July 24, 2025 • 43 mins
It’s draft day — and Tyler’s big date with destiny! The SDFC recruitment team braces for a whirlwind 48 hours of wheeling and dealing as they look to lock down the spine of their first-ever team via the MLS Expansion Draft.
But after weeks of careful planning, it all goes out the window when the unprotected player list finally goes live. There are some big names on there — and some big decisions for them to make.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's nine am on Tuesday, December tenth, twenty twenty four.
San Diego FC headquarters on Kettner Boulevard is buzzing with excitement.
It's a big day, and everyone was here bright and early.
In fact, some were here very early and aren't feeling
quite so bright. In a large meeting room as dfc's
(00:24):
recruitment team is hard at it. Some are hunched overs
squinting at their screens. Others are slumped back in their
leather and chrome chairs, rubbing their heads. At one end
of the long glass table is a whiteboard on wheels.
At the other is a big screen TV showing video
clips of match highlights. As STEP members tap away at
(00:44):
their laptops, they scroll through digital scanner reports, examining player
metrics or budget lines on a spreadsheet, but each one
of them has a tab open with the MLS Expansion
Draft unprotected list, the list of three hundred and fifty
four players available to them to select and man, oh man,
are there some big names on it? Tyler pauses as
(01:08):
he re enters what they're calling the war rooms. In
his hand is a cup of coffee. It's not his
first of the day, and it won't be his last.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I was in the gym at four point fifteen and
I got here at five this morning, so Mark beat
me in. So he's obviously been hard at work and
watching a lot of different options. I'm sure we'll be
here very late tonight, but it'll all be worth it
if we can get probably what we hopefully expected out
of this process.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
In the room with Tyler Heaps and Mikey Vadas are
a number of key staff, including Mark Prisunt Assistant sporting director,
head scout Sean Howe, and data analyst Grant Ryans. Despite
the weeks of preparation, they're all still shocked by some
of the players on the list.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I think there's the list I think totally surprised us
in the sense that there's a lot of investments that
people left open, so I don't think we've fully expected
that to happen. So there's a lot of twenty two is.
There's a lot of dps that are available that's we
need to determine if that's something we want to take on.
So those are probably the names that surprised us the most.
But again, still TV determines what we end up going.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
With some of the highest value players in the league
have been left unprotected from franchise superstars like Godros Bela, Victor,
Juan Yama, and Lorenzo sign to some of MLS's historic
top performers like Charlotte's record goalscorer Carol Swudevski, FC Dallas's
captain in San Diego native Paul Ariola, and multiple MLS
(02:34):
Cup winner Inter Miami's Julian Gressel. I mean Kansas City
left all three of their dps unprotected. There's also a
number of exciting young talents out there. For Tyler and
his team, there's a lot to consider.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
This isn't normally how this works right. Expansion teams are
unique and not a lot of people go through this,
so you don't really know what the expectation is. It's
also a situation where the player doesn't really have a choice,
which all so it is a bit awkward, But it's
also really exciting because I think we have an exciting
project to invite people into and I think we're going
to do things right here.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
So I think we're also a very attractive market for some.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Of these players where work. Maybe other expansion teams may
not have been hopefully as attractive as what San Diego could.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Be whatever happens, he expects to be on the phone
a lot over the next two days.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I think I've expected these forty eight hours to be stressful,
so and obviously we're only halfway through it now, so
it's it'll be interesting to see how the next twenty
four hours go. I still think there's going to be
a lot of movement and a lot of different conversations
that will happen until then. So maybe ask me again
in twenty four hours and see at that point.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
In February twenty twenty five, San Diego FC became the
thirtieth team to enter Major League Soccer, now the largest
professional league on the planet.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
But this is more than just another.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Football club, at least that's the hope of the club's
co owners under the leadership of Sir Mohammed Montsour, Right
to Dream is an organization and promising to rock American
soccer to its foundations with a revolutionary approach to coaching
and youth development. Anchoring the project in the local community
is the Sequan Band of the Kumi Ga Nation, the
(04:13):
first ever Native American owners in men's professional sports, and
as the only MLS club officially sanctioned to recruit out
of Mexico. I mean, this thing could really fly, that is,
if everything goes to plan its draft day. As twenty
twenty four draws to a close, the twenty twenty five
(04:35):
season looms large, and the expansion Draft is San Diego's
very own MLS welcome party. It's also Tyler's big date
with Destiny with the Whirlwind forty eight hours of wheeling
and dealing ahead as he looks to lock down his first.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Ever team roster. Captured in the final.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Months before the twenty twenty five season kicks off, this
series follows sdfc's race to field their first ever team.
I'm Adrian gotta say I'm out of kiss and this
is behind the Flow, the origin story of San Diego FC.
(05:15):
Before we dive in, let's go back a step to
remind us where San Diego's squad build is that and
what they're looking at heading into the draft. And as
a reminder, this is all happening just ten weeks before
the twenty twenty five season kicks off.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'd say we're probably looking for twenty five total, and
I think we got six currently laid, so I think
we've got about nineteen more to go, and I think
a lot of those will come in December. Probably half
of those will come in December, and then that's about
how we fill the rest of them in in January, February, March.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So first up is the Expansion Draft, their chance to
select five players from other squads in the league. That's
followed later in December by a few other recruitment mechanisms,
the College Super Draft, free agency for out of contract players,
and the re entry Draft for players reaching the end
of their current deals. And that's before MLS and international
(06:13):
January transfer windows open where they can actually go out
and buy players themselves. I mean, this would be hard
enough if you were trying to sign one or two players,
but a whole team all at once.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
We're all making decisions, especially now in my role, I
need to make decisions on players and there'll be a consequence,
and I think it is difficult, to be honest, because
this is unlike anything I've ever done before. Normally, you're
looking for a fullback and you're trying to fill in
a full back, and then that puzzle becomes a lot
easier because you're looking for one piece, but any piece
that we lay right now it impacts all the others,
and so that has been the challenge, I think, and
(06:48):
is about, now, how do we start to find the
right ones, and then how do we fill in around
them and find those other types of players.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Truth be told, Tyler was hoping to have lined up
more players before this point.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
There are some things in the background that haven't went
one hundred percent according to plan. So some of the
timing pieces have not gone our way. We've had also
some players that we've been in deep negotiations with that
for whatever reason, for better or for worse, something happened
and now all of a sudden they're not on our
board anymore, which is also completely fine, and that's the
life of recruitment. Then it's about you go back into
(07:20):
the next priority on the list and you try to
figure out is that still the piece that we're looking for,
and how do we bring that piece and how do
we make sure it all lines.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
As for coach Mikey, the expansion draft will be his
first opportunity to select players that can bring the right
to Dream vision to MLS.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
So what's he looking for?
Speaker 5 (07:39):
The players are the ones who express our style of play.
They're the ones who ultimately transmit our ideas. But that's
easier said than done right because there's budgetary constraints and
then there's also timing. But ultimately, we've said from the beginning,
we're looking for a balance to pro You're bringing young
(08:00):
players who we develop and ultimately make next steps in
their journeys, but also established players because again, we think
all of that goes hand in hand. Winning aids development
and development aids winning, and so finding that balance between
high level experience and young, youthful talent is going to
be a key one.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Mikey's first priority is getting the core of the team right,
the solid base, the foundation that will anchor them through
the season.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
What I would say is that backspine of the team
needs to be strong. If we're going to be competitive
from day one, you got to get the goalkeeper to
center backs and the number six correct from a starting perspective,
who's starting in those positions. Of course, there's going to
be a competition for starting rules, but we start a
club from scratch, so let's get four capable starters that
(08:53):
we really really believe in.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Well, guess what, the draft hasn't even begun in San Diego.
FS he just struck a deal for CJ Dos Santos,
a twenty four year old ball playing goalkeeper. CJ might
have been a backup option at Miami, but Tyler and
Mikey think he could be starting games for San Diego.
(09:20):
They also have their defensive midfielder Jeff Peterskoff, and a
center back in Patty McNair.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
That's three out of four boxes.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Checked, which leaves the other starting center back, and for
that position they're after something special, an athlete who can
dominate the defensive third.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Center back is a really important position that we need
to fill. Obviously, we've got Patty. Patty's a very ball
playing center back that also can defend the box very well.
We're looking to pair somebody with him that can defend
the space, that can allow him more flexibility on the
ball and be able to impact the game with it.
But that person also needs to be strong enough on
the ball where they're able to obviously still dictate play
(09:58):
in terms of how he wants to. That's not an
easy profile to find in MLS. If you do an
analysis on center backs, they're quite often highly paid based
on what their output is because there's so few of them.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Tyler doesn't expect to find what they're looking for in
the draft, but that doesn't mean he isn't working hard
on a few targets. In fact, it's yet to be announced.
