September 5, 2022 • 17 mins
USMNT supporters don’t have to wait until the World Cup to watch American internationals thrive in top club competitions. CBS Sports’ Luis Miguel Echegaray joins us to discuss Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United, Christian “Captain America” Pulisic, the conundrum at center forward, and what Gregg Berhalter’s side might look like in November.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Before we begin, a reminder to please rate and review
our show. It helps new listeners discover us and grow
the program. With the World Cup rapidly approaching, we check
in on some of the U S M n T
players and how they've looked so far for various clubs
from the Americans who have made Leeds United a lot
of fun to watch. In the course of getting a
(00:21):
lot of run to one big name American who's been
marginalized with Chelsea and to do it all, we bring
in one of our absolute favorites, Luis mcguel at you
Garai from the k GLOSSO podcast and CBS Sports. I'm
your host, John Gonzalez from Sports Illustrated and I Heart Radio.
This is Sports Illustrated Weekly. Luise, Welcome back to Sports
(00:51):
Illustrated Weekly. It's always good to come back to my
Amma mater, my man. How are you. I love to
see your smiling face. I love to talk soccer with you.
You're one of our favorite guests on this program. We
thought we would discuss with you how some Americans are
performing for their clubs ahead of the World Cup, and
I think what better place to start than with Leeds United.
(01:11):
We've all seen the memes major leads soccer Leeds United
States of America. Jesse March jumping up and down in
skin tight jeans, the American head coach on the sideline.
But Brendan Aronson, the Medford MESSI they call him shots
to New Jersey and Tyler Adams. What have you seen
from those two guys that have the World Cup? Well,
Leeds United is it's just a great story all over right.
(01:32):
It started with the Marcello yes uh, the famous Argentinean
manager who comes to this working class town and kind
of revolutionized Leeds United, a team that used to be
a giant, was in the Championship for a long time,
and then it came back to the Premier League. Then
BLSA leaves and then that energy, that euphoria that the
Leeds United fan base had for so long goes away
(01:54):
and leads are very nervous about what's going to happen next,
and incomes the wonderful Jess E. Marsha. I know him personally,
I've interviewed him, I've talked to him both professionally and
as a friend, and I can tell you that he
is everything that you see. He's just a great human being.
Who loves the sport, loves the unity of the sport,
(02:15):
loves to create a family within every club that he manages.
He is extremely experienced. You know, when he arrived to Saltzburg,
the first thing he did was he wanted to learn
the language straight away. So like there's all these stories
about how great he is, and and it doesn't surprise
me that he's doing well with Leeds United because it's
(02:36):
a club that just wants heart. They just want passion,
They just want you know, They're kind of like your Eagles.
They just they're working class town that just want I
don't care if you lose, just lose like with everything
that you have inside of you. And that's Jesse Marsh.
And again it's no surprise to me that the Leeds
United States of America decides to recruit Tyler Adams, probably
(03:00):
the smartest U s m m T member, and he's
got support for about it. I'm trying to just wear
the help of any flagship. And Brendan Aaronson I call
him three lungs because he just doesn't stop running. And
the whole team doesn't stop running. Yeah, they don't. And
Brendan Aronson is is the pivotal example of that, Arenson
(03:23):
going Chilse, the pressure literally tying off. And I've interviewed
both of them as well, and it's no surprise to
me that it's all clicking in more ways than one.
And the number one thing is identity. You know who
(03:46):
they are and it's a great thing to see for
both Jesse marsha and and Aaronson and Tyler Adams. I
love when you talk about identity and what teams are
and apologies because I know you talked about the reverse
with your beloved Aston Villa, but it's only is working
out with the A team Aaronson and Adams in leads.
