SoccerWise - MLS Edition: Edwin Cerrillo(LAG), Albert Rusnak(SEA) & Noah Eile(RBNY)

Episode Date: November 29, 2024

With the MLS Conference finals coming up David sits down with some of the stars of the hour to get your prepared. First Galaxy center-mid Edwin Cerrillo joins to take you inside the locker room and what makes this team tick. Then from other side of the Western Conference Final Albert Rusnak joins to talk about their young stars and how they can win in LA AGAIN. Last but not least young defensive phenom Noah Eile chats about how the Red Bulls have turned their season around.Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Hey everybody, welcome to SoccerWise, David Goss with you. Happy holidays to all of you that are celebrating, anyone who's not. I hope you're enjoying a little relaxation this week as well. It is a big week in Major League Soccer. The conference finals coming up on Saturday night. Orlando hosting the Red Bulls and the Galaxy hosting the Seattle Sounders. So to get you prepped for it,

we have a number of interviews to go to today. We have Edwin Cerrio from the LA Galaxy, Albert Rusnak from the Seattle Sounders, and Noah Ailey from the New York Red Bulls to get us prepped and prepared for those games. They talked about the big games that they were able to win last week, a couple rivalry matches in there, some big moments as well. They talked about their seasons overall, some of their individual performances, and the keys and factors that are necessary to get the win this weekend and head to MLS Cup and what it would mean if they made it there. So we've got a big week of shows coming up next week. We're going to have the Monday recap to break down all the things that we saw in the conference finals.

Tom will join me on Tuesday to get us prepped for MLS Cup. Jordan Angeli will be with me on Wednesday as the U.S. Women's National Team heads to Europe for the friendly against England on Saturday and then the friendly against the Netherlands next Tuesday. So we'll recap all of that as well as start digging into some of the news coming out of the NWSL free agency and coaching carousel. And then Tom and me will continue the rest of the week to get you prepped for MLS Cup, the final game of 2024 across the two leagues

that we have covered here at SoccerWise in our first ever year. So thankful to all of you for joining us. Thankful for this project that we got off the ground and got started. I hope you all enjoy the games, enjoy your week, and enjoy these interviews. The LA Galaxy, the giants of Major League Soccer, they're

back in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 10 years, though. It has been a little while, and so we wanted to talk about this one and break it down. And who better to do it than the person who sets the table, who watches it all go down from the middle of the field, Edwin Cerrillo. Edwin, thanks for joining us. No, thank you for having me. You got the LA hat on? You're pure LA now, huh? Yeah, I always have the LA hat on.

Okay. It's a pretty good logo. I'm in New Yorker, so it's not my favorite logo, but it's a solid look and you got to rep it while you're there. We got a lot to talk about. Seattle coming up this weekend, chance to go to MLS Cup, the killer piece, so much going on around your team. But I want to start last weekend because you get into the playoffs.

We have the long international break. Ricky's complaining about how long the layoff is. You get out on the field and 30 seconds in, you are leading 1-0. Take me through that start and sort of the experience as Gabriel gets that goal and gets you ahead so quickly? Yeah, I think just the buildup up to the game, like you said, the long break that we had, it becomes a little frustrating because, you know, we smack Colorado, then we go to Colorado, get the job done, and the second leg as we wanted to. And we just couldn't wait to get back on the field in front of our fans.

And I think the last week was the most anxious I think we've all ever been because we were just so excited to be out there again. And, you know, we showed that in the first 27 seconds of the game, which is insane. You know, just going out to the warmups, the fans were already there showing their support. And that just gives us a different energy. And, you know, here at home, the killer peas just turn it up a notch. And yeah, crazy start, crazy start. Not long after you give up the goal then to Kelvin Yeboah and it's 1-1, what was your thought at that point? What was the conversation around the team as you went back to kick that off?

Now two goals in, 1-1, just six minutes in. Well, as I saw the ball go in from Yeboah, I was like, fucking hell, classic MLS, classic. And I'm sure as a fan, you're just like, holy shit, you know? But yeah, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. I didn't even touch the ball before we scored. Oh yeah, I went back to watch the check. It was John Nelson who won it back. Yeah, John won it back and we spring forward.

And yeah, Gabe cuts it inside, scores, and it's just insane from there. You know, you're obviously excited when the game starts, and to get a goal that early is just insane. And to come right back down our field and they score a banger, it's like, hey, all right, now we need to calm down. Now we need to calm down. And I don't know if you can – I don't think you can see on TV, but when we score the second goal, me and Mickey stayed back.

And I don't go crazy – too crazy because I'm like, damn, we need to make sure we're solid back here so it's not 2-2. Yeah, but it was just a roller coaster of emotions, definitely in the first half. And the first half felt like so long too. Yeah. It was – I think it was 55 minutes in the end, so it was pretty long. Obviously, the PK was a huge part of that. Yeah.

