SoccerWise - Looking Back at MLS Action from Week 11 plus Big Concacaf Champions Cup Week Upcoming

Episode Date: May 4, 2026

Back chatting all things MLS are your favorite friends Tom Bogert, Matt Doyle, David Gass and Andrew Wiebe. The group looks back on the action in MLS from Week 11, talking Austin, St. Louis and the epic Orlando City comeback in Miami as well as LAFC, San Diego and NYCFC with an eye to the big Concacacf Champions Cup second leg games. Then they wrap things up with a Save the Caps! update and chat U.S. Men’s National Team players.2:15 Gass enjoyed some USL League One action between FC Naples and One Knox9:45 Brandon Vazquez, Owen Wolff are back for Austin, Christian Ramirez love12:55 St. Louis in rebuild mode21:10 Orlando with a wild comeback win against Miami33:30 Doyle talks about his favorite new nerdy soccer website35:50 LAFC getting results in both league play and Concacaf43:28 Liga MX and MLS player movement and the U22 mechanism46:38 San Diego and the Chucky Lozano Conundrum57:35 Three game week was rough Vancouver, San Jose, Nashville1:02:00 NYCFC keeps dropping points after a fast start1:07:22 Vancouver Whitecaps update1:15:40 Big second leg games in Concacaf Tuesday and Wednesday1:27:10 USMNT players - Weekend in review

Do I do have a special show here. We've got Doyle and Tom with us. We have Andrew Reeve, who will both pop in and pop out at some point during this show, which is as good a cliffhanger as I could possibly give someone to stick around and hang out. And I'm happy to be here with you too. Like, what a great weekend. I got some feedback at the end of last week from some listeners. They told me they don't like the part where we talk about basketball in the show.

So a huge weekend for them because 50% of the teams we root for are now. eliminated and we no longer have to spend time talking about it. So congratulations to all of you who hate it. I'm not talking about basketball. So go ahead, Tom. Listen to it's okay. You're right. There's more basketball to be played for us. So more basketball to watch. And we can just leave it at that. Nice. Big game tonight. Big series coming up. And maybe we'll hit it at some point. I think Thursday might have the potential for a big goon episode of me and Tom just being like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. In either direction, by the way. I fully am open to the idea that we could be miserable,

and we also will be probably doing the same thing and trying to bully around Joel and Bede on the internet. But we got a lot to talk about in this episode. Big comeback across Major League Soccer. Yes. We're going to talk about soccer. Big comebacks across the league. Three goal deficits, two goal deficits,

some big performances from some rising young players, as well as Conca Champions. We have a second leg of the semifinals coming up this week. So Tuesday and Wednesday night, 9.30 p.m. Eastern time, both Nashville and L.A.F.C. will head down to Mexico to try and make it to a Conca Calf final. For Nashville, it would be the first time for L.A.F.C. They've been here before, but not exactly in this setting. So we're going to talk all about that.

And as we do every Monday, we will touch on some of the big storylines around the U.S. National team as we head towards the World Cup. We have the best things we saw that we like to kick off every show with. And for me, it's personal this week because I went USL League one this weekend. I drove out to Naples, Florida to go see FC Naples against one Knoxville. And boy, did I have a time. Unbelievable vibes. It is in a sports complex 30 minutes from downtown Naples next to a great wolf lodge,

surrounded by palm trees with a multicolored turf field. and it was electric. I got a hot dog. I drank an IPA. It rained. So in the middle of the game, it rained, and there's a covering for the fancy seats, and everyone just walked in that no one stopped you.

You just were like, yep, we're all in this part now without paying for it, which was great. And one Knoxville went and smacked them around. 3-0. Top of the table now. Coming off a U.S. Open Cup week, coming off a Pricks tire penalty kick shootout victory over Tulsa. Last weekend, the game snack up,

and yet Ian's boys keep rolling forward. Gus, there's luxury seating options at USL League ones. Yeah, there is. I mean, it's like midfield, and they actually had these really cool cushions that pull up that you sit in. Like, if you think about, you know, those things you have that, like, clip on the side so that they're more comfortable to sit on the ground with. And I actually was a huge fan of them.

I would buy one of those. It's Florida, so I assume it's all like seating for the elderly. That's what you mean by luxury seating. Potentially. There's a guy walking around near us who was wearing Saturday. in pink shorts and a green t-shirt that just had dolphins on the front. And he was like probably in his 60s. He was probably in his 60s.

And Megan just said being like, he's so Florida. It's amazing. Does he own the team? I'm like, no, he's just talking to everyone because he's a Florida guy. He just talks to everyone who works here. It was amazing. But I will say, I've been to next pro stuff. I've been to some really sad MLS atmospheres.

It was what you wanted. It was like a little quirky and campy, and that's the point. Be fun. Supporters group on the drums the whole time. It was also Cinco de Mayo celebration a few days early. The mariachi band that was playing at the entrance when it stood next to the goal and just played the whole first app like at the boards, not even like, oh, we're out back. Like, they were on the field just playing.

And it was sick. So, yeah. like the revs minute men did where they like really put it up when when a goal happened no because they lost three zero so they couldn't so they were they were constantly trying to get the vibes high but there's a beer garden at midfield on the far side like what else could you want is this is is this is a stadium complex that it was not built for fc naples it is yeah i think it's like a community thing yeah yeah but it fits where it's like you know high school football style stands on one side with a little bit of a roof that looks out and then there's

like hill around the other side of the field. So they throw a giant jersey on one of the hills. So it just looks like a person standing behind one of the goals. And then there's like a million fields around it and other stuff. But like is the point of what you want it to be? I don't know. I'd say there was three plus thousand people there. Obviously top of the table clash.

Maybe I'm making that number up and I'm completely off. But it didn't feel empty. It doesn't matter in any part of it. And I'm all in. So you get like like food trucks, the beer options. And yeah. Okay. local brewery that makes two FC Naples beers

Venezuelan food truck Argentine food truck barbecue got a side of mac and cheese at a game you kidding me for this price in this economy come on guys you're 30 seconds away from getting a fake promise from Doyle saying oh I really good I'm gonna go check that out and you know there's no shot that he goes down so I don't really ever want to go to that part of Florida because you are completely correct if I'm yeah like it just gets smashed by a hurricane

every single year. I don't need to go over there. Plus, like, oh, it's a weather thing. Yeah, I mean, yes. Everything about floor is a weather thing now. They can't get insurance on their homes down there because of the weather. It rained yesterday, so they put sandbags out in the lobby of my building, which was built three years ago.

That is unprepared for rain in Miami. Yeah. Just like, got that one. And the other thing is like, I don't like being in any ecosystem where I'm not at the top of the food chain. I just don't want to be around alligators if I don't have to. It's a safety thing.

You live near West Point now. I don't think that you're the top of the food chain right now. I mean, it's a fair point. I live right at the bottom of Bear Mountain. I was going to say, I'm not going up there. I'm not going up there.

Absolutely not. On the drive back through the Everglades, we listen to a nature podcast about the uprising in bear attacks in Japan. Oh, they had to call in the army. They literally had to call in the army. to fight brown bears in Hokkaido. But because of the pacifist constitution,

the army is not allowed to shoot animals. Correct. So the army doesn't actually do anything. What do they do? They just track and monitor. Yeah, pretty much. They're just like helping out. And then they have to hire local hunters

who have to go through a process to be allowed to shoot. And then they practice it in a session where someone dresses up as a bear and goes down on the river and acts like the bear. You really drew the short straw for that one. if you're the guy who has to dress up as the bear.

And I listened to an interview with the head of the New York Times office there, the New York Times Bureau there, who described it and said, quote, he was quite convincing as his bare characteristics. So that's top-level journalism, Tom. That's the stuff you like to work on. The paper record right there. I want to do the rest of the show on that and that alone.

Weeby, get ready for bear conversation. It was called Chris Something The Wild. Great show. Go listen to it. You'd be shocked to know it. comes out of Seattle and is sponsored by the port of Seattle, which who would have thought the one wild nature podcast that we could find would be that. But yeah, bear attacks are up. Florida Panthers are coming back, though, so we're stoked about that because we love a Florida Panther. And you're supposed

to drive slower when you're- The hockey team? Yeah. Well, that's what they're named after. Also, by the way, on the drive out, I was on a one-lane road. And so you got to do the pass in the other lane because obviously I'm not going the speeds. These people are going to get out of my way. And then on the way back it was a two-lane road and so I'm just cruising but the amount of drivers who don't know what they're doing insane that's probably the reason doyle doesn't want to go down what's up weavy I feel like I walked in on something at two and a half speed it's like you know I woke up from a nap to a podcast at like three to just whoa I don't have enough caffeine for this what's up boys how are you sounds like it sounds like somebody had a good weekend in florida

yeah naples baby I'm not going to tell minnie about the bears that that means we'll never return to Florida. Naples is the, it's the Midwest portion of Florida. So East Coast is East Coast. And then Panhandle is like Mississippi people in Alabama. Yeah, we, listen, we did Panhandle. We did 30A for spring break.

You're more a Naples person. There are multiple Culvers in the Naples area. Oh. Oh. I introduced Mindy to Culvers this week. She hit me with the, she's like, ah, it's just all right. And, you know, we didn't talk for two days.

The cheese skirt hits. They're just mozzarella sticks, but they had. Oh, yeah. Okay. My other thing that I enjoyed this weekend, besides F.C. Naples getting stuffed, but watching it in person. Shout out to one Knoxville top of the table now, was the return of Brandon Vasquez and Owen Wolf, two of the best, I think, personalities in the North American soccer sphere. And obviously, for Brandon Vasquez, just brutal, his first appearance in July of 2026, for Owen Wolf, his first, sorry, 2025, for Owen, his first since November of 2025. So both of them came back. It was a home victory. Christian Ramirez one goal, one assist. He's got three goals in the 10 appearances so far. For Austin, Azuni gets a goal. It turns out if you just keep working the ball to his foot,

everything happens. Azuni's just waiting on the edge of the box there. Like, play my feet, just play my feet. It's like, okay, or you could move too and try and get involved. But when it comes to his feet, he scores. But awesome to see those two back on the field. Jaden Nelson went down injured in priests, I think. Warmups.

