a little bit different than we're going to play four 17-year-olds. Morales look good, too. But he was suspended, I believe, for yesterday, internally. Like, they kicked him out of practice after. Yeah, I don't know what happened here.

Yeah. So it could have, I mean, it could be that. But Philadelphia also cares about player development, and they're going to the U.S. Open Cup semi-final. So that's where I think it's a little bit tough. Maybe you're not good enough then. Yeah. They very clearly without Forsberg on the field are not good enough against most teams.

And with Shuponoting and Forsberg, they are very dangerous. You saw it in the game yesterday. They came out on the field. they dominated the next 10 minutes. They scored. The game completely opens up for other guys. When Forsberg's on the field, Shupa Moteng brings a different threat.

He's dangerous, but it was too little too late, I think, which is just if you had that from the start, maybe you build a lead, maybe you get a two-goal lead, maybe you're able to manage the game differently. And instead, they do it late.

They get the pop moment. But overall, it's a better Philadelphia team. And Philadelphia has more answers, including Milan Alaski and whatever else they're bringing off the bench, then this Red Bull squad does. Louis Morgan is supposed to be back in the next few weeks, so that may be good, but maybe also too late. So we'll see.

And how is he physically, right? Yeah. We were going to talk about transfers, but I think we've talked enough. I think we're ready to get to Bradley Carnell. So let's get to our interview now with Bradley Carnell. McKellie, it's always the best when you join us. Thank you. Enjoy the trip to L.A.

And maybe we'll have you on afterwards to recap. some best tacos and whatever you saw i love lex cup i love being here i love all the success that you guys are having congrats on the on on the new project um well not not you know what i mean um all this this this this this launching that you guys are doing the multiple channels um it's always great to be here um it's an honor for me and and i'm you know i'm always a text away so yeah thanks for having it's an honor for us too we we don't have enough connecticut representation. So now you can represent Connecticut on the show. Can the summer be over already? It's so freaking hot all the time. Welcome to the Northeast. San Diego Weather, I miss you.

And speaking of that, let's talk to Bradley Carnell about the Philadelphia Union and all the success they've had and the big games that they are playing. Well, all of us stayed up late to watch the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, but I think it was a later night for the people on the ground. Another weather delay but this time we get a result the philadelphia union knock off the new york red bulls they are moving to the semi-finals of the 2025 u.s open cup and the man in charge for the first year in philadelphia uh mr bradley carnell joining us now coach thanks for joining us david thanks for having us so um let's start with i had the experience of like i looked at my phone and go you got to be kidding me i can only imagine take me into the locker room experience last night um

of in a game that was rescheduled because of a weather delay in the previous setup, a game that then picked up a weather delay. What was the moment you were all told and what was the reaction? Yeah, the only thing that we didn't want to do was do the warm-ups and that whole procedure and then have to go back inside. So, you know, they said to us you could go outside, but it's going to be like 10 minutes. You're going to be back inside. So we saw the goalkeepers go out and then we got Blake back in.

and then we saw the other goalkeepers from the Red Bulls come back inside. So, you know, we were happy for that aspect. But then, you know, we have a young roster. So the guys are playing games and they're doing a whole bunch of goofy stuff in the locker room. But two hours is a long time. And then you think about the energy that those guys are expending in the warm-up rooms, just goofing around. You think, are they doing too much now. Yeah.

Do they need to eat something? So there's a whole bunch of things that we are contemplating. And, you know, we have Marissa Garp here with our on the nutrition side and, you know, Ryan Carter on the performance side. So we're discussing all these scenarios. But, yeah, we are happy to get the game done in the end. So you don't dictate what happens in the locker room. You're not choosing the games.

You let the players just do their thing. No, they do their thing. I think Kevin Sullivan, Frankie Westwell, they've got all the games under their belts. I saw with the bottle tops or something. They're playing like baseball with a bottle top. I have no clue. Are phones allowed at this time? Or do you have to be, like, locked in?