That was a unique experience. It was. It was one that, like, it was crazy because we scored and we're at such a high, and then, boom, they come right back down and, you know, kind of punch us in the face. And it's like, all right, now it's time to settle in the game, try to manage the game, calm down, you know, all these emotions going on and just play the game from there. I'm curious about that term manage because, you know,

you talk soccer all the time, the way you want to build, the way teams are set up, and there is the give and take of, okay, we'll take risks here, but we want to cover ourselves, right? Where is our rest defense? Where are we pushing numbers? It feels like this Galaxy team has changed the priorities of what a soccer team can do, of the amount of risk you take and what you're willing to give up.

How do you sort of process, especially from your position, of where you're supposed to take those risks and where you need to be a little safer? I think we've learned to kind of calculate our risk more. When to go, go, go, you know, when to put 30 passes together. I think we managed that pretty well. And, you know, we have guys like Ricky and Gabe and and Josuke and you know the guys going forward that always want to go forward every time and you know the guys in the back are like come on guys like we need a little break you know we can't be going back and forth and I think a part of my

game is just the way I play I like to calm things down and if the ball ever comes to me I try to you know give a little pause and kind of manage the game in those situations every time I get the ball. Your role changes a bit because of your partner with this team. There's been kind of a flow to you and Ricky and then sometimes Marco Royce, sometimes Mark Delgado in there. How does your, like, what's the conversation for you on weeks where Marco Royce is starting versus Mark Delgado in there how does your like what's the conversation for you on weeks where Marco Royce is starting versus Mark Delgado? I think when when when Marco's in in the in the team and in the starting lineup or just on the field in general he tends to be a little higher just naturally that's his position and he's not a guy who's going to be running back and forth

just offense and defense and transitioning. So when Mark Gray's on the field, I tend to stay more at home just to kind of protect him and give him a little bit more freedom and just be comfortable going forward. And also Ricky and just covering the space and be ready for transitions because we have so many guys forward. With Mark, it's a little different. With Mark, I can be more aggressive, I think, defensively,

knowing that I can go out from the midfield and maybe put a little bit more pressure, join Ricky and Deion when they want to press forward, just knowing Mark's just going to sit back and kind of protect me a little bit more. So just knowing how to play with both of them and then with Gaston. Gaston's always in the middle too. And just so I think just really understanding who I'm with and as the season went on,

learning from, you know, playing alongside Ricky, Gaston, and Mark, I had kind of like a good understanding of how to play with them and what really works for the team. And when Marco joined us, it took a little, I don't think it took too much adapting. I just knew that I had to step up and cover ground and have more defensive responsibility. And, you know, I'm enjoying it one of the fun things about watching the LA Galaxy is watching Ricky Pooj both on the ball but also when he gets upset he gets upset with refs and opponents and the media as well does he do it with his teammates

is he always like tenacious in the locker room or in training uh in training definitely because I just think he's you know everyone it's clear that he's a high level player so he wants uh you know just high level soccer all the time and um he expects the best from everyone and i think we all understand the player that he is and the person that he is as well and on the field uh he can be you know a little aggressive towards you know maybe us in the field or you know the opponent the ref um just everyone in general but off the field he's he's a great human being and uh i think knowing who he is on the field and not taking it personal and just you know sometimes listening to

him and and uh letting him express his feelings and not getting too emotional with him also because you know that can uh that can unbalance some things and uh we've all learned that he expects the best from everyone and uh he's always going to push literally everybody no matter if he's on your team or not yeah we have seen that that has has been very clear over the course of his time. I think the Rapids series ended, and he's complaining about the schedule online. He's always a little frustrated, but he's also fun to watch. He's unpredictable. I think it was a really good quote from Minnesota's coach this weekend coming into the game, Eric Ramsey.

He called the LA Galaxy predictably unpredictable. That you know something's going to happen you don't expect but you don't know what it is for you do you get surprised when you know gabriel peck cuts inside when ricky makes some of the decisions or where he pops up on the field is it unpredictable to the players in the team still or has that settled uh the same thing that they do on the weekends, they do in training. So when we play inner squads or when we're doing 3v2 attacking, those guys up top are special and they do special things in training. And because we see them every day, because we're in the locker room with them every day, it doesn't come so much as a surprise because we see it during the week

and when they pull it off on the weekend, it's just like expected for us, for them to do something special. And my position, seeing everything from behind and having pretty much the best view of everything going on is just a joy to watch. And, yeah, I, you know, that goal with gabe i'm like okay he's gonna take the first guy maybe play killer pass and he said nah i'm gonna do this on my own and i'm just like all right that's gabe that's gabe and so um now they they're special players and they do special things

but just not on not just on the weekends but uh just every day in training um a huge part of keeping it all together, though, is you and your role in midfield. You've been in Major League Soccer for a long time. You are a young player, but you are part of the new generation of homegrowns that come to the academy, debut as a teenager. When you think back to 2019, coming through what was a well-established FC Dallas Academy with some great young players around you. When you made your debut, what type of player were you? And how do you look back now and think about what you were like in 2018 and 2019?