But then you look at another American as we approach
(04:07):
the World Cup, Kristen Pulissa not going great for him
in Chelsea. He's played just a hundred and one minutes
through the first five matches as we record this, he
hasn't started a game this season. There were rumors Elami
that they might loan him out. You know, man, you
was mentioned Newcastle clubs in Italy and Spain, everybody you know,
or maybe he'll go somewhere and get some minutes ahead
of the World Cup. He certainly could have used the
(04:29):
playing time elsewhere. Did you want to see him go
somewhere before the World Cup? Well, you know, if I
was a U S sevent t fan, And obviously I
have a lot of love and support for this country
of yours. I live here and my wife's Americans. Also,
I pay a lot of attention, so obviously I want
to see these talented players do well. Christian Polistic unfortunately,
(04:49):
is not going through a good time from a football perspective.
And you know, as we speak, actually there's a hashtag
on Twitter called free Polistic, Like that's just of course,
that's just that's just how my family probably started it. Yeah,
including of course his father, who has been very public
about Thomas Tooho and Chelsea. Look, listen, here's the thing.
This is not new that Polistic is not necessarily plan
(05:13):
a for Thomas Tooho and Chelsea. It's been known for
a while. Part of it is just a system itself.
Thomas Toohol likes to be a little bit more fluid
from a wingback situation and then making everything in possession
more central. That's why it didn't really work with Lukaku.
He wants more of a fluid, so to speaks, and
(05:33):
it forward like Kai Hards and then Mason Mount behind him,
they brought in Raheem Sterling. So now Pallistic is now
kind of lost and he's wanted to go for a
while for a few reasons. He once minutes obviously the
World Cup is coming up. He wants to play. It
doesn't matter where he is, he wants to play. And
the added problem to this is that now that Chelsea
(05:53):
have an owner and Todd Boli, Todd Bowli, an American,
doesn't want to long now Christian Polistic and doesn't want
to learn out Christian Polific specifically to a Premier League
club to arrival like Matchester United were interested, Newcastle were
interested in Boli was like, no, I'm sorry, I'm exing
this and per multiple reports, including some of our own
(06:15):
with fad To Romano and my friend Bolton Area from
the Athletic Polistic was not happy about this. And he
feels like he's just been impeded to do what he
wants to do, which is just play. And and it's
a shame because you know, Chelsea in many ways it's
the perfect place for him, but at this moment it's
not the case. And he's not any minutes and that's
a worrying thing when you are talking about Christian Polistic
(06:36):
and the World Cup year. Yeah, it is a worrying thing.
I meant to ask you about that. What you think
What kind of form do you think we'll see from
Pulistic when we get to the World Cup, because obviously,
as you mentioned, Tougle doesn't look like he's inclined to
play him anytime sooner, at least not any any meaningful minutes.
I'm gonna be very honest, if this continues all the
way up to the World Cup, why would Greg bar
(06:57):
Holter start him? Why would he risk that? Especially when
you have Brandan Aaronson. We're going to talk about some
striker opportunities for the U s M and t if
timulte Awaya, maybe it gets a few more minutes as well,
because he's also dealing with a few minutes percentile when
it comes to playing for his club and stuff. So
you know, depending on how this form goes, Greg b
(07:18):
Holter has to be worried about do I even start Polistic?
Which is kind of an insane thing to think about.
After the last few years he's been the leading man
for this American team. But this is not the gold cop, John,
This is not a friendly. This is the World Cup.
And at the end of the day, you need a
player that's confident, that's had minutes, that's ready to go,
and at this moment, none of those boxes take on
(07:40):
Christian policy. Yeah, you have to pick the best team,
regardless of the name on the back of the jersey.
You mentioned some of the striker options that burr Halter
might have to choose through, So the center for spot,
I'm wondering whether you think that's in question because he
started five different number nines during Conker Calf They combined
for just four goals in fourteen qualifier. Ricardo Pappy had
(08:01):
three of those and they in two games less fall.
Since then, has not scored for club or country as
we record this. Some names to rattle off for you
for Rarera Vasque as sergeant, Right, what's your burr Halter
do upfront? What do you think he'll do? Well? That's
always been his conundrum, I think, and that's always been
the U S M T S conundrum. But you know,
I have my own thoughts about it. I feel like
(08:22):
he could use it to an advantage. When you think
about Ericton hag Manchester United manager and total Football of
the Netherlands. They almost don't even need a striker. It's
very fluid and you know, attackers up front can move around.
