As San Diego FC’s debut season pushes into a crucial playoff race, Behind the Flow dives into a landmark first meeting with the San Jose Earthquakes — and the mentality that’s kept SDFC on top of the Western Conference.
Adrian Garcia Marquez is back in the chair, alongside ESPN’s Katia Castorena and San Diego Sports 760’s Darren Smith, as they unpack the “next man up” resilience that’s powered a five-game road winning streak and assess the arrival of new signing Cory Baird.
Plus, we go inside SDFC’s scouting “stress test” process with Assistant Sporting Director Mark Prizant, and hear from rookies Ian Pilcher and Manu Duah on their rapid rise from college to MLS starters in the Right to Dream system.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you're healthy, San Diego is pretty good. How deep
are they really when you look at their roster the
last thing they can.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Afford is Lozano dryer or other players coming out.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hi there, I'm Adrian Garcia Markis and this is Behind
the Flow, a podcast where we dive in deep, week
by week into the heart of San Diego ebseeafood Bone
as they navigate their inaugural season in Major League Soccer.
This week, we're looking at the SDFC squad and talking
to the people who've helped build it. It's often said
(00:36):
that you don't win anything with just the kids and
young players. Well, San Diego EPSY seem to be testing
that old wisdom. We'll look at the depth of San
Diego EBC's roster at the halfway point, review the injury
problems that have definitely challenged them, and we're going to
talk to the kids who've stepped up to stick acclaim.
Players like Ian Pilcher and Manudua, both brought in via
(01:00):
the college draft.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
They saw us like, oh, these hilight kids, you know,
but there's no kids.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
When you and Nkleat's on the field, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
We'll also take you behind the scenes to see how
as DFC scouts are tackling the summer transfer window with
special insight from Assistant Sporting Director Mark Prison.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
What is more important to you is it to have
that locker room experience or would you.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Want to to just target the best talent that we
can get.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Let's do it. Welcome to this week's edition Behind the Flow.
I don't do this alone. I have two of the
best in the business alongside me. I'm joined by my
friends broadcast proud San Diegans and especially one that's super transplanted,
(01:54):
and one day I'm going to turn them back to
a charger power. We're going to talk about that Deren Smith.
But can't the leading voices and reporters of ESPN and
local broadcaster analyst for San Diego FC, the man that
introviews all players every single week, Darren Smith. I'm Adrian Gutsie.
I'm out of case. How you like those intros?
Speaker 6 (02:13):
Guys love them checks in the mail, appreciate that they're
great chargers.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah see he got that, gets it, got gets it.
We'll talk about it because it is San Diego. We
talked about the potters, we talk about the chargers, and
of course San Diego e FC were all connected, all right, guys.
In our last episode, you know we we we talked
with Tom Penn. We had these great discussions since then.
San Diego e FC made a trip to play Sporting
Kansas City and took all three points with a convincing
(02:41):
to nothing win. Great gets. It's a Tryer doctor Asano
Lozano an absolute colosso from chu Ki Losto.
Speaker 7 (02:56):
The stakes it off for deflection and.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
It's Dryer pop sitting on it, slotting it home.
Speaker 7 (03:02):
The MVP campaign for honors.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Tryer continues, you're Sillo chassing it down, Santos Santos, Sporting
Kansas City cannot.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Find a way through tonight. Just gid, that's a g
O la z O god Losano on the twenty third minute,
lovely finished from Dryer in a minute seventy so big
shouts also to the back line and CJ those Santos
perfect save to shout out Sporting at the death. So gotay,
let's talk about those who have had to step in
(03:34):
as the squad is a little bit lighter. You've seen
how they've gotten the results for Mikey Vada's next man
up mentality. Are there any performances or or parts of
the overall narrative that stood out to you in this result.
Speaker 7 (03:47):
First, what a solid performance by the team. They showed composure,
they showed maturity, taking all three points on the road,
even when Sporting Kansas City was all over them, they
were able to hold the fort and they did a
great job. But when it comes to those guys having
to step up, I have to say I like David
Basquez and how he stepped up in the midfield and
(04:09):
what he did was very, very important for the team
to get that result. And what about CJ Though Santos
with five saves after being back in MLS. Of course
we saw him during League's Cup in that game against
mass atlant but then back to MLS play and he
was just outstanding.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And Darren Smith the last time, you know, they drew nothing,
nothing at Snapdragon. What do you feel was a little
bit different this time around? I mean, obviously Sporting Kansas
City's going through some changes. They did see a little
bit of more firepower out of Santinunos. You saw the attempts,
but as Katya said, that back line held it down
real nice. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
I think the first one which was May seventeenth at
Snapdragon Stadium. Adrian, I think that one was almost putting
us to sleep, right. There were four combined shots in
that match, four and the one that was played in
Kansas City there's like twenty five combined, and so, you know,
not exactly the way SDFC wants to play. We know
(05:03):
that they want to have possession and they want to
dominate passing. And even though statistically they were ahead in
possession and they had more passes than Sporting KC, I
don't know that anything really takes Mikey Bodis by surprise
or that staff by surprise. I think they're pretty much
prepared for anything. But even some of the people that
we talked to who cover sporting, we're saying, oh, this
is different. We've not seen this sort of stuff. So
(05:25):
this was like a last shot at the OK Corral
for Sporting KC. There's seasons on the line and they're
still within shouting distance of a playoff spot, and if
they don't get it going now, then when are they
going to get it going?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And as we mentioned on the air, Darren Smith, when
you see an irbing Losano track him back defending doing
what he did to earn that first goal, opportunity. It
was his takeaway off of a ricochet and Andre's fed
it to Chuk and Chuki did the rest from outside
the eighteen. And when you see those guys set the tone,
it obviously is going to resonate with the young players,
(05:57):
and we saw the young players stepping up all night long.
Speaker 6 (06:01):
Yeah, Adrian, when you're doing charger games, you talk about
blocks and you talk about interceptions, and these are some
of the numbers that you gravitate towards. In the match
against Sporting Kse, all the clearances that SDFC had, they
had block after block after block. It was chaotic, it
was beautiful. It was white knuckle driving, and I loved
every second of it.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Despite climbing to the top of the Western Conference and
playing incredible food boat showing defensive resilience and some statement wins,
especially on the road, we've really seen that the depth
of the squad has been tested time and time again,
and that's what we're going to talk about right now.
It took a while for the team to settle down
into a regular eleven, as you'd expect from an expansion
(06:45):
sete playing together for the first time. The club has
actively experimented with personnel to find the best chemistry, especially
Ernie on in the season, and injuries, of course, have
played their part two forcing some changes, so let's kind
of go over it. February March. We saw frequent changes,
especially on the defensive side. Willie Kumado, Jasper Lamfolsen, Luca
Bombino and Franko Negty all rotating, but a core of
(07:09):
CJ with McVeigh, with McNair, they established and they set
the tone. Reggyas and Albadao Junior were ruled out for
the season as well. Reggaez was brought in to be
the starting center back, which was a big blow. So
what McVeigh has done has been huge. So let's talk
about the squad back then. Any concerns, of.
Speaker 7 (07:29):
Course, you're always going to have concerns when you see
players go down, and you never want to lose your
players due to injury. But at the same time, it's
part of the business, you know, it's part of the game,
and the front office was going to be prepared for that.
They were busy, busy trying to find players that could
step up and then join the team. More so when
you're an expansion team and you need to find players
(07:51):
wherever possible and bring them along and then that's what
we've seen. So of course we were worried, and more
so when we were talking about a player like Chuquilosano.
You have your DPS and that's why you have those
players the quality, the stars that are going to immediately
impact results that they're going to put points on the board.
So when one player like that goes down, of course
you're going to be worried because it's your star. The
(08:11):
fact that it wasn't that serious of an injury for
Chooky was great because I was really worried, especially during
that home debut game. What if that injury would have
been worse after everything you put around this guy, around
this team, and to lose him for the majority of
the season, that would have been a major blow. So
(08:33):
I'm so happy that he was able to come back
able to contribute. And then he said it openly, the
fact that he wants to be at his best when
it comes to fitness, that he wants to be able
to contribute, and that's what we're seeing. And he scored
an out then the Go Go Lasso against Sport in
Kansas City. So that's good news because he's healthy and
he's there to help the team.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
And we saw it Darren as well, the health of
the squad when it comes to Mikey Abadis and what
he does his decision making process. We've also seen he's
not afraid to throw the young players into the ocean
and see if they could do the backstroke.
Speaker 6 (09:06):
No, right into the deep end of the pool. Go
some of these young players as well. And some of
this is out of necessity. But you know, the thing
I think I like about Mikey, and I'm guessing that
a lot of this comes from his background as an
academy coach, as the head coach of the under twenty
national team, is that he resonates with younger players, right,
So he's got experience with younger players.
Speaker 8 (09:26):
He's not afraid of them.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
There's a lot of coaches in all sports who just
don't want to play younger players. You're like, oh, man,
that guy, that young kid's got my paycheck in his hand, right,
he's running up and down the field.
Speaker 8 (09:36):
What does he know? What is he going to do
with it?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And they have looked great and when you consider again,
as I mentioned with Drier McVeigh around April starting to
take shape as well as Yep and Luca, and while
the veterans right, if you will, they got it together.
They started to play a little bit better. The consistency.
He started to see it in the Floodbourne, the right
to Dream style of play. And then you add in
(09:59):
that month of where you start taking center stage as
a young player. We saw Luca Bombino as well as
Oscar back Coben, both just nineteen years old, guys coming
in contient, nailing down fullback spots. And then now it
became a situation where you have two nineteen year olds
and if they're missing, you're like, wait, what happened? Why
aren't they starting tonight.