Yeah, in warm-ups. Oh, my gosh. Oh my gosh. I have to leave an early last week after scoring. So the hits keep coming there. And I don't know what Vasquez will look like anytime soon, coming off an injury like that and having to work his way back. But Owen Wolf's a huge ad to this team.

And two guys that I like watching play soccer. So it was good to see them come back. And congrats to Austin for getting a victory. I mean, listen, there are weak points in this roster. We've talked about you and I don't have to revisit our conversation from last week. I will give Austin credit for signing Christian Ramirez, knowing that he was the piece that they needed, like, in the meantime. Like, you needed an in the meantime piece.

They didn't have that last year. And Azuni, he just is not a nine. Like, he is not a lone nine. You are not going to succeed with him that way. He is not going to succeed. And so then you're just bleeding money for no reason. So playing with him another guy up top who's willing to run, who's unselfish, who fills space and lets him, I mean, to your point, Dave, like,

just sort of be a, like, space-finding poacher, not necessarily. the most insanely active guy on the ball, but insanely active off the ball, especially defensively. I mean, listen, you got to find a way to put your players in their best possible positions, and I'm not going to say winning against St. Louis is some gold star activity right now.

What do you call it a bonus game? I mean, by the traditional definition, it's close. If it was an Eastern Conference team, it would one million be a bonus game if it was an Eastern Conference team. Western Conference, That's all, we'll say on the brink.

Well, let's say that I'm happy that Austin got some of their watchable players back. I am happy that Christian Ramirez got a goal and assist because he's always been an aesthetically pleasing center forward to me. And it remains wild that he's not making like his 300th appearance for Minnesota United at some point this year. I can still not understand for the life of me why they just gave this man away who's a professional goal score. and like everybody, even if you're not going to start him more than 15 times a year, everybody needs a guy like this on their roster. Good job Austin picking him up. This game was about Brad Stover, who continues to be one of the half dozen best goalkeepers,

shot stoppers in MLS. And it was about St. Louis's attack, just not putting away the types of chances. Simon Betcher, miss of the year? Yeah, tough. I mean, I feel bad for him, but also. Marcel Hartel, like, got it, like, got it bouncing and a little bit hot and pulled him away from goal with all of it. It was, it was clown shoes, you know, it was Benny Hill theme stuff. And it's, it's now been two months of me, three months of me writing about, you know, And DeMay, like, I like the way his team plays.

I question his personnel choices. And now we have to tease apart at some point whether the only reason they can play, what I think, think is actually pretty good soccer is because of these players he's putting out there who unfortunately can't turn pretty good soccer into actual goals and assists, right? Like maybe they, like having Hartel and Becher is intrinsic to actually holding the ball and like creating these types of breakouts where, you know, they basically walk the ball in the net. And it's just if you play other guys, you're not going to do that. You're going to play worse soccer. And then you're not going to have the opportunities to blow in the first place.

I don't know. Yeah, because the thing I would say with this group is it's not like they have these other entities on the bench where like this guy's a cold-blooded goal score, but just can't connect passes. There's just no other options to a lot of this. So I disagree with that. Oh, we're doing a Mickey Joyner conversation now? Mickey Joyner and Brendan McSorley literally like literally put Sergio Cordova, who's a DP

at the number nine. Friken start, but they have played Sergio Cordo. The exact right reaction to all of this from Tom. But let's just read those, let's just read that back. Like, what are we,

what are we talking about? And we're talking about giving Simon Betcher and Marcel Hartle starts every single game when they cannot shoot the ball at the net. So Sergio Cordova has started three of the last five years. Historically, Sergio Cordova is a guaranteed guy. And I would say, this set the table of the soccer you want to play for when the players coming that you want because

this is not all the players you want and edward leuvin coming back for his first start obviously that has put them behind the eight ball on the field and that's something that they're trying to work with but i get your point out of like there could be more results in there potentially i don't know that there's a lot more in there with brennan msorley but you know top 10 name in mLS i mean to me to me it just goes back to like the build to i mean you're you're talking about it goes back to the build. We're not talking about, you're talking about like, Hail Marys, all of it being Hail Marys, right? Like, you're not talking about, hey, hey, play that guy. How could you not? How could you not play Sergio Cordova? So I don't think, I don't think there have been Hail Marys here.

I think there have been three yards. No, I'm saying they are Hail Marys. I'm saying the players you're asking to score goals, you're asking for a Hail Mary. You're not, that's not a guy that you say is going to come in and it's like, hey, flip the switch. There's nothing to say the, results will be any different or better. No, but at least you want to take a look at it at some point. Like at this point, we have enough, we have enough data that Yohan DeMay has a pretty good system and we have enough data that says Simon Betcher's probably not a starter in it. But we also, we've also seen that Simon Betcher could actually be a useful piece coming off

the bench. So let's flip it up and see that. Yeah. Like, this team is just very incomplete. Yeah. Even going, I know we're talking about the attacking issues, but Mammadoo fall in. Falufal have played, you know, 45 to 60 minutes combined between the two of them. Those are two pillars that they will be building around in the defense.

You said it about Loven. He started for the first time in this match. They didn't bring in a real DP forward yet. Like Sergio Cordova is a DP forward in name just because it saves you outcation money when they signed him. As long as ownership gives Corey Ray in the front office a chance to make a couple serious signings, then I think they will be quite good. I don't know exactly how long it's going to take because this roster is. in a very bad spot, not just in terms of personnel, but also it was a different style and

different profiles to what Yohan Deme wants to play. So not only were those players underperforming and probably bad value, they don't play, they're not natural in this system. So it's going to take a while to overturn this roster, and ownership had, didn't have a ton of interest in doing so in the winter because, you know, I hope, I don't think I'm breaking news here. Sergio Cordova is not at the top of anybody's list when you're trying to sign a D.P. center forward or a high level center forward. I understand the disappointments with Simon Betcher. I don't

necessarily blame him. I don't think that Yohan Tamei or this team are planning to start him. He started all 10 games and I think that he's been fine other than some other than the worries in front of goals, which is obviously the biggest point of why he's on the field. He is clearly a good squad player for this team

that is in a role that is above him and they don't have what other options? I would also say my assumption would be, My assumption would be the Open Cup on Wednesday was the better team, and Betcher did not start in that one. And Cordova did. I will finish St. Louis on this because we got deep into the St. Louis side, which I love.

Didn't expect that. Me and McKelle, like, wax poetic on Thursday of, like, if you're St. Louis, you get a chance to host an Open Cup quarterfinal and semifinal. One of the cities that's, like, most associated to this competition, you've never hosted games that big before, blah, blah, blah, all of this. All the response I got from St. Louis fans was, I wish the front office knew that. Like apparently they've been treating Open Cup like Next Pro Games, like no promotion, not helping get people in the building. They cannot host the final, but they could host the semi.

And as we talked about on Thursday, that would be in September where you don't know what your life looks like in September. But odds are you're in a pretty bad spot if you're St. Louis based off the start of this season. So the entire focus should be on packing the building for the quarter final, getting the result in the quarter final and setting yourself up to host that semi-final. and like that should be everything the club does. And if they don't know that in the building, then that is a huge miss. And that would be really unfortunate if we saw like a quarter empty building for one of the biggest games the clubs ever hosted, which was pure luck of like the draw that you get the opportunity to host. If you are not able to if you are not a league's cup team and you are in a position that St. Louis is in,

where you have a chance in the open cup and you have a chance to clawback points post window, while all of the teams that should be above you in the table are trying to balance leagues cup. If you don't take advantage of that, you had no chance to take advantage of anything this year. None. One point I want to make, I guess two points I want to make here.

First is that we all knew this was going to be a multi-window rebuild for St. Louis. And I actually think that it's gone okay at the start. I'm just frustrated at seeing the same players falling short in the same way. When you have younger options off that, like, please do that. That's one and two is it could end up.

being quick. Cordova is only here through June. I mean, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if they declined to extend that.

And then Cedric Toycher, his option or his contract for some reason only runs until the middle of the year as well.

So that is some money coming off the books. Like they have a chance to add some big pieces this summer and I hope they do because they are

playing good soccer. And I would like to see players on the team who can turn that into at least semi-competent winning soccer instead of 29th place in the Shields standings. Senator Toytree got the Carlos Vela treatment.

Some good work by his agent. I think good work. I think front office may have eyes down the road thinking if Aberdeen needs a midfielder to start the next season. Could we line this up so that he's a potentially free agent when you get there? And that would be a huge upgrade for Aberdeen, who are one of the most ambitious clubs in all of. By the way, McSorley from Randolph in Morris County. So surprised that Tom's not more behind that. Tom's pretty high on McSorley just because of the name, I think.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So he didn't even need extra juice, but I appreciate you helping him get there. Okay, let's move to the next best thing we saw, or not the next thing, but the one that we're going to do next, which is Tommy Scoops. It's funny that we didn't lead the show with this, and I think it's perfect that we didn't because we just spent a long time talking about bears and Naples. and St. Louis and Austin. Orlando City, down 3-0 in Miami,

comes back and beats Inter-Miamie 4-3. What an insane game. So I want to backtrack here. This is the fourth game for Inter-Miami at New Stadium. The first goal at New Stadium belongs to Austin F.C.'s Guillermo Biroo. The first hat-trick belongs to Orlando City's, Martino Heda. The first win belongs to Orlando City.

And now the first first in the record book for Miami, the first loss at this stadium. is inter Miami. I don't even know what to make other than just sit back and this was crazy. This was truly in the second half derogatory tactics free zone by Miami because it genuinely embarrassing. This is an Orlando team that is still on pace to be the worst defensive team in the history of the league.