So I feel like there could be a combination of
that with the U S M and T. When you
ask me specifically about our number nine, I mean listen,
(08:42):
like like you said, there's a few names. Ricardo Peppy. Yeah,
it hasn't gone well. Now he's on loan to groningun
He's no longer in the Bundesliga, so obviously that's gonna
be either a regression or maybe something for him to
wake up on. I'm still a fan of Josh Sergeant.
I think he's probably the most natural number nine, to
be honest, US M M T has but again, consistency
(09:02):
has been an issue for him and now is in
the Championship with Norwich, so he has to figure that out.
But to me, you know, maybe now you're focusing about
three people, two of them in MLS random baskets. To me,
I mean, why not? Right, sixteen goals in twenty seven
MLS matches into the box, Upereta fifteen goals in twenty
(09:24):
seven MLS matches ch ch check four and p focus.
See what you fourteen goals in Those would be my
three choices. I don't think that it should matter that
you know you're thinking no, is MLS gonna be perhaps
too much of an early kind of judgment called for
(09:46):
great browth, and when you're trying to put him in
the most prestigious soccer competition out there. But there is
talent and there is some hunger. The good news is
that he has choices. The bad news is that none
of them are consist it so he has to figure
out who it is. To be honest with you at
this very moment, no matter what league your plan, there
(10:08):
is nothing like confidence. There is nothing like confidence. It
doesn't matter where you're playing, the Premier League or MLS.
If you're confident and you're scoring goals left, right and center,
you go with the hot hand. And to me at
this point it would be Brandon Baskets. I can't believe
that you would say that the U S M and
T is looking at a bunch of inconsistent players. Shocker.
(10:28):
It was ever thus, all right, so we go from
MLS potential strikers to prem defenders. Fulham. You've got Tim
Reem and Anthony Robinson. They've gotten a ton of minutes
so far this season, have they looked well? I've been
impressed with Fulham. Actually it didn't start well of course,
and it's never gonna be easy when you're a newly
promoted side returning to the Premier League. But Fulham right
(10:50):
now are eight. I've always been a fan of those
two players, specifically Anthony Robinson. I think he has a
lot to offer. You know, Tim Reems, I worry a
little bit us because uh e really he's fine, but
positional based. I worry a little bit. You need to
be quick footed in this group in the World Cup
for the U S M M T. I don't know
if he's the answer, but the solution right now is
(11:13):
the fact that you know, there are a few players
as well that are struggling to either fine minutes or
even a club like you know, John Brooks, his move
to MAJORCA was broken down, So that's an issue. So
as long as you play competitively as a defender, and
in this case you are a Film in the Premier League,
then that's going to be nothing but a helpful thing
for you. And as long as Film continue to compete
(11:35):
and doing well in the Premier League. There's no reason
to think that great Holter should either ignore them or
be not start them. So it's good for them for sure,
but it all depends as well. We have to also
think about the type of opponent that the USMNT have
in the World Cup and what kind of striker you're
dealing with. And one of them, of course is England,
so I tend to be pretty good exactly, and one
(11:56):
of them is Harry Kane. An opportunity here done, what
a goal toward its So is it better suited to
be a defendant that's playing the Premier League that knows
the Harry Kane types. Of course that's one thing. Then
Wales and Garrett Bell of course you know, playing an MLS,
So there's a lot to think about there. But as
far as Timory Montony obins, I'm not concerned. It's good
(12:19):
that Philima doing well and it's good that they're doing
well in such a good league like the Premier League.
They're getting minutes, they're getting confidence. Those are important things.