Speaker 7 (10:17):
Yes, they've solidified themselves and that's starting eleven and they've
become a key piece of what we're seeing from the
team right now. And I think especially when it comes
to the left back position with Bombino, that's pretty much covered.
We might have more questions on the right side, but
everyone has stepped up and done a good job.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
They've done a brilliant job. But yes, and Darren and
I we've discussed it on the air during the broadcast
many many times. You're ready to play because you know
that if you come to San Diego FC. They brought
you here to give you an opportunity if you're a
young player, and that's going to attract more young players
in the future, Darren. As we moved into June and July,
minor injuries to the core of CJ. McVeigh and Patty
(10:55):
McNair threatened to derail them. But Mikey once again youth
movement and is always prepared to give people an opportunity
because he expects you, expects you if he if he's
going to consider you, it's because you already did your
homework and you're ready to play.
Speaker 6 (11:10):
And Mikey sees it all the time out at the
training ground. And for Mikey, it's not even an opportunity
often to go eleven on eleven. You know, so many
times we've heard and be like, yeah, today we had
to go seven on seven. We had to go five
v five today. So you know, he has made the
most of what it is that that he's been given.
But you know, they all seem to operate by by,
(11:31):
you know, the same code, which is you know, if
you if you stay ready, you won't have to be ready,
And like, is there a better example of that than
Pablo Sistaniega, right, who saw action for the first time
in a club friendly against Globe America, and from that
you at least saw him play ninety minutes. Now, I
didn't have a ton of do back there, but at
least you know he got out, he ran around, he
(11:51):
was part of the squad, and you know, he showed
everybody that he was doing the work behind the scenes.
As a matter of fact, Mike's even credited the work
that that Pablo has done as a backup.
Speaker 8 (12:02):
Goalkeeper in keeping CJ. Dosantos sharp. So it is that
spirit of competition. I know it always sounds kind of
cliche and hokey, and it is real.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
But you know, if you are somebody who is on
this squad, you do know that there is somebody behind
you who really is hungry to get that spot, which
I think is really really important and a huge factor
as to why they're sitting on top of the Western
Conference standings.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Iron sharpens Iron and guys, did you know that twenty
was the average age of the defense at the Vancouver
game in late July. Twenty years of age. Wow, Ian
Pilcher and Manudua. They've made names for themselves and on
the way back. We're going to talk about these debutants
coming out of the college draft. This is behind the Flow,
(13:01):
Welcome back. We recently headed to Singing Hills to catch
up with Ian Pilcher and Manudua, two players who've made
the leap from college to MLS in record time, kind
of like San Diego have Ce's construction in record time.
Everything's done here in record time. We spoke about adjusting
to life in the league, adapting to the Right to
(13:22):
Dream style, and reliving that Vancouver game.
Speaker 9 (13:27):
My name is Ian Pilcher. Demands of Major League Soccer
are very challenging. They're played at such a high physical
level and at a quicker speed than the college level.
And same with what we're trying to do with the
Right to Dream philosophy, so playing close to the ball,
being very compact and not being afraid in any situations
with our high line. So that's very different. But it's
(13:50):
a nice change and always learning is nice.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
The journey from college to the MLS has been pretty
top engine. It's way different from college. Like Gean said,
it goes with a high speed intensity and they are
like really strong in the games, so it's different compared
so it come in here, adapting to it. It wasn't
(14:17):
like really easy. It was a little bit challenging, and
their style of right to dream is pretty new to me.
But with the help of the teammates, the older ones,
especially talking us through all the things that we need
to do as a rookie. You know, other friends who
(14:37):
also got to other teams. When we talk, they don't
get the same thing that we get here, you know,
so it's pretty special for us.
Speaker 9 (14:46):
Yeah, I think the biggest learning curve for me was
handling transitions in the game. Definitely quick counter attacks, both
with the ball and without. I think that was the
hardest thing and the biggest learning thing for me coming
from college. And I think it's been good to have
a both here. Mon has definitely been able to support
me through things, you know. I think after two weeks
of training he came to me and said, hey, you
(15:07):
can use your voice. You know, you're one of the
guys here now, so it's been nice to have each
other and communicating that way.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Late j Light's clash with Vancouver wasn't just a top
of the table showdown. It also featured the youngest back
line in MLS history. We asked the boys about that game.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I didn't even know that was the youngest back line,
but before we even started the game that our coaches
talked with us and they told us that this is
the youngest back line, you know, So then we had
it in our minds like okay, then we have something
to prove today because they were a pretty good team
and they saw us like all these I like kids,
(15:50):
you know, but there's no kids when you were in
the cleats on the field. You know, we actually have
to go in hard with the mindset like okay, we
have to show the wall that this is different. And
for San Diego FC, it's just the chance of giving
the young kids opportunity every single time to be on
(16:11):
the field. They have strong confidence in the young kids
and they know like we can do it. You know,
they believe in us every single time. So they actually
had believe in us and they put us on the
field like youngest back line, like they can do it,
and we actually proved them right that the choice that
they made was really good.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Despite a strong start, as DFC went down one nothing
with Manu conceding a cruel own goal, but as DFC
soon drew level and it was Manu's partner at the back,
Ian Pilcher, smashing home his debut goal for the club.
Speaker 9 (16:46):
To get the equalizing goal was very special, and also
to have my family there was incredible. Short lived because
we wanted to focus on getting a second goal, but
in the time span of about five seconds, I think
I kind of blacked out site there. But it was
very good and just a really special moment altogether.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
But could he have imagined coming out of college as
a senior that he'd be starting games for one of
MLS's top teams.
Speaker 9 (17:12):
Honestly, my expectations were little to none. Coming out of
college is a very rough period for a lot of
college athletes, whether you're thinking about going into a professional
scene or getting drafted. So I had no expectations. I
was just trusted on what my past performances was and
what I could continue to do. I did not expect
to come in and play this many times early in
(17:34):
the season. I think that they thought we would have
more time as well for me to develop and get better.
But when your name is called and your numbers called,
it's your job to step up at this level, and
I'm happy I had the opportunity to do that. And
hopefully it can keep taking steps while winning games and
not letting down the team. My background has helped me
step up in these moments, especially with coming from a
(17:56):
big family, having that attitude where nothing's given to you,
that you have to work for it every day with
humility and that relentlessness, and past coaches also teaching me
just how to be a great learner and listener. I
think that's very important coming into a professional scene, that
you're not the best, that you have so much growing
and learning to do.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
I'll say the coaching stuff have been really pretty good
to us every single day every time that we come
to practice. You know, they give their best to us
and the best advice, and they know, like all these
things are pretty new to us, but they still have
patience and time to like teach you through every step,
you know, and be like, hey, you can do much
(18:38):
better here this and that. You know, so you always
come to training with that mindset of like today I'm
here to grow. You know, I'm not going to stay
the same every single time, and that's what they're looking
for every single time, you know, And they love everyone everyone.
They have that love for us no matter what happened
you know, they see everything as a family and that
(19:01):
really helps us and push us every single day.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
And for young players like Manu far from home, that
family atmosphere means absolutely everything.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
My whole family is actually back in Ghana. I'm the
only one here. They missed me because ever since I
came here, I haven't actually gone back. It's been like
almost four years, yeah, four to five years. My dad
actually passed away when I was a kid. I have
my mom and she's always super grateful, you know, this
(19:34):
opportunity that has actually come in my life.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
The fact that Tyler and SDFC have built a team
with a clear culture in mind makes it even easier
for players like Manu to settle in.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
It's super super nice to actually be in a team
where you have other Gannians in the team.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
You have Willie, you have Ema, you have Derek here.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
You know, you have other Guannians where you guys can
meet and you know, it kind of feels like home,
but a little home right there, you know, where you
can just have conversations. So that actually helps a lot,
you know. And they are older than me and they've
all been to this level pasting, you know, so they
give you advice on things that you should do, things
(20:16):
you shouldn't do, things you should always taken hold on
two and use in life. So it's pretty special, you know,
to have that kind of people around you.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
I absolutely love how these young guys are set up
by the coaching staff. It's about preparation and you're ready
to play, and if he calls your name, it's because
you were ready.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
Definitely. And when we look at what Ian Pilcher has done.
You know, he was the twenty fourth overall pick in
the first round of the Super Draft for SDFC. He
was at the University of North Carolina and Charlotte. When
I was looking up the number, sixty six appearances, growing
five goals, recording one assist, and then you're thrown into
the mix. Southern California is your new home in San Diego.
(21:03):
And right now with SEFC, you know, he's had participation
in thirteen games, starting seven of them, seven hundred and
sixty five minutes when goal, won assist. He's making an
impact because, as we mentioned, it's not just about that
confidence that they're telling you that you can do a
good job, but they're teaching you the ropes and you
feel the team behind you. And then when we go
(21:24):
to Dua, he is playing out of the position because
he had more pressure being the number one overall pick
of the draft. But he was a midfielder at UCSB
and we're talking about, oh, this midfielder. He was a
number one pick. But now he's asked to be a
center back. And I feel like a graduation for him
(21:46):
was that game against Sporting Kansas City, because he did
one heck of a job.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
He did, and Darren the right to dream style of play.
We hear it all the time. It's what's expected. There
is a format that you have to be able to
follow the instruction during the game, the way everybody breathes together,
and they've more than shown the ability to adapt to
whatever's thrown at them. And in fact, Manudua in his
case in particular, we've seen him make not one, but
(22:12):
a couple, maybe even three, grave mistakes during different matches,
giving up goals to the other side, just on a
touch on a pass that just wasn't there, an ill
advised attempt. Yet I like his resolve. He gets right
back up, dusts himself off, and then goes right back
to work.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Yeah, he's a guy, right who has one of those
short memories that we always talk about in any sport,
right the quarterback who throws the interception, the pitcher who
gives up the home run, the goalkeeper who allows the
goal even if it's a tough goal. And he has that,
you know, even in real time, like he had that
amazing moment where he did get beaten on one play.