But they also just sign versatile Swedish American defender Chris McVeigh,
who can play across the back line. The Scandinavian fits
their profile and brings crucial depth to the roster. There's
(10:34):
still plenty to do, but heading into the draft, things
are looking good.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So we're expecting to get a few starters out of
this draft, and that's how we're going into it. I
think we're looking at the fullback position. We think we
can get a very good MLS veteran fullback out of it. Potentially,
we're looking at somebody that can play across multiple positions
in the attack. We're looking at somebody as a ball
winning center midfielder that we think can come in and
complement some of the other pieces that we're trying to
(10:59):
trade for.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
In particular, they'd like to find a young, attacking midfielder,
an international with huge upside which they can develop.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I think the modern game of football, these eight tens,
or you can call them tens, are starting to shift away,
So this is also not the easiest position to find.
It's especially not the easiest position to find in America.
We think it lends well for the under twenty two
initiative and trying to take an opportunity and a chance
on a young player that we see a load of
potential in. So we're constantly looking in the market right
(11:32):
now and we're evaluating some final prospects about what might
fit one within the league, but two within the way
that we want that position to play.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
But it's not just as simple as just selecting five
players they like to look of. MLS has been designed
to be highly competitive and financially sustainable. There's no end
to the rules and regulations around spending on salaries and transfers. No,
the real art is acquiring players while balancing budgets and
(12:00):
managing risk. This includes trading for international and under twenty
two spots, which are salary exemptions designed to reduce the
cost of certain types of players. Two phrases you're going
to be hearing our GAM and TAM, which stand for
general Allocation money and targeted allocation money. Collectively, these are
(12:23):
called allocation resources, which to fully explain would need more
time than we have available.
Speaker 6 (12:33):
They have some resources in terms of additional allocation money,
which we could probably do a podcast onto itself on
the allocation money process. But basically MLS has its own
sort of internal currencies.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
That's Charles Boham, our MLS writer who's been keeping a
close eye on San Diego FC's development. In his words,
gam and TAM are pots of MLS currency, a bit
like monopoly money, which can be used to offset players'
salaries to comply with spending rules.
Speaker 6 (13:02):
So there's a salary budget that each team must operate
and stay within. So in essence, MLS has an internal
market and instead of internal regulations that are really it's
a full time job for one or possibly multiple members
of your staff to plan out how you're going to
spend money, how you're best going to allocate the resources
(13:23):
that have been provided to them.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
So it's a real juggling act.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Tyler expects to field calls from rival gms asking for
protection for their players and offering these allocation resources in return.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Teams are getting a bit nervous, I think in terms
of what they'll be able to protect or not protect,
which will leave us some good options I think, and
expansion there's a lot of teams that are very interested
in expansion exemption, so trying to work deals beforehand. So
we're just trying to look holistically at what's available, what
we're trying to get out of this. I think we're
very happy and content with where we're at currently.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Expansion exemption is the polite phrase directors like to use.
Sounds like a shakedown to me, but joking aside, this
is the reality of business in the MLS boardroom, cutting
a deal that works for all parties, leveraging assets to
your advantage and while maintaining relationships between the clubs. It's
(14:17):
a delicate balancing act and a key part of Tiger's job.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
It's the process of haggling, and there's also a little
bit of chicken involved, a little bit of brinkmanship, and
San Diego Sea is sort of offering protection. They are
selling protection. So you'll see deals leading up to the
expansion draft in which a club will give assets a player,
send a player other assets to San Diego below market
value in order to include an unspoken agreement or behind
(14:44):
the scenes agreement in which that club will not have
players taken from them in the expansion draft. So there's
any number of different ways that you can haggle in
this environment and maybe lay the foundation for other deals
other swaps.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Come to think of it, San Diego struck pretty good
deals for CJ though CentOS and Chris McVeigh. And look,
here's another one announced just hours before the draft begins,
young Colombian forward Domas Honkin inbound from LAFC. Could these
deals have been part of a promise not to select
(15:21):
their other players in the draft. We'll never know. One
thing's for sure. These GM interactions are anything but straightforward.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Yeah, I think part of my French, but there's a
lot of bulls going on with the expansion Draft right now.
It's just because, yeah, you're trying not to show your
cards too early, because it is a strategic element to it.
And there's teams that have invested a large spend in
their roster that obviously are now in a bit of
a challenge where they've built this depth and some of
those pieces are for sure going to be open for
us to take because I mean, that's just the reality
(15:51):
of it. So those conversations are happening literally hourly at
the moment. There's some clubs that are reaching out maybe
every day.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Some deals are more transparent. For example, the international roster
slot SDFC just acquired from Columbus Crew in exchange for
one hundred thousand in general allocation money. Given the going
price for these spots is closer to two hundred thousand,
we can safely assume the Crew are now protected from
the draft. Clearly, Tyler's been a busy boy and he's
(16:22):
just getting started. It's midday on Tuesday, December tenth. We're
back in the war room on day one of the draft.
(16:44):
Tyler and his team have already reached their first decision.
First order of business was to head straight to the
deepest squad on the list, Saint Louis City. The player
of most interest is twenty two year old Japanese midfielder
Josse Kijima. Tyler has been on the phone to DC
United and they've already agreed to acquire Kijima for four
(17:06):
hundred thousand in GAM When exactly this offer came in,
and whether it was connected with the transfer of Christopher
mcvay's rights to San Diego.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
Who's to say.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
There's still some debate in the room over the trade,
but it's a short one.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
We don't want What are we.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Gonna spend to?
Speaker 7 (17:23):
Can you gotta go find we have holes in the
roster post this succession for sure?
Speaker 8 (17:29):
Which was which one?
Speaker 7 (17:31):
Well, I'd go find probably an eight.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, we're gonna.
Speaker 7 (17:35):
We're gonna need another another tennis player.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Potentially a left back, potentially I left buff.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Yeah we should still.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
I get what you're saying, but we there's no point
of keeping Kajima if we're gonna get foreign and k
for him.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Tyler already has a very good idea of how and
where he plans to spend that money. But we'll get
to that in the meantime time he's about to add
another name to the whiteboard.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Double F. Yeah, hell oh with up thinking on it.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
Two f's E L S.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
E N D.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Colorado's jasper. Not a household name perhaps, but a proven
talent and a top performer in MLS who checks a
lot of boxes for coach bout Us.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
By the way, laffel Sin is a is when we're
talking about making our roster bigger, versatility being important, it.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
Takes different positions.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
So I think we have two picks.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
And why he agrees on Levelson we have the Pixar
Jima and Trade and la is one and two to
keep I keep.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Watching, but that's my gut loo and I just haven't
seen them.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Not a bad start.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
And there's more a name that leapt off the page
to them, but will probably be a surprise to everyone else.
Heine Giglin Brussi, an under twenty two Norwegian international who's
yet to play a single minute of MLS since his
one point two million dollar transfer to Orlando in the
summer of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
He could be a steal.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
There or no versus could be three if we can
afford it, person worth go here.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, they did the same man, if we can afford
him is a phrase that will come up a lot,
you see. That is the real reason so many teams
have left so many big names on the table. Those
names come with some big contracts. Lodenzo Insignia is reportedly
(19:53):
on a fifteen million dollars a year deal. However, that
doesn't mean there aren't other ups who might see value
in those price tags.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Part of s dfc's plan.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Is to flip a few of their picks for profit,
trading them to a third club for a cut price deal.
Players like Jose with the unprotected list now published, It's
not long before articles are popping up online about who
s DFC could select.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Who should San Diego pick?
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Who said that an article?
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I'm gonna go through it right now.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
Let's see, it's gonna be Dante Jones, Julian Russell first pick.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
They noticed that.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Which they have on here.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
Anybody can extra five million to pay the rest of
that transfer.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Who else do they put on that?
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Well, the world speculates on which names s DFC might select.
Tyler focuses on their game plan. He has to make
a call to Orlando.
Speaker 7 (20:55):
I might calling brus to just started one.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Hello, Oh good, tell me who you get?
Speaker 5 (21:16):
Tell me about versa.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
As the day wears on, as dfc's big decision begins
to crystallize, there are a couple of big names they
like to look of, either for themselves or as a
trade to someone else. And one of those names is
New York Red Bulls Belgian forward and designated player Dante Vanzier. However,
although they could take this multi million dollar asset from
(21:51):
Red Bull for nothing, it might end up costing them dear.
And in this case, we're not just talking about his wages.