I think 2019, I don't know, I was just a kid who realized his dream came true. And it was just such a high that I didn't know how to really take it in. Everything was so new. It was everything I ever dreamt about. But, you know, it's just being in that place, being on the field, making my debut and knowing all the hard work was for something special. It was better than I ever imagined. And I think that first year, I debuted actually against the Galaxy, the second game of the season. And then the fourth game of the season, I started, and I started up until I went to the World Cup.

So my career kind of went emotionally was really high. And it wasn't something that I expected to do. I didn't even really expect to get minutes my first year. Let alone make the roster. I think that year my goal was to make the roster. Because guys like, you know, Jesus, Pax, when Oscar was there, whenever they made the roster, it like you know Jesus Pax when Oscar was there whenever they made the roster was a big deal to make that travel roster to be on the bench and that's something that I thought was the next step for me and it all came pretty fast and I learned I learned my first year

that when things are good things can, things can also take a turn. And I think this year, emotionally, mentally, physically, just trying to be more consistent week in and week out has really helped me. One of the things I love about your experience, which is something we talk a lot about with fans, is I think sometimes people think a homegrown will only ever play for that one club their entire life and can only make a difference. You now are in LA, you got traded mid-season, you've established yourself, you're a full-time starter, you're heading to the Western Conference Finals. Did you ever think you'd play in another MLS city? Did you

ever think you'd play for another team and what does LA mean to you now? To be honest, Dallas was just, I was just so familiar with Dallas, and Dallas was all I knew from, you know, 14 years old. Going to the stadium literally every single day for training, that's all I knew, and that's all I ever thought, and I thought that I'd be in Dallas for much longer than I was. And then when the trade happens, it was so unexpected. And I think I was more shocked that it was L.A. You know, some trades happen, you know, guys go to teams

where they don't really want to go. But when it's L.A., I was pretty surprised because, yeah, I've had minutes under my belt, but I was a consistent player. I wasn't getting consistent opportunities or starting consistently. And going to such a big club was unexpected. But also, I took it in the best way possible because, you know, historically the best team in the league and the best team this year wanted me. So that also boosted my confidence.

And I joined the team last year in a tough situation, and I'm just glad to be a part of the turnaround and being a big part of this team. You said the history. It shocked me when I was getting ready for the games last weekend to look that it's been since 2014. Like you still, every year you mention the LA Galaxy, but the club has not made the impact that it is known for and that it used to be. What would it mean to you to get back to MLS Cup for this club?

I've said it before. I think when you play for such a big club or any club in general, and I felt the same way in Dallas, you don't play just for yourself or let alone the team. But I think the fans are a huge part of every club and just the passion that the galaxy fans have for this team at this year especially you know we had big games and we've had fans come out to to every single home game and have been special for us and those are the same fans that have been

waiting for 10 years because a lot of these players haven't been special for us. And those are the same fans that have been waiting for 10 years. Because a lot of these players haven't been here for that long. Obviously, you have staff members that have been here for that long as well. But the fans, every single year, show up. And you realize that it's bigger than yourself. And for me, the biggest thing I want right now is to win an MLS Cup. And we're so close to do that. And I'm going to be so happy.

My family is going to be so happy. But so is every other player's family. So is every other supporter. So I think it's just much bigger than, than each of us that that's on the field. Um, and I think that's makes it more special and they've waited for so long that we've had, we had the, we had a, we have a really good opportunity to do so. And 10 years, 10 years is enough. One of the most special things I think in MLS is when you walk out at your stadium,

you walk past those MLS Cups every single game. And you look at them and you see the history and, you know, the opponents see the history and all of that. You're talking about it with me, but does the group talk about it internally? Is MLS Cup brought up in the locker room? Our meals are just in that lounge right in front of the trophies. So you have to glance at it. You have to see it.

And when we walk past, especially the way things were going this year, I'm always with Cuevas, Jalen, the younger guys, Tucker, and we're always walking past that hallway, and we always see those trophies, and we're like, damn, we need that sixth one right there, you know? And it's something that has been talked about throughout the year because there's just this energy in this team, and now in the position that we are today, actually,

in the morning, I was having breakfast with Joe, and we were glancing at the trophies, and we were like, dang, we need the sixth one right there. We need the sixth one, and we need the ring on our finger. And, yeah, the energy's there, and we know how big of an opportunity we have, and to really cement our names in history and keep filling that cabinet

up let's talk about that opportunity it was made a little bit bigger last weekend before you stepped on the field because lafc lost which gave you the right to host all the way through did you watch that game did the team watch that game uh i definitely watched it and I was watching it with my with my family that had just came in town on Friday and we we made sure dinner was dinner was set before the game you know my dad especially watches and lives soccer a little differently than my mom because you know he used to play and and we're kind of living this dream together along with my brothers uh not to say that my mom doesn't but yeah she didn't play soccer so it's a little bit different and so when we're watching the game uh my mom watches it as a fan i think and

you know me and my dad are kind of just analyzing the game and not speaking so much. And, yeah, at the end of the game, Seattle pulled away with the result, and my dad just looked at me and said, it's up to us, and now we have to win. We have to win. And right before I go into the tunnel, he's like, you have to win today. And I think that sets the tone for me and for everyone else.