Somebody dribbled around him I think Vancouver, and he had
(22:48):
this great slide tackle, kicked the ball out and pumped
the crowd up. We just we haven't seen a lot
of that, so I've loved it, you know. It tells
you a little bit about who he is. As exciting
a player as you can find coming out of the.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
And two young exciting players, David Basquez and Aidan Hirangi,
are two of the three latest signings brought in by
assistant sporting director Mark Presentt. We caught up with him
recently just after the club announced their latest three signings.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
My name is Mark Prizant. I'm the assistant sporting director
at San Diego CI. I oversee our data analysis and
scouting departments. I've been in the business a long time.
My previous stops were in the expansion second year of
(23:37):
Intero Miami. Before I was with Manchester United for about
five years as a North American scout, and before United,
I was with Philadelphia Union.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
The transfer window in the mid season is really difficult
in MSS. It's less than a month.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
If you do your legwork leading into it, you have
the advantage of bringing those transfers in immediately and having
them available for more games during your season. We did
a lot of work for the last six months to
prepare us for this window. You know, looking back at it,
we wanted to give ourselves flexibility to add players in
(24:13):
this secondary window, which we did. We set their goal
as being twenty six in the squad, with twenty three
field players and three goalkeepers. If you're relatively healthy, you
know that squad.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Size is enough.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
Everyone feels as though they're able to contribute. You don't
have players who don't feel like they're part of things.
Not having a second team really means that you can't
find a lot of games for guys that when they're
not playing. So we felt pretty good about that. We
felt good about it until you start getting some injuries.
We just didn't count on some of the longer term injuries.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
We got. Heading into this transfer window, one big question
for as DFC is how to manage squad size as
an expansion said, with no second team, there's no room
for passengers. Everyone simply must play their part.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
One of the many lessons that we learned speaking with
the previous expansion clubs in MLS, it is about sustainability.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
So we did strategically take.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
A lot of these loans with options to buy, as
we wanted the flexibility to say, Okay, we think this
is going to work, but we've never played a game
before and we don't know exactly how this player is
going to fit in the style of play. So let's
give ourselves the flexibility to say six months, eight months
in yes we're right, or yes we're not right, and
(25:33):
that's okay, and this player worked out or this player
didn't work out, and going into year two, still have
the flexibility to say, Okay, the players that worked out
in year one we want to keep. Absolutely, we were
pre negotiated all those options, so we knew what we
were getting into. We knew that we could afford it
in year two, or you know, we pivot and we
(25:54):
give ourselves flexibility to say, okay, that player didn't work,
Let's not bring that player back. Let's decline the option,
and let's go find someone that.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Now that we have an.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Actual team, where we have actual games that we've watched,
we know exactly what we need, and let's really target
and pinpoint deposition.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Which brings us to the current transfer window. With everything
on the line and the squad needing a boost, do
you go for a experience or do you keep gambling
on youth?
Speaker 5 (26:24):
So Tyler and myself actually spoke with Mikey about this
and said, Okay, like typically at this point we would
look to bring in some veterans, some guys to really
make the playoff push. What is more important to you
is it to have that locker room experience to understanding
what it's like down the stretch in a playoff front,
(26:45):
in potentially a shield race, in potentially an MLS Cup race,
Or would you want to to just target the best
talent that we can get, Guys that are willing to
work really hard, that are open learners, that are competition
And to his credit, you know, he said, just get
me the best talent you can get.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
I don't care about the age. We'll work with them.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
And so that's really what we set out in this
window to do was to try and bring in some
more talent that would be willing to listen to learn.
I think part of the right to Dream philosophy is
to give people opportunity. We were able to bring in
on loan Aiden Harangi. Aiden's a player that we've been
watching for quite some time, going through the U seventeen
(27:31):
and the U twenty US youth national team cycles as
well as playing with ein Trek Frankfurt's second team. As
far as the other two, David Vasquez is a player
with actually a lot of experience in the professional game
for his age. He is a player that was highly
sought after from the time he was probably fifteen years old.
(27:53):
You had multiple organizations and MLS fighting over the ability
to sign him to a homegrown contract. We feel as
so we gave him an opportunity to perhaps show the
type of player he is a little bit better with
our style of play than the style of play he
was in in Philadelphia. And the last player being Pedro Somo.
(28:16):
Pedro again is a player that we've all been tracking
for a while. Last year when he went on loan
to Barcelona, we kind of thought it was over from
a scouting perspective.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
When he became available, it was a no brainer for us.
You know, we worked quickly.
Speaker 5 (28:30):
That transfer happened in less than nine days from the
start of the first phone call to him arriving in
San Diego.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So listen to that right now, Darren, what are your
thoughts on Mark BRISONA. I mean, this guy voice of experience,
has been there, done that scene at Manchester United, inte
to Miami Philadelphia. I mean, he's an asset for San Diego.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
FC, absolutely, And I think what happens is the data
revolution is here in every single one of these sports.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Right.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
What I've learned now is players have come to accept
that data and analytics have become such a part of
the conversation when it comes to football.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
Is they just find themselves wanting more information.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
Right.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
So when you see that Mark Praisan and he tells
you that he spent five years as a North American
scout for Manchester United for a player, You're like, oh, well,
what is it that Manchester United is looking for anyway?
Speaker 5 (29:21):
Right?
Speaker 6 (29:21):
Like it becomes this great resource of Well, tell me
a little bit about what it is. So maybe someday
I can see if I can fit into that.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Description gantient, especially with the consideration that they've been able
to deal with flexibility issues, maybe squad size issues only
for outfielders on the bench versus Vancouver.
Speaker 7 (29:40):
Remember you remember, yes, I remember, And as he said,
he has been very busy because they needed as signed player,
especially right now when you had injuries. When you're an
expansion team, you just need all those players that you
can get. And to Darren's point, it's really important who
they know, the relationships. It's all about that pr within
the business and you if you have that record, if
(30:01):
you've had that experience, if you've been in the business
for a long time, not only do you have those
connections to bring those players along, but also what you
can do for these players. More so, if you want
to be like Ajacks and you want to export those players,
well you need to have those relationships. And that's also
something that's going to motivate everybody saying like, not only
can we live in San Diego, we can get playing time,
(30:23):
We're going to have that confidence and trust from the coach.
We can actually be in the mix and to be
considered to be in that competition every day day in
day out during training. But then we see that future,
that possibility of going abroad someday, because that's out there
as well as part of the model of what this
team is all about.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
And you see it, right, You're sitting in the office
and I'm going to give it a shot here. But
if I'm selling, I'm saying, guys, look, you're in the
finest city, America's finest city, is the greatest city, one
of the greatest cities on Earth. A big city to
the north, beaches to the west, mountains and deserts to
the east, another country to the south, all within an hour.
And you get some flexibility here. And if you show us,
(31:05):
Darren Smith, that you can earn from a loan deal
to a long term deal, show us you can play.
And they allow themselves as a team the flexibility to
get a guy on loan and sign them long term.
They want the guys to earn it.
Speaker 6 (31:18):
Yeah, and it's a great opportunity. It's like taking a
test drive, isn't it right. I think everybody takes a
test drive before you end up purchasing the vehicle. But
you know, when you want to see how somebody's going
to fit into a culture, and you want to see
how somebody's going to fit in to what it is
that you're building, not just for a season, but also
for the foreseeable future. This is the right way to
do it, So it really is the best of both worlds.
(31:39):
You can help us now and you could also help
us in the future if things go really well.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Are you guys make some great points now? Three young players,
we're all ready through the door. But with what just
over a week left in the transfer window, Mark Prison
and the scouting team still had a big job to do.
They needed a center forward, someone to fill the gap
left by Milan Iloski's departure. And when we visited they
(32:03):
they might have found him. FC Cincinnati's Corey Baird, a
San Diego native, a proven MLS journeyman, and it had
all the makings of a dream homecoming. But how does
San Diego FC scouts decide if a player is the
right fit. Well, it all comes down to something they
call the stress test.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Right onto stress cust Okay, we'll do this pretty easily,
So I'm going to go through a niche to.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Start with style of play fit.
Speaker 10 (32:49):
I do believe it's more of a style play fit
at center forward and you retain decently well. You link
up this back to the ones to touch and you'll
offer some movement in behind, which was quite consistent overwards
the game.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Okay, so we can talk about as a forward our
key priorities within that.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
So can he help us in build up? Will he
be able to play with his back to goal to
link play, to hold up play?
Speaker 10 (33:12):
In my getting out, he came with his back to goal,
played once two touch, played some basic functional passes once directionally,
so he's reliable and ball attention and come playing between
the lines.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Okay, obviously I know the games that you're signed.
Speaker 5 (33:23):
There are no goals, but any moments to influence goals
scoring and he assists.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
So they won the game one zero.
Speaker 10 (33:30):
He took a shot from outside the box, a finesse
shot was low, saved well by the keeper, and he
was followed up for a goal.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
So he did quite well in the lead.
Speaker 4 (33:38):
Up to the goal in terms of taking a shot
from outside the box.
Speaker 10 (33:41):
So initiating an attack okay, Pressing hard worker. In terms
of pressing one to be one intensity or beating high
intensity actions. Back pressing he did well, and covering the channel,
supporting his teammates. He's an overall hard worker and he'll
provide off the ball.