There is going to be some regression to the mean. They were going to end up as a very, very bad defensive team, I think, at the end of the but they're still on pace to be historically bad. They're up 3-0, and somehow it was like the first goal went in for Martino Heda, and it was like a consolation in the moment, but I was like, man, like, there's going to be enough chances for Orlando going forward that, hey, maybe they're going to make a game of this. When Ohedahedah scored the second goal, I was convinced that they were getting this result.

And that's a huge detriment to all of what Miami is right now, and everything this coaching staff is not. So the first goal, I think it was very clutch that it came so close to the third goal they conceded where it was like, they're down three zero, this game's over, but it was only like a minute and a half later where a hater scores. You're like, okay, it's a two goal game. It's alive. The second goal comes out of literally nowhere. It's like 20 minutes of the second half, Orlando is not in the attacking box a single time. Orlando is not in possession. They are not dangerous. And it is just, if you get four chances and you put them on goal, there's a pretty good. opportunity, you're going to score four times. It was abysmal from Miami. And it wasn't even with the, like, it didn't feel like they played it with the comprehension of like, yeah, we're not going to keep this.

So let's go score the fifth. They just kind of like hung out in the attacking third and knocked it around and saw, okay, what's out there? Like, let's have fun. Let's like enjoy the game a little bit. And every single pass going the other way is dangerous, including a throughball from 95 yards from goal that lands on. Tyree Spicer, who probably shouldn't be playing an MLS, and then he ends up scoring that goal.

I will not stand for that. Yeah, I will not stand for that. That's too far. But like, so I'm sorry, Tyree Spicer would. Now, but there's the other first. First game winner, first game winner, Tyre Spicer. I will say that's a lot. Listen, what Martin Perlman, I thought that was a smart sub because it was very clear.

Anytime Miami turns the ball over, it's not even, doesn't need to be a quick transition. You can take your time to make a run and pick out a pass. anytime you get the ball back, it's a free pass forward. I don't know how many times did Orlando City get in behind. When it was 3-3, I think it was the third breakaway that they needed to make it 4-3. This team is in disarray. So there's not much that has changed under Guillermo Hoyos, the interim head coach. And to be fair to him, he hasn't showed any impetus to do so.

Like, they'll play with an extra natural defender. So, like, it'll be Ian Frey and Noahan as winged backs rather than, say, today, Eigende or Mateo Mateo Savetti or any other combination. So that is one change and two is Louis Suarez is playing more of a role. And I think Louis Suarez is what we know. He's going to be good in attack and non-existent in defense. It's not a shock that Hoyos isn't doing much tactically. He himself has said he is, quote, merely a guide for, quote, the best coach in the world

on the field, Lino Messi. Well, Lino Messi can't make subs. Hoyos apparently decided not to either. They only made two changes. and in the last 20 minutes they made none. And in those last 20 minutes, it was clear to anybody with eyes that Orlando was the better team

and they did nothing to change it, nothing to change it when Orlando went in behind again and again and again until Spicer scored the game winning goal. Huge shout out to Justin Ellis, who's from the Miami area, was in the Inter Miami Academy and then moved to Orlando,

who got the start at center forward and helped set up. Was it the second goal or the first goal where he laid it off Martino Heda helped fill space. I mean, we talked about it a couple weeks ago. For all Duncan McGuire's struggles, like, Martino Heda needs a center forward to play off of.

His name's Antoine Griseman, so we will get there, and it's not like this emergency they can fill, but it's awesome to see that they've dipped into an academy that they've built out very well. And I believe Justin Ellis was part of a time period where they had brought in an academy director from Miami and started to pick off talent from around Florida and, like, expand their presence a little bit.

and he's looked really comfortable in the games he's played and he's been a big present. So a really cool moment for him. That's Alex Freeman too, is it not? I don't know where Alex Freeman is from. Fort Lauderdale. I'm Fort Lauderdale. He's from, I mean, he's in that area. The winner in all of this for Miami is Javier Meshirano.

I mean, he's, he's, he's, to me, he's the guy that saw the writing on the wall and was like, I can't, I won't. I can't do this. Like, I don't want, you know, and there's a combination of a lot of different opinions that went into that. but like, to me, he's the winner. He won the trophy. He got out before it got really bad.

And it could get worse. Yeah. It could get worse. If it does, you won't hear about it because Guillermo Hoyos, one question in the post-game press conference. And then he said, thank you, everyone. And he walked off the stage. My understanding was he had to go get his hair highlighted right after. So he had to get out of there fast.

There's a lot going wrong for Inter Miami. That's at the top of the list. I know the conversations over and over. Noah Allen and Ian Frey were like the only two people who spoke post games so all the pressure falls on them to like be responsible for this. They're still trying to go to Drake Calendar. Yeah, they're still trying to go to Drake Calendar after these games. What's Drake got to say?

And there's a lot of pressure on like a Dane St. Clair, but you know, there's a lot wrong in Inter Miami and I have to say, didn't see it coming. I thought the offseason they had nailed. I thought they improved heavily. Now, I thought. Max, he's playing Falcone style now, so I'm calling him Falcone for now. He's terrible. Oh my God.

He was terrible. Yeah. And I thought he was last year. And that wasn't a thing they fully replaced, although they could just not start him. That's also an option. But a lot going wrong for this team. And for Orlando, by the way, on the flip side, like Martino had an awesome last year. Oh.

And we have to give him his flowers for this one. Uber efficient in the chances he gets, dangerous anytime he's around the final third. Maybe not the pure chance creator that you play through, like some other tens that we've seen in the past. But 16 goals, nine assists last year and a freaking hat trick against your rival to come back from 3-0 down is pretty cool. Doyle, what do you think the best combination of the Orlando City attack? And I guess midfield to a greater extent when Grisman arrives because you guys, and I agree that Martino Hayda looks best with like a nine ahead of him. I would probably say the same about Griseman at the stage of his career.

Like, yes, he can do that role. But like I'd rather him be playing free underneath another center forward. And that's kind of where Martino Heda is. is great too. Yeah, if you think about the way that Griseman's been at his best, both for France and Athlete, is like he's always playing off of Giroux

or sometimes like together and kind of similar roles, but mirrored with Mbapé or with Athlete, that's been a succession of, you know, nine to nine and a half. Yeah, and right now, Julian Alvarez and him are playing as a four-four-two.

And it's usually Alvarez at his occupying. Right. It's almost always... Griseman will go forward and like occupy... But like he's best when he's in the little half space.

So my thing with all of this is they're gonna sell Martino Heda, right? Like they... Yeah, I think they'll get an offer for nine or ten million dollars from a Brazilian team this summer. And O'Heda is really, really good and I'd like to keep them.

But if you can make a profit and then the, you know, the new CSO goes and gets his own new younger centerpiece who maybe fits a little bit better with greasman doesn't isn't that the the answer to get a guy who gives you a little more pitch control in central midfield rather than pure goals i mean i i guess but like i i'm just surprised how quickly that you're like oh no no no they'll sell o'heda because i'd like to see at least half a season of o'heda and greasman together like he's been oh heyto was i don't think they fit tom i don't think they fit i i agree that it's not perfect, but I feel I would, I would like to try other solutions before this because like,

I think the offers could be there in the winter for Martino Hayden. Plus, like, he's been such an integral part of this team for so long. It would just, I don't know, it would feel hollow. If it's like, all right, cool grease is here. Get out. Yeah, but like, that's the business, right? And I, I don't think that there's a lot of South Americans who are crying when they get sold to a Brazilian team that increases their salary by 50%, even if there is a 30% chance that that's not actually going to get paid. Don't sell them to Botafogo. Don't sell them to photo fogo. But like I

look I like the ambition of the Grizman signing when it happens I like the lesson we should all be taking from Miami is that fit matters. It's not just talent and I don't see the fit with Grisman with this team as currently constructed

and the team is currently constructed of course is not good enough to be like well no we can't take out on Grisman you're not even a playoff team. You don't fit. It's like, yeah, you're one of the worst teams in the league. So you say, okay, let's get Greasman here. We'll have a month to see if it works with O'Heda. And then at the end of that month, then maybe we'll do a little business.

Can I just say Ricardo resigned him in January, by the way, to a long-term contract? I'm not saying I can't sell him, but it's not like he's not the choice of the current sporting technical director. I mean, isn't that what you would do right before you want to get max value for a guy? Is you signed him to a long-term deal? Sure. Yeah, sure. I think that there's the more upside in like if you're attacking in a shape that's three, four, two, one. And Angulo's one wing back.

That doesn't fit past, Possilich perfectly as like the other side. So maybe there's, you know, that fits Griffin-Dorsey really well. And then you have if- So you build the team around Griffin-Dorses is what we're all aiming. You love to just take out like little half sentences and be like, nope, that is the only thing he said and that's it. And that's 100 yards of what he meant. Having like, let's say it's a DP-9. Oh, Hayden, Griesland underneath. and then you have it the width comes from Dorsey and Angulo and then O'Heda and Grisman both get to play in the half spaces.

I think that that is a higher upside than anything else. So you're dropping Possilich in that setting. I'm not saying. I'm kind of reluctant to do so, but like Doyle said, like fit, fit is really important. So I think I'd rather that. So here's my thing, which is you're not a ball dominant team right now. So just have two of the best attackers up top playing off each other in Grisman and O'Heda and accept that for the rest of the season. And then if you're right, then in the winter, maybe it's not as much money as it would be if he comes in scoring a bunch of goals at his peak in the summer.

But, you know, and then if him and Griesman struggled together, it looks different. Also, I don't know how much some of these teams are watching. The money for Gundo Torres got the money Alan Velasco got like it might just be there and it is what it is. And that's Ricardo Morayor. They're just begging. Like, call Martino Heda up for one camp. Just please God, call him up for one camp. That's all we need.