I think everyone else feels the same. And after that game where LAFC lost, we knew it was in our hands. And playing in front of our fans, like I've said, gives us a different energy. And that just makes this opportunity a lot bigger you uh you scored your epic goal against lafc were you annoyed like come on play so that i can score again you gotta show the killer peas you've got it too right yeah um i think that that did go through my mind a little bit because people talk and there's Twitter, there's all these social media that it's kind of hard to stay away from because it's just really in your face and it's everywhere. And my initial thought was LFC's out.

People are going to say, oh, well, they had it easy. So part of me was like, if it's LAFC, let's go win it there. Let's go win the Western Conference there and come back and win the MLS Cup here. But the way things turn out, we have an opportunity to give two trophies to our fans and in the best place possible here at home. Let's analyze it then. Seattle, the Seattle Sounders, they're one of the big clubs as well. The history between these two teams, Western Conference Finals in the past,

like it is as big as it gets in Major League Soccer. For what you're working forward to, what you're, you know, focusing on, what are the problems that the Seattle team poses and sort of what are going to be the challenges? I think just as a whole, they have a team that's committed to growing our results. They've shown it in the playoffs. Whether the first seeded team or the last seeded team, they always put up a fight and they know how to win, whether it's at home and away. And we know that that club has experience in those playoff games. And I think our team just, we're so fluid and we're so,

we have so many ways to kill teams, whether they want to sit back, you know, we can show that we can score goals. Just like we did against Minnesota, who didn't really press us. And if they want to compress us, we can play in between. So I think I'm not sure how they're going to come out and play us, but we just know that defensively, you know, they're going to work hard. But I think we have the better pieces, both in possession and in transition. Well, the hardest part of the week,

the interview with me is already done. So now the rest is easy. Go enjoy it. Good luck on the weekend. And we'll do this again next week, going into MLS Cup. Perfect. Thank you.

Let's do it. Awesome stuff there from Edwin Cerrio. What a special young player and young person in this league. And he knows it won't be easy coming up this weekend against the Seattle Sounders. For a little bit more on that Seattle side, let's go now to Albert Rusnak. Getting ready for the MLS playoffs this weekend. And for the Seattle Sounders, it's a similar trip going back to LA for the second time in two weeks after knocking off LAFC in the previous round.

To talk about it, we're going to talk to someone central to everything Seattle has done. 10 goals, 16 assists over the course of this year. DP, center midfielder Albert Rusnak. Albert, thanks for joining us. Thank you for having me. So let's talk about that game. Let's talk about the LAFC matchup. Obviously a big one for your club over the last few years, but I want to start with that next man up mentality for this group. We knew going into it, knew who unavailable, Paul Rothrock unavailable, and then Yaimar goes down with an injury. Those are three big time starters for this team. Where do you, you know, where does the strength come from? the ability to still get

that result on the road, having new pieces come into the side? Yeah, I mean, it's it's something that we, you know, talk about ever since the season started, you know, I think we have a lot of depth on the bench. And, you know, guys are not happy when they don't play. It's a it's a it's a nature, not just, I would say, of our sport, but of any sport. You know, you want to play. You know, everybody trains the same. Everybody trains the same amount of times every week. And yet you can only play 11, you know.

So I think that mentality comes from, you know, the guys that we have on the bench are professionals and are good good people you know and they they do understand that this is just this is just how it is and uh and you know credit to them for for for having patience you know and and for never never trying to you know train a little bit less because they know they're not gonna play but just kind of sticking with it and this season's been so long you know so they've done it for for many many months and you know i wouldn't say that this is a reward you know but it's it's it's always you know injuries are part of the game and we're not the only team that that has to deal with this throughout the year everybody deals with it and you see it everywhere you know when the guy

steps up now is your time to to you know do your your job, play well for the team, and kind of put a question mark into coach's head, you know, for the next game and so on. So, you know, I think they've done, everybody who has filled in for the injuries that we had has done a tremendous job, you know. And as far as matchup goes, LAFC, it's, I don't think it's a secret that it's our least preferable matchup i would say um but not anymore yeah not anymore yeah you know every every streaks comes to an end but um yeah they got better of us um in in every way for the past uh you know year plus um many many

semi-finals quarterfinals in different competitions, they managed to knock us out, you know, and it was, I feel like most of the times it was here, you know, so by us going there this year, this Saturday, I felt like something was just a little bit different, you know, maybe it's playing on the road, maybe the pressure's on them now because they're at home, you know, and in this league, let's, you know, let's be honest, it's always the home team that is a little bit of a favorite.