As we've mentioned. On the flip side, you've got Chris
Richards the palace, he's buried on the bench. You've got
Matt Turner, who's buried behind Ramsdale at Arsenal. What do
you mean You said it right, You're not starting, and
that's always going to be an issue. I remember talking
(12:39):
to um Lancarloso Saudio, the former manager of Mexico, in
respect to Mexican players, and you know, I would ask
him like, what what do you prefer? Do you prefer
a Mexican player that's playing constant minutes and league Amikey's
or do you prefer a player that's in Europe but
not giving him that many minutes? But he's in Europe
and he's in a good club and a good league
in Europe, but the bench, what what do you prefer?
(13:01):
And his answer has always stuck with me, and he said, listen,
they're obviously like, there's nothing like momentum and consistency in
playing minutes, but people forget that it's not just about
sitting on the bench. It's also about the environment that
you put yourself in. You know, when I asked him
this question, we were thinking specifically about somebody like Choky
los Ano that had just arrived to Napoli. He wasn't
starting at the time, but he was in Napoli and
(13:23):
he was playing alongside the likes of Lornzo in Senor
Andres Martin's. So he was surrounding himself with high level competition.
So does that help you as an American? So Matt
Turner is not starting, obviously, but he is placing himself
in the club that's the best in the Premier League
right now, Like, does that help you at least with
some kind of level of confidence because it's not like,
(13:46):
you know, Sax Stephan is in the lower league at
this point, so that's a different situation. So it's that
sort of decision that Great Bear Holter has to do.
He has to think to himself, who is arriving confident,
who is arriving competitive and who is getting minutes of
a little bit of a contradiction when you think about
Polistic because he's a kind of player that needs to
play at a very high level. But I think Great
(14:07):
Bolt has created a family, a united group, tightened it enough,
close enough to really elevate themselves when they're arriving Qatar.
As we mentioned, some friendlies coming up at the end
of September, so we'll see what he does there. Last
one for you, Uh, we're recording this on Deadline day.
I decided to pick the busiest day of your schedule
to ask you to come on the program. Now you
(14:28):
and my wife are giving me a nightmare, man like,
I don't know what you're doing to me. Um, that's
why you're the bust because you said yes. Anyway, Uh,
Surgino desk loaned out to Milan. Do you like that? Yeah,
that's great. Fantastic move. Fantastic moves. So Reginia just needed minutes.
Chavvy wasn't a fan of his at Barcelona. I'm not surprised,
but now he can go to an asim Aland side
where he can compete for that wing wet position. But
(14:51):
at the same time he's going to the defending champions
of Said Yeah, and they are a very attractive side
when they push up with the ball, and this is
gonna be nothing but great for him as a young
player and as somebody that can elevate his game in
the league. That's you know, Now that he's played in
the Arativisy and La Liga, I feel like Said Yeah
(15:12):
is somewhere in the middle where it's much more technical
than Editivesy, but perhaps not as fast as some clubs
in La Liga. But with Asian Milan the best team
in said. Yeah, he now has a chance to really
learn from the best and really test himself. And I'm
hoping that he's kids as many minutes as he can.
It's a good move. I'm happy for him. I think
it will work out. By the way, he's a very
(15:34):
young player. He's already lived in Amsterdam, Barcelona and now Milan.
Not bad for a young kid. Not bad, not bad.
You and I could do so well. Uh, he learns
from the best. We just learned from the best with you.
Catch him on CBS HQ. I just saw him venting
about his belove Dustin Villa. Listen to him on the
Kik Colosso podcast. Seriously check out kick Alasso. It is excellent.
(15:54):
I listened to every episode. If you like football, you
will love the show. He's got our captain's arm band.
As far as I'm concerned, lay my friend. Thank you
for this. Thank you brother. I'm gonna venmo you now
after that. Nice words, thank you to say. Sports Illustrated
(16:15):
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For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I
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Illustrated Weekly was produced by Jordan Rizzieri, Jessica Yourmoski, and
(16:36):
Isaac Lee, who was also our sound engineer. Our senior
producers are Dan Bloom and Harry sward Out. Our executive
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this long, we leave you with this YO. You're The
(17:00):
action was outrageous. I was. I just came back from Greece.
Was amazing. Greece is good times though it is. We
had a great time. We went with like twenty five Greeks.