Guatemala in a non-fifa window two weeks after the world. You don't even need that. You don't even need that. Lutro wasn't getting called into camps. It's true. They'll go for it. Okay, let's move on here

to Doyle's best thing. And I do have to pull this out of the chat, which is WST Pitchbot said, what environment is Doyle ever top of the food chain? Which is a great line. Westchester. Westchester, okay? The best thing I saw.

I'm going to go off the field for this one. www. www.com. That's from the gang at St. Louissockernews Soccer.com and chat city tactics. These guys put together this awesome soccer data viz website. If you want to go deeper on the game, if you want to understand how the data that is collected actually kind of works together, it gives you a bigger picture of individual players or how a match played out or how a team style.

fits with the personnel they have. This is something they did for fun. And it's a super useful tool. I used it this weekend. It's the first time it's been available. And this is sick. This is sick. Yeah, it's really, really good.

It reminds me the stuff that we used to have at MLSSoccur.com until that all changed. So it's nice to see some people in their spare time putting together stuff that actually helps the entire, I think, MLS soccer community. So soccer datavisor.com, V-I-Z-E-R.com. That's it. Quick shout-out. And St. Louis, I think I follow all these accounts already. It's one of the markets where it's like,

it feels like 500 people are covering that team. There's not a lot to cover. And they all agree with me that maybe Yohan DeMae should try some different personnel in that. If there is a plane that flies over a stadium with a sign behind it to start Brendan McSorley, I will give you. Yeah, I think we're going to know exactly who that is. I will give you everything I own for that.

But yeah, really cool thing that they set up. So go check it out. It's out on Blue Sky. You can follow them. STL Soccer News as well, chat city tactics. Both of them pretty active on Blue Sky. And good way to follow the team. Good conversation about soccer.

And as I said, one of the markets said it feels like a lot of people are passionate about their team. Hence why I was hopeful from the outside that they might be able to fill an Open Cup Stadium and try and win a big game. All right, Weeby, we didn't get to welcome you in at the top of the show, so thanks for popping in and being here. And you can talk a little bit. I don't know what you're going to talk about. Yeah, yeah, I didn't put anything in the dock, which is, you know, would have been a sin against God when I was running that dock. But I'm going to go with the, the CCC teams who just, you know, it's not always pretty right now for Nashville and L.A.F. but they just continue to put results together in a way that we generally don't see

with teams that go this far in this competition. Vancouver, I think, stilted our perception of what is possible when it comes to balancing MLS and CCC. And I know Markos and I'm sure B.J. Callahan feel like they probably should have four or five more points each. And certainly Mark feels like the schedule should shift a little bit to help his team out in this moment, but it's not going to. I was at the San Diego L.A.F.C. game this weekend. and it was one of those deals where it was not surprising to me

what the flow of the game was when you looked at the lineups and the amount of sort of miles on each team's legs. Like that L.A.F.C. would come out and through the first half, it's kind of like, oh, this ain't pretty. Like, this isn't it. Like, there's too many misshaped pieces, too many things just aren't working for them, inability to sort of string together two or three passes under pressure.

And I thought San Diego had a good game plan and did it. But the talent deficit is very real. It is very real. And the moment that LAFC decided we're going to hit that bench and we're going to throw three big dogs at you, how are you going to handle it? San Diego, they didn't have an answer. And that's not all San Diego's fault. It's not all Marky Veris's fault. It's not all Tyler Heaps's fault at all. Just the fact that Yepete Tverskov is not in the team. I mean, that is arguably their most important player. That is, you know, if not in name, in importance, a designated player of the highest order. To me, it's him in Dreyer. And then everybody else is sort of down the, down the heap. But once those guys came on, it completely changed, and it just felt inevitable that they were going to get that game-tying goal. And now you look forward.

They both have an opportunity here to sort of spoil the party for League of MX, which has been a long-running fiesta that just we've never been able to break through on. And I talked to Marto Santos before the game, and I asked him, like, how are you thinking about Toluca? Because the physical load of just going to Toluca, let alone all the games leading up to it, the two months that they've had to sort of soldier through is immense, and most teams have no chance of succeeding in it.

And he told me about 2004 being at Porto and being an intern, and that Manchester United Champions League tie. He said, I remember being in the club, and everybody said, how are we going to do this? How are we, it's going to take a magical night. And he said, listen, it's going to take a magical night for us. But I think it's a credit to both these clubs that they have groups where a magical night is possible,

and not just that toward Nashville is first in the east and LAAFC is third in the west and they have every opportunity of both going after it in Conccaf but also going after it in Major League Soccer and so I'd just say credit to both those clubs it wasn't what they wanted on the weekend it wasn't beautiful but this point of the season

demands something a little different if you're going to balance two things like this Weeby did you ask Marko Sanchez if he was aware that Toluca had a playoff game this weekend and whether that's more difficult than in a waitress? in early May from L.A. to San Diego. Hey, you know what?

L.A. San Diego traffic is hell, Tom. You wouldn't understand. Yo, you would have thought, like, listen, on one hand, I give him credit. He spoke his mind. He didn't do like passive aggressive. Like, he went direct at it and I respect it. Like, that's his opinion. But did he, does he think that Toluca aren't playing, not just league games,

are playing playoff games? I don't think this has anything to do with Toluca. I don't think he's thinking about Toluca even in a little bit. What happens in Europe? What do they, do they not play? Play games on the weekends? Great. Okay, Tom, Tom, I get your frustration.

But in Europe, they don't have a limit on how many players of different designations they can sign and how big their roster can be. That is a inherent difference. That is a massive difference. And we don't have to operate in a world where it doesn't anything. He's not talking to Toluca, dude. He's mostly talking, I think, to his group.

I think he's mostly talking to his group and saying, I get it, I hear you, you're going through it. Let me find somebody outside of you to point the finger at. Let's focus it on that. and then let's push it. Let me say also, because he did mention this, PSG did, Ligon did move games for PSG, in between their Champions League legs inside,

not before they moved the games in between. So when they faced Liverpool, who they had no business beating because it's the greatest club in the world, they didn't play on the weekend in between. They weren't taxed on that one. Yeah, that was the case on both those games, which was one of the teams he mentioned,

and then he talked about Brazil, another place that he worked. Tom, I agree with you. I think it's a lot of nothing and I don't know, us against the world, maybe it helps a little bit inside the locker room of like everyone's against us. The league won't even help us all of that.

We all remember MLS for RSL and some of the past ones. Do we? MLS has moved games in the past. MLS for RASL. MLS moved games this year. Yeah, Seattle moved games in 21, right? They had games moved so that they. Yeah.

So this isn't unprecedented. I mean, it's not unprecedented. So my understanding of the schedule is that teams get to look at it and choose what games they want to move. Which the issue for teams is if you have internationals and you don't want international breaks off, that's where you'd put the games.

Correct. So they'd lose a Denny Buonga or whoever else for those games. Yeah. So if there's anyone to blame, it would be LASC's front office for not thinking that they would make it this far in Kanka Champions League because they could have said,

all right, you know what? We'll take the short-handed game during an international break in order to have an extra weekend off during this monumental CCC title push. I'm gonna say that last year they did do that, no? Because I remember last year into the year LAFC playing a bunch of international breaks

at the end that nobody else was playing. Maybe. Yeah, that sounds right, Weavy. I was gonna say, I don't remember, and I'm not gonna be irresponsible enough to back you up there, but like you just brought it home. I think, you know,

I think just brainlessly agree. I like that. I like that. This is what happens, when you end up midweek, weekend, midweek, weekend. My legs are gone. I was going to say he used all the mental capacity on Mixorily. So now we're coasted.

It's easy sailing. My point is, listen, I get that we're going to dive into the comments and focus on PlayStation and everything else. I just think the overall point is that we've so rarely in the past scene teams be able to balance this shit. And we have two that are doing it and have legitimate chances. to go to the final. Now, are they going to go? In 48 hours? I'm ready.

I'm ready for somebody to, I'm ready for somebody to crotty kick me in the stomach repeatedly midweek. So my guess is it'll be two League of MX teams in the final and this will all be moved next Monday. I'll have to make a point here. Mark Dos Santos is right that MLS doesn't really care about winning this competition, but he's wrong in that moving games around is the way that MLS shows it. The reason we know MLS doesn't care about winning this competition is because it's still only three DPs and whatever the salary cap is. If MLS really cared about winning this, then at the very least three or four years ago, they would have bumped it up to five or six DPs per team and an extra $3 million since the salary cap.

If they had done that, I honestly think the best MLS teams would be easily on par with the likes of Toluca and Tigris already. The fact that they didn't is how we know they don't actually care. We interviewed Eduardo Seracho last week. We ran it on our first touch feed, sort of like a state of the game in Mexico. And I actually hadn't, and this is probably my own fault, put together perfectly that the U-22 initiative is one of the best things that's ever happened to League MX. Because the players they need to buy, MLS brings them in. And MLS needs to sell them. And they need to sell them to gain, you know, to make money.

And League MX is sitting right there. And Mateuch Bogush and pieces like that, it's a lot. It's a no-brainer for them, and they don't care. And he said, Brian Rodriguez. He used the line that I'd never thought of before, which was great, which is we can't have Mexico be the Saudi or China of the Americas, of like where the cash out and everyone just knows you can make money off us. But then he also was like, but we're the big dogs,

and we know we're going to come in for big money. And we know now that there is some movement of some solid players that are going to go the other way. I think D.P. is for sure, right, a Bertrami and all of that. But this is a guy who bought Cocoa Karaskiya. where he's like, okay, I got three years to watch this guy play. I know exactly what I'm going to get from him. Pedro Vite as well.

Pedro Vite is the example. U-22 initiative comes in. Is Vancouver going to bump him up to a big number? Probably not. So now you're in a situation where you have to sell them. The odds that you're going to get the huge number from France, maybe a little bit lower than the guy, the league he has played against seven times for 12 times. Brian Gutierrez would be a homegrown U-22 example as well.