So maybe, you know, we took opportunity of that and played a little bit different on road. And, you know, it was not the prettiest performance by us by any means, but this is a knockout game and, you know, the desire and the heart probably pushed us through the line. A lot of times with Seattle, we have seen, you talked about that depth, that depth be really reliant on veterans. And this group a little bit different in maybe Seattle's history with the young guys that have come in, whether it's from the academy, from the two-team like Paul Rothrock.

But Reed Baker Whiting steps into the team and starts on the weekend, and Obed has stepped into the team and started. What do you see from these young guys, and what is the club doing that allows these players to step in and be successful in big moments? Yeah, I think, you know, the club's doing a good job of kind of identifying in these young guys who is ready to play, you know, because it's easy at the, you know, the game has evolved into, you know, playing the youngest guy available and make a record for being having the youngest starter available and so on. And it's not just here. It's all over the world. that we're doing here well is kind of identifying which young guy is actually prepared to contribute, not just to play, you know, because I think you can throw any 16-, 17-year-old in there

and he will play 90 minutes, you know. He will last the 90 minutes and, you know, he'll give it his best. But I think the guys that we have here are actually ready to help the team in those big moments. And, you know, Obed is still young, but certainly I don't look at him anymore as a young guy. I feel like he's been around ever since I came to Seattle

and been playing. I don't take Obed as a youngster anymore, although he is. It's a credit to him for developing and being already the player that he is and getting called up to the national team for Mexico a huge accomplishment for him as well so yeah we

definitely have guys that are that are you know that are ready and there's still work to do don't get me wrong it's not like they have reached their peak but they are definitely on the right path. One of the big developments for this team and Brian Schmetzer talked about it after the game, is the way Jordan Morris has played as a number nine and obviously started his career as a winger and has moved inside. It affects what you do a lot. You are around him a lot. You guys work off each other. What do you see from him as a nine and how do you like to play off of it? Yeah, I think it's, you know, he prefers that position. He wants to be the nine. So, you know, by having the season that he's had so far,

I think he proved a lot of people wrong. You know, I think a lot of people were doubting whether he can be a nine, whether, you know, he'll score enough goals as a nine. And I think he showed that not only he scored enough goals, but he scores big goals, you know, in moments when when we really need him the most um and yeah as far as my partnership with him I uh you know I enjoy playing with him uh I always feel like if I if I'm able to turn with the ball uh you know his speed is his biggest threat and his strength and you know it's a it's a hard uh it's a hard skill to for center backs to deal deal with. We're used to nines being kind of bigger guys, hold-up guys.

And if you have someone with his speed and strength, it's only a plus for me. So always looking for him for that through ball to play him behind. And it was part of our tactic in L.A., maybe going a little bit more direct in a counterattack and trying to find him isolated one-on-one with a center back because we'll fancy him over any center back if he's in a one-on-one situation. So, yeah, we just got to use him right. You have to understand which player, what his strengths are, and try to feed into those strengths. Big thing with strikers is confidence, building up confidence.

But I was told coming into this that then off the field on the ping pong table, you don't build up his confidence, that you take care of business there. Is he the second best ping pong player on the team? No, I don't know. We would have to have just the one game to decide. But, you know, because I said we play every day, it's kind of back and forth. And yeah, I do play against jordan a lot so maybe on a ping pong table we're not building any chemistry but other than that it's yeah it's it's all good it's uh it's an exciting time for this team

exciting year for you didn't start the way you wanted and then you started rolling and really dominating the game from that number 10 position what What has happened this year for you as the season's gone along for you to put up the numbers you put up and push this team to success? I mean, no, the most important thing was that I got healthy. That ankle injury I had the day before the first game of the season that was at LAFC. You know, it wasn't ideal and it was probably worse than I thought at first. You know, I thought it would be a couple of weeks and I'll be good. But it kind of, you know, I was out for a month, I think.