I love it.
Before we begin, a reminder to please rate and review
our show. It helps new listeners discover us and grow
the program. With the World Cup rapidly approaching, we check
in on some of the U S M n T
players and how they've looked so far for various clubs
from the Americans who have made Leeds United a lot
of fun to watch. In the course of getting a
(00:21):
lot of run to one big name American who's been
marginalized with Chelsea and to do it all, we bring
in one of our absolute favorites, Luis mcguel at you
Garai from the k GLOSSO podcast and CBS Sports. I'm
your host, John Gonzalez from Sports Illustrated and I Heart Radio.
This is Sports Illustrated Weekly. Luise, Welcome back to Sports
(00:51):
Illustrated Weekly. It's always good to come back to my
Amma mater, my man. How are you. I love to
see your smiling face. I love to talk soccer with you.
You're one of our favorite guests on this program. We
thought we would discuss with you how some Americans are
performing for their clubs ahead of the World Cup, and
I think what better place to start than with Leeds United.
(01:11):
We've all seen the memes major leads soccer Leeds United
States of America. Jesse March jumping up and down in
skin tight jeans, the American head coach on the sideline.
But Brendan Aronson, the Medford MESSI they call him shots
to New Jersey and Tyler Adams. What have you seen
from those two guys that have the World Cup? Well,
Leeds United is it's just a great story all over right.
(01:32):
It started with the Marcello yes uh, the famous Argentinean
manager who comes to this working class town and kind
of revolutionized Leeds United, a team that used to be
a giant, was in the Championship for a long time,
and then it came back to the Premier League. Then
BLSA leaves and then that energy, that euphoria that the
Leeds United fan base had for so long goes away
(01:54):
and leads are very nervous about what's going to happen next,
and incomes the wonderful Jess E. Marsha. I know him personally,
I've interviewed him, I've talked to him both professionally and
as a friend, and I can tell you that he
is everything that you see. He's just a great human being.
Who loves the sport, loves the unity of the sport,
(02:15):
loves to create a family within every club that he manages.
He is extremely experienced. You know, when he arrived to Saltzburg,
the first thing he did was he wanted to learn
the language straight away. So like there's all these stories
about how great he is, and and it doesn't surprise
me that he's doing well with Leeds United because it's
(02:36):
a club that just wants heart. They just want passion,
They just want you know, They're kind of like your Eagles.
They just they're working class town that just want I
don't care if you lose, just lose like with everything
that you have inside of you. And that's Jesse Marsh.
And again it's no surprise to me that the Leeds
United States of America decides to recruit Tyler Adams, probably
(03:00):
the smartest U s m m T member, and he's
got support for about it. I'm trying to just wear
the help of any flagship. And Brendan Aaronson I call
him three lungs because he just doesn't stop running. And
the whole team doesn't stop running. Yeah, they don't. And
Brendan Aronson is is the pivotal example of that, Arenson
(03:23):
going Chilse, the pressure literally tying off. And I've interviewed
both of them as well, and it's no surprise to
me that it's all clicking in more ways than one.
And the number one thing is identity. You know who
(03:46):
they are and it's a great thing to see for
both Jesse marsha and and Aaronson and Tyler Adams. I
love when you talk about identity and what teams are
and apologies because I know you talked about the reverse
with your beloved Aston Villa, but it's only is working
out with the A team Aaronson and Adams in leads.
But then you look at another American as we approach
(04:07):
the World Cup, Kristen Pulissa not going great for him
in Chelsea. He's played just a hundred and one minutes
through the first five matches as we record this, he
hasn't started a game this season. There were rumors Elami
that they might loan him out. You know, man, you
was mentioned Newcastle clubs in Italy and Spain, everybody you know,
or maybe he'll go somewhere and get some minutes ahead
of the World Cup. He certainly could have used the
(04:29):
playing time elsewhere. Did you want to see him go
somewhere before the World Cup? Well, you know, if I
was a U S sevent t fan, And obviously I
have a lot of love and support for this country
of yours. I live here and my wife's Americans. Also,
I pay a lot of attention, so obviously I want
to see these talented players do well. Christian Polistic unfortunately,
(04:49):
is not going through a good time from a football perspective.