And that one, he had a different answer on which was. was the American-based Mexican players. He kind of was like, you watch guys for six years in an academy, it sort of gets stale. And there's like pop to the idea of like, Danny Lava's different. Brian Gutierrez is different. I think while he was U-22 initiative,

I think that one's a little bit different, where it's like, there's always money in the banana stand. You got to laundercade cows too, you know? Yeah, exactly. Chivas is always going to spend money and they need to. And MLS is a godsend for Chivas to be able to be able to. The other thing, the U-22 initiative,

it's been a stimulus check for all these like, C tier South American prospects, right? Because the A and B tier prospects are either already playing for Boca Juniors or have already been sold to the best teams in Europe. And so the U-22s that MLS is spending too much money on are guys who are unlikely to break through anyway. And if you look at it over the course of the U-22 initiative, there's actually a higher hit rate on top 15 super draft picks.

than there is on U-22 sightings. So the last thing I would say is for League MX, the players you just named, League MX normally acquires them when they're 28 or 29, which is like, okay, now you've played for Colo-Colo for a while. You are like a borderline national team starting centerback.

Now we'll bring you in, where for League of X, they get them five years younger now because they get to watch them at MLS. Right. Three years, and they get to see what they could do. Okay, if you're listening via Serious Radio, you're going to leave us now.

We love you for being here. We've got a lot more to talk about. So make sure to search soccer-wise on-demand or anywhere you get your podcast. Webe, before you go, and we're going to talk about Concaf a lot more, I just wanted to hit the Chuky and the designated player stuff from San Diego

that you gave a scoop on coming out. I don't know if it's a scoop. Probably. I hit Tom, and internally my clock was like, I bet Tom has reported this. And not I just look like a clown. But I talked to Tyler Heaps and just sniffed around the club because Chuky, because you're losing,

has become a big a big story if san diego is winning i don't think anybody says anything about this but the fact that they had lost five straight and then obviously could get the job done on saturday that's that's where it starts to bubble back up through the uh and make noise i just don't see a path back for him into this team like you they have taken a stand where if they reverse it their credibility as a club is just cratered and it's not going to happen and so then okay so what what can happen well, some team has to come in and want Chucky. And my understanding, and Tom, feel free to correct me on any of this if you have any, is that there have been plenty of teams that have a very real interest in trying to acquire Chucky in some form.

Really quickly, the onus is on, does Chuky want to leave? Chucky loves living in San Diego. Correct. He did not particularly, didn't seem to care about, hey, if you don't play, you're not going to the World Cup. This is about whether Chuky would leave or not. And he has shown no. interest in that this winter. Maybe in the summer, maybe if he wants to go somewhere else,

take the kids out of school. It was just he didn't show any interest in leaving the winter. He's going to get his money. This contract is going to be paid out to Chucky Lozano. So it's not a question of whether or not he's saying goodbye to any number of dollars that he has signed for. That money is going to be his. He's going to get it.

To Tom's point, it's just does he want to leave? And there have been interested clubs in MLS, in League of MX, outside. And he just is like, nah. I'm good. And the path back into San Diego was going to take more than just, I mean, he apologized last year, right? Like a public apology? Yep.

It was going to take a lot more than just words. It was going to take like very serious action and sort of commitment to what the club wants to represent in a bigger way. And it just, he wasn't, San Diego's perspective is he's not interested in doing that. And so he's just going to chill. He's just going to hang out. And that's all well and good. Do we know exactly what it was he did? Was it just that?

It was the argument. The locker room Tiff, but like it was, that was obviously the flashpoint. But I'll put it to the sources have told me that it's not as if a bunch of players are clamoring for Chucky to be back in the team. My understanding is it's a larger commitment to what they're trying to do as a group that he's just like, nah, just do the Chuky thing. And it's also, if you get suspended in. the playoffs, then you come back, then this happens in the off season. It's a year. It's not like, oh, it was a flashpoint moment, right? It's a year of the way you're out. Yeah, the way it's accumulation. It's accumulation. And what you do, that pushes a front office to say, hey, by the way,

the most expensive player in our club's history, the keystone player we signed first, yeah, we're just like not going to play that. And to be clear, it's not, it's not just front office. Like to not, to basically push a dude like this outside, that has to be universal within your club ownership down that's saying that's the right thing to do. So that's the right. We are willing to pay that money to this guy and to not have him play for us. We think that is the right thing to do. Now, the good thing for San Diego is that they can go sign DPs this summer.

I know they're in the two four game, but they haven't spent all the game. They can switch it. It sounds like they want to do that. They want to go get a designated player. They want to be active. They still think that they're quote in their expansion build process. And so they can go get another D.P. Whether or not Chuky decides he wants to dip out or not.

But weeby, that was the more, I think, interesting and consequential part of what you were reporting is that previously they haven't shown, like, this winter, they were not in the market for Tadden for a business of a player. If they are the summer, I think that would be a really big boost to the team. It's easy for us to say, right? Like, that is a lot of money for ownership to be writing off his dead money. But song cost, it's gone. And like what, like, Chuky, look at him as a buyout right now, right? And he could still be technically on the roster and you just switch the money around. like that's what it's going to come down to

but the fact that they are like yeah we'll be in the market for another DP that is the more consequential of your report 100% thing is gone like that that it's it it's over yeah that ship has sailed and I don't think they have to feel any pressure if they have this flexibility to go get another DP to buy him out like they don't have to go do that they can sort of sit on

on the on the birds nest so to speak and be like hey somebody might come for this egg or Truki might change his mind he might get bored he might get as your point through the end of the school year and he might just say okay like we'll move or you know like just like acha ache who left his family in houston because they liked it there he could leave his family in san diego and go i don't know he could go play for shoos right like we're talking about drives that you could make but that's not um that's not that doesn't seem to be of any interest whatsoever right now so it's a it's a stalemate is what i would call it just like both sides

are not are not going to budge uh and i i would be the san diego won't and i'd be shocked to see chuky budget at this point. Yeah, it feels like there's no chance Chuky ends up playing. The only like situation was how bad the season goes, how much pressure they're under, their 12th right now in the West. I don't think that's going to be in effect, but it feels like maybe the DP conversation is what's coming out of that, which is we didn't in the offseason because we didn't think we need to. Now we're acknowledging that we need to. And that's just can we shift this money? Can we go to the other? Can we go three? And then can we go out and sign the player, which credit to them if they do it.

They had a great build year one. They didn't want to step away from it. They end up probably giving up an opportunity to go deeper in Concca Calfe because of it. But if they want to recover the season and go spend the money, all right, at least you're acknowledging the mistake you made and the opportunity that exists. Even with Chuky, I'm not like could results be a little bit better, maybe,

but like I'm also just not surprised with a second year team that doesn't have huge roster depth for a lot of different like institutional reasons. not like going into concaf and getting punched in the face and then having trouble. Like I'm just, that doesn't, that doesn't surprise me at all. And the amount of injuries and just, I mean, self-inflicted wounds this year like doubles that down. Like there's a lot that they can do that's in their control that can change their fate here. My one last note on this just watching the game. Oh, I love Anabagadogadoy.

Anabongadoy is, I mean, how many times have people decided and maybe even us included that like, it's probably over for Anabal. Like he's, you know, like he's probably watched. When did he get traded from San Josea Nashville? Was that 2020? 2020.

Like how many times, how many times have people like try to put a shovel of dirt on this dude's grave? And then I watched this game. He is, he is absolutely just the epicenter of everything that San Diego did

for the first 50 minutes that was really, really good without what I would argue is their most influential player on the field for the way they play in Deverscoff. And his intensity and competitiveness and just like, I will tear the world down to try to make what I want to happen happen is, God, it's just, it's like the soul of what every team needs, I think. Like, it's what it's what I imagine Tom does in men's league, except maybe without the athletic ability.

Yeah. No offense, Tom. Without that tactical ability, too. But, God, it's so fun to watch. And I felt for San Diego because both his, like, trickiness and trying to, I don't think he got hit in the head, but his, like, trying to get his team a breather, like that veteran moment of like, hey, we need a breather. We're under pressure. And then they make him go off. And he has to wait and get the concussion test.

And then they score because of it. Him barking at the referee and the medical official. Wait. Gave me a little bit of life. Did you just give him a ton of credit for a moment in which he was off the field? No, no, no. Trying to slow the game down. Trying to slow the game down.

You were like, I love it. It is so great. And then, yeah, he was off the field when they conceded. Okay, Doyle. Okay, Doyle. That was the exact thing Doyle did to you. And now you're here. I see what's happening.

I think that it was advanced. You just try to yada yada your way to, well, they did concede when he was off the field and it was 11 percent. But, you know. So I'll just throw out there. Midweek, last week for a lot of teams. I don't think, I think we saw the soccer that you often see when the games are loaded down. So LAFC came back from two down. It was one of three comebacks from at least two goals down.

Minnesota came from two goals down at Columbus to win three to two set piece masters. And then Orlando's obviously three goals down. That's wild in one weekend. And that doesn't include the like four stoppage time penalty kicks that we have not hit yet. One that got the revs the victory. Two in Chicago. Two stoppage time penalties in Chicago. And what?

The L.A.F.C. was the hundredth and second minute. 90 plus 14. 90 plus 14 that the goal was actually scored. Yeah. Shout out to Ryan Hollington. Oh, my goodness. And then sorry, really like I would be remiss if we don't mention like, God, poor C.J. Dos Santos, man. Like, back in the line.

