April 18, 2025 • 7 mins
D.C. United's Peglow and Pirani are taking a page from Messi and will need to do Saturday against the Red Bulls. Also, Bruce and Dave discuss the importance of the U.S. Open Cup
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here we go, Here we go. It's another edition of
First eleven eleven minutes or less with the Hall of
Famer US Soccer Hall of Famer Bruce Murray. It is
DC not on the road against the New York Red Bulls.
Also news today d C and I will be taking
on the Charleston Battery May sixth, US Open Cup action
important to support the team. Remember last year when the
(00:21):
Open Cup controversy about the MLS teams were not going
to be in the Open Cup and they talked about
while not getting the crowds. So I think it's important
for soccer supporters to show up May six because we
want this tournament. We love this tournament. Bruce Murray, your
experience with the with a tournament.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We actually won the Amateur Cup with an amateur team
here in town called the Spartans the Greeks. The Greek
teams had had you know, representatives. We crashed out of
the Open Cup, but in the in the Amateur Cup
we did quite well. But you know the other thing
about this particular event is it's like the Fake Cup.
(01:00):
Anything's possible, right, Anything's possible. And I think if you
if you look at you know, right down our bench
and go to the very prominent person on the bench.
His name is Troy Last, our head coach, and the
Charleston battery coming. That is uh, you know, that's going
to be mixed emotions for him because that's really where
(01:21):
where his professional career was.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Great point, But again, I think it's important because it
became such a controversy. Wait a minute, MLS side should
be a US Open Cup. But I did understand Commission
Garber's counter argument noting that there were a lot of
you know, small crowds and because of that, you're playing
at alternative, alternate venues. So I think if we want
to make the US Open Cup continue to be a
(01:44):
thriving competition, it's important for the supporters of the game
to get out. So that's May six at Autifield.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
You're absolutely right, Dave, that that is that is a
great point because if you if you want it, then
you've got to go out and you got to put
your money where mouth is and that's that's the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Well no, and that's just it. And if you don't
want it, if you don't want to pay for it,
you don't want to show up, then I don't think
you can complain when Commissioner Garber says, you know, we
don't need to be in that competition because it does
come down to it, it's not worth it if only
a thousand people are showing up. So we look forward
to May six against the Charleston Battery and the US
(02:23):
Open Cup. All right, d C United, New York Red Bulls.
It was a loss last week def C Cincinnati, but
a recovery what would you describe? And as this DC
United team transitions from losing six to one, are we
getting closer to getting should we say back on track?
Or how does doctor Bruce Murray diagnose the situations?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You know, we broke our leg and then it was
a compound fracture when it was six to one, you know,
and San Jose and now all of a sudden in
the second half. We found our footing the other day
and we were playing some wonderful football for thirty minutes.
We were we were, you know, foot on the gas,
(03:08):
couldn't quite put it away. So if you look at
things like I do, in thirds, you know, eight games in,
you know, if you can steal a couple of points
in that that first third of games, uh, then and
your team is now right where you need it to be.
You're playing good football, and now you're learning how to
(03:29):
win points versus performances, like even if the performances aren't
as good, then you're a team that's got You know,
you really can't hit panic buttons until you're done with
the second third and you're and you're not putting something
together on the field. What I saw in the second
half was really good football.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Panic is a good thing to point out because it's
hard not to get a little squeamish if there's a
four to one loss, a six to one loss. But
when we're talking as we talk here in April, you
start panicking. And you know this is if you if
you're a player in the locker room and senses that
the coaches is panicky, that that suddenly it's all changed.
(04:10):
Often that doesn't end well. Then it becomes a scrambled there.
You do have to adjust things, but there has to
be belief in what you were doing, in what you
sold to the players at the start of the season.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That's right, Dave. And you know, you know I becked
Troy li saying, I just love the way he goes
about his business. You know, he never talks about like
laying into the players, and we know, you know that
Troy's he's the kind of guy that's will He's so
honest to me as a coach that he you know,
I know he gives it to people if he has to.
(04:44):
And as a group, he wants to hear from the
group what's more, what's better than a player? And everyone
can talk about the old school days and Alex Ferguson
and the hair dryer speeches. Don't think that doesn't happen occasionally,
because it does. No coach survives without the ability to
have that in his arsenal. Okay, but this coach also
(05:06):
lets players have a little bit of say and that
makes players feel good, and players that feel good play good.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
All right, But finishing scoring goals? DC United needs more
than ben Teke. So that was your specialty? Scoring goals?