Speaker 4 (33:56):
Okay, BC style play fit.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
So I think when he received balls and wide areas,
it is back to like the line, he would dribble
in and connect the game. And just knowing him from college,
I think he's good back to the goal. He can
link play and play underneath, and so he can help
them build up at least you can help them build up.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
Pressing. Yeah, obviously a hard worker.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
He is good off the ball, but from a work
great standboid All was good and checked out.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Okay, So Sean Mimick most of what you guys had
said in his reports for me, both of us agreed
in terms of pressing that you can see he's presses
with intensity.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
He's a willing worker. It works hard.
Speaker 5 (34:41):
I think I want to challenge the group that everyone
goes back and watches how he scores goals, because none
of us had games where he was involved in goal scoring. Informally,
let's kind of meet this afternoon, let's say around three,
and just kind of discuss what we watched, and let's
see if he's a style of play foot for how
we create goals and how he's scored them in the past.
(35:04):
You know, let's kind of see if that'll work. Grant,
if you can take the lead on data, go through,
find the data points of where he scored goals right foot,
left foot, deep in the box, headers, through passes, crosses, whatever.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
It may be. Let's see if we can get the
data and what we see to align.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
Okay, looking ahead, so next week is going to be
target market players in outside leagues in that under twenty
two age group that was flagged from data. So we'll
see probably some of the West African players that are
in Serbia, the ones that came up on the data list,
(35:43):
and some of the others, the Danish players that are
kind of spread all over, the ones that we flagged
in Syria and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
So it should be an interesting week.
Speaker 5 (35:51):
And then just possible stress tests for other number niners
in the league, just kind of bouncing around some names,
trying to ask for reasons on why potentially guys are
not playing, whether or not they would be available. I
don't want to bring stress to the groups if it's
not realistic.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
So that's it.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
That's all I have. Any won't have anything else, all right,
then we're good to go ex meeting on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Thanks guys, Well, Corey baird obviously fits the bill, and
since that meeting, they went ahead and they signed him.
So now if we know he fits the style of play,
and I'll tell you from a personal point of view
and watching him play in the past, especially under Ben Olsen,
he thrived into four three three Darren, it feels like
(36:39):
this style of place San DIEGOETSI fits right into what
he does.
Speaker 6 (36:42):
Can I just first say bravo to the production staff
forgetting that audio. That is a look that you never
get in any of these sports. That is ridiculous access,
which is why you're listening to behind the flob. But
you know, for me, you can hear the levels of experience,
right because it was pointed out during the conversation going
back to his college days. It's been a minute since
(37:04):
Corey Bairtt has played in college at Stanford, where he
was a four year player.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
Right.
Speaker 8 (37:09):
He was the MLS Rookie of the Year back in
twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6 (37:11):
So somebody has the experience of going back and knowing
and recognizing who this player was before he was even
in the league. But the other part about it is, yeah, okay,
he scored a bunch of goals, and you could put
that on a stat sheet and you could say, hey,
here's the justification for having a.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
Player like this.
Speaker 6 (37:24):
But when you're talking about what kind of player he
is pressing, that's about culture because that's willingness, you know,
that's not just the physical ability to press.
Speaker 8 (37:33):
That is the identity of club that even if.
Speaker 6 (37:35):
You're a goal scorer, right, you could pour all the
goals and goal that you want, but you're not going
to do it if you don't have the mindset that
you're going to contribute in other ways. So to hear
that and have them really focus on that aspect of
Baird's game to me, was telling you everything you need
to know about what's expected from him, not just the player,
but also how he fits the culture.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
And he fits the culture Kantian not only in the
style of play with the build up, the high press,
everything he offers, the ins scoring goals, MLS veteran former
Rookie of the Year with RSL, but another local boy
coming back home. How does he fit for you?
Speaker 7 (38:09):
Representing Escondido. I also want to say, what a joy
to be able to listen to that, because we never
get to be that fly on the wall and just
to see the inside everything that goes behind closed doors
of how they scout those players, everything that goes into play.
When we see the signing, it's because there's all of
(38:30):
this work behind it and how they can contribute and
how they fit into the style. Going back to Bird,
not only he is a California native, but I feel
the fact that even though it was a long time
ago because now he's been a veteran, an MLS twenty
nine year old guy, but the fact that he also
was in the college system, that he played at Stanford,
that he not only played, but he won three national championships.
(38:53):
So he has that relatability to these other young players
already in the team that came through the college system,
and I think that can be very valuable because you
can see that after that, you can have a career
in MLYS. You can find a place in MLYS. I
actually met Corey when he was playing at LAFC. He's
a great guy and all those qualities fit perfectly into
(39:14):
this style because back then when they were under Bob Bradley,
you know that's what he was asking of the guys
with that link up plate, playing with his back against
the goal, the build up, these qualities. He has the
ability to score, he has that work rate, he has
that journey that we talked about that it's going to
be I feel great now as a veteran player to
(39:36):
bring that experience and that insight to the youngsters and
the team, and I feel like it's going to be
a good relationship and that's why they decided to sign him.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
We started the show guys talking about iron sharpening iron
Darren Smith. Where does that leave Alex might and Tommy
Yankell now in the competition for minutes? I mean, where
do they go? What do you see playing out with
Baird now coming in?
Speaker 6 (40:02):
Well, I think it's another opportunity, right, it's competition with
Alex Maighten. He's done a lot of good things out there.
But when you're playing in one of those positions, not
that it's all about goal scoring, as we just discussed,
but one goal up into this point of the season,
you probably are hoping for a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
So.
Speaker 6 (40:19):
This gives you a little bit of depth in terms
of being a spot starter. This gives you a little
bit of depth in terms of being a replacement. If
you're chasing a match late. I kind of like the
way that Matin and Thomas Onhell were used late against
Boarding KC. Which is fresh legs in off the bench,
the ability to track, the ability to dribble a bit,
the ability to even get behind defenders when other defenders
(40:41):
are trying to chase the match and pressing up. So
it's a little bit of a different dimension. It's a
little bit of a tweak. I don't think anything all
that different is going to be expected of the minutes
that they're getting when they're on the field. It just
might come in a little bit of a different order
now that Baird is here, all.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Right, So next s up, we're on the road again
like Willie, this time to face the San Jose Earthquakes.
They're managed by none other than el Bruce Arena, a
legend of the game, and this will be the first
ever meeting between the two clubs. Of course, there's an
extra twist. Oscar Betjovian is on loan with us from
San Jose. The Earthquakes are the highest scoring team in
(41:24):
MLS this season. Christ Tennis be know say have a
man to watch Wow, talk about five star deliveries, his creativity,
his passing can tear teams apart guys, and while they
score plenty, they also are a little fragile at the back.
They give them up and that's something we could look
to exploit. God damn going to start with you. What
are your thoughts on San Jose and is there anything
(41:45):
that you're keen to see in this match that plays
into the next man up mentality of San die webc
for starters.
Speaker 7 (41:52):
I think San Jose did a great move by signing
Bruce Arena because they desperately needed that to change the
whole scenario because after Matias Almeida left, that's when they
had found some momentum, but then they hadn't found anything again.
They were bottom of MLS. So I think when Bruce
Arena signed and he said fans are going to see changes,
(42:14):
he meant it. And we've seen those changes out of
the team with the players that joined veterans, proven players
that have had success in MLS, and it shows why
they are scoring so many goals right now. So it's
going to be a battle for San Diego yet another
one this season, especially when it's a team that you've
never faced, and when we talk about this stretch to
(42:35):
finish the regular season. They're actually going to phase them twice.
So this game is going to be very important to
just measure each other. It's definitely going to be a
measuring stick. But also Vancouver, who is head to head
against San Diego for the top spot in the West.
Guess who beat them? San Jose gave them that two
to one loss and that's how. Also San Diego ended
(42:59):
a top of the Western Conference after this weekend with
four points there, so watch out because it's going to
be a very interesting matchup.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Yeah, it's safe to say they did shake the earth
a little bit in San Diego FC's favor, the earthquake
state and Darren, I'm gonna do it like a movie promo.
One team has gone from the hunted to the hunter. Well,
san Diego FC is there now they are.
Speaker 6 (43:24):
It's an amazing turnabout, right. Who would have thought we'd
be talking about this second week of August.
Speaker 8 (43:28):
I'll just say this quick.
Speaker 6 (43:29):
SDFC has done something that no other MLS expansion club
has ever done. They've won five straight matches away from
Snapdragon Stadium.
Speaker 8 (43:37):
They will not be intimidated. Plus, a whole bunch.
Speaker 6 (43:40):
Of SDFFC supporters are making the bus trip up to
San Jose. So it might sound like a home match
at certain points here for the Chrome Zol, but five
straight looking to make it six. That's a mentality, So
it tells you all you need to know.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Well, taking that game to World of Wondo and we'll
see what happens when it comes to San Diego and
San Jose Earthquakes dancing for the first time ever. Quick
score prediction. Guys, gotta go first.
Speaker 7 (44:05):
I know we all want to say that San Diego
is going to win. I feel like if they come
out of there with one point, it's going to be
a very good result for Mike gyaut A squad.
Speaker 6 (44:16):
I haven't had a road draw all season long, kind
of an odd thing for Wait what I know, Yeah,
I know this is really bizarre.
Speaker 8 (44:23):
I don't think it starts here. I think it's going
to be another one of these.
Speaker 6 (44:25):
Bonkers matches in the stoppage time and some game winner
to make it three two SDFC over San Jose.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
And I'm giving it a three to two final, so
we'll see what happens. All right, next time out, we're
going to be back here diving deep into the famous
right to Dream style of play. The very approach that's
helped San Diego E FCY take MLS by storm in
their very first season. I can't wait, and that brings
(44:54):
us to the end of this week's Behind the Flow.