I almost don't want to talk about it. Face fracture in the playoffs of the last game of the regular season, whatever was last year. And he hasn't been starting regularly since he comes back. And he gets a knee to the forehead from Denny Belonga. Like he was brave. That, that was where. you would worry or if you're him like I don't know if I'm sticking my face in there he made a great

save made a great play and just unfortunately belong his other leg smashes him in the face like I hope he's all right man and it's been I mean one of the things just talking to their staff and trying to learn more about what he's been through like he's the degree of recovery from that injury is not just sort of like

oh hey you might be nervous going into a challenge it's like hey your your vision is like he was suffering from double vision for a long time because of the orbital fracture he was having trouble, like seeing things coming from his right to left. Like this isn't just, hey, like, how long is it going to take for you to be a top-level goalkeeper again? It's like, hey, your vision is in a place that, like, your life might be affected. And then for him to come back and recover from all that and be in a position to play,

and then in the critical moment, throw himself at a ball in a body. It just, I don't know. I don't, the mental strength to do it. And then I hope he does not have to tap into that in his recovery. I hope it's something that's unrelated. So shout out to him. Okay. Well, Weaves, I know you have IR, so you can leave us whenever you're going to leave us and go piss people.

Yeah, I want to lie and wait for Tom to just make any sort of, any sort of logic gap here, but. It won't be long. That won't be long. I'm tagging, I'm tagging you in. Like, get your mental capacity going again. All right. I got you, boys. A point I want to make from this weekend, because we were just listing how crazy stuff.

happens this time of year. And it's a point I made in in my column as well. Tactics reason subscribe. Thank you. The the three game weeks tend to add up. And we see rotated squads and we see dead legs and then games are won or lost or drawn on the margins. And that includes for the best teams in the league. None of the top six teams in the supporter shield race actually won this weekend. I think more than half of them actually blew leads um christian raldon completely uncharacteristic backpass that i mean it was it was grand theft alvarado from dey on jovalich there um you know and we we i actually thought nashville played really well but um the the miles have added up and sam surge has now hurt vancouver were not as sharp in the

final third without um thomas muller you know we talked a lot about lafc uh san jose scored to go up one nothing and then immediately ran out of gas and lost Nico Shakiris to what looked like a muscle strain and he weren't already out play yeah I'm sorry really quickly and said Jose we all assumed they were going to rotate completely in the open cup they didn't and now warner verner and Nico Shakir's is out we have to ask that question or at least pointed out that that might have been avoidable but you know yeah and that but and that's the thing right because like Bruce arena historically has not gone after the open cup but

he like literally doesn't show up sometimes. Right? Like, literally, back in the old galaxy versus rail hawks days, he refused to make the flight. His map of the U.S. just has a cutout around that jumps from South

Carolina to Virginia. I don't really know. We were all shocked when San Jose played pretty close to a first team in the Open Cup. Got the win they deserve for it. But if you look at their schedule, it's been every three days for the past

three weeks. I think it's seven games in 20, one days and they don't have the type of depth that the other top teams do. So of course, they're losing guys to injury now and the defense looks vulnerable in a way that it didn't two weeks ago. These games, like read too much of them,

read too much into them at your peril. Yeah. In terms of what it means for the best version of your team. What it does tell you is the depth that you have and I think the mental strength that your team has. seeing a lot of that in particular, I think, from Nashville because Nashville's ability to go out there and to control tempo and to still be dangerous. The goals have dried up, unfortunately, for them at the wrong time of year because they're not going to go down to

Mexico City and win that game, I don't think. But they like, maybe they're, they're, they're really impressive team. They're really, really impressive team. And I just want to, because we're not really good to touch on it because of a scoreless straw, but like a lot of the stuff that they did in it was actually really, really good. Yeah, for undefeated in their last four in MLS while going through Concaf and all of that. But I will say this is sort of the hard part where we sit in the season is I have a friend who texted me who's like tangentially pays attention and is like, so the revs are second in the east. And I'm like, well, so there's two contexts there. One, they're on 19 points, which would be six in the West. Second.

they have beat up on the bad teams. But to your point, Doyle, get those results, like show that you're at least together. I think for a club that just disintegrated from the inside last year, this is a positive, which is this group is bought in. They're fairly engaged. Carlos Heals clearly bought in and is super engaged. Carlos Hill, every quote, every quote that he gives is like, you don't have to read too far in between the lines to see that he maybe likes the coach a little bit better now.

than the coach that he had the past couple years. He's like, like, everything is like, you know, compared to the past two years, like we're just such a better, more well-rounded team. It's like, I see what you're saying there, Carlos. And 19 points right now. They have one less game played than enter Miami

and they're tied for second place in the east. But like, the goal this year was to make the playoffs for them. So all of this is positive. And the teams that are picking up points right now. I mean, if someone in the chat who's like, can we talk about DC United being fifth in the evening? No. Okay, can we talk about NYCFC for a second, though? Yeah.

Because this one kind of blows my mind. Like I was over the first five, six weeks of the season, pretty sold. They go and they do the business in the Hudson River Derby in Open Cup 3-1 win. So they're going to go on the road against Columbus. They would then host the semi in the final. As I've said, I don't know where that would be and what that looks like, but it's probably better than going on the road for them. And they have lost some of the worst MLS games or drop points. So over the last four games, they lost 2-1 at home. to Charlotte. They led by two goals twice against Cincinnati, a Cincinnati team struggling themselves and didn't get the victory. They lost at Montreal, and now they lose at home to DC United. And Doyle, it's like a team that just can't set the style in a way, it feels like, where they can cruise through segments of games that are hard against them. And it's like, they're either great or terrible. And there's no in between right now. Yeah, I think it's a little overstated until this weekend. They were terrible this weekend.

Like they got their brains beat in by what I think is a pretty bad DC United team, irrespective of the standings. Through most of this run, the previous six games winless in league

play, they had been okay. The big difference between this year's NYCFC and last year's NYCFC is Justin Hack and Alonzo Martinez and they did not replace Justin Hack adequately Raul Gustavo is not a starting caliber centerback in this league and I frankly don't think Kai Trouin is either or at least not a high level one and that's one it struggles in one box and then in the other box

you lost your best goal score and you didn't replace him and you know there are times where Nico Fernandez Mercado can be really awesome as a false nine but there are so many things. They're like playing with a false nine complicates the game in a lot of ways. And if you're really, really dangerous on the wings and you have the types of central midfielers deeper lying who are adept at making those sort of late box arriving runs,

then the way the false nine complicates the game can actually be beneficial to you. If you don't have those things, the way it complicates the game simply allows the opponent to get into a deep block behind you, and then your left ripping 25 yards shot, you know, 0.02 XG shots and just hoping for deflection. And it feels like that is where NYCFC have gotten to in attack

the past couple of games. And this is why I was banging the drum for Seymour. Well, first of all, this is why we all thought they needed to sign a DP center forward. Including them. Including them. And we still don't know exactly what happened. but I guess it was a failed medical No, we know it's a failed medical

Okay, so failed medical We don't know why there was not a backup plan We don't know why there was no plan I keep talking I have a name that they bid for that Okay, they didn't sign But then this is also why I felt it was worth it

And has been banging the drum for them to play Seymour Reid from the start Pascal Yonzen to play Seymour Reid from the start Because okay, he's a young number nine And he's going to be inconsistent And he's going to make mistakes but it's worth getting him out there to get reps to play through those mistakes now and to learn from them so that come this point of the year you have the type of number nine who can actually

drag an opposing backline around not let them sit deep and comfortable in a block and actually create space underneath for the likes of Nico Fernandez Murkow and Hannes Wolf and they're just not like they missed so many opportunities to give him run to work through the tough moments and they're kind of i think paying the price for it now with this terrible run in which they've been so bad in both boxes the uh forward for basle a similar profile to musa stela in in the sense that he can play center forward but also when alonzo martinez comes back he could play in the wing his name is benny triore he's got i think nine goals and and three assists in the league this year what i was told is there was a bit rejected it was too late anyway and that you know more likely to see a

to another club in Europe this summer now. Someone in the chat says, Joel, would you say you'd like to see more read? So I thought that was pretty good. Here's the other worrying sign. Did you think that was pretty good? Here's the other worrying sign for NYCFC. Next Sunday, they'll play Columbus at home.

At that point, they'll have played eight home games to five road games. They then are on the road for the four games going into the World Cup break, and then they start on the road to come out. So similar to TFC, it's like, not all the results here are terrible. but you were supposed to be stacking points. Like this is where you were supposed to build towards the second half, which was why it made sense to get the DP done and deal on not wait for the summer.

And that all blew up in their face. So they will finish the World Cup first half of the season with Charlotte on the road, Red Bulls at Columbus at Nashville. And this is for a club that I thought looked like they could be on the way to being one of the better ones in the Eastern Conference. Okay. Before we move into Conckey Calf fully, let's talk a little bit about the Vancouver White Caps.

We talked last week on the show about Save the Caps, the movement from the fan base. I think you saw across the league, the support from fan bases all over, of course, from Columbus, who have, unfortunately, the experience of having saved a team. But then you sort of see the engagement from all the fan bases of trying to push things. And then, Tom, we got a little bit of breaking news from you and Paul after I recorded with McKelley on Thursday. So walk us through where we stand right now. Yeah, Paul reported now this information is all public. The bid is officially in from a Kentucky-based family billionaires that would buy the white caps and move them to Las Vegas.

The name of the bidder is Grant Gustafson. He's the grandson of the founder of the company Public Storage. His mother's net worth is listed at $8.5 billion. So there's a lot of money here. There would be a stadium plan in Las Vegas. this guy, Grant Gustafs, and he's 30 years old. He lives in Las Vegas. He's been heavily involved in USC's NIL situation for the past few years from what Paul

is reported. So now that that bit is officially on the table and Paul and I this time last week were reporting that there was deep discussions with a group that was going to move the team, that the proposal would be to move the team to Las Vegas a few days later that a bid officially came in. Vancouver's mayor said, quote, we are calling on the Vancouver Whitecaps ownership to publicly and clearly articulate what they need to stay here in Vancouver, and we are calling on the provincial government to come to the table and make that a reality. There have been meetings

between Major League Soccer leadership, Don Garber, and the higher-ups with Vancouver politicians. Garber and crew were in Vancouver for the FIFA Congress. A little levity is that Gianni and Fantino requested a security. A paper motorcade. He requested a papal motorcade. Slightly below the Pope is what he was asking for. Vancouver laughed at himself. Shout out to the Vancouver politicians. To be clear from the report, apparently he was not a part of that.