The deal that are really hoping to land over the
next two days. Is a name that isn't on the
list at all. Another Red Bull player starting center back
andres Rays. But they can't steal Benzier and then expect
(22:12):
New York to do business with them.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
I'm the Colombian defender.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
So you're saying, if you're thinking, if we take Benzier,
then they'll kill they'll kill any's potential with Rays. I
would no, I would by Tyler. Ultimately, you're trying to
use vanzer potentially just to bring down the price.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
Yeah, which is I think. But if he gets two
million or rightfully so, he's not, we're gonna take Vanzier.
Speaker 5 (22:48):
You're gonna get the two million for cash for owners,
but we're gonna be I can square one first time.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Mikey understandably just wants to lock in his team. Rays
and Patty McNair could be a partnership that takes them
to the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Why wouldn't we solidify in the Rays as.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Soon as boss, because because they won't protection Before they
start getting people start offering for their players.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Yeah, so we get protection.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
I just I just talked to them.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I just disagree with his evaluation.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
This is where it starts getting even more complicated. They
start theorizing is there a way of having their cake
and eating it? Could they draft Benzier, sell him on
to someone else while striking a deal with the third
party to go and trade for Rays on their behalf.
Speaker 9 (23:36):
So we would have to three with it.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
If we get cash, we'd have to go use the
trojan worse to go buy Rays trade them to us.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So you have to get somebody else involved.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
So I have to tell the Montreal that if we
do this is.
Speaker 9 (23:50):
What we need you to do, you have to go negotiate.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
Now for Rays.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
The variables of this deal alone are enough to make
your head spin. At the end of the table, Tyler
hovers over the whiteboard. On it are eleven circles their
first team. There are nine names in black, the players
they've already acquired. Two are in blue, possible draft picks
Laffelsen and Bruce. The rest are in red targets they're
(24:17):
still considering. Tyler glances at his watch. He desperately wants
to lock in another name. An easy one looks to
be young left back Hamadi Diop from Charlotte FC, a
former first round star from the twenty twenty four College
Draft youth potential MLS locker room experience check check check.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
Should I try to get the DUP done?
Speaker 6 (24:41):
No, because they're sweating, So I think that gets done anyway.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Like, I don't think we need to want to un
blue player.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
With their primary targets set, all they can do now
is wait for teams to start calling about which players
they might like to trade for. A gonfer that comes
in could throw their plans out the window. In the meantime,
they keep doing due diligence on the players they want,
which means hours spent pouring over data, charts and reviewing video.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Yeah, I've been watching the last hour. Good.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I like them.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
I can see it.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
I mean, the only doubt I have is like he
hasn't he just hasn't played a position for a couple
of years.
Speaker 8 (25:28):
But he's got picked me up.
Speaker 9 (25:31):
He had He had multiple games a season with over
one thousand yards of high speed running a thousands of speed.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I gotta watch more Radius clips. Please pull to.
Speaker 7 (25:48):
Watch your smash people.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
This is where I think of that field's lashing someone
that's decent driving into midfield, spraying across the field.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
And really going to aggressive center back wins seventy six
percent of the areas.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
It's better than sixty five percent of all players in
his position.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
A long diagonos the possible financial gain of trading van
Zier is giving way to the excitement of signing a
starting center back for their own team. Plus, by leaving
Vanzier alone, they could strike a better deal on players,
perhaps even bring the price down. Watching his clips, Tyler
(26:29):
wants to make the call, but he's suddenly nervous about
the finances and doubting what he's been told.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
I'm going to try to hold off on red boat
another hour. There's no more fee on Red's right, like
we should learnel the rich for four years. Yeah, but
let's just you never know how this never works and
this I accepted it. Yeah, just because I'm looking at
(26:57):
this two point two five.
Speaker 7 (26:57):
Million number of life under a million left.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
It's early afternoon on December eleventh, d Day, just a
few hours to go. They still need to finalize their selections,
inform ownership, submit their paperwork to the league, then head
across town to a televised live show where Tyler and
Mikey will reveal their decisions to the world. With so
(27:39):
much to do, Tyler has imposed a three pm cutoff
for new business. As they head back in from lunch,
Mikey shares his thoughts on how it's all going.
Speaker 5 (27:51):
Yeah, it's going great. I mean there's a lot of
moving parts, so there's a lot of variables. Things are
changing kind of manute by minute, phone call by phone call.
You know. As of right now, we have like a
direction that we're looking at. We have multiple possibilities, but
not too many concrete decisions because there are so many variables.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
They're still using the time they have left to debate
and interrogate their choices.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
One of the rules we have here is like you
have to debate everything fiercely behind closed doors, and then
once the decision is made by the group, like you're
all in right, and so ultimately what we're supposed to
do is challenge each other's ideas. And there's definitely that happening,
and that's actually a really healthy place to be. I think,
(28:37):
like before lunch, after lunch, we're all aware of the
fact that our brains process things different ways at different times.
So part of it is also just taking space to
watch video and have some time just to like think
on it. Looking at the current roster, What is our
strategy again? How do we want to build up again? Okay,
remind yourself, how do we want to press again? Remind
(28:59):
ourselves who do we maybe have coming in through other mechanisms?
And I feel pretty confident by tonight we'll be in
a good spot.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Though, How can he be so calm with everything up
in the air and only hours to go until picking
five players that will massively impact his first ever team.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
I think it's just an exciting process, right, trying not
to be overwhelmed with all the possible scenarios. Also just
keeping like really really calm, emotionally controlled, because at the
end of the day, all these ideas get thrown out,
and if you get too excited about one and then
it disintegrates ten minutes later, there's a huge potential in
(29:42):
this whole situation for like a yo yo of emotion.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Well, it probably helps that their biggest decision has now
been made. Tyler arrives having just got up the phone
with his counterpart at New York Red Bull.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yeah, so that was obviously New York Red Bull. So
we're deep in expansion draft and just trying to see
what potential options out there and just Reyes is a
center back that is actually protected, but we felt like
fits the style of profile that we're looking for right now.
And he's first and foremost, he's a freak athlete. It's
very athletic in terms of being able to defend the space,
being able to defend it airily, and we think he
(30:19):
obviously can offer a bit more too with his footballing ability.
We couldn't agree in the number, but that was kind
of the final one where we went back to them
with the proposal and luckily we found a solution to
acquire him. So we we agreed on eight hundred thousand
GAM general allocation money, so we'll pay six hundred thousand
and twenty twenty five and two hundred thousand and twenty
twenty six. So now it's it's all but done, so
(30:39):
looking forward obviously getting him in here.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
With the Rayas deal done, along with the other trades
and the draft, tonight, as DFC suddenly looked like it
might have a first team through.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
The draft and through trades.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I think we'll have an additional five or potentially six,
which brings our total number I think to fourteen. So
I think we've made good progress. We have two trades
that are already finalized. We'll obviously make at least probably
three selections from this and we make it another trade
or two out of it.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
By the end of the day, Kajima and Bruce are
the two names they've locked in. Lawfulsen and Dielp are
still on the board, but everything hinges on that last pick,
and with time running out, Tyler has a big call
to make. It's six o'clock, over three hours after Tyler's
(31:40):
three pm deadline. They haven't submitted their selections, they have
an informed ownership, and in just over an hour they
go on live TV. Needless to say, the afternoon has
not been plain sale. The minutes drag as the recruitment
team waits anxious for Tyler and Mikey to.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
Conclude a conference call.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Next door, they're trying to convince a player to join them.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
There's long, long, convincing when we're down to fifty three minutes.
For those of you who are counting, what does he
all want to do and what would you need to do?
Speaker 3 (32:20):
Is there as something he's gonna play or.
Speaker 5 (32:23):
Wants to compete to win championships before he's done. Yeah,
he's also a guy that wants to be loved as
he wants to be loved.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
As good.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Tyler and Mikey walked back in. They're smiling. The call
went well, but nothing definitive has been agreed and they're
on the clock. It's understandable. Expansion teams don't tend to
challenge for titles straight out of the gate. For a
top pro looking for silver ware, it's not always an
easy sell.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
And it's five minutes to speak to his wife.
Speaker 7 (33:02):
I knew it well, we knew that. We knew he
wasn't gonna be I.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
Said, to your mom here he said yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
I said, okay, call her and ask her thoughts.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Yeah, yep, let's see.
Speaker 6 (33:15):
Let's see.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
I think the beginning of the call it was eighty percent. No,
he probably got it. The sixteen sixty sixty it was
eighty twenty at the beginning of that.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
We have a punch of stones, fifteen minutes to go
until they have to leave for the TV show. The
league needs their choices, and still the seconds tick by.
Speaker 5 (33:40):
He's overthinking this.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
He's like, he.
Speaker 9 (33:44):
Is that an open sentence?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
No, because it's a hard decision, because it's one We
dropped it on him out of nowhere.
Speaker 7 (33:50):
Yeah, you gotta imagine that's.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
Why, because that was the only multi year contract you've had,
and all of a.