A big thank you to Mark prison Manudua and Ian
Pilcher for joining us on the show, and as always
to the best in the business, Gatien and Darren. Make
sure you follow the podcast wherever you get your shows,
and join us every week as we write out this
incredible inaugural season. I'm your host, Adrian Garcia Marquez. Until
(45:16):
next time, you've been dipped in Kromanasudi
If you're healthy, San Diego is pretty good. How deep
are they really when you look at their roster the
last thing they can.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Afford is Lozano dryer or other players coming out.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hi there, I'm Adrian Garcia Markis and this is Behind
the Flow, a podcast where we dive in deep, week
by week into the heart of San Diego ebseeafood Bone
as they navigate their inaugural season in Major League Soccer.
This week, we're looking at the SDFC squad and talking
to the people who've helped build it. It's often said
(00:36):
that you don't win anything with just the kids and
young players. Well, San Diego EPSY seem to be testing
that old wisdom. We'll look at the depth of San
Diego EBC's roster at the halfway point, review the injury
problems that have definitely challenged them, and we're going to
talk to the kids who've stepped up to stick acclaim.
Players like Ian Pilcher and Manudua, both brought in via
(01:00):
the college draft.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
They saw us like, oh, these hilight kids, you know,
but there's no kids.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
When you and Nkleat's on the field, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
We'll also take you behind the scenes to see how
as DFC scouts are tackling the summer transfer window with
special insight from Assistant Sporting Director Mark Prison.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
What is more important to you is it to have
that locker room experience or would you.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Want to to just target the best talent that we
can get.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Let's do it. Welcome to this week's edition Behind the Flow.
I don't do this alone. I have two of the
best in the business alongside me. I'm joined by my
friends broadcast proud San Diegans and especially one that's super transplanted,
(01:54):
and one day I'm going to turn them back to
a charger power. We're going to talk about that Deren Smith.
But can't the leading voices and reporters of ESPN and
local broadcaster analyst for San Diego FC, the man that
introviews all players every single week, Darren Smith. I'm Adrian Gutsie.
I'm out of case. How you like those intros?
Speaker 6 (02:13):
Guys love them checks in the mail, appreciate that they're
great chargers.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah see he got that, gets it, got gets it.
We'll talk about it because it is San Diego. We
talked about the potters, we talk about the chargers, and
of course San Diego e FC were all connected, all right, guys.
In our last episode, you know we we we talked
with Tom Penn. We had these great discussions since then.
San Diego e FC made a trip to play Sporting
Kansas City and took all three points with a convincing
(02:41):
to nothing win. Great gets. It's a Tryer doctor Asano
Lozano an absolute colosso from chu Ki Losto.
Speaker 7 (02:56):
The stakes it off for deflection and.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
It's Dryer pop sitting on it, slotting it home.
Speaker 7 (03:02):
The MVP campaign for honors.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Tryer continues, you're Sillo chassing it down, Santos Santos, Sporting
Kansas City cannot.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Find a way through tonight. Just gid, that's a g
O la z O god Losano on the twenty third minute,
lovely finished from Dryer in a minute seventy so big
shouts also to the back line and CJ those Santos
perfect save to shout out Sporting at the death. So gotay,
let's talk about those who have had to step in
(03:34):
as the squad is a little bit lighter. You've seen
how they've gotten the results for Mikey Vada's next man
up mentality. Are there any performances or or parts of
the overall narrative that stood out to you in this result.
Speaker 7 (03:47):
First, what a solid performance by the team. They showed composure,
they showed maturity, taking all three points on the road,
even when Sporting Kansas City was all over them, they
were able to hold the fort and they did a
great job. But when it comes to those guys having
to step up, I have to say I like David
Basquez and how he stepped up in the midfield and
(04:09):
what he did was very, very important for the team
to get that result. And what about CJ Though Santos
with five saves after being back in MLS. Of course
we saw him during League's Cup in that game against
mass atlant but then back to MLS play and he
was just outstanding.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And Darren Smith the last time, you know, they drew nothing,
nothing at Snapdragon. What do you feel was a little
bit different this time around? I mean, obviously Sporting Kansas
City's going through some changes. They did see a little
bit of more firepower out of Santinunos. You saw the attempts,
but as Katya said, that back line held it down
real nice. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
I think the first one which was May seventeenth at
Snapdragon Stadium. Adrian, I think that one was almost putting
us to sleep, right. There were four combined shots in
that match, four and the one that was played in
Kansas City there's like twenty five combined, and so, you know,
not exactly the way SDFC wants to play. We know
(05:03):
that they want to have possession and they want to
dominate passing. And even though statistically they were ahead in
possession and they had more passes than Sporting KC, I
don't know that anything really takes Mikey Bodis by surprise
or that staff by surprise. I think they're pretty much
prepared for anything. But even some of the people that
we talked to who cover sporting, we're saying, oh, this
is different. We've not seen this sort of stuff. So
(05:25):
this was like a last shot at the OK Corral
for Sporting KC. There's seasons on the line and they're
still within shouting distance of a playoff spot, and if
they don't get it going now, then when are they
going to get it going?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And as we mentioned on the air, Darren Smith, when
you see an irbing Losano track him back defending doing
what he did to earn that first goal, opportunity. It
was his takeaway off of a ricochet and Andre's fed
it to Chuk and Chuki did the rest from outside
the eighteen. And when you see those guys set the tone,
it obviously is going to resonate with the young players,
(05:57):
and we saw the young players stepping up all night long.
Speaker 6 (06:01):
Yeah, Adrian, when you're doing charger games, you talk about
blocks and you talk about interceptions, and these are some
of the numbers that you gravitate towards. In the match
against Sporting Kse, all the clearances that SDFC had, they
had block after block after block. It was chaotic, it
was beautiful. It was white knuckle driving, and I loved
every second of it.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Despite climbing to the top of the Western Conference and
playing incredible food boat showing defensive resilience and some statement wins,
especially on the road, we've really seen that the depth
of the squad has been tested time and time again,
and that's what we're going to talk about right now.
It took a while for the team to settle down
into a regular eleven, as you'd expect from an expansion
(06:45):
sete playing together for the first time. The club has
actively experimented with personnel to find the best chemistry, especially
Ernie on in the season, and injuries, of course, have
played their part two forcing some changes, so let's kind
of go over it. February March. We saw frequent changes,
especially on the defensive side. Willie Kumado, Jasper Lamfolsen, Luca
Bombino and Franko Negty all rotating, but a core of
(07:09):
CJ with McVeigh, with McNair, they established and they set
the tone. Reggyas and Albadao Junior were ruled out for
the season as well. Reggaez was brought in to be
the starting center back, which was a big blow. So
what McVeigh has done has been huge. So let's talk
about the squad back then. Any concerns, of.
Speaker 7 (07:29):
Course, you're always going to have concerns when you see
players go down, and you never want to lose your
players due to injury. But at the same time, it's
part of the business, you know, it's part of the game,
and the front office was going to be prepared for that.
They were busy, busy trying to find players that could
step up and then join the team. More so when
you're an expansion team and you need to find players
(07:51):
wherever possible and bring them along and then that's what
we've seen. So of course we were worried, and more
so when we were talking about a player like Chuquilosano.
You have your DPS and that's why you have those
players the quality, the stars that are going to immediately
impact results that they're going to put points on the board.
So when one player like that goes down, of course
you're going to be worried because it's your star. The
(08:11):
fact that it wasn't that serious of an injury for
Chooky was great because I was really worried, especially during
that home debut game. What if that injury would have
been worse after everything you put around this guy, around
this team, and to lose him for the majority of
the season, that would have been a major blow. So
(08:33):
I'm so happy that he was able to come back
able to contribute. And then he said it openly, the
fact that he wants to be at his best when
it comes to fitness, that he wants to be able
to contribute, and that's what we're seeing. And he scored
an out then the Go Go Lasso against Sport in
Kansas City. So that's good news because he's healthy and
he's there to help the team.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
And we saw it Darren as well, the health of
the squad when it comes to Mikey Abadis and what
he does his decision making process. We've also seen he's
not afraid to throw the young players into the ocean
and see if they could do the backstroke.
Speaker 6 (09:06):
No, right into the deep end of the pool. Go
some of these young players as well. And some of
this is out of necessity. But you know, the thing
I think I like about Mikey, and I'm guessing that
a lot of this comes from his background as an
academy coach, as the head coach of the under twenty
national team, is that he resonates with younger players, right,
So he's got experience with younger players.
Speaker 8 (09:26):
He's not afraid of them.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
There's a lot of coaches in all sports who just
don't want to play younger players. You're like, oh, man,
that guy, that young kid's got my paycheck in his hand, right,
he's running up and down the field.
Speaker 8 (09:36):
What does he know? What is he going to do
with it?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And they have looked great and when you consider again,
as I mentioned with Drier McVeigh around April starting to
take shape as well as Yep and Luca, and while
the veterans right, if you will, they got it together.
They started to play a little bit better. The consistency.
He started to see it in the Floodbourne, the right
to Dream style of play. And then you add in
(09:59):
that month of where you start taking center stage as
a young player. We saw Luca Bombino as well as
Oscar back Coben, both just nineteen years old, guys coming
in contient, nailing down fullback spots. And then now it
became a situation where you have two nineteen year olds
and if they're missing, you're like, wait, what happened? Why
aren't they starting tonight.
Speaker 7 (10:17):
Yes, they've solidified themselves and that's starting eleven and they've
become a key piece of what we're seeing from the
team right now. And I think especially when it comes
to the left back position with Bombino, that's pretty much covered.