That was the security apparatus. Oh, I'm sure. His account was hacked too, I'm sure. You're calling him a liar, liar of pants on fire right now? So anyway, so this has come at an interesting time where all the parties were around. I'll reiterate what I've been reporting and hitting on all week is that Vancouver politicians are saying all of this and saying that they want to keep the scene

particularly now that all of this is public and the threat is, the threat has been real for 12 months but it's particularly dire right now. They are doing this while publicly courting Major League Baseball. There is not a Major League Baseball stadium in this city. So I know that MLS and the higher-ups there

are not thrilled with that dichotomy of, you say you're doing everything you can to keep this team here, but we haven't made a breakthrough in a potential stadium deal. But you're courting Major League Baseball, who would also need a stadium? So on one hand, first and foremost,

like we all share the same sentiment, hashtag Save the Caps, be a tragedy if this team leaves. We can talk about corporate greed, money, whatever it is about this team shouldn't move, right? Vancouver politicians are kind of doing the same thing. It's like, ooh, Major League Baseball is a little bit shinier and a little bit better than Major League Soccer.

Maybe we should do that instead. It also makes much. money and is 81 events a year. So, MLS can try and like big dog whatever they want, but it's a league that doesn't make money. Gosh, my point is that like,

okay, so then the major league soccer owners are saying, well, Vegas would be a better business opportunity for us, which the three of us all disagree with. This team should say, but the Vancouver politicians are kind of doing. They're like, well,

Major League Baseball would be better financially for us. So it's, this is, it comes down to like what a lot of things in 2026, everybody sucks. Tom hits it on the head And we've talked about it a lot I think from an obvious point of view

With Vancouver the history they have And the success they've had now Over the last few years The ability to fill the building One of them right Like getting 20,000 plus fans a game It is not saying Oh there's nine people in the stadium

Like people care about the team People are engaged with it We saw some protests over the week With the FIFA Congress involved in all of that and I think the fingers crossed hope would be okay this guy wants to spend whatever hundreds of millions then build an expansion team in major league soccer and just add another team like there isn't really a limit

to the amount of good soccer players on the planet I say this over and over again more teams but like who care if if you want to spend the money then go out and sign 3DPs from outside the league and 322 initiatives and trade for players and draft players and build an academy yeah I don't disagree that's my point trying to keep up on the weekends I don't just agree with you. But if that's

what this person wants, it is also very Major League Soccer of trying to get to Vegas about 12 and a half years after they probably should have been in the market and a guarantee that there will be almost no local buy into this because they're going to move a team in their history and steal it from one place

and pop in as the fifth pro sports team in the market, a market that already has a USL team and everything else involved. So really looking forward to them being black and gold and trying to copy everything. The other point I want to make here is for, you know,

you raise a good point about baseball being 81 games and actually making money. And there's data to back this up now that, I hate to say it, but public investment in baseball stadiums actually ends up being a pretty good deal for municipalities because of what it does for local businesses around the ballpark and what it does for tourism and for bringing in the bridge and tunnel crowd like the three of us, you know, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester. Bro, I'm in the heart of it, baby. I'm in Brakele.

But a soccer stadium, like, get an NWSL team as well. Between MLS and NWSL and national team stuff, you can get 40 dates. And then if you get 15 to 20 concerts in there as well, we're talking about 55 to 60. dates a year. And that adds up. And that suddenly looks like a good bet for everyone involved. And I'm just hoping that between the grandstanding from the politicians and current ownership and the Vegas fail sons and everyone involved, I just hope that there's someone who's able to say,

like, let's look at what the actual opportunity is here. Because soccer has a real culture in Vancouver. Vancouver is a world city. The fan base is real for both. men's and women's soccer there. It can and will work if everybody just buys in and takes a seat at the table instead of doing the stupid meme from the office where they're all pointing guns at each other. And it would be the Nselt team, which is already there,

which is already playing at BC Place, which is not a great stadium for that to be in. So, yeah, it already fully exists. I do think it's interesting that there's a reality where if this happens, you know, I have people messaging me about Montreal, as you guys do, for years now of like, the CPL already has three teams in the Vancouver area. Like what does it end up looking like from an MLS point of view in Canada?

And like, does it fall down to just being TFC? And I say that in saying with the NWSL side of things, I don't think there's an appetite to bring NWSL to Canada. I think the idea for Canada is let's have our own internal league that we try and build up as high as possible, support Canadian players and then we can push them into national teams or potentially overseas, which is the CPL's idea they were doing so with three MLS teams, sort of above them, which was an interesting dynamic, but as those teams potentially leave,

like what it looks like, I think could be really, really different going forward, which would be super unfortunate because I think the two entities, I think MLS has helped soccer grow in Canada, and I know Canada has helped MLS grow with the atmospheres and experiences that you've had in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. Okay, let's move on to a little Conca Champions before we get out of here. We touched on it already with LAFC heading down to Toluca and Nashville playing in Monterey. So let's start with that game. Tuesday night, 9.30 p.m. Eastern time. A 1-0 lead for Tigris coming into the game. Tigris won on the weekend, 3-1, coming from behind against Chivas and the first leg of the legia. So they will play the second leg on Saturday night in Guadalajara. This will come up more

when we talk about Toluca. Chivas missing five starters because of the Mexican national team calling in 12 players who have already started camp so didn't play on the weekend. So I don't say in that like Tigress doesn't have to worry about it, but they're up 3.1 against the wounded team. Well, first of all, let me, I said Nashville in Mexico City earlier in this podcast. I meant obviously Monterey. Explain the situation with the Mexico national team early call-ins, Dave, because I'm not sure everybody knows that. Yeah, we'll get into it with Toluca as well because they're losing two players.

but all the League MX clubs agreed with FMF to start a early World Cup camp on May 6th, which apparently the players then were considered off once they got called up last week, and 12 League MX players have been called up. So they will be in training camp under Javier Aguirre for a month before any of the players who finish their European seasons will come over and join them, which will be the other 14, that are a part of it. And this was something Eduardo Soracho came and joined us. He was technical director of Pumas last year,

and he said, Javier Garay came to every single club and talked about it. And all the clubs agreed, like, this is something that we will do, even if it hurts us in the playoff run to help the national team sort of take advantage of this home world cup. So that means the best players because it's the national team for a lot of these clubs. For Chivas, especially because they only play Mexican players, it hurts. But my thing, and I said this in McKelley last week, you don't get to cry about this. You've built your entire identity on being the Mexican club. You better help the Mexican national team.

But it still hurts losing all your players for the playoffs. And then for Toluca, it means losing all of them for this Concordiaf Champions League. So they will lose Alexis Vega, who's one of the two best players on this team, and Jesus Guaardo, who's the captain of this team, and will probably be a starting player for the Mexican national team at the World Cup. So huge hits. It's shifted a lot. It helps a club like Tigris that just doesn't play Mexican players and goes out and signs everyone from overseas.

So they got the 3-1 win on the weekend. obviously Nashville the zero zero draw at Philly heavily rotated my assumption is we're not going to see Sam surge if we do it probably won't be from the start and this is an experience that we haven't really seen before like Nashville has to go down and probably I'm not probably Nashville has to go down and win this game at Tigris and very few MLS teams have ever done that yeah it's I don't have Tigris ever lost a home game in Concca to a non they have beaten them when got through. I don't remember if it was a winner. Didn't that? Didn't since he do it last year?

Didn't Sinci do that last year? Well, either way, either way it does not happen often. Right. Your point remains notorious for, you know, and we talk about, we think about altitude for these Mexican teams and that's what makes it so hard to play there. But that's not the case in Monterey. Monterey's about 1,800 feet. So it doesn't take your, your wind in the way that playing at Mexico City or even Denver

does. but it's a it's a different type of atmosphere talk to anybody who's played there and and there's a reason tegris wins a lot and it's because they defend that home turf and um national with or without sam surridge and to be clear i think it's going to be without i i have heard that it is a a longer-term injury um i think it's going to be um i'm expecting it to be too steep a hill for them to climb for Nashville, I think the one hope is if they can link some possession because while Tigress is dominant, they don't really care about the ball that much, then can you create enough opportunities because you have enough final third entries and whatever set piece you get is around the goal?

I think that's the hope for this Nashville team where it's the opposite for LAAFC, which we'll talk about in the moment, right? but for Nashville that's like that's bravery stuff where it's like you got to go into this building and most likely Tigress will move on in Lagia but as we've talked about over and over like right now this is the last game Andre Pierre Giniak will ever play at El Volka probably won't be but right now it is and the building's going to be buzzing and it's a chance to win a trophy and they know how important it is and they know how big it is and that is going to take some gigantic luck bravery from this team.

I was going to say. Cuevos? Yeah, I don't know. I was going to go that. And then I was like, yeah, I don't have to. Don't worry. We did it for you.

Yeah, for this group. And I think that's the question is, like, can Nashville do that? And they did some of it at America. I've talked about, to me, the gap between these two teams, even though they're only one place in the standings of, like, right now in big games,

the difference between them. And for, against Cigress, it's going to be so much harder. And L.A.F.C., Wednesday night, 9.30 p.m. Eastern time. So same time, both nights, to one lead going down to Toluca.

Toluca lost 1-0 to Pachuca. This was the quote from Antonio Mohammed after putting out a rotated squad on top of not having Gallardo and Vega. He said, quote, we were always very clear and said that we have a primary goal, which is Concaf. We played nine matches of the tournament

with a backup team, that tournament being in the Claucora. The message was very clear. The focus is Concaf champion. So this is a club that won back-to-back, Ligia's and they care more about this game than they do the playoff games that surround it. Poligno came off the bench. Helino's already suspended.