And you know, as we speak, actually there's a hashtag
on Twitter called free Polistic, Like that's just of course,
that's just that's just how my family probably started it. Yeah,
including of course his father, who has been very public
about Thomas Tooho and Chelsea. Look, listen, here's the thing.
This is not new that Polistic is not necessarily plan
(05:13):
a for Thomas Tooho and Chelsea. It's been known for
a while. Part of it is just a system itself.
Thomas Toohol likes to be a little bit more fluid
from a wingback situation and then making everything in possession
more central. That's why it didn't really work with Lukaku.
He wants more of a fluid, so to speaks, and
(05:33):
it forward like Kai Hards and then Mason Mount behind him,
they brought in Raheem Sterling. So now Pallistic is now
kind of lost and he's wanted to go for a
while for a few reasons. He once minutes obviously the
World Cup is coming up. He wants to play. It
doesn't matter where he is, he wants to play. And
the added problem to this is that now that Chelsea
(05:53):
have an owner and Todd Boli, Todd Bowli, an American,
doesn't want to long now Christian Polistic and doesn't want
to learn out Christian Polific specifically to a Premier League
club to arrival like Matchester United were interested, Newcastle were
interested in Boli was like, no, I'm sorry, I'm exing
this and per multiple reports, including some of our own
(06:15):
with fad To Romano and my friend Bolton Area from
the Athletic Polistic was not happy about this. And he
feels like he's just been impeded to do what he
wants to do, which is just play. And and it's
a shame because you know, Chelsea in many ways it's
the perfect place for him, but at this moment it's
not the case. And he's not any minutes and that's
a worrying thing when you are talking about Christian Polistic
(06:36):
and the World Cup year. Yeah, it is a worrying thing.
I meant to ask you about that. What you think
What kind of form do you think we'll see from
Pulistic when we get to the World Cup, because obviously,
as you mentioned, Tougle doesn't look like he's inclined to
play him anytime sooner, at least not any any meaningful minutes.
I'm gonna be very honest, if this continues all the
way up to the World Cup, why would Greg bar
(06:57):
Holter start him? Why would he risk that? Especially when
you have Brandan Aaronson. We're going to talk about some
striker opportunities for the U s M and t if
timulte Awaya, maybe it gets a few more minutes as well,
because he's also dealing with a few minutes percentile when
it comes to playing for his club and stuff. So
you know, depending on how this form goes, Greg b
(07:18):
Holter has to be worried about do I even start Polistic?
Which is kind of an insane thing to think about.
After the last few years he's been the leading man
for this American team. But this is not the gold cop, John,
This is not a friendly. This is the World Cup.
And at the end of the day, you need a
player that's confident, that's had minutes, that's ready to go,
and at this moment, none of those boxes take on
(07:40):
Christian policy. Yeah, you have to pick the best team,
regardless of the name on the back of the jersey.
You mentioned some of the striker options that burr Halter
might have to choose through, So the center for spot,
I'm wondering whether you think that's in question because he
started five different number nines during Conker Calf They combined
for just four goals in fourteen qualifier. Ricardo Pappy had
(08:01):
three of those and they in two games less fall.
Since then, has not scored for club or country as
we record this. Some names to rattle off for you
for Rarera Vasque as sergeant, Right, what's your burr Halter
do upfront? What do you think he'll do? Well? That's
always been his conundrum, I think, and that's always been
the U S M T S conundrum. But you know,
I have my own thoughts about it. I feel like
(08:22):
he could use it to an advantage. When you think
about Ericton hag Manchester United manager and total Football of
the Netherlands. They almost don't even need a striker. It's
very fluid and you know, attackers up front can move around.