No, I'm very relaxed. You know, I don't, I'm not, I've had a couple of dictator coaches. in my life and you know I know you don't want to play for those type of coaches so I'm yeah I'm not I'm not one of those guys thankfully so as you get the timeline then of like this is when we think kickoff will be and lightning strikes are hopefully stopping and whatnot how do you reset the the culture and the mindset to get into the game just a just a quick huddle up and and be like man the storm's over but we've got to bring the fire again on the field we got to like you know we've got to strike like the lightnings just out on the on the on the outskirts we got to we got to now strike on the field and

And yeah, we go down, I wouldn't say early, but after like 10 minutes or whatever it is, 8 to 10 minutes, and we have to dig deep. But I always feel with our group, we can get punched on the nose and we can come right back. You know, I never feel that we are totally out of games. And this is a really good sign. And I do feel we have the quality also to bounce back. So, again, we have to ride some waves of adversity. We have to ride some waves of, yeah, some negative moments. but I definitely, in the core of my core, I feel that we can bounce back.

One of the exciting things for a lot of fans is the addition of Milano Lasky to this team. You brought him on at halftime of this game. Talk a little bit about what he brings to this club and sort of what the driving force was behind the move. And at a moment like that at halftime, what is it that he brings differently that you're looking for and adding to this group? Yeah, I mean, I think Milan possesses a whole plethora of what he took. can do he's good in the transition and he's got silky touches so that like between the lines and and when he receives a ball from like the sixers or the outside backs or you know like a jacob glesnes

shoving the ball into him and in you know between the lines and we call it the green zone if we can if we can find him there and progress the play um and we don't use the wide tens with they're not wingers they're not sevens elevenths they're tens like in uh in the in the interior pockets you know and we operate very well with Indy Vasilev or Quinn Sullivan. And so we've been doing a lot of school with him in terms of, you know, going through game model stuff and slides and philosophy and terminology and everything like this. But he was like, yeah, this is where I feel very, very comfortable. So we can use him in the nine.

But he's got great shooting technique in the box. And again, he plays guys through passes. So we never really replaced Danny Gazdeck. You know, we just continued with what we had. And I think this brings us. little bit of the Danny Gazdak, you know, without disrespecting anybody else on our roster. But again, he comes with a high expectation. He's got 10 goals and a couple of assists and what have you. And he joins a very successful group right now. So, you know, we just had to make sure

that we get the person and the character check right. And so far, it's fitting in great. It's a unique move in a guy, well, one, who played in USL and then moved, but played for San Diego, goes back to Europe and then comes to Philadelphia. What was that, that background check like in terms of, I assume a lot of people had a lot of touch points with him. Yeah, I mean, listen, we did our due diligence, and Ernst Tanner is very shrewd in that way, and we find out a lot of stuff, you know, and once we had agreed with San Diego to talk, we had the Zoom call and did all of those, exchanged those pleasantries, and yeah, we enjoyed our conversation in the Zoom call.

I remember Ernst walking in the office and said, yeah, this is a good one. So, yeah, we're excited to have him. It's still early days. And yeah, I'm sure hopefully he's going to get to start one of these days soon. But yeah, he's enjoying being around the team. You mentioned not really playing with those wide attackers, more inside tens. But whether it's there or inside, Quinn Sullivan has been one of the best 1V1 attackers in the league. He has taken a huge jump, but there's these moments you watch the game where he slows up,

you think the play is over, and it's a shimmy or a faint or an extra dribble. he has this creativity, which feels very Philly Union-esque. What has it been like working with him? What have you seen in this jump that he has made? It's great. I mean, in preseason, I remember, you know, not just technically how good he was, but physically he came in so fit to preseason. And, you know, the way we try to, you know, the intensity in training that we brought

and everything, he handled it like so easily. Like I would say the Frankie Westfields, the McCannias, these guys who came in, almost from Union 2 but I know Quinn was the first team last year but they brought a level of intensity and they were all excited, energized and there was just a good rhythm in training but then you

could see the quality now and now it was my job to like say how can we find these guys in their best spots so you know sometimes we'll roll Quinn out you know get him into a 1 v1 spot but it was quite uncomfortable for him to learn how to operate in the half spaces and he's actually

closer to go he can get shots off now you know, if we roll him out wider, then he gets a quality crosses off like he has done in the last couple of games. And, you know, and then he gets the call-up to the national team and gets to represent his country. So, I mean, listen, the guys, the way they've committed, not just Quinn, but everyone's committed to this process and excited about what's currently happening. It is rare to see a domestic player in this league get responsibility, though, like I go to Quinn taking set pieces. Like, not everyone, but a lot of the dangerous. or a set pieces fall on his shoulders where that is normally ex-international DP takes those.