Speaker 7 (33:56):
Sudden, it's like, hold up.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Tyler is planning for multi outcomes. Either decision will cause
dominoes to fall in different directions. He also really ought
to let the owners know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Wait, no, I can do it. I wait.
Speaker 5 (34:11):
Look at all the dps and everybody left to bill.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
No sending the ownership group and update and players ever
taking because that's gonna come off very soon. They're all together.
Tom Ben Tomben called me with Lucian mister Minshu in
the car, what's the update?
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Six pm?
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Time is nearly up, and Tyler has a decision to make.
Less than an hour later, Tyler and Mikey are standing
on stage at the club store at Mission Valley, ready
to face the meet and more important, the fans. And
(34:56):
boy have they turned out for this. The place is
packed as DFC faithful are in full voice as they
wait to find out which players will be dunning the
Kroman asl in twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
Five fans every single weekend.
Speaker 10 (35:10):
All right, let's get right to it. The expansion Draft
presented by your San Diego County Toyota Dealers begins right now.
The first three picks coming up. It's a mighty d'yap
from Charlotte, hein up, Bruscett from Orlando, and Yasper Laffelsend
from Colorado. Let's just get your thoughts.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Given the star names that were on the list, as
dfc's picks might raise a few eyebrows, here's how Tyler
and Mikey hype their selections to the public, starting with
kamau Vido.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
Yeah, I think his profile fits modern day football. I
think he can fit into the system that we expect
him to play. He's got a great left foot, he
can break lines, he can defend, and now it's about
us getting him in here in San Diego and making
sure we put our arm around him and help him
get better.
Speaker 9 (35:55):
Tell me about Heyda Bruce, because that's a player a
lot of us haven't seen. Orlando got him in the
summer transfer window, didn't really play a role for that team,
but he was left unprotected for this expansion dram and
he's a Norwegian youth international. Seems to fit across that midfield.
What do you envision for him in twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Yeah, I think this where our group is so important.
Our group knows him well obviously from having a club
up in Denmark, and so our scouts knew of him.
He obviously went to Orlando didn't get an opportunity whenever
they were in a playoff run. But you can tell
him when you watch him play. He's got big potential.
We see him as a six' eight somebody that can
play between the pocket or play deeper and build, up
and we think he can bring a lot in twenty
twenty five as well as.
Speaker 8 (36:33):
BEYOND a lot of this sometimes is about, potential but
you've made a pick as well that has proven it
already IN. Mls, Yes officson has proven it on two
teams so.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Far can play multiple.
Speaker 8 (36:44):
Positions is he somebody that you can see fitting right
into that midfield or maybe even in the wide areas as.
Speaker 5 (36:49):
Well, Yeah yasper's talent speaks for himself because coming out
of college he won a starting job IN mls right.
Away that doesn't happen very. Often and as you, mentioned
he can play in the, midfield but he can also
play his fullback in what we see From jasper is
being an attack minded fullback who can play on the
wide spaces or come inside when our winger goes.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Outside for those that understand WHAT sdfc and right to
dream of buildings, hem the blend w and experience should
make perfect. Sense so with those three picks, made it's
time to announce the final.
Speaker 10 (37:22):
Team two picks left to. Go do the, Honors, tyler
you've got number. Four announce this.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Thing, yeah with our fourth, pick we'll Take thiago and
Drown day From New York CITY, fc and with that
we'll actually trade him To TORONTO. Fc in, return we'll
get the ninth pick in THE Ncaa Super. Draft we'll
also get up to two hundred and fifty k in
allocation money as well as the future sellout che.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Ching in the, end they win with another player they
can flip for Catch.
Speaker 10 (37:50):
Mike if you've got one pick, left you got to
do the honors, man finish us.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
Off, yeah the pick Is Jose kachima out Of Saint.
Louis and we're also trading this pick and this picked
THAT Dc united for four hundred and. K and we're
really excited because we're using that money to fund a
starting center back that's gonna be a part of the
spine of our.
Speaker 10 (38:09):
Team oh, okay little starting center back team, right a
starting center.
Speaker 4 (38:14):
Back could you be referring.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
To the rumors Around Andres rez's move To San diego
have been gaining. Momentum well tomorrow the world will know
it for sure when the club announces the, trade but
teasing it tonight it's almost Like tyler And mikey know
that some fans might need help understanding their approach to this.
Speaker 10 (38:34):
Draft but this is part of the, game Right in
the expansion, draft, yes you want to pick up players
that will impact your team and you're, One but In
Major League, soccer you need to, assets you need allocation.
Money tyler four hundred two FIFTY.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
A picking the super.
Speaker 10 (38:45):
Draft this is the way to fuel up The coppers
ahead of another stretch trying to pick up more.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Players, yeah we gotta fill an entire, roster and we
gotta fill it from a senior roster standpoint and a
SUPPLEMENTAL i think that's what goes into all these.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
Picks.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Right people see a huge list of. Players there's fantastic
players on that but they have to fit into what
we're doing for the short term as well as long term.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Success along with other, Additions San diego now have a
grand total of fourteen first team.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
Players not too.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Bad Charles boehm wasn't surprised they avoided the big.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Names and seese the sense of their.
Speaker 6 (39:26):
Selections you certainly have to get the top two of
your roster right if you want to be competitive with
your designated, players your big. Signings but success and stability
AT mls hinges almost as much on the middle and
bottom of your roster being well.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
Built you have to find.
Speaker 6 (39:41):
Value you have to find players who are going to
contribute to a level beyond what their experience or.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
Salary levels may.
Speaker 6 (39:48):
Suggest and so my takeaway From San diego's approach to
the expansion draft was they picked five players and only
three of them stuck. Around they've immediately flipped them for, assets.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
And then they tried to build out that tier.
Speaker 6 (40:00):
Of the roster to make sure they've got, depth they've
got variety in their.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Squad The brusseth deal really caught his, eye a clear
sign of sdfc's strategy and a lesson in how to
play the.
Speaker 6 (40:11):
Draft he's A norwegian youth international seen as a long term.
Prospect he has yet to play a minute IN mls
Because Orlando city were taking their time allowing him to settle.
In THEY i think played a little bit of a
calculated risk in Leaving bruseth exposed in the expansion, draft
And San diego called their. Bluff having a network of a.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
Club in The scandinavian region.
Speaker 6 (40:33):
Who already knew about this, player they had a scouting,
profile they saw that there was great value to be
had in this young.
Speaker 3 (40:38):
Player but it makes.
Speaker 6 (40:40):
Things, interesting AND i think it shows a bit of
THE dna starting to emerge in terms of How San
diego And right To dream wants to build this team
and how they want to utilize the resources of the.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Network after the cameras have been packed away and the fans,
Disperse tyler stops to debrief us after a long forty eight.
Speaker 4 (40:58):
Hours he's, tired happy with the work they.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
DID i think first and foremost our priority was getting
players for our team that we think can be decision.
Makers and then whenever we came to the point that
we probably got to the end of, that it was
about how do we move and acquire enough allocation or
enough funds to be able to go get guys that
we really. WANT i think that was apparent in The rays.
Speaker 3 (41:16):
Deal we were able to fund half of that very.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
Quickly we were able to get another draft pick in
the top ten obviously whenever we traded With, Toronto so
we think we got good value out of. That and,
again looking, BACK i think we did very well with
the whole process and how we went through.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
It what about the deal they couldn't get over the
line in. Time that one came down to the wire
and could have ruined the whole. Thing it Seems tyler
had it all in.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Hand, YEAH i think we were just waiting for probably
a decision to. Happen we had two options on the.
Board if a player was going to choose, us we
were going to go a different. Route if he, wasn't
we were going to go a separate. One SO i
Think i'm glad we were prepared in that sense where
we had two different ways to. Go we didn't leave
ourselves in a panic at the very, End and looking,
BACK i probably would have done a little bit differently
if we had the opportunity to do it. Differently BUT
(42:00):
i still think at the end of the, day we
got what we wanted out of the Expansion.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Draft despite the draft being, done the action keeps coming
in the last few weeks of the. Year there's still free,
agency reentry and The College Super. Draft then it's preseason
training and the international transfer window and the prospect of
finally bringing in a second designated. PLAYER i guess there's
(42:26):
no rest for The. Wicked next time On behind The,
flow the facility At Singing hills is finally open and
not a moment too. Soon It's january twenty twenty, five
in just weeks BEFORE sdfc embark on their maiden. Season
we Joined mikey and as players for their very first
(42:49):
training session and see THE sdfc dream start to take.
Shape behind The flow is a message. Production i'm your
Host Adrian garcia markis the series, producer Is McAllister. Beckson
Mark kendrick is the assistant, producer And Rebecca ware is
(43:09):
the field. Producer Jake warren And Sandra ferrari are the executive.