So I feel like there could be a combination of
that with the U S M and T. When you
ask me specifically about our number nine, I mean listen,
(08:42):
like like you said, there's a few names. Ricardo Peppy. Yeah,
it hasn't gone well. Now he's on loan to groningun
He's no longer in the Bundesliga, so obviously that's gonna
be either a regression or maybe something for him to
wake up on. I'm still a fan of Josh Sergeant.
I think he's probably the most natural number nine, to
be honest, US M M T has but again, consistency
(09:02):
has been an issue for him and now is in
the Championship with Norwich, so he has to figure that out.
But to me, you know, maybe now you're focusing about
three people, two of them in MLS random baskets. To me,
I mean, why not? Right, sixteen goals in twenty seven
MLS matches into the box, Upereta fifteen goals in twenty
(09:24):
seven MLS matches ch ch check four and p focus.
See what you fourteen goals in Those would be my
three choices. I don't think that it should matter that
you know you're thinking no, is MLS gonna be perhaps
too much of an early kind of judgment called for
(09:46):
great browth, and when you're trying to put him in
the most prestigious soccer competition out there. But there is
talent and there is some hunger. The good news is
that he has choices. The bad news is that none
of them are consist it so he has to figure
out who it is. To be honest with you at
this very moment, no matter what league your plan, there
(10:08):
is nothing like confidence. There is nothing like confidence. It
doesn't matter where you're playing, the Premier League or MLS.
If you're confident and you're scoring goals left, right and center,
you go with the hot hand. And to me at
this point it would be Brandon Baskets. I can't believe
that you would say that the U S M and
T is looking at a bunch of inconsistent players. Shocker.
(10:28):
It was ever thus, all right, so we go from
MLS potential strikers to prem defenders. Fulham. You've got Tim
Reem and Anthony Robinson. They've gotten a ton of minutes
so far this season, have they looked well? I've been
impressed with Fulham. Actually it didn't start well of course,
and it's never gonna be easy when you're a newly
promoted side returning to the Premier League. But Fulham right
(10:50):
now are eight. I've always been a fan of those
two players, specifically Anthony Robinson. I think he has a
lot to offer. You know, Tim Reems, I worry a
little bit us because uh e really he's fine, but
positional based. I worry a little bit. You need to
be quick footed in this group in the World Cup
for the U S M M T. I don't know
if he's the answer, but the solution right now is
(11:13):
the fact that you know, there are a few players
as well that are struggling to either fine minutes or
even a club like you know, John Brooks, his move
to MAJORCA was broken down, So that's an issue. So
as long as you play competitively as a defender, and
in this case you are a Film in the Premier League,
then that's going to be nothing but a helpful thing
for you. And as long as Film continue to compete
(11:35):
and doing well in the Premier League. There's no reason
to think that great Holter should either ignore them or
be not start them. So it's good for them for sure,
but it all depends as well. We have to also
think about the type of opponent that the USMNT have
in the World Cup and what kind of striker you're
dealing with. And one of them, of course is England,
so I tend to be pretty good exactly, and one
(11:56):
of them is Harry Kane. An opportunity here done, what
a goal toward its So is it better suited to
be a defendant that's playing the Premier League that knows
the Harry Kane types. Of course that's one thing. Then
Wales and Garrett Bell of course you know, playing an MLS,
So there's a lot to think about there. But as
far as Timory Montony obins, I'm not concerned. It's good
(12:19):
that Philima doing well and it's good that they're doing
well in such a good league like the Premier League.
They're getting minutes, they're getting confidence. Those are important things.
As we've mentioned. On the flip side, you've got Chris
Richards the palace, he's buried on the bench. You've got
Matt Turner, who's buried behind Ramsdale at Arsenal. What do
you mean You said it right, You're not starting, and
that's always going to be an issue. I remember talking
(12:39):
to um Lancarloso Saudio, the former manager of Mexico, in
respect to Mexican players, and you know, I would ask
him like, what what do you prefer? Do you prefer
a Mexican player that's playing constant minutes and league Amikey's
or do you prefer a player that's in Europe but
not giving him that many minutes? But he's in Europe
and he's in a good club and a good league
in Europe, but the bench, what what do you prefer?