What have you been able to do to sort of empower him to be a leader in this group? Yeah, well, I mean, one of the things we did, you know, we have a leadership group that we establish in the beginning of the season. And, you know, I kind of delegated Nate and Kunas, like the young sheriffs of that leadership group. So they hold accountability, not the old guys. You know, the old guys, they're the leaders, but the young guys get to hold accountable. as well and you know they're the sheriffs of the group so which is which is pretty cool in terms of bringing bringing the two groups together like the old experience the younger guys and and i think quinn was the perfect bridge with nate to bring those two together so you know we found little ways and mechanisms through team team building and and little events or you know in training you know designation of of certain things and we found that that quinn is like you know he leads by doing and he loves just playing the game of soccer and yeah yeah He has a bit of an edge about him, which is very fully like. You know, he's edgy, and that's the game model and, you know, the running the intensity

and the way he shines, you know, especially when the going gets tough, he usually comes through. You talk about the group overall. So it's your first year with this club, and it has been wildly successful, leading the sport of Shield Race into an open cup semi-final. I'm curious, as you think back over the first few months, was there a moment where you looked at things and said, I think this. is possible this year? I looked at the group in the beginning of preseason,

and I brought two staff members with me from St. Louis, and I was like, man, these guys have soccer in them. So the things we try to change in 2024, I felt that there were a little bit more sort of staggered in terms of the process in 24, how we try to implement certain things, and we hit a couple of road bumps, and a lot of it was to try and help the process. players with, you know, it's always a tire, what do you call it, like a tiresome thing to

press the ball all the time, right? So I try to find a bit of a balance and I felt that this group was excited about the balance, not just about chasing every ball, but to try and find the right spots, but then also to be brave with the ball. And a lot of our sort of principles of play with the ball, this group was excited about experimenting with, was excited about, excited about the relationships that they would build. You know, and we'd kind of took the togetherness of the pressing and said hey even in our possession we want to be together in the possession because that gets the relationships going that gets all the counterpressing the proximity to each other when the ball turns over um and so like i was watching jacob

last year playing just 60 70 yard diagonal balls and i was like nope let's let's you know we want to try and do it this way and they were so excited about you know getting the relationships going with each other and and building these concepts together and yeah and and and the they shine in it because yeah they work well in tight spaces and yeah they have great technique in front of goals so the closer and the quicker we can get them to go the better did you have a stated goals for the team in terms of results and standings in anything coming into the year we we did as a staff you know and and obviously playoffs for me is a personal it's always the the cliche thing like let's compete for playoffs but coming into a new team not sure what

to expect and you know not trying to replace jim because i thought jim did a great job and and he's a good human being and i get on really well with him so i'm not trying to be something to try and be jim and i try to just come in and be myself with with this sort of intensity that i expected of you know how i would want the team to play um and so over time through little challenges in training or um little little little data points in preseason how we track the KPIs and you know trying to push data to drive performance and to get the buy in that way and then we start just exploring with the group how they feel in a certain situation what do they think is you know we use preseason as a threshold over five six games or whatever it is and

use those averages to say this is how we're going to start the season now now X amount of shots X amount of shots conceded per game X amount of PPDA so we drive this every single match day and we have look or reflect back on it and you know we use yeah we separate the 34 match days now I'm getting a little bit into it now I'm telling you all the nuts and bolts yeah I'll take all the secrets just trying to track over five-day match blocks so you know if you think about 30 34 games plus a couple of open cup games you're going to have maybe seven seven or so match blocks right and then we push ourselves to to achieve certain targets in those match blocks so we're not worried about match day 34 we worried about match day one through five through 10 you know 11 through 15 so

um and we have a challenge for each of them and the players they decide on what they want for the for the outcomes of that so which is which is awesome to get the buy-in and the collectiveness of our group so you said you don't talk big you know big picture big season you talk in these five game blocks you open the year four and one and everyone else started talking and saying is this philly team for real is this a shield contender and now you sit in first place have you talked about the shield no we haven't we haven't we haven't and i've sort of discussed with the group with our staff we're like what do you think we are are we have pressure on type of group or we have pressure off type of group so and right now we're not even bringing it up we still have now match day block whatever and game

whatever in that match block so we're just chasing each match block and and we'll get to the end of it eventually and see where we are and uh but we we compete with each other every single day and we drive the performance and we just try and push for the best and and ale bedoya is like the i would say the conductor of this now you know he's he's adopted this and he's talking about it and he's excited about it and you know one of the most emotional stories for me in in um it happened just the other day actually you know i was like ali man we did a game review and i was like it it took us like 20-something games where you change your sentence to whatever the coaches want and we what we will do