How does that happen?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
When Leo Messi goes in, Liono Messi goes in to
a dribble and just starts spreading up people with the ball,
you can ask him. He doesn't know what he's going
to do. He just works off the situation. If you
watch Pirani the other day, he ran at people again,
like he did last year and he hasn't been doing
that this year. And so we had we had Peglo
Piranib guys just running at people with the ball and
(05:43):
what that does is it completely unbounces his defenses. It
allows them to get off of ben Teke right as
the primary mark and Ben tech becomes mobile. Ben Techy
can't do anything in this league if he's not mobile,
because he's he's just a target.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Right. So the individual brilliance is then important when you're
talking about what a Peglo, what a Prowny can can
bring because if if the player as he's dribbling doesn't
know what he's going to do, the defender doesn't.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Know absolutely, And that's the key, that's the key to it,
you know, is just to make sure that you're willing
to go and take on that risk. And it's almost
like somebody from the bench or or somebody hit a
switch and said, hey, guys, you know what, just go
just go pretend you're eleven years old again and you're
you're in your your club team and you're the best
player on the field. Go for it. And that's what
(06:34):
it looked like, Dave. It really did for thirty five minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And that has to be repeated against the Red Bulls.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, it does, it does. But at the same time, defensively,
I said it the other day, we still have to
squeeze in. We have to bring one, you know that
that second center midfielder back. We have to bring the
off the weak sided midfielder in so that we end
up with that three man middle becomes a six man
middle and slows them down. Because again Red Bulls probably
(07:01):
one of the better teams on the fast break. We've
got our league as a fast break league, there's no
question about it.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
The prescription of doctor Bruce Murray, we just elevated you
to doctor status. It is first the level. We appreciate
the time. We know your time is valuable, so that's
why we like to do it in eleven minutes or less.
D C ed New York Red Bulls Saturday. We started
seven point fifteen on iHeartRadio, iHeart app. It's free, please
download it and we look forward to Saturday again. For
(07:28):
Bruce Murray, I'm Dave Johnson. Yeah, thanks for the time.
Eleven minutes or less,
Here we go, Here we go. It's another edition of
First eleven eleven minutes or less with the Hall of
Famer US Soccer Hall of Famer Bruce Murray. It is
DC not on the road against the New York Red Bulls.
Also news today d C and I will be taking
on the Charleston Battery May sixth, US Open Cup action
important to support the team. Remember last year when the
(00:21):
Open Cup controversy about the MLS teams were not going
to be in the Open Cup and they talked about
while not getting the crowds. So I think it's important
for soccer supporters to show up May six because we
want this tournament. We love this tournament. Bruce Murray, your
experience with the with a tournament.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We actually won the Amateur Cup with an amateur team
here in town called the Spartans the Greeks. The Greek
teams had had you know, representatives. We crashed out of
the Open Cup, but in the in the Amateur Cup
we did quite well. But you know the other thing
about this particular event is it's like the Fake Cup.
(01:00):
Anything's possible, right, Anything's possible. And I think if you
if you look at you know, right down our bench
and go to the very prominent person on the bench.
His name is Troy Last, our head coach, and the
Charleston battery coming. That is uh, you know, that's going
to be mixed emotions for him because that's really where
(01:21):
where his professional career was.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Great point, But again, I think it's important because it
became such a controversy. Wait a minute, MLS side should
be a US Open Cup. But I did understand Commission
Garber's counter argument noting that there were a lot of
you know, small crowds and because of that, you're playing
at alternative, alternate venues. So I think if we want
to make the US Open Cup continue to be a
(01:44):
thriving competition, it's important for the supporters of the game
to get out. So that's May six at Autifield.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
You're absolutely right, Dave, that that is that is a
great point because if you if you want it, then
you've got to go out and you got to put
your money where mouth is and that's that's the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Well no, and that's just it. And if you don't
want it, if you don't want to pay for it,
you don't want to show up, then I don't think
you can complain when Commissioner Garber says, you know, we
don't need to be in that competition because it does
come down to it, it's not worth it if only
a thousand people are showing up. So we look forward
to May six against the Charleston Battery and the US
(02:23):
Open Cup. All right, d C United, New York Red Bulls.