It kind of lingered on even after that. And it was something that I had to get used to playing with. You know, it wasn't going to get better in a couple of days. So just being healthy, I think that's the most important thing for being able to perform. And then I don't think we had any doubts that we would find a way out of the hole that we were in. Maybe everybody else did. But, you know, also to get out of the hole, you need to start getting results, you know. And I think once we got a couple of good results together and a couple of good performances, you know, the vibe and just the belief in the a couple good performances you know the the vibe

and just the belief in the group just just went you know through the roof and um and i think that reflected on our performances especially second half of the season and uh and we kind of stuck with it you know we have a way of playing and um i think other than lafc we we haven't changed for for any team you know um so yeah we know, just bought on into what we were training and try to replicate that on the weekends and the games. But really, it's the results, you know. Once you're able to win a couple games at home and then you have a road game and then you win there,

you know, it kind of builds a momentum. And I think we use that momentum in the right way. You've talked about your contract situation over the last few weeks, it being your last year, but you're not the only one. There's a few key pieces to this team that have been around for a long time. Is there a conversation inside the group, like this is kind of a last ride, last opportunity to do this together? No, I don't think there is that conversation like it's the last dance for sure not um you know guys everybody you know is dealing with their contract situation differently and um you know i think us as players um you know we come in here every day and i don't really think

about that stuff i don't really think like oh what's gonna happen next year the same for the other guys you know uh like jp he's an experienced player you know he's been in contract negotiations he knows how it works you know we know how long they can take sometimes and uh you know the the games that are played within the game um so as far as for us players you know yeah we maybe sometimes talk about it over a coffee or something, but it's not definitely something that we come in every morning and we're like, oh, did you hear something? No, it's definitely not like that. You know, it's just part of the game.

And I think we're all experienced enough to know that, you know, this is what it is. And it's, you know, we're going into a conference final, you know, this is what it is. And it's, you know, we're going into a conference final. You know, by having now trying to, you know, wrap it up or sign something and make it a kind of a vocal point about this week, oh, we have resigned this guy and this guy, I don't think that's fair as well. Because, you know, right now we have one task, and that's the LA Galaxy game. And whether you are on the contract or not, I think we all have that same goal.

So, yeah, I think it's good. Let's talk about LA. Let's talk about that matchup. You're all going to become unofficial LA residents after spending this full week there. You were there on Saturday. You go back on Friday for another big matchup on Saturday night. Let's talk about the midfield because that's where you operate, and that's a huge part of what's made this LA Galaxy team successful, and especially the

attacking two in Marco Reus and Ricky Puj, two of the best in Major League Soccer and, you know, Reus's career in the world. What is the challenge for you in that battle, and what is the conversation with your midfield group about what you have to do. Yeah, I think last time we played them here in League's Cup, set pieces were big. We scored two early goals of set pieces. And we don't have that mindset where we're, you know, basically a man marking their, you know, their motor of the team or something like that.

It's a team effort, you know, and we weren't more marking anyone against LAFC and they had great players, you know. It's more of a team job and how we can deal with them as a team, you know, because as you said, the midfield, you know, operates everywhere, all over the field. They're, you know, between your center backs,

they're next to the striker, they're on touchline. So they have a lot of freedom as far as where they can go and what they can do so that's why i don't think it's fair to say like you know this is your matchup and you have to stick with him i feel like at some point in a game different players will be you know close to them to put pressure on them but yeah it's it's it's you know their attack is their biggest weapon right their front five i would say um you know, are playing really good right now. You know, we're aware of the fact that they have scored 15 goals in three playoff games

and so on and so on, but it is a playoff game, you know. So whether you win in PKs or you win 6-0, I don't think that's a difference. You're through to the next round. And, you know, we have a few days to kind of go over the the tactics although you know it's again galaxy it's another team that we have played multiple times this year so i don't think there'll be drastic changes but you know given it's a it's a one-off game and it's a western conference final for sure you know we'll we'll tweak little details here and there and how to you know how to deal with them but um yeah i think you know it's a it's a good matchup.

We will need everybody again. We started this conversation about having depth and people stepping up. It will be the same case for that game because, again, it could go 120 minutes. It doesn't have to. You don't know what's going to happen in a game.

We expect a tough game where anytime you go to LA, I feel like going to happen in a game. So I think we expect a tough game. Anytime you go to LA, I feel like it's never an easy game. And this one being a final, maybe the atmosphere is a little bit different as well than for an MLS game, regular season. But I think everybody is here excited. Everybody's excited for this game, and I think that LAFC win kind of gave us even more confidence,

but not arrogance, and again, it built on our momentum, how we played the whole second half of the season. So, yeah, I mean, I'm personally excited for the match. You've played a CCL final in Seattle, but not an MLS Cup final. That's what's on the line. If you win, you would host in Seattle for the final just the second time ever that they would host MLS Cup. What would that mean to you? What would that event be like? It's one of the things when I first came here, you know, that I wanted to win was an MLS.

It was probably before I even knew about CONCACAF Champions League and that we were part of it and so on. But yeah, MLS was definitely one of those that it was almost like a target for, not just for me, but for the team to reach. And it would be really nice if you can host as well. So we understand that

the Western Conference final winner will host the mls cup and and it's a huge opportunity for us you know and uh i think that's that's um that's what's really you know even more key about these matchup is that you know you can host but you know you don't want to get too far ahead because you still have to go through this game. And we're aware of that. But everybody knows that we would host the final if we if we were able to go past Galaxy. And yeah, I think that would be, you know, another special day in Seattle. And and our fans, I think, deserve that, you know. It's a special time of year for Seattle. This is where this team comes alive, doing it once again.