Producers James cox And Dago diaz are the production. Coordinators
the sound editor Is Lizzie andrews and music composition is
By Tom.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Biddle
It's nine am on Tuesday, December tenth, twenty twenty four.
San Diego FC headquarters on Kettner Boulevard is buzzing with excitement.
It's a big day, and everyone was here bright and early.
In fact, some were here very early and aren't feeling
quite so bright. In a large meeting room as dfc's
(00:24):
recruitment team is hard at it. Some are hunched overs
squinting at their screens. Others are slumped back in their
leather and chrome chairs, rubbing their heads. At one end
of the long glass table is a whiteboard on wheels.
At the other is a big screen TV showing video
clips of match highlights. As STEP members tap away at
(00:44):
their laptops, they scroll through digital scanner reports, examining player
metrics or budget lines on a spreadsheet, but each one
of them has a tab open with the MLS Expansion
Draft unprotected list, the list of three hundred and fifty
four players available to them to select and man, oh man,
are there some big names on it? Tyler pauses as
(01:08):
he re enters what they're calling the war rooms. In
his hand is a cup of coffee. It's not his
first of the day, and it won't be his last.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I was in the gym at four point fifteen and
I got here at five this morning, so Mark beat
me in. So he's obviously been hard at work and
watching a lot of different options. I'm sure we'll be
here very late tonight, but it'll all be worth it
if we can get probably what we hopefully expected out
of this process.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
In the room with Tyler Heaps and Mikey Vadas are
a number of key staff, including Mark Prisunt Assistant sporting director,
head scout Sean Howe, and data analyst Grant Ryans. Despite
the weeks of preparation, they're all still shocked by some
of the players on the list.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I think there's the list I think totally surprised us
in the sense that there's a lot of investments that
people left open, so I don't think we've fully expected
that to happen. So there's a lot of twenty two is.
There's a lot of dps that are available that's we
need to determine if that's something we want to take on.
So those are probably the names that surprised us the most.
But again, still TV determines what we end up going.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
With some of the highest value players in the league
have been left unprotected from franchise superstars like Godros Bela, Victor,
Juan Yama, and Lorenzo sign to some of MLS's historic
top performers like Charlotte's record goalscorer Carol Swudevski, FC Dallas's
captain in San Diego native Paul Ariola, and multiple MLS
(02:34):
Cup winner Inter Miami's Julian Gressel. I mean Kansas City
left all three of their dps unprotected. There's also a
number of exciting young talents out there. For Tyler and
his team, there's a lot to consider.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
This isn't normally how this works right. Expansion teams are
unique and not a lot of people go through this,
so you don't really know what the expectation is. It's
also a situation where the player doesn't really have a choice,
which all so it is a bit awkward, But it's
also really exciting because I think we have an exciting
project to invite people into and I think we're going
to do things right here.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
So I think we're also a very attractive market for some.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Of these players where work. Maybe other expansion teams may
not have been hopefully as attractive as what San Diego could.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Be whatever happens, he expects to be on the phone
a lot over the next two days.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I think I've expected these forty eight hours to be stressful,
so and obviously we're only halfway through it now, so
it's it'll be interesting to see how the next twenty
four hours go. I still think there's going to be
a lot of movement and a lot of different conversations
that will happen until then. So maybe ask me again
in twenty four hours and see at that point.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
In February twenty twenty five, San Diego FC became the
thirtieth team to enter Major League Soccer, now the largest
professional league on the planet.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
But this is more than just another.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Football club, at least that's the hope of the club's
co owners under the leadership of Sir Mohammed Montsour, Right
to Dream is an organization and promising to rock American
soccer to its foundations with a revolutionary approach to coaching
and youth development. Anchoring the project in the local community
is the Sequan Band of the Kumi Ga Nation, the
(04:13):
first ever Native American owners in men's professional sports, and
as the only MLS club officially sanctioned to recruit out
of Mexico. I mean, this thing could really fly, that is,
if everything goes to plan its draft day. As twenty
twenty four draws to a close, the twenty twenty five
(04:35):
season looms large, and the expansion Draft is San Diego's
very own MLS welcome party. It's also Tyler's big date
with Destiny with the Whirlwind forty eight hours of wheeling
and dealing ahead as he looks to lock down his first.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Ever team roster. Captured in the final.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Months before the twenty twenty five season kicks off, this
series follows sdfc's race to field their first ever team.
I'm Adrian gotta say I'm out of kiss and this
is behind the Flow, the origin story of San Diego FC.
(05:15):
Before we dive in, let's go back a step to
remind us where San Diego's squad build is that and
what they're looking at heading into the draft. And as
a reminder, this is all happening just ten weeks before
the twenty twenty five season kicks off.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'd say we're probably looking for twenty five total, and
I think we got six currently laid, so I think
we've got about nineteen more to go, and I think
a lot of those will come in December. Probably half
of those will come in December, and then that's about
how we fill the rest of them in in January, February, March.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So first up is the Expansion Draft, their chance to
select five players from other squads in the league. That's
followed later in December by a few other recruitment mechanisms,
the College Super Draft, free agency for out of contract players,
and the re entry Draft for players reaching the end
of their current deals. And that's before MLS and international
(06:13):
January transfer windows open where they can actually go out
and buy players themselves. I mean, this would be hard
enough if you were trying to sign one or two players,
but a whole team all at once.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
We're all making decisions, especially now in my role, I
need to make decisions on players and there'll be a consequence,
and I think it is difficult, to be honest, because
this is unlike anything I've ever done before. Normally, you're
looking for a fullback and you're trying to fill in
a full back, and then that puzzle becomes a lot
easier because you're looking for one piece, but any piece
that we lay right now it impacts all the others,
and so that has been the challenge, I think, and
(06:48):
is about, now, how do we start to find the
right ones, and then how do we fill in around
them and find those other types of players.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Truth be told, Tyler was hoping to have lined up
more players before this point.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
There are some things in the background that haven't went
one hundred percent according to plan. So some of the
timing pieces have not gone our way. We've had also
some players that we've been in deep negotiations with that
for whatever reason, for better or for worse, something happened
and now all of a sudden they're not on our
board anymore, which is also completely fine, and that's the
life of recruitment. Then it's about you go back into
(07:20):
the next priority on the list and you try to
figure out is that still the piece that we're looking for,
and how do we bring that piece and how do
we make sure it all lines.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
As for coach Mikey, the expansion draft will be his
first opportunity to select players that can bring the right
to Dream vision to MLS.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
So what's he looking for?
Speaker 5 (07:39):
The players are the ones who express our style of play.
They're the ones who ultimately transmit our ideas. But that's
easier said than done right because there's budgetary constraints and
then there's also timing. But ultimately, we've said from the beginning,
we're looking for a balance to pro You're bringing young
(08:00):
players who we develop and ultimately make next steps in
their journeys, but also established players because again, we think
all of that goes hand in hand. Winning aids development
and development aids winning, and so finding that balance between
high level experience and young, youthful talent is going to
be a key one.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Mikey's first priority is getting the core of the team right,
the solid base, the foundation that will anchor them through
the season.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
What I would say is that backspine of the team
needs to be strong. If we're going to be competitive
from day one, you got to get the goalkeeper to
center backs and the number six correct from a starting perspective,
who's starting in those positions. Of course, there's going to
be a competition for starting rules, but we start a
club from scratch, so let's get four capable starters that
(08:53):
we really really believe in.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Well, guess what, the draft hasn't even begun in San Diego.
FS he just struck a deal for CJ Dos Santos,
a twenty four year old ball playing goalkeeper. CJ might
have been a backup option at Miami, but Tyler and
Mikey think he could be starting games for San Diego.
(09:20):
They also have their defensive midfielder Jeff Peterskoff, and a
center back in Patty McNair.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
That's three out of four boxes.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Checked, which leaves the other starting center back, and for
that position they're after something special, an athlete who can
dominate the defensive third.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Center back is a really important position that we need
to fill. Obviously, we've got Patty. Patty's a very ball
playing center back that also can defend the box very well.
We're looking to pair somebody with him that can defend
the space, that can allow him more flexibility on the
ball and be able to impact the game with it.
But that person also needs to be strong enough on
the ball where they're able to obviously still dictate play
(09:58):
in terms of how he wants to. That's not an
easy profile to find in MLS. If you do an
analysis on center backs, they're quite often highly paid based
on what their output is because there's so few of them.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Tyler doesn't expect to find what they're looking for in
the draft, but that doesn't mean he isn't working hard
on a few targets. In fact, it's yet to be announced.