(13:01):
And his answer has always stuck with me, and he said, listen,
they're obviously like, there's nothing like momentum and consistency in
playing minutes, but people forget that it's not just about
sitting on the bench. It's also about the environment that
you put yourself in. You know, when I asked him
this question, we were thinking specifically about somebody like Choky
los Ano that had just arrived to Napoli. He wasn't
starting at the time, but he was in Napoli and
(13:23):
he was playing alongside the likes of Lornzo in Senor
Andres Martin's. So he was surrounding himself with high level competition.
So does that help you as an American? So Matt
Turner is not starting, obviously, but he is placing himself
in the club that's the best in the Premier League
right now, Like, does that help you at least with
some kind of level of confidence because it's not like,
(13:46):
you know, Sax Stephan is in the lower league at
this point, so that's a different situation. So it's that
sort of decision that Great Bear Holter has to do.
He has to think to himself, who is arriving confident,
who is arriving competitive and who is getting minutes of
a little bit of a contradiction when you think about
Polistic because he's a kind of player that needs to
play at a very high level. But I think Great
(14:07):
Bolt has created a family, a united group, tightened it enough,
close enough to really elevate themselves when they're arriving Qatar.
As we mentioned, some friendlies coming up at the end
of September, so we'll see what he does there. Last
one for you, Uh, we're recording this on Deadline day.
I decided to pick the busiest day of your schedule
to ask you to come on the program. Now you
(14:28):
and my wife are giving me a nightmare, man like,
I don't know what you're doing to me. Um, that's
why you're the bust because you said yes. Anyway, Uh,
Surgino desk loaned out to Milan. Do you like that? Yeah,
that's great. Fantastic move. Fantastic moves. So Reginia just needed minutes.
Chavvy wasn't a fan of his at Barcelona. I'm not surprised,
but now he can go to an asim Aland side
where he can compete for that wing wet position. But
(14:51):
at the same time he's going to the defending champions
of Said Yeah, and they are a very attractive side
when they push up with the ball, and this is
gonna be nothing but great for him as a young
player and as somebody that can elevate his game in
the league. That's you know, Now that he's played in
the Arativisy and La Liga, I feel like Said Yeah
(15:12):
is somewhere in the middle where it's much more technical
than Editivesy, but perhaps not as fast as some clubs
in La Liga. But with Asian Milan the best team
in said. Yeah, he now has a chance to really
learn from the best and really test himself. And I'm
hoping that he's kids as many minutes as he can.
It's a good move. I'm happy for him. I think
it will work out. By the way, he's a very
(15:34):
young player. He's already lived in Amsterdam, Barcelona and now Milan.
Not bad for a young kid. Not bad, not bad.
You and I could do so well. Uh, he learns
from the best. We just learned from the best with you.
Catch him on CBS HQ. I just saw him venting
about his belove Dustin Villa. Listen to him on the
Kik Colosso podcast. Seriously check out kick Alasso. It is excellent.
(15:54):
I listened to every episode. If you like football, you
will love the show. He's got our captain's arm band.
As far as I'm concerned, lay my friend. Thank you
for this. Thank you brother. I'm gonna venmo you now
after that. Nice words, thank you to say. Sports Illustrated
(16:15):
Weekly is a production of Sports Illustrated and I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
favorite shows, and for more Sports Illustrated It's best stories
and podcasts, visit SI dot com. This episode of Sports
Illustrated Weekly was produced by Jordan Rizzieri, Jessica Yourmoski, and
(16:36):
Isaac Lee, who was also our sound engineer. Our senior
producers are Dan Bloom and Harry sward Out. Our executive
producers are Scott Brodie and me John Gonzalez. Our theme
song is by Nolan Schneider and if you've stuck around
this long, we leave you with this YO. You're The
(17:00):
action was outrageous. I was. I just came back from Greece.
Was amazing. Greece is good times though it is. We
had a great time. We went with like twenty five Greeks.
I love it.
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