We might have more questions on the right side, but
everyone has stepped up and done a good job.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
They've done a brilliant job. But yes, and Darren and
I we've discussed it on the air during the broadcast
many many times. You're ready to play because you know
that if you come to San Diego FC. They brought
you here to give you an opportunity if you're a
young player, and that's going to attract more young players
in the future, Darren. As we moved into June and July,
minor injuries to the core of CJ. McVeigh and Patty
(10:55):
McNair threatened to derail them. But Mikey once again youth
movement and is always prepared to give people an opportunity
because he expects you, expects you if he if he's
going to consider you, it's because you already did your
homework and you're ready to play.
Speaker 6 (11:10):
And Mikey sees it all the time out at the
training ground. And for Mikey, it's not even an opportunity
often to go eleven on eleven. You know, so many
times we've heard and be like, yeah, today we had
to go seven on seven. We had to go five
v five today. So you know, he has made the
most of what it is that that he's been given.
But you know, they all seem to operate by by,
(11:31):
you know, the same code, which is you know, if
you if you stay ready, you won't have to be ready,
And like, is there a better example of that than
Pablo Sistaniega, right, who saw action for the first time
in a club friendly against Globe America, and from that
you at least saw him play ninety minutes. Now, I
didn't have a ton of do back there, but at
least you know he got out, he ran around, he
(11:51):
was part of the squad, and you know, he showed
everybody that he was doing the work behind the scenes.
As a matter of fact, Mike's even credited the work
that that Pablo has done as a backup.
Speaker 8 (12:02):
Goalkeeper in keeping CJ. Dosantos sharp. So it is that
spirit of competition. I know it always sounds kind of
cliche and hokey, and it is real.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
But you know, if you are somebody who is on
this squad, you do know that there is somebody behind
you who really is hungry to get that spot, which
I think is really really important and a huge factor
as to why they're sitting on top of the Western
Conference standings.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Iron sharpens Iron and guys, did you know that twenty
was the average age of the defense at the Vancouver
game in late July. Twenty years of age. Wow, Ian
Pilcher and Manudua. They've made names for themselves and on
the way back. We're going to talk about these debutants
coming out of the college draft. This is behind the Flow,
(13:01):
Welcome back. We recently headed to Singing Hills to catch
up with Ian Pilcher and Manudua, two players who've made
the leap from college to MLS in record time, kind
of like San Diego have Ce's construction in record time.
Everything's done here in record time. We spoke about adjusting
to life in the league, adapting to the Right to
(13:22):
Dream style, and reliving that Vancouver game.
Speaker 9 (13:27):
My name is Ian Pilcher. Demands of Major League Soccer
are very challenging. They're played at such a high physical
level and at a quicker speed than the college level.
And same with what we're trying to do with the
Right to Dream philosophy, so playing close to the ball,
being very compact and not being afraid in any situations
with our high line. So that's very different. But it's
(13:50):
a nice change and always learning is nice.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
The journey from college to the MLS has been pretty
top engine. It's way different from college. Like Gean said,
it goes with a high speed intensity and they are
like really strong in the games, so it's different compared
so it come in here, adapting to it. It wasn't
(14:17):
like really easy. It was a little bit challenging, and
their style of right to dream is pretty new to me.
But with the help of the teammates, the older ones,
especially talking us through all the things that we need
to do as a rookie. You know, other friends who
(14:37):
also got to other teams. When we talk, they don't
get the same thing that we get here, you know,
so it's pretty special for us.
Speaker 9 (14:46):
Yeah, I think the biggest learning curve for me was
handling transitions in the game. Definitely quick counter attacks, both
with the ball and without. I think that was the
hardest thing and the biggest learning thing for me coming
from college. And I think it's been good to have
a both here. Mon has definitely been able to support
me through things, you know. I think after two weeks
of training he came to me and said, hey, you
(15:07):
can use your voice. You know, you're one of the
guys here now, so it's been nice to have each
other and communicating that way.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Late j Light's clash with Vancouver wasn't just a top
of the table showdown. It also featured the youngest back
line in MLS history. We asked the boys about that game.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I didn't even know that was the youngest back line,
but before we even started the game that our coaches
talked with us and they told us that this is
the youngest back line, you know, So then we had
it in our minds like okay, then we have something
to prove today because they were a pretty good team
and they saw us like all these I like kids,
(15:50):
you know, but there's no kids when you were in
the cleats on the field. You know, we actually have
to go in hard with the mindset like okay, we
have to show the wall that this is different. And
for San Diego FC, it's just the chance of giving
the young kids opportunity every single time to be on
(16:11):
the field. They have strong confidence in the young kids
and they know like we can do it. You know,
they believe in us every single time. So they actually
had believe in us and they put us on the
field like youngest back line, like they can do it,
and we actually proved them right that the choice that
they made was really good.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Despite a strong start, as DFC went down one nothing
with Manu conceding a cruel own goal, but as DFC
soon drew level and it was Manu's partner at the back,
Ian Pilcher, smashing home his debut goal for the club.
Speaker 9 (16:46):
To get the equalizing goal was very special, and also
to have my family there was incredible. Short lived because
we wanted to focus on getting a second goal, but
in the time span of about five seconds, I think
I kind of blacked out site there. But it was
very good and just a really special moment altogether.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
But could he have imagined coming out of college as
a senior that he'd be starting games for one of
MLS's top teams.
Speaker 9 (17:12):
Honestly, my expectations were little to none. Coming out of
college is a very rough period for a lot of
college athletes, whether you're thinking about going into a professional
scene or getting drafted. So I had no expectations. I
was just trusted on what my past performances was and
what I could continue to do. I did not expect
to come in and play this many times early in
(17:34):
the season. I think that they thought we would have
more time as well for me to develop and get better.
But when your name is called and your numbers called,
it's your job to step up at this level, and
I'm happy I had the opportunity to do that. And
hopefully it can keep taking steps while winning games and
not letting down the team. My background has helped me
step up in these moments, especially with coming from a
(17:56):
big family, having that attitude where nothing's given to you,
that you have to work for it every day with
humility and that relentlessness, and past coaches also teaching me
just how to be a great learner and listener. I
think that's very important coming into a professional scene, that
you're not the best, that you have so much growing
and learning to do.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
I'll say the coaching stuff have been really pretty good
to us every single day every time that we come
to practice. You know, they give their best to us
and the best advice, and they know, like all these
things are pretty new to us, but they still have
patience and time to like teach you through every step,
you know, and be like, hey, you can do much
(18:38):
better here this and that. You know, so you always
come to training with that mindset of like today I'm
here to grow. You know, I'm not going to stay
the same every single time, and that's what they're looking
for every single time, you know, And they love everyone everyone.
They have that love for us no matter what happened
you know, they see everything as a family and that
(19:01):
really helps us and push us every single day.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
And for young players like Manu far from home, that
family atmosphere means absolutely everything.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
My whole family is actually back in Ghana. I'm the
only one here. They missed me because ever since I
came here, I haven't actually gone back. It's been like
almost four years, yeah, four to five years. My dad
actually passed away when I was a kid. I have
my mom and she's always super grateful, you know, this
(19:34):
opportunity that has actually come in my life.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
The fact that Tyler and SDFC have built a team
with a clear culture in mind makes it even easier
for players like Manu to settle in.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
It's super super nice to actually be in a team
where you have other Gannians in the team.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
You have Willie, you have Ema, you have Derek here.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
You know, you have other Guannians where you guys can
meet and you know, it kind of feels like home,
but a little home right there, you know, where you
can just have conversations. So that actually helps a lot,
you know. And they are older than me and they've
all been to this level pasting, you know, so they
give you advice on things that you should do, things
(20:16):
you shouldn't do, things you should always taken hold on
two and use in life. So it's pretty special, you know,
to have that kind of people around you.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
I absolutely love how these young guys are set up
by the coaching staff. It's about preparation and you're ready
to play, and if he calls your name, it's because
you were ready.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
Definitely. And when we look at what Ian Pilcher has done.
You know, he was the twenty fourth overall pick in
the first round of the Super Draft for SDFC. He
was at the University of North Carolina and Charlotte. When
I was looking up the number, sixty six appearances, growing
five goals, recording one assist, and then you're thrown into
the mix. Southern California is your new home in San Diego.
(21:03):
And right now with SEFC, you know, he's had participation
in thirteen games, starting seven of them, seven hundred and
sixty five minutes when goal, won assist. He's making an
impact because, as we mentioned, it's not just about that
confidence that they're telling you that you can do a
good job, but they're teaching you the ropes and you
feel the team behind you. And then when we go
(21:24):
to Dua, he is playing out of the position because
he had more pressure being the number one overall pick
of the draft. But he was a midfielder at UCSB
and we're talking about, oh, this midfielder. He was a
number one pick. But now he's asked to be a
center back. And I feel like a graduation for him
(21:46):
was that game against Sporting Kansas City, because he did
one heck of a job.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
He did, and Darren the right to dream style of play.
We hear it all the time. It's what's expected. There
is a format that you have to be able to
follow the instruction during the game, the way everybody breathes together,
and they've more than shown the ability to adapt to
whatever's thrown at them. And in fact, Manudua in his
case in particular, we've seen him make not one, but
(22:12):
a couple, maybe even three, grave mistakes during different matches,
giving up goals to the other side, just on a
touch on a pass that just wasn't there, an ill
advised attempt. Yet I like his resolve. He gets right
back up, dusts himself off, and then goes right back
to work.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
Yeah, he's a guy, right who has one of those
short memories that we always talk about in any sport,
right the quarterback who throws the interception, the pitcher who
gives up the home run, the goalkeeper who allows the
goal even if it's a tough goal. And he has that,
you know, even in real time, like he had that
amazing moment where he did get beaten on one play.