But they also just sign versatile Swedish American defender Chris McVeigh,
who can play across the back line. The Scandinavian fits
their profile and brings crucial depth to the roster. There's
(10:34):
still plenty to do, but heading into the draft, things
are looking good.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So we're expecting to get a few starters out of
this draft, and that's how we're going into it. I
think we're looking at the fullback position. We think we
can get a very good MLS veteran fullback out of it. Potentially,
we're looking at somebody that can play across multiple positions
in the attack. We're looking at somebody as a ball
winning center midfielder that we think can come in and
complement some of the other pieces that we're trying to
(10:59):
trade for.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
In particular, they'd like to find a young, attacking midfielder,
an international with huge upside which they can develop.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I think the modern game of football, these eight tens,
or you can call them tens, are starting to shift away,
So this is also not the easiest position to find.
It's especially not the easiest position to find in America.
We think it lends well for the under twenty two
initiative and trying to take an opportunity and a chance
on a young player that we see a load of
potential in. So we're constantly looking in the market right
(11:32):
now and we're evaluating some final prospects about what might
fit one within the league, but two within the way
that we want that position to play.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
But it's not just as simple as just selecting five
players they like to look of. MLS has been designed
to be highly competitive and financially sustainable. There's no end
to the rules and regulations around spending on salaries and transfers. No,
the real art is acquiring players while balancing budgets and
(12:00):
managing risk. This includes trading for international and under twenty
two spots, which are salary exemptions designed to reduce the
cost of certain types of players. Two phrases you're going
to be hearing our GAM and TAM, which stand for
general Allocation money and targeted allocation money. Collectively, these are
(12:23):
called allocation resources, which to fully explain would need more
time than we have available.
Speaker 6 (12:33):
They have some resources in terms of additional allocation money,
which we could probably do a podcast onto itself on
the allocation money process. But basically MLS has its own
sort of internal currencies.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
That's Charles Boham, our MLS writer who's been keeping a
close eye on San Diego FC's development. In his words,
gam and TAM are pots of MLS currency, a bit
like monopoly money, which can be used to offset players'
salaries to comply with spending rules.
Speaker 6 (13:02):
So there's a salary budget that each team must operate
and stay within. So in essence, MLS has an internal
market and instead of internal regulations that are really it's
a full time job for one or possibly multiple members
of your staff to plan out how you're going to
spend money, how you're best going to allocate the resources
(13:23):
that have been provided to them.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
So it's a real juggling act.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Tyler expects to field calls from rival gms asking for
protection for their players and offering these allocation resources in return.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Teams are getting a bit nervous, I think in terms
of what they'll be able to protect or not protect,
which will leave us some good options I think, and
expansion there's a lot of teams that are very interested
in expansion exemption, so trying to work deals beforehand. So
we're just trying to look holistically at what's available, what
we're trying to get out of this. I think we're
very happy and content with where we're at currently.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Expansion exemption is the polite phrase directors like to use.
Sounds like a shakedown to me, but joking aside, this
is the reality of business in the MLS boardroom, cutting
a deal that works for all parties, leveraging assets to
your advantage and while maintaining relationships between the clubs. It's
(14:17):
a delicate balancing act and a key part of Tiger's job.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
It's the process of haggling, and there's also a little
bit of chicken involved, a little bit of brinkmanship, and
San Diego Sea is sort of offering protection. They are
selling protection. So you'll see deals leading up to the
expansion draft in which a club will give assets a player,
send a player other assets to San Diego below market
value in order to include an unspoken agreement or behind
(14:44):
the scenes agreement in which that club will not have
players taken from them in the expansion draft. So there's
any number of different ways that you can haggle in
this environment and maybe lay the foundation for other deals
other swaps.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Come to think of it, San Diego struck pretty good
deals for CJ though CentOS and Chris McVeigh. And look,
here's another one announced just hours before the draft begins,
young Colombian forward Domas Honkin inbound from LAFC. Could these
deals have been part of a promise not to select
(15:21):
their other players in the draft. We'll never know. One
thing's for sure. These GM interactions are anything but straightforward.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Yeah, I think part of my French, but there's a
lot of bulls going on with the expansion Draft right now.
It's just because, yeah, you're trying not to show your
cards too early, because it is a strategic element to it.
And there's teams that have invested a large spend in
their roster that obviously are now in a bit of
a challenge where they've built this depth and some of
those pieces are for sure going to be open for
us to take because I mean, that's just the reality
(15:51):
of it. So those conversations are happening literally hourly at
the moment. There's some clubs that are reaching out maybe
every day.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Some deals are more transparent. For example, the international roster
slot SDFC just acquired from Columbus Crew in exchange for
one hundred thousand in general allocation money. Given the going
price for these spots is closer to two hundred thousand,
we can safely assume the Crew are now protected from
the draft. Clearly, Tyler's been a busy boy and he's
(16:22):
just getting started. It's midday on Tuesday, December tenth. We're
back in the war room on day one of the draft.
(16:44):
Tyler and his team have already reached their first decision.
First order of business was to head straight to the
deepest squad on the list, Saint Louis City. The player
of most interest is twenty two year old Japanese midfielder
Josse Kijima. Tyler has been on the phone to DC
United and they've already agreed to acquire Kijima for four
(17:06):
hundred thousand in GAM When exactly this offer came in,
and whether it was connected with the transfer of Christopher
mcvay's rights to San Diego.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
Who's to say.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
There's still some debate in the room over the trade,
but it's a short one.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
We don't want What are we.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Gonna spend to?
Speaker 7 (17:23):
Can you gotta go find we have holes in the
roster post this succession for sure?
Speaker 8 (17:29):
Which was which one?
Speaker 7 (17:31):
Well, I'd go find probably an eight.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, we're gonna.
Speaker 7 (17:35):
We're gonna need another another tennis player.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Potentially a left back, potentially I left buff.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Yeah we should still.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
I get what you're saying, but we there's no point
of keeping Kajima if we're gonna get foreign and k
for him.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Tyler already has a very good idea of how and
where he plans to spend that money. But we'll get
to that in the meantime time he's about to add
another name to the whiteboard.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Double F. Yeah, hell oh with up thinking on it.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
Two f's E L S.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
E N D.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Colorado's jasper. Not a household name perhaps, but a proven
talent and a top performer in MLS who checks a
lot of boxes for coach bout Us.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
By the way, laffel Sin is a is when we're
talking about making our roster bigger, versatility being important, it.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
Takes different positions.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
So I think we have two picks.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
And why he agrees on Levelson we have the Pixar
Jima and Trade and la is one and two to
keep I keep.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Watching, but that's my gut loo and I just haven't
seen them.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Not a bad start.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
And there's more a name that leapt off the page
to them, but will probably be a surprise to everyone else.
Heine Giglin Brussi, an under twenty two Norwegian international who's
yet to play a single minute of MLS since his
one point two million dollar transfer to Orlando in the
summer of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
He could be a steal.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
There or no versus could be three if we can
afford it, person worth go here.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, they did the same man, if we can afford
him is a phrase that will come up a lot,
you see. That is the real reason so many teams
have left so many big names on the table. Those
names come with some big contracts. Lodenzo Insignia is reportedly
(19:53):
on a fifteen million dollars a year deal. However, that
doesn't mean there aren't other ups who might see value
in those price tags.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Part of s dfc's plan.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Is to flip a few of their picks for profit,
trading them to a third club for a cut price deal.
Players like Jose with the unprotected list now published, It's
not long before articles are popping up online about who
s DFC could select.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Who should San Diego pick?
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Who said that an article?
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I'm gonna go through it right now.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
Let's see, it's gonna be Dante Jones, Julian Russell first pick.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
They noticed that.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Which they have on here.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
Anybody can extra five million to pay the rest of
that transfer.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Who else do they put on that?
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Well, the world speculates on which names s DFC might select.
Tyler focuses on their game plan. He has to make
a call to Orlando.
Speaker 7 (20:55):
I might calling brus to just started one.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Hello, Oh good, tell me who you get?
Speaker 5 (21:16):
Tell me about versa.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
As the day wears on, as dfc's big decision begins
to crystallize, there are a couple of big names they
like to look of, either for themselves or as a
trade to someone else. And one of those names is
New York Red Bulls Belgian forward and designated player Dante Vanzier. However,
although they could take this multi million dollar asset from
(21:51):
Red Bull for nothing, it might end up costing them dear.
And in this case, we're not just talking about his wages.
The deal that are really hoping to land over the
next two days. Is a name that isn't on the
list at all. Another Red Bull player starting center back
andres Rays. But they can't steal Benzier and then expect
(22:12):
New York to do business with them.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
I'm the Colombian defender.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
So you're saying, if you're thinking, if we take Benzier,
then they'll kill they'll kill any's potential with Rays. I
would no, I would by Tyler. Ultimately, you're trying to
use vanzer potentially just to bring down the price.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
Yeah, which is I think. But if he gets two
million or rightfully so, he's not, we're gonna take Vanzier.