he was like he changed his tone to we this is our way this is how we do things and I got really emotional I was like Ali this taken like you've bought in from day one but you've actually said it for the first time this is us and this is we and man I get goosebumps just thinking about it because this was a real sign for me that this team is invested now in each other and they're going to push to

very end for each other. There might not be a better leader in MLS than Alejandro Badoia. So you got pretty fortunate, I think, uh, with that one. You've also gotten pretty fortunate up top. Ty Borebo has been one of the stories of the year. And it's, you know, last year, I think for a lot of people, it was a waiting game of when would you get the goals? When would it fall for him? I, I heard the stat, uh, last night that of all of his goals, I think only one had been more than one or two touches, was it? One touch tie. That is absolutely incredible, but it goes to show. I think the way it's all come together what are the conversations with him been like and is it about movement is it about anticipation is it about understanding the game model like what has clicked

for me it's about supply um you know we have different ways and and we found him he's not the guy is going to dribble through three guys in the box and and get a half a yard and get a shot of although i had the assist last night but the timing of his run yeah so the timing of his runs are impeccable like just off the shoulder then darting to the near or just off the shoulder and then he stays off your shoulder and then just accelerates but yeah he's he's he's a really good finisher but also he's a competitor he's not happy he's he's he's challenging the teammates every single time he's he's the hardest player to ref against in the in the coaching environment you know like it's kai wagner kai wagner and him man i have to be on my game every single time

just making calls making throwing out yellow cards on people it's so tough because these guys drive such a high level in training and they push intensity and they push performance every single day and that's the way he plays like if he gets a gap he's going to take it if he gets a moment he's going to shoot so but it's not from like 20 yards it's it's eight 12 10 sometimes on the goal line he'll find a back post play and he'll tap it into it to get at home so and now he's starting to find the assists as well like finding between the layers and bruno damiani does a great job of like occupying centerbacks and

attracting two players to free up tie to free up the others so and then the supply from Kai Wagner from Frankie Westfield from Nate from everybody who just plays a contribution to these guys from Quinn Sullivan Indivassadiv so I mean it's pretty fun at the moment where we're getting goals

from and I think we had now with Milan I think our 18th different goal scorer throughout the season so I mean and I remember in the Red Bulls in 2018 we had something similar with 17 or whatever different goal scorer So, you know, it's the game model that kind of rewards the players, yeah. The other piece of this that's really clicked, which we've really enjoyed on this show and talked about a lot, is Danly and Yovana in Central Midfield.

And that was a huge turnover, which was Jose Martinez was going to great in the league. And Philly has had greats in Central Midfield through Brennan Aronson. And so far, you know, Al-Badoya himself, like that is a key part to what has been built. What do you make of this partnership, the way that they've elevated and sort of what their futures look like? I mean, I don't think they get enough credit, you know, or maybe they do. I don't know. No, I agree with you. We give them credit and I get, everyone looks at me side-eyed and is like, yeah, for sure, where I'm talking best 11s with these guys.

Yeah, these guys have been amazing. And they're very similar, which is awesome because they go box to box together and they're hunt together. And they're always just next to each other. So, and they're always just protecting each other as well. But I must say, like, a Jesus Bueno pushes those guys, too, every single day. So those guys know they have to bring performance all the time. Or there's going to be, like, maybe changes. So they play with pressure, and they embrace the pressure as well.

But, you know, they have some good qualities, just the energy and the intensity they play at. So, and technically now we are able to break through with them as well. So we can build through lines and, you know, we can progress the play. So it's not just one dimensional. We have different facets now. And, you know, I'm brave enough as a coach to be like, Dre, play through Blake, you know, Dre, play through the lines, play the Sixers, or find Frankie Westfield on the outside back, or what have you. So, you know, I try and empower the guys to not just play to their strengths,

but to grow out of their strengths and make new ones. One of the big moments, of course, last night it was the match winner from McCona who has stepped into a huge role. As a former South African International, is there a little bit of extra enjoyment and pride having one of your own sort of elevate? Yeah, there's a lot of pride for sure. But there's definitely no favoritism. You know, he has to, well, I lie. I might have brought him like a dish out of a store in St. Louis that have a South African staple diet that we all eat back home. Is it the loaded sandwich thing with all of the fries? No, no, no, no, that's not the bunny chow. That's, that's the bunny chow you're talking about. Yes. No, we call this Eweza maize meal. So it's just like

a corn starch type thing, like a corn type of meal, almost like a grits. Yeah, it's almost like a grits. And I brought this. When I signed, I brought him two bags and his eyes just lit up. He's like, where did you get this? I said, no, my store in St. Louis has it. And I was like, no way. Have you found a Philly place yet? No, not yet. All right. Well, Philly fans help him. So, but he's been amazing. And through, listen, preseason was wild. Nate Harriol gets injured on the first training session. Chris Donovan gets poked in the eye, has a corneal abrasion in the very first training session.