Western Conference Finals coming up Saturday night down in L.A. for the chance, as you said, to host MLS Cup at home on December 8th. Albert, thanks so much for taking the time. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for having me again, man. So appreciative of Albert Rusnak for taking the time from stepping away from the ping pong

table against Jordan Morris, just to sit down with us and talk a little bit about this Sounders team. That is going to be an unbelievable matchup. As I talked about with Tom on Thursday, you have two very different series. You have a clash of Titans, some of the biggest names in MLS between the Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy with a ton of MLS Cups and a ton of history in the Western Conference. And then it's all fresh and new in the Eastern Conference. The New York Red Bulls, of course, an original. They've never won MLS Cup. They haven't been there since 2008.

And Orlando has never been there. Coming off the NWSL Championship for the Orlando Pride, coming off the US Open Cup victory for them, selling out off the U.S. Open Cup victory for them, selling out last week and beating Atlanta, and now a big game coming up this weekend. But let's talk to someone on the New York Red Bulls side. We had Noah Aile to talk a little bit about how they've made this Cinderella run. Let's dig into this Eastern Conference Finals coming up. The New York Red Bulls traveling to Orlando City for a chance to go to MLS Cup on Saturday night and a chance for us to talk with one of their players,

one of the young pieces in this team this year, starting center back Noah Ailey. Noah, thanks for joining us. No worries. Thank you. On the scale of 1 to 10, how bad did I butcher the last name? Not too bad. It was fine. I've heard a lot worse since I've come here, so it's fine.

Let's start with your time here. You're new to the US, new to Major League Soccer, leaving Sweden as a young player, young defender. We don't see you move very often. What's your thoughts on what this league is and what this country is like? Well, I think the league, first and foremost, is a great league, very underrated

league. I think I saw some stats the other day that it was the ninth rated league in the world. So I think according to some statistics or something, so I think it's very underrated in terms of how we talk about it in Europe. I think. A lot of good players, of course, a lot of big stars, but also a lot of good young players, especially the last couple of years, I think. So I think it's a great league. Of course, it's not at the level, maybe, like the English Premier League and so on yet,

but I think it's taking steps all the time, so that's great. And, yeah, it's been a great challenge uh to come here for me and um a country also is a yeah nice very nice country a lot of nice people almost everyone's very nice uh uh and uh and yeah it's english speaking so it makes it easier for us in sweden we talk a lot of english as well so uh yeah it's been great so far one of the big things for you not just coming into this league but you've come into the Red Bull system which is you know unique the way they play not across the Red Bull teams but if you're coming from outside of it sometimes it's a bit of an adjustment what's been your experience of stepping into the Red Bull world

no I'd say it's a lot of difference, a lot of running. So I think that's a good part that I've tried to adjust to. A lot of running, a lot of pressing. So I think that's been a good part for me to develop on. Kind of a different style than how we play. I think a lot of teams play that way here in this league. A lot of pressing, a lot of counterattacking. So I think, yeah, I think I've enjoyed it.

I think it suits well with the attributes that I have. So I think, yeah, I've enjoyed it so far. You mentioned for a Swede coming here, you speak English and it's natural for you. Part of your, you know, ability to connect and sort of adjust has been other Swedes. And Emil Forsberg came over with you as a young Swedish player who I'm sure has watched him play a million times before.

What's it like sharing, sharing a locker room in a field with him? No, it's incredible. As you say, he's a legend in Swedish football, one of the best players the last couple of years. And also he played for the same team that I played before he went to Leipzig. So yeah, he's been a player you've been looking up to. Of course, we're not in the same position. Maybe I wish I had his talent, but no, of course, he's someone you've looked up to your entire life, really playing in the national team and

big games in europe champions league so and he's a great person as well he's so i think everyone will tell you no matter who you ask in the dressing room how easy it is to be around how he doesn't it's not at all big-headed as you could imagine a player of his stature would be that but he's so calm and so nice and so try to help everyone and of course especially for me as a swede to have him there as a support and to help me um yeah this is my first step out in the world so uh he's been such a good help for me and yeah i can like i said i think everyone in the team would agree that he's such a good guy apart from his qualities of course he uh he was annoyed after the last game with the media he said that people questioned this team and didn't believe in it has that been a rallying cry inside as you guys have gotten

pumped up for these playoff games and gone on this run what's sort of been the message of inside the group and what sort of what what's been the rallying cry that you all rely on i think not maybe not maybe not for myself but for myself i have not thought about that so much i don't i'm not so used to the like the media around here so i don't like get all the i don't know notifications or anything so I don't see so much uh but yeah apparently a lot of people were doubting us and uh I think inside the team we just said that we know that we're a very good team and we know that if we put in great performances then we can beat all these teams um so I think that was the message for us that we are a very good team, we just have to believe it