Speaker 5 (22:48):
You're gonna get the two million for cash for owners,
but we're gonna be I can square one first time.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Mikey understandably just wants to lock in his team. Rays
and Patty McNair could be a partnership that takes them
to the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Why wouldn't we solidify in the Rays as.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Soon as boss, because because they won't protection Before they
start getting people start offering for their players.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Yeah, so we get protection.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
I just I just talked to them.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I just disagree with his evaluation.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
This is where it starts getting even more complicated. They
start theorizing is there a way of having their cake
and eating it? Could they draft Benzier, sell him on
to someone else while striking a deal with the third
party to go and trade for Rays on their behalf.
Speaker 9 (23:36):
So we would have to three with it.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
If we get cash, we'd have to go use the
trojan worse to go buy Rays trade them to us.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So you have to get somebody else involved.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
So I have to tell the Montreal that if we
do this is.
Speaker 9 (23:50):
What we need you to do, you have to go negotiate.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
Now for Rays.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
The variables of this deal alone are enough to make
your head spin. At the end of the table, Tyler
hovers over the whiteboard. On it are eleven circles their
first team. There are nine names in black, the players
they've already acquired. Two are in blue, possible draft picks
Laffelsen and Bruce. The rest are in red targets they're
(24:17):
still considering. Tyler glances at his watch. He desperately wants
to lock in another name. An easy one looks to
be young left back Hamadi Diop from Charlotte FC, a
former first round star from the twenty twenty four College
Draft youth potential MLS locker room experience check check check.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
Should I try to get the DUP done?
Speaker 6 (24:41):
No, because they're sweating, So I think that gets done anyway.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Like, I don't think we need to want to un
blue player.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
With their primary targets set, all they can do now
is wait for teams to start calling about which players
they might like to trade for. A gonfer that comes
in could throw their plans out the window. In the meantime,
they keep doing due diligence on the players they want,
which means hours spent pouring over data, charts and reviewing video.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Yeah, I've been watching the last hour. Good.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I like them.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
I can see it.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
I mean, the only doubt I have is like he
hasn't he just hasn't played a position for a couple
of years.
Speaker 8 (25:28):
But he's got picked me up.
Speaker 9 (25:31):
He had He had multiple games a season with over
one thousand yards of high speed running a thousands of speed.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I gotta watch more Radius clips. Please pull to.
Speaker 7 (25:48):
Watch your smash people.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
This is where I think of that field's lashing someone
that's decent driving into midfield, spraying across the field.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
And really going to aggressive center back wins seventy six
percent of the areas.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
It's better than sixty five percent of all players in
his position.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
A long diagonos the possible financial gain of trading van
Zier is giving way to the excitement of signing a
starting center back for their own team. Plus, by leaving
Vanzier alone, they could strike a better deal on players,
perhaps even bring the price down. Watching his clips, Tyler
(26:29):
wants to make the call, but he's suddenly nervous about
the finances and doubting what he's been told.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
I'm going to try to hold off on red boat
another hour. There's no more fee on Red's right, like
we should learnel the rich for four years. Yeah, but
let's just you never know how this never works and
this I accepted it. Yeah, just because I'm looking at
(26:57):
this two point two five.
Speaker 7 (26:57):
Million number of life under a million left.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
It's early afternoon on December eleventh, d Day, just a
few hours to go. They still need to finalize their selections,
inform ownership, submit their paperwork to the league, then head
across town to a televised live show where Tyler and
Mikey will reveal their decisions to the world. With so
(27:39):
much to do, Tyler has imposed a three pm cutoff
for new business. As they head back in from lunch,
Mikey shares his thoughts on how it's all going.
Speaker 5 (27:51):
Yeah, it's going great. I mean there's a lot of
moving parts, so there's a lot of variables. Things are
changing kind of manute by minute, phone call by phone call.
You know. As of right now, we have like a
direction that we're looking at. We have multiple possibilities, but
not too many concrete decisions because there are so many variables.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
They're still using the time they have left to debate
and interrogate their choices.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
One of the rules we have here is like you
have to debate everything fiercely behind closed doors, and then
once the decision is made by the group, like you're
all in right, and so ultimately what we're supposed to
do is challenge each other's ideas. And there's definitely that happening,
and that's actually a really healthy place to be. I think,
(28:37):
like before lunch, after lunch, we're all aware of the
fact that our brains process things different ways at different times.
So part of it is also just taking space to
watch video and have some time just to like think
on it. Looking at the current roster, What is our
strategy again? How do we want to build up again? Okay,
remind yourself, how do we want to press again? Remind
(28:59):
ourselves who do we maybe have coming in through other mechanisms?
And I feel pretty confident by tonight we'll be in
a good spot.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Though, How can he be so calm with everything up
in the air and only hours to go until picking
five players that will massively impact his first ever team.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
I think it's just an exciting process, right, trying not
to be overwhelmed with all the possible scenarios. Also just
keeping like really really calm, emotionally controlled, because at the
end of the day, all these ideas get thrown out,
and if you get too excited about one and then
it disintegrates ten minutes later, there's a huge potential in
(29:42):
this whole situation for like a yo yo of emotion.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Well, it probably helps that their biggest decision has now
been made. Tyler arrives having just got up the phone
with his counterpart at New York Red Bull.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yeah, so that was obviously New York Red Bull. So
we're deep in expansion draft and just trying to see
what potential options out there and just Reyes is a
center back that is actually protected, but we felt like
fits the style of profile that we're looking for right now.
And he's first and foremost, he's a freak athlete. It's
very athletic in terms of being able to defend the space,
being able to defend it airily, and we think he
(30:19):
obviously can offer a bit more too with his footballing ability.
We couldn't agree in the number, but that was kind
of the final one where we went back to them
with the proposal and luckily we found a solution to
acquire him. So we we agreed on eight hundred thousand
GAM general allocation money, so we'll pay six hundred thousand
and twenty twenty five and two hundred thousand and twenty
twenty six. So now it's it's all but done, so
(30:39):
looking forward obviously getting him in here.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
With the Rayas deal done, along with the other trades
and the draft, tonight, as DFC suddenly looked like it
might have a first team through.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
The draft and through trades.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I think we'll have an additional five or potentially six,
which brings our total number I think to fourteen. So
I think we've made good progress. We have two trades
that are already finalized. We'll obviously make at least probably
three selections from this and we make it another trade
or two out of it.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
By the end of the day, Kajima and Bruce are
the two names they've locked in. Lawfulsen and Dielp are
still on the board, but everything hinges on that last pick,
and with time running out, Tyler has a big call
to make. It's six o'clock, over three hours after Tyler's
(31:40):
three pm deadline. They haven't submitted their selections, they have
an informed ownership, and in just over an hour they
go on live TV. Needless to say, the afternoon has
not been plain sale. The minutes drag as the recruitment
team waits anxious for Tyler and Mikey to.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
Conclude a conference call.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Next door, they're trying to convince a player to join them.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
There's long, long, convincing when we're down to fifty three minutes.
For those of you who are counting, what does he
all want to do and what would you need to do?
Speaker 3 (32:20):
Is there as something he's gonna play or.
Speaker 5 (32:23):
Wants to compete to win championships before he's done. Yeah,
he's also a guy that wants to be loved as
he wants to be loved.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
As good.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Tyler and Mikey walked back in. They're smiling. The call
went well, but nothing definitive has been agreed and they're
on the clock. It's understandable. Expansion teams don't tend to
challenge for titles straight out of the gate. For a
top pro looking for silver ware, it's not always an
easy sell.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
And it's five minutes to speak to his wife.
Speaker 7 (33:02):
I knew it well, we knew that. We knew he
wasn't gonna be I.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
Said, to your mom here he said yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
I said, okay, call her and ask her thoughts.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Yeah, yep, let's see.
Speaker 6 (33:15):
Let's see.
Speaker 5 (33:16):
I think the beginning of the call it was eighty percent. No,
he probably got it. The sixteen sixty sixty it was
eighty twenty at the beginning of that.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
We have a punch of stones, fifteen minutes to go
until they have to leave for the TV show. The
league needs their choices, and still the seconds tick by.
Speaker 5 (33:40):
He's overthinking this.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
He's like, he.
Speaker 9 (33:44):
Is that an open sentence?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
No, because it's a hard decision, because it's one We
dropped it on him out of nowhere.
Speaker 7 (33:50):
Yeah, you gotta imagine that's.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
Why, because that was the only multi year contract you've had,
and all of a.
Speaker 7 (33:56):
Sudden, it's like, hold up.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Tyler is planning for multi outcomes. Either decision will cause
dominoes to fall in different directions. He also really ought
to let the owners know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Wait, no, I can do it. I wait.