Somebody dribbled around him I think Vancouver, and he had
(22:48):
this great slide tackle, kicked the ball out and pumped
the crowd up. We just we haven't seen a lot
of that, so I've loved it, you know. It tells
you a little bit about who he is. As exciting
a player as you can find coming out of the.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
And two young exciting players, David Basquez and Aidan Hirangi,
are two of the three latest signings brought in by
assistant sporting director Mark Presentt. We caught up with him
recently just after the club announced their latest three signings.
Speaker 5 (23:17):
My name is Mark Prizant. I'm the assistant sporting director
at San Diego CI. I oversee our data analysis and
scouting departments. I've been in the business a long time.
My previous stops were in the expansion second year of
(23:37):
Intero Miami. Before I was with Manchester United for about
five years as a North American scout, and before United,
I was with Philadelphia Union.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
The transfer window in the mid season is really difficult
in MSS. It's less than a month.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
If you do your legwork leading into it, you have
the advantage of bringing those transfers in immediately and having
them available for more games during your season. We did
a lot of work for the last six months to
prepare us for this window. You know, looking back at it,
we wanted to give ourselves flexibility to add players in
(24:13):
this secondary window, which we did. We set their goal
as being twenty six in the squad, with twenty three
field players and three goalkeepers. If you're relatively healthy, you
know that squad.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Size is enough.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
Everyone feels as though they're able to contribute. You don't
have players who don't feel like they're part of things.
Not having a second team really means that you can't
find a lot of games for guys that when they're
not playing. So we felt pretty good about that. We
felt good about it until you start getting some injuries.
We just didn't count on some of the longer term injuries.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
We got. Heading into this transfer window, one big question
for as DFC is how to manage squad size as
an expansion said, with no second team, there's no room
for passengers. Everyone simply must play their part.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
One of the many lessons that we learned speaking with
the previous expansion clubs in MLS, it is about sustainability.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
So we did strategically take.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
A lot of these loans with options to buy, as
we wanted the flexibility to say, Okay, we think this
is going to work, but we've never played a game
before and we don't know exactly how this player is
going to fit in the style of play. So let's
give ourselves the flexibility to say six months, eight months
in yes we're right, or yes we're not right, and
(25:33):
that's okay, and this player worked out or this player
didn't work out, and going into year two, still have
the flexibility to say, Okay, the players that worked out
in year one we want to keep. Absolutely, we were
pre negotiated all those options, so we knew what we
were getting into. We knew that we could afford it
in year two, or you know, we pivot and we
(25:54):
give ourselves flexibility to say, okay, that player didn't work,
Let's not bring that player back. Let's decline the option,
and let's go find someone that.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Now that we have an.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Actual team, where we have actual games that we've watched,
we know exactly what we need, and let's really target
and pinpoint deposition.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Which brings us to the current transfer window. With everything
on the line and the squad needing a boost, do
you go for a experience or do you keep gambling
on youth?
Speaker 5 (26:24):
So Tyler and myself actually spoke with Mikey about this
and said, Okay, like typically at this point we would
look to bring in some veterans, some guys to really
make the playoff push. What is more important to you
is it to have that locker room experience to understanding
what it's like down the stretch in a playoff front,
(26:45):
in potentially a shield race, in potentially an MLS Cup race,
Or would you want to to just target the best
talent that we can get, Guys that are willing to
work really hard, that are open learners, that are competition
And to his credit, you know, he said, just get
me the best talent you can get.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
I don't care about the age. We'll work with them.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
And so that's really what we set out in this
window to do was to try and bring in some
more talent that would be willing to listen to learn.
I think part of the right to Dream philosophy is
to give people opportunity. We were able to bring in
on loan Aiden Harangi. Aiden's a player that we've been
watching for quite some time, going through the U seventeen
(27:31):
and the U twenty US youth national team cycles as
well as playing with ein Trek Frankfurt's second team. As
far as the other two, David Vasquez is a player
with actually a lot of experience in the professional game
for his age. He is a player that was highly
sought after from the time he was probably fifteen years old.
(27:53):
You had multiple organizations and MLS fighting over the ability
to sign him to a homegrown contract. We feel as
so we gave him an opportunity to perhaps show the
type of player he is a little bit better with
our style of play than the style of play he
was in in Philadelphia. And the last player being Pedro Somo.
(28:16):
Pedro again is a player that we've all been tracking
for a while. Last year when he went on loan
to Barcelona, we kind of thought it was over from
a scouting perspective.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
When he became available, it was a no brainer for us.
You know, we worked quickly.
Speaker 5 (28:30):
That transfer happened in less than nine days from the
start of the first phone call to him arriving in
San Diego.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So listen to that right now, Darren, what are your
thoughts on Mark BRISONA. I mean, this guy voice of experience,
has been there, done that scene at Manchester United, inte
to Miami Philadelphia. I mean, he's an asset for San Diego.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
FC, absolutely, And I think what happens is the data
revolution is here in every single one of these sports.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Right.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
What I've learned now is players have come to accept
that data and analytics have become such a part of
the conversation when it comes to football.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
Is they just find themselves wanting more information.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
Right.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
So when you see that Mark Praisan and he tells
you that he spent five years as a North American
scout for Manchester United for a player, You're like, oh, well,
what is it that Manchester United is looking for anyway?
Speaker 5 (29:21):
Right?
Speaker 6 (29:21):
Like it becomes this great resource of Well, tell me
a little bit about what it is. So maybe someday
I can see if I can fit into that.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Description gantient, especially with the consideration that they've been able
to deal with flexibility issues, maybe squad size issues only
for outfielders on the bench versus Vancouver.
Speaker 7 (29:40):
Remember you remember, yes, I remember, And as he said,
he has been very busy because they needed as signed player,
especially right now when you had injuries. When you're an
expansion team, you just need all those players that you
can get. And to Darren's point, it's really important who
they know, the relationships. It's all about that pr within
the business and you if you have that record, if
(30:01):
you've had that experience, if you've been in the business
for a long time, not only do you have those
connections to bring those players along, but also what you
can do for these players. More so, if you want
to be like Ajacks and you want to export those players,
well you need to have those relationships. And that's also
something that's going to motivate everybody saying like, not only
can we live in San Diego, we can get playing time,
(30:23):
We're going to have that confidence and trust from the coach.
We can actually be in the mix and to be
considered to be in that competition every day day in
day out during training. But then we see that future,
that possibility of going abroad someday, because that's out there
as well as part of the model of what this
team is all about.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
And you see it, right, You're sitting in the office
and I'm going to give it a shot here. But
if I'm selling, I'm saying, guys, look, you're in the
finest city, America's finest city, is the greatest city, one
of the greatest cities on Earth. A big city to
the north, beaches to the west, mountains and deserts to
the east, another country to the south, all within an hour.
And you get some flexibility here. And if you show us,
(31:05):
Darren Smith, that you can earn from a loan deal
to a long term deal, show us you can play.
And they allow themselves as a team the flexibility to
get a guy on loan and sign them long term.
They want the guys to earn it.
Speaker 6 (31:18):
Yeah, and it's a great opportunity. It's like taking a
test drive, isn't it right. I think everybody takes a
test drive before you end up purchasing the vehicle. But
you know, when you want to see how somebody's going
to fit into a culture, and you want to see
how somebody's going to fit in to what it is
that you're building, not just for a season, but also
for the foreseeable future. This is the right way to
do it, So it really is the best of both worlds.
(31:39):
You can help us now and you could also help
us in the future if things go really well.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Are you guys make some great points now? Three young players,
we're all ready through the door. But with what just
over a week left in the transfer window, Mark Prison
and the scouting team still had a big job to do.
They needed a center forward, someone to fill the gap
left by Milan Iloski's departure. And when we visited they
(32:03):
they might have found him. FC Cincinnati's Corey Baird, a
San Diego native, a proven MLS journeyman, and it had
all the makings of a dream homecoming. But how does
San Diego FC scouts decide if a player is the
right fit. Well, it all comes down to something they
call the stress test.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
Right onto stress cust Okay, we'll do this pretty easily,
So I'm going to go through a niche to.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Start with style of play fit.
Speaker 10 (32:49):
I do believe it's more of a style play fit
at center forward and you retain decently well. You link
up this back to the ones to touch and you'll
offer some movement in behind, which was quite consistent overwards
the game.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Okay, so we can talk about as a forward our
key priorities within that.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
So can he help us in build up? Will he
be able to play with his back to goal to
link play, to hold up play?
Speaker 10 (33:12):
In my getting out, he came with his back to goal,
played once two touch, played some basic functional passes once directionally,
so he's reliable and ball attention and come playing between
the lines.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Okay, obviously I know the games that you're signed.
Speaker 5 (33:23):
There are no goals, but any moments to influence goals
scoring and he assists.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
So they won the game one zero.
Speaker 10 (33:30):
He took a shot from outside the box, a finesse
shot was low, saved well by the keeper, and he
was followed up for a goal.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
So he did quite well in the lead.
Speaker 4 (33:38):
Up to the goal in terms of taking a shot
from outside the box.
Speaker 10 (33:41):
So initiating an attack okay, Pressing hard worker. In terms
of pressing one to be one intensity or beating high
intensity actions. Back pressing he did well, and covering the channel,
supporting his teammates. He's an overall hard worker and he'll
provide off the ball.
Speaker 4 (33:56):
Okay, BC style play fit.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
So I think when he received balls and wide areas,
it is back to like the line, he would dribble
in and connect the game. And just knowing him from college,
I think he's good back to the goal. He can
link play and play underneath, and so he can help
them build up at least you can help them build up.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
Pressing. Yeah, obviously a hard worker.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
He is good off the ball, but from a work
great standboid All was good and checked out.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Okay, So Sean Mimick most of what you guys had
said in his reports for me, both of us agreed
in terms of pressing that you can see he's presses
with intensity.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
He's a willing worker. It works hard.