I think that's the main message that we believe in our qualities as players and also as a team, I think that's been the main message inside the group It's been an incredible run to beat Columbus twice and New York City on the road, that's three wins

in a row, this team won three games in MLS play over the last 15 matches what's changed in this side uh i think as i said before i think we just um after the regular season we we had a we of course they talk all the time but we had a talk and we said that now it's a new competition whatever happened before doesn't matter like we're you don't get more points into the playoffs for coming first or seventh or eighth so i think we all just said that this is a new competition uh we have a chance to do something great and as i said we believe that we're a good team so i think it was just that, really. Enter it with a new competition, forget all the bad things,

all the good things that happened before. So I think that was just the main message, to go into it with a new competition and believe in ourselves. Is there a reason in this system or this team that the defense is so strong? Because we talk about emil forsberg and lewis morgan and dante van zier and all this attack but it's the back line that you know this team is propped up on and cornell has played phenomenal but over the whole year you don't give up a ton of goals you win a ton of the battles what is it about playing maybe defense in

this system or is it just down to you all as the individuals, that's that strength? Well, I think we practice a lot on our defensive game, especially now in the last weeks. We practice a lot in our pressing and how to improve it against these teams that we've played the last couple of games. So I think it's just something we work on a lot. And then, as you said, Carlos has played incredible this playoff. Of course, we shouldn't take credit for that.

He's done an amazing job. So that's all credit to him and the goalkeeper team and the coaches. So, yeah, I think it's a mix of a lot of players playing well and also that we work a lot on the defensive games you came off the bench to help um seal the shutout in the 2-0 win in the hudson river derby it's the big rivalry it was the biggest one we've ever seen to have it played in the playoffs in that moment what was that moment like what was the game like for you what will you remember uh how i remember the win of course uh i think uh um yeah it's been um it was we had two tough games against them in the regular

season uh so i think we had a lot of uh pride going into that game that we wanted to beat them in the most important game uh and i think um yeah that showed on the pitch we we played a good game and yeah got the win which was the most important and as you said in the most important one we managed to come out on top so I think that says a lot how big were the the party afterwards how big have were the celebrations actually it was not nothing too crazy it was actually quite calm for me anyways uh i don't know uh about a lot of the guys uh but i think it was quite calm i think we have they're so tight now with the games that we have a game now saturday so there wasn't too much time to celebrate so i think we're of course happy and it's important to enjoy these moments

to not forget that but uh maybe i enjoy it for a day or so, and then we have to focus on the next one. And the next one's Orlando, down in Orlando on Saturday night, 7.30 p.m. Eastern time. The big matchup, a chance in an Eastern Conference Finals to go to MLS Cup. You haven't played this team since back in June, so it's been a really long time. What have you guys been talking about?

What have you seen on tape to focus on? As you said, we haven't played them for a long time. They have improved a lot since then, if you look at the results just in the table. So I think they're a very good team. They have a lot of fast, skilled wingers and strikers. And, of course, they also have a fellow Swede in the backline. They're very well.

So I think, yeah, they're a very good team. As I said, a lot of fast wingers and strikers to look out for. So I think they're a good team. They like to keep a lot of possession. And it's going to be a difficult game for sure, atmosphere down there. But we will try to get the win and focus on that one as we've done before. This club has never won MLS Cup before. It's one of the historic original clubs, won a ton of trophies, just not that one.

Has Sandro Schwartz brought that up? Have you guys talked about that as a group? No, actually not I think that's a bit what I mentioned there that we have tried to so far just focus on the game in front of us I think if we started to focus on winning the cup or

getting to the cup then I think that would be dangerous I think we have gotten this far because we have worked really humble and really hard and I think that's the key to continue We have gotten this far because we have worked really humble and really hard. And I think that's the key to continue to hopefully get the win on Saturday. And then we'll see what happens. It's going to be a fun one.

It's going to be a special one. We saw a lot of fans in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium with no shirts on wearing red. Originally that have been having a good time and they're going to hope for it to continue. Thanks for taking the time for joining us. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Welcome to the holiday. Lots and lots of food and good luck. Thank you very much.

Well, thank you so much once again to the three players for joining us, Edwin Seria, Albert Rusnak, and Noah Aile. Thank you to the clubs for helping set this up and for organizing all of this. And thank you to all of you once again for listening and being here with us on SoccerWise as we go through this journey together. We cannot wait for the week coming up. MLS Cup, U.S. Women's National Team. So much to talk about. So much to do.

And of course, we will be here the entire week on SoccerWise. So hope you all enjoy your holidays. And we'll talk to you again very, very soon.