It was a loss last week def C Cincinnati, but
a recovery what would you describe? And as this DC
United team transitions from losing six to one, are we
getting closer to getting should we say back on track?
Or how does doctor Bruce Murray diagnose the situations?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You know, we broke our leg and then it was
a compound fracture when it was six to one, you know,
and San Jose and now all of a sudden in
the second half. We found our footing the other day
and we were playing some wonderful football for thirty minutes.
We were we were, you know, foot on the gas,
(03:08):
couldn't quite put it away. So if you look at
things like I do, in thirds, you know, eight games in,
you know, if you can steal a couple of points
in that that first third of games, uh, then and
your team is now right where you need it to be.
You're playing good football, and now you're learning how to
(03:29):
win points versus performances, like even if the performances aren't
as good, then you're a team that's got You know,
you really can't hit panic buttons until you're done with
the second third and you're and you're not putting something
together on the field. What I saw in the second
half was really good football.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Panic is a good thing to point out because it's
hard not to get a little squeamish if there's a
four to one loss, a six to one loss. But
when we're talking as we talk here in April, you
start panicking. And you know this is if you if
you're a player in the locker room and senses that
the coaches is panicky, that that suddenly it's all changed.
(04:10):
Often that doesn't end well. Then it becomes a scrambled there.
You do have to adjust things, but there has to
be belief in what you were doing, in what you
sold to the players at the start of the season.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That's right, Dave. And you know, you know I becked
Troy li saying, I just love the way he goes
about his business. You know, he never talks about like
laying into the players, and we know, you know that
Troy's he's the kind of guy that's will He's so
honest to me as a coach that he you know,
I know he gives it to people if he has to.
(04:44):
And as a group, he wants to hear from the
group what's more, what's better than a player? And everyone
can talk about the old school days and Alex Ferguson
and the hair dryer speeches. Don't think that doesn't happen occasionally,
because it does. No coach survives without the ability to
have that in his arsenal. Okay, but this coach also
(05:06):
lets players have a little bit of say and that
makes players feel good, and players that feel good play good.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
All right, But finishing scoring goals? DC United needs more
than ben Teke. So that was your specialty? Scoring goals?
How does that happen?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
When Leo Messi goes in, Liono Messi goes in to
a dribble and just starts spreading up people with the ball,
you can ask him. He doesn't know what he's going
to do. He just works off the situation. If you
watch Pirani the other day, he ran at people again,
like he did last year and he hasn't been doing
that this year. And so we had we had Peglo
Piranib guys just running at people with the ball and
(05:43):
what that does is it completely unbounces his defenses. It
allows them to get off of ben Teke right as
the primary mark and Ben tech becomes mobile. Ben Techy
can't do anything in this league if he's not mobile,
because he's he's just a target.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Right. So the individual brilliance is then important when you're
talking about what a Peglo, what a Prowny can can
bring because if if the player as he's dribbling doesn't
know what he's going to do, the defender doesn't.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Know absolutely, And that's the key, that's the key to it,
you know, is just to make sure that you're willing
to go and take on that risk. And it's almost
like somebody from the bench or or somebody hit a
switch and said, hey, guys, you know what, just go
just go pretend you're eleven years old again and you're
you're in your your club team and you're the best
player on the field. Go for it. And that's what
(06:34):
it looked like, Dave. It really did for thirty five minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And that has to be repeated against the Red Bulls.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, it does, it does. But at the same time, defensively,
I said it the other day, we still have to
squeeze in. We have to bring one, you know that
that second center midfielder back. We have to bring the
off the weak sided midfielder in so that we end
up with that three man middle becomes a six man
middle and slows them down. Because again Red Bulls probably
(07:01):
one of the better teams on the fast break. We've
got our league as a fast break league, there's no
question about it.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
The prescription of doctor Bruce Murray, we just elevated you
to doctor status. It is first the level. We appreciate
the time. We know your time is valuable, so that's
why we like to do it in eleven minutes or less.
D C ed New York Red Bulls Saturday. We started
seven point fifteen on iHeartRadio, iHeart app. It's free, please
download it and we look forward to Saturday again. For
(07:28):
Bruce Murray, I'm Dave Johnson. Yeah, thanks for the time.
Eleven minutes or less,
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