I thought, I've just signed as the coach. It's my first session. And two guys are out straight away. I'm like, oh, my gosh. I'm trying to push principles and pressing and taking the last step and duels. And two guys, we lose two guys on the first day. And then Jan Glevinovic also gets injured.

And now we think, oh, my gosh, just this preseason has gone from bad to worse. but then steps up a Frankie Westfield and a McCannia and I'm like, wow, where were these guys? You know, and this is amazing. And I'm just with the biggest smile, you know, I should be the saddest guy there, but I had the biggest smile because I see a 19-year-old

and a 20-year-old being able to compete with us and McCannia's gone from strength to strength, but also with the guidance of Jacob Gleasness and Kai Wagner. So those two guys either side do definitely help in terms of the overall development of him. You, I got a chance to watch. you work up close at red bulls you take over his interim then you leave an interesting setup right taking over with st louis but waiting a time becoming manager the success the first year and then

all of a sudden it's over very very quickly as you look back over your time what is it that you've taken and what of it what is it that you maybe have tried to change coming into this job yeah listen it went really quickly i was out of the job for like five months maybe um you know and i wasn't expecting to jump back in the hot seat you know that soon but when something comes along that feels so right it just made a lot of sense on so many ways and listen it's been a tough decision personally with family you know because i still have my whole setup in st louis but yeah there was just a few things that during my time in st louis where yeah for sure i could have handled things in a different way but you know i don't like to be comfortable so i like to

push performance and i push the environment in in a you know i feel in a positive health way and sometimes I think any leader in any industry might burn his fingers once or twice if you if the way you push for performance or success or if you're obsessed with performance and success and listen my time in St. Louis was amazing I love St. Louis I enjoy being there I enjoy the club so I have no hard feelings but I did learn a lot but I also went through a moment of like reaffirmation is that a word you know of just like that's the part that I did believe in and I know it can succeed and I think we're seeing it here too so you know

I learned a lot but you know I made a lot of mistakes too and and I've learned from those yeah you mentioned the chance to jump jump back in you've been in the league for a long time what was your perception of the Philadelphia Union from the outside and now being on the inside is it the same is it different like obviously Philly has a strong identity from the outside what's it like then delving in it it's never been the most welcoming place. And to be fair, I mean, listen, when I, when I walked in the building, you could see like, you know, a little bit of the side eyes, like, who's this guy now?

And no change is difficult. And after, after three days of being in the environment before with, the players weren't even in the building, I had to call a staff meeting and I said, guys, listen, changes, change is tough. Trust me. Like, I understand it. I've been through it myself. but change is also opportunity and all i'm asking is like a chance you know what i mean like this is

we have a good chance here to to build something new to start something new i said the foundations are strong they're amazing but you know like i'm not coming in here as as this big bad wolf i'm just coming in here to be part of the union success story and it's a massive success story over the last years so um that was the thing on the outside world man that was even tougher like coming into the environment from like the Red Bulls coming into this building, it was a terrible place to come and play. And now I understand why, just the personality, the character, you know, the edginess of the group. I mean, I've been to places shopping, right, or just walking down the road. And somebody will be like, oh, you're the new union coach, right?

Yeah, and I'm thinking to have a nice conversation. And we're like, we miss Jim. I'm like, yeah, Jim's a great guy. And I get on really well with him. and I'm sure he has no hard feelings. But yeah, we have a good relationship with each other, you know. And I just, you just feel like a patriotism, a connection, and a sticking together that I see in my team now that we stick together no matter what, which is awesome, you know.

One of the big parts of Philadelphia, of course, is the academy structure and pushing young players into the team. We talked about Quinn Sullivan. You brought up Frankie a couple times. I'm lucky enough to cover the youth ranks and have talked to people about. about Malik Yabupovich, who people are excited about, and of course, Sal and all these other players. What is it now that you're in?