Speaker 5 (34:11):
Look at all the dps and everybody left to bill.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
No sending the ownership group and update and players ever
taking because that's gonna come off very soon. They're all together.
Tom Ben Tomben called me with Lucian mister Minshu in
the car, what's the update?
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Six pm?
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Time is nearly up, and Tyler has a decision to make.
Less than an hour later, Tyler and Mikey are standing
on stage at the club store at Mission Valley, ready
to face the meet and more important, the fans. And
(34:56):
boy have they turned out for this. The place is
packed as DFC faithful are in full voice as they
wait to find out which players will be dunning the
Kroman asl in twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
Five fans every single weekend.
Speaker 10 (35:10):
All right, let's get right to it. The expansion Draft
presented by your San Diego County Toyota Dealers begins right now.
The first three picks coming up. It's a mighty d'yap
from Charlotte, hein up, Bruscett from Orlando, and Yasper Laffelsend
from Colorado. Let's just get your thoughts.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Given the star names that were on the list, as
dfc's picks might raise a few eyebrows, here's how Tyler
and Mikey hype their selections to the public, starting with
kamau Vido.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
Yeah, I think his profile fits modern day football. I
think he can fit into the system that we expect
him to play. He's got a great left foot, he
can break lines, he can defend, and now it's about
us getting him in here in San Diego and making
sure we put our arm around him and help him
get better.
Speaker 9 (35:55):
Tell me about Heyda Bruce, because that's a player a
lot of us haven't seen. Orlando got him in the
summer transfer window, didn't really play a role for that team,
but he was left unprotected for this expansion dram and
he's a Norwegian youth international. Seems to fit across that midfield.
What do you envision for him in twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Yeah, I think this where our group is so important.
Our group knows him well obviously from having a club
up in Denmark, and so our scouts knew of him.
He obviously went to Orlando didn't get an opportunity whenever
they were in a playoff run. But you can tell
him when you watch him play. He's got big potential.
We see him as a six' eight somebody that can
play between the pocket or play deeper and build, up
and we think he can bring a lot in twenty
twenty five as well as.
Speaker 8 (36:33):
BEYOND a lot of this sometimes is about, potential but
you've made a pick as well that has proven it
already IN. Mls, Yes officson has proven it on two
teams so.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Far can play multiple.
Speaker 8 (36:44):
Positions is he somebody that you can see fitting right
into that midfield or maybe even in the wide areas as.
Speaker 5 (36:49):
Well, Yeah yasper's talent speaks for himself because coming out
of college he won a starting job IN mls right.
Away that doesn't happen very. Often and as you, mentioned
he can play in the, midfield but he can also
play his fullback in what we see From jasper is
being an attack minded fullback who can play on the
wide spaces or come inside when our winger goes.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Outside for those that understand WHAT sdfc and right to
dream of buildings, hem the blend w and experience should
make perfect. Sense so with those three picks, made it's
time to announce the final.
Speaker 10 (37:22):
Team two picks left to. Go do the, Honors, tyler
you've got number. Four announce this.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Thing, yeah with our fourth, pick we'll Take thiago and
Drown day From New York CITY, fc and with that
we'll actually trade him To TORONTO. Fc in, return we'll
get the ninth pick in THE Ncaa Super. Draft we'll
also get up to two hundred and fifty k in
allocation money as well as the future sellout che.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Ching in the, end they win with another player they
can flip for Catch.
Speaker 10 (37:50):
Mike if you've got one pick, left you got to
do the honors, man finish us.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
Off, yeah the pick Is Jose kachima out Of Saint.
Louis and we're also trading this pick and this picked
THAT Dc united for four hundred and. K and we're
really excited because we're using that money to fund a
starting center back that's gonna be a part of the
spine of our.
Speaker 10 (38:09):
Team oh, okay little starting center back team, right a
starting center.
Speaker 4 (38:14):
Back could you be referring.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
To the rumors Around Andres rez's move To San diego
have been gaining. Momentum well tomorrow the world will know
it for sure when the club announces the, trade but
teasing it tonight it's almost Like tyler And mikey know
that some fans might need help understanding their approach to this.
Speaker 10 (38:34):
Draft but this is part of the, game Right in
the expansion, draft, yes you want to pick up players
that will impact your team and you're, One but In
Major League, soccer you need to, assets you need allocation.
Money tyler four hundred two FIFTY.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
A picking the super.
Speaker 10 (38:45):
Draft this is the way to fuel up The coppers
ahead of another stretch trying to pick up more.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Players, yeah we gotta fill an entire, roster and we
gotta fill it from a senior roster standpoint and a
SUPPLEMENTAL i think that's what goes into all these.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
Picks.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Right people see a huge list of. Players there's fantastic
players on that but they have to fit into what
we're doing for the short term as well as long term.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Success along with other, Additions San diego now have a
grand total of fourteen first team.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
Players not too.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Bad Charles boehm wasn't surprised they avoided the big.
Speaker 4 (39:24):
Names and seese the sense of their.
Speaker 6 (39:26):
Selections you certainly have to get the top two of
your roster right if you want to be competitive with
your designated, players your big. Signings but success and stability
AT mls hinges almost as much on the middle and
bottom of your roster being well.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
Built you have to find.
Speaker 6 (39:41):
Value you have to find players who are going to
contribute to a level beyond what their experience or.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
Salary levels may.
Speaker 6 (39:48):
Suggest and so my takeaway From San diego's approach to
the expansion draft was they picked five players and only
three of them stuck. Around they've immediately flipped them for, assets.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
And then they tried to build out that tier.
Speaker 6 (40:00):
Of the roster to make sure they've got, depth they've
got variety in their.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Squad The brusseth deal really caught his, eye a clear
sign of sdfc's strategy and a lesson in how to
play the.
Speaker 6 (40:11):
Draft he's A norwegian youth international seen as a long term.
Prospect he has yet to play a minute IN mls
Because Orlando city were taking their time allowing him to settle.
In THEY i think played a little bit of a
calculated risk in Leaving bruseth exposed in the expansion, draft
And San diego called their. Bluff having a network of a.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
Club in The scandinavian region.
Speaker 6 (40:33):
Who already knew about this, player they had a scouting,
profile they saw that there was great value to be
had in this young.
Speaker 3 (40:38):
Player but it makes.
Speaker 6 (40:40):
Things, interesting AND i think it shows a bit of
THE dna starting to emerge in terms of How San
diego And right To dream wants to build this team
and how they want to utilize the resources of the.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Network after the cameras have been packed away and the fans,
Disperse tyler stops to debrief us after a long forty eight.
Speaker 4 (40:58):
Hours he's, tired happy with the work they.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
DID i think first and foremost our priority was getting
players for our team that we think can be decision.
Makers and then whenever we came to the point that
we probably got to the end of, that it was
about how do we move and acquire enough allocation or
enough funds to be able to go get guys that
we really. WANT i think that was apparent in The rays.
Speaker 3 (41:16):
Deal we were able to fund half of that very.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
Quickly we were able to get another draft pick in
the top ten obviously whenever we traded With, Toronto so
we think we got good value out of. That and,
again looking, BACK i think we did very well with
the whole process and how we went through.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
It what about the deal they couldn't get over the
line in. Time that one came down to the wire
and could have ruined the whole. Thing it Seems tyler
had it all in.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
Hand, YEAH i think we were just waiting for probably
a decision to. Happen we had two options on the.
Board if a player was going to choose, us we
were going to go a different. Route if he, wasn't
we were going to go a separate. One SO i
Think i'm glad we were prepared in that sense where
we had two different ways to. Go we didn't leave
ourselves in a panic at the very, End and looking,
BACK i probably would have done a little bit differently
if we had the opportunity to do it. Differently BUT
(42:00):
i still think at the end of the, day we
got what we wanted out of the Expansion.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Draft despite the draft being, done the action keeps coming
in the last few weeks of the. Year there's still free,
agency reentry and The College Super. Draft then it's preseason
training and the international transfer window and the prospect of
finally bringing in a second designated. PLAYER i guess there's
(42:26):
no rest for The. Wicked next time On behind The,
flow the facility At Singing hills is finally open and
not a moment too. Soon It's january twenty twenty, five
in just weeks BEFORE sdfc embark on their maiden. Season
we Joined mikey and as players for their very first
(42:49):
training session and see THE sdfc dream start to take.
Shape behind The flow is a message. Production i'm your
Host Adrian garcia markis the series, producer Is McAllister. Beckson
Mark kendrick is the assistant, producer And Rebecca ware is
(43:09):
the field. Producer Jake warren And Sandra ferrari are the executive.
Producers James cox And Dago diaz are the production. Coordinators
the sound editor Is Lizzie andrews and music composition is
By Tom.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Biddle
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