Speaker 5 (34:41):
I think I want to challenge the group that everyone
goes back and watches how he scores goals, because none
of us had games where he was involved in goal scoring. Informally,
let's kind of meet this afternoon, let's say around three,
and just kind of discuss what we watched, and let's
see if he's a style of play foot for how
we create goals and how he's scored them in the past.
(35:04):
You know, let's kind of see if that'll work. Grant,
if you can take the lead on data, go through,
find the data points of where he scored goals right foot,
left foot, deep in the box, headers, through passes, crosses, whatever.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
It may be. Let's see if we can get the
data and what we see to align.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
Okay, looking ahead, so next week is going to be
target market players in outside leagues in that under twenty
two age group that was flagged from data. So we'll
see probably some of the West African players that are
in Serbia, the ones that came up on the data list,
(35:43):
and some of the others, the Danish players that are
kind of spread all over, the ones that we flagged
in Syria and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
So it should be an interesting week.
Speaker 5 (35:51):
And then just possible stress tests for other number niners
in the league, just kind of bouncing around some names,
trying to ask for reasons on why potentially guys are
not playing, whether or not they would be available. I
don't want to bring stress to the groups if it's
not realistic.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
So that's it.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
That's all I have. Any won't have anything else, all right,
then we're good to go ex meeting on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Thanks guys, Well, Corey baird obviously fits the bill, and
since that meeting, they went ahead and they signed him.
So now if we know he fits the style of play,
and I'll tell you from a personal point of view
and watching him play in the past, especially under Ben Olsen,
he thrived into four three three Darren, it feels like
(36:39):
this style of place San DIEGOETSI fits right into what
he does.
Speaker 6 (36:42):
Can I just first say bravo to the production staff
forgetting that audio. That is a look that you never
get in any of these sports. That is ridiculous access,
which is why you're listening to behind the flob. But
you know, for me, you can hear the levels of experience,
right because it was pointed out during the conversation going
back to his college days. It's been a minute since
(37:04):
Corey Bairtt has played in college at Stanford, where he
was a four year player.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
Right.
Speaker 8 (37:09):
He was the MLS Rookie of the Year back in
twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6 (37:11):
So somebody has the experience of going back and knowing
and recognizing who this player was before he was even
in the league. But the other part about it is, yeah, okay,
he scored a bunch of goals, and you could put
that on a stat sheet and you could say, hey,
here's the justification for having a.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
Player like this.
Speaker 6 (37:24):
But when you're talking about what kind of player he
is pressing, that's about culture because that's willingness, you know,
that's not just the physical ability to press.
Speaker 8 (37:33):
That is the identity of club that even if.
Speaker 6 (37:35):
You're a goal scorer, right, you could pour all the
goals and goal that you want, but you're not going
to do it if you don't have the mindset that
you're going to contribute in other ways. So to hear
that and have them really focus on that aspect of
Baird's game to me, was telling you everything you need
to know about what's expected from him, not just the player,
but also how he fits the culture.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
And he fits the culture Kantian not only in the
style of play with the build up, the high press,
everything he offers, the ins scoring goals, MLS veteran former
Rookie of the Year with RSL, but another local boy
coming back home. How does he fit for you?
Speaker 7 (38:09):
Representing Escondido. I also want to say, what a joy
to be able to listen to that, because we never
get to be that fly on the wall and just
to see the inside everything that goes behind closed doors
of how they scout those players, everything that goes into play.
When we see the signing, it's because there's all of
(38:30):
this work behind it and how they can contribute and
how they fit into the style. Going back to Bird,
not only he is a California native, but I feel
the fact that even though it was a long time
ago because now he's been a veteran, an MLS twenty
nine year old guy, but the fact that he also
was in the college system, that he played at Stanford,
that he not only played, but he won three national championships.
(38:53):
So he has that relatability to these other young players
already in the team that came through the college system,
and I think that can be very valuable because you
can see that after that, you can have a career
in MLYS. You can find a place in MLYS. I
actually met Corey when he was playing at LAFC. He's
a great guy and all those qualities fit perfectly into
(39:14):
this style because back then when they were under Bob Bradley,
you know that's what he was asking of the guys
with that link up plate, playing with his back against
the goal, the build up, these qualities. He has the
ability to score, he has that work rate, he has
that journey that we talked about that it's going to
be I feel great now as a veteran player to
(39:36):
bring that experience and that insight to the youngsters and
the team, and I feel like it's going to be
a good relationship and that's why they decided to sign him.
Speaker 1 (39:45):
We started the show guys talking about iron sharpening iron
Darren Smith. Where does that leave Alex might and Tommy
Yankell now in the competition for minutes? I mean, where
do they go? What do you see playing out with
Baird now coming in?
Speaker 6 (40:02):
Well, I think it's another opportunity, right, it's competition with
Alex Maighten. He's done a lot of good things out there.
But when you're playing in one of those positions, not
that it's all about goal scoring, as we just discussed,
but one goal up into this point of the season,
you probably are hoping for a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
So.
Speaker 6 (40:19):
This gives you a little bit of depth in terms
of being a spot starter. This gives you a little
bit of depth in terms of being a replacement. If
you're chasing a match late. I kind of like the
way that Matin and Thomas Onhell were used late against
Boarding KC. Which is fresh legs in off the bench,
the ability to track, the ability to dribble a bit,
the ability to even get behind defenders when other defenders
(40:41):
are trying to chase the match and pressing up. So
it's a little bit of a different dimension. It's a
little bit of a tweak. I don't think anything all
that different is going to be expected of the minutes
that they're getting when they're on the field. It just
might come in a little bit of a different order
now that Baird is here, all.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Right, So next s up, we're on the road again
like Willie, this time to face the San Jose Earthquakes.
They're managed by none other than el Bruce Arena, a
legend of the game, and this will be the first
ever meeting between the two clubs. Of course, there's an
extra twist. Oscar Betjovian is on loan with us from
San Jose. The Earthquakes are the highest scoring team in
(41:24):
MLS this season. Christ Tennis be know say have a
man to watch Wow, talk about five star deliveries, his creativity,
his passing can tear teams apart guys, and while they
score plenty, they also are a little fragile at the back.
They give them up and that's something we could look
to exploit. God damn going to start with you. What
are your thoughts on San Jose and is there anything
(41:45):
that you're keen to see in this match that plays
into the next man up mentality of San die webc
for starters.
Speaker 7 (41:52):
I think San Jose did a great move by signing
Bruce Arena because they desperately needed that to change the
whole scenario because after Matias Almeida left, that's when they
had found some momentum, but then they hadn't found anything again.
They were bottom of MLS. So I think when Bruce
Arena signed and he said fans are going to see changes,
(42:14):
he meant it. And we've seen those changes out of
the team with the players that joined veterans, proven players
that have had success in MLS, and it shows why
they are scoring so many goals right now. So it's
going to be a battle for San Diego yet another
one this season, especially when it's a team that you've
never faced, and when we talk about this stretch to
(42:35):
finish the regular season. They're actually going to phase them twice.
So this game is going to be very important to
just measure each other. It's definitely going to be a
measuring stick. But also Vancouver, who is head to head
against San Diego for the top spot in the West.
Guess who beat them? San Jose gave them that two
to one loss and that's how. Also San Diego ended
(42:59):
a top of the Western Conference after this weekend with
four points there, so watch out because it's going to
be a very interesting matchup.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Yeah, it's safe to say they did shake the earth
a little bit in San Diego FC's favor, the earthquake
state and Darren, I'm gonna do it like a movie promo.
One team has gone from the hunted to the hunter. Well,
san Diego FC is there now they are.
Speaker 6 (43:24):
It's an amazing turnabout, right. Who would have thought we'd
be talking about this second week of August.
Speaker 8 (43:28):
I'll just say this quick.
Speaker 6 (43:29):
SDFC has done something that no other MLS expansion club
has ever done. They've won five straight matches away from
Snapdragon Stadium.
Speaker 8 (43:37):
They will not be intimidated. Plus, a whole bunch.
Speaker 6 (43:40):
Of SDFFC supporters are making the bus trip up to
San Jose. So it might sound like a home match
at certain points here for the Chrome Zol, but five
straight looking to make it six. That's a mentality, So
it tells you all you need to know.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Well, taking that game to World of Wondo and we'll
see what happens when it comes to San Diego and
San Jose Earthquakes dancing for the first time ever. Quick
score prediction. Guys, gotta go first.
Speaker 7 (44:05):
I know we all want to say that San Diego
is going to win. I feel like if they come
out of there with one point, it's going to be
a very good result for Mike gyaut A squad.
Speaker 6 (44:16):
I haven't had a road draw all season long, kind
of an odd thing for Wait what I know, Yeah,
I know this is really bizarre.
Speaker 8 (44:23):
I don't think it starts here. I think it's going
to be another one of these.
Speaker 6 (44:25):
Bonkers matches in the stoppage time and some game winner
to make it three two SDFC over San Jose.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
And I'm giving it a three to two final, so
we'll see what happens. All right, next time out, we're
going to be back here diving deep into the famous
right to Dream style of play. The very approach that's
helped San Diego E FCY take MLS by storm in
their very first season. I can't wait, and that brings
(44:54):
us to the end of this week's Behind the Flow.
A big thank you to Mark prison Manudua and Ian
Pilcher for joining us on the show, and as always
to the best in the business, Gatien and Darren. Make
sure you follow the podcast wherever you get your shows,
and join us every week as we write out this
incredible inaugural season. I'm your host, Adrian Garcia Marquez. Until
(45:16):
next time, you've been dipped in Kromanasudi
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