How do you sort of help continue that pipeline? How do you help build that part of the club and handle these young talents? Yeah, it's one of the steps I'm trying to grow more as a coaching is taking more involvement in the, and not more involvement from like, you know, exactly how it should be done, but working in collaboration with Ryan Richter,

and then from there it filters down with John Shear and the Academy Director. But it's fun. I mean, it's nice having a structured, organized academy, and there's a plan, and there's a pathway. And there's, you know, you can see exactly like Malik's the next one. And then you see a couple of different names popping up through the ranks. And yeah, it's this conveyor belt of like a belief system. And then we opened up the Wiskers Bank Sportsplex, you know, just the other day, which was, which is an incredible, you know, facility. Nate gave a speech to all the youngsters and be like, man, you don't know what you have. have you know back in the day we had to drive here and do this and do that um so it's a really amazing opportunity and now you know i get to help you know i said to the coaches in st louis when when i used to do these things and i said i want you guys to dethrone me i want you guys with the principles and how we bring people along and how we coach and and what we try and do within the style of flight i want you guys to dethrone me and it's pretty cool now that

critchley has his because i gave that speech to critchley And it's like awesome. Like Christian developed and, you know, within the style of play and trying to go back to the roots of how we try to do things. So I love what's happening, you know, with Critch and what have you. And I'm seeing it with like Ryan Richter as well, like so open and the collaboration between, you know, yeah, it's not always just the diamond. We can do this or we can do that and different ways as long as the principles are all in order. And I see them going on this long and beaten streak. And I see them thriving and doing so well.

the next pro level. So it's really exciting times. And I think there's, you know, when there's a belief, I would say, not a buying, when there's a belief in the principles and the philosophy, then there's so much possible here or possibilities. Yeah. You, the excitement right now, so into the Open Cup semi-finals, which is coming up in a few weeks in Nashville. And then, of course, the race for the supporter shield. And it continues on Saturday against a familiar opponent, the New York Red Bulls. Twice in one week. How do you sort of like help the team game plan for something it's not two legs they're not connected it's the same opponent although i would assume from a red bull point of view it'll be a different starting

lineup uh one that probably features in emil forsberg or hopefully for them a chuponoteng from the start but how do you sort of keep everyone in the right mindset yeah we kind of kind of see who's fit and healthy you know we we picked up a slight injury to indiana basilev um but i think everyone else should be good to go um listen i know the way we train and the way we play with the intensity levels, we have to periodize, you know, a lot more than other teams and be a lot more cautious. So we will look to probably rotate a little bit. And given the state of that field, we have to try and change the game plan at the moment and see how we can mitigate these things. Yeah, but everyone, you know, I spoke to a few guys this morning. I said, hey, I'm thinking

of rotating. And they looked at me with like, what? Why? You know, it's like, oh, oh, you think you're good? And it's like, yeah, I'm good. So there's a, there's a willingness in the group to recover more there's a willingness to like man they feel the momentum and and no one wants to give up a starting birth now because they feel it's so important now to be you know pushing for the next for the next level and what is the next level i don't know maybe it's the next three points maybe it's the next four games maybe it's the next eight games i don't know and for you you are well steeped in the red bull family from europe through to the u.s and for a long time what's it like being on the other side against them um i don't put too much talk into it um um

You know, I, listen, five and a half years days is a big, I was so fortunate. And Jochen Schneider, who's now, you know, the head of sport again at the Red Bulls, he was the guy who brought me in in 2017. So I have so much to be grateful for it to be giving me because I always felt the style of play suited me, but I just never had the opportunity. I played this way, you know, but to now actually to coach in this way and to understand not just the instinctive nature how we do things, but to understand that, dynamics of the hows and the wise and you know i'm so grateful and and you know i can't thank them

enough and and they understand the business too they understand you know listen we had a great run as an interim to get the team to the playoffs back then and you know unfortunately for whatever you know gear had comes in and we we have another year as an assistant and i get a massive opportunity to st louis so listen every every story unfolds and unravels in a different way and everyone has a road to take. I'm grateful for the road I'm on, but I'm also grateful for the path I've had. Phil Ophir Union, fairly grateful as well, currently leading in the Shield race into the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Cup trying to finally break that drought. It is a club that has been the bridesmaids quite often, but finally trying to be the one to seal the deal and Bradley

Cardnell helping from the top. Appreciate you taking the time to chat with us, and maybe for a Shield win or an Open Cup final, we'll do this again. Oh, I can't wait. Thanks, David.