So a fully rotated group almost for them. Didn't even sub everyone in. No Vega, no Gallardo is a factor. But like, L.A.F.C. Even with Deni Bunga back from the suspension, they're going to be up against it. Yeah. And it says something about the level financially that these teams, are competing at with the fact that they can play their backups for nine games of the Ligia

and finish top three in the standings and be pretty comfortably into the playoffs where they are. Now, they did get pretty thoroughly outplayed, it looks like, by Pachuca at the weekend. I didn't watch that game. I read a little bit about it. Pachuka were, by all accounts, the better team. But that's not the team that LAAFC is going to face this week. LAFC is going to face the first teamers and TILUCA's first team, like David said, just one back-to-back leguiz.

They're by compients, and this is now their priority. And I think they are just massive, overwhelming favorites. I don't know. Like, they are absolutely favorites. This is going to be a really steep hill for LASC. But LFC going in with a lead, and particularly if they can match that away goal, like, I don't I just have a lot of respect for this LFC team and the difference makers they're in.

And they're set up for it. That's why we keep coming back to why they have a shot here because they don't have to change their game states and figure out how to play like a San Diego going to Toulouse. So can I push back on that? Sure. The two teams or really the three teams recently and then the other team that we all think of,

teams we all think of, in terms of making a mark for MLS in this tournament, go back to 2011 R.SL ball dominant possession team. 2017, well, 2018, Toronto FC. They were a pretty ball dominant team, even when they were playing on the road at Club America, at Tigris. And then the past few years, Seattle were not at that level in terms of having the ball,

but they were certainly more than not playing with the ball, not necessarily playing on the counter, everything running through Ledero at that point in time. And then the past couple of years, Columbus and Vancouver getting to the finals by using the ball and not playing on the counterattack. And when you say the game states, you know, LAAFC is ready for it. I think what you mean is that LASC are counter attacking team. And that doesn't hold up to historical scrutiny. Counterattacking teams get their asses kicked.

So you need to go out there and meet them in midfield and try to take the ball from them. So I don't disagree with anything you said, except LAAFC have put counter attacking elite talent into a team and they play this way all the time. So it is not a team going and changing the way they play to fit this. And what you describe there is fully true. They are just, we're all elite ball dominant teams. It's the quality of the team to me over the style of play. that is what allowed them to get through the series. And that's where LAFC, they are already built to do this.

So go and just do what you do at a high level. And a lot of these other teams, it's like, okay, we're going to play Lucas Zelayae on as a false nine. We're going to hope he hits on the counter. Like, that's not what this is. This is Denny Boulanga and Son and David Martinez playing the exact way they play every single week. Can they just do it against the toughest opponent they will the whole season? For me, it was team specific as well.

Like, rather than a guy, it is a good point and something to remember with the teams that have been successful. But I think it's, this is how LAFC play. And this is like for all the criticisms we've made of maybe them not being as adventurous. Like they're going into this game with their fastball. And if Toluca, if Toluca hit their spot, nobody on this continent can beat them. And nobody on this continent can get a hit. Like, but LASC has their own kind of stuff. and it won't be alteration.

It'll be, all right, like, can Denny Buonga have a big moment? Can Sunyung Min have a big moment? Like, Hugo Lurice has been awesome this season, and I think that is all very important too. Do we think Yusakio starts? I wouldn't on the road. Yeah. Just if you don't know how many minutes you have in him

and, like, how much he can cover ground. But isn't the question, isn't it better to start him and be like, well, we're only going to get 45, so we might be doing the first. extra time and have to sub and back. Exactly. I think that's fair. I will set the stage with this one.

I've talked about a couple of times. The standings are out there for hosting the final. There's no world in which Nashville can host the final anymore. For LAAFC, they need to win to host the final at this point. So. Win and hope Nashville wins, right? No, if they win, they would automatically host because Tigris can't catch them. If they win.

If they tie and Tigress win, most likely Tigress will have the goal differential or goals for over them to take it. So, so LAFC control their own destiny. It's just doing, no one's like ever done before is the opportunity to control your own destiny. And my assumption is their bigger worry would be to get through. Okay, let's close out real quick as we do every Monday, just talking a little bit, national team from the weekend. some big performances in terms of minutes played over in Europe. Sergenio Dest first appearance since March 6th. They came off the bench for PSV against IACs.

Two games left in there a DeVise for him to show himself. And then Ricardo Pepe, goal in the first minute of the game with the start in that same game. But, you know, we have talked kind of with an assumption that Desh would be back, but also pretty big to see it sort of come to fruition on that side of things. Tyler Adams, his first start since coming back. So, yeah, his first start. Since the return, 70 minutes and a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, and Chris Richards forced on as a sub late,

because he has Europa Conference League semi-final. Did you see the quote from Oliver Glasner? He was kind of like, this is like when you have your friend's birthday party this weekend and your wedding next weekend. I'm sorry, we're just more excited for our wedding. Pretty well said. Don't mind that. That's pretty good.

Yeah. Do we think I thought like he's, I forget if he's Austrian or German. But that is something that I would expect to come from like just a beautiful say and fun analogy from like not one of those languages rather than like Spanish. Speaking of Central Europe, René Viler must watch on the, on the pressers right now. Just trash and dudes. Yeah. Directly almost unasked sometime.

Yeah. Where he's like, hey, has anyone asked me yet? Yeah. Has anyone asked me about Gabriel Perani yet? No. well, he's not going to play. He plays for himself, not for the team. Whoa, dude.

Do we think Shocktar could hang in Concaf Champions League? Do you think you're right? No, I don't think they could go to Toluca. Absolutely not. Exactly. I don't even know if they could go to Colorado on a Wednesday night and get it done. Jedi first starts since April 11th for him. It was a 3-0 loss to Arsenal.

But good to see him get the start. So him and Tyler both back into full starting lineup, Sirgenio Des, back. And then Alex Freeman, back-to-back starts for Villarale, which feels huge. whatever the formation ends up being because centerback is a little bit thin right now. Tim Ream setback midweek. Dino says he should be back now for the Cincinnati game. They said he'd be back this weekend.

So over four weeks now without playing. And Miles Robinson, we know, has been in and out of the lineup as well. So whether Freeman is right wing back or right center back right now, Doyle, it's a little bit of a thin category for the U.S. It's a very thin category to the point where I think it makes Alex Freeman the right centerback and that's kind of a worry given that he hasn't logged a lot of minutes there over the course of his career but it's just where we are as a national team pool unfortunately mark mackenzie full start on the weekend so he would be one of the other big options

austin trusty gunning for a scottish primary league championship right now getting some other big minutes for him as well congrats aidan morris qualified for the playoffs plays 90 minutes every single week. So Middlesbrough will go up against Southampton and Bolligan, another goal for him. So he's three goals off his career high for a season. And Pepe gets the goal on the weekend. So ideal scenario, at least on that side of the field, because Christian Polisick, 17 straight games without a goal. He only played, what, 15 minutes off the bench. The reports I saw, I didn't watch the game, but the reports I saw out of Italy were not kind to. Pulisic at all.

On the flip side, Giorana played 20 minutes for first time in in months. Actually got off the bench for the final 20 minutes against Berisha Dortmund, his former team. And a victory. That's not, yeah, and a 1-0. Not the guy I would bring him off the bench to see out of 1-0. Joe Scali got the start at left back in that game filling in. So another option there with some versatility. I will say I also didn't watch them.

This is all pretty depressing, man. I didn't watch the Milan game either, but Massimo Allegory said that's the worst game we've played all year. And they've played some bad ones, man. That is a stacked category. So Christian Bullisic, in good company when it comes to the Milan situation. Okay, we will be back on Thursday. We'll talk more national team. Me and Doyle will dive a little bit deeper.

Obviously, we'll have all your reaction coming out of Concaf. We'll get you ready for the weekend in MLS action as well. The timbers are so bad that we don't even mention. that Diego Luna played maybe his best game as a pro. It doesn't even count. I had it in the rundown. It was the seven minutes on Brendan McSorley. Yeah, that's it down the legs.

I thought it was the nine minutes on the Florida Panthers and the brown bears of Hokkaido, Japan. I wouldn't cut that. I wouldn't cut that for anything. The only got, guys, while we're talking about programming and notes and stuff, should we be worried that we're going to, if we ever have to counter program against Twitch superstar Jalen Brown?

Like, we got to worry about that. Championship mentality. Never log off. Never log off. Is there enough of a market share of people listening that like, I don't know, man. I'm fine.

I'm fine. I'm fine. Yeah, come in second place to a finals MVP. I mean, I think we know noted MLS owner Joel Embed is sitting at home eating cookies watching Jane and Brown's Twitch streams rather than our show. So we're already in a tough spot with that market share. Kat's going to put him in another literal headlock. Ooh.

Get. Stuff, Joe Allen, Philadelphia. To all our listeners, pray for me in the group chat because it is a nightmare for these two guys. Don't play a victim mentality. You would, if this was reversed, you wouldn't be, you wouldn't have shut up. I am magnanimous in victory. I was in 2024 when I watched my beloved Boston Celtics win their 18th title. Not at all.

I don't know how you guys felt the last time you saw your Knicks win a title. was that like in person for the two of you? Man, if the Knicks seal it this year, Doyle is never going to be able to come. And he knows in his heart of words. One Nick's title is going to be the equivalent of 15 something. It's over. It doesn't even matter.

I would like to say that I didn't bring up the Atlanta Hawks a single time this year until our coworker came out of his way to tell me Knicks fans were scared, which is confusing because I had won, never heard of them. And two, the Knicks proceeded to win by 61 points. in a close out playoff game. So all the people who don't like the NBA talk, we kept it toward the end here for you, which I think is pretty nice of us.

We appreciate all of you for being here. Shout out to everyone in the chat, hanging out with us. Always fun. Shout out to Weeby for popping in and popping out as he does. And the two of you for hanging out with me and talking all things soccer.

So we will be back with the NWSL show on Tuesday, myself and Jordan, coming off a big weekend of results. And then we, of course, are back on Thursday with our Central MLS show. And then we'll talk